November 10, 2023 ALIVE AND KICKING

 

Soccer. ECC finals. Double Overtime. Double PKS. What a way to lose a game. That's what happened the other night at my son's soccer game. And he's the GOALIE. Poor Kid. --Almost the same thing happened 10 years ago at my daughter's State Semi-final game. It's a killer. Losing in penalty kicks in overtime?? There's got to be a better way to end a game. UGH. Sports teach kids so many lessons. Commitment--teamwork--discipline--resilience AND coping with failure. No matter what game you are playing--someone has to lose AND YOU WILL NOT ALWAYS WIN. Accepting success with humility and defeat with grace are lessons that are invaluable not only in soccer BUT IN LIFE. The boys have moved on to States--just made it to the QUARTER FINALS. Keeping my fingers crossed and loving every minute of it. I also spent the last week reading National Book Award Finalist, Tea Obreht's book, The Tiger's Wife. This novel takes place in an unnamed Balkan country that has survived many years of war. The main character, Natalia and her lifelong friend Zora, are medical students traveling to an orphanage to give much needed innoculations to the kids. During their journey to the orphanage, Natalia finds out that her cherished grandfather has died. As a child, Natalia was very close to her grandfather and she spent several hours at the zoo with him as he told her fantastical stories of The Deathless Man and The Tiger's Wife. While working at the orphanage, Natalia remembers those stories that her grandfather said--made him a man. The novel shifts back and forth between the tiger and town of Galina where her grandfather grew up, the deathless man, and Natalia's time at the orphanage. This book is part magical realism, part mystery, love story and the tragic consequences of war. It's a lot. I enjoyed the writing and many of the well written characters, but I was a little confused at times because it does jump around a bit. And the magical realism part troubled me a bit too. Magical realism isn't really my thing, but some people love it. All in all though, I enjoyed the book but it is a dense 350 pages. Let me know what you think. 

October 29, 2023 MOLLY MALONE

 Back in the day.....I would go out til 3:00am--get up -- go to work--REPEAT. Thought nothing of it. How times have changed---Was out Friday and Saturday night til 11:00 and I'm fried. It's going to take me a week to recover. Might even have to take a nap today. Times sure have changed. Don't think I could stay up until 3:00am even if I wanted to. I am literally in bed on school nights by 9:00. PATHETIC. My husband says--nothing good happens after 11:00pm and he's probably right BOTH literally and figuratively speaking--At least in my case. HA! I just finished a WONDERFUL book. A real keeper by an Irish writer named Niall Williams called This is Happiness. The narrator of this brilliant novel is 78 year old Noe Crowe. Noe tells the story of a summer he spent with his grandparents, Ganga and Doady, on their farm in the tiny, rural village of Faha, County Clare, Ireland. It was 1958 and Noe was 17 years old when his parents sent him to Faha after a failed attempt at the seminary. Soon after his arrival, the rain stopped and Christy McMahon arrived from the electric company to pull Faha out of the dark ages. Christy also has an ulterior motive for coming to Faha--he's looking for his long lost love.  Christy and Noe strike up a friendship after Christy becomes a lodger in Noe's grandparents home. This is a story of small town life, with all its quirks and warts, on the brink of change with the coming of "the electricity." Noe Crowe, the narrator, takes the reader on a sentimental journey back to a time of innocence, to rediscover old friendships, love and family. This story is hilarious, beautiful, heartfelt, nostalgic AND the characters are well crafted--and unforgettable. If you enjoy Irish literature--this 400 page book is definitely for you--if not give it a try--you won't be disappointed. 

October 22, 2023 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

 Been having trouble finding the right book lately. I've opened several books, read a few pages and said UGH. Just haven't found what I'm looking for? Not sure I even know. So I decided to get myself to Book Barn this weekend and buy a pile of books. Hopefully one of the eight books sitting on the table in front of me will BE THE ONE.  It's funny--sometimes I read books like some people eat potato chips AND then I have a dry spell. It's not good for me. I REALLY need the escape. Right before the Great Book Drought-- I read a book I really enjoyed called The Last Russian Doll by Kristen Loesch. The main character in this epic is Rosie, a college student who emigrated from Russia to England with her mother under mysterious circumstances. Soon after her mother dies, Rosie gets an opportunity to go back to Russia  to learn about her family. She has few clues other than a porcelain doll collection. The book then flashes back and forth between the present and the early 1900s where the reader learns about the saga of the women in her family amidst the history of Russia including the wars and the Great Purges. I really enjoyed this book but be warned that the names were hard to follow--keep a list so you don't get confused. The plot is also intertwined  and can be confusing at times.  Even with all that said, the book was super interesting--about 400 pages that flew by. Happy Reading. 

October 8, 2023 DON'T FEAR THE REAPER

 

Talk about a blast back to the past. When's the last time your went into an Elks Club, Polish Club, Moose Club?  I highly recommend it. Felt like I went through a time warp AND it was a good thing. When's the last time you spent $14 on a round of drinks? Or $16 for a pasta dinner with apps and dessert?? OKAY--so the carpet, curtains, air conditioners, microphone system haven't been updated in 70 years......Who cares......$14 for FOUR drinks? It's a no brainer. The only thing missing was a jukebox. That would have made it perfect. Seriously though--they definitely need to RAISE prices so that they can make a few changes. New carpeting and curtains would be high on my list but who am I?? OR just maybe they like pretending it's still 1960--anything's better than 2023 right? Just finished a book that took me back in time called We Keep The Dead Close:  A Murder At Harvard by Becky Cooper. Becky Cooper was a student at Harvard in 2009 when she first heard about the death of Jane Britton. Britton was a graduate student in the Archaeology department at Harvard in 1969. On January 7, 1969, the day Britton was to appear for her finals, she was found brutally murdered in her Cambridge apartment. The murder was never solved and became a cold case until Cooper became obsessed with getting the case reopened. Cooper, an amateur investigator, chased down leads decades old, re-interviewed possible suspects, and gathered "circumstantial evidence" making several people prime suspects in her investigation which I found highly questionable. This book is a LONG journey back to the past that jumps around and around. I think Cooper tried to do too many things--including spending oodles of time on the Old Harvard Boys Club as one professor is a suspect in the case. This 500 page book could also be 250 pages shorter but that's just my opinion. Try it for yourself and let me know what you think. 

