I am looking for books that teach useful wisdom about life. Books that feel like getting advice from a wise grandparent who lived thorugh it all and learned from his mistakes. Which books fit? Thanks!
There’s one story that stays with me to this day, many years after reading the book. It was about a the author seeing a little boy daily in the elevator in her building playing with a toy car. He always had the same one, she felt sad for him though he seemed very happy with it, because she wanted him to have more. She began buying little toy cars whenever she saw them, eventually amassing enough to fill a matchbox car case. She was proud of what she’d done and excitedly gave her neighbor, the child, the gift. He seemed thrilled at the sheer variety and amount of toy cars. For a time each time she saw him he was carrying a different one in another color. She felt pride still. Then little by little when she ran into him he had no toy car at all. No more happy “vroom, vroom!” noises in the elevator when she saw the child. Months went by and finally out of curiosity she asked the boy “why don’t you carry a little car anymore?” He told her when he had just one he could really love it, but then he had so many, it was too many to love, so he couldn’t love any. I think of that story when I think I need more. It reminded me of being like the boy and more won’t make me happier. That’s just one of several great lessons in the book
dani-winks on
This isn’t spot on to wise “grandparent” advice, but may still kind of scratch the itch of ” “cozy well meaning advice” if that still counts: *What You’re Looking for Is In the Library*. Each chapter explores a different character struggling with something and in a roundabout way learns some helpful life lessons after visiting their library that help them with their problems. It’s a great example of [Japanese healing fiction](https://mhl.org/japanese-healing-fiction) which is a genre I stumbled into last year and quickly loved because of the stories tend to be very optimistic/helpful slice-of-life.
PatchworkGirl82 on
Most of Fannie Flagg’s books have an elder giving good, and funny advice. I especially recommend “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” and the Elmwood Springs books. Ninny Threadgoode and Aunt Elner remind me a lot of my own great-grandmother.
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The movie *Harold and Maude.*
I think of the _Tao Te Ching_ this way…
Blessings From My Grandfather’s Kitchen
There’s one story that stays with me to this day, many years after reading the book. It was about a the author seeing a little boy daily in the elevator in her building playing with a toy car. He always had the same one, she felt sad for him though he seemed very happy with it, because she wanted him to have more. She began buying little toy cars whenever she saw them, eventually amassing enough to fill a matchbox car case. She was proud of what she’d done and excitedly gave her neighbor, the child, the gift. He seemed thrilled at the sheer variety and amount of toy cars. For a time each time she saw him he was carrying a different one in another color. She felt pride still. Then little by little when she ran into him he had no toy car at all. No more happy “vroom, vroom!” noises in the elevator when she saw the child. Months went by and finally out of curiosity she asked the boy “why don’t you carry a little car anymore?” He told her when he had just one he could really love it, but then he had so many, it was too many to love, so he couldn’t love any. I think of that story when I think I need more. It reminded me of being like the boy and more won’t make me happier. That’s just one of several great lessons in the book
This isn’t spot on to wise “grandparent” advice, but may still kind of scratch the itch of ” “cozy well meaning advice” if that still counts: *What You’re Looking for Is In the Library*. Each chapter explores a different character struggling with something and in a roundabout way learns some helpful life lessons after visiting their library that help them with their problems. It’s a great example of [Japanese healing fiction](https://mhl.org/japanese-healing-fiction) which is a genre I stumbled into last year and quickly loved because of the stories tend to be very optimistic/helpful slice-of-life.
Most of Fannie Flagg’s books have an elder giving good, and funny advice. I especially recommend “Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe” and the Elmwood Springs books. Ninny Threadgoode and Aunt Elner remind me a lot of my own great-grandmother.