Reading = Loving

Remember when I said I joined a book club at school? Did I say that here? Well, I joined a book club of coworkers. And the book we're reading this month is The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma (2012) about a girl and her father. When she was 9, they made a promise to read out loud together every night for 100 days straight. Nine years later, the streak broke when Alice left for college.

I did not choose this book, and to be honest, the first 40 pages are pretty corny. Alice was a precocious 9-year old. But that being said, I LOVED the last paragraph of her introduction. I hope you love it, too. It reads as follows:

"This book is about the quilt of our lives, and all the patches - some tattered, some vibrant - woven together by the books we read. This book is about remembering what you were reading when your sister moved away. but also remembering what that last hug felt like. This book is about remembering the words on the pages, but never forgetting whose head was on your shoulder while you read them. This book is about growth, and change, and fear, and hope, and triumph, and yes, books. It is about all of those things, because reading never is, and never can be, just about the characters and the plots. 

Reading to someone is an act of love. This book is, above all else, a love story." 

What I Did Last Weekend

Things I did last weekend:

• watched 6 year olds play soccer
• reunited with my cousin Eileen. She's great!
• had breakfast at Trio's in Dupont Circle, a regular on the family circuit
• helped Dave as he cooked a feast  
• got caught in a downpour while running around the capitol
• went on a late-night drive with my brothers and Dave around the city, tradition!
• voted absentee
• rekindled my love for a good library friend in a corner booth one night
• went to Eastern Market many a time
• became increasingly overwhelmed by the idea of ever having children…how do you all do it? 
• visited Kramerbooks and bought a new book!

Kramerbooks is, as my brothers would say, my jam. This tiny bookstore is open almost around the clock and is located just off of Dupont Circle in D.C. Yeah, it's packed and hard to maneuver. And yes, the books are overpriced. But I love it. I just do. Kramerbooks always seems to lie between where I am and where I'm going making it the perfect spot for a short visit (or maybe it's just that we're always going to Trio's, a restaurant down the block, to stuff ourselves with eggs and toast). Somehow I end up swinging through every time I'm in town even if its for just a quick hello. And I thought I'd actually buy something this time (living large!). So I did. Which of the following did I choose:

The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 1, Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote,  1958

I LOVE reading about the Civil War. Is it just me or do you love it, too? I took a class as an undergrad called "The American Civil War", and it goes down as one of my all time favorite courses along with "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire", "American Urban History", "American Military History", and who could forget "19th Century British Literature" (my English gem!). And while we're on the topic, I'll never regret majoring in history. Sure, I remember about 10 facts from these classes, but I also remember being so fascinated with the subject matter, staying up late reading for class and ENJOYING it and actually wanting to go to class, wanting to be like my professors, wanting to know more. And that respect for knowledge and love of learning is something from those days of which I need to remind myself.

ANYWAY, back to the Civil War. In that course, we read mostly primary texts. But this trilogy of nonfiction has sat on a shelf in the back of my mind. That shelf is entitled the "one day" shelf or the "must read to get smarter" shelf (do you have those shelves?). And I want to know about the Civil War, really know about it, as in the players and the landscapes and the battles and the politics. And then I want those books on my shelf so when I've forgotten all I read (which will happen down the line just as it did after my class 5 or 6 years ago), I can always go back to them and remind myself. I think this thoroughly researched, vetted, and respected comprehensive tome can do that for me. 

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk, 1998

Way back when, I studied abroad in central Europe (Budapest, to be exact). While there, I embarked on a literary journey because I was really getting into reading heavy things, and I had some great friends who were smarter than I and pushed me towards solid titles. One of them was Snow by Orhan Pamuk. And you know what? I never finished that book...maybe got about halfway through. But I have a lot of respect for Mr. Pamuk as I should because the man is a Nobel laureate. He's Turkish and has a unique voice to someone like me who reads primarily American or British literature. From my limited experience, his writing seems meaty and difficult. Yes, you know I believe in brain candy, but sometimes I feel like all I read is fluff. I want to read something that is both challenging and contemporary and fictional. Snow was that for me. And I gave it up. This reader needs to be pushed again. I need to read things that aren't always comfortable, titles that are semi-obscure. And then, I need to tell YOU about it so you can read it, too!

