June 30, 2017 HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU

If you've read my blog before then you already know that I have a SLIGHT OBSESSION with Sam Elliott. I read a review of his new movie yesterday that--OF COURSE sparked my interest. OKAY--I'll admit it--I had to go on youtube to watch the movie trailers--interviews--and then more interviews--because that's what happens when you have a SLIGHT OBSESSION right?? Sam Elliott is ONE of the few actors of a certain age WHOSE DOOR IS STILL OPEN. Seriously--I STILL can't get enough of the voice, mustache--the WHOLE PACKAGE. I'm actually going to spend a few hours with him this afternoon--at the movie theater--IN MY GLORY.  FYI--I'm pretty sure Sam and I are meant to be together--in another life. The only reason we are not together now is as follows.  A LONG time ago I came up with a criteria--3 rules that I have FOLLOWED STRICTLY--when it comes to men.  1--NEVER, EVER date anyone better looking than you are.  2--NEVER, EVER date anyone skinnier.  3--NEVER, EVER date anyone shorter. HENCE--the problem. SAM might be a  SMIDGEN  better looking than I am. That means the spotlight would be on him and that's NOT GONNA WORK FOR ME. Although he is taller than I am-- he looks a TINY BIT skinnier than I am. AGAIN--that's not gonna work for me. I can't be with someone who has SMALLER thighs either. So Sam--as much as I want it to work--I have some real  issues that will FOREVER KEEP US APART--in this life anyways! Don't worry--I'll see you on the big screen.
  I could definitely see Sam  Elliott cast in the movie version of a great book I just finished--The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley by Hannah Tinti. Samuel Hawley is a gun for hire who has been on the run for several years--for a past he can't escape. He is also a father--not your typical dad though--as his daughter Loo can handle a gun like nobody's business. When Loo turns twelve, Hawley decides it's time to settle down. He brings Loo to Olympus, Massachusetts, the hometown of his deceased wife, Lily. This is a coming of age story for Loo after settling in Olympus that alternatives with stories of how Hawley acquired each of his twelve gun shot wounds. When Hawley isn't being a father to  his daughter, he is actually a violent, heartless criminal who hauls cash and  makes trades for others that often involve merciless killing. He and his friend Jove pull jobs all over the United States--they may be rich but they have burned many bridges and live with serious regret. The chapters about Hawley are frightening and many times repulsive but I still found something to like about him. Maybe his love for his daughter redeems him. Loo is also an interesting character. Moving to her mother's hometown, she finally gets to know her grandmother and learn all about her mother who died when she was a baby.  This is a fun, exciting ride that you don't want to miss. It's about 400 pages---an easy read though--only a  4 mile run. Hope there's a sequel or a movie of this soon. Enjoy!

June 28, 2017 DO YOU BELIEVE IN MAGIC

So this is what it feels like to be retired. LOVE IT. There is nothing better than rolling out of bed at 7:30 to go for a run. It's a great way to start each day. I feel stronger, calmer and much more relaxed. SO HAPPY.  The low humidity has been a HUGE PLUS TOO. It's more fun to run when it doesn't feel like a chore--something ELSE that has to get checked off the list. That's why summer running is SO MUCH FUN.  Only wish I could find some way to continue it during the school year but with my schedule it's never going to happen.  ALL THE MORE REASON TO APPRECIATE WHAT I HAVE--RIGHT NOW.  Remember that race I lost by 1 SECOND last year--IT'S BACK--the annual Sailfest Charter Oak 5k is July 9th. My stomach starts to flutter just thinking about it. YIKES!! No use speculating--I REALLY WANT TO PLACE THIS YEAR--gonna have to REALLY hunker down and kill myself to do it though. GOOD TIMES--wish me luck!!
No use speculating on the book I'm going to review either as it has already been touted as one of the 24 best fiction books of 2015. Erica Swyler's debut novel The Book of Speculation is a wonderful book about the power of books, family and magic. Set on Long Island Sound, Simon Watson is a lonely research librarian living in a house that is slowing crumbling into the sound. His mother, a former circus mermaid, drowned in the very waters overlooking his house when he was only twelve. His father died of a broken heart a few years later and his sister Enola ran away with the circus to be a tarot card reader when she turned eighteen. One day a book arrives at his door from an antiquarian book dealer who bought it on speculation. It is the log of a traveling circus from the 1700s which includes information on the drowning deaths of other circus mermaids all on July 24--the same day Simon's mother died. With July 24 only a few weeks away, Simon tries to discover what the book has to do with his family. Is there a curse on  the women in his family? Will he be able to save his sister from the curse? Find out for yourself when you read this hard to put down book yourself. There are quirky characters and other subplots--I recommend making a family tree because the generations can get a little confusing by the end of the novel. So if you are a fan of The Night Circus or Water for Elephants you will definitely like this 380 page book. It's about a 5 mile run that you will thoroughly enjoy.

