Beginning ~ with Gwen pondering death

Beginning

"I really thought you died this time," Gwen sighed.  "I know I shouldn't freak out, but every week I just think, Well, this is it, you know?  It's going to happen, and I'm going to be the one to find her."

How Does That Make You Feel, Magda Eklund? ~ by Anna Montague, 2024, literary fiction, 244 pages

Most days, Magda is fine.  She has her routines.  She has her anxious therapy patients, who depend on her to cure their bad habits.  She has her longtime colleagues, whose playful bickering she mediates.  She’s mourning the recent loss of her best friend, Sara, but has brokered a tentative truce with Sara’s prickly widower as she helps him sort through the last of Sara’s possessions.  She’s fine.

But in going through Sara’s old journal, Magda discovers her friend’s last directive:  plans for a road trip they would take together in celebration of Magda’s upcoming seventieth birthday.  So, with Sara’s urn in tow, Magda decides to hit the road, crossing the country and encountering a cast of memorable characters — including her sister, from whom she’s been keeping secrets.  Along the way she stumbles upon a jazz funeral in New Orleans and a hilarious women’s retreat meant to “unleash one’s divine feminine energy” in Texas, and meets a woman who challenges her conceptions of herself — and the hidden truths about her friendship with Sara.

As the trip shakes up her careful routines, Magda finally faces longings she locked away years ago and confronts questions about her sexuality and identity she thought she had long put to rest.  And as she soon learns, it’s never too late to start your next journey.

This is a funny novel about love, loss, and new beginnings found on an unlikely road trip.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Thursday Thoughts

Yesterday, "the bug spray man" came to each apartment on my floor to spray kitchens and bathrooms.  I did not get the notice, but luckily I was already dressed when they knocked on my door around 9:00 a.m.  I thought maybe I'd forgotten a notice, but a neighbor spoke to me later in the day, wondering if I knew they were coming.  So I wasn't the only one.  I was not expecting them, which means I did not pick up my bathmats that are in front of the shower, the sink, and the toilet.  Yuck!  Now I will have to wash them all.

Two books by Rosemary Sutcliff

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of The Iliad ~ by Rosemary Sutcliff, 2005, YA historical fiction (Greece), 151 pages

As the gods and goddesses of Olympus scheme, the ancient world is thrown into turmoil when Helen, the most beautiful woman in all of Greece, is stolen away by her Trojan love.  Inflamed by jealousy, the Greek king seeks lethal vengeance and sends his black war ships to descend on the city of Troy.  In the siege that follows, history’s greatest heroes, from Ajax to Achilles to Odysseus, are forged in combat, and the brutal costs of passion, pride, and revenge must be paid.  In the end, the whims of the gods, the cunning of the warriors, and a great wooden horse will decide who emerges victorious.

Homer's epic poem, The Iliad, is one of the greatest adventure stories of all time and Rosemary Sutcliff's retelling of the classic saga embodies all of the drama, romance, and intrigue of ancient Greece.

The Silver Branch ~ by Rosemary Sutcliff, 1957, YA  historical fiction (Roman Britain), 184 pages

This is a tale of loyalty, honor, and sacrifice as violence and unrest sweep through Roman Britain.  Amidst the chaos, two cousins, Justin and Flavius, find themselves entangled in a plot to overthrow the Emperor.  Fearing for their lives, they gather a tattered band of men and lead them into the thick of battle, deter-mined to defend the honor of Rome.  But time is running out.  Can they save the Emperor before it's too late?  Rosemary Sutcliff weaves a gripping story of courage, friendship, and the struggle for power in a turbulent era.  If you want to join Justin and Flavius' quest to save the Emperor, get a copy of this book.

Bonnie's comment

I just heard of this writer and checked with my closest bookstore to see if they had a copy of that book.  No, not that one, but they had these two books by her, so I got both of the Sutcliff books they had.

Historical fiction about glassblowers

The Glassmaker ~ by Tracy Chevalier, 2024, historical fiction (Venice), 416 pages

This story follows a family of glassmakers from the height of Renaissance-era Italy to the present day.  It is 1486 and Venice is a wealthy, opulent center for trade.  Orsola Rosso is the eldest daughter in a family of glassblowers on Murano, the island revered for the craft.  As a woman, she is not meant to work with glass — but she has the hands for it, the heart, and a vision.  When her father dies, she teaches herself to make glass beads in secret, and her work supports the Rosso family fortunes.

Skipping like a stone through the centuries, in a Venice where time moves as slowly as molten glass, we follow Orsola and her family as they live through creative triumph and heartbreaking loss, from a plague devastating Venice to Continental soldiers stripping its palazzos bare, from the domination of Murano and its maestros to the transformation of the city of trade into a city of tourists.  In every era, the Rosso women ensure that their work, and their bonds, endure.

