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Close Again
New York Times bestselling author Ella Frances Sanders presents the book we all must have to remind ourselves of the things we miss from our pre-2020 lives and the things we will enjoy again, such as standing next to people in a coffee shop, at the movie theater, or in the bookstore....
This book is a meaningful and personal illustrated collection of place, of chance, and of love. Moments, interactions, experiences, collisions, events, places, serendipities—the things that we all, as a collective and in-waiting humanity, are longing to fold back into. The carefree, now-historical moments of before that we dream the crossing of paths, the potential which was held within each day, the beautiful accidents of being alive that are not currently able to happen in the same ways.
It allows a person reading it some space to consider their own missing, the chances left untaken and the stones left unturned. In a soft and beautiful way, it reminds us that the small things we as individuals choose to ascribe value to are valuable, that the meaning that makes up our days and weeks and months, if taken away, can leave us feeling directionless and full of emotional aches.
Within the space of the book is hope, and reflection, and the assurance that we will all be close again.
This book is a meaningful and personal illustrated collection of place, of chance, and of love. Moments, interactions, experiences, collisions, events, places, serendipities—the things that we all, as a collective and in-waiting humanity, are longing to fold back into. The carefree, now-historical moments of before that we dream the crossing of paths, the potential which was held within each day, the beautiful accidents of being alive that are not currently able to happen in the same ways.
It allows a person reading it some space to consider their own missing, the chances left untaken and the stones left unturned. In a soft and beautiful way, it reminds us that the small things we as individuals choose to ascribe value to are valuable, that the meaning that makes up our days and weeks and months, if taken away, can leave us feeling directionless and full of emotional aches.
Within the space of the book is hope, and reflection, and the assurance that we will all be close again.
64 pages, Hardcover
Published January 4, 2022
120 people want to read
About the author
Ella Frances Sanders
9 books165 followersElla Frances Sanders is a New York Times and internationally-bestselling author and illustrator of five books about languages, science, and beauty. She is the designer for Orion Magazine, and also writes a column within its pages called 'Root Catalog'. She lives in the Highlands of Scotland and is currently preparing for the publication of her 6th book.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
September 11, 2021
The feels.
Exactly what I have been feeling since January 2020.
Yes, it's been more than a year the pandemic has hit us hard and we have to be cautious.
But we as social beings are trying our best to stay social within our limits during these times of restrictions, precautions and self care.
Everything is affecting how we feel specially when it comes to how to deal with another day feeling so isolated and lonely.
These sketches and musings just depict that.
I can relate.
Let's be patient. Let's try our best.
Love the book. It's comforting.
Thank you, author/artist and Andrews McMeel Publishing, for the advance reading copy.
Exactly what I have been feeling since January 2020.
Yes, it's been more than a year the pandemic has hit us hard and we have to be cautious.
But we as social beings are trying our best to stay social within our limits during these times of restrictions, precautions and self care.
Everything is affecting how we feel specially when it comes to how to deal with another day feeling so isolated and lonely.
These sketches and musings just depict that.
I can relate.
Let's be patient. Let's try our best.
Love the book. It's comforting.
Thank you, author/artist and Andrews McMeel Publishing, for the advance reading copy.
February 1, 2022
A small illustrated book simply reminding us of the interactions we had before COVID-19 and what we hope to regain. “Being in libraries and bookstores.” I was at the library as soon as it reopened and continue to visit. I did not wait long for the bookstore as I had to get my fix. “Giving directions.” Still do this at a distance. “Running into people you know in far away places.” We shall see. “Hugs-as-hellos.” Rarely now. It makes you nostalgic for the world as it once was.
April 27, 2022
Grateful for this charming book and its reminders of so many small blessings we enjoyed before pandemic--and will hopefully enjoy once again.
