This book just came out in the past couple of months. I read a review and it sounded good: an aging mother and her two grown daughters all going through life crises and living together while they do. Hmmm, that doesn't sound too interesting, but the review I read made it sound really good. And it was, I liked this book. An well-to-do, elderly woman is suddenly informed by her husband of nearly 50 years that he wants a divorce. One daughter sees her successful business brought down by scandal. I think the author wrote the story in a way that reflects real life--there are funny parts, there are sad parts, there are parts that catch you off guard. There are events that are so dramatic they changed the characters almost immediately. But much of life is repetitive and boring (but is this where peace is found? I think the author makes that point). And even when dramatic and sudden events change these characters immediately, the permanent changes take longer to set in, and are much more subtle in their progression.
Read it, you'll like it. Three out of five.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Elise Graduates from Preschool!
Last week Elise graduated from Preschool. It was pretty cute!
The kids sang about five songs, they were absolutely adorable!
Book Review--Shoot To Thrill
The author of this, PJ Tracey, is a mother/daughter writing team from Minnesota. This is about the fifth book in a series of murder mysteries, the first book is "Monkeewrench" (if you haven't read it, do. It is a reeeally good murder mystery).
This was a fun read, a great summer book. And there is a surprise at the end. Literally, I finished the last sentence and said "huh." Then had to read the last couple of paragraphs over to make sure I understood what I had read.
Three out of five stars.
This was a fun read, a great summer book. And there is a surprise at the end. Literally, I finished the last sentence and said "huh." Then had to read the last couple of paragraphs over to make sure I understood what I had read.
Three out of five stars.
Elise Lost Her First Tooth!!!!
Last week Elise lost her first tooth! This caught me a little off guard (as have many things in parenting...ok, most things in parenting). I didn't realize kids lost teeth this early!!! She just turned 5!
She looks pretty adorable. And she is VERY proud to have lost a tooth before any of her friends at preschool.
Book Review--Let the Great World Spin
This book won a National Book Award or some such thing last year. Was on many "must read" lists of 2009. Has been on my "must read" list (because of the preceding facts) for many months.
I finished the book and thought "really? That won an award? Why?" But two weeks later (yes, I am behind on blogging) I am still thinking about this book. When I finished it I was thinking about the characters in the book, but as it has percolated in my brain, I find myself thinking about life in general. The characters in the book got kind of thrown into their lives without being asked what they wanted but then were faced with situations where they did have choices. And the choices they made determined what direction their life would go. To a certain point. Each person is still greatly impacted by the decisions of others (things get thrown at them without asking them) but again each person has the choice of how to respond to the stuff that is thrown at them.
The central unifying event in this book is the tightrope walk between the World Trade Towers that occurred in 1974. Like the tightrope walker, each character in the book is walking a tightrope in their lives. The are balancing, swaying, trying not to fall off. Walking through their lives is just as precarious as the walk between the Twin Towers.
Read this book, then let it sit in your mind for a while. Or maybe you will "get it" long before I have. On my selfishly subjective scale...four out of five stars.
I finished the book and thought "really? That won an award? Why?" But two weeks later (yes, I am behind on blogging) I am still thinking about this book. When I finished it I was thinking about the characters in the book, but as it has percolated in my brain, I find myself thinking about life in general. The characters in the book got kind of thrown into their lives without being asked what they wanted but then were faced with situations where they did have choices. And the choices they made determined what direction their life would go. To a certain point. Each person is still greatly impacted by the decisions of others (things get thrown at them without asking them) but again each person has the choice of how to respond to the stuff that is thrown at them.
The central unifying event in this book is the tightrope walk between the World Trade Towers that occurred in 1974. Like the tightrope walker, each character in the book is walking a tightrope in their lives. The are balancing, swaying, trying not to fall off. Walking through their lives is just as precarious as the walk between the Twin Towers.
Read this book, then let it sit in your mind for a while. Or maybe you will "get it" long before I have. On my selfishly subjective scale...four out of five stars.
Monday, May 24, 2010
May Days
It's been a busy month! Mother's Day weekend the girls got a swing set...
They LOVE it!!!
Notice the hats and warm jackets that weekend? Well, it warmed up quickly after that and we have been enjoying the weather...
They LOVE it!!!Notice the hats and warm jackets that weekend? Well, it warmed up quickly after that and we have been enjoying the weather...
Biking...
Running...
And finding our way to the ice cream wagon for a treat...
We planted a garden...
And did some relaxing...
What a great month it's been!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Book Review--Eat, Pray, Love
Ok, first a disclaimer: these reviews are my personal opinion only, based on my feelings. I don't have an English degree. I don't know what formula an author should follow. I only know what I like and what I don't.
I loved this book. Beyond love. It is the most meaningful book to come into my life in a very long time. I've talked to many people who have read this book and not everyone loves it. Some people just think it is boring. Some really dislike it (from what I'm told, it seems readers get very frustrated with Liz). I have a theory about why people like it or don't. I think it depends a lot on the reader's experiences and personal beliefs about, well, a lot of stuff (love, relationships, depression, religion, sadness, and the idea of "finding oneself"). And I think that is always true of art, we view it through the lenses of our life.
This book had me hooked from the first two sentences. Literally, the first two sentences. I read them and thought "oh my God, this woman is me!" There are some HUGE differences between me and the author. But it is eerie how many times in this book I thought "this woman is me!" It was excessively eerie to read things I had thought myself, like she had somehow read my mind and stolen my thoughts to put them into her book. A lot of these things I believed were unique to me. It was particularly meaningful to me to read things articulated so well which I had only felt but had been unable to put into words.
The author's humor also hooked me. I laughed out loud throughout the book. And, given what I've said above, because I connected with so much of what she wrote, I was often laughing at myself. Five big, fat stars out of five stars.
I'm very interested to know what others have thought of this book, so share share share!!
As always, I will pass along any comments about how stupid it is for me to review the books I read to my friend who asked me to do this (you still know who you are...and I love you! :)
I loved this book. Beyond love. It is the most meaningful book to come into my life in a very long time. I've talked to many people who have read this book and not everyone loves it. Some people just think it is boring. Some really dislike it (from what I'm told, it seems readers get very frustrated with Liz). I have a theory about why people like it or don't. I think it depends a lot on the reader's experiences and personal beliefs about, well, a lot of stuff (love, relationships, depression, religion, sadness, and the idea of "finding oneself"). And I think that is always true of art, we view it through the lenses of our life.
This book had me hooked from the first two sentences. Literally, the first two sentences. I read them and thought "oh my God, this woman is me!" There are some HUGE differences between me and the author. But it is eerie how many times in this book I thought "this woman is me!" It was excessively eerie to read things I had thought myself, like she had somehow read my mind and stolen my thoughts to put them into her book. A lot of these things I believed were unique to me. It was particularly meaningful to me to read things articulated so well which I had only felt but had been unable to put into words.
The author's humor also hooked me. I laughed out loud throughout the book. And, given what I've said above, because I connected with so much of what she wrote, I was often laughing at myself. Five big, fat stars out of five stars.
I'm very interested to know what others have thought of this book, so share share share!!
As always, I will pass along any comments about how stupid it is for me to review the books I read to my friend who asked me to do this (you still know who you are...and I love you! :)
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