Monica Wood has written a heart warming book about personal growth and forgiveness. Violet is a prison inmate who gets released early with no family or friends to support her. She was in prison for taking a life while drunk driving. Her sister drops her off in a new city and sets her up with the basics before cutting her off entirely. The author effectively highlights the growth of Violet and her new friends that help her forgive herself while moving forward with a meaningful life. We experience the growth of the secondary characters as they resolve their own issues. Prison life is also highlighted as they belong to a book club that meets weekly at the prison. A retired teacher leads this group and gives them hope for their future. Well drawn characters and storyline!
Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collin’s Publishers and Mariner Books for an eGalley of this book.
#HowToReadABook #MonicaWood #NetGalley

"...I honestly don't know how to accept your forgiveness."

"Apologies require acceptance...but as I understand it, forgiveness flows in one direction."

The beautifully written How To Read A Book, by brilliant empathetic author Monica Wood, is filled with profound thoughtful quotes.

Violet's only solace in prison is the book club run by retired English teacher Harriet. Volunteering at the prison gives Harriet purpose, "Retired people were often thought to be lonely, but it wasn't that. It was the feeling of uselessness, of being done with it all."

After serving time for manslaughter, killing a Kindergarten teacher in a car crash, Violet is lost. Her mother dies while she's incarcerated, her family disowns her, and no one hires her. A trip to the bookstore changes her life. Harriet's there, buying books for bookclub, and so is Frank, the husband of the woman she killed.

Violet is trying to be better, "I am a person trying to face my mistakes." How Violet, Harriet and Frank navigate their relationship, who they are now after the death, after Violet is free, and how the story is not always what it seems and isn't over until the end, is a life changing experience.

The line that broke me, "I know how it feels to believe you are loved when you're not," made me believe the writer knew my life. Knew the pain of betrayal, of loss, of profound grief and feeling alone.

But just like life there are moments of pure joy, especially with Ollie, an adorably smart parrot, who exemplifies that all living beings need kindness, grace, love and compassion in their lives and second chances can lead to fulfillment.

How we read a book should be how we respectfully treat others; with care, understanding and knowing every person, like every book has its own story.

I received a free copy of this book from the publishers for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

After serving time for a drunk-driving crash, Violet is finding her feet again. Living with the remorse she still feels about the accident, plus reacclimating to life on the "outs," she slowly begins to build a new life for herself. When she runs into Harriet, her book club leader from her time in prison, she finds support and patience that Violet doesn't receive from her own family. Then, when she also runs into the husband of the woman she killed, Violet finds forgiveness and love in the most unexpected of places.

This book is an honest, but not gritty, look at the process of reacclimating to society after prison. It also offers a heartwarming story of found families, and finding oneself while growing into adulthood. A moving and thoughtful story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Mariner Books, Harper-Collins Publishing and the author, Monica Wood for the opportunity to read and review How To Read A Book. How To Read A Book is a delightful novel about 3 people who meet, and in time their lives become intertwined in unusual yet touching manners. Harriet Larson is a retired teacher, a widow and facilitates a Book Club at a nearby prison. The women she interacts with affectionately refer to her as Bookie., Harriet meets Violet Powell, a member of her reading group, 22 years old, incarcerated for manslaughter. Violet receives an early release, and while she has never forgiven herself, she wants to positively rebuild her life. Her estranged sister drops her off at an apartment in Portland, and gives her a bit of money and the sparsely furnished apartment, rent paid for a year. Her sister departs telling Violet she doesn't want to see her again. The third major character is Frank Daigle. Frank is a retired machinist, a widower, father of a grown daughter. He isolated himself following the death of his wife, in a violent car crash, and the trial of the driver, however is now working 25 hours a week in a bookstore as a handyman, and enjoying his new, yet somewhat lonely life. How To Read A Book is a lovely tribute to the human spirit of these 3 characters. It is about healing, moving-on, and becoming the best a person can be. The characters came alive on the pages, and have stayed with me. I highly recommend How To Read A Book; this review reflects my honest opinion.

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood tells the story of Violet, who is serving time in prison. The only reprieve she has is the book club which is run by Harriet. Violet gets to the heart of guilt, loss, and how to survive on the Outs, when she is paroled. She runs into Harriet at the local bookstore, who becomes a mentor and friend. Frank, the widow of the woman Violet kills while drunk driving, works at the bookstore and becomes involved in Harriet’s and Violet’s story. Friendship and redemption are central themes of the book with some twists and important lessons along the way.

