"The Last Bookstore in London": Follow the light and run towards the light

During the three years of the epidemic and the days of lockdown, how did you spend that anxious time?

Some people use this time to study cooking and baking at home to improve their cooking skills; some people seek knowledge outside their professional scope to master one more skill. ; Some people are soaring in the sea of ??books like bookworms, absorbing nutritious knowledge and sublimating their hearts.

It is said that one of reading and traveling is always on the road. Wherever your feet cannot reach, words can take you there; where your eyes cannot see, you can feel the charm from books.

Reading is a journey of the soul.

Speaking of reading, the best-selling book "The Last Bookstore in London" comes to mind.

Grace, a young girl, happened to be working as a clerk in a bookstore and was influenced by the pilot George and embarked on the path of reading. During the Blitz, Grace nourished herself through reading. While giving herself strength, she also continued to influence and help people. She survived the war-torn era and gained her own love and career.

As soon as this book was published, it quickly ranked No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. The wonderful and soul-piercing stories in the book moved millions of readers.

01 Reading is a habit that gives people spiritual strength

Madeleine Martin is a writer of historical fiction and a USA Today and New York Times bestseller.

She spent most of her childhood in a German military camp, so she has her own unique perspective on war. She has always wanted to write novels with the theme of World War II.

In "The Last Bookstore in London", the author focuses on Grace. During the "World War II", Grace saved people's lives at night as an air raid defense inspector. . She also transformed into a reader to save people's souls.

Reading is a habit of people. During the war, people's enthusiasm for reading still could not be stopped.

Patonostro Street is a busy street that is very popular with people. There are bookstores on both sides of the street. Even when the war started and the lights were controlled, people still came here to queue up to buy books. , because people cannot do without reading and the company of books, especially when the war is raging, especially every long night spent in the ground.

Only reading can calm your heart. Search for that ray of light in the ocean of words, put away the overwhelmed emotions, heal the inner wounds, temporarily forget the pain, say goodbye to sadness, and spend the dark time.

The former Patonostro Street was attacked. The entire street was in flames. The raging fire turned the square into a hell on earth. Millions of books were destroyed by the fire and wind. , sparks crackled and flew everywhere, burning more and more fiercely, and a book instantly turned into ashes.

As an air raid defense inspector, Grace was unable to save the books under the fierce fire, and her inner pain and despair were unspeakable.

Later, Primrose Hill Bookstore was attacked, and Grace thought the book club was going to be disbanded. Unexpectedly, the members of the book club felt that they had been favored and helped by Grace, and took the initiative to repair Primrose Hill Bookstore.

Of course, more importantly, Primrose Hill is the last bookstore in London. In any case, they do not want to give up this bookstore.

Friends who make friends through books, friends who come together because of reading, not only help Grace save Primrose Hill Bookstore, but also help London save the last bookstore. They not only help themselves, but also help Thousands of readers have saved the bookstore.

02 Encounter a romantic story related to reading

Some people say that love is not sweet words under the shade of flowers, it is not you and me under the moonlight, it is not tender tears, it is not It is not strong control, love is based on the same interests and hobbies. In three popular words now: I understand you!

There is a romantic love story circulating about Primrose Hill Bookstore. .

Back then in Primrose Hill, there was a man and a woman reading a book back to back against a big tree. Later, they discovered that they were reading the same book and had the same reading hobby. In an instant, It narrowed the spiritual distance between the two.

After the two got together, they opened a bookstore together in the name of love and named it after the place where they first met. This is how Primrose Hill Bookstore came about.

A beautiful encounter creates a relationship. The beautiful love story makes people feel the beauty of love and the tenderness and sweetness brought by books.

Grace’s first meeting with pilot George was dramatic.

Grace, who doesn’t like reading, works in a bookstore, which is a challenging job in itself. What’s more, the books in Primrose Hill Bookstore are messy and have nothing to do with cleanliness. In this way, the challenge of work Sex has reached another level.

When she first started working, Grace was nervous because she was not familiar with books and bookstores.

However, things in the world are so interesting. The more things you worry about in your heart, they will happen as promised.

