Verity

I had never read a Colleen Hoover book when Mem left me the collector’s edition, with a bonus chapter, of Verity. Apparently this book became a TikTok sensation when first published and is a bit of a departure for the author known for her light and fluffy romances. I read the book in a day during winter break. Nonetheless, I wasn’t too impressed. Yes it was a twisted mystery with a graphically horrific beginning that propelled forward and held my attention with suspense and gratuitous sex scenes. But the ending left me deflated and nonplussed. Not even the bonus chapter could stimulate me to spend another minute on this book. 

The Midcoast

It feels good to finish reading a book purely for pleasure. I pretty much plowed through The Midcoast by Adam White during my winter break this year. I rated it 4-stars which is substantially better than the 1-star vacation I’m currently eating my way through. What is it about cold weather and comfort food?

This was an easy read, recommended on Goodreads, that attracted my attention because of the  coastal Maine setting. Knowing how much Mem and Andrew love the Portland area, and having spent some time there this summer visiting them, it was fun to immerse myself in a place, similar to but not as familiar to me, as Cape Cod. I'm not a huge mystery fan either, but the plot of this story moved along and the characters kept me wanting to learn the outcome of their tragic lives.

Where the Crawdads Sing

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens came out a while ago with a lot of hype. People seem to either love it or are underwhelmed by it. As usual I’m late to the party and never found time to read it when it was first popular. This summer the movie was released so I decided to read the book before treating myself to the cinema. 

I’m shocked to report that I love this story! I was immediately drawn in by the author’s poetic descriptive  of the marsh setting, her character development, and figurative language. There were lulls in the pacing of the plot, but I still devoured it in record time and can’t wait to see the movie while it’s still in theaters.

Delia Owens says she chose coastal North Carolina for the book’s setting for two reasons. One, because its temperate climate and resources would make it plausible for an abandoned, young girl to survive. Two, the contrast between the marsh and the swamp serves as a metaphor about life’s struggles. She explains, “I feel like in life most people now and then end up in a swamp. Where The Crawdads Sing is about how to move from those dark places back into the light.”

There’s also a bit of intrigue swirling around the 73 year old author, a naturalist wanted for questioning in the murder of poachers in Africa. I think her scientific and environmental knowledge really added to the authenticity of her first novel. By the way, what the fuck even is a crawdad? And how about this description of the praying mantis mating ritual?

"She appeared interested, her antennae flailing about like wands. His embrace might have been tight or tender … but while he probed about with his copulatory organ to fertilize her eggs, the female turned back her long, elegant neck and bit off his head. He was so busy humping, he didn’t notice. His neck stump waved about as he continued his business, and she nibbled on his thorax, and then his wings. Finally, his last foreleg protruded from her mouth as his headless, heartless lower body copulated in perfect rhyme."

Tiny Beautiful Things

There’s a lot of wisdom in Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed, the book based on her advice column Dear Sugar on TheRumpus.net. I highlighted a bunch of passages that felt like therapy to me, reminding me of the hard work I’ve done and must continue to do, coming to terms with being myself in a crazy but glorious world.

Many of the letters seeking counsel are poignant and some are humorous. Strayed’s responses are always captivating, thoughtful, and well-written.Her wisdom is sensible, as well as inspiring. Being a person is hard. Navigating our innermost emotions and desires is exhausting but necessary. Having a voice of reason, like Sugar, to listen actively and make sense of the background noise of our own thoughts is comforting!

Wild

 

It should not have taken me so long to finish reading Wild by Cheryl Strayed, but because I’m still working, it did! My tenth year as a grade five classroom teacher turned out to be the most difficult, never-ending, and exasperating year yet, but it has also provided moments of clarity, and opportunities for personal growth and reflection. 

Teaching writing is an important endeavor, and my own personal writing has always been a worthwhile outlet for me. In May, I was invited to attend this writer’s conference at Kripalu, the yoga retreat in western Massachusetts, by an old colleague. I almost declined because it was so close to my extended April vacation trip to Turkey. Thank goodness I went and didn’t miss out on this opportunity. Not only is Kripalu a beautiful place to visit and unwind, but the author Cheryl Strayed is so inspiring. Her workshop perfectly complemented a few days of clean eating, meditative activities, and communing in nature with like-minded individuals.

In Five Years

I survived the dreaded August 1…. Barely. This promises to be an angst-y review as I reflect on how I tormented myself about things I should be doing, pushed through the muck in my head and did what I wanted instead. I finished this quick beach read, not at the beach but in the comfort of my bed after attempting to beach on an unsettled day with Lisa and Jane. This is how it should be in the summer for me. Keep busy, enjoy simple pleasures, don’t be so hard on myself. What’s the point after all. It’s my life and it it should be what I want it to be. 

