Sinijärv recommends: three books to make summer weekends more pleasant

Karl-Martin Sinijärv, cultural adviser at the National Library of Estonia and poet, recommends three books this week: Laurie Gilmore's romantic "Dream Harbor" series and a collection of space stories by Petr Brož and Lucie Škodová for children and adults alike.

Karl-Martin Sinijärv, cultural adviser at the National Library of Estonia and poet, has selected three works for summer reading that offer both light escapism and the joy of scientific discovery.

Sweet escape from everyday life

Among Sinijärv's recommendations are two novels by Laurie Gilmore, "The Cinnamon Roll Bookshop" and "The Pumpkin Spice Café" (both from Pegasus), which form the beginning of the "Dream Harbor" series. The first was translated into Estonian by Mariann Metssaar, the second by Madli Oras.

Sinijärv describes these books as gentle escapism that helps one read away from the worries of everyday life. "I certainly sometimes want and even need to enter a book that takes me away from responsibility, poverty, old age, fatigue, inevitability," he admits. According to him, the books create an illusion of freedom and offer the chance to live a different life for a moment.

Although the cultural adviser acknowledges that this "different life" is not significantly better than reality, "there's always some mess somewhere and there's always something to complain about," the pumpkins and cinnamon rolls depicted in the novels are things around which one can create a Sunday morning sense of security. On the genre, Sinijärv is brief: warm, heartfelt and tiramisu-like romantic adventure. He also invites men to the library or bookshop.

Space tales for both children and grandparents

As his third recommendation, Sinijärv highlights a book by Petr Brož and Lucie Škodová, "Cosmic Tales Before Bed: 70 bedtime stories about the wonders of space and science" (Pegasus), translated into Estonian by Karel Allikas.

The work is intended for children, but Sinijärv confirms that it offers the joy of discovery to readers of all ages. "Understanding certain things anew adds youth and vitality," he notes, adding that he intends to give the book to his niece but will read it himself first. He considers this in itself a mark of quality.