June 27, 2017 THE BELLE OF THE BOOK

I have been in love with reading my whole life. I remember when my grandmother bought me a copy of Charlotte's Web in Fourth grade-- I stayed up half the night because I had to know what happened to Wilbur and Charlotte. E.B. White,  Beverly Clearly and Judy Blume were paramount to my childhood. I must have read Are You There God, It's Me Margaret a dozen times. Margaret became a great friend to me. I learned many lessons from not only her, but the characters in every book. Books so influenced my life, that I try to share this life long love with my students as an English teacher.

As an adult, I find the characters in books more interesting than most (okay--many) people. Don't get me wrong, I have many friends, but I long and feel most content when enveloped in a great book. I actually start to get nervous if my pile of "to read" books gets low--seriously!

Since I am a well-known book worm, people constantly come to me for book recommendations. Among my family and friends, I have developed a reputation as a well-read person of quality (usually) literature.  Friends affectionately refer to me as their "book dealer;" someone they trust to help them navigate the often overwhelming variety of choices in the book world.  Hence, my blog, The Belle of the Book. This blog  makes it easier for me to share recommendations and other random things I ponder while out running or just wandering around town.

My hope is that you find this blog not only helpful; but more importantly, I hope it inspires you to want to find a cozy corner where you can curl up with a great novel and pass the day.

 Find my blog at belleofthebookmrr.blogspot.com. You can also follow me on facebook, twitter or instagram. Have a great day. Happy reading.

JUNE 26, 2017 YOU BETTER SHOP AROUND

 BENNY'S. Missing my favorite store--ESPECIALLY--this time of year.  Not exactly sure why they closed last year but-- IT STILL HURTS--OKAY??  Went out to the  "other" stores looking for crabbing nets the other day to NO avail. SO--I decided to make the trek across the bridge and around the corner to the "other" BENNY'S and I'M GLAD I DID.  That's the thing--Benny's has everything. I can get my crabbing nets-- beach chairs-- GIANT PINK OR WHITE swan float,  toaster and new kitchen clock in one place.  HIGHLY EFFICIENT. AAAHHH BENNY'S. It really is like walking into a time warp. I'm back in the 1970's again. Pocket protectors, shirts and ties and really good customer service. HOME AGAIN. Even saw some of the employees from the old store working in this one. COOL. So if you're missing BENNY'S--take the 15 minute drive across the bridge--you'll be glad you did. While you're there--I could use a few new tires and a gallon of paint!
 All this reminiscing made me think of a great book I read a few years back called Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen. Jacob Jankowski is a 93 year old man living in a nursing home with no control over his daily life. In order to escape his prison, Jacob reminisces about the good ole days. Jacob's story is told through a series of memories while waiting for one of his five children to arrive to take him to the circus.
During the depression, Jacob a veterinary student finishing up course work and preparing for finals, learns  that his parents have been killed in a car accident. Distraught over his parents death, Jacob hastily decides to  jump on a train one lonely night--a circus train belonging to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Jacob starts out with menial jobs but is eventually hired by the circus owner, a ruthless man named  Uncle Al, to take care of the animals. Here, Jacob meets an array of characters  including  a drunk named Camel, a dwarf named Kinko, a violent animal trainer named August, his wife Marlena, the star of the circus and an elephant named Rosie. August is a cruel, heartless animal trainer who not only beats his animals but also his wife. As the story unfolds, Jacob and Marlena fall in love much to the chagrin of August who will do ANYTHING to keep his wife. Will Jacob and Marlena escape from August's clutches? Will Jacob and Marlena be able to save the animals that August and Uncle Al  abuse?? Will one of Jacob's children make it to the nursing home to take Jacob to the circus?
Find out when you read this wonderful book for yourself. It is a well-written, easy to read book that is impossible to put down. It's about 330 pages or a 4 mile run that will keep you guessing until the very end.  Enjoy!

