New Book

I believe this book was genetically engineered to delight me.

Finds of the day

I don't remember how I found this. Oh, yes, via the Real Simple newsletter that's where!  These absolutely adorable and exquisite prints by Susie Ghahremani. They are full of lively animals and musical instruments, sweet and lovely and full of color. She has a fabulous website called girlboyparty where she sells many items adorned with her art among a lot of other things, including her original music, which I haven't had a chance to listen to. Please click on the link to see, her art isn't reproducible in other blogs. Oh to be young and just out of art school! At her webpage I also discovered this book- which she is featured in:

The Exquisite Book

To be involved in something like this would have been so incredible. Artists would make art, then send it on to the next artist who would continue the art, having only seen the very edge of the previous work.  The book puts all the pieces together as one. The pages will fold out so that the viewer can see them at once. Exquisite, indeed. This will be a must for our home library!

Book Challenge

I have checked out some books from the library. I will attempt to read them all the way through- as opposed to reading a few pages and then just looking at the pretty covers while they sit on a table. I grabbed these books rather quickly yesterday, had only an hour on the meter and kid's books to search for. Oh, hey! I just remembered I finished one yesterday!

I have discovered the brand new Graphic Novel section in the library and I always try to check out what new things they have. I've been so curious about them and I've never known where to start. So the library is perfect for trying them out. I've already read "French Milk" by Lucy Knisley which was a sweet travelogue of a college age girl's trip to Paris with her mother. It was drawn in simple black and white, with a few photos thrown in, lots of drawings and descriptions of food! Yesterday I sat down and read "The Eternal Smile" by Gene Luen Yang and Derek Kirk Kim. It was a pretty quick read, three stories- all entertaining. Each drawn in a separate comic style. Each story had a little twist, that turned them from slightly ho-hum to delightful. I also checked out "Berlin, City of Stones" by Jason Lutes. It's very good so far, set in Berlin, between the wars, it follows the lives of an artist and a journalist, it looks to be very compelling. It's drawn in black and white, traditional comic style. I have to learn the proper names for these. I've been enjoying graphic novels- they are easier to jump into than traditional novels, when I don't have a lot of time. They suck me in faster. The visual style sets it all up, there doesn't have to be descriptions of what things look like, where things are located- it's all just there- drawn out for you. Not that I don't enjoy that element of reading- creating pictures in my mind. But quite honestly- sometimes my brain is too tired.

The other books I grabbed in haste after being attracted by the cover (yes, that's what I look at first) and then quickly reading synopsis on jackets... and yes, they were in the bestseller section. I can't just run into the aisles- without looking for something specific:

"Sunnyside" by Glen David Gold

"Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict" by Laurie Viera Rigler

"The Girl With the Dragon Tatoo" by Stieg Larsson

I realized later, I had seen ads for "Sunnyside" and "The Girl..." in the New Yorker. I always earmark those pages and never follow through. I guess I had stored them in my brain. I know that "The Girl..." is not my usual fair, but it's been so lauded and promoted- I thought I might give it a try- or at least pass it on to Mark. I was inspired to grab the Jane Austen book after listening to the Penguin Classic Book podcast- regarding the undying love for Jane Austen by human beings everywhere.

I'll let you know if I actually read any of them.

Media I have consumed...

I read the book "The Ten Year Nap" by Meg Wollitzer. I picked it up for $4 at Borders in the remainder bin, even though it's a fairly new, bestselling book. I gobbled it up. It was the first time I had identified so closely with a book in a long while- it being about 40-something stay at home moms. It was nearly perfect in it's portrayal of the conflict we feel as mothers. (Okay, maybe it was just perfect.) The daily pull of self interest against family interest. As one review put it- who do women owe their allegiance to, themselves? their children? their husbands? their mothers? their friends? The worries of our lives, our children's well-being, our husbands interests, our aging selves- the cutting off from our old selves- before children. What if? You can read the first chapter here.

I have read several articles in The New Yorker which I have already forgotten. But which will return to me in some weird fashion in the middle of a conversation one day. One morning, I absent-mindedly started reading the middle of a short story. I rarely read them- I don't know why- there is no good explanation. I guess when I'm reading the magazine I'm not in a fiction mood. Anyhow- it caught my interest so I turned to the beginning. To my delight it was written by Lorrie Moore. I was introduced to her in college and read a few of her novels. At the time, me being young and starry eyed- they struck me as mean and dark. Now, as my older self, I appreciate her style. Funny- "Childcare" is about a young college girl interviewing for a job as a nanny to a 40-something woman. Coincidence? I think not. The gods are speaking to me. You can read the short story here.

French by Heart

I am reading the most enchanting, wonderful book right now.  It's called "French By Heart" written by Rebecca S. Ramsey.  It's a memoir of her time spent living in France with her 3 young children, husband and old cat.  It takes place in the early 2000's.  I totally relate to it in so many ways.  First off she is obsessed with France and the charming villages, the history, the culture, etc. Her French isn't great and she is speaking it with a South Carolina accent (can you imagine?) Then there's the travails of school, but this time mixed with the language barrier and the chain smoking, snobbish teachers.  What I most relate to is her older neighbor, who is constantly watching her house, dispensing advice and generally bossing her around.  I laugh the hardest at those moments.  She is admonished for her gardening and housekeeping (check), given so much advice on raising children the French way (check- but different culture) and surprised to have strange pills forced into her mouth without warning (I have had strange food pushed into my mouth without warning.)  She is poked and prodded and her house is invaded by this neighbor- she is constantly subjected to rants about the right way to do things.  The big difference is that her neighbor is across the street, with full viewing privileges of her house. Mine is next door and I am only on display as I enter the yards.  I have been known to take a step out, see activity in the next door yard and hightail it back inside.  The author can't even walk around in her house without being watched!  I got this from the library, but I think I might buy it- I can see myself wanting to read it again.  

Finished!

hoffman, originally uploaded by bossamama.

I actually finished a book. In 3 days no less. It meant not getting a few things done around the house. But it was worth it. Had that feeling I used to get over the long summers as a kid when I would read a new book everyday, stay up all night reading, go back to the library to stock up on more. Thanks Mom for giving me a book that could bring that feeling back. And what a dreamy, heartbreaking book it is- worth every moment. Skylight Confessions by Alice Hoffman.  Try not to read any descriptions, or you won't get to enjoy the surprises.  It shocks me how much people give away in reviews sometimes!  But be warned it can be a sad book.