"This charming fable is at once a love story that skips through six centuries, and also a love song to the timeless craft of glassmaking.  Chevalier probes the fierce rivalries and enduring loyalties of Murano's glass dynasties, capturing the roar of the furnace, the sweat on the skin, and the glittering beauty of Venetian glass." – Geraldine Brooks, author of Horse

Chevalier is a master of her own craft, and The Glass Maker is as inventive as it is spellbinding:  a mesmerizing portrait of a woman, a family, and a city as everlasting as their glass.  Named a Best Historical Novel of 2024 by The Sunday Times, The Independent, and BookPage.

1. On Monday, I wrote about weird things said in bookstores, HERE.
2. On TWOsday, my book was about the etiquette of calling and the etiquette of visiting during the late 1800s, HERE.
3. Wednesday's Word was "morality" with a book about people being moral animals, HERE.
4. My Thursday Thoughts were about a book for our Crown Center library, HERE.
5. On Friday, my book beginnings choice was Relative Strangers by A. H. Kim, HERE.

Sunday Salon is hosted

by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Beginning ~ with Mom being evicted

Beginning of Chapter 1

They're throwing Mom out of the house.  It would be nice if you could come home to support her.

Relative Strangers ~ by A. H. Kim, 2024. literary fiction, 352 pages (including a Reader's Guide with ten questions)

From the acclaimed author of A Good Family comes a family drama featuring two half-Korean sisters, their ex-hippie mother, multiple messy love affairs, and one explosive secret that could ruin everything.

Amelia Bae-Wood’s life is falling apart.  Unemployed, newly single, and completely broke — for reasons she hasn’t told anyone yet — she finds herself hitchhiking across California to deal with the fallout of her mother’s eviction from the family estate.  Amelia needs somewhere to live and time to figure out what to do with the rest of her life, so moving with her mother and sister to Arcadia, the cancer retreat center where her sister volunteers, seems like as good an idea as any.

Amelia’s sister, Eleanor, has too much on her plate, including being caught up in a court battle with a man who claims to be their half brother from Seoul and their late father’s only son — a secret love child from his Korean youth — who is fighting for a piece of everything that belongs to the Bae-Wood women.  And when Amelia adds herself to Eleanor’s list of problems, Eleanor must figure out what to hold on to — and when to let go — before things start to unravel.

An enormously entertaining retelling of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, the sisters’ journey of self-discovery as they reshape their lives gives this classic tale a modern, feminist twist, as it touches on themes of blended families, race, class, and wealth.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Thoughts about a book for our CC library

Teddy ~ by Emily Dunlay, 2024, historical fiction (Italy), 320 pages

This debut novel is set in glamorous Rome, which follows the free-spirited wife of an American diplomat as she desperately tries to contain a scandal of her own making.  It is the summer of 1969, and Rome is awash with glamour and intrigue:  the stars of Cinecittà are drinking and dancing along the paparazzo-lined Via Veneto, where royalty, American expats, and the occasional Russian spy rub shoulders.

Teddy Huntley Carlyle has just arrived in Italy from Dallas, Texas, eager for a fresh start with her new husband, a diplomat assigned to the American embassy there.  After years of “spoiling like old milk,” in the words of her controlling, politically-minded uncle, Teddy vows to turn over a new leaf.  She will be the soul of discretion; she will be conservative, proper, and polite.  She will be her most beautiful, luminous self, wearing the right clothes and the perfect lipstick, and she will be good.  She will charm her husband’s colleagues at the embassy, and no one will have a word to say against her.

Teddy keeps her promise, more or less — until the Fourth of July, when her new life explodes as spectacularly as the colorful fireworks lighting the Roman sky over the embassy grounds.  Now, Teddy is in the middle of a mess that even her powerful connections and impeccable manners can’t contain.

Thoughts:  When I was choosing books to add to our library collection, this seemed like the kind of book the retirees here like to read.  If you've read it, please tell me what you thought about it.

Why we are the way we are

The Moral Animal: Evolutionary Psychology and Everyday Life ~ by Robert Wright, 1994, psychology, 486 pages

Are men literally born to cheat?  Does monogamy actually serve women's interests?  These are among the questions that made The Moral Animal a provocative book.  Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics — as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies.  An online review mentioned these points:

• Why are ants so selfless? 
• Why are boys so competitive?
• Why is a wife’s infidelity more likely to break up a marriage than a husband’s?