The Round House by Louise Erdrich, 2012

Remember when I said Dave was a good sport?

This book keeps popping up on my radar, and boy does it sound good. I'm mostly intrigued with the setting: an Ojibwe (that's the way Erdrich writes it, but is it Ojibway? Hmmm) reservation in North Dakota. Unique settings always perk my ears up. And this one has it, don't you think? Besides that, I know little. I think the story is told from a teenage boy's point-of-view. His mother is raped and beaten within an inch of her life, and the boy and his friends head off to find the perpetrator. It has received some pretty solid reviews. One major problem with buying this book: it is only available in hardcover. I usually reserve those purchases for only those titles I MUST buy.

So who's the winner?

My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk came out on top and is now staring lovingly at me from my night stand…along with about 11 other books. My bad. I'll let you know how it is!

P.S. Like my socks?

Fall break in D.C.

This evening I am descending on our nation's capitol to visit my kin: brothers, sister-in-law, and nieces who will maybe be two feet taller than when I last saw them in June. My Dad and stepmom will be out of town…in China!

I can't wait.

Dave is coming, too. We fly in on different flights on different days. What a good sport!

While there, I'll put This is How You Lose Her in my brother Matt's hands. I'll scour my sister-in-law Virginia's impressive collection of magazines. And I'll try, in vain, to read 18 books  of my own but only read 20 pages of one. But maybe I'll read my nieces 18 picture books before they go to bed. I'll check some out of my library, some of my favorite picture books, stuff them in a carry on, and smuggle them east. Traveling with library books is usually taboo in my mind, but, as they say, there are exceptions to every rule.

The agenda also includes hounding Matt for his latest reads. Matt fulfills the older brother role of finding off-beat books and music with panace. Remember who introduced me to Junot Diaz? He's the kind of brother who buys you Cat Power for Christmas and The Wind Up Girl for your birthday. And then he inadvertently makes you feel like the most run-of-the-mill, boring 20-something out there whose idea of unique is Zadie Smith and Indigo Girls. Well. What can I say? We like what we like. I expect him to toss me a few paperbacks. Matt's pretty good at finding great fiction, and he is my go-to when I need that fiction most. After all, great fiction is, I believe, where most readers are born.

So off to D.C. I go! Until we meet again (in 4 days) Indianapolis! I'm out.

NPR loves books.

Do you love NPR or do you LOVE NPR? Morning Edition accompanies me to school each morning.

NPR tells me all about books like Ready Player One which was AWESOME. After that spot on review, I put my trust in them. Here are some great interviews I've heard lately for books I'd like to read:

This girl (me) is a total sucker for adventure books, climbing, scaling, paddling, diving. You name it.   Of course, I enjoy reading them from the safety of my bed.

"These were just incredible men with the grit, you know, the strength of character, you know. These were men who just didn't know that there were limits to what a man could do." Wade Davis

I love that line from the interview.

*This link also includes a passage from the book.


Yes, please Mr. Sims. Shed some insight on E.B. White's "barn book."

And I could not embed the audio of this interview, but go to the link and LISTEN TO IT.

Seward: Lincoln's Indispensable Man by Walter Stahr, 2012

I have kind of read bits and pieces of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (2005) which is all about Lincoln's rivals in the presidential primary of 1860 who become members of his cabinet. So I've met Mr. William Seward as one of those rivals and am curious about this book. After all, who wouldn't want to read the biography of the man who "purchased" Alaska?

Do any of them sound intriguing? I see they're all nonfiction, MC. And so the pendulum swings back.

Go Spartans!