When Evans went out for coffee, the client needed a copy of "Black Eyes". For this book, Grace had no idea where it was placed on which bookshelf and in which corner, so she had no choice but to look for it. At this time, George offered to help, found books for the customer, and relieved Grace's embarrassment.

At that time, he was a frequent visitor to the bookstore and she was a novice in the bookstore. When they knew that she wanted to sort the books, they would study and discuss them together.

George recommended one of his favorite classic books to Grace, "The Count of Monte Cristo", and this book started Grace's reading journey. When the war began, George joined the army.

After that, the two wrote letters frequently, chatting about life and literary works. Unknowingly, the two hearts were closely connected, and the seeds of love had already taken root and sprouted in their hearts.

After the war, George returned to Primrose Hill Bookstore to see Grace, and the two embraced happily.

Using books as a link to vibrate at the same spiritual level is an in-depth communication of the soul, romantic and beautiful.

The reason why love is infinitely desirable is because love itself is full of romance.

03 There is a kind of love that is not better than family love

Mrs. Weatherford is a good friend of Grace’s mother. After her husband died in the “World War I”, she and her son Colin Depend on each other. Grace and her good friend Viv traveled from Drayton to London, where they stayed at Mrs. Weatherford's house.

Mrs. Weatherford is an enthusiastic and hard-working person. She cooks delicious food for her children in different ways. She likes to keep her home neat and tidy. Even the air in her home has a faint smell of soap.

Of course, these good things were before the war.

When the war broke out and Colin joined the army, especially after she learned that Colin was killed, Mrs. Weatherford became a completely different person. She was mentally depressed and lost her former energy. The hygiene of her home was also poor. He even refused to clean up and pick up the letters scattered on the floor, refused to go to the service team to help, and even refused to go to the subway station to avoid air raids.

No matter how Grace tried to persuade her, Mrs. Weatherford could not listen. She felt that everything was indifferent and meaningless.

Until one day, Grace found a boy in shabby clothes who sat in the last row of the readers' club every day, listening to her reading quietly, and was the first to leave after she finished. Grace said to Mrs. Weatherford, "I feel like the boy needs your help." Although Mrs. Weatherford did not speak, there was an imperceptible light flashing in her eyes.

Sure enough, the next day, Mrs. Weatherford baked bread and took it to the reading club in Primrose Hill Bookstore. When she learned that the boy named Jimmy and his sister were dependent on each other, she felt a sense of compassion. Spontaneously.

Mrs. Weatherford became busy again. She went to the service team to help orphans make clothes, baked cakes every day and sent them to reading groups, invited two children to spend Christmas at home, and later adopted two children. .

Mrs. Weatherford transferred the old mother's deep love for her children to her two children.

Evans also has this feeling. Her daughter is very similar to Grace and is of the same age. Unfortunately, a few years ago, the mother and daughter passed away in a car accident. Evans' life was eclipsed and he had no interest in anything, including the management of Primrose Hill Bookstore. He only liked reading in the bookstore.

When Grace first appeared in the bookstore, he had a bad attitude towards Grace and even said that he did not need a clerk. He always supported Grace silently and believed that she could do well in the things she did, including sorting and classifying books, promoting the bookstore, giving away coupons, holding book clubs, and even buying new books.

Evans, the old father, fully affirmed Grace's ability and donated his bookstore, apartment and property to Grace through his lawyer.

Mrs. Weatherford and Evans are both people who have experienced cruel wars and the grief of life and death. They use their own efforts to take care of those who need more care and strive to make witnesses Children live better without war.

Compassionate love, deep affection.

It’s not family affection, but it’s better than family affection.

Written at the end

Maugham said that reading is a refuge that you carry with you. Developing the habit of reading is equivalent to building a refuge for yourself, which can avoid almost all the troubles in life. disaster.

Although reading cannot directly help you solve problems in life, it can make you calmer, calmer, more rational, and have the courage to face life instead of being a loser or evader in life.

A single spark can start a prairie fire. As long as you have love in your heart, as long as you have desire in your heart, then read and turn the little flames in your heart into a beam of light, break the darkness, eliminate fear, and forget sorrow. Run towards the light.