Word for Wednesday

mo·ral·i·ty / məˈralədē / noun = principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.  Example:  "The matter boiled down to simple morality:  innocent prisoners ought to be freed."

Yes, I'm making fun of this book

The Essential Handbook of Victorian Etiquette ~ by Thomas E. Hill, 1994, humor, 128 pages

Let me say first that the title page shows the book is by PROFESSOR Thomas E. Hill.  I suspect he considered that title to be very important.  The copyright page says this edition was adapted directly from material written and published by Professor Hill between 1873 and 1890.

They didn't have telephones until 1876, so people couldn't text or call before going to someone's home in person.  Thus, when Prof. Hill wrote about the etiquette of "calling" in one section, he meant a short visit on a single day.  When he wrote the section on "visiting," he meant showing up to stay there with the home owners.  Here are the first sentences of those sections:

• THE ETIQUETTE OF CALLING.  It is customary, according to the code of etiquette, to call all the hours of daylight morning, and after nightfall evening.
• THE ETIQUETTE OF VISITING.  Before making a visit, you  should be perfectly certain that your visit will be agreeable.

We have to remember that they didn't have motels nearby where "visitors" could stay.  How would you like it if a relative or friend showed up one day expecting you to feed and house and entertain them for however long they want to stay?  In the section on "visiting," he mentions visitors "tarrying for weeks" (p. 36).

Monday's a good day to share weird things

Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores ~ by Jennifer Campbell, illustrated by Greg McLeod, 2012, 144 pages

Everything from "Did Beatrix Potter ever write a book about dinosaurs?" to "Did Charles Dickens ever write anything fun?"  Anyone who has ever worked in retail will nod knowingly at requests like "I’ve forgotten my glasses, can you read me the first chapter?"  Look at the absurdity of questions like "Excuse me ... is this book edible?"

Filled with contributions from booksellers across the United States and Canada, as well as the author's native UK, Weird Things Customers Say in Bookstores is a celebration of bookstores, large and small.  This collection is proof positive that booksellers everywhere are heroes.

Ah, some of you may not know I used to own a bookstore called Book Buddies in a suburb in East Tennessee.  I didn't collect the sometimes ridiculous things people said, but I've heard a few.  That is why I picked up this book to re-read.  I first blogged about it in 2013, HERE.

I also blogged about The Bookshop Book (another of Jen Campbell's books about bookstores) in 2018, HERE.

A new book added to my stack of books

Roctogenarians: Late in Life Debuts, Comebacks, and Triumphs ~ by Mo Rocca and Jonathan Greenberg, 2024, psychology, 384 pages

This collection of stories celebrates the triumphs of people who made their biggest marks late in life.  Eighty has been the new sixty for about twenty years now. In fact, there have always been late-in-life achievers, those who declined to go into decline just because they were eligible for social security. Rocca and Greenberg introduce us to the people past and present who peaked when they could have been puttering — breaking out as writers, selling out concert halls, attempting to set land-speed records — and in the case of one ninety-year tortoise, becoming a first-time father.

This collection of entertaining and unexpected profiles of these unretired titans — some long gone and some very much still living.  The cast of characters includes Mary Church Terrell, who at eighty-six helped lead sit-ins at segregated Washington, DC, lunch counters in the 1950s, and Carol Channing, who married the love of her life at eighty-two.  Then there’s Peter Mark Roget, who began working on his thesaurus in his twenties and completed it at seventy-three.

1.  On Wednesday, I wrote about the word "musclespan" and why I keep walking, walking walking, HERE.
2. My Thursday Thoughts were about Brioche (bree-aash), a light sweet pastry or bun., HERE.  It probably should have been posted on Wednesday, as my word of the day.  Ah, well.
3. On Friday, HERE, was the beginning of a book I had just gotten.  The book's title was Shelf Respect.  As a self-respecting word lover, I have to say I got it because of the play on words.

Sunday Salon is hosted

by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Beginning ~ with strange shelves

Beginning

In the autumn of 2017 Ideal Home magazine ran a home-decor feature about a real dwelling occupied by real, sentient humans that included a photograph of a set of bookshelves where the books had all been placed with the pages facing outwards.  The spines of the books were against the wall, meaning people in the room were left looking at a featureless line of beige page ends.  What kind of madness was this? 

Shelf Respect: A Book Lover's Defence ~ by Annie Austen, 2019, books, 192 pages

There's no such thing as too many books, but sometimes there are not enough places to put them.  Decluttering is one thing, but what do you do when your preferred interior decor is miles of overstuffed bookshelves?  If you can't bring yourself to clear your collection, Shelf Respect will validate your life choice.

