January 1, 2022 BOOK OF LOVE

 Happy New Year. 2021 was a tough year. Hoping 2022 will be a little kinder. Looking back at 2021--The Belle of the Book read 46 books--and reviewed 36 books. That's over 15,000 pages. Not bad.  My favorite books of 2021 include:

1) The Color of Water by James McBride--Blog post titled My Generation 11/6/21

2) The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles--Blog post titled Respect 11/21/21

3) Gilead Series including the books Home, Lila and Jack by Marilynne Robinson--Blog post titled Life is Hard   6/22/21

4) A Tale For The Time Being by Ruth Ozeki--Blog post titled Chicken Fried 3/27/21

5) Miracle at St. Anna by James McBride--Blog post titled Back on the Chain Gang 9/16/21

6) The House at Riverton by Kate Morton--Blog post titled High Maintenance Woman 1/24/21

7) This Must Be the Place by Maggie O'Farrell--Sorry--haven't reviewed yet

8) Nobody's Fool and the sequel Everybody's Fool by Richard Russo--Sorry--haven't reviewed yet

Hope you find peace and stay healthy in the New Year. Happy Reading. 

December 27, 2021 C IS FOR COOKIE

When I was a kid, I spent countless hours baking with my grandmother. We would spend all day Sunday  making  macaroons, brownies, rugelach, shortbread cookies, black & white cookies, chocolate toffee matzo crack, buckeyes, snowballs-- while simultaneously decorating hundreds of press cookies with sprinkles and cherries. I've continued the tradition with my own children--especially during the holidays. My only problem with baking hundreds of treats though is that they are HERE AND THEY ARE CALLING MY NAME. I have NO WILLPOWER. It's crazy. I stay away from them ALL day --But they haunt me at night. I tell myself that I'll ONLY have ONE but-- One turns into two--turns into three--turns into four-- UNITL I've had TEN.  IT'S MADNESS. I've decided to just eat as many as I can--ALL DAY--to get rid of them. THE SOONER THEY ARE GONE-- THE BETTER--RIGHT? Only then can I  STOP THE MADNESS-- Get back on the straight and narrow and hopefully fit into my jeans again. Ugh. The struggle is REAL. It was--however-- no struggle at all to read Taylor Jenkins Reid's newest book Malibu Rising. Nina Riva, the main character of this novel, is a supermodel and daughter of rock legend Mick Riva. She is also guardian of three siblings--Jay, Hud and Kit--as their mother is dead and their father abandoned the family.  The story takes place over a 24 hour period in August of 1983--the morning of the Annual Riva Summer Party. The novel flashes back and forth between the day of the party and the past--including 1956 when their parents met, married, and  Mick ultimately became famous. As the party gets started, the reader learns about each of the siblings-- their hopes, dreams and shared heartache. Will the siblings reconcile with the father? What happens to Nina' home? Will this fractured family finally find peace? Find out the answers to these questions and many more when you read this thoughtful novel for yourself. It's about 385 pages--or a 4.5 mile run--that I really enjoyed. 

December 11, 2021 SIMPLY THE BEST

It was a whirlwind. Literally. 24 HOURS in NYC. It was TRULY--to quote Amor Towles-- A ONE OF A KIND-KIND OF DAY. Hopped on the train Tuesday morning and got to the city about 3:00. Enjoyed coffee with friends and headed to Rockefeller Center. WOW.  The tree was beyond amazing AND the Sax Fifth Avenue Light Show was incredible. I've never seen anything like it. The window decor at  Bergdof Goodman, Tiffany & Co.,  Henri Bendel  and Lord & Taylor blew me away too. Talk about getting in the Holiday spirit. Jumped on the subway to 95th street to  Symphony Space for a REAL TREAT.  An author talk with Amor Towles--writer of Rules of Civility--A Gentleman in Moscow--The Lincoln Highway. It was a RED LETTER day of ole Marsh.  Capped off the night at Carmines-YUM YUM. Ran through Central Park the next morning. Went to Times Square to find the Lincoln Highway sign--had lunch at the Oyster Bar then jumped on the train to head home. It was the BEST DAY EVER. Hope you're planning your--ONE OF A KIND-KIND OF DAY--real soon.  If you have a little down time, check out Alex Michaelides new thriller, The Maidens. Marianna Andros, the main character, is a therapist who specializes in group therapy in London. She is also struggling to maintain her sanity, after the sudden death of her husband while on holiday in Greece. After learning that her niece Zoe's best friend has been murdered at St. Christopher College in Cambridge, Marianna is determined to travel to the school to help Zoe. Upon arrival, Marianna immediately becomes suspicious of a visiting professor named Edward Fosca and his group of maidens. Soon after, other murders are committed,  Marianna is convinced that Fosca is the murderer, and she aims to prove it. Find out what happens to Marianna, Edward, Zoe and the Maidens when you read this page turner with many twists and turns for yourself. It's about 350 pages or a 4 mile run with a jagged turn at the end I didn't see coming. Enjoy.

