Finally Friday - Table for Two by Amor Towles

 Table for Two  by Amor Towles is  a delight - six stories  based in New York City and  a novella set in Hollywood.  

The  NY tales take place in 2000 - brief encounters,  compromises, modern marriages and all the complications of life.

cover blurb :  Towles novel Rules of Civility had Evelyn Ross head west from NYC.  But  what if  she actually headed to Los  Angeles.  "Eve in Hollywood" is a hoot. She  crafts a whole  new  future, exerts her power, and we enjoy her  life through  movie sets, bungalows, and the dive  bars of LA.

I  love Towles' writing and enjoyed this collection.  Truly a treat.

Whatever Wednesday - I'll cry if I want to (Happy Birthday to me)

Me with my cousin Mark and a great grandmother

Me with my  dolly

me saying goodbye to my childhood home after Dad passed away in 2024

and me with Lori, David, and  Dad  back when  he turned 90

Today is my birthday - October  8th

Rah!

 

Monday Moments - Summer Reading by Hilma Wolitzer

Well, it's October and fall, but  I got this  book for  one dollar  at the library book sale. Totally worth the price.  Can reading change  your life?  Hilma  Wolitzer explores this theme in  Summer Reading. 

Join ladies in the Hamptons at the Page Turners book club. Angela Graves, a retired English professor, helps reading groups in their discussions. Lissy Snyder is a wealthy newlywed hosting the afternoon soirees.  Her secret - dyslexia. Maybe not the brightest bunny, but truly tries.  A local gal, Michelle, is Lissy's housecleaner.  She eavesdrops, picks up books that ladies  leave  behind, and keeps  track of  the gossip. 

These three women all have personal issues. As Angela encourages discussions  of heroines by Trollope and  Flaubert, the act of reading will influence tough  choices the women  must make. I was entertained  and amused, and I admit one can look for answers or inspiration in books. 

Keep reading and questioning. 
 

Finally Friday - Dawn by Elie Wiesel

 I was browsing the library shelves. I was aware of Night by Elie Wiesel - such a stunning  book.  Did  not know it was part of  a trilogy.  So I picked up Dawn  (copyright 1961) and read it  in one day. 

It's a little story about  a camp survivor who  is now in Jewish held Palestine.  He's a  freedom fighter who must execute a British soldier at  dawn.  He's afraid. He's betraying the dead of his memories. 

forward by Wiesel:  What will dawn bring for him? More darkness or the light  of the coming day?

In this  story, which calls religious and cultural ideas into question,  I evoke the ultimate violence: murder.  It aims to put  on guard all of those who, in the name of  their faith or of some  ideal, commit  cruel acts of terrorism against innocent victims. 

And yet, this tale about despair becomes a story against despair. 

Whoa. So  timely.  So  thought provoking. Rather gut wrenching. 

Whatever Wednesday - Welcome October

Welcome October.   But  a few final pics from Longwood Gardens.  New big lily pad area

Bonsai treats

Sunset
 

And now - October means  pumpkins galore

Is there a patch near you to visit?  I'm inspired from these last year pics from the Dallas arboretum

We  need that orange  pop of color.  

Monday Moments - Dream Count

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie follows a variety of women as we follow their paths of love. 

cover blurb: Chiamaka is a Nigerian  travel writer living in America. During  the pandemic she reflects on past lovers, choices, and regrets. Zikora, her  best friend, is a lawyer. She's  successful but is  then betrayed and brokenhearted. Omelogor, a cousin in Nigeria, questions herself despite financial success. And Kadiatou, Chiamaka's housekeeper, is raising her daughter in America, but  faces hardship.  

Choices, mothers, daughters, interconnections.  Adichie is unflinching in her observations  of the human  heart. 

 

Finally Friday - Myth and Marble at the Kimbell

The Torlonia family amassed a huge private collection of ancient Roman sculptures.  Now  fifty eight pieces are on tour - Chicago, Fort Worth, and then Toronto. The Kimbell is privileged to show these large scale pieces from 5th century BC to 4th AD. 

Gods,  Children, Mythology, Power  - the pieces are breathtaking.  Notice in the background, the busts showing succession of  emperors and their family. 

Stunning

This was a statue of a slave.   He was massive.   At each sculpture, there was a drawing showing what  was original and what had been "fixed" or "added on to" through the years.  This piece was perfect. 

Some statues had been "cleaned up" in the late 1600s by Bernini!   That man knew how to work the marble. 

Excavations on the Torlonia property yielded huge sarcophagi. The carvings signaled wealth and importance. 

Ray and I enjoyed our art stroll and learned a bit about ancient Roman sculptures.  

P.S.  We were not allowed to touch anything.  I SO wanted to.   But I also do not want to get kicked out of a museum.  There were a noticeable amount of guards for this special collection. 

Thank you Kimbell Art Museum and curators for  bringing us  fabulous shows.