Catz!

Book: Dewey by
Finished on Feb 9th, 2009
****

I've had cats all my life. Even when I didn't think I was ready to have another cat, somehow they would make their way into my life. So I know that look; that one that drags you in, not letting go, where every moment near them effects your life, as they watch.

Dewey had that look from a young age apparently. And the library/town that adopted him was not immune.

Spencer was a typical small town in the mid west, suffering from an economic downturn and the loss of families, until Dewey, the rescue cat became a focal point for the town to rally around. The story of Dewey is the story of a town's survival. It has humor, sadness (especially for anyone who has had to put a cat down) and most of all insight to what brings people together.

And I loved it. It was beautiful. A great balance between the generalizations of what one thing can do to help a community and the influence of that special thing on individuals.

I have to admit, my first thoughts were "really, how much can you write about one cat? They sleep 20 hours a day." Now that I'm finished the book, I see, once again, the power of writing; to expand the mundane, seemingly simple events to significant universal experiences.

Once I, on a whim, I went to a movie. It was a sunny afternoon and I was wandering downtown with nothing to do. The movie was Remains of the Day. I remember walking out of the theatre thinking "I'm a better person for seeing that movie."

It's not often I say that about a book.

Marriage? Why?

I recently got married. For some bizarre, inexplicable reason, my boyfriend of 13 years and common-law husband for 6 years and I decided "yeah, I guess it's a good time." Really, I have no formal answer as to 'why now'?

So when I heard that the author of "Eat, Pray, Love" Elizabeth Gilbert was publishing a book on her experience as a reluctant bride, I was very intrigued. I read EPL and while I will admit is was interesting, like many others I found it overly indulgent and almost naïve. Oh, the imagery was beautiful, the spirituality exudes every chapter, and the author is unbelievably smart but I will always have a problem with too much self indulgence. Unfortunately, I just don't have the ability to relate to people who spend so much energy questioning themselves and others. I know. My life would be totally different if I did...

Anyway, I was a bit hesitant about Committed. And let me say - am I ever thankful that I got over that.

Committed is a better version of EPL. All the wit with more smarts. I'm not saying it doesn't have any episodes of Gilbert saying "woe is me, why is this so hard on me?" and then trying to find the answers outside of herself (again, something I don't really understand.) But this has more historical and social insights. And that's really where her intellegance shines. She can take however many scholarly reports & publications and somehow whittle them down to what they really mean now, to her and the 26 women she's writing for, as mentioned in one of the best opening chapters ever written for what basically is a long awaited sequal.

As such, the details of her life fade into the background and we, as readers (or listeners in my case*,) become incased in how marriage is situated in our lives. I have to admit that I found myself agreeing with her on many observations: the misunderstood history of marriage, the overriding legal significance vs. romantic significance of marriage and the ways friends and family can become invested in one's marital status.

Seriously, change only a few details, this could be my story. I never really considered exploring my feelings towards marriage but this book really does highlight why I didn't get married until now & why now was the right time to. My friends, really, I will hand this book over to you when you ask me once again, why now? Ignore the travel itinerary, I'm working on it.

*PS. I heard Committed as an AudioBook narrated by the author. Elizabeth Gilbert's voice is perfect for audio. It's deep and resonant and she can pull off the best characterizations. lovely.

Bookish Holiday Gifts - A Selection of Finds from Etsy

I am up for it if you want to buy me any of these :-)

Bookish Holiday Gifts - A Selection of Finds from Etsy: "

A paperback weekend.

Give my mother three words to describe me and they would be: dramatic, emotional and artsy-fartsy (if the last is indeed a word.)

This last weekend at the very least proved the first two. We were supposed to go away for a visit with friends & family. At the very last minute I reneged and immediately ran out to buy the latest in paperbacks. Definitely time to put down the latest Man Booker Nominee and pick up what ever caught my fancy at the nearest drug store.

So there I was with four books before me: a collection of christmas romances (the first of the season - a bit late actually), Heart & Soul by Meave Binchy, Sunday at Tiffany's by James Patterson & Under the Radar by Fern Micheals.

I hated the Fern Micheals, didn't finish it but only because it really wasn't what I thought it would be. I have never heard of the Sisterhood series before so that is my bad.

As for the other three, there is something to be said for getting exactly what you want. I loved Tiffany just for it's quaint feel. It will make a great movie some day. Heart & Soul was just as engaging as her other books. The christmas title? My obession started after reading a few books that really centred around the holiday. Now I'm finding many stories are just being re-worked to include a mention of christmas now and then. So I wasn't expecting much here but two out of the three stories actually did revolve around what it says to be about. Really. Therefore I was happy. Still not as memorable as the other two which means I can read it again next year.

ARC's

Please, please, please let the future be the new trend in YA. (taking over from fantasy, vampires, pirates or chicklette-lit.)

Hot on the heels of Hunger Games & Catching Fire, comes Clone Codes A very intelligent, exciting look at how we try to backtrack after our experiments with cyborgs & clones go awry. Following the premise that we are bound to repeat history the story incorporates the ideals from key figures in the fight against slavery and constitutional discrimination. Great female lead, cool technology.

My other fav this season is Numbers - not really set in the future but rather timeless, and very realistic give the premise. A young girl deals with the fact that she can see the date of people's death when she looks into their eyes. It was very well presented in conference but they didn't warn me that the ending would make me cry.

There's more like Wolves of the Beyond and Lonely Hearts Club.

July Books - just a quick note for my own memory.

February - Lisa Moore: Thanks H for the copy of this. While the story was a bit different than I thought (not as much focus on the son,) it is so beautifully & simply told that I couldn't put it down. The precarious balance between now and then, in & out in Helen's head is very clear; we easily could fall into that life. Only when the shadow lifts does the light show how much was missed.

Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen: I picked up Garden Spells a while back. A good clean read especially for those who enjoy Alice Hoffman (see below.) Sugar Queen is the same, although I think the characters are better drawn here.

Ice Queen - Alice Hoffman: I often forget how much I love the magical fiction of Alice Hoffman that is until a read an only slightly inferior copy of her type of writing and am forced to find which books I've missed. More will be on the agenda.

But first I have to finish Syliva & get it back to the library :-)