August 28, 2023 CHAIN OF FOOLS

Been going to physical therapy for a few months AND happy to report that I've started running again. My knees are FINALLY feeling better and I'm currently running two minutes/walking 2 minutes for 3 miles and feeling good. It's been a long road....6 months since the fall. I've been working on strengthening my feet, knees, quads, glutes and core. Also spending a good amount of time stretching the hamstrings and IT band. Doing all kinds of drills too to change my running form. I'm marching, skipping with high knees, butt kicking, grapevining, lunging........I'm working on driving my knees forward, reducing step length and keeping shoulders up and back to reduce stress on my knees. Glad I have a buddy to work with as my running partner is also coming back from an injury. Pretty soon, we'll be back to our old routine. Can't wait. Also, can't wait to tell you about the final installment of the North Bath series written by Richard Russo called Somebody's Fool. Russo wrote the first book in the trilogy in 1993 called Nobody's Fool. In 2016 the second novel was written and it was called Everybody's Fool. This one written in 2023 is Somebody's Fool.  This lovely novel is also set in North Bath, a small town in upstate New York in 2010. Although Donald "Sully" Sullivan has been dead for 10 years, his spirit is alive and well. The town of North Bath is finally being annexed by its rival Schuyler Springs and Sully's son Peter is back in town living in Miss Berle's house. His abandoned son, Thomas, reappears causing Peter to reflect on his own abandonment by Sully when he was a kid.  Doug Raymour, the former chief of police finds a dead body in the long abandoned hotel, Sans Souci, and he is forced to work with the new chief of police and his former lover, Charice, to solve the crime. There are all sort of trials and tribulations for the cast of characters-- Rub, Vera, Carl, Ruth, Janey, Tina and it was a pleasure to return to Bath and reconnect with them. Russo is a master at writing about working class people, small town life--where everyone knows your business and people care about their neighbors. It's about 450 pages from a writer who is spectacular at his craft.

August 21, 2023 SIX FEET UNDER

I have a confession to make. Don't judge me BUT I have a strange obsession with OBITUARIES. I have been known to scour the obits looking for QUIRKY--FUNNY OBITS. I'm not interested in  traditional obits--those are a dime a dozen. I'm looking for very DIFFERENT obits--the ones that either make my head spin, laugh out loud or both. I'm serious. THEY ARE REALLY OUT THERE. I didn't realize until yesterday that being an obituary writer is an actual profession. If I had known that --I just might have chosen a different profession. Ha. On a serious note-- there is actually a Society of Professional Obituary Writers out there--BUMMER they not accepting new members right now. This is interesting though.  They hold "The Grimmys" every two years. Writers from all around the world submit obits and win awards for best obits.  Who Knew?? The reason I'm thinking about obituaries right now is because I just finished a book and one of the main characters was a professional obituary writer, It's called The Love of My Life by Rosie Walsh. As the story unfolds, Emma and Leo have been happily married for ten years and live in London with their young daughter, Ruby. Emma, however, has been struggling with cancer for several years and is hoping to be in remission soon. Emma is a famous Marine biologist and Leo is an obituary writer for a major newspaper. As on obit writer,  one of his responsibilities  is to get "stock obits" ready for the future. Unbeknownst to Emma, Leo begins a "stock obit" for her. While researching her general information, Leo learns that there are some major discrepancies between what Emma has told him of her life and reality. As Leo digs into her past, he starts to believe that Emma is not the woman he thinks she and that their life together is based on lies. Find out what happens to Leo and Emma and why Emma is hiding her past and keeping secrets that could ultimately shatter her future when you read this serious page turner of 385 pages. This is a love story and mystery, with lots of twists and turns with complex, flawed characters that I really enjoyed. 