This past Saturday I attended my first Michigan State football game. Go Spartans! Now that Dave is back to school and doing his darndest to remain a college student forever, I am jumping on the bandwagon of his new team, the Michigan State Spartans. 

The game was, well, cold. And wet. Like both really cold and wet for a football game in mid-October. It was 36 degrees and raining. This picture does not do it justice:

Don't we look happy?

Actually, it was  a great time. I was a little nervous during the tailgate when I couldn't stop myself from shivering, but we had hot chocolate and Dave's friend brought breakfast burritos. And just the thought of breakfast burritos warms me up. Our friends Patrick and Lucy flew all the way from Minneapolis to visit for the weekend. I felt bad it wasn't a spectacular fall day with foliage and 50 degree temps a la Rudy, but they were great sports. The four of us stuck it out for not only the tailgate but most of the game. And though I wasn't as invested as many of those Spartan fans, I did feel some allegiance to Michigan State. Give me a little time, and I'll be painting my face green and white.

Patrick and Lucy are great and wonderful people who are up for anything. Having just bought a condo in Minneapolis, those two braved the unfriendly weather with gusto. It has been a long while since we spent any real time together. Patrick and Dave were roommates way back in yesteryear in this magical place called Hermosa Beach, CA. And they are soul mates. Isn't it convenient that Patrick's wife Lucy is wonderful, too? (It doesn't hurt that she is a little foodie who needs to teach me all of her recipes for things like spaghetti squash. Help me, Lucy!) I'm so happy these two are just a hop, skip, and a jump across a great lake. I hope this weekend visit was the start of a new tradition. 

It should also be noted I bought a 26 lb pumpkin for the library. 

The kids stare at it in wonder.

P.S. Dave has been flexing his host muscles lately. He had the whole weekend planned with groceries, tailgating passes, game tickets, and assorted activities for the agenda. I was really impressed. Go Dave!

Max's Chocolate Chicken by Rosemary Wells, 1989

Dave loves Max's Chocolate Chicken.

I knew he would.

This may be his favorite part:

Do you know the Max and Ruby books by Rosemary Wells? Run to your library and check one out if you don't. They're GREAT! And if you think they're too slow or old fashioned, take it from me as a librarian who works in an urban elementary school, the kids LOVE them. Max and Ruby, a brother and sister pair of bunny rabbits, rank up there in popularity with more modern storybook characters like Mo Willem's pigeon, Fancy Nancy, and Arthur.

I have vague memories of these two from my childhood. They didn't play a central role in my book world which seems funny because my mom loved one of Well's books about a mouse titled Noisy Nora and Ms. Wells tends to write sweet books about little animals who are just kind of charming and subtle (which is right up my mom's alley). Like Max and Ruby! But I digress.

After being constantly harassed by first graders for Max and Ruby books, I found a copy of Max's Chocolate Chicken in my library and flipped through it. And I laughed out loud alone in that empty library...a real, audible laugh.

Maybe I'm finding humor in places the author didn't intend, but I suspect Wells is one of those sneaky children's book writers who make read-alouds entertaining for kids and parents alike. Max's Chocolate Chicken is, well, hilarious. The pictures are sooo goofy. A kid will love this book because of the serious plot line of Max selfishly taking the chocolate chicken during an Easter egg hunt (notice this is a chocolate chicken...not a chocolate bunny...the characters are rabbits, after all), and adults will love this book because how can you not laugh about that totally googly-eyed look Max has laying in the cave eating his chocolate chicken? He looks like an absolute oaf. And the part where Max's feelings are revealed as he stares longingly to the top of the birdbath where his chicken rests: I love you! said Max. I just crack up. 

Ruby is forever the older sister bossing Max around, but she is more of a know-it-all than a grump. Her bossiness is endearing and tender. And Max is too sweet and smitten for the chocolate chicken to notice his sister's orders.

I love you! said Max.

P.S. If you can't get your hands on your own copy, check out this read aloud I found on youtube...it looks like some AP English high schoolers love chocolate chickens, too!