I would recommend this book for all readers. “I am a reader. I am intelligent. I have something worthy to contribute.” These are the words the book club members recite when they meet, this book shows how books are a lifeline when you need them the most. The stories they contain become a part of you and help show you the way when you may not be able to see it for yourself. This is a great book for a book club pick, it would be great for discussion.

Thank you Mariner Books and Netgalley for the advanced reader copy. All opinions are my own.

This was an excellent read. If you like found family, realistic life situations, and stories that make a strong impact, then this book is for you. Our main character, Violet, is in prison when we first meet her. She is attending a book club lead by "Bookie" as she is fondly called. As the story unfolds, we learn Violet's backstory, as well as watch her future begin to unfold post-prison. There are a lot of ups and downs in the transition process, and she receives some much needed help from some unexpected places. This is a powerful and rewarding story, full of redemption. I won't say any more, as I believe you need to experience this one for yourself to get the full impact. This is well worth the read, and you will not be sorry that you picked up.

How to Read a Book is the first novel that I have read written by Monica Wood! WOW! I wasn't sure what to expect when I read the synopsis. Violet is a 22 year old ex-con, newly released from prison after 22 months. Harriet is a widow, retired teacher who runs the prison book club. Frank is a widower, whose wife died in the vehicular accident when Violet was driving under the influence. This book is so much more. It is about second chances, make one's life better, learning from mistakes and moving on and forward! Let's not forget about the parrots! They pulled on my heartstrings just as much as the characters. Ms. Wood's characters so well written that I felt that I just wanted to hug each one and tell them not to give up hope. I will definitely be reading more of the author's books. Thanks to NetGalley, Instagram's Book Club Girls Early Read Program and Mariner Books for the ARC!

In the end, I wanted more story. What a great book that presents grief, then healing and second chances in such an intriguing way that you won't be able to put the book down. The parrots in the book were such a treat to read about.

Violet: She makes a life altering mistake, causes a man to lose his wife, a daughter to lose her mom and a kindergarten class to lose their teacher. Violet pays for her crime by doing time in prison.

Harriet: AKA Bookie. She starts a book club in the prison where Violet is doing her time. I loved reading the book discussion that the group had.

Frank: Husband of the afore mentioned life that was lost. Man of amazing emotional stamina and love.

This was my first book by Monica Wood. Definitely will recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley, Monica Wood, and Mariner Books for this arc e-version to read in exchange for my honest opinion.

I just finished this book over the weekend and I am enamored with it. It was beautifully written with the lives of three people connecting in unexpected ways. Violet is in prison and is surprised to learn she is getting out early after killing a woman in a drunk driving accident. She has nowhere to go, doesn't know what to expect, and her family wants nothing to do with her. The collision course between Violet, Harriet--the retired teacher who volunteers to run a book club in the prison where Violet is, and Frank, the husband of the woman Violet killed is full of anger, hatred, remorse, grief, love, forgiveness, the loss of innocence, and eventually, acceptance. I felt for every one of the characters and wanted nothing but the best for all of them. This is definitely one of my top books of the year!!

From the award-winning author of The One-in-a-Million Boy, How to Read a Book will take your breath away.

Having read and loved The One-in-a-Million Boy, I was extremely excited to read Monica Wood’s new book. It surpassed my expectations. This is the story of a young woman recently released from prison, the husband of the woman she killed, and the woman who leads the prison book club. With chapters alternating among the three, we get deep insight into each of these characters, but ultimately, this is Violet’s story.

Toward the end of the book, I slowed the pace of my reading. I wanted to savor each word and not let it end too quickly. Few books show such empathy for the entirety of the human spectrum. Neither our best moments nor our worst moments singularly define us.
This book is so gorgeously written, that I found myself highlighting passages, a thing I don’t typically do when reading. This is no doubt one of the best books I’ll read all year.

How to Read a Book is a story of second chances, compassion, and human connection and will leave you feeling happy and deeply satisfied. You will fall in love with the characters, including the talking parrots (yes, there are talking parrots; not a joke and totally relevant to the plot). I cannot recommend this book more strongly. It comes out on May 7th. Pre-order a copy today!

