It is July!

July

When the scarlet cardinal tells
Her dream to the dragonfly,
And the lazy breeze makes a nest in the trees,
And murmurs a lullaby,
It is July.

When the tangled cobweb pulls
The cornflower's cap awry,
And the lilies tall lean over the wall
To bow to the butterfly,
It is July.

When the heat like a mist veil floats,
And poppies flame in the rye,
And the silver note in the streamlet's throat
Has softened almost to a sigh,
It is July.

When the hours are so still that time
Forgets them, and lets them lie
'Neath petals pink till the night stars wink
At the sunset in the sky,
It is July.

by Susan Hartley Swett

*sigh* I found this poem in the 1967 Childcraft The How and Why Library which I believe came with a set of World Book encyclopedias my grandparents bought. As a child, I loved these books, and when we finally gave away the encyclopedias, I could not bear to part with these. I believe it is a set of fifteen volumes. This one is the Poems and Rhymes volume. Don't you love the Old Woman Who Lived in the Shoe illustration? I know just how she feels. Hooray for "vintage" books!

If you'd like to read a blog entry that will take you straight to a summer day at the lake/river, go here and Blue Yonder will take you there. Happy July!

Out with the Old

New blog layout to pep me up for the Fourth of July. Although, I'm probably more pepped about Hancock Fabric's 5 Simplicity patterns for $5 sale coming up later this week! Book club was Friday. The peach cobbler didn't even make it through the night after C had a bowl. Target's white sangria in a box, don't laugh at the box, is yummy. We emptied the box and another bottle of wine. Sounds like a good book club to me! However, Thursday (the day before book club) was a cluster. I realized I didn't tell my mom I was doubling a recipe. So, she cut some celery for me and then shared the rest with her husband while I was at the grocery. So, another trip to the grocery. I knocked over a box of dry macaroni, all over the floor. I broke one of my great-grandmother's dessert bowls (I've ordered a replacement, fingers crossed it will really match). Friday wasn't a whole lot better. I chipped paint off our bookshelf and put a dent in our table with the can of furniture polish. I was literally afraid to wash my serving dishes for fear of destroying them. Just call me Danger-prone Daphne. Maybe it's because I was all stressed about getting everything done?

So,I am sort of glad to see June go. It's been such a busy month for me. It's flown by, but I haven't had much of a chance to enjoy the summer, to do some fun stuff with the boys. It seems every week has been preparation for the weekend. And C's summer classes? They are taking a toll on all of us. Our yard needs mowing, we are trying to get everything cleaned for the window installation folks (yes, new windows, finally!), our garage and closet need to be cleaned out, and the list goes on. So, as I wave farewell to June, I am trying to just slow down and welcome a slower-paced July.

Funny things heard around here:
H: What are those bugs, Mom?
Me: Lightening bugs.
H: They are flashing their tail lights at us.

Me: What are we going to do with that little brother?
H: Throw him away?

We are NOT Getting Wild and Crazy

You know how sometimes you say something, and when you hear it coming out of your mouth, you think, that's not sounding exactly like what I meant to say? That happened to me the other night. Now, as you know, if you've visited here much, I am an avid fiction reader. In fact, I like to read so much that I have actually cut myself off for now, so that I can accomplish things (but that's another post). Now, my husband, C, is not a fiction reader. Give him a photography book or even an instruction manual, and he will read it like he enjoys it, but fiction? *sigh* No can do.

So the other night I was getting the boys ready for bed. C had just left H's room (to go look for Lightening McQueen again). The boys were on H's bed and starting to get a little rowdy, and I said, "We are NOT getting wild and crazy, we are going to READ BOOKS!" I hear a little laughter from the other room, and then C calls, "Can I get that on tape?" Followed by more snickering. I'm afraid I will not live that comment down. I think he may have said, "What? You're not a wild and crazy bookworm?" As soon as I said it, I knew it would not be the last time I heard it repeated back to me.