Wishing you a "Full October" from Neruda

Little by little, and also in great leaps,

life happened to me,

and how insignificant this business is. 

These veins carried 

my blood, which I scarcely ever saw,

I breathed the air of so many places

without keeping a sample of any.

In the end, everyone is aware of this:

nobody keeps any of what he has,

and life is only a borrowing of bones.

The best thing is learning not to have too much

either of sorrow or of joy,

to hope for the chance of a last drop,

to ask more from honey and from twilight.

-from Pablo Neruda's poem "October Fullness"

Columbus Day in Acadia

Happy Columbus Day!

I don't have tomorrow off.

But last year I did!

And Dave and I went on the trip of all trips to Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor, Maine. We camped with a fabulous bay view right outside our tent door, ate lobster and blueberry pancakes, hiked a harrowing hike that had us both truly frightened, took in some SPECTACULAR views at the end of that hike (documented in that wind-blown photo taken by a librarian we met at the top!), and watched the sunrise from the summit of Cadillac Mountain, the first point in the US to see the sun break the horizon (and someone played bagpipes as the sun was rising, sigh!).

It will go down as one of my best memories from my stint as a New Englander.

If you have a chance, get out there and breathe some fresh air. 

Home for the Weekend (and watch The Weight of the Nation!)

I'm going home this weekend. My mom and my grandma live a couple hours north of here so I'll leave right after school with my laundry in the trunk and drive on up to my hometown. It is really a very flat drive. Everytime Dave drives on the highway in this neck of the woods, he is stunned by the landscape. Last weekend when he came down to visit I asked him how the drive was. He said, "Flat." Add to that flatness an immeasurable amount of corn, and you've got Indiana tried and true. Another Dave one liner about the scenery…on one of his first visits to my hometown he drove up from Indianapolis (don't really remember why because Chicago is a much closer airport). I gave him directions that amounted to maybe 3 turns total on a drive of 2 and a half hours. And I added in there that he would see cornfields for a long time. When he arrived from that drive and I asked him how it was, he said, "You weren't kidding about the corn." 

Whenever I go home my grandma makes brownies for me or another desert. They'll be waiting. It's the best. She also makes a pasta salad that is really terrible for your health, but I LOVE it. If my brothers will be there, she whips up deviled eggs and potato salad. She knows the way to our hearts for sure. My 92 year old grandma lives in the kitchen. Really. Then my mom will walk me around the yard to update me on the status of her perennials and show me her latest decision on stain for the new hardwood flooring going down in the house (kitchen remodel!) and hand me 118 catalogs I can flip through. Usually, after driving home or flying to DC on a work day, all I want is to get in bed and read something "dumb." Brain candy at its finest. A catalog. A catalog to fall asleep with. I love a good catalog. And I'll look at all of them. Like all of them. Even Talbots. What? 

Do you believe in brain candy? Brain candy print material can be anything from a catalog to a cook book. And brain candy movies would be, oh, I don't know, My Big Fat Greek Wedding or Rocky or any move that requires no thinking (you can walk in and out of the room frequently and still know what is happening) or one which you've seen 100 times.

So I'm going home this weekend for a sugar rush…Grandma's brownies and brain candy catalogs. Happy Friday!

P.S. I know I just went on about my grandma's cooking skills, and I will enjoy that brownie immensely. BUT I watched a trailer and some bits and pieces of the HBO documentary The Weight of the Nation today (the whole thing is available to watch online). Whoa. It was fascinating look at the problem of obesity and poor diets here in the US and just the reminder I needed to reign in the eating, a challenge we all face every day. I find food policy and food writing really interesting. I should do a post on some great food books I've read. Always more to read!

My heart is full.

