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It Was Quite A Ride - Moving Through the Twentieth Century by Bonnie Graham - Something about the title made me want to read this book....probably because it reminded me of something my aunt might say about her life. This is the simply written memoir of an American woman born in 1930. She is a happy and good soul, daughter, wife, mother, working woman, and writes of her life with an upbeat voice. Reading her story and looking at her photos is kind of like meeting someone new and learning all about them, except you feel like you've known them forever.
We are having a Memorial Day weekend with gorgeous warm sunny weather. Everything at home is back upside down again. Lots of clutter, lots to purge out of here and lots of decisions to make, all against the backdrop of planning some out of town time for the summer. I didn't have my May driveway sale, so I have to figure out a date and gear up big for a June weekend. I don't want to do it unless the house will feel different and emptier after it's over. Every day I'm adding to the pile in the corner of the living room.
The above picture shows Peter on the medal stand after he won a gold medal in the 1600m run at the Greek Orthodox Junior Olympics yesterday.
The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee - I don't know. This book had me engrossed for a couple of days from the beginning, and through the middle, but then as it wound down, and mysteries were revealed (they weren't really), I fell out of love with it. The cover is very pretty. It takes place in Hong Kong, in the days just before and during the Japanese Occupation in 1941 and 42, and then another story line occurs about 10 years later. Very English, very colonial, and a lot of pip pip cherio.
I've decided. It's good enough to read; you'll just have to let me know if I missed the point with the ending.
I was out of town for a couple of weeks, without access to the world wide web, and I missed my blog! I did get to do some reading, though.
Born Under A Million Shadows is by Andrea Busfield, and takes place in Afghanistan. The taliban government has fallen, and Kabul is coming back to life. This story is narrated by a precocious 11 year old boy named Fawad, and it's about the people in his life, both the Afghanis and the foreigners. I couldn't put this down. The story is beautifully written, and the characters are fully present. This is a book for all ages - a modern day To Kill A Mockingbird without the trial, but with a few more adventures. If you're looking for that great book that you can't put down, here it is.
The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova - I haven't read a vampire novel since the first Anne Rice book. This isn't really a vampire novel per se, but it is a tale of some people who seemed to be chosen as those who would search for Dracula's tomb. It travels across Europe, in place and time. It's about a family, it's a love story, it's about how historians do their research. I found it to be rather long, but engaging enough to keep me reading to the end. I must also say that for me it was worth it.