So, we may not be getting wild and crazy, but I will be trying out a recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Bread tomorrow and Mel and family may be visiting tomorrow and bringing some dinner which means I get to see the sweet little baby girl! Let's hope the recipe turns out well, and maybe we'll have some dessert=)

Oh, and in case you're keeping track, right now all Cars cars are present and accounted for. H has taken to putting some of them in his nightstand drawer before bed. Since my last post, we managed to lose and find "Old Lightening" and find Mr. The King. C found them both, go Daddy! We also introduced "New Lightening" aka H's Lightening, not because we thought Old Lightening had disappeared for good. We actually bought a set, the parts of which will be used for prizes for H for working on his writing. The set included Lightening, and H was awarded his very own Lightening after doing really well sharing with his little brother over the past couple of weeks. That sounds a bit saccharine, but we really are very proud of him for learning to share with W.

Pjs, Panic, and Purell

Tomorrow's book club night, and we decided the last time we met to wear our pajamas to this month's meeting. What can I say? We are some gals who like our comfort. So, in an email, our hostess wrote that she was looking forward to "some pj's and wine - oh and food." I guess you see our priorities. We'll be discussing The Boleyn Inheritance, which I didn't really enjoy. It was quite long, and I just didn't get into it, for lack of a better description. Doesn't matter, though, I do so enjoy my nights out at book club. Even if I didn't love the book, I look forward to hearing what's going on with everyone. Great food, great wine, and great conversation. It really is a time for me to eat, drink, and be merry!

In other news, no one seems to be blogging about pig flu -er- I mean A/H1N1 Influenza. So, let me just say that, as expected, my hypochondriac self is very worried. I've already started the "social distancing" that is recommended, and it was all I could do to force myself to take H to preschool Thursday. In fact, I was a little iffy about book club. No, we haven't heard of anyone local having it, but you know, once we've heard that, it may be too freaking late! And, that, my friends, is what we call Panic! At the Mind of K! Have a great weekend, and wash your hands for the time it takes to sing Happy Birthday twice (or Purell them, please)!

Kindle Capability in an iPhone

Apple folks, are you reading this? I think it would be fantastic if my iPhone had a Kindle App or something that would allow me to read books on the iPhone. I am an old-fashioned girl. I like having a book in my hand (and prefer that they come from the library or my good friend who gets free books through her work). However, (really, I can't believe I am admitting this) I do see the up-sides to a Kindle or similar device. Of course, if I could read a book on my iPhone, when would I read all the blogs I love to keep up with? I think what I really like is the idea of being able to read in the dark (you know, without a lamp) which would come in particularly handy when W is going to sleep on our bed (I know, it's terrible). I actually have one of those little book light thing-a-majigs, but I think it needs a battery. So, despite having read an article about these handy-dandy hand held reading devices, and thinking, "why would anyone need that?," I now must say, I'm ready for that App, Apple! That iPhone has really changed my ways of thinking (C is smirking while reading this, I am sure). Still, I can't imagine spending money to get electronic versions of books, and I doubt our local library has any of those to check out (although, I think that is coming in the future). I guess I'd be reading a lot of classics as I hear you can find downloads of those for free. Good thing I like classics!

It just occurred to me that there may be an App like this that I don't know about. I'm not at all technically savvy, so if there is, do tell!

Edit: They do indeed have a free Kindle App! Also, they have "books" that you can put on your iPhone. I now have The Secret Garden (a children's book, that is a favorite) on my phone in case I need to have something to read and am caught without a book. Thank you, Apple, but I still don't see myself spending money on many books, electronic versions or not.

Grrr... Blogger Outage (What a good excuse)

I was hoping to have time to type something meaningful (so not true), but it seems blogger has some sort of outage scheduled (so I just have to make it brief :). I really wish I could write something meaningful, but 1) W has some sort of cold that is making him run a low-grade fever 2) today I ran around doing errands while my mom watched the boys, 3) I took H to soccer this afternoon and 4) I am going to go pick up a pizza for me and H to share. However, Christy posted her top eight books, so I can at least do that (although, really, there are so many narrowing it to eight will be tough).
1) Persuasion by Jane Austen
2) Life of Pi by Yann Martel
3) A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
4) Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
5) Sullivan's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank
6) The Children of Men by P.D. James
7) Bella Tuscany by Frances Mayes
8) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

I tried to mix in some classic favorites with a few modern ones. Better get to ordering that pizza ;)

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger (Hoochee Book Club)

Peace Like a River is the story of eleven year-old Reuben Land, his western-poetry-writing sister, Swede, his miracle-performing father, Jeremiah, and his older brother, Davy. Davy shoots and kills two teenage boys who invade their home. When Davy breaks out of jail and goes on the run, the rest of the family decide to go west in search of him, trusting in the father's close relationship with God to lead them to their outlaw brother/son.


