Book Chatter

It is almost mid-March! Can you believe it? Of course, with the time change and all, I feel totally gipped of a full weekend. I’ll get over it.

Here are some updates:

The Boy’s basketball season ended. We did not win the championship but it was a great season with great kids and a super coach We really enjoyed this season. Next? The Boy plans to go out for high school ball (frosh). There are some complications with that since the camp conflicts with his 8th grade DC trip. Why do they do that??

The Girl finished her Toastmaster’s speech and although she memorized it, she ended up reading the entire thing (according to her teacher). I think we had a week off from that and then BAM…a book report. The one with the dreaded biography DOLL that she (we) have to make. She chose King Tut. How does one make a King Tut doll? I am envisioning creative uses of tin foil.

Tuesday, they post the callback list for Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. If the Boy and Girl get a callback, they will be auditioning again the next day. Cross your fingers for me. They each tried out for two parts. The Girl felt good, the Boy was not clear on how he felt. Boys! You have to really dig to get any info.

Still working out. Still enjoying it (a first). I did something to my calf muscle, which has been bothering me for a really long time. I figured I just wasn’t use to the exercise, but then someone said it might be a blood clot. Gasp. And here I was massaging the hell out of it. I took aspirin for three days and now it’s gone. Hmmm. If it comes back I am going to have to see a doc.

Doing lots of reading and finally catching up on the reviews. I normally write my reviews before work and since I have been hitting the gym, there is very little time to get them written but I am slowly catching up. I think I have like…12 to write. Eek. I am currently reading The Orphan Master’s Son. It’s very different than what I expected, but it’s really good. At least, it has been. I am about 60 pages into it.

Spring Break is almost here. We plan to hit Palm Springs and then right after that, The Girl starts volleyball, which is new for her. She took tennis last year. I thought she was pretty good but she wants to try something different this year.

It’s also gopher season and they have once again dug up our yard. The Hub has his black box trap and is going after them with a vengeance. Reminds me of Caddyshack but these gophers look nothing like that furry little imp from the movie. Think rats with long, long teeth.

Well, that’s pretty much it for me. I made pancakes (gluten-free) and bacon for breakfast and drank about 4 cups of coffee. Weeeeee, I am wired! I made meatballs last week to throw into the crock pot this weekend so pasta and meatballs for dinner tonight. Easy and good. I’m all for that.

Have a wonderful Sunday, I plan to stop by your blogs later today.

Wish You Were Here
By Stewart O’Nan
(Grove Press, Paperback, 9780802139894, April 2003, 528pp.)

The Short of It:

A lovely, heartwarming story about love, loss and what it means to be a family. Easily, one of my favorite books ever.

The Rest of It:

I honestly don’t know why it’s taken me so long to write about this one. I read it so long ago, and yet there was a little piece of me that just wanted to let my mind wander this way and that after finishing it. It’s THAT kind of book. The kind you curl up with and linger over. I really didn’t want it to end. Ever.

But… it did. I wanted to cry when it ended. Not because the story is particularly sad but because I knew I was going to miss these characters dearly. And I do miss them.

After the death of her husband Henry, Emily Maxwell gathers the family for one last hurrah at the family’s cottage on Lake Chautauqua. The cottage has been sold and the task at hand is to enjoy one more pristine summer, and to decide who get’s what as far as its contents.

Gathered together are Emily’s son and daughter. Both of whom have their own families and are dealing with personal issues of their own, her sister-in-law, who also misses Henry dearly and Emily’s aging dog, Rufus. With the adults and kids all trying to get along and a daughter-in-law who doesn’t always see things Emily’s way, the week drags out until it’s inevitable conclusion.

O’Nan’s writing is somewhat magical in this story. He has a knack for taking everyday tasks and making them seem glorious. As this family’s week plays out, I often felt as if I was right there with them, cooking burgers or tubing at the lake. Anyone who has ever taken a family vacation will attest to the accuracy of everything in this novel. The sights and smells (think musty cabin, cluttered garage, sulphurous water) and the overall boredom of the children as the adults get to dictate what they do on any given day.

But tucked within the folds, you’ll find sadness and it will tug at your heart. How do you say goodbye to a place that holds so many memories? Things that bothered you before, like ant infestations, are suddenly precious in the way that lost things are. It’s impossible to fathom and through it all, you have the continuous ebb and flow of everything else around you.

Although long, I adored this book for its realistic depiction of family and although all of the characters had their quirks, I loved them and wanted the best for them and could not stop thinking about them after closing its cover.

The good thing? Is that there is a sequel to this book. Emily Alone continues on with Emily, as she lives alone and goes through the day-to-day of being… well…Emily. I can’t wait to visit her again!

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Chatting with friends about books and life…