November 21,2021 RESPECT

Whatever happened to respecting elders?  Respect--"due regard for the feelings, wishes, rights, or traditions of others." That's the respect I'm talking about. I'm shocked by the lack of respect the younger generation shows today.  When did this become okay? So--do kids NOT respect their own parents anymore? Is that where this comes from? Is it the trickle down effect? Are parents not behaving in a manner that fosters respect so that kids aren't learning it at home?  I NEED TO KNOW. When I was I kid--my brothers had to take their hats off and put a shirt on if they wanted to eat a meal. NO elbows on the table and PLEASE AND THANK YOU WERE THE MAGIC WORDS. Once--I actually held "the door" so long that -- I  missed a whole day of school. On a serious note--I'll never forget the ONE time I was disrespectful to my grandfather. I actually told him to "Shut Up" because he was teasing me about  being chubby. I was in fifth grade AND MY WORLD actually stopped for a minute. The shock and hurt in his eyes was more than I could bare. I apologized immediately but the hurt had been done.  I have never used those words again to tell someone to be quiet. I was being disrespectful--took responsibility--and learned a hard lesson. Maybe the problem is that parents don't make kids take responsibility anymore?? Or is it that parents don't take responsibility?  HUMMMM........on to bigger and much better things. I just finished reading one of my favorite authors--Amor Towles new book The Lincoln Highway. Emmett, one of the main characters, has just been released from a juvenile work camp after serving time for involuntary manslaughter. After being  dropped off at the family farm in Nebraska, Emmett is finally reunited with his eight year old brother, Billy, but they soon discover that they are not alone. Two of Emmett's friends from the camp, Duchess and Woolly have shown up needing help. All Emmett wants to do is leave Nebraska in his studebaker with his little brother to start over--and possibly find their mother in California-- but reluctantly agrees to give his friends a ride to Omaha first.  Once they arrive in Omaha, Duchess and Woolly take off in Emmett's  car leaving the brothers in pursuit of the car--that is now in New York--where they meet a cast of characters that make the story one hell of a ride. This highly entertaining story is a long ride down the Lincoln Highway that you will be sad to see end. It's about 600 pages or a 6 mile ride that I thoroughly enjoyed. 

November 6, 2021 MY GENERATION

Not sure I've ever mentioned this before but I'm actually Jewish.  I'm Catholic but I'm also Jewish. My mother was raised Jewish but converted to Catholicism and raised us as Catholics. According to Jewish law though --the Jewish status is passed down through the mother--so it's in my blood. I grew up raising a glass of wine and toasting  L'Chaim (To Life)--LOOKING at gefilte fish that totally grossed me out --eating Matzo ball soup and lighting a menorah.  I also grew up eating pork, shell fish, decorating a Christmas tree and  celebrating Christmas. I guess it was the best of both worlds.  My mother converted to Catholicism early on because she said that she always hated being Jewish. I never understood why--or even asked her about it until this week AND it was only after reading this wonderful memoir about another woman who converted in the 1940s. It would have been impossible for me to understand my mother's rational because generationally--I am so far removed from her situation that I would not have been able appreciate her thinking. I finally get it. Books. The places they take me  and the lessons I learn.  What would I do without them? I just can't believe it took me so long to find The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride. This beautifully written memoir was a collaboration between McBride and his  remarkable mother Ruth McBride Jordan. Ruth grew up in the South. Her father was a rabbi and she was often persecuted in her white community for being Jewish, so she turned to the African American community where she was accepted. She eventually moved to Red Hook housing project in Brooklyn, married a black man and founded a Baptist church. She also became a mother to 12 children who all graduated from college. It is quite a story--laugh out loud funny at times, emotional at others and totally inspirational. McBride never knew anything about his mother's past until he was an adult when she finally agreed to share her history, then he finally understand his own place in the world. This National Book Award winner should be required reading for every human being. It's that good. At only 295 pages--it's a 4 mile run--that is worth every page. 