August 13, 2023 TRIP AROUND THE SUN

 

Six birthdays between July and August. That's a lot of CAKE, PRESENTS, PARTIES, COOK-OUTS.  I'm exhausted. Just finished the LAST party yesterday. It was the Queen's bday. Not sure why but her birthday goes ON AND ON. Seriously--for days and days.  It all started with her STAYCATION on the beach--gorgeous week--6 friends and a lot of fun. It ended last night with a Mussels party (her fav) with family and friends. Enjoyed vegan pesto pasta, salad, bread and vegan key lime pie!! I'm telling you--I need a vacation from her staycation. Gonna kick up my feet--relax--and review the book I just finished. I totally enjoyed Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. This beautifully written family saga spans 1960-2008 and is set in Chicago. As the story unfolds, William Waters is the unfortunate child of parents spirally from the death of his sister. His parents are detached and their grief leaves William feeling unloved and unwanted. The only positive in his life is basketball. He excels in high school and is eventually recruited to play in college where he meets Julia Padavano. Julia and her sisters, Sylvie, Cecelia, and Emeline, are inseparable; best friends who share a tiny house with their parents, Charlie and Rose. After meeting William, Julia decides he's the one for her, but William's unhappy childhood haunts their future and an unforeseen tragedy changes everything and threatens the Padovano sisters' close relationship. This is a story about sibling love, family love, relationships, shifting allegiances, loss and acceptance. The characters are interesting, flawed people that you will come to love and miss when the story is over. It's about 400 pages of brilliant writing. Enjoy. 

August 3, 2023 WITCHY WOMAN

 Entering my 6th year teaching art. I really enjoy being surrounded by budding artists. Some of them are truly amazing. They have taught me many things over the years. One thing I have learned is that I AM an ART TEACHER NOT AN ARTIST. Yes--I can draw and paint BUT I do not have the secret ingredient. It's a GIFT. A passion and creativity that oozes from every pore. These are people DRIVEN to create--otherwise they feel incomplete. It's their oxygen.  That's the difference. I can teach anyone how to "SEE", draw and paint-- it's a skill anyone can cultivate to a degree---BUT that's as far as it will go without THE GIFT. I believe that we all have certain gifts and talents--it's our job to figure out what that may be and share it. I think my gift is probably teaching. Helping students be their BEST. Believing in them, caring about them and inspiring them to share their gifts with others. The characters in Weyward by Emilia Hart also have a special gift. As this debut novel unfolds, three women from different time periods appear to have a "sensitivity to nature" and an innate ability to heal others. The story of Altha begins in 1619 as she is being held in a dungeon on trial for witchcraft. Violet, the second woman, is a sixteen year old girl living with her father and brother on their country estate, Orton Hall, in 1942. Set in 2019, Kate is a woman living in London who runs away from her abusive husband and hides in her great-aunt's cottage in the country. Hart seamlessly weaves together an interesting tale of three woman over five centuries who are somehow connected. The reader learns not only about their tragic tales but more importantly their strength and resilience in a world controlled for the most part by men. This 330 page book is a real page turner. It touches on witchcraft, but is more than that. It's also a mystery. I was drawn to the characters and really wanted to make sure they were safe in the end. Find out what happens to each and how they are connected when you check out this book for yourself. Enjoy. 

July 29, 2023 EVERYDAY I WRITE THE BOOK

John Irving is one of my all time favorite writers. He's won many awards including a National Book Award for The World According to Garp, an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for The Cider House Rules anda Lambda Literary Award for In One Person. His novels have also found International fame and have been translated into forty different languages. In addition, five of his novels have been made into movies. My personal favorites include: A Prayer for Owen Meany, A Widow for One Year and A Son of the Circus. Irving knew he wanted to be a writer after reading Charles Dickens' classic Great Expectations when he was only fourteen years old. After reading Dickens, Irving said, he wanted to move the reader like Dickens moved him--both emotionally and intellectually.  At the heart of any Irving or Dickens novel is some type of social or moral dilemma--orphans, absent fathers, poverty, sexual identity.  Dickens' influence on Irving is obvious in his obsessive attention to detail that often leads to long, windy sentences, complex plots and a cast of unforgettable characters. Irving's fifteenth novel The Last Chair Lift is vintage Irving. You will feel right at home if you are an Irving fan as he touches on familiar themes including wrestling, New England, Exeter, absent fathers, sexual identity and politics. It's like visiting an old friend you haven't seen in seven years. As this NINE HUNDRED page novel unfolds, Ray Brewster is a slalom skier at the National Downhill Slalom Championships in Aspen, Colorado. After the games, Little Ray goes back home to New Hampshire where she finds herself pregnant. Little Ray and her son, Adam, live with her parents--Nana and grandfather also known as --the mysteriously mute principal emeritus. The novel spans eight decades as Adam grows up and tackles childhood, puberty, sexuality, unconventional families, illness, LGBTQ, death and the Catholic Church. There are so many wonderful characters in this novel--Molly, Elliot Barlow, Nora, Em---who help Adam understand that love and family can come in many forms.  Irving has this amazing ability to make serious, sometimes tragic events LAUGH OUT LOUD FUNNY TOO. He's a genius. Warning: This is probably not for the first time reader of an Irving novel. It's long (maybe too long) but for the SUPERFAN it is a MUST READ. Let me know what you think. 

