Bookish Talk | Book Chatter

Boy's 12th Bday

Come on kid, crack a smile. No? Oh well.

So yesterday was The Boy’s 12th birthday and yes, there are three candles on his cake. It’s supposed to represent 1 and 2 for 12, as I did not have 12 candles. You have to be creative when you are not Martha Stewart.

We had a splendid day. We took The Boy for a really nice lunch and then we went back-to-school shopping, which he actually enjoys because he’s loves getting new stuff. School starts in about 2 weeks for us which I cannot even believe. As for gifts…he got some of the things he wanted and a few things he needed but you know how that goes.

Oh, and the cake was probably the best chocolate cake I ever made. Yum!

Sunday Salon Button

Although I am done with shopping for clothes and shoes (everything was purchased on sale!) I need to hit the office supply store for the rest of the stuff they’ll need. I don’t know about you but I could get lost in an office supply store. I love office supplies. New pads of paper, pretty pens, calendars…I get so excited over calendars. Sigh. So we’ll be doing a bit more shopping for that stuff.

I am making Chile Verde for dinner. I don’t use a recipe really so I can’t share it but it’s simmering away for later. In case you are unfamiliar with what it is, it’s basically meat that simmers in a green chile sauce. We’ll have it stuffed into whole grain tortillas along with some Mexican rice. It should be tasty.

As for reading, I finished Labor Day for a book tour in August. Boy, was it good! I’ll save my thoughts for the review but I was pleasantly surprised by it and I am still thinking about it.

I am still reading The Stand. It’s not that I don’t have time to read it. I’ve BEEN reading but good lord, on the Kindle it feels as if I am not making any progress so it’s hard to judge how much I am reading in one sitting. Apparently, not enough.

The next book that I plan to read off my summer reading list if probably going to be Coming Up for Air. Not sure yet.

I may also start One Day since I got it in the mail yesterday and everyone is talking about it.

At some point I must start my book club book, The Lacuna but I have no desire to read it right now. I am in a weird, funky reading place. I think I am already gearing up for the end of summer, which is really a shame. It flew by and I am already getting Christmas catalogs and Halloween emails from Disney.

Hope you are enjoying the day. It’s nice here, not too hot but I am fighting a bit of a sore throat so I am taking some extra C and drinking some vitamin drinks just to be safe. Who wants to be sick in the dead of summer? Not me.

The Space Between Us

Welcome to Thrity Thursday, also known as “The Space Between Us” read-along. We’ll be reading the book over the next few weeks. Thanks to Lisa for putting it together and thanks to these other bloggers for joining in on the fun!

Dar at Peeking Between The Pages
Staci at Life In The Thumb
Kathy at Mommy’s Reading
Booksync at Book In The City
Bailey at The Window Seat Reader
Mari at Bookworm With A View

Chapters 16-20

My Synopsis:

My hope is that after this read-along, some of you will get a copy of this book and read it on your own. Since that is my wish, my synopsis isn’t a play-by-play account of what I’ve read, but just a high-level overview of what took place. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. With that said…

In this week’s reading, we learn what happened to Bhima’s family. Particularly her husband Gopal, and her son Amit. From earlier chapters, it’s clear that Gopal and Bhima love each other, but after an accident at work, the family feels the strain of Gopal’s injury and the added pressure to make ends meet brings out the worst in Gopal.

Sera and Feroz’s influence is what saves Gopal’s life, but their influence is not able to prevent the gradual decline that further stresses Bhima and the family.

My Thoughts:

The decline of Bhima’s family is just heartbreaking. She tries so hard to provide a good life for her family, yet her struggle to do so is outweighed by Gopal’s inability to function as the family’s provider. As you can imagine, the ability for a man to provide for his family is a matter of pride and without it, the man is left feeling completely useless. Such is the case with Gopal. On the one hand, I was frustrated with Gopal, but on the other, I could totally relate to his predicament.

As the story progresses, I find myself more and more frustrated with Maya. She’s young and educated yet she comes across as being a bit of an airhead. Her questions to Bhima border on “irritating” and she doesn’t seem capable of reading between the lines. As the story comes to a close, my hope is that she comes full circle and learns something from the mistakes she’s made and appreciates how hard her grandmother works to keep them together.

Chatting with friends about books and life…