Wow, I just wrote several long, rambley paragraphs that consisted of nothing but me whining about various health-related things. Why I thought that would interest you guys is way beyond me. Here’s the short version: I think I might have a cold. My ear hurts when I blow my nose. And I have a cold sore (aka The Herp) again. And when I rummaged around my archives to find my post from the last time I had The Herp, I realized it’s been almost exactly two years since then. And I’ve decided that November is to blame.
Also, it snowed here today. For a very brief few moments, but still: SNOW. Did I mention that it is November? I am taking this as a sign that I need to get serious about my quest to find a new coat that I love, looks good on me, and will still look good on me when I lose more weight. And is a bit warmer than the coat I’ve worn for the last couple years.
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So, you know how I magically and fortunately landed on someone’s list over at Harper Collins so that I get free books periodically in exchange for reviewing them here? Well, the process has evolved over the last several months so that it is as though I’m in some sort of nerd heaven. A dude at Harper sends me a list of books to choose from, I send him a list of the books that I want, and then a box appears on my doorstep. When I write a review, I email The Dude to tell him about it, and that is that. It really could not be any more heavenly if it tried…except I fear my book greed has gotten a bit out of control. I still have several more books from my LAST shipment to read, and yet, when I got the latest list of selections yesterday, I signed myself up for four or five more. What’s a nerd to do?
With that in mind, it’s high time I told you about two of my recent reads: Who By Fire, by Diana Spechler and Nothing Is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn, by Alice Mattison.
On Goodreads, I gave both books five stars. Then, when I started thinking about writing these reviews, I thought about offering the books to anyone who wanted them…but then realized that I simply cannot part with Who By Fire. So, even though I loved them both, I loved Who By Fire a little bit more.
Who By Fire is a story about a lot of things. The book is set thirteen years after the youngest child in a family has been kidnapped. The remaining children, a son and daughter, are in their early twenties. The son – who blames himself for his sister’s disappearance – has dropped out of school, cut all ties with his family, and is living in Israel as an Orthodox Jew. The father has divorced the mother and is living in Colorado with a new family. The mother is convinced that her son has joined a cult. The oldest daughter is a bit of a mess in her own way, and decides to drop everything and flies to Israel to find her brother and bring him home.
When I started reading, I did so with a bit of a suspicion that I wouldn’t be able to really enjoy the book because I’m not Jewish – that I wouldn’t be able to relate. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I’m not sure what made me think that I’d be less able to relate to a Jewish book than I can to the gazillion books I’ve read involving people in other cultures or in the past – and perhaps that’s fodder for another discussion another day. (Or perhaps I’m overanalyzing this and should just drop it.) Within a chapter or two, this book was un-put-down-able. And yes, that’s totally a literary term. I absolutely loved it, and if I didn’t have a stack of other books waiting to be read, I’d probably have started reading it all over again as soon as I finished. I could gush all day about how fantastic a read this was. I hope you all read it and love it, too.
Although I might not gush quite as effusively about Nothing Is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn, I loved it as well (although I must confess that I kind of hate the title. I thought maybe I’d like the title more after reading the book, but alas, no.). It flips back and forth between two times in the main character’s life, so essentially tells two stories at once, weaving them together as the present-day protagonist makes sense of the past. In the past, a woman who goes to stay in her mother’s apartment in Brooklyn to care for her cat while mom visits her best friend out of town. On her first night there, her purse is stolen from inside the house while she is sleeping, which indirectly leads to a new friendship, relationship revelations, and more. In the future, that same woman is confronted again with the lasting effects of that strange weekend years before.
The book meanders through its story without feeling too deliberate about it, and it made me want to read more by Alice Mattison.
With either of these books, you can’t really go wrong.
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It is now the next day – I started this on Tuesday and it is now Wednesday – and, happily, I am home on a random vacation day. It’s 2 pm and I’m still in my pajamas. Does it get any better than this? (Well, yes. If I didn’t have a cold sore and stuffy head, it would be much lovelier. Hrmph.) I’m debating between a nap, doing some (MUCH needed) cleaning, taking a stroll with Chester, or reading/knitting in front of the teevee.
