World of Flowers, Bees, Orchards, Grapes, War, and Missing Parents

@bagarad (14283)
Paso Robles, California
July 22, 2018 1:08am CST
I've been on another reading binge -- three great novels in four days. After reading a review by a friend I had to read The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. It's the story of Vistoria who grew up in the foster care system and was almost adopted until she herself ruined it. Elizabeth, the woman who was going to adopt her, had a vineyard and taught Victoria not only all about cultivating wine grapes, but also about the meanings of flowers. Elizabeth also had a dysfunctional family. She and her sister were estranged. When Victoria aged out of the system and could finally leave her group home, she chose to be homeless for a while before getting a job with a florist. She recognizes Elizabeth's nephew at a flower market and they become friends, but she is afraid to reconnect with Elizabeth because she had set her vineyard on fire that last night she was there. (Long story.) No more spoilers. I suppose this book affected me so much because Victoria reminded me so much of my daughter Sarah, who had come to us as a foster child when she was nine -- almost the same age as Victoria came to Elizabeth and with some of the same emotional scars. I wish Sarah's story had ended as well as Victoria's, but it didn't. The other two books I finished were my introduction to author Susan Wiggs. I'm trying to write a blog post on the first two volumes of the Bella Vista Chronicles now, and if the library had had the third one I wouldn't be here posting now -- I'd be reading it. The Bella Vista Chronicles switch back and forth from an estate in Sonoma County in California today back to Denmark under German occupation during WW2 and the Danish Resistance Movement. It's a family saga where there are missing fathers, two women born on the exact same day who discover they had the same father but different mothers, and neither has met their father. They all meet at the estate of Bella Vista with its hundred acres that includes family mysteries, an apple orchard and bee hives. There is mystery, history, and romance. I don't want to write more about it here or I won't feel like writing my blog post. But I didn't want to put either volume down. Have you read any of these books or authors? If so, what did you think of them? They were all new to me. I like historical fiction and books where plants, dysfunctional families, or foster children play a big role. What sort of books do you like?
7 people like this
8 responses
@allen0187 (58438)
• Philippines
22 Jul 18
Right now, I'm re-reading classics such as 'The Little Prince' and 'The Godfather'.
2 people like this
@allen0187 (58438)
• Philippines
24 Jul 18
@bagarad both are classics in my opinion.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
25 Jul 18
@allen0187 They probably are. But I don't like all that are considered classics anymore than I like all (or even most) of today's best sellers. I read the ones I think I will like. At my age I'm giving each book in my possession a chance to get me interested in the first fifty pages and it doesn't it will be passed on to someone who might appreciate it more. I've got many more books than I will ever have a chance to read.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
23 Jul 18
I loved the Little Prince, but it's been forty years since I read it. I've never yet read The Godfather. I think it's not my sort of book.
1 person likes this
@Missmwngi (12927)
• Nairobi, Kenya
22 Jul 18
I have not ready any of those. I love motivational and business books
2 people like this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
23 Jul 18
I've read a few of those, too. Which ones did you enjoy most?
1 person likes this
@Missmwngi (12927)
• Nairobi, Kenya
23 Jul 18
@bagarad I loved Midas Touch by Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump. Its both like motivational and business
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
25 Jul 18
@Missmwngi Sounds interesting.
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
22 Jul 18
I have not read any of these books but the one about Victoria does sound interesting.
1 person likes this
@Shellyann36 (11385)
• United States
25 Jul 18
@bagarad I am sure it would help a lot of people if they knew of it.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
27 Jul 18
@Shellyann36 I think it would increase understanding.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
23 Jul 18
The Language of Flowers is a must read for anyone who's been in the foster care system, for young unwed mothers, and for foster and adoptive parents.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (130067)
• India
23 Jul 18
I only read magazines these days and plenty through search engines just to gain knowledge.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
23 Jul 18
I don't read magazines anymore -- at least not very often. I read a lot of blog posts instead. I prefer books when reading for pleasure.
1 person likes this
• China
23 Jul 18
The story about Victoria made your mind travel back to the moment with your daughter Sarah .You definitely felt sad.I am now rereading the "Dream of Red Mansions",one of the Chinese classics.
1 person likes this
• China
25 Jul 18
@bagarad I am glad that you know the book.It is a big and heavy book and has a very important place in classical Chinese literature.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
27 Jul 18
@changjiangzhibin89 Do you read it in the original language?
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@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
25 Jul 18
Refresh my memory of that book. I heard about it in a world literature class, but we mostly read poems because they were short and we had a lot of world to cover.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (94689)
• Marion, Ohio
22 Jul 18
Havent read anything for a long time but usually horror books
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
25 Jul 18
@wolfgirl569 I think Lori would appreciate that.
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
23 Jul 18
That's one genre I can't read. I don't like anything scary. You should try our own @LoriAMoore 's My Cold Kentucky Home if you like scary stories.
@wolfgirl569 (94689)
• Marion, Ohio
23 Jul 18
@bagarad If I get back into reading I will look it up.
1 person likes this
@Icydoll (36717)
• India
22 Jul 18
I like thriller genre
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
23 Jul 18
Most of them are too scary for me.
@august18 (3907)
• Tunisia
22 Jul 18
I like detective novels.
1 person likes this
@bagarad (14283)
• Paso Robles, California
23 Jul 18
I do, too. I like to try to figure out who's guilty right along with the detectives.
1 person likes this