THE GIRL WHO FELL FROM THE SKY

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow - Maybe it's something about being busy all the time and craving to accomplish things, but those big old sprawling books don't give me the same pleasure that I get from a story that is told without repetition. This is a small book about a young girl. The story is told by her, her mother, and a boy she doesn't know, but who knows her. It unfolds and unwraps in layers, each chapter about a place or time or person. The characters in this book are beautiful and real, and although it's tightly written, the author has not missed providing a single detail in a story that moves forward as it deals with events of the past. My favorite kind of book!

PERFECT LIVES * THE DISTANT HOURS

Perfect Lives by Polly Samson - The subjects of these short stories all live in an English seaside town, and I wish the author had named the town, and that the town could have been more of a character. Other than that, it is a perfect compilation of stories spanning a couple of generations and weaving through a few families whose lives sometimes intersect. I love short story collections, both the F. Scott Fitzgerald kind, where every story is it's own little tale, as well as the Raise High the Roofbeams and Nine Stories kind that J. D. Salinger wrote where the characters in the stories intersect and connect. These stories intersect and connect. My favorites were Barcarolle, about Richard the piano tuner, and The Birthday Present about a Hermes Leica camera. I've just spent the last 20 minutes looking for a camera like the one described in the story, but can't quite come up with a photo to do justice to Polly Samson's description. I even watched a couple of unboxing videos. Still, the reading is better than the seeing in this case! (Why do I love those unboxing videos?) I tried to get Peter to let me make an unboxing video of him unboxing his XBox last year, but he refused. Here's a youtube video of Polly talking about her book.

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton - Although I enjoy Kate's stories, I've decided that they are a bit wordy to put it mildly. They are big fat sprawling hardcover books with great tales of English countryside mansions and family secrets. You can't put them down, though! The Distant Hours is no exception.

CELEBRITY WEDDINGS

I had the best time last week attending a couple of celebrity weddings. First, Kim Kardashian married Kris Humphries. The lead up was fabulous. Family arguments, wedding planners, dress shopping, misunderstandings, make-ups, and more, all happening in that most magical of places, Southern California. Where I'd live if I could do it all again. For some reason, unfathomable even to me, I love these Kardashians. There's something about the way they stick together through thick and thin. It's real life soap opera. And little Mason is adorable! Kim wore three wedding gowns, and she was positively radiant at her dream wedding. I hope they'll be happy.

Next up was Gene and Shannon's long awaited marriage. Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed have been together for 28 years, and have two grown children, but Gene did not want to get married. For the past season, Gene has been pretty honest about exploring his life and views, in an effort to keep Shannon in his life, because she'd found out at some point that Gene had been cheating on her with groupies for years. This has been great stuff! Learning about Gene's rags to riches story, and watching him meet his Israeli brother and sisters for the first time was very moving. Once Gene proposed to Shannon, one had the impression that he might go back to business as usual, so he agreed to attend a marriage boot camp with Shannon. It was another powerful episode. And then, finally, after the family arguments, wedding planners, dress shopping, misunderstandings, make-ups and more, the wedding show. In Southern California. Another beautiful family sticking together. Shannon wore three wedding gowns, and everyone sang and danced. Just beautiful. I'd watch it again!

SUBMARINE * TEARS OF MERMAIDS

Submarine - If you liked Harold in Harold and Maude, Submarine might be for you. It's a coming of age movie about a boy in a town in Wales. He thinks too much, as do most interesting protagonists, and he's thinking about getting a girlfriend and about his parent's strained marriage. He's really sweet and watchable, not to mention clever with a turn of phrase, which is partly the English English, and partly his own quirkiness. Although it takes place in 1985, it has the stylized look of a more modern film. Steve and Michelle fell asleep throughout this one, but I was right there not wanting to miss anything. It flew under the radar at the theaters but was much reviewed. For me a thumbs up. For you, I don't know.

Tears of Mermaids the Secret Story of Pearls by Stephen G. Bloom - This is the non-fiction book about everything you ever wanted to know about Pearls including the lore, the history, and the pearl industry. Everything. It's well-written and overly thorough, and kudos to the writer for his passion and humor. I read and skimmed through this one. Overall, it was as I'd suspected, pearls are not all natural surprises found in oysters. There are just too many of them, right? And how about those colors and shapes? This book explains the manufacture of pearls and the author visits with independent Tahitian pearl divers as well as mega pearl producers.

THE RUNNER'S LITERARY COMPANION * RUN!

