books i have loved part II--Come Together

Another book I love is Come Together by Josie Lloyd and Emlyn Rees.
Jack and Amy are living the single life in London, until a casual one-night stand makes them realize that maybe they should take a risk and try a real relationship. Written in alternating he said/she said chapters, readers get an inside perspective on how the other side thinks. Lloyd and Rees, both novelists in their own right, were put together by their publisher to write this book, and fell in love in the process. They even graced the cover of their book. They now live in London with their family and have co-authored numerous books.

The first time I read this book, I read it in one sitting. Needing something good to read, it went with me to college as my security blanket during those first days away from home. This book didn’t change my life, but I’ve read it many times because it’s just a good story. There are twists and turns, but the happy ending I seek comes at the end.

Perhaps part of my draw to this book is the fact that their subsequent joint efforts have been so hard to get my hands on. Come Together was published in the United States, but the rest of their books are published in the United Kingdom, meaning that libraries in Britain, Canada and Australia obtain them, but American libraries don’t. I’ve been fortunate for the interlibrary loan service from the Vancouver BC Public Library to help me with my fix. As I researched this piece, I realized I hadn’t looked for one of their new books in awhile—turns out I missed The Seven Year Itch in 2007. Guess I’ll be calling upon the Vancouver PL soon…

books i have loved part I--Anne of Green Gables

Every month, our library compiles a list of staff recommendations. February's theme is Books We Love, things we have read repeatedly or that have changed our lives in some way. One of my all-time favorite books is Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery.I own this edition of Anne of Green Gables, in addition to several others. What can I say, it's my favorite book!

Orphaned as a baby when her parents die, Anne is shuffled among relatives and orphanages until one day, she is sent to live with Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, siblings who live on a farm called Green Gables on Prince Edward Island. Although they had requested a boy to help out with the farm chores, Anne soon wins them over with her boundless imagination and the delight she takes in life. The book chronicles Anne’s misadventures in the town of Avonlea, her success in school, her friendships with other kindred spirits, and her competitive relationship with Gilbert Blythe.

This book came to me around the time my aunt passed away. Anne became my hero because she overcame her very difficult beginning, still had hope for life, and viewed everything in the world as something of wonder. Anne had a habit of giving everything a grand name—on her way to Green Gables the first time, she and Matthew drove through a cherry tree orchard--she renamed it the Great White Way. As a result, I went through a similar phase myself, inventing what I thought to be clever, lyrical names for china patterns and a certain spot in our backyard. I wanted everything to be an adventure and something to be discovered, just like Anne. I quickly devoured each book in the Anne of Green Gables series, and watched the CBC film version too many times to count.

I dreamed of marrying Gilbert Blythe.

I read Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s poem, The Lady of Shallot, because Anne acted out parts in the book. I became obsessed with life in the late 1800s, even using projects like my eighth grade research paper to learn more about the Victorian era (as a result, I have a freakish knowledge of the late 19th century British monarchy). And all this because of a freckled redhead named Anne.

Shelter Me

Shelter Me by Juliette Fay
Janie’s husband Robby died four months ago, leaving her alone to raise their four year old son and seven month old daughter. She is barely keeping it together, staying above water with the help of her overbearing Aunt Jude and helpful cousin Cormac. One day, a carpenter named Tug shows up on her doorstep, ready to build the covered porch that Robby had planned as a surprise birthday present, but hadn’t gotten the chance to give her. With Tug’s watchful presence and weekly visits with a priest, Janie starts to take control of her life as well as letting go of things she knows she can’t change.

I knew this was dangerous territory when I read the book review—dead husband, young children to take care of. But I picked it up anyway. The author Fay effectively describes the grief that Janie and her son endure during the first year of Robby’s death. Every time I picked up the book, I would tear up or cry during the reading because the scenes were just so heartbreaking. But there is hope: Janie and her son and others she didn’t even realize were touched, work through their grief and get to a different, hopefully better, place.

I must say that I didn’t like the first half of the book at all. I wish it would have mentioned in the back cover description of the book that the themes of child sexual abuse and self-defense were involved. If I had known these would have been covered, I wouldn’t have read the book (when I told my husband these were mentioned, he told me to stop reading, but by that time, I had to keep reading to make sure Janie would be okay). In the materials at the end of the book, the author describes how she had years of experience in child abuse prevention and how she herself had taken a self-defense class, so I can understand her drawing upon her own experiences for the book, but I hated these too-harsh doses of reality. Perhaps she used them as a device to have Janie prove to herself that she was strong enough to guide herself and her children in this new world they found themselves in, but I thought they were completely unnecessary.

