New 09.04.02
Well, isn't that a provocative title?
What follows is probably not what you might expect, but then again maybe it is.
A large group of family and friends gathered in the mountains of eastern California (near the famed Sutter's Mill) for a wonderfully joyful celebration in early July. We all agreed, when the photos came back, that the wedding was a great success: the bride and groom were beautiful in every photo. It was the rest of us who spoiled some by blinking or squinting. The groom and bride were gorgeous in every take. They know we wish that every day from now on will be has happy.
Kris wrote from the really beautiful apartment in Castro Valley:
With thanks to Cal State Hayward for having a summer that lasts
As hinted, I've been going through a spate of rather intense reading
This time I've tried for a more diverse list of fiction: Laurie King,
I don't like going in for such lists, but in a nod to High Fidelity,
Speaking of book clubs, our last book was a Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver.
It was a beautifully written book. (In fact, I'm still craving a novel
I still don't buy her claim though, that turning a line in the middle of
The first time through a poem I always pause at the end of the
But then, when everyone else is running off a cliff into the deep
Thank you, Kris for taking time from your leisurely honeymoon summer to write. I think it's good you read both really good and not so good things. The variety helps keep things in perspective. Now, you'll have to go rent the movie High Fidelity. We really enjoyed it.
through most of September and to my husband Jeff who loves his
full-time, year-round job, and hasn't complained about all the lying
on the couch and reading I've been doing. (I do cook him up some
great meals, though. Who would've thought I'd end up a house-
wife?!)
lately. A nod to the summers of my youth, particularly the weeks
spent in Colorado. We'd return from the library with a armloads of
books only to refresh the piles a week later. I was reading a lot of
Judy Blume and Madeline L'Engle at that time.
Sara Peretsky, Sue Grafton (ok, I admit there is a theme
there), Nick Hornby (ha! something completely different),
Jane Austen (twice), Amy Tan and Margaret Atwood.
I've also been reading Richard Pullman's Golden
Compass trilogy aloud with Jeff. For me, that's a lot of reading
to complete in four weeks.
here are my top five of the past four weeks:
by Pullman. (I know that's three books, but they're a set ‚ all or nothing)
probably because I was so shocked to find that I enjoyed the book.
It's funny, it's easy, it's got good characters.)
get through the first section as I didn't find Lily a very interesting
character, but the story that took place in China was fascinating, and
once the mother was humanized, the San Francisco story became
more interesting as well.
liked it. I even shared the plot twists with Jeff. I'll have to check out
the rest of the alphabet.
[A Letter of Mary -editorial father] It was the 3rd or 4th in
the series, about a possibly-ancient papyrus and the death of an
archaeologist they were acquainted with. The marriage played a
very small part, a good thing in my book. Their marriage makes as
much sense to me as the marriage of Anakin Skywalker and Padme
Amidala. What I appreciate most is the careful attention to detail in
their disguises and clue hunting.
I did get quite caught up in the story I read, Tunnel Vision
by Paretsky. My complaint is that the scandal in the story got a
little far reaching (not that it was unrealistic, more that it didn't need
to go that far) and that it was a bit long for what should be a light
read. Reading about the icy roads of a Chicago winter at the same
time my family was complaining about the humid heat wave in the
Midwest did make me wonder why I keep saying I want to end up
back in the Midwest.
reading project, a view into a male psyche. The book does have a bit
of charm about it. I was amazed, however, at how grating it was to
read about all the mixed cassette tapes they were making. Were we
really not burning CD's by the early 1990's? I admit I didn't even own
a CD in 1991, but it made this novel seem very antiquated. I think I
would have enjoyed the novel much more when the technology,
bands, and TV shows it makes heavy reference to were still in use,
together, and on the air.
I admire the idea and the creativity, but I found the reading
disjointed and a bit tedious. Near the end there's a line that mentions
"if you've read this far", and I had to smile, because it had been a bit
of a chore for me. The first chapter totally sucked me in ‚ a young
woman drives off a bridge to her death, which was a welcome start
after having to pushed myself into Bonesetter's Daughter
and High Fidelity and slogging all they way through
Sense and Sensibility.
But alas, the momentum hit a brick wall.
There were newspapers clippings interspersed with a first person
reflective narrative (which was interspersed with modern life) all
interspersed with the novel within the novel. (bogged down yet?) I
found myself looking in the contents to find all the newspaper
clippings and reading them first as a quick and dirty way to try to
make sense of it.
Clearly, I found it an intriguing enough puzzle to
read through to the end despite finding all the characters
depressing, and although all the twists in the story ended up being
the ones I had already anticipated. Somewhere one sister paints a
photo of her sister blue, saying she sleeps-walks though life. Even
when taking action, that sleep-walking sister never does seem to
fully wake up. The book gives much to contemplate and
discuss ‚ a good book club book.
that's as beautifully written.) It's a thin manual on writing poetry,
aimed at poets but infinitely useful to novice or advanced poetry
readers as well. We all enjoyed it and learned quite a lot. We read a
few of her poems while we were at it, which are luscious and highly
recommended.
the phrase can be used as a way to speed the reader through it.
They want to rush quickly to jump over the gap, she says.
line, and if I later decide it's something I should read straight
through, I still mentally stop and gape at the break, wondering why
it's there. It always slows me down.
water below, I'm always the one the walks up to the edge and stares
and contemplates before resigning myself to fear and jumping.
(Did I mention that Jeff and I were together for 4 years before we got
married, at age 33?)
Write Tell a little bit of the world what you think.
By Ken Wedding. 09.01.02 Updated 09.04.02.
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