Do you alphabetise your books or organise by them by genre?  Do you write your name inside the cover?  Do you keep all the books you've read, or only the most cherished?  Is there such a thing as too many books?  This is an illustrated book in defence of towering TBR* piles and overflowing shelves, no matter how you choose to organize them.  [*TBR = To Be Read.]

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Thinking about words, as usual

Brioche (bree-aash) is a light sweet pastry or bun.  For lunch today, I plan to order an Avocado Panini.  Our Cafe's menu describes that as "avocado, munster cheese, onion and tomato on freshly baked ciabatta bread."  Wiktionary says "ciabatta" is a broad, flat, white Italian bread.  One day I asked if I could have it on brioche instead, and now prefer it that way.  The illustrations I found show brioche (above) and ciabatta (below).

Compared to brioche, I think ciabatta bread is hard, especially those corners.  That's why I order the softer buns now.  I used to throw away the corners of the ciabatta bread.

Musclespan ~ I keep walking, walking, walking

Dr. Gabrielle Lyon coined the term "musclespan."  It means building and preserving muscle to support longevity, metabolic health, and injury resilience.

There's a period of life during which a person maintains strong, healthy skeletal muscles that promote health, independence, and resilience.  As we get older, we need to recognize how important muscle mass and function is for overall well-being and longevity.  In other words, focus on muscle health.  Skeletal muscles are crucial in supporting movement, posture, and overall physical function throughout life.  So to prevent age-related decline and promote overall well-being and independence, we need to keep our muscles healthy.

To stay healthy, we need regular physical activity, particularly resistance training, adequate protein intake, and sufficient rest and recovery.  It's about being proactive about addressing the natural decline in muscle mass and function that can occur with age, promoting a longer life AND a higher quality of life.

National Ice Cream Day

It's late afternoon here, but I've just learned that today is National Ice Cream Day.  Luckily, I happen to have ice cream in my freezer, and it's my favorite:  Coyote Tracks.  It's vanilla flavored ice cream with thick fudge swirl and mini peanut butter cups in it.

Here is the book I've just begun reading:

The Wish ~ by Nicholas Sparks, 2021, fiction, 416 pages

1996 is the year that changes everything for Maggie Dawes.  Sent away at 16 to live with an aunt she barely knows in Ocracoke, a remote village on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, she can think only of the friends and family she left behind . . . until her aunt introduces her to Bryce Trickett, one of the few teenagers on the island.  Handsome, genuine, and newly admitted to West Point Academy, Bryce gradually shows her how much there is to love about the wind-swept beach town — and introduces her to photography, a passion that will define the rest of her life . . . as will Bryce.

 

By 2019, Maggie is a renowned travel photographer.  She splits her time between running a successful gallery in New York and photographing remote locations around the world.  But this year, she finds herself unexpectedly grounded over Christmas, struggling to come to terms with a sobering medical diagnosis.  Increasingly dependent on a young assistant, she begins growing closer to him.

As they count down the last days of the season together, she tells him the story of another Christmas, decades earlier — and the love that set her on a course she never could have imagined.

Sunday Salon is hosted

by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Beginning ~ with an earthquake

Beginning

The year I lost my wife and son, my son performed nine separate tests of my character.  One night during Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, the sofa tipped beneath us, and this is how it began.

"Whoa," he said.

His palms were flat on the sofa cushions.  Liz was sitting cross-legged on the floor, and before I could think to stand, she had taken him by the wrist and led him to the shelter of the door frame. 

The Testing of Luther Albright ~ by MacKenzie Bezos, 2005, fiction (California), 256 pages

Luther Albright is a builder of dams, a man whose greatest pride (besides his family) is running his hands over the true planes of the house he built himself and knowing that he’s constructed something that will shield and shelter them from harm.

A relatively minor incident — an earthquake that shakes his Sacramento home — reveals fault lines and cracks in the facade of his family.  His teenage son’s behavior becomes increasingly bizarre and threatening, his wife becomes more distant.  Then a dam of Luther’s design comes under investigation for structural flaws exposed by the tremors.  In the midst of his heartbreaking family dissolution, Luther must battle against the need to withhold his emotions and push his family even farther away.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

This author and I attended the same high school together

It Never Rains in Los Angeles ~ by Charles Flowers, 1970, mystery, 256 pages

This is the story of the murder of a black radical leader at a Los Angeles high school and a white teacher's attempt to find the murderer.  It won the Thomas R. Coward Prize for best first novel.

