Tuesday Intro: Fates and Furies

A thick drizzle from the sky, like a curtain's sudden sweeping. The seabirds stopped their tuning, the ocean went mute. Houselights over the water dimmed to gray. 

Two people were coming up the beach. She was fair and sharp in a green bikini, though it was May in Maine and cold. He was tall, vivid; a light flickered in him that caught the eye and held it. Their names were Lotto and Mathilde.

Fates and Furies
by Lauren Groff

Two very short paragraphs, yet they somehow compel me to read on. I especially love the sentence:  He was tall, vivid; a light flickered in him that caught the eye and held it. Lotto and Mathilde have already captured my imagination... I want to learn more about them.

Here is the goodreads summary:

Fates and Furies  is a literary masterpiece that defies expectation. A dazzling examination of a marriage, it is also a portrait of creative partnership written by one of the best writers of her generation. 

Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years. 

At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed. With stunning revelations and multiple threads, and in prose that is vibrantly alive and original, Groff delivers a deeply satisfying novel about love, art, creativity, and power that is unlike anything that has come before it. Profound, surprising, propulsive, and emotionally riveting, it stirs both the mind and the heart.

What do you think? Are you tempted to continue?

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

The Sunday Salon: October 4, 2015

Happy Sunday, friends. This post is coming to you a little later than usual because the weekend just got away from me. They seem to get shorter and shorter, don't you think?

We finally broke down and turned on the heat yesterday morning. Overnight lows dipped down into the 30s, and I was forced to wear socks for the first time in five months. Thanks to those chilly temperatures, peak fall color is fast approaching. There should be a dazzling show by next weekend!

Finished this week//

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

This book lives up to all the praise you've been hearing - 5 stars!

Current reading//

The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Trollope? 

Favorite quotes from this week's reading:

Let her who is 40 call herself 40; but if she can be young in spirit at 40, let her show that she is so. 

The little sacrifices of society are all made by women, as are also the great sacrifices of life.

Up next//

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

A library book I'm dying to read... and the due date is looming.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Admittedly outside my comfort zone. I've never read Gaiman, but am tempted by this readlaong  at Bookfoolery. Besides, it will help will my less than stellar RIP effort this year. I'll make a decision soon. Have you read this one?


On the blog//
Book Brief: So We Read On: How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures by Maureen Corrigan
Pages From the Past: My 2001 Reading Journal
Tuesday Intro: Did You Ever Have a Family


Book club meeting//

I hosted our monthly book club meeting on Friday. We generally meet in the morning, but gathered at 4:00 this time and had a near-record ten members attend. There was a very lively discussion of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande. Most found it to be a difficult read due to the subject mater, but we unanimously agreed that it was important to do so. My review is here.

Next month we will discuss Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen.
Are you in a book club? Which book has generated the best discussion this year?


That's about all from me this week. What's new with you? Did you read anything good last week?

This post will link to It's Monday, What Are You Reading?  hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Book Brief: So We Read On by Maureen Corrigan

So We Read On: How the Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures
by Maureen Corrigan
narrated by the author
Hachette Audio, 2014
10 hours and 46 minutes
source: purchased with audible credit

Publisher's summary:
Conceived nearly a century ago by a man who died believing himself a failure, it's now a revered classic and a rite of passage in the reading lives of millions. But how well do we really know The Great Gatsby? As Maureen Corrigan, Gatsby lover extraordinaire, points out, while Fitzgerald's masterpiece may be one of the most popular novels in America, many of us first read it when we were too young to fully comprehend its power.

Offering a fresh perspective on what makes Gatsby great - and utterly unusual - So We Read On  takes us into archives, high school classrooms, and even out onto the Long Island Sound to explore the novel's hidden depths, a journey whose revelations include Gatsby's surprising debt to hard-boiled crime fiction, its rocky path to recognition as a "classic", and its profound commentaries on the national themes of race, class, and gender.