A few nights ago, as I posted earlier, Dave and I enjoyed an Avett Brothers concert. And on the stage that night there was so much energy and so little inhibition that I felt that pang in my chest, that siren sound reminding me that nothing is final or settled. It felt hopeful, as hopeful as I did towards the end of college. It felt on the brink of something, of some sort of breakthrough. Now, I am certainly vulnerable to fits of emotional upheaval. But standing on that lawn on the last night of September with the forceful strumming of a banjo and bass and the crooning of a North Carolina band in my ears was enough to elicit a reaction from even the most stone faced of the audience. 

I thought many a things on that lawn. 

I thought I should start taking piano lessons again, be more empathetic, and read everything.

I should wear more flannel.

I should "decide what to be and go be it."

Who doesn't love a great show?

I leave you this to take you there:

Next up? Indigo Girls.

This is How Your Lose Her by Junot Diaz, 2012

Remember way back when in Boston? It was early June and my brother came to visit. We slept on air mattresses, visited Walden Pond, and dined with Kate Winslet. We also shared a copy of The New Yorker Matt bought for his flight. It was their annual science fiction edition, and in it was a short story by Junot Diaz entitled "Monstro." Being a reader who tends to approach science fiction hesitantly, I was skeptical, but brother Matt made me read it and proved, yet again, sometimes older siblings know where it's at. 

Well, that short story changed my science fiction feelings in one sitting. I realized it wasn't the genre that had turned me off but the few weak science fiction selections I had read. Often sci-fi takes place in some extreme setting (a space colony, the year 2400, etc.) with high action and risk. These are the books I have struggled through finding it difficult despite the dynamic characters to relate. I suppose I also have a hard time with the technical language because I can get into a good fantasy read no problem and those books also tend to be set in vastly different places than those I'm familiar with but I digress.  

Back to the floor of my Boston apartment, Mr. Diaz had crafted a fantastic work of fiction with an eerie underscore of science in the form of medical science (plagues) that was so very plausible. The plausibility is what made it so good.  This story (set in maybe 2025?) describes a kid from New Jersey's summer in his family's homeland of the Dominican Republic. Meanwhile, in neighboring Haiti, things are getting crazy in the refugee camps that have lingered since the devastating earthquake. Disease is breaking out in these camps, and people are willing to go to extremes to stop it…Isn't everything I just wrote entirely possible?! That's what makes it good, great fiction.

I had read the Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Diaz's 2007 novel with which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, before, but "Monstro" is what sold me on the author.

So when I heard he had a new book coming out, I knew I couldn't wait for the paperback. I went ahead and bought it in hardback like a sucker. But it's okay. Matt will want to read it, too.

This is How You Lose Her brings back Yunior, a recurring character in some of Diaz's earlier work. He narrates many of the stories in this collection that flow together to ultimately tell, really, one narrative of love gained and lost by this young Dominican man from New Jersey. Despite his numerous flaws, your heart sort of breaks for Yunior as he makes the same mistakes with women over and over again and practices unparalleled bouts of infidelity. 

Diaz writes with a fast tempo, a rhythm that keeps you plowing through the pages with an almost reckless abandon. His last story in which you find Yunior middle aged leaves your heart pounding until the last page which makes it sound as if the book is plot driven which isn't true. What do you call it when the writer writes as if you are the subject?

   "You sit on a plastic chair in front of the house with the kid in your lap. The neighbors admire you  with cheerful avidity. A domino game breaks out and you team up with Baby Mama's brooding brother. Takes him less than five seconds to talk you into ordering a couple of grandes and a bottle of Brugal from the nearby colmado" (204).

I love that style. 

If you're wary of a little sexual language, stay away. There's plenty here. But don't let that scare you. Underneath it all, this is a very human collection about all sorts of love, the real and complicated love that goes on all around you. Love that isn't always clean and sometimes isn't clearly love. It is a collection of realistic stories where adults don't always act like adults. And, if anything, isn't that one of the most honest parts of a human story?

So get his book. And I would go so far as to say it is worth the hardcover price. And if you don't get the book, find a copy of "Monstro" from The New Yorker, June 2012. 

And don't look back.