"I've developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by far, than I learned anything useful from" 
 I think I've picked up on something... It seems to me that contemporary literature often makes a point somewhere to make a positive remark about "books" or "reading." I wonder if this is just a nod to the bibliophiles that read their books? It's almost comes across to me like an advertising ploy to make it's target audience enjoy the read a little bit more because of it's relatable quality?!... :-) 
 Well this is a wonderful book! I began liking it more and more as I reflected on it and it's passages then I did with my initial read. I decided to give it a 3.5 and round up to a 4! :-) I liked Robinson's Housekeepers a little better than this one. I was able to relate to it a little more I think. It intrigued me more. Although Gilead doesn't have much of a plot, it is intentionally slow and thoughtful and there are many beautiful descriptions that really cause one to reflect. Gilead means hill of testimony or mound of witness and the story is of an old man, terminally ill, reflecting on his life and leaving behind a journal-like letter to his young son. It makes me think about what kinds of things I might like to leave as a legacy for my own kids, and what words of my own story I might find valuable for them. 
 Check out some of these amazing quotes! 
 "The moon looks wonderful in this warm evening light, just as a candle flame looks beautiful in the light of morning. Light within light...It seems to me to be a metaphor for the human soul, the singular light within that great general light of existence." 
 "Christianity is a life, not a doctrine . . . I'm not saying never doubt or question. The Lord gave you a mind so that you would make honest use of it. I'm saying you must be sure that the doubts and questions are your own." 
 "When things are taking their ordinary course, it is hard to remember what matters. There are so many things you would never think to tell anyone. And I believe they may be the things that mean most to you, and that even your own child would have to know in order to know you well at all." 
 "When you encounter another person, when you have dealings with anyone at all, it is as if a question is being put to you. So you must think, What is the Lord asking of me in this moment, in this situation?" 
 "I mean only respect when I say that your mother has always struck me as someone with whom the Lord might have chosen to spend some part of His mortal time" 
 "Vision sometimes comes in a memory." 
 "Memory can make a thing seem to have been much more than it was." 
 "These people who can see right through you never quite do you justice, because they never give you credit for the effort you're making to be better than you actually are, which is difficult and well meant and deserving of some little notice." 
 "It all means more than I can tell you. So you must not judge what I know by what I find words for."