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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.
Born To Run - No, it's not my favorite song by one of my favorite musicians, this is a great book by Christopher McDougall about ultra-running. It's great that all these thousands of people run marathons, and not to minimize that accomplishment, but there are people in the world who run races that are two to eight times the marathon distance in rugged conditions, for days at a time, and can't not do it. This book is about them, and also about the Tarahumara people in Mexico who run similar races as part of their culture. McDougall writes with a chatty, easy to read style, and includes all kinds of information about running that is free and natural rather than sponsored and practiced. Not that the ultra-runners don't practice, but they don't really practice. They just run. and run. and run some more. Some of them run barefoot. They run for days. They run no matter what.
Jump Tomorrow - Is there such thing as the perfect movie? If so, for me, this is a contender. I spotted it on the Sundance Channel, but it looks as though you can find the DVD. It's a love story and a buddy movie, it has a road trip, it's quite timeless, and the music is good. I hope this movie will make you as happy as it made me. Very soon into the movie, you'll know what it means to Jump Tomorrow.
Finding Rosa by Caterina Edwards "A Mother with Alzheimer's, a Daughter in Search of the Past" - My friend Susan passed on this Amazon Vine book to me. This non-fiction account introduced me to a land called Istria. It's a triangular peninsula on the northwest coast of Croatia, and over the years it's been occupied by different countries and regimes. Rosa grew up in a place that doesn't exist anymore, much the way my grandparents did. This of course, makes the search all the more difficult. Searching for lives that have been erased is a frustrating and upsetting task. Caterina remembered visiting Istria as a child, so she had first hand memories of the land which served to enrich her search and to make it just a little bit easier. Top it all off with Rosa's loss of memory, and Rosa's difficult possibly mentally ill personality, and you've got a story. I enjoyed reading about the way Caterina went about her search, but much of her writing is repetitive and documentary-like. I would have loved a section with pictures of Rosa and her family, and a few pictures of Istria, then and now. There is a map at the beginning of the book which serves to keep the reader in place. Here's a map. Croatia is the yellow country, and Istria is that little triangle right in the middle of the map. 
Temple Grandin - We watched this on On Demand the other night at the recommendation of Nancy London, and it was really wonderful. Clare Danes plays Temple Grandin, a young woman who was diagnosed as Autistic, and whose mother was told it was probably her fault, and that Temple should be institutionalized. The mom, played by Julia Ormond, refused to believe that her child couldn't be taught, and worked with her to teach her and make sure that she attended college and became a self supporting person. This is based on a true story, and the main thing about Temple is that she thinks in pictures. I loved this movie, and recommend it without reservation. Everything about it is top notch.
Greenberg - Ben Stiller is getting better and better. I loved this movie about a 40 year old guy who decides to do nothing for awhile. Lucky that he can crash at his brother's wonderful house, and that it's in LA where life (as far as I'm concerned it would be) is perfect. This is about a guy at a place in his life...I think he's trying to think it out, but you can't be sure. It's also a story about a girl named Florence, and the place where she is in life. It's just a story, and if the times and a little living in the past and a little thinking about growing up is something you like to think about, then you'll like the movie. If not, then maybe skip it. Here is a trailer if you're so inclined.
A Life - Yesterday my friend Kelly called to ask if I'd like to see this John Mahoney play at one of our local theatres. The 8 person cast consists of the 4 characters in their 20s, and then again in their 60s. I love stories that play with time lines and flashbacks; this one takes place in a town near Dublin, and is about an intelligent man who is fortunate to be surrounded by people who do more than tolerate him...they love him. For all his intelligence, those people he seems to disdain are the ones who have discovered the secret to life. John Mahoney is singular in his performance, and the irish brogues affected by the players might require a stretch. If you listen carefully, this could be a wonderful experience.
My Footprint-Carrying the Weight of the World by Jeff Garlin - Another good book! After reading the last two wonderful books, I figured this would be a quick fun something about nothing book. However, I really got into it, because although he's a comedian, and there is a light-hearted feel to the writing, Jeff is very open about his life, especially his addiction. His addiction is one that isn't taken seriously as addictions go, because although it can be life-threatening, society accepts it. It's addiction to food. Something readily available, legal and in our faces 24/7. If you have this addiction, it's a tough one to beat. The best you can do is learn how to live with it in as healthy a way as you can. He also writes about wanting to have a smaller environmental footprint, and what it might take to accomplish that. Somehow this honest book works, and I recommend it especially to anyone who's addicted to food. You'll recognize a kindred spirit, and I hope it doesn't spin you out of control if you've been being good. In the book Jeff spins out of control at the slightest provocation.
Today I didn't get called to sub, so I finished the Jeff Garlin book, and now I want to get outside for some sunshine and a long walk. Yesterday I never got around to the walk, but I did do a little clean up in the garden. I'd love to have a beautiful lush colorful garden, but I don't know if I can ever really make it happen. It seems like just when I get close, something happens to derail me. Such as Steve or someone cleans out the gutters and tramps on the beds with the ladder and just drops the gutter debris into the freshly tended garden. Or the big trees decide to let loose with these feathery messy brown "things" that coat the yard for a couple of weeks. Or there's a windy day and the leaves that some of my neighbors don't rake up get blown under the trees and fence into the freshly raked beds. Or the lawn guys from any of my neighbors blow their leaf blowers to clear the neighbors' leaves under the fence or trees into the freshly raked garden. Plus, even though it's beautiful out there now, and the sun is shining, there are no leaves on the trees. In a month, it will be back to a shady garden where it's difficult to grow a lot of color. For years I've been adding mushroom compost to my gardens, and still these plants don't thrive. Maybe I'll just sit out there and read a pile of magazines today. Who needs to kill themselves cleaning up?
I treated the last two days of Spring Break like a vacation. Does this mean that I've now experienced that awful sounding thing called the staycation?
Wandering Star by J.M.G. Le Clezio - It's about a girl named Esther, called Helene in 1943 in southern France. The author J.M.G. Le Clezio is male, but he writes of a girl's thoughts and memories so well that I was transported into her world and life. The book spans 40 years, and includes an interlude story about an arab girl, Nejma who is also displaced from her home. The people and events in this novel will stay with me for awhile.
For me the book was ultimately about what it means to be a refugee. Someone whose choice is either to die or to leave their home and life as they know it forever. It's a beautifully written and beautifully descriptive tale of faraway times and places. To think that around today's world, bullies are still displacing people is unthinkable. To think that we let it happen at the same time we send our children to fight in wars that are ultimately about economics is even more unthinkable.
Born To Run - No, it's not my favorite song by one of my favorite musicians, this is a great book by Christopher McDougall about ultra-running. It's great that all these thousands of people run marathons, and not to minimize that accomplishment, but there are people in the world who run races that are two to eight times the marathon distance in rugged conditions, for days at a time, and can't not do it. This book is about them, and also about the Tarahumara people in Mexico who run similar races as part of their culture. McDougall writes with a chatty, easy to read style, and includes all kinds of information about running that is free and natural rather than sponsored and practiced. Not that the ultra-runners don't practice, but they don't really practice. They just run. and run. and run some more. Some of them run barefoot. They run for days. They run no matter what.