I admit to having waited too long to write this, as I finished the book some time ago (this is a problem with me, as I immediately request a book from the library, so I'll definitely have it, then I've read it too early...) Anyway, I'll try my best, but I apologize now for this haphazard "review." I hope to do better on the next book.


First off, I love that the father is the care-taker of the children. My father was my and my brother's primary parent, and with all the deadbeat dad stuff, it's good to read about a man like Jeremiah. Of course, Jeremiah does some amazing stuff. Reading the book, I wondered if some of the miracles were figments of Reuben's imagination, but at least one I can think of could not have been. I did think it was funny that Reuben and Swede thought that the police somehow missed seeing their car and that was a miracle. I just thought maybe the police were going to give the Lands a hard time, that it was more of a warning to them that "you can run, but you can't hide."


One of the big questions of this book is whether or not Davy was a "bad guy." I am not sure of my opinion. In some ways, I don't blame him for shooting at least one of the guys, if he really woke up and heard them in his home. However, if he really knew they would be coming to retaliate for something he had done earlier, it does seem wrong. (I wasn't sure if he'd really done some of the things that the relatives of the guys he shot accused him of). Well, sort of wrong. I do feel that if someone breaks in your home, you have a right to defend yourself and your family to the fullest extent possible. Also, the time period of the book (early 1960s per amazon.com) may affect one's opinion of Davy's hero versus villain status.


I really enjoyed Swede's poetry, and how the events taking place in her life played out in her writing. The characterization of both Reuben and Swede seemed right-on to me. Reuben's need to prove himself against his asthma, his frustrations with Swede's poems - it all seemed just what an eleven year-old boy would think and feel. I also really enjoyed the allusion to the biblical story of the prodigal son, and the way this book questioned how to treat a wayward child.

The settings in the book play a role in the action: the Badlands (are there really cracks filled with "fire" there?) and the farm where they eventually settle. Even the settings in Swede's poems reveal the characters' desires i.e., the valley where they dynamite the only entrance/exit closed and live happily ever after.

The book questions what is wrong, what is evil? are there levels of badness? But, it also focuses on love and giving. There is no doubt that Jeremiah would give anything to help his children and his love is boundless. Despite his actions which separate him from his family, Reuben, Swede, and their father all love Davy.

One of my favorite quotes from this book (and there were several) is "Fair is whatever God wants to do."

If you don't want to know what happens, stop reading now!

I just had to say that halfway through, I felt sure Davy would not make it to the end of the book alive. So, I was very surprised with how things ended and who Sara ended up marrying! Also, I loved the description of the outskirts of heaven! Everyone running to get there! Looking forward to reading others thoughts on Peace Like a River.

Odds & Ends

The BBC version of Pride and Prejudice is way better than the version with Keira Knightley (I did, in fact, rent it this past weekend). If you're wanting the movie to be like the book, you definitely want to watch the BBC version. I think I might be getting old. I watched the Keira Knightley version and thought, "what's with all these long, drawn-out, just looking at her or her face scenes?" I guess the cinematic devices are just not my cup of tea (maybe it's because I haven't seen a movie in a theater in years?) Also, what is up with the sound on DVDs of movies? Why is it always too loud or not loud enough? Maybe it's just our player or something, but I always have that problem.

This weekend, I was putting H's socks on and pulling them up so they would keep him warm.
H: Mommy, don't pull my socks up! (He's pushing them down toward his ankles).
Me: Well, I have to at least pull them up to get them over your heel.
H: Don't pull them over my heel.
Me: Do you even know what a heel is?
H: (pauses, blinks) No.
I just started laughing. I love his honesty.