JUNE 23, 2017 THIS IS WHY I'M HOT

If I could devise a way to keep SWEAT from dripping in my eyes during those NASTY-- HUMID--HOT runs--I'd be a millionaire. It seriously STINGS and makes it hard to see--have tried to use my shirt but it's already SOAKED with sweat AND the visor can only do so much. Had some tough runs this week in the heat. Breathing has been more difficult and I've really had to slow down. And talk about sweat--literally dripping from head to toe after every run.  Need to get used to this though  if I'm going to run the Kelley Road Race again this year. It's a summer tradition--a SERIOUSLY SCORCHING run the first Saturday in August. You really have to have a SCREW LOOSE to run it-- BUT SOMEHOW it's become a rite of passage-- every summer. This is the only race I know of that's FREE. For the last 50 years or so the race has been billed as a 12 mile road race--it's actually 11.6 miles--an odd ball distance but that's what makes it unique. Sadly, the race is being changed this year-- Not sure why--but this year it's going to be a half-marathon. ANOTHER 1.5 MILES-- YIKES--I could barely do the run when it was 11.6. It's a tough run at a blistering time of year SO I'll need to get used to this HEAT if I'm going to last. Extreme temperatures are commonplace in Pakistan, the setting for Fatima Bhutto's novel The Shadow of the Crescent Moon. 

Bhutto is a well known writer  with many ties to Pakistan. Her grandfather, hanged in 1979, was a former Prime Minister as was her uncle, Benazir Bhutto, before he was assassinated.  Her father was also murdered in an attempt to overthrow General Zia in 1996.  Her family has quite a history. Bhutto is obviously  quite knowledgeable about Pakistan, politics and life in Pakistan after  9/11 and the "War on Terror."
This fictional story takes place in Mir Ali, a village in Pakistan near the border of Afghanistan. It is commonplace to see American drones killing the Taliban and innocent children--Sunni Muslims bombing Shia Muslims--even the underground movement fighting its own corrupt government  for independence. It's a volatile region--a war zone. Bhutto's story takes place here in the course of one day.  It is the day before Eid Holiday and three brothers-Aman Erum, Hayat, and Sikandar decide to visit three different mosques because it is too risky to be together. Aman Erun, the eldest, is here on holiday. He sold his soul to the government in order to get an American visa to go to college. He also left behind his sweetheart, Samarra,  in order to go to America and make something of himself.
Sikahdar is a doctor who is married to Mira. On the way to the Mosque they are accosted by the Taliban bent on killing anyone failing to answer the question correctly. Are you Shia or Sunni?
The youngest brother, Hayat, is a Shia Separatist, a high ranking member of the underground where he moves weapons and heavy artillery. He and Samarra, also involved in the movement, become involved and tangled in a web that could end in disaster. Find out what happens to these five people by the end of the day when you read this engaging, time appropriate novel. It is only about 240 pages--or a 4 mile run--with a twist at the end that I didn't see coming. Enjoy

June 20, 2017 WHO'S GOING TO DANCE THE POLKA

While out running this morning, my comrade and I got into a discussion about--YET-- another way our  world has changed. One glance at the weekend section of The Day and the average reader is BOMBARDED with events. TOO MANY CHOICES.  IT'S CRAZY.  This, of course,  led to a lot of memories and laughs about simpler times--when there weren't so many choices. So without further ado.......Remember when The Wizard of Oz was only on ONCE a year--it was an EXCITING event. We couldn't wait--to pile around the television in awe--ESPECIALLY-- the first time we saw it in COLOR!! I can't tell you how long it took me to realize that the same actors played both roles--OKAY--I ONLY SAW IT ONCE A YEAR!!  Then we moved on to the fireworks...........When I was a kid--a trip to see the fireworks--was like going to Disney!! Heck--the fireworks were only ONCE a year and were PURE magic. Today--not so much.  Even a trip to Ocean Beach was cause for celebration when I was a kid. We would go  every summer  because it was home to a major event--POLKABRATION.   It would literally take over the boardwalk for at least a week every summer. The men would come dressed in their finery--white shoes, pants, belt--adorned with a red shirt and smiling face. The women came all gussied up too  in their fancy dresses--splashed with color and different designs. They really whooped it up-- dancing around the boardwalk from morning till dusk to the Dick Pillar Band.  Talk about a major event--this was a vacation for thousands of people--every year.  I know--I know--everything changes--it's what makes the world go round. Some changes are good and others-- NOT so much. No one knows this better than Okonko, the main character of Chinua Achebe's awarding winning novel from 1958 Everything Falls Apart. 

