Not Exactly What I had in Mind: An Incurable Love Story, by Rosemary Breslin (HC, 1997, $3)
I suppose you could say this book reminded me of Love Story, but this book is better written, funnier, and really happened. Rosemary Breslin had a famous and wealthy father. She also had a weird, as in never seen before, ailment, that was not cancer, and was not AIDS. Exactly what it was, though, no one knew. They didn't know when she first became ill, and at the end of the book, 8 years later, they still don't know. Thus the problem- if you don't know the diagnosis, how do you treat the disease. More importantly, how does Rosemary manage to live both with the illness, and the uncertainty.
In the beginning Breslin's life is a mess. Not only is she ill, but she is also unemployed, heavily in debt, near to being homeless, and, need I mention, a tad bit depressed. You would expect this book to be a real downer, except it isn't. Like in a fairytale, she meets a prince. Unlike the fairytale, they do not live happily after, but oh, do they live!
"This can't be my life... But I know it is. And I love it. and I can't say I'd change any of it, even the illness, because it's who I am and without it maybe there wouldn't be Tony Dunne. And that's what it's all about for me. A great part of living with this illness and not losing my sanity involves both looking at the amazing way my life has unfolded after I got sick and accepting I may not get some of the things I want so badly. My health. A baby. A long life. But I did get to be someone I'm proud to be. And I got Tony Dunne."
This book was written in 1997, with Breslin and her husband hanging in there. I have grown to admire, and strangely even love this woman. She is so brave, so funny, and so real. Of course I checked out her current "status" on the internet, and found just what I thought I would find. I feel sad, but oh, but what a life!
Look for this on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/11. (Later: biog. section)
Friday, January 6, 2012
A John Verdon Mystery **SOLD**
Shut Your Eyes Tight, by John Verdson (HC, 2011, $4)
I don't normally blog fiction, but this mystery is special. I made the mistake of starting it one evening, and for 509 pages couldn't put it down. The sun was well up by the time I finished. Even though I was pretty tired by then, I still had to say "WOW" after "all" had been revealed.
Poor former NYPD homicide cop, Dave Gurney, is now retired. He and his wife live in the country. His wife is happy. He is not. His former partner asks for a consultation in a four month old murder case. A famous psychiatrist had married a former patient. It is time for the wedding toast, and he goes to get her, but instead finds her body seated at a table, but her head on the table. Who did the evil deed? Probably the gardener, who is now missing. Also missing is the neighbor's wife, who was thought to have been having an affair with the gardener. It is now four months later, and neither the gardener or the wife have been found. Where are they now, and did they do the deed? Gurney is itching to find out. Keeping his marriage requires he turn away. Guess which he decides to do?
Since this tale lasts for over 500 pages, it is safe to assume that all is not what it seems. I read a lot of mysteries, but even I didn't see where all the twists were leading. 500 pages! I never read a book that long. But I did this one, and I plan on reading Verdon's first book, no matter how many pages it is. (Note this is a very recent book, thus the higher price.) Look for it in the mystery section, avail. 1/11.
I don't normally blog fiction, but this mystery is special. I made the mistake of starting it one evening, and for 509 pages couldn't put it down. The sun was well up by the time I finished. Even though I was pretty tired by then, I still had to say "WOW" after "all" had been revealed.
Poor former NYPD homicide cop, Dave Gurney, is now retired. He and his wife live in the country. His wife is happy. He is not. His former partner asks for a consultation in a four month old murder case. A famous psychiatrist had married a former patient. It is time for the wedding toast, and he goes to get her, but instead finds her body seated at a table, but her head on the table. Who did the evil deed? Probably the gardener, who is now missing. Also missing is the neighbor's wife, who was thought to have been having an affair with the gardener. It is now four months later, and neither the gardener or the wife have been found. Where are they now, and did they do the deed? Gurney is itching to find out. Keeping his marriage requires he turn away. Guess which he decides to do?