This coming weekend is book club. We'll be discussing Loving Frank about the love affair between architect, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Mamah Cheney. It was a bit long, but boy did the ending surprise (particularly since I did not know anything beyond the fact that FLW was a famous architect). I am so looking forward to book club as I missed our last meeting due to W's surgery. So I haven't seen these girls in what feels like a looong time. I also get to car pool with one of my good friends to book club, so I'll get to catch up with her on the way there. She's kindly offered to drive, letting me have a glass of wine or two without worry :) What a gal!

Hoping to post some more soon! Still waiting on Mel's baby as far as I know!

Feeling Bubbly

This morning, while W was napping, H and I headed outside to blow some bubbles. The wind was lifting and tossing the bubbles, some as high as the tree tops, before they burst! What a beautiful, taste-of-Spring day. I am always reminded of the simple pleasures when watching H watch his bubbles. We discovered some flowers that have put on their Spring best.

We also spied this little guy trying to hang on to his branch during all that wind.

.

H and I talked about how some seeds travel much like the bubbles. It was a very science-y sort of morning. Then, in the evening, I headed for my library book club where the discussion of Pride and Prejudice lasted over an hour and someone had to come tell us that the library would be closing in ten minutes!!! That's some good discussion, y'all! And, if talking about Jane Austen for over an hour with other book-lovers doesn't make me all bubbly, I don't know what does. I gave my mom a hug when I got home for watching the boys for me, so that I could attend the book club. There was also some discussion of the two currently popular versions of P and P: the BBC version and the Keira Knightley version. I am a die hard BBC version fan, as I believe Colin Firth was born to play Mr. Darcy. However, I do confess that I have never even seen the Keira Knightley version. So, after listening to all the talk about them both, I feel the urge to watch the one again and the other for the first time. If you've seen both, tell me which one you like best. I see a trip to Blockbuster in my (hopefully near) future.

In the Air

Spring is in the air around here, so we are soaking it up (as I have the feeling Winter will not go quite so quietly). I am really enjoying Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (I'm even doing the A-V-M over my head a la Village People's YMCA). However, I confess to eating (Mel - you may want to stop reading here) cheese, Wheat Thins, and highly processed pepperoni (cringe) last night while reading it. For me to really enjoy a non-fiction, a-bit-like-a-text-book book is rare! I hope to write more about it after finishing it, and as it is due back at the library on Friday, that should be soon. If you've got fine weather where you are, I hope you are basking in it :)

Note: In case you didn't see my little warning note on the side, this new background is honor of Valentine's Day. It won't last too long!

The Shack Book

I read The Shack by William P. Young way back in October, but I really wanted to share my opinion of it here. So after putting it off for some time, here I go. First, if you haven't heard about The Shack, this is the product description from Amazon.com:

Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever. In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant "The Shack" wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

I thought the book was interesting and could tell that the author put a lot of thought and faith into it. Who wouldn't want to speak with God, to see some of heaven before arriving there for eternity? From the little I've read about it on Amazon.com, the book brings out widely varied reactions, but this is just mine, just my two cents.

To me, the book portrayed God as a very loving being. A being so loving that He wasn't focused on some of the other "things" that I think most people feel God would be "interested" in. I guess I should just out with it: I thought this book's God was too soft, too human. I want my God to be mighty "vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord," (Romans 12:19) a being who is regarded with mingled fear, respect and affection (that's the definition of revere, I didn't think of that myself). "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalms 111:10) I know none of us are perfect, that we all fall short, "judge not that ye be not judged" and all that line of thought, but if the blame keeps being put on the parents or care-givers of wrong-doers (as in this book), where does the blame finally end? I hope that God is loving and forgiving as depicted in The Shack, but I also hope He is the pillar of fire and the omnipotent rock of ages I've read about in The Bible.

I'd love to hear what you thought of The Shack, but please no bashing!

Who're You Bloggin' For?

If you're like me, and sometimes feel pressure to blog about certain topics or not go too deep in the darker areas, you need to read Amy's guest post over at Kate's The Big Piece of Cake. After reading it, I felt the need to say out loud, "Right on, sister!" Or should it have been "write on?" Anyway, do go read it if you have a few minutes. It's inspiring me to go ahead and publish those posts that were ruled "too depressing." The thing is, this should be an outlet for me, correct? Not something I feel pressured about.