July 16, 2023 ONLY SIXTEEN

Can't believe my little Tim is going to be sixteen tomorrow. SIXTEEN. He has an appointment for his driving permit this week. YIKES. Seems like he was just learning to ride his bike??? Time has certainly been a whirlwind. I didn't have Tim until I was 42 years old!!! ANCIENT. Although he wasn't really planned--he's been the greatest gift. Not sure what we would do without him. He keeps us young in so many ways. It's like we got a REDO.  With Timmy around--we still got to decorate for Halloween--go trick or treating----get an Elf on the Shelf--AND believe in Santa again. Good Times.  On to other news. I also had a good time reading Mary Beth Keane's new book The Half Moon. Set in Gilliam, a small suburb of New York City, Malcolm Gephardt is a bartender at the Half Moon who dreams of one day owning the place. After his boss announces that he is going to retire, he offers to sell the place to Malcolm. Although Malcolm really wants to buy the bar, is it really feasible or just pipe dream?  Meanwhile, Malcolm's wife Jess is a dedicated lawyer struggling to come to terms with infertility. They've spent six years and thousands of dollars on treatments that have put a heavy strain on their marriage and finances. As Jess struggles, she begins to question her marriage and choices in life. Keane's observations about marriage and midlife struggles are on point in this story as Jess wonders if the grass is really greener on the other side. -----Will Malcolm get in over his head and buy the bar? Will Jess come to terms with her problems? Will this marriage survive? Find out the answer to these and other questions when you read this 300 page well- written book for yourself. 

July 9, 2023 I FEEL THE EARTH MOVE

 

When I was a kid, my grandparents used to take me to The Theatre by the Sea in Matunuck. I remember seeing Sha Na Na, Jesus Christ Superstar, My Fair Lady, Singing in the Rain, Show Boat etc........Haven't been to this little gem in 40 years--until yesterday. Got tickets to see Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. It was a REAL stroll down memory lane. The theatre itself hasn't changed much--it's actually a "barn theatre"  that originally opened in 1933 to entertain and create jobs during the Depression. The theatre is actually celebrating its 90th year right now. That's amazing. Beautiful: The Carole King Musical was ALSO AMAZING--as good as any Broadway show! The cast, dancers and orchestra were electric. If you get a chance to check out this little theatre by the sea--you won't be disappointed. In the meantime, you can check out my review of Jane Harper's newest book Exiles. If you like a good crime novel-mystery then look no further. Aaron Falk, the main character, is a Federal Investigator on his way to a small town in Southern Australian to visit his former partner Raco and attend his godson's Christening. The Christening coincides with the one year anniversary of Kim Gillespie's disappearance. Kim simply vanished from a carnival --leaving her infant daughter behind. Falk and Raco start their own investigation and interview the cast of characters in this small town--where everyone knows your name. Why would anyone want Kim dead? Why would a mother abandon her baby? Why was her shoe found in a nearby river? Find out what happened to Kim and the rest of the characters when you read this mystery for yourself. The writing is good--the characters and vivid description of small town life and the landscape--will make you feel part of the story. It's on 360 pages--that I hope you will enjoy.