This wonderful piece of historical fiction actually paved the way for other African American writers. It has been translated into more than 50 different languages and sold over 20 million copies world wide. It is also a mainstay in high schools around the world because it is relevant--even today-- in many ways. This story takes place in the fictional village of Umuofia in the 1890s. Okonko is a leader in his Igbo village. He is a wealthy, hard-working, wrestling champion with an almost morbid obsession with masculinity--because his father is a weak man with zero standing in their tribe. Okonko always feels he has to prove himself, a need that eventually brings about his demise.  He has three wives and several children that he treats poorly. The story unfolds in three parts.  The first tells of Okonko's life, family history, society and the rituals of the Igbo people. The next section begins  when Okono and his family are banished from the tribe and must live in exile for  seven years--at a time when British colonialism comes to Africa.  In the final section, Okonko and his family return to the tribe and are distraught by the changes as Christian Missionaries have been converting the "African savages." Okonko wants to fight them but he does not have the support of his tribe. Find out what ultimately happens to Okonko, his family and the tribe when you read this benchmark in African literature. This masterpiece is only about 150 pages long--a mere 4 mile run--that tells about Western enlightenment by a man and family who lived through it.

June 18, 2017 PAPA'S GOT A BRAND NEW BAG

It's that time of year again. Father's Day. It's a time to honor those men who take their parental responsibilities seriously.  They change diapers, wake up at all hours of the night to clean up vomit, calm a child down after night terrors and even make room for a little one in their bed after a bad dream. Being a parent is hard work--every day for the rest of your life--it's a lesson in selflessness that never ends. Unfortunately, many children grow up without fathers. Statistics estimate that  24 million children in the United States--1 in 3--live without a father. Fatherlessness is one of the most significant problems facing our society. It IS what's wrong with our world.  It saddens me on every level when I hear young mothers actually say "baby daddy" when referring to the father of their child.  It's even worse when I five year old uses this term??? I actually cringe. Is this the new norm?? If it is  then we as a society are in a lot of trouble. This has to change. Fatherlessness hurts everyone. Statistics have proven that children without fathers risk--living in poverty--substance abuse--teen pregnancy--dropping out of high school.  I wish I knew how to stop this cycle that perpetuates a helplessness that can easily be prevented. Many of these themes are explored in Nathan Hill's highly praised new novel The Nix.

First saw this book in the New York Times Sunday Book Review. It came recommended by one of my favorite writers--John Irving and it was referred to as Dickensian. Knew immediately it would be my cup of tea. Hill's novel is about many things including love, betrayal, politics, family relationships AND it is also a satire on society today. It's a huge undertaking--he actually spent 10 years on it and it shows-- the writing is both wonderful and introspective. The main character is Samuel Andreson-Anderson. He is a thirty year old English professor and failed writer. Sam has a nix--something that he loved that disappeared and took a piece of his heart. His mother, Faye, who abandoned him when he was 11 years old. He hasn't heard from her in 20 years until she gets  arrested for attacking a well-known politician and her image is splashed all over the news. Sam decides to help his mother, but in order to do so, he must find out her secret life in Chicago during the 1968 riots. Hill takes the reader back to Faye's childhood-- her difficult relationship with a father she never understood-- to Sam's childhood--when his mother left the family--and back to the present. This sweeping novel is told through several characters--including  an addicted gamer named Pwnage, a college student named Laura Pottsdam who is trying to get Sam fired, Sam's childhood friends, Bishop & Bethany as well as Guy Periwinkle, Sam's publisher. It's a menagerie of interesting characters that somehow come full circle by the end of this winner of the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. It is a novel that is SO relevant today that it IS well worth the 600 pages. It's a commitment though--perhaps an 8 mile run--that you will not regret!