Also, I just spoke with another friend tonight who is ALSO pregnant (due in early August)! I think it's making C a little nervous :)

Chattahoochee Mama announces our next online-book-club book tomorrow! You know I can't wait to see what it will be! Check out her blog to join in!

The Letters (Hoochee Book Club)

Chattahoochee Mama decided to start an online book club, and you know me, I always enjoy reading and discussing books. So, the first ever Hoochee Book Club pick was The Letters by Luanne Rice and Joseph Monninger. The story is told through a series of letters sent between an estranged husband and wife (Sam and Hadley) who are dealing with the loss of their only child (Paul).


I thoroughly enjoyed this quick read and freely admit to loving the letter format. I do believe that for some it is easier to express emotions in writing rather than verbally (I am one of those). In Hadley and Sam's situation, this is particularly true as they are wary of revealing too much of their selves, their vulnerability.

Sometimes while reading, I questioned which author was writing. Did Rice only write Hadley's letters to Sam? Some parts of Sam's letters seemed to express emotions in a way that I found hard to believe a man could write. I am not saying it's impossible; I'm familiar with Shakespeare. Still, from a letter dated November 18 "...when I came back you were there at the campsite, and the sun was behind you, and you didn't see me for a second and I watched how beautifully you moved, how you had such purpose and calm, and you had cut an enormous bouquet of black-eyed Susans and arranged them in an old coffee tin sitting on the table. You had collected the flowers for no other reason except that you appreciated beauty, just beauty, and returning to you that way, coming toward the camp, I felt out of breath at the sight of you." (Cue the Take My Breath Away song from Top Gun... watching in slow motion...). I have known men who have had thoughts like this, but I think they are probably few and far between. Hadley did mention that "Other women complain their husbands don't talk; that was never the case with Sam." So, perhaps he was just meant to be characterized as one of the few. Still, it would be interesting to know how the writing collaboration was done.

The characters were very real to me, especially Hadley (probably because I am a woman and mother). When she writes about going to the Abbey in Kentucky and feeling that a monk "who'd felt the pull of desire...would understand a young mother who adored her husband and son more than air and sunshine, yet needed to escape those bonds for a time," I was thinking, "Write it, sister, Amen!" Sam, when writing about dog sledding, really hit on a feeling that I think a lot of people have: "It is all next. It is some sort of perfidious human desire to never be where we are, but to be next, to be the next minute forward, to escape the present." I don't know about escaping the present, but I am guilty of thinking if I can just get this done, then I'll be able to relax or do more with the kids. Even Paul's character was developed enough for me to sort of picture him. I guess my point is that if a character's thoughts connect with or reiterate my own, that's a real character to me.

I did think it was cliche-ish that Hadley suddenly "got religion" when she wanted to believe her son was really alive. That sort of bothered me. In fact, the whole Hadley-falling-for-the-pilot's- widow's-story bothered me. I guess I could have done without that whole part of the book. I see that the authors wanted Hadley to have her own "trip to the truth," her moment of actualization just as Sam did in going to the crash site, but I would have been fine with Hadley going through it all via reading the letters and being in her island house and painting again.

One odd little thing I noticed (probably because it is so close to Christmas) was on the next to the last page Hadley is writing to Sam "when I return to Anchorage tomorrow morning. Abbot Fredric said there is a predawn ferry, for the residents who work in town, and I will be on it." Then, at the end of this same letter (and the end of the book) she ends with "It's Christmas Eve." So, I must ask does the ferry run on Christmas? Maybe it does, some places are open on Christmas, right? Are there Blockbusters in Alaska?

So, those are my thoughts on The Letters. I thought it was a perfect book choice for this time of year with the book's last letter being written on Christmas Eve and its look at the bonds of family and their strength, especially enduring a loss. I am looking forward to finding out what will be next for the Hoochee Book Club (and, PS, don't you love the book club name?).

