Favorite finds from around the web:
• The Books. “One of the funniest and most interesting questions you can ask a group of couples at a party is whether or not they have combined their bookshelves.”
• Three generations of women don the same outfit in a perfect portrait of womanhood. “I wanted to see her not only as my mother—but as a woman who had a life before me. A life full of hopes, first loves, dreams and ideas.”
• Authors Ann Patchett and Dan Pink talk about what makes a great book. Two of my favorite authors talk about how they know they’re reading something fabulous. (I love Patchett’s comments about how owning a bookstore has enhanced her reading life.)
• Struggling to find the silver lining in severed friendships. “Someone recently told me the theory that you shed and replace the majority of your friendships every seven years. I hate that idea. Yet, I understand why it’s an oft-repeated maxim.”
On my nightstand:
• I Shall Be Near to You by Erin Lindsay McCabe. I’ve been meaning to read this for over a year.
• Still Alice by Lisa Genova. I made all the kids bring books to an appointment on Wednesday, but when we got there and I realized I’d left my book on the kitchen table. I downloaded this on my iPhone from the Oyster app and read half of it in the waiting room. I finished it the next day. (Tears were shed.) And then I promptly began …
• Left Neglected by Lisa Genova, which I finished in another 24 hours.
• I’ve been listening to Middlemarch for almost a month now and the end is in sight. 32 hours down, 4 more to go. Whew!
On the blog:
• On burnout. “But I do need to stay balanced in another sense: I need to stay on my feet, metaphorically speaking. Burning out is like falling down, and it’s a lot easier to just stay upright than it is to get back up after you wipe out.”
• Talking about books I don’t like. “When I’m talking books with you, the most unhelpful things you can say to me are I liked it or I didn’t. I need to know why, and how. I need to know where the story stumbled and where it sung. I need to know what you specifically loved, or exactly what turned you off. If you don’t give me details, how can I know if I would like it or not?”
• The spiritual discipline of Project Runway. “We see our fair share of drama and meltdowns (the real-life kind) around here, and the designers have given us a language to talk about anxiety and anger in a non-loaded way. It’s much easier for a kid to discuss the mean girl on tv than the one in her neighborhood, the designer’s epic meltdown instead of his own.”
Have a great weekend!
17 comments
I know what you mean about audio books. I’ve been listening to A Prayer for Owen Meaney for a while and I still have a long way to go,but listening double time helps immensely. Just need to fold more laundry.
Combining libraries, probably not going to happen here, our tastes are too different, he reads mostly nonfiction with loads of Wodehouse thrown in. I read mainly fiction.
Enjoyed reading the article though.
The Grandmother, mother and daughter pictures were so interesting, I like the whole concept.
Nonfiction + Wodehouse sounds like an interesting combination. 🙂
Appreciated the article on friendship.
I also enjoyed this article, thank you for the link.
I look forward to hearing what you thought of Bel Canto. I love Ann Patchett’s writing AND opera, yet had a hard time getting through that particular story.
I enjoyed Bel Canto, although I didn’t think it was an easy read emotionally.
Holy cow a book a day….. I’m lucky to finish on in three days. Or maybe 1 day if I read the whole 12 hour day. I’m in awe.
It’s not always like that! Most this week were quick reads. 🙂
Well….you may as well get “Love, Anthony” by Lisa Genova and blow through that too! I am eagerly awaiting her new book due for release this Spring.
It’s queued up and ready to go! Thanks for the recommendation.
Ah, the bookshelves…that article brings back memories…It can be very significant, how we make symbolic adjustments in our lives so that “mine” and “yours” become “ours.”
I loved both of Lisa Genova’s books- the fact that she is writing books based on her field of expertise was fascinating to me and I think why I enjoyed the books so much. She didn’t seek out an expert, she was the expert.
Glad to hear it. I have Loving Anthony queued up on Oyster and Inside the O’Briens arrived today. 🙂
Loved these links! My husband and I actually met in a bookstore and we are both voracious readers; neither of us ever go anywhere without a book. However after 28 years our bookshelves are separate and probably always will be…we are very different readers ; although we have shared a few books from time to time…most notably the works of Van Reid ( I am the keeper of those. If you have not read them and you like Dickens, give them a try).
I have loved the books by Ann Patchett that I have read: This is the Story of A Happy Marriage, Patron Saint of Liars. I have Bel Canto and State of Wonder in my ‘to-read” pile.
Aww, I love the question about couple combining their bookshelves. My answer is yes! But kindle also helps to keep things separate!
Jess x
http://chasinglifeandme.blogspot.co.uk/
Still Alice. So good. I rarely reread books, but am considering picking that one up again.