Monday Moments - The Love of Books

This non-fiction little book The Secret Lives of  Booksellers and Librarians compiled by James Patterson and Matt Eversmann is a love letter  to books and reading.  Booksellers and librarians were interviewed and the stories from all over the U.S. are interesting  and compelling.  They are detectives, treasure hunters, advocates, and visionaries. It's a world that has the magic of rainbows and unicorns, but it's also a business. The book business. (cover blurb)

Read about folks who took the plunge and love what they do in their world of books. The tales are heartwarming, humorous, and hopeful. 

I love this quote by our former first lady, Laura Bush, who advocated for reading.  

You must also  read about Suzette Baker, former head librarian in Llano County, Texas. Her story is told in the above compilation. She was told  to pull books from shelves  and  refused.  She writes about a very avid minority of people in power who are promoting  censorship and she's concerned.  

I'm concerned. Yes, parents should know what their kid is reading. It's like television. You may control your own self and your family,  but don't keep me from reading certain  books that your don't like or think is appropriate (example - To  Kill  a Mockingbird by Harper Lee,  The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, etc).  

Sigh!
 

Finally Friday - OKC Chihuly Glass

Ray and I had a jaunt to  Oklahoma City (three hour drive).  It was a nice break from home and tested my shoulder recovery.  One stop was the OKC  Museum  of Art.   Turns out they have the largest private collection of  Chihuly glass.   Wow!!!

 

One whole floor of  the  museum filled with glass  magic.    Worth the trip. 

Happy Friday!   There  is magic  in this  world. 

Whatever Wednesday - Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin

 And this book is going, going, gone.... It's outta here....a real hit!

Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin is a delightful memoir. She brings  her nose  for history and recollection and combines it with warmth and wit.  It's 1950s New York  City. The neighborhood is divided - who do you root for?  Dodgers, Giants,  or Yankees? 

Doris was a daddy's girl and she was by his side to listen to baseball games on the radio and learn  how to mark up a game. She rooted for the Dodgers - Jackie Robinson (her favorite), Roy Campanella, Pee Wee  Reese, Duke Snider, and Gil Hodges. Her  descriptions of teasing jousts with best friends and discussions at  the  local corner store are heartfelt. 

Her mother taught her a love of books and her sisters helped raise her. She writes well about growing  up - life, love, friendships,  death - and  balances it with the ebb and  flow  of baseball.

Wait  Till Next Year is wistful,  poignant, and a delight.  Batter up (this book) and play ball (read it). 

Monday Moments - Someone by Alice McDermott

 Someone by Alice McDermott is a well written story about a very ordinary life. Marie is a child with thick  glasses observing life in Brooklyn pre-Depression. Not a beauty, she's the kind of person who is overlooked, but she gleans a  lot through her observations and humor.

back  blurb: Through her first heartbreak and eventual marriage; her brother's brief stint as a Catholic  priest and emotional breakdown; her career as a funeral home "consoling  angel"; the deaths of her parents and the births of her  children - we follow Marie through the changing world of the 20th century and  her  Irish-American enclave. 

Alice  McDermott's writing  is tidy, pithy, and conveys the joy and heartbreak of life with a light touch and rich descriptions  of the environment.  I read this during  a rainy week (yea for us in TX), and it was the perfect book to cozy up to in my chair.

Finally Friday - Kick-off Toes

 Seems to be a new tradition back on  Labor Day Weekend.    Me (left), Ray (top), Chris (right), and Krystal (bottom) met at Golden Nail Salon and got our kick-off  toes.  Krystal and I just went for shades of blue.  Ray and Chris chose the silver and blue for Dallas Cowboys, and Ray had his embellished with the white star. 

What the heck - a  little  fun, plus the salon serves drinks (mimosas, bellinis, etc) as we are pampered.  

And if the Cowboys start  losing, we can always change colors - ha!

Whatever Wednesday - Flashback to Honors English

 A friend loaned me some books and I've read and enjoyed most of them.  Circe by Madeline  Miller kept going to the  bottom  of my stack. I'd read the cover blurb and inwardly said, "Ugh, Greek mythology." 

As a  longtime reader and lover  of school, I never did enjoy stories of the gods. I loved Honors English in high school,  but the  section on  the Greeks and Romans...eh, not  so much. I'd mix and match them. If I watched Jeopardy and  that was a category, I hadn't a clue.  So, finally ( since Ann said she'd "loved"  this book), I decided to plow into it. 