The Wife

I just finished reading The Wife by Meg Wolitzer. You may remember that I didn't think much of another book by Wolitzer (The Ten-Year Nap), but I enjoyed The Wife. I do find her writing a bit slow, but still, I would recommend it. It's also a pretty quick read (a little over two hundred pages). The book flap mentions a surprise that I guessed pretty early on, but even being pretty sure of this "surprise," I found the book interesting and thoughtfully written. I even think I saw some literary tools in it (like character names that reveal character traits). The wife in The Wife is Joan who has been married to the famous novelist, Joe, for thirty something years. The couple have many other "novelist couple" friends, and it seems that being the wife of a novelist is a career unto itself. I believe they were newlyweds in the early 1960's, just to give a time frame, and all the novelist husbands are philanderers to say the least. It is an interesting look at the differences between comfort and contentment, love and need. I remember in high school a question that went around, "Do you love me because you need me, or need me because you love me?" A word of warning: it may make you a bit of a man-hater (at least while you are reading). My newly-wed friend was planning to take this book with her on her honeymoon as we have book club the week after she returns. I sincerely hope she only reads it on the plane, maybe only on the way home!

It was serendipitous that I was reading this book right when this post was written by Anastasia discussing raising sons and the division of labor between genders. In The Wife, and, it seems, also in life, boys and the men they become are given a bit of a pass from certain duties or rules just because they are male. Why is that? Do women prop this up with our seemingly unending guilt? You know, mommy-guilt, wife-guilt, professional-guilt, house-keeping-guilt, contributing to society-guilt, I could go on... like a blister in the sun, but I need to go play some indoor basketball with my boys.

A New Kid in Five Days - Part One

I haven't finished Have a New Kid By Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman, but I wanted to blog a little about it. First, let me say that I don't like the title, because I don't want a new kid. I love my H, but I would like him to listen and respond more easily, without threats and punishments and endless repeating of requests. Please don't think he's a "bad kid," he just has his moments and issues. IMO, a lot of the book's points make sense. I for one didn't want to hear this, but the author explains that a lot of the reason for a child's bad behavior is you, the parent. Does your child yell at you? You probably yell at him. Does he not behave well when you are out? Are you expecting him to behave well, or do you constantly remind him that he must behave before walking in a restaurant? Yikes! One of Dr. Leman's instructions is to "say it once and walk away." Believe it or not, I am finding that this actually works, not every single time but way more than expected. Another of his tenets is "do not get angry." This one is a hard one for me. I have a bit of a temper (and guess what? so do my children!) However, I am really trying hard on this one. I take a deep breath, do some inside-my-mind counting, and then respond not react (another of his tenets). Another of his points is to encourage children and not praise them, and honestly, I am not completely sure I get this one. He says not to tell them they are the greatest, but to say "Oh you did so and so. I know you've been working hard for that. I am proud of you. We need to tell Dad." I may just be a bit dense, but it doesn't completely make sense to me. It just seems a bit like splitting hairs. I understand emphasizing that they worked to do something and praising the effort and all. He also stresses to not make threats because they are often empty. Aha, finally I do something right as a parent; I generally follow through on my threats (which are usually taking a favorite toy away- not sure that works so well when you appear to be living in a Toys R Us thanks to the grandparents). I am not sure if I'll go full out with all of his teachings, but I do believe that to change my children, I am going to have to make some changes in myself. If you're feeling alone in your parenting struggles, have a piece of cake. I promise it made me feel better after a pre-bedtime cluster.

Review: The Ten Year Nap, It's Aptly Named

It's aptly named, because it could put one to sleep. I decided to check this book out because it received a good review in Parenting magazine (and I had to get on the wait list at the library). It's a close look at some mothers who have decided to be stay-at-home moms and how it has affected their self-worth, relationships, their life in general. There is an interesting premise with the main character becoming strangely involved in a fellow mom's life. However, that storyline sort of fizzles out. Some characters are under-developed while others are way over-developed. By the time I realized it really wasn't so interesting, I felt like I was too far into the book to stop, but I would not recommend it. IMO, it was slow, and one would really have to be interested in some minutiae of the thoughts of mothers in NYC to enjoy it. Our next book club pick is The Wife by the same author (Meg Wolitzer), so I am hoping that one will be better.

