Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object
Posted: 2019/08/14 Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust I, Fiction | Tags: 2019, august, book lust i, book review, Fiction, grief, Laurie Colwin, marriage Leave a commentColwin, Laurie. Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object. New York: Viking Press, 2001.
Reason read: August is Grief Awareness month and there is oh so much grief in this book.
How do you love an individual who constantly flirts with the potential for death? How do you behave in a relationship or a partnership with someone who has a history of self destructive behavior such as this: breaking his collarbone after being thrown by a horse, snapping his leg after skiing, or gouging his shoulder after rock climbing (more like rock falling)? How does a marriage survive such reckless disregard for staying together? The answer is it really doesn’t. But Elizabeth Bax is attracted to James Dean. She likes the bad boys.
She knew she had every right to worry when Sam, her daredevil husband of five years, went for “one last” sail before an autumn squall picked up. Sam’s brother Patrick was already calling the coast guard knowing full well something bad was about to happen or more likely, already had. It is not a spoiler to tell you Sam died. What follows is an in depth examination of the human heart and how it tries to put itself together after being shattered. Shine On is a short book that asks the question is grief coupled with love a betrayal?
Lines I liked, “He had squashed his recklessness down to an ironic sort of caution that was a slap in his own face” (p 3), “You have to commit experience to your heart and let it change you..” (p 178).
Author fact: Colwin died at the very young age of forty-eight after suffering a heart attack.
Book trivia: This is a super short book. You could read it in a weekend.
Nancy said: Pearl said not to miss Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object even though the chapter was about Colwin’s books on food.
BookLust Twist: from Book Lust in the interesting chapter called “Food for Thought” (p 91)…except Shine On, Bright and Dangerous Object has absolutely nothing to do with food.
Book of Reuben
Posted: 2019/07/02 Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust II, Fiction | Tags: 2019, book lust ii, book review, Fiction, june, marriage, Tabitha King Leave a commentKing, Tabitha. The Book of Reuben. New York: Dutton Books, 1994.
Reason read: June is the month most people get married and Book of Reuben is a study in relationships of all kinds, marriage and beyond.
Within the pages of The Book of Reuben twenty five years of a life unfold. We meet Reuben Styles as a typical hot headed teenager and follow his tumultuous life into adulthood. The natural progression of life: marriage, kids, work and looking after aging elders. Reuben meets Laura in high school and loves her from afar until finally she gives him a lukewarm chance at romance. At the same time Reuben learns the language of passion from an older woman.
It is not a spoiler alert to share that Reuben eventually convinces Laura to marry him, but truth be know, their relationship never really heats up and soon they are headed for divorce. When it comes to Laura’s character, I sincerely doubt King could have made Reuben’s wife more vile. At the height of her hatred of Reuben she is violent towards him, steals his money, has an open affair for the whole community to see, and tries to block Reuben from seeing his three children. Short of killing his mother or the family dog, there was little else she could do to him.
One of the even more most surprising elements to Book of Reuben is the extensive list of music references. Reuben is a walking jukebox of great songs. I wanted to make a soundtrack of what was playing on his radio.
As an aside, I read one review where someone said they didn’t understand the purpose of the widow and her children as a characters. Come again? I felt each one set the groundwork for Reuben’s personality. The widow taught Reuben the benefits of great sex, being a good lover, and what it felt like to have that fiery passion reciprocated. She cultivated a hot blooded male which made Laura’s frostiness all the more frustrating. With the widow’s troubled and strange son Reuben displayed an acceptance and kindness that solidified his reputation as a good guy…at least with this reader. I felt the purpose of the widow and her children were not for the plot, but rather for the character development of Reuben.
Author fact: Tabitha King is the wife of well-known horror author, Stephen King. They met at the University of Maine in the library.
Book trivia: The Book of Reuben was received with mixed reviews.
Nancy said: Pearl just described the plot a little.
BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Marriage Blues” (p 161).
Sarah, Plain and Tall
Posted: 2018/01/11 Filed under: Book Reviews, BookLust I, Fiction | Tags: 2018, book lust ii, book review, childrens book, family, Fiction, january, marriage, Patricia MacLachlan Leave a commentMacLachlan, Patricia. Sarah, Plain and Tall. New York: Harper & Row, 1985.
Reason read: for the fun of it (because I wanted something super quick to read).
Book summary (taken from inside cover):When their father invites a mail-order bride to come live with them in their prairie home, Caleb and Anna are captivated by her and hope that she will stay.” Not exactly. Widower dad places and advertisement for a wife and Sarah answers. One of the first things she tells them is that she is “plain and tall.” What follows is delightful story about the lengths people will go to in order to banish loneliness. Anna and Caleb are hungry for a new mother and want to see their father happy again so they welcome a stranger with open arms. But, probably the most heartbreaking sacrifice is made by Sarah herself. She gives up the coast of Maine and the ocean for the prairies of the Midwest. I have no idea how she does it.
As an aside, I was glad to learn this is the first book in the Witting Family series. When I finished Sarah, Plain and Tall I didn’t want to leave them, especially Sarah.
Edited to add quote: “There is something to miss no matter where you are” (p 42). How could I forget putting this in the review? I love this!
Author fact: MacLachlan won a Newbery Medal for Sarah, Plain and Tall.
Book trivia: Sarah, Plain and Tall was made into a movie starring Glenn Close and Christopher Walken.
Nancy said: Nancy said Sarah, Plain and Tall was good for both boys and girls.
BookLust Twist: from More Book Lust in the chapter called “Best for Boys and Girls” (p 22).
Spring Sprung Titles
Posted: 2017/04/28 Filed under: Early Review, Fiction, NonFiction | Tags: alaska, Ann Cleeves, art, audio books, biography, books, Dan Simmons, Early Review, Elsie Lee, epistolary, Fiction, france, Guillermo Martinez, henry james, John McPhee, Kenneth Clark, Leon Edel, librarything, marriage, memoir, murder, mystery, NonFiction, Pamela Paul, romance, science fiction, Shetland, Sue Grafton, travel, WS Merwin Leave a commentWhat to say about April? I ran my fastest 10k while ill (go figure). I met two new runners and may have convinced someone to at least try. I don’t know where this acceptance to run with others is coming from. To share a conversation I had with someone: I asked where she runs. She replied she doesn’t have my pace, “nowhere near it” were her exact words. I answered I don’t have that pace all the time either. Me & my pace visit from time to time but we don’t make it a thing. She laughed and I saw myself ten years ago talking to someone who face-times with friends while running. I worried about her relationship with pace. But, this blog is turning into a thing different from reading.
So, without further ado, here are the finished books:
Fiction:
- Diplomatic Lover by Elsie Lee – read in one day
- Oxford Murders by Guillermo Martinez – read in two days
- Celibate Season by Carol Shields and Blanche Howard – read in four days (this book annoyed me and I kept having to put it down)
Nonfiction:
- Lost Upland: stories of the Dordogne Region by W.S. Merwin – confessional: DNF (bored, bored, bored)
- Coming into the Country by John McPhee
- Henry James: the Untried Years by Leon Edel
- Another Part of the Wood by Kenneth Clark – this was cheeky!
Series continuations:
- “F” is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton (I’m calling this a continuation even though I read “A” a long time ago.)
- Rise of Endymion by Dan Simmons (AB + print so I could finish on time – today!)
- Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves – another quick read (finished in four days)
Early Review for LibraryThing:
- My Life with Bob by Pamela Paul