Since this tale lasts for over 500 pages, it is safe to assume that all is not what it seems. I read a lot of mysteries, but even I didn't see where all the twists were leading. 500 pages! I never read a book that long. But I did this one, and I plan on reading Verdon's first book, no matter how many pages it is. (Note this is a very recent book, thus the higher price.) Look for it in the mystery section, avail. 1/11.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Driving With Dead People!
Driving With Dead People: A Memoir, by Monica Holloway (TPB, 2007, $2.50)
Doesn't that title just reach out and grab you! I figured this would be a fun book to read, heavy on the parts where the girl hangs out at an undertakers, and light on the descriptions of her dysfunctional family. Wrong! This is a wonderfully written book, and well worth reading, but it is not a light read. It starts out dark and gets darker.
Sometimes we need a reality check. The world is not always a place of kindness. The more we know about the world, the more we can understand it, others, and ourselves. There may be a lot of denial going on by in this family, but that doesn't mean that WE have to live in denial of ugliness or evil. Without the awareness of ugliness, we can't help others, or even ourselves, deal with the pain and heal. And, oh, does this world need help healing!
Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/7. (Later: the biog. section.)
Doesn't that title just reach out and grab you! I figured this would be a fun book to read, heavy on the parts where the girl hangs out at an undertakers, and light on the descriptions of her dysfunctional family. Wrong! This is a wonderfully written book, and well worth reading, but it is not a light read. It starts out dark and gets darker.
Sometimes we need a reality check. The world is not always a place of kindness. The more we know about the world, the more we can understand it, others, and ourselves. There may be a lot of denial going on by in this family, but that doesn't mean that WE have to live in denial of ugliness or evil. Without the awareness of ugliness, we can't help others, or even ourselves, deal with the pain and heal. And, oh, does this world need help healing!
Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/7. (Later: the biog. section.)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Organized: the travel section
We are working our way through the new donations, and trying to bring order to the chaos. Just finished is the travel section. Feel free to check it out. ( Note, the last three blogs are of books from this section. Heavens, you know I can't go through a bunch of books and not see some I want to blog about!)
Monasteries, Abbeys, and Retreats
The Northeast Sanctuaries: A Guide to Lodgings in Monasteries, Abbeys, and Retreats of the United States, by Jack Kelly (TPB, 1991, $3)
"Today more and more people are choosing to spend their weekends and vacations in search of tranquillity and spiritual renewal. This state is often most easily discovered in the quiet and seclusion of a retreat that provides the time, space, and conditions for the mind and heart to come to stillness. In this, the first of their regional guides to the monasteries, abbeys, and retreats of the United States, seasoned travelers Jack and Marcia Kelly offer a choice of more than 300 places both religious and nonsectarian, where it is possible to find refuge, peace, and true refreshment."
When I was in college, and just discovering religion (at least as an adult), the Catholics held a midnight retreat at a local monastery. I remember walking for about two hours in the dark, the last hour in silence. We then had mass in the monastery chapel. That was more than 30 years ago, and I still remember the peace I felt then, and the closeness to God.
This book will help you have your own spiritual adventure. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/7. (Later: the travel section)
"Today more and more people are choosing to spend their weekends and vacations in search of tranquillity and spiritual renewal. This state is often most easily discovered in the quiet and seclusion of a retreat that provides the time, space, and conditions for the mind and heart to come to stillness. In this, the first of their regional guides to the monasteries, abbeys, and retreats of the United States, seasoned travelers Jack and Marcia Kelly offer a choice of more than 300 places both religious and nonsectarian, where it is possible to find refuge, peace, and true refreshment."
When I was in college, and just discovering religion (at least as an adult), the Catholics held a midnight retreat at a local monastery. I remember walking for about two hours in the dark, the last hour in silence. We then had mass in the monastery chapel. That was more than 30 years ago, and I still remember the peace I felt then, and the closeness to God.