My thoughts:
So We Read On  is an interesting mix of literary discussion, F. Scott Fitzgerald biography, and memoir. It was made even more enjoyable by the author's narration. I learned a lot about Fitzgerald's life and The Great Gatsby  (both in terms of historical perspective and literary insight), and a little about Corrigan, too.  I laughed out loud when she referenced her high school senior trip to Rocking Horse Ranch in the Catskill Mountains. My class visited that same ranch several years later. I'm sure it's much nice now!

I'd say a reread of The Great Gatsby is now imminent - it's been over a decade.

Whether you're a true Gatsby aficionado or a casual reader curious about Fitzgerald and his great novel, you will find much to enjoy in this book.

My rating:

Pages From the Past: My 2001 Reading Journal

Welcome to this month's (late) installment of Pages From the Past. In recent months, I've been sharing highlights from my old reading journal, one year at a time. 2001 was a big year in reading for me - I read nearly twice as many books as the previous year. At that time, I was a regular member of two local book clubs, but I think the increase was a direct result of my discovery of on-line book groups. Did you ever participate in one of the many Yahoo book discussion groups?

My Favorite Books Read in 2001

Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Berniers

I still consider this an all-time favorite.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

 Do you remember the Oprah Book Club drama associated with this title?

The Red Tent by Anita Diamont

I also enjoyed Good Harbor  in 2001.

Middle Age: A Romance by Joyce Carol Oates

My favorite JCO novel to date

Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

This is probably where my fascination with Montana began.

Prodigal Summer  by Barbara Kingsolver

Still my favorite of her novels...

Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast by Bill Richardson

A quirky, fun read for the literary-minded... try it!

The Fourth Hand by John Irving

I've loved John Irving ever since reading The World According to Garp in the 70s.

A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines

A book club pushed me into reading this one.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman

Outstanding nonfiction... I still recommend it often.

Have you read any of these books?
Do you think your reading habits and tastes have changed since 2001?

Tuesday Intro: Did You Ever Have a Family

Silas

He wakes to the sound of sirens. Many, loud, and very near. Then horns: short, angry grunts like the buzzers signaling time-out in the basketball games he watches but does not play in at school. His cell phone says 6:11 a.m., but the house downstairs is awake and loud and from the particular pitch of his mother's rough morning voice, scratching above his father's and sister's, he knows something is wrong.

Did You Ever Have a Family
by Bill Clegg

This book seems to be a favorite among book bloggers at the moment, and for that reason I was a little hesitant to pick it up. But I needn't have worried. Clegg had me hooked by the end of the first page and now, around the halfway mark, I absolutely love it. The story, the characters, and the writing are nearly perfect. I can't wait to see what the second half holds.

Here is the goodreads summary:

The stunning debut novel from bestselling author Bill Clegg is a magnificently powerful story about a circle of people who find solace in the least likely of places as they cope with a horrific tragedy. 

On the eve of her daughter’s wedding, June Reid’s life is completely devastated when a shocking disaster takes the lives of her daughter, her daughter’s fiancé, her ex-husband, and her boyfriend, Luke—her entire family, all gone in a moment. And June is the only survivor. 

Alone and directionless, June drives across the country, away from her small Connecticut town. In her wake, a community emerges, weaving a beautiful and surprising web of connections through shared heartbreak. 

From the couple running a motel on the Pacific Ocean where June eventually settles into a quiet half-life, to the wedding’s caterer whose bill has been forgotten, to Luke’s mother, the shattered outcast of the town—everyone touched by the tragedy is changed as truths about their near and far histories finally come to light. 

Elegant and heartrending, and one of the most accomplished fiction debuts of the year, Did You Ever Have a Family is an absorbing, unforgettable tale that reveals humanity at its best through forgiveness and hope. At its core is a celebration of family—the ones we are born with and the ones we create.

What do you think? Are you tempted to continue?

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

Weekly Update: September 27, 2015

Good morning, friends, and happy Sunday. Can September really be just about over? October has long been my favorite month - the gorgeous fall colors, changing leaves, and crisp days. Bring it on! But how about we just freeze time there for a while? I'd rather not even think about what comes next...