December 31, 2021
This is a very random book that at first left me puzzled [I apparently hadn't really read the blurb that explains that this book is about life before Covid and how we feel now, 2 years in], but once I realized what it was about, I went back and read it again and then it was ALL. THE. FEELS. I am not a people person by any stretch of the imagination, so the pandemic and isolation has not been as difficult for me as it has for so many others, but even I have missed those I love the most [and seeing them now would be absolutely amazing] and I too miss going places without fear of getting sick [bumping into random strangers not so much - such is the life of an introvert] and there are absolutely other things that I miss and this little book reminded me of some of them. It also reminded me that we are now in a "new normal" and we will adapt to the way of life now, much as others have in the past. It gives and leaves you with hope and that is really lovely. Beautifully and honestly written with simple, yet compelling illustrations, this is a book that you will return to again and again to remind yourself that we will get through all of this - there is hope.
Thank you to NetGalley, Ella Frances Sanders and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley, Ella Frances Sanders and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
October 31, 2021
I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley.
This book got me so nostalgic! It stated so many different things that I miss now during the COVID era, just simple things that were normal two years ago but now are not. I hope we get to live those things again soon. I really enjoyed this book, although it was really short. The illustrations are really cute! Rating: 3/5 stars.
This book got me so nostalgic! It stated so many different things that I miss now during the COVID era, just simple things that were normal two years ago but now are not. I hope we get to live those things again soon. I really enjoyed this book, although it was really short. The illustrations are really cute! Rating: 3/5 stars.
February 11, 2022
Great quick read during a pandemic reminding us of small interactions with strangers we miss.
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January 3, 2025Nem tudom hogy értékeljem ezt a 60 oldalt 😭
April 9, 2024
A little drawn book you can read in a sitting, but that you want to leave on your coffee table for guests to meander through.
Cathartic as I thought about COVID and what was lost in that season.
Cathartic as I thought about COVID and what was lost in that season.
February 11, 2022
Dolcissimo
August 28, 2021
Written by a woman whose heart was heavy with the isolation that defined 2020, this little gift book provides a sweet and endearing tribute to the ordinary moments we all missed and yearned for throughout social distancing and the COVID-19 pandemic. The author tells the reader at the beginning of the book “I had a sort of pain in my chest, and these drawings have helped.” Each page contains a simple sketch and a personal reflection or thought. Her wistful musings are beautiful and melancholic all at once - “like a leftover bruise” - and brought back memories of my own daily sadness and fears through that time. Moreover, the drawings each convey a strong sense of community and human connection that belie their simplicity. My only complaint involves the print type; it appears to be in the author’s own handwriting and I struggled to decipher a few of her words. Otherwise, I found the book to be a lovely keepsake for personal possession or gifting to reflect on that lonely and difficult year and to remember how blessed we are to be in each other’s fellowship.
January 3, 2022
an ode to the glimmery, good fun that is shared + ordinary closeness. complimenting a stranger in a coffee shop or waiting under the same awning trying to avoid pouring rain. some of these everyday things are back for many of us, but it is also a reflection on the closeness we’ve lost.
this adorable book of illustrations and anecdotes really resonated with me. as someone who genuinely cried tears of joy after taking the bus for the first time in a year and a half in october 2021, the illustrations of people standing close together on public transportation seriously melted my heart. in the authors words, “this is one i was surprised i missed.” me, too.
thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for gifting me an advanced copy of Close Again!
this adorable book of illustrations and anecdotes really resonated with me. as someone who genuinely cried tears of joy after taking the bus for the first time in a year and a half in october 2021, the illustrations of people standing close together on public transportation seriously melted my heart. in the authors words, “this is one i was surprised i missed.” me, too.
thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for gifting me an advanced copy of Close Again!
January 26, 2023
This was such a nice book and a quick read. It's a reminder of all the things we lost, the little things and didn't seem to matter--yet they really did, especially once they were gone. The little everyday humanness of life, the little connections, the little moments with someone we don't know and may never meet again. What a lovely little book. I will return to it often to remind myself to enjoy these little moments, because now that we are starting to get them back, it's all too easy to forget the magic in them again.