I'll Back You Up

This past weekend was book club. We discussed The Thirteenth Tale. It was a hit with everyone! Whilst there, I asked two of our members (both of who happen to be nurse practitioners and mothers) about the Meet the Teacher debacle. They totally backed me up! I was a bit surprised. I completely expected them to tell me that I am way over-protective, and H is too high-strung, but instead these ladies said I would have completely been correct in taking him with me to the director's brief meeting. They even thought the preschool should have forewarned the parents of the plan to have the children stay in the classrooms. These two women are not the type to pull their punches, so I feel so much better about it all. Not that it was that big of a deal, but I guess I like to feel like other intelligent women back me up. So, I want to say to H and W, I'll back you up, guys. That's my job as Mommy. I won't always be right, but I will always be trying to do what is right.

Water for Elephants

I had heard of Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants, but I didn’t know what it was about. But when one of the members of book club offered it to me on loan, I took it. I am very glad I did. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Alas, I read ahead (again, I know, I know) and spoiled a neat twist the book offers. Still, I liked it a lot. I definitely would recommend it. My only warning would be that if you dislike circus-lore, it may not be for you. I would not describe myself as liking circus-lore, but I don’t dislike it. In fact, it was interesting to learn about Depression-era, traveling circuses. The story is told from the viewpoint of ninety-something Jacob, and this was one of my favorite parts of the book. I cracked up at some of his thoughts and rants. So, unless you have a clown phobia, I’d say read it!

For Love or Corn

I am reading (and, so far, thoroughly enjoying) Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. I kept looking at the author's name thinking it was familiar. Finally, I realized that Gruen is the last name of Nancy Drew's housekeeper, Hannah. Now I am revealing just how long I've been a bookworm =) Anyway, I wanted to share this hilarious quote from Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill (trying to cover my behind here for copyright stuff). This is the thoughts of 90 or 93 year old Jacob:

"Sometimes I think that if I had to choose between an ear of corn or making love to a woman, I'd choose the corn. Not that I wouldn't love to have a final roll in the hay - I am a man yet, and some things never die - but the thought of those sweet kernels bursting between my teeth sure sets my mouth to watering. It's fantasy, I know that. Neither will happen. I just like to weigh the options, as though I were standing in front of Solomon: a final roll in the hay or an ear of corn. What a wonderful dilemma. Sometimes I substitute an apple for the corn."

I laughed out loud the first time I read this. It cracks me up every time I read it. I particularly like the substitution thought. You can tell he's really thought about it rather seriously! Love it!

In other book news, I finished The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich. It is in the juvenile fiction section of the library, and, as I put in my sidebar while I was reading it, touted as a Native American Laura Ingalls Wilder-type story. It was a nice read. The author uses some of the tribe's language and provides a glossary at the end of the book complete with phonetic pronunciations (all of which I appreciated). Also, I found that they have this book on CD at my local library, so I have requested it. It will be great to hear the correct pronunciations. Also, there is a follow up book, The Game of Silence. I plan to read it in the near future! I enjoy reading juvenile fiction sometimes (even re-reading my old favorites). I feel like it relaxes me somehow to read about life from a child's perspective.

I am thinking of trying out the book club sponsored by the local library. They have two meeting times (during the day and in the evening). I go to the library so often, I've made friends with one of the librarians, whom I asked about the book clubs. She attends (or maybe leads?) the evening one, so I think I'm going to try that one. To be honest, I am hoping to find a book club to possibly join. Well, maybe...sometimes I think I get carried away with all the things I think I want to do. I mean do I really have time for more book clubs? but they're only once a month (or less) you know? Maybe I just want to get out more? Anyway, the first book is American Pastoral by Philip Roth. We'll see how it goes.

The Thirteenth Tale

Just a quick review of The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. This is our book club pick for September's meeting. I think it will make for good discussion. The narrator is a woman who loves books deeply. She is asked by the country's most famous living author (reclusive Vida) to write said author's biography. Vida's life story takes up most of the book, and it definitely has some disgusting aspects as well as a few surprises. A bit mystery, a little bit love story, some who-done-it thrown in, even some psychology of sorts. I'll let you know how discussion goes (you know our book club often doesn't do too well with that).