More than anything, I wish I had read this in a book club, because there were so many things I would have liked to discuss with others. The discussion questions included in the back of the book bring up things I hadn’t even thought of (like symbolism—I generally read too literally to think about what the author is hinting at).

Overall, a bit heavier than your standard chick lit fare, but very descriptive and worthwhile.

Christmas baking

For Christmas this year, A and I baked up a storm.

For the kids' Mothers Day Out teachers, we made two breads:

Martha Stewart's Chocolate Marble Bread

and America's Test Kitchen Pumpkin Bread (from their Family Baking Book). I didn't make the ganache for the Chocolate Marble Bread, as the bread is good enough without it. Having made this recipe before, the bread actually tastes better the second day. The Pumpkin Bread was drizzled with powdered sugar icing, which ended up soaking into the bread. Oh well, it looked nice.

We also made dozens and dozens of Chocolate Rolo Cookies

and Cake Mix Cookies to give to work and church friends.

The Reading Group

The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble talks about, what else, a reading group made up of five women: Harriet, a young married mom who feels she has married the wrong man; Nicole, an unhappily married young mom whose husband routinely cheats on her; Susan, a happily married woman with almost grown sons who has to care for her failing mother; Polly, a single mom who has a 20 year old daughter who just found herself pregnant; and Clare, a married woman who is infertile. The story winds its way through a full year of the book group, with each chapter starting with the book choice of the month. Without giving too much away, each woman has a difficult year, but manages in their own way to come out on top, but not always the way one would expect.

I picked up this book (Kim, is this the one you read?) because I loved Alphabet Weekends and Things I Want My Daughters To Know and wanted to read the author’s first book.

I particularly liked how the author handled the book group meetings—for the actual book discussion part, Noble understood it wasn’t necessary to always follow who was saying each bit—she just let the conversation flow, like a normal book group would do, with women cutting each other off and jumping in with revelations. I really liked that and thought it was totally life like.

In the extras at the end of the book, the author states that the novel is about six women—Harriet, Nicole, Susan, Clare, Polly and Polly’s daughter Cressida. Because of her feelings about Cressida’s pregnancy, Clare drops out of the book group about halfway through the year, and we hear almost nothing from her through the rest of the book. I thought the author should have followed this character a bit longer, instead of having her drop out of the story except to pop back in towards the end. Considering how closely and deeply we follow the other characters, that treatment seems atypical.

I look forward to reading Noble’s second book, The Friendship Test.

K

Save Handmade

Some of you might recognize a new button to the right, Save Handmade. It is in response to the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, a law which goes into effect in two months and will absolutely decimate the small toy manufacturers, independent artisans, and crafters who have already earned the public trust. My husband first alerted me to this yesterday by way of this blog post: http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2009/01/06/thrift-stores-may-stop-selling-children-s-clothing.aspx

Cool Mom Picks has an informational page about the cause, which I urge you to visit to find out more.

The law would basically require every children's product be tested for lead and phthalates before it can be sold. We're all for strengthening the safety standards of mass-produced toys, clothes, and accessories made in China, and banning toxins like phthalates and lead.
But requiring manufacturers and secondhand stores to invest tens of thousands of dollars into third-party testing and labeling, just to prove that toys that never had a single toxic chemical in them still don't have a single toxic chemical in them, seems a bit much. (From Cool Mom Picks)

Essentially, I don't like the idea of thift stores not having children's items anymore, since that is where I get a majority of my children's wardrobes. So if you are inclined, click on the Cool Mom Picks link, find your senator and congressperson, and shoot them a quick email.

K

I Do, But I Don't

Over the holidays, I read a breezy chick lit novel, I Do, (But I Don't) by Cara Lockwood. Lauren is a wedding planner who meets and falls for a handsome firefighter. There are many twists and turns in the story as to how the two eventually get together (come on, I didn't ruin anything by saying that, you knew it was going to happen). The book is peppered with stories of crazy brides and weddings gone awry. At the beginning, the story seemed exactly like the film The Wedding Planner, so if you liked that movie, you should read this book. In fact, you can watch a film based on this book that was made for Lifetime.

It wasn't the most serious book in the world, but I considered it research for the wedding planning uberbusiness Kim and I will someday have.

K