October 23, 2021 HARD HABIT TO BREAK

 

NEW ADDICTION---Pumpkin Spice latte with oat milk from Starbucks. It HAS to be STARBUCKS. Believe it or NOT--there' s a HUGE difference. I know a grande cost $6.50--which is RIDICULOUS--but it is worth every penny.  DD  is probably half the price--BUT--it's sickeningly sweet and fake tasting. I'm NEVER GOING BACK. I'm sure they're  both-- VERY FATTENING--So if I'm going to splurge--It's going to be on the best. It's like ice cream. Why eat crappy ice cream--when I can enjoy Ben & Jerry's Chunky Monkey right? Same goes for  a hot fudge sundae. If I'm gonna get one--it's gotta have real hot fudge-- real whipping cream-- and extra nuts too. Or eat a cake from Stop & Shop when the Cake Lady is far superior.  I have a friend who only drinks Budweiser. I don't understand. Why drink a Budweiser when I can have a Guinness--or Carlo Rossi when I can have Cabernet Sauvignon--or Bukoff  when I can have Grey Goose. Sorry--Getting a bit carried away but you get the drift. Why waste calories on JUNK--when I can have the good stuff. I only have ONE life to live. Better enjoy it.  It's a no brainer.  I'm just going to finish sipping my latte while I review Peter Swanson's new book Every Vow You Break. The main character in this thriller  set in New York City is Abigail Bakin, newly engaged to Bruce Lamb, a millionaire IT man. On the weekend of her bachelorette party in California, Abigial has a little too much to drink and has one last fling with a man named Scotty. Although she is guilt ridden, she decides to put it behind her and devote the rest of her life to Bruce. After a very elaborate wedding, the couple honeymoon on a secluded island in Maine where Scotty appears. Is he following Abigail and what does he want? While Abigail ponders her situation, strange things begin to happen on the island and her perfect husband suddenly doesn't seem so perfect. Find out what happens to Abigail, Bruce and Scotty when you read this page turner for yourself. Its a mystery with many twists and turns of about 300 pages or a 4 mile run that will keep you guessing til the bitter end. Enjoy. 

October 11, 2021 DREAM WEAVER

 Not sure what I'd do without the library. Seriously. I have a mild addiction to the place. I actually get jittery if a  few weeks go by and I haven't made a pilgrimage to check out what's new on the shelves.  It's one of my happy places. Where else can you go to BORROW YOUR FAVORITE THINGS. If I bought every book I've read over the years--I'd be a pauper or a hoarder because it's hard for me to give away books--especially ones I've bought. And Get this--if the library doesn't  have the book-- it can be ordered--FREE--from another library. They even send you an email when the book comes in. It's really a no brainer. There aren't many things left in this world that are absolutely FREE. Hope you take advantage of the library and their services and support the library by  Becoming a Friend of the Library. Heck--I just read a great book that was on the recommendation shelf from one of the librarians--that I'd never have spied on my own. It was called In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. The main character of this little gem is Dannie Kohan, an attorney living in New York City. She is one of those people who has planned out her entire life. She's just landed her dream job and gotten engaged--all part of her grand plan. One night she goes to bed and has a dream that changes her life. It is exactly 5 years in the future and she's in a different apartment, with a different man with a different engagement ring on her finger. She wakes highly disturbed by a dream that felt too real to be a dream. Five years go by and Dannie is still engaged when her best friend, Belle,  introduces her to her new boyfriend AND it's the guy from her dream. How can that be? Maybe it wasn't a dream? Don't want to say anymore about this book except that I had a very hard time putting down. It's a quick read only 250 pages or a quick 3 mile run that I thoroughly enjoyed.