Thank you to @netgalley and @marinerbooks for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'll be posting my review to GoodReads today and to Instagram on May 6th @nicki_rachlin

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this e-book. It was delightful and I loved the story except for one small bit. I'm not revealing that because it's a personal prejudice and may not affect you at all.

Violet is in prison and every day is pretty much the same except the day they have book club with Harriet Larson, a volunteer. She brings books alive for the inmates and they call her "Bookie." When Violet gets out, Harriet's niece helps her get a job with a professor who studies and trains African Grey Parrots. These birds are a "hoot." Violet falls in love with them instantly.

The story is very well written, captured my attention and stayed with me even after I finished the last page. It's mainly about relationships, which I almost always enjoy. It is also thought-provoking. I highly recommend it to any reader.

5.0 stars
HIGHEST recommendation

Wow, just WOW!

I loved this book! It is about second chances, taking the chances that life gives you, and forgiveness. I loved the main characters whom I found to be exactly how I remember Mainers - warm, kind, and hospitable.

This is the first book that I have read by Monica Wood. She is a master of storytelling, character development, and beautiful writing!

I enjoyed this book as I read it in less than 24 hours. I hope that you will too!

It has been almost 8 years since I read The One in a Million Boy, but it stuck with me in such a way that when I saw Monica Wood had a new novel, I knew it would be excellent. I was not wrong! Wood has an exceptional ability to make her characters come to life in both a warm and friendly way but also in a deeply thoughtful way. This book is about forgiveness, found family, the consequences of our choices, marriage, and getting older. I thought the plot hummed along, and I was never bored. Despite two of the narrators being in their sixties, the tone of the book was completely fresh and unique. I really loved it!

I am a sucker for books about books, books in the title, and books on the cover. So maybe that is what initially drew me to How To Read A Book. This book was really lovely and the characters felt like real people you could know. Violet Powell was a young 22 year old recently released from a 22 month prison sentence for killing a woman while drunk driving. She if full of shame from her mistake and feeling guilt for her mother dying while she was in prison. She can't seem to forgive herself. Harriet Larson, "Bookie" is retired from her English teaching job and is volunteering at the women's prison running a bookclub. Her daughters are grown, she is a widow, and she takes great pride in finding books for the women prisoners who come to discuss the books. Frank Daigle is a retired machinist, who is trying to come to terms with the trouble in his marriage with the kindergarten teacher that Violet had killed in the car crash. Their lives intersect again when Violet walks into the bookstore where Harriet is buying books for bookclub and Frank is working as a handyman. Their relationships start to transform and grow through kindness, forgiveness, and embracing second chances.
I found the story easy to follow and just fun to read. I enjoyed reading about the characters and their pasts and their individual story. I found the book to be comforting.
Thank you NetGalley, Mariner Books, and Monica Wood for the opportunity to read this advanced readers copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of what is my favorite read of the year so far. Ms. Wood has delivered a story with beautifully developed characters, each dealing with life’s challenges in different ways. Among them are Violet who is serving a 15 year prison sentence for manslaughter, Harriet, the ‘Book Lady’, the widowed retired teacher who runs a book club at the prison, and Frank, the retired machinist who is trying to find purpose after his wife was killed in an auto accident. Their lives intersect in interesting ways. Violet and Harriet become acquainted through the prison book club where “Every Friday, two hours, books, books, books. We get to keep them after we’re done, and that’s no small thing, a stack of triumphs under the bed”. “Despite Harriet’s selections, the women came to Book Club anyway, never missed a Friday morning, week after week, in part because the had nothing else to do and in part, Harriet hoped, because being together in a room discussing even the most unacceptable book made the prison disappear.” Their mantra was “I am a reader. I am intelligent. I have something worthy to contribute.”

The book really comes to life when Violet finds herself on the ‘Outs’—outside, released from prison—working with a professor who is studying avian cognition with a group of African grey parrots. A true star of the book is Ollie, one of the parrots. This is a well-crafted, moving story of second chances, forgiveness, and friendship. I loved it.

Young Violet, under the influence of a bad boyfriend, made a bad mistake... and she paid for it dearly.
After a drunk driving accident left a woman dead, Violet paid her dues and did her time in prison.
After that, however, Violet begins to live. As she meets crucial people, who teach her what unconditional love is.
She has made mistakes, her family and friends abandoned her, and she feels lost. Then she becomes friends with Harriet, who was the volunteer book club leader when she was in prison, and Frank the husband of the women she killed in the drunk driving accident.
A unique and true frienship blossoms between the three.
This is a story of forgiveness, and a story of love.
I felt sorry for Violet, she knew she did a terrible thing and she took responsibility for it.
Most of all, I adored Frank. The loving, loveable man who showed such forgiveness.
Well written, a lovely book.