September 23, 2023 GLORY DAYS

 

One thing people never tell you is that your kids will grow up, move out, live their own lives AND it will never be the same. As my kids were growing up, I never really thought too much about it BECAUSE THEY WERE ALWAYS AROUND.  But when they left-- everything changed. I guess I took my time with them for granted. We tend to take people for granted when they live with us day in and day out. I still see my older kids often-- BUT NOT ENOUGH FOR ME. It's really hard to go from knowing their every move to knowing NOTHING. Letting go is the hardest thing. I still struggle with it and I haven't lived with my older kids for over 10 years. Not sure what I'll do when my youngest leaves --in less than 2 years. Ugh. As horrible as the Pandemic was in 2020, one good thing happened. My daughter came home and lived with us again for several months. I LOVED having her home again. We walked, talked, and drove each other crazy. It was great. I was reminded of my (guilty) good fortune while reading Ann Patchett's new book Tom Lake. This little gem is set during the Pandemic in 2020 in Northern Michigan on a fruit farm. The main character, Lara Nelson, is enjoying spending time with her three adult daughters, Emily, Maisie and Nell, who have come home because of COVID restrictions. As many of the crew has abandoned the farm, Lara and her daughters need to help pick fruit for several hours a day, and to pass the time, they ask their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor she knew briefly in the 1980s. The novel then jumps back and forth between the two time periods as Lara relates the story of her time at Tom Lake, a theater company, where she was almost famous playing Emily Gibbs in Our Town with Peter Duke. I don't want to say much more other than I totally enjoyed this book. It reminded me that we all have a summer in our past  that stands out and it's fun to take a nostalgic look back at our glory days every once in a while.  Find out all about Lara's past and her relationship with Peter Duke and other theater actors when you read this super enjoyable book for yourself. It's only 300 short and sweet pages. Enjoy.

September 10, 2023 HOT OF THE MOMENT

Crazy first week of school. The weather was wicked--HAZY-HOT-HUMID. School felt a little like Death Valley. Seriously--just breathing made me sweat. BUT--No biggy right--WRONG.  School was actually canceled Thursday AND Friday because of the heat. I have invented a new term for it. We had  two "SUN" DAYS.  Get it? Instead of SNOW--SUN. Can't make it up. Thinking back to the olden days......can't remember anyone ever caring if we sweat TOO much in school. Pretty sure NO ONE cared what we did back in the day though.  Kids today are WEAK. A little sweat and they whine like babies. Better watch out--we're gonna  create a WHOLE generation of people who have NO COPING SKILLS. That's gonna hurt. In other news, I just finished a really good mystery by William Kent Krueger called The River We Remember. I am a huge fan of Krueger and have read several of his books. This one does NOT disappoint. Set in Jewel, Minnesota, in 1958, while the small town of Jewel celebrates Memorial Day, the body of Jimmy Quinn is found floating in the Alabaster River. Sheriff Brody Dern, a war hero, investigates the death while the town folk immediately suspect Noah Bluestone, a Native American WWII veteran because he's not White and he had the audacity to marry a Japanese woman named Kyoko.  Both Angie Madison, a war widow, and Brody, try to ease tensions in the town after Bluestone is arrested and  refuses to speak. Find out who killed Quinn and so much more when you read  this mystery for yourself.  It's about small town life in the late 1950's, the cost of war, and the prejudices people try to justify in the name of Manifest Destiny. It's about 430 pages--an easy read--with great characters. There's even a bit of a love story mixed in if that suits your fancy. Enjoy! 

September 4, 2023 TEARS IN HEAVEN

 Tomorrow marks my 25th year in education. WOW. The beginning of the school year is such an exciting time. It really is fun to meet new kids--It's especially rewarding to show them that they can accomplish anything if they commit and put in the effort. Just believing in the possibilities is a gift in and of itself. I am really blessed--I get to watch kids grow and develop into kind human beings. When teachers-parents-staff-students work together, great things can happen. Hope everyone has a great year. Just finished an incredible book, The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by one of my favorite writers, James McBride. As the story unfolds, It's 1972 and workers discover a skeleton in the Chicken Hill section of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, while digging to make way for a housing project. The bones have been there for several decades. The story then goes back to 1925 when Chicken Hill was a neighborhood of immigrant Jews and African Americans. One of the main characters, Chona, runs the Heaven & Earth Grocery store and her husband, Moshe, runs a theatre and dance hall in town. When the state decides to send a deaf, black boy named DoDo to Pennhurst, the community on Chicken Hill band together to try to save him. This novel is about the survival of a marginalized community and the lengths they go to for justice in a corrupt, small town of bigots, liars and thieves. The cast of characters who live in Chicken Hill are unforgettable--Paper, Nate, Addie, Fatty, Big Soap-- and the writing is perfect. Find out what happens to DoDo, Chona and the rest of the characters when you read this page turner for yourself. I totally enjoyed it!