This book will help you have your own spiritual adventure. Look for it on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/7. (Later: the travel section)
Fidel Castro's Oldsmobile
Che's Chevrolet, Fidel Castro's Oldsmobile: On the Road in Cuba, by Richard Schweid (HC, 2004, ex-lib, $2)
"Packard, Studebaker, Edsel, De Soto- cars long extinct in the United States can be seen at work every day on Cuba's streets. Havana and Santiago de Cuba today are home to some 60,000 North American cars, all dating back to at least 1959, the year the Cuban Revolution prevailed. Though few new parts have arrived in Cuba since 1960, the cars are still on the road, held together with mechanical ingenuity and willpower."
Schweid traveled through Cuba to research the story of motor vehicles in Cuba today. Along the way he tells the story of the Cuban people. What disturbed me the most wa learning of the "Special Period", the period after 1990 when the USSR disintegrated and ceased sending aid to Cuba. Food, soap and gas were scarce. Currency was scarcer. Individuals were allowed 10 gallons of gas a month, made their own soap if they could get the ingredients, and ate mashed banana peels.
People also bought bicycles. Che had started the first bicycle factory, but in 1990 it only produced 5,000 bikes a year. After the Special Period more factories were built, so by 1994, 200,000 Cuban-made bikes were going into circulation yearly, as well as the same number from China. Bikes were even used as taxis! Even in 2004 most people still used animals or bicycles to get around.
On the other hand, Cuba has universal health, and more than 67,000 doctors. Infant mortality is less than in the States, and life expectancy is just as long.
Do I sound un-patriotic if I doubt Americans could have coped so well, or for so long? Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/7. (later: the Cuban section)
"Packard, Studebaker, Edsel, De Soto- cars long extinct in the United States can be seen at work every day on Cuba's streets. Havana and Santiago de Cuba today are home to some 60,000 North American cars, all dating back to at least 1959, the year the Cuban Revolution prevailed. Though few new parts have arrived in Cuba since 1960, the cars are still on the road, held together with mechanical ingenuity and willpower."
Schweid traveled through Cuba to research the story of motor vehicles in Cuba today. Along the way he tells the story of the Cuban people. What disturbed me the most wa learning of the "Special Period", the period after 1990 when the USSR disintegrated and ceased sending aid to Cuba. Food, soap and gas were scarce. Currency was scarcer. Individuals were allowed 10 gallons of gas a month, made their own soap if they could get the ingredients, and ate mashed banana peels.
People also bought bicycles. Che had started the first bicycle factory, but in 1990 it only produced 5,000 bikes a year. After the Special Period more factories were built, so by 1994, 200,000 Cuban-made bikes were going into circulation yearly, as well as the same number from China. Bikes were even used as taxis! Even in 2004 most people still used animals or bicycles to get around.
On the other hand, Cuba has universal health, and more than 67,000 doctors. Infant mortality is less than in the States, and life expectancy is just as long.
Do I sound un-patriotic if I doubt Americans could have coped so well, or for so long? Look for this book on the new non-fiction table, avail. 1/7. (later: the Cuban section)
Holland and the Tenth Tribe of Israel
Strange Parallel: Zebulun-The Netherlands, A Tribe of Israel, by Helene Koppejan (TPB, 2003, $3)
With all due respect to the author, this theory of Holland being the parallel of the Tenth Tribe of Israel, seems to be a total stretch, but maybe you like to read theories that stretch your reasoning. If I have it right, Holland will be cleansed of any impurities to become Zebulun. When the Apocalypse comes, people of Holland, who have been purified, will go into their homes and find a light. "Being cleansed, they will dwell safely, and will receive the grace of seeing the return of the Light."
You can find this book on the new non-fiction table, avail.1/7. (Later: ?Netherlands)
With all due respect to the author, this theory of Holland being the parallel of the Tenth Tribe of Israel, seems to be a total stretch, but maybe you like to read theories that stretch your reasoning. If I have it right, Holland will be cleansed of any impurities to become Zebulun. When the Apocalypse comes, people of Holland, who have been purified, will go into their homes and find a light. "Being cleansed, they will dwell safely, and will receive the grace of seeing the return of the Light."
You can find this book on the new non-fiction table, avail.1/7. (Later: ?Netherlands)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)