I hope you all are having as lovely a day as I am.
So, what have you read and loved recently?
I know this post was primarily about other things…but you need a belted wool trench coat. Timeless style, warmth, and it will adapt to your ever shrinking waistline! Plus, think of how fabulous your new boots will be when worn with your new coat! If you were feeling better, I’d tell you to go shopping right now! Enjoy the rest of your day off
I’m in a bit of a book rut at the moment. I usually read a couple of books a week, and once I start one, I read it on just a few evenings and I’m done. For some reason, I’ve started three different books lately, that I’ve ended up putting down and not picking back up. But I read “The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox,” which I loved, although it was really sad. Also, believe it or not, I’ve been reading a huge medical textbook that was written in the late 19th century, which I found in a Goodwill store. It’s so old, the spine and cover have literally crumbled away, but it’s really lovely, with charming illustrations, like the correct versus incorrect way to wear a corsett (to prevent squishing a lady’s internal organs or inducing fainting). Some of the medical knowledge is laughable nowadays. The auther had a theory about nutrition determining a baby’s sex! I’d like to get it restored professionally before it disintigrates. I also found a laudry reciept dated 04/11/06 for 89 cents. NINETEEN oh six!
I mean, the laundry receipt was tucked in the pages like a book-mark. The doctor who owned this book must’ve had a large household, because 89 cents was a lot back then!
Oh my gosh, I just finished “The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett. This was SO not a book I’d typically read. It was (a) almost 1,000 pages long (for real), (b) endorsed by Oprah (c) set in the 1100s. None of these are things I look for in a book. But, it was AWESOME. I highly recommend!
Just this very minute finished Stephanie Meyer’s follow-up to the Twilight series, called The Host. Very entertaining, easy read, sympathetic characters.
I agree with the belted, wool coat. Believe it or not, the Gap has some pretty good-looking ones for not a whole lotta dough. I’m realizing I need some warm clothes before our Christmas trip!
Wool coats are all well and good, but I never knew true comfort till I invested in a down parka about five years ago. It’s so cozy, it’s like I never left the warmth of indoors. (It does get below freezing many days during the winter down here.)
I got it from the Eddie Bauer catalog. I can’t remember whether I paid $99 or $199 for it. (I know that’s a big difference.) But pretty much all coats are gonna cost somewhere in that range.
I only wish I’d had one when I lived in Virginia.
If you don’t count reading my weekly US magazine during a sequestered moment in the bathroom, nothing.
Girl! I miss you! I still have the stack of books I got from you on my visit. I keep eyeing them like candy just waiting for Christmas break when I can dig into them. I guess I’ll just have to come to your house and read Who By Fire. I’ll sit on your couch with Chester on my lap and you can bring us treats and wine. Sounds good, yes?
1. I love your book reviews! I really want to read both of those books now. Thanks
2. How did you get on that Harper Collins list?? I am so greedy and jealous.
3. Thank you SO MUCH for sending me those books! They came yesterday and I am super excited!
I desperately need to get on that list at Harper-Collins! My reading lately has been pretty disappointing, actually. I’m thinking about picking up and re-reading Wicked by Gregory Maguire.
[...] This is the number one good thing because it is pretty damn awesome. Do y’all remember how I raved about the book Who By Fire a little while ago? WELL. Diana Spechler, the author herself, sent me a lovely email this weekend [...]
How do I sign up for that gig? That sounds awesome!
I’ve been plowing through David Sedaris’ “When You Are Engulfed In Flames” for about a month now. Normally, I can read his stuff in a day or a weekend, but the last chapter takes a bit of plowing through.
[...] can compare books with friends and also get great recommendations, as I did recently from Lara when I received an update on her bookshelf via email regarding the book Who by Fire by Diana [...]