Quick read, interesting characters who loves intersect and benefit from each others presence. Set in Maine interesting discussions of books.

Positively loved this story about second chances, new beginnings, unlikely friendships and forgiveness. And of course, what reader doesn’t love a story about the power of books and stories (and bookstores)! This book is sharp, thought-provoking and simply wonderful. I was sad to read the last page because I miss the imperfect, yet lovable characters (including the birds)! So well done!

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 4.5 / 5 Characters: 5+/5

Violet, a young woman released from jail after serving 22 months for manslaughter for driving while intoxicated and killing an elementary school teacher; Harriet, a retired librarian who runs the best book group in the world (IMHO) at the local prison where Violet has been incarcerated; and Frank, the retired tool & die guy whose wife was the one killed. A chance meeting in the local bookstore brings these three together in a pretty wonderful way.

This book was well-written, hits the sweet spot between humorous and deep, and is overall uplifting. I love uplifting! Especially when it isn’t stupid (honestly what isn’t better when it’s not stupid?). With broad themes of forgiveness and regret along with kindness (the genuine kind, not the saccharine type which is far more focussed on the person being kind than the person in need of kindness), the book is full of dynamic dialog, slowly gained self-understanding, and relationships — the good, the bad, and the ugly types. Also some capital F fun-to-read sections that aren’t essential to the plot but are engrossing and plot-supporting. For example, Violet ends up with a job supporting a crazy / crotchety professor studying the higher cognitive abilities of African Parrots (based on the real life research of Dr. Irene Pepperberg (www.alexfoundation.com). Absolutely fascinating. I also LOVED every scene concerning the book club at the prison. From Harriet’s planning and selection process to the questions she asked and the way the (female) inmates responded to the emerging personality of the club itself. Some questions she asks: If you were God, would you alter the facts for these characters? Do books change, depending on when and where we read them? Why do people tell stories? Or more specifically, if Gatsby had a brother like Ethan Frome, would he have made the same mistakes?

While probably not the primary purpose of the book, it did make me consider the (always muddied) purpose of our justice system. I wish we had a better understanding of the goals of prison: Punishment? Deterrence? Rehabilitation? Safety (in case of recidivism) of the public? Sometimes sentences just don’t seem to make sense. I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions after reading.

Lastly, though there is little in common in terms of messaging or plot, the style and tone reminded me of Lessons in Chemistry. Really enjoyed this book.

Quotes:
“From her years in the classroom, Harriet understood that any group, no matter how diverse, eventually acquired a personality; Book Club had decided they were misunderstood souls born to the wrong era, and William Butler Yeats was their proof.”

“… the days when the place feels not like a dementia unit on Mars, but like an animal shelter filled with calm dogs. I can almost see them, our Reasons, small smoky thicknesses in the air. Like guardian angels, in a way. Guarding our memory of them. They float among us, quiet and uncomplaining, and they refuse to disappear.”

“Lorraine fell for Frank the defensive lineman, but he was a team chaplain at heart. He’d given her love, patience, stability, and her only child. These gifts had turned out to be the wrong gifts.”

“But these kids, who had acres of poetry committed to memory and the mechanical skills of an aardvark, they needed him.”

“Was Baker shucking the chains of patriarchy, or emulating a pop singer? Harriet genuinely wanted to know.”

“The youngster had a cuddly laugh; if hamsters could laugh, they would sound this way.”

“She’d begun their marriage as lead, soft and pliable, elastic and forgiving, but over the years she’d transformed herself into a high-carbon steel, strong and hard and resistant to wear.”

“They remained in this magical silence for a little while, as their separate pasts floated harmlessly between them”

“Retired people were often thought to be lonely, but it wasn’t that. It was the feeling of uselessness, of being done with it all.”

I loved every page of this beautiful, smart and quiet novel. Redemption and grief are sometimes difficult to marry, but this was beautifully done. Told from 3 perspectives, this novel is a portrait of life’s worst moments and what can be done with them. It’s a portrait of humanity, and love, and redemption. The last chapter took my breath away because I didn’t expect it, but it was absolutely perfect.