The writing  was fine. The  story jogged my memory on Helios, god of sun. Circe was banished  to an island due  to  her mix with mortals  and witchcraft. She fooled around with Daedalus and had sons with Odysseus. She endured the wrath of Athena.  I read along as if it was homework again. 

It is a soap opera - family rivalry, palace intrigue, lots of death, lots of sex, and yes Circe was a very strong  female in  a man's world.  Rah. 

(still not into mythology, but I do  respect the  stories and what  they represent) 

Monday Essays - I've Tried Being Nice by Ann Leary

I like a book of humorous essays and I've Tried  Being Nice  by Ann Leary cracked me up. I  felt as if we could be friends having  a drink and she's regaling  me  with her day.

cover blurb  The bedlam  of  home  bat  invasions, an obsession  with online personality tests, ballroom  dance  lessons with her  actor  husband (Denis Leary - I like his snark too)- all are fodder for her wit.  Red carpet fiascos and other  observations from  the  sidelines of fame are very funny. 

Her love for her family, dogs, and more gives her a ton of material.  Laugh,  cry, cringe, and totally identify with her observations.  This was a very fun library read. 
 

Friday the 13th

 I'm hiding from  Friday the 13th

No black cats to  cross my path

No ladders to  walk under

Don't step on a sidewalk crack

Is it a full  moon?

Good luck all. See ya  Monday. 

Any superstitions haunt you?  

Solemn Remembrance

 

Still as clear as a bell in my mind.  The  sunny lovely Tuesday. The drive  to  work, and news on the radio. The shock. The images. The  aftermath.

The spirit of unity  at that  time.  Blood  drives, etc. Folks actually being  a little nicer.  America and it's survivor spirit. 

Now what in 2024?    

Imagine  by John Lennon - play the tune and  reflect 

Monday Moments - The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan

 cover blurb -  When the  Blitz imperils the heart of a London neighborhood, three young women must use their fighting spirit to save the community's beloved library.  The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan is based on a true story, and  I would say  the author did some research. 

Juliet is the new deputy librarian at Bethnal  Green. She is immediately entrenched in the community and as the Nazi bombs move everyone down into  the tunnels, she is determined to keep everyone reading. She has the  folks bring down shelves, books, and she starts reading out loud at  night. Unity  is the key.

Katie works in  the library, finds  herself to be an impending unwed mother (her  beau is dead on  the front line), but finds the strength to determine  her  own fate.  Thank goodness for the library and neighbor ladies. 

Sofie, a Jewish refugee, also finds calm and strength with the library. Juliet is key to all of their fates. The background  of war unites so many and this book tells the tale. Strong  characters, fear, love, life - it's all wrapped up in this page turning story. I  cared about them all.  Good job. 

Finally Friday - Book Review - Godwin

 Godwin by Joseph O'Neill was a very odd book.  I almost gave up halfway through, and yet was curious as to how the author was going to finish. I don't know that I liked the characters, and yet was curious as to what the heck was really going to happen. Very conflicted.  I did skim. 

cover blurb - it's the  odyssey of two brothers crossing the world in search of an African soccer prodigy who might change their fortunes. 

Mark Wolfe is a technical writer. His much younger half-brother, Geoff, is  a very loser guy who's currently a soccer  agent, but always  looking for  the next "deal".  Geoff suckers  Mark into flying to England,  then France,  then Africa searching for Godwin, a kid once seen on a  film who could be the absolute best.   Is this a unicorn? Why does Mark join in on Geoff's scheme?  Is he seeking  something more to  his life,  yet he has a wife and daughter that he loves?  And the mother of Mark and Geoff is an  elusive  character that  does pop in - hence the reason  to fast forward (skim) the book. 

How's that for a review? The end surprised me.  Kinda glad I did skim. 

Whatever Wednesday - Piano Men: Generations

August  3rd, the stage was set at the Arlington Music Hall.  Dueling pianos awaited the Piano Men: Generations show.   Terry and Nick Davies would play the tunes of Billy Joel  and Elton John. 

Here's the gang. We enjoyed  food at the  Grease Monkey across the street (I ate a very yummy burger).  Then we found  our Row E, sat back, and clapped along.     

L-R  Nell, Charla,  Claudia, Barbara, Me, Sharon.   Fun  crew!

The father and son due were great and their band was excellent.   Here's the son doing his  best Billy Joel "Angry Young Man".  

Such a fun  evening.  We  left  humming  our favorite  tunes.