I learned something from In Five Years by Rebecca Serle. Something about letting life unfold and taking pleasure in unexpected moments. This quote expresses the theme of the story about a character whose world is shook up despite her focus on carefully planning all the major events of her life.

“But all of that is an hour from now. Now, on the other side of midnight, we do not yet know what is coming.

“So be it. So let it be.”

Mantra….

Poor Richard’s Women

Thank you Tales of Cape Cod, that eccentric little Barnstable historical group that maintains the Olde Colonial Courthouse on Route 6A where we bring our fifth graders each year on a mini-field-trip. After years of being Lisa’s guest at their Monday night presentations in the summer, I finally purchased my own membership this summer and was able to drag my old friend Wayne when he was on the Cape the end of June. Added bonus was that I got to see his mom, Bev, again after so many years! 

Nancy Rubin Stuart is a great writer and storyteller, and you can’t go wrong with this subject matter of the women in Ben Franklin’s life! Despite the dreadful acoustics, we learned that Stuart was originally interested in writing about Ben’s beleaguered common law wife, Deborah Read. She was persuaded to include juicy details about Franklin's relationships with several other compelling women. His reputation as a rascal certainly was deserved and is clearly demonstrated in his witty and copious correspondence with Read and a handful of other women, including his landlady during extended stays in London, a French musician, and a much younger female acquaintance from Rhode Island.

Great beach read for early summer, lounging on Sandy Neck with Meredith and her Pomeranian, Copper! It was also nice having an actual hardcover book on my lap after succumbing to the ease of reading on my kindle/phone so much lately.

Olive, Again

It took me a while to settle into Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, even though I couldn’t wait to read it after finishing Olive Kitteridge. One of the things I love about the Olive books is that it’s not just her story, but an amalgamation of intersecting lives in the fictional town of Crosby, Maine. Some of the chapters revolve around characters who have just a passing acquaintance with Olive and others who have deeper connections to her. It was interestingi to see who would be the focus of the next chapter and how Olive would turn up in their narrative.

Added Bonus 2/26/22: As an end-of-February-vacation treat for myself, I purchased the HBO miniseries on Amazon Prime and enjoyed every second of the four-episode, on-screen version of Olive’s adventures. Loved the casting, especially Bill Murray as Jack Kennison!

Oh, William

Reading Oh, William by Elizabeth Strout made my head hurt. I think it’s the character, Lucy Barton, who is telling the story that makes me want to step in front of a moving train. It was a quick read though.

So there’s that.

I read it in less than a week, after completing Olive Kitteridge, and waiting for Olive Again. But it still left me shaking my head. 

On a side note, Lisa really liked it. I can’t imagine why, but she says she like Strout’s writing style. I think the author’s voice in Oh, William was very different from that in Olive Kitteridge, too conversational, full of run-on sentences and rambling thoughts. Too distracting for me to work up the energy to give a shit about the weird-ass relationship between Lucy and Oh William.

Olive Kitteridge

 

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout was a slow start for me, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. Each chapter is like a separate novella introducing different characters that all have had some association with the titular Olive Kitteridge, a crabby but endearing, old woman from Maine. Several of the chapters dig deeper into Olive’s life including her relationships with her stoic husband, Henry and sullen only child, Christopher. 

As I said, it took me a while to warm up to Olive, but by the end I was laughing out loud at her over-the-top reactions to life’s little annoyances. Straightforward and set in her ways with misanthropic tendencies, Olive navigates life like an unyielding bulldozer. A retired school teacher, she manages to touch the lives of a variety of people in her town in both comical and serious ways. 

Now I’m looking forward to reading the sequel, Olive Again, to see what new adventures await the protagonist in her 70s. OMG I’m seeing a bit of my future in Olive Kitteridge! 

New York

I want to read New York by Edward Rutherfurd so bad. So bad that I’m writing about it now, instead of doing school work to prepare for our return tomorrow after a too-short winter break! But not bad enough to actually pick up the enormous hardcover copy I snagged years ago from my cousin Ann Marie and her husband Jeff (who live in the state of New York). It sits in my living room book shelf since 2016, taunting me to resume where I left off at chapter 3 (of 32!) 

Some day, when I’m retired, I envision reading it on a beach somewhere Caribbean-y ☀️🌊 

Fun Fact: My new teaching partner this 2021-2022 school year is a good, old friend of Jeff's.

Add this title to a stack of other unread books acquired from my many Massachusetts Historical Society workshops.

               

And, let's not overlook, the colossal, 777-page Frederick Douglass biography by Celeste-Marie Bernier and Andrew Taylor, If I Survive that I won in a MHS raffle!