The past week has been relatively quiet and uneventful, and that's a good thing. We had friends over for dinner, decorated for fall, sealed the driveway, and I got my new glasses. Suddenly I am a reading machine ;-)

Finished this week//

The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante

The fourth (and final) of Ferrante's emotionally intense Neopolitan Novels did not disappoint. I was torn between the urge to race to the end and the desire to savor each of the nearly 500 pages. The last time I finished a series - in such quick order, no less - was The Lord of the Rings  back in high school. Maybe it's time to reconsider my stance on series...

Current reading//

Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg

I started this book yesterday afternoon (while half-watching the SU football game) and absolutely LOVE it! It reads quickly, so I might even finish today. We'll see how I feel by the end, but for now, if this one is on your wish list, move it to the top right away. 


Reading and listening//

The Small House at Allington by Anthony Trollope

Now that I've finished with Ferrante, I'm ready to return to Trollope and our #6Barsets project. This is book 5, so we're coming into the home stretch. I listened to the first chapter yesterday... what a pleasure to return to Mr. Trollope.


Up next//

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

This one is waiting to be picked up at the library. I am feeling slightly overwhelmed by all of this month's great new releases... have there ever been so many I want to read all at once?


On the blog//
Pin It and Do It: September Wrap-Up (Weekend Cooking)
Book Brief:  The Sabbathday River by Jean Hanff Korelitz
Top Ten Tuesday:  My Fall Reading List


Anticipating//

Our monthly book club meeting. I'm hosting the discussion of Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande on Friday and anticipate a near record turnout. We generally meet in the morning, but will gather at 4:00 this time so even more people can attend.

Dinner at my sister's today - I'm making apple crisp.

Football, apple picking, planting some mums...

That's about all from me this week. What's new with you? Did you read anything good last week?

This post will link to It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Pin It and Do It: September Wrap-Up

It seems like I rediscover my kitchen every year around this time. After a summer of cooking and eating outdoors, I'm ready to turn on the oven, light the burners, and pull out the slow cooker. I'm ready for the warm, cozy smells and tastes of autumn. Trish, with perfect timing, chose September and October to reprise her popular Pin It and Do It Challenge. My family could not be happier. They were treated to several new recipes, all found on Pinterest, over the past couple of weeks.

Here are the highlights:

Slow Cooker Tuscan Chicken Soup

Tuscan Bean Soup is a cool weather staple around here, so I was intrigued by this slow cooker chicken version. Roasted red peppers were an unexpected, but welcome addition. We'll have it for lunch all weekend... despite temperatures in the 70s.
my pin
link to recipe

Blue Moon Orange Chicken

Katherine recently listed Blue Moon Orange Chicken as one of her Top 10 Favorite Pinterest recipes, and now I know why. This is a citrus version of the Honey Beer Chicken my family loves. I was hoping for leftovers, but we ate every bite - delicious!
my pin
link to recipe

Sole Piccata

I love anything piccata. There was no sole at Wegmans this week, so I used flounder instead and followed the recipe exactly as written. Unfortunately, it stuck to the pan (I should have used more olive oil or sprayed Pam) and totally fell apart. Let's just say this meal was a delicious mess! The photo, obviously, is from Pinterest.
my pin
link to recipe

Easy Chicken Tamale Pie

I mentioned this dish last weekend in my update post. The twins were home and my husband was out of town. Since it's their kind of recipe and not his, we made it Saturday night. All three of us like it, though I would tone down the spice. The girls were perfectly happy with a little heat. Using rotisserie chicken made the recipe even easier. Sorry I forgot to take a picture - this one is from Pinch of Yum blog.
my pin
link to recipe


This weekend I'm planning to try a new Apple Crisp recipe and will report on it in my October post. Links to other September Pin It and Do It wrap-up posts can be found on Trish's blog.

Do you use Pinterest?

Weekend Cooking, hosted at Beth Fish Reads, is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.