January 1, 2022
sanders' illustrations and words about the things we missed over the course of the pandemic (thus far) were really sweet. the drawings were lovely and made me smile. i do wish there were a few more pictures or some more substance to the musings that accompanied the drawings. i loved the ones about picking up something a stranger dropped or reading the same book as someone else. <3
thank you to andrews mcmeel for gifting me a copy for review!
thank you to andrews mcmeel for gifting me a copy for review!
October 21, 2021
I really loved the concept of this book and how it talks about the smallest of the things that are so crucial for us as humans. Loved the illustrations in the book as well as they bring more life to what the author was discussing and provide a point of view for the reader as well. Thanks natgalley for sharing this book with me for honest feedback
April 23, 2022
I really like one of the pages of texts near the end: “At the moment a lot of days don’t make sense. I run out of postage stamps, or I run out of pencil erasers, or I find myself running out of feelings. This will pass, yes, but I suspect this time will be felt, like a leftover bruise, for longer than we might imagine.”
August 31, 2021
thanks, netgalley.
the drawings are very sweet. very new yorker-esque. the handwriting is not always the most legible.
very melancholic. i'm not exactly sure who or when this book is for.
added a shelf called "covid" to review this one.
the drawings are very sweet. very new yorker-esque. the handwriting is not always the most legible.
very melancholic. i'm not exactly sure who or when this book is for.
added a shelf called "covid" to review this one.
March 2, 2022
Very short read. It was new at my library today when I went to pick up another book. It called out to me and I definitely related to the book. But I wish it would’ve had more stories and more specific memories than it being as general as it was.
March 18, 2022
Something I would write. I love yearning for the small intimate moments, she captures that in her words very effortlessly. Very cute but also giving listacle but it's aesthetically pleasing, so an easier pill-to-swallow.
May 17, 2022
bought this as a little gift for myself the week i first moved to rome. it's been a blanket of pure comfort during some massively shitty times in the past year! always makes me think of my chosen family whenever i am not near 'em.
December 19, 2021
Disclaimer: I received this book for free in exchange of my honest opinion.
This book is simply gorgeous. So simple, but so touching. I only wish it was longer.
This book is simply gorgeous. So simple, but so touching. I only wish it was longer.
October 6, 2022
A cute, warm little read.
October 31, 2022
Sweet. Musings of things missed during isolation/pandemic.
January 27, 2025
A sweet book with snippets of life that were missed and longed for during lockdown
November 15, 2021
Di nuovo vicini di Ella Frances Sanders è un piccolo volume illustrato che l’autrice ha scritto e disegnato durante il momento di isolamento, distanza fisica e a volte anche emotiva che abbiamo sperimentato globalmente a causa della pandemia. Ella F. Sanders ha trovato conforto in questa forma d’arte, che le ha permesso di sentirsi non più distante dal resto del mondo. Il libro è stato pubblicato in Italia dalla casa editrice Marcos y Marcos.
«Questa è una piccola raccolta di desideri, e di speranze. Non era in programma, ma avevo una sorta di dolore nel petto, e questi disegni sono stati di aiuto»
Di nuovo vicini – Trama
Di nuovo vicini racconta, in poche ma potenti pagine, attraverso parole e immagini, la mancanza dei piccoli gesti quotidiani, il calore di una stretta di mano, o ancora di più di un abbraccio. Con poesia, grazia e melanconia Ella F. Sanders illustra venticinque momenti di vita ordinaria – di cui solo adesso riusciamo a capirne la straordinarietà – che per molti mesi ci sono mancati e che ancora adesso fatichiamo a rivivere con la naturalezza della vita pre-pandemia. La Sanders ci parla di gesti piccoli, molto spesso automatici, dati sicuramente per scontati fino a un anno e mezzo fa: raccogliere qualcosa che qualcun altro ha fatto cadere; accarezzare un cane e iniziare a chiacchierare con il suo padrone; aspettare insieme a persone sconosciute l’arrivo dell’autobus; stare accalcati nei mezzi pubblici; condividere il nostro pranzo con un collega; sfiorarsi la mano con un estraneo al supermercato mentre prendiamo lo stesso prodotto…
Piccole cose, banali, quotidiane, poco rilevanti, sulla quale la nostra attenzione si sofferma il tempo di un unico istante. Eppure, nel momento in cui abbiamo dovuto rinunciarci per proteggerci e per proteggere gli altri, ne abbiamo iniziato a sentire la mancanza.