The Runner's Literary Companion Great Stories and Poems about Running edited by Garth Battista - For me, this has been the best running book so far. Overall, Born to Run is the most readable and interesting, but these stories about different runners and races enabled me to understand more about the differences between different distances, and then the mindset of a runner in a race. My favorite stories were Wheelbarrow by Eddy Orcutt, written in 1936 about a college mile race, and See How They Run by George Harmon Coxe, written in 1941 about the marathon. Many of the stories are more modern, but I've always loved a good old-fashioned short story, and these two were wonderful.
! 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss by Dean Karnazes - Dean is an Ultramarathon Man who runs for a living. When he tripped over a tree root on a 100 mile endurance run and had to leave the race near the end, he ended up seeing one of San Francisco's top Orthopedic Surgeons. Here's my favorite excerpt from the book:

"When I entered his office, he took one look at me and said "You're a runner, you're going to have horrible knees." After seeing me and taking some X-rays, he informed me that I had a torn meniscus. He gave me some pills and told me to stop running. He instructed me to schedule a follow-up appointment in two weeks. I walked out of his office, threw the drugs in the trashcan, and went running. I never returned."

Dean travels around the world running and racing the most difficult courses in the most difficult conditions. His feeling is that if it's there, then it can be done. Just that idea applied to any area of one's life is an inspiration. It's about doing what you yourself want to do, even if it goes against the grain and flies in the face of everyone's superior knowledge and advice. Be your own person and your own best friend and decide yourself what is best for your own self.

50/50 * TURN OF MIND

50/50 - I just saw the latest best movie. 50/50 is based on the true story of a young man, 27 years old, diagnosed with a serious large tumor on his spine. He's seems to be an average guy, quiet type, clever, getting serious girlfriend, works with his best friend at a public radio station. His back hurts him when he's running, so he gets it checked out, and BOOM. This is the story of Adam, the cancer and his funny best friend who continues to be funny, irreverent, and sarcastic, treating his friend the same as he always has. Seth Rogan always delivers, doesn't he? How a movie can be sad and funny at the same time is a new and edgy concept that's been explored in the past few years, and one which I'll continue to watch. Be ready to laugh and to cry.

Turn of Mind by Alice LaPlante - I've never read anything quite like this book. Told in the first person by a retired surgeon with Alzheimer's, you'll come to know the people around her in the way that she knows them with this disease. What kept me reading was the first person account about the descent of her brain and perceived intelligence. This is actually a mystery for those of my friends who read that genre. It's stirring and thought provoking, and I read it in a minute. You might read it to figure out the mystery; I read it to know about the turn of a mind.

BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK * THE HOUSE AT RIVERTON

Bill Cunningham New York - One of the best movie documentaries I've ever seen. Bill Cunningham is the fellow who photographs and writes the On The Street column for the New York Times. I'm listening to the Velvet Underground's I'll Be Your Mirror as I write this, trying to think of words that could do justice to this film about a man who has been able to spend his life following his passion, answering to no one. He smiles all the time, and there is a kindness and humility in his eyes that will make you wish that you knew him. It will make you want to read the Sunday Times, and it will make you want to dress in amazing creative ways. Mostly it will leave you with a good feeling about the world and the people in it. The booklet inserted in the DVD package is worth the read and the extra scenes on the DVD are as well.

The House at Riverton by Kate Morton - Kate did it to me again! Once into this novel about Grace Bradley, in service to the Hartford family at Riverton House, I was hooked. Then the 1920s came along, and there was just enough about the fashions, decor and Jazz Age goings on that I couldn't put it down until I saw it through. Which I did this morning. Never mind that there are so many unfinished threads around here, that it's a beautiful sunny day outside, I was at Riverton today.

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger - "If a body catch a body, comin' through the rye". Iconic. This was my favorite book for most of my life. At a time when I'm reading so many wonderful and enriching stories, to revisit Holden Caulfield is like coming home. My copy of the book is the same one that Aunt Lu sent me when I was 11 years old, and it's literally in pieces, and I'd tucked J.D. Salinger's obituary into the front cover last year. It's still brilliant, and the honesty that Holden craves in the world resonates as much as it ever did. Peter is reading this for English class, and he likes it.

When I first read it, it was like Holden was talking to me. He was like the cool big brother I craved. He knew himself really well, and he was honest, and he liked kids and understood them. He was fearless and had adventures. He was his own man.

This is my book. I'll have it always.