I had not been aware of this one until a friend of mine mentioned it.  (Thanks, Sarah.)  Charles Flowers was not in our class, but we all attended Chattanooga High School at the same time.  I have also just learned that Charles went on to teach college, and I was happy to see this review on Amazon:

"I first read this decades ago when the author was a professor at my college, and about once a decade or so, I read it again.  It was his first novel and an engrossing story, beautifully written.  Yes, it is a mystery and a good one, but it is more a character study of Finch who is clearly based on Flowers."

Sarah also sent me a link to the author's obituary, HERE.  It says that he passed away at the age of 81 on October 30, 2024.

Do you follow the rules?

A "rule follower" is a person who adheres to rules, regulations, or established norms.  They tend to be conscientious, dependable, and may exhibit strong self-control.  While emphasizing discipline and order can be a positive trait, it can sometimes be perceived negatively if someone is seen as excessively obedient.

• Rule followers are often seen as reliable and trustworthy because they consistently adhere to established guidelines = Self-Control and Discipline.
• Rule followers demonstrate the ability to manage their behavior and resist impulses, even when it is not convenient.
• Rule followers typically show respect for those in positions of authority and the established systems they represent.

I was in the library talking to someone who said he has been "a rule follower, a rule breaker, and a rule maker."  Yes, all of them.  As a parent, who was once a conscientious little girl, I can also say I made rules for my children that I once followed myself.  But we know, don't we, that each of us has at some time or another broken a rule (or two), like the young student in the illustration above.  Share your thoughts about following the rules, breaking them, and making them.

TWO time zones

Trying to think in TWO time zones can get very confusing.

I'm in the Central time zone, but my family is

planning my brother's funeral in the Eastern time zone.

Musing and getting outside today

We may be in the middle of July, but I want to share this monthly calendar for Jump Back Up July anyway.  Since my brother just died, I feel a need to "jump back up" and keep on keeping on.  What's today's suggestion?  "Get outside and move to help clear your head."  There is no rain in the forecast, so maybe I can.

Report on my reading week

Pope Joan ~ by Donna Woolfolk Cross, 2009, historical fiction, 425 pages

Donna Woolfolk Cross brings the Dark Ages to life in all their brutal splendor and shares the dramatic story of a woman whose strength of vision led her to defy the social restrictions of her day.  For a thousand years her existence has been denied.  She is the legend that will not die — Pope Joan, the ninth-century woman who disguised herself as a man and rose to become the only female ever to sit on the throne of St. Peter.  Now in this riveting novel, Cross paints a sweeping portrait of an unforgettable heroine who struggles against restrictions her soul cannot accept. 

Brilliant and talented, young Joan rebels against medieval social strictures forbidding women to learn.  When her brother is brutally killed during a Viking attack, Joan takes up his cloak — and his identity — and enters the monastery of Fulda.  As Brother John Anglicus, Joan distinguishes herself as a great scholar and healer.  Eventually, she is drawn to Rome, where she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous web of love, passion, and politics.  Triumphing over appalling odds, she finally attains the highest office in Christendom — wielding a power greater than any woman before or since.  But such power always comes at a price.

Note:  After seeing the movie "Conclave" Friday, Mary told me there's a book about Pope Joan, so I went home, found it at our library, and put it on reserve (even though I don't usually read such long books these days).  Thanks, Mary.

1.  I wrote about Monday being World Chocolate Day, HERE.
2. On Tuesday, I went bananas, HERE.
3. On Wednesday, I was reading about why the world exists and came across a word I had never seen, HERE.
4. My Thursday Thoughts were about blueberry muffins, HERE.
5. My Friday book beginning, HERE, was from a book I had just put on hold.

Sunday Salon is hosted

by Deb at Readerbuzz.

Beginning ~ with an appointment

Beginning

"I made an appointment to see him."  She said it as if she were seeing the dentist or a therapist or the pushy refrigerator salesman who had promised her and Walter a life-time guarantee of cold milk and crisp vegetables and unspoiled cheese if only they would buy this brand-new model.

The Stationery Shop ~ by Marjan Kamali, 2019, fiction (Tehran), 320 pages

This novel explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate.  Roya, a dreamy, idealistic teenager living amid the political upheaval of 1953 Tehran, finds a literary oasis in kindly Mr. Fakhri’s neighborhood stationery shop, stocked with books and pens and bottles of jewel-colored ink.

Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer — handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry — and she loses her heart at once.  Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran.

A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts — a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future.  In the chaos, Bahman never shows.  For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless.  With a sorrowful heart, she moves on — to college in California, to another man, to a life in New England — until, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century:  Why did you leave?  Where did you go?  How is it that you were able to forget me?

COMMENT:  A friend had this with her yesterday when she sat down near me at a meeting, and now I want to read it myself.  So I placed a request for it from my library.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.