Perché leggerlo
Di nuovo vicini è una preghiera, una poesia, una lettera a un Babbo Natale che vorremmo potesse ascoltare i nostri desideri e tornarci a far sfiorare mani di sconosciuti, guardarci negli occhi mentre passeggiamo distrattamente per la città, farci innamorare nei bar pieni di gente. È un piccolo libro delle piccole meraviglie della vita. Un prontuario di motivi per cui ricordare che, tutto sommato, nonostante le brutture e le ingiustizie e i disastri e i soprusi, è bello vivere, è bello condividere la vita con gli altri: amici, famigliari, compagni di vita ed estranei.
Di nuovo vicini ci ricorda della gentilezza che si può ancora trovare nel mondo, che è qualcosa a cui bisogna aggrapparsi disperatamente e saldamente. La magia e la meraviglia sono ovunque. E nell’incedere monotono e disturbante dei giorni sempre uguali, non più scanditi dai nostri impegni, in un tempo fermo che però scorre comunque, ricordarci che torneremo a essere di nuovo vicini può salvarci l’anima.
«Questa è una piccola raccolta di desideri, e di speranze. Non era in programma, ma avevo una sorta di dolore nel petto, e questi disegni sono stati di aiuto»
Di nuovo vicini – Trama
Di nuovo vicini racconta, in poche ma potenti pagine, attraverso parole e immagini, la mancanza dei piccoli gesti quotidiani, il calore di una stretta di mano, o ancora di più di un abbraccio. Con poesia, grazia e melanconia Ella F. Sanders illustra venticinque momenti di vita ordinaria – di cui solo adesso riusciamo a capirne la straordinarietà – che per molti mesi ci sono mancati e che ancora adesso fatichiamo a rivivere con la naturalezza della vita pre-pandemia. La Sanders ci parla di gesti piccoli, molto spesso automatici, dati sicuramente per scontati fino a un anno e mezzo fa: raccogliere qualcosa che qualcun altro ha fatto cadere; accarezzare un cane e iniziare a chiacchierare con il suo padrone; aspettare insieme a persone sconosciute l’arrivo dell’autobus; stare accalcati nei mezzi pubblici; condividere il nostro pranzo con un collega; sfiorarsi la mano con un estraneo al supermercato mentre prendiamo lo stesso prodotto…
Piccole cose, banali, quotidiane, poco rilevanti, sulla quale la nostra attenzione si sofferma il tempo di un unico istante. Eppure, nel momento in cui abbiamo dovuto rinunciarci per proteggerci e per proteggere gli altri, ne abbiamo iniziato a sentire la mancanza.
Perché leggerlo
Di nuovo vicini è una preghiera, una poesia, una lettera a un Babbo Natale che vorremmo potesse ascoltare i nostri desideri e tornarci a far sfiorare mani di sconosciuti, guardarci negli occhi mentre passeggiamo distrattamente per la città, farci innamorare nei bar pieni di gente. È un piccolo libro delle piccole meraviglie della vita. Un prontuario di motivi per cui ricordare che, tutto sommato, nonostante le brutture e le ingiustizie e i disastri e i soprusi, è bello vivere, è bello condividere la vita con gli altri: amici, famigliari, compagni di vita ed estranei.
Di nuovo vicini ci ricorda della gentilezza che si può ancora trovare nel mondo, che è qualcosa a cui bisogna aggrapparsi disperatamente e saldamente. La magia e la meraviglia sono ovunque. E nell’incedere monotono e disturbante dei giorni sempre uguali, non più scanditi dai nostri impegni, in un tempo fermo che però scorre comunque, ricordarci che torneremo a essere di nuovo vicini può salvarci l’anima.
October 11, 2021
Un libro piccino ma profondo, per ricordarci di quanto sia bello stare vicini.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews