Oh, Calamity!

She’d once been appalled to hear of women claiming PMS as a defense for murder. Now she understood. She could happily murder someone today! In fact, she felt like there should be some sort of recognition for her remarkable strength of character that she didn’t.

"Oh, calamity!" is right. Our fabulous weekend has been foiled. Ransacked. Thwarted. Smashed to smithereens. Pardon my bitterness—instead of a day at the spa with Tray, I'm cleaning my house (dreary) and she's working in Provo (blasted work).  But alas, we're silver-lining-kind-of-girls, and thankfully there's one here: she's Vegas bound next weekend! Heaven help the soul who tries to derail this one.

I always say, "When life hands you lemons, pick up a great escape read." Okay, maybe I've never said that before, but it seems like sound advice to me. Some days just call for a page-turner. The hands-down best page-turning escape read I've come across in years is Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. This one has it all: suspense, drama, witty dialogue, laugh-out-loud humor, and an ending that not even my Nancy-Drew-trained eyes saw coming.

The book centers around three women whose kids attend the same elementary school in an Australian beachside town—where we learn from the outset is the scene of a tragedy. Something's gone terribly wrong at the school's annual Trivia Night, leaving someone dead: in the words of my favorite character, Madeline, "Oh, calamity!" The who, how, and why of it will keep you guessing to the end. It's more than a mystery though. To steal Amazon's description (I've got a house to clean, people), "Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive."

*If you're a book listener, Caroline Lee's narration is spot on. This is one of those books made for listening. Even more fantastic? Word has it that Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon will be starring in an upcoming Big Little Lies miniseries on HBO.

**This is not your mother's beach read (language is quite salty). 

Posted by Rachel

Weekend Outlook: Fabulous

We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over. —Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Don't be jealous, but I get to see this fabulous face in person tonight. Tray is comin' to Viva! Las Vegas, that is. We have a glorious weekend planned that includes a spa day, good books, good food, good movies, and more. Honestly, I'm thrilled just knowing we'll be sharing the same space for three days—the rest is icing on the triple layer cake. We'll also be brainstorming ways to be better bloggers—mainly, how to work more posts into our overloaded schedules. We want to do more to keep you all in good books! In the meantime, here's a peak at what we're reading and listening to now.

MY CURRENT LISTEN

The Summer Before the War by the same author of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I'm a sucker for a good British read. Hoping to be as charmed by this one as I was by Major Pettigrew. You'll be the first to know!

OUR CURRENT READ

We'll both be finishing up Girl at War poolside, while sipping Coke and Coke Zero and consuming juicy burgers. We're loving this month's book club selection so far and have heard nothing but raving reviews from some of you. April's selection coming soon!

Posted by Rachel

Meet Ted And Nine Boys In A Boat

It’s not a question of whether you will hurt, or of how much you will hurt; it’s a question of what you will do, and how well you will do it, while pain has her wanton way with you.

Meet Ted: our coder extraordinaire whose doctoral work at Auburn revolved around the study of British Literature. The fact that he named his daughter after a Jane Austen character, and that's he's an avid reader and Coke Zero drinker makes him a real Renaissance man. Oh, and he's one of the kindest people we know, which makes him our friend.  We asked him to review one of our favorite books and he readily obliged—did we mention he's kind? Enjoy!

My knowledge of crew and rowing went no further than the J Crew label in the back of the jeans my kids gave me. Daniel James Brown's book The Boys in the Boat changed all that. It chronicles an 8+ University of Washington rowing crew (that would be 8 oarsman and a coxswain) and their path from freshman crew to the 1936 Olympics in Hitler's Germany. It does this mostly by focusing on Joe Rantz, following him from heartbreak as a young boy through his triumphs and challenges and, yes, pain, as the crew's seventh seat.

Let me tell you, Brown describes in beautifully precise scientific detail the physics behind eight people rowing simultaneously. For example, there's this: “Physiologists, in fact, have calculated that rowing a two-thousand meter race–The Olympic standard–takes the same physiological toll as playing two basketball games back-to-back. And it exacts that toll in about six minutes.”

But Brown goes beyond the dry numbers and the (to me) academic physiology. By showing this world of syncopated rowing through the eyes of Joe Rantz, Brown paints flesh and bones on these statistical marvels. Joe absolutely amazed me as I read of him losing his mother and basically raising himself. He never felt like the world gave him a raw deal, and he never, ever made excuses for his situation. Pretty contradictory to what I experience today--indeed, stands out in bold relief against so much of what I am guilty of myself. I would do well to take just one page out of the book of Joe Rantz, commit it to memory, and live by it.

Let's face it: from Rudy to Hoosiers, we love our stories of the success-against-all-odds and the roll-up-our-sleeves and get-it-dones--perhaps because it captures something that we find as uniquely American. Told the wrong way, these stories can come across as trite or artificial, but there is nothing of either of these here. Indeed, with The Boys in the Boat, Daniel James Brown succeeds in showing why Joe Rantz and his entire generation is worthy of the title "the greatest generation that ever lived."

Posted by Ted

Big Change Can Start Small

Whatever you want to do, if you do it with your whole heart, it will happen.

You probably thought we call our book club "guilt-free" because there's no pressure for you to read the book if it's one you aren't interested in and you're partly right. Well...mostly right. At least that was the initial reason. Turns out it also means we're under no obligation to discuss the book in a timely manner! Tray and I are good at escape clauses. Without further ado, or excuses, let's discuss February's book club selection: The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.

There is so much to love about this book. First, you know I love me some Wright Brothers and wish the world had more of them. Now more than ever. I mean, really. Well I found one: William Kamkwamba. William and his windmill give me hope—and as of late, that is no small task. To see what he has overcome and how he's done it is nothing short of awe-inspiring. You know he had me at "the pictures in a library book gave me the idea...."

Like my beloved Wright boys, so much of what William accomplished was self-taught, and against even greater odds. His family too poor to send him to school, he found a small library and began reading every book and textbook he could get his hands on. Soon the library and scrapyard became his training ground, where he was swept up in the miracles of science, changing his life forever. Despite relentless mockery from those around him, including some in his own family, he forged ahead with his experiments. His resilience paid off in ways he hardly dare dream of: ending darkness and hunger for his family and others. And he's really just getting started. Something tells me we're going to be hearing a lot more about and from William Kamkwamba.

One of our readers is a middle school teacher and said this is required reading in her class. Lucky kids. She had them read the book and then create an invention of their own. Clearly, we need more teachers like her!

Here are a couple comments we've received from other readers:

Ali: I really enjoyed it. At times, it got way too technical for me and I learned not only was it ok to skim through those portions, but it made the book much more enjoyable. Normally, skimming through portions of a book would be taboo and if I did do it (the horror), I would feel terribly guilty. What champs these boys are. I would have died of Cholera for sure but they soldiered on and tried to change the face of their country. Bravo.

(I'll admit I skimmed over some of those sections as well, Ali. Clearly, no one should be expecting any inventions from me any time soon.)

Cami: I love, love, love this book! By boys are now 4 1/5 hours into it (listening) and they are loving it too. Although, I have to admit my motives to have them read this book are purely selfish. I'm hoping they see just how much they have been given and what their capabilities could be. I am also hoping it changes their outlook on school and how learning opens up a whole new world. We will be having lots of discussions about this book!

(You've inspired me to have Ben read this book as well, Cami! And my girls. For those reasons and to have them understand more about African culture. I found that fascinating as well. FYI for those with younger kids: there is also a young readers edition.)

We'd love to hear from more of you! Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Posted by Rachel

The Soul Doesn't Stutter

Words in the air blow away as soon as you say them, but words on paper last forever.

Rachel’s under the weather, and I’m under the gun.  We’re quite a pair.  But we’re mindful of you lovers of print. I promise.  I’ll be honest, when I started reading Paperboy to my boys I may have been a tiny bit skeptical.  Amazon bragged, “This Newberry Honor is perfect for fans of To Kill a Mockingbird, The King’s Speech, and The Help.”  If that doesn’t qualify as the trifecta of awesome, I’m not sure what does. Needless to say, expectations were high.  Vince Vawter’s Paperboy did not disappoint.  

Like Wonder, this endearing read shows us a perceptive protagonist with an obvious disability.  “Little man” is an eleven-year-old boy who, like Nolan Ryan, can throw some good hard cheese.  He feels normal on the mound because he doesn’t have to speak.  For a moment, he finds relief from the frustrations of an impossible stutter. Talking horrifies him. He can’t even utter his own name, Victor, cleanly.  

It’s 1959. Little man lives in the segregated South.  When asked to take his best friend’s paper route for a month, he is forced out of his world of near isolation.  Able-armed Victor makes life-changing discoveries as he interfaces with memorable customers.  He taught my boys and me something about bravery, resilience, and hope.  And most of all, he gave us an important lesson on love.  I may have felt verklempt when I read what little man says he learned in school at the close of the book: “It’s more important what I say than how I say it, and my soul doesn’t stutter.”

Posted by Tracy

Weekly Wrap-Up

There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that receives it.

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

This lovely Penguin Classic's edition of three of Edith Wharton's classics.

Netflix. They had me at Gilmore Girls. Now they've swooped in and saved The Little Prince after the geniuses at Paramount Pictures dropped its U.S. theatrical release. A Cannes Film Festival audience favorite and winner of best animated film in France, but nah, Paramount said, we'll pass. Must be too educational and uplifting to their liking. It's enough to make a girl lose hope. Look for it on Netflix later this year.

March Madness, baby. How's your bracket looking? Oklahoma gave me a scare this afternoon. Now if Oregon will pull through with a win, my final four will have survived the weekend. Tar Heels for the championship!

Audio books the whole family will love. Spring Break means family road trips and the best cure for the "Are we there yet?" blues is listening to a great book. My friend Monica, who's a family-audio-book guru, swears by Treasure Island narrated by Alfred Molina. It kept the whole family riveted in the car—from her pre-schooler to her high schooler. (Riveted=not pestering each other...or you.)

Me Before You. The movie. One of my favorite beach reads with a brain will be in theaters this June. Here's a sneak peak. (I see you, Finnick and Mr. Bates.)

COMING NEXT WEEK

That long overdue review and book club discussion of The Boy who Harnessed the Wind. Really.

Tracy's latest kid-lit pick—word has it Jonah and Luke are giving it a big thumbs up.

Posted by Rachel

I Owe Tracy A Trip To Ireland

Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy. —W.B. Yeats

I owe Tracy a trip to Ireland. She was saddled with two broke girls for friends in London. Well, obviously not broke, or we wouldn't have been studying abroad. Let's just say we were funds-challenged. Ireland was a priority for her—we were so close, how could we not go? When would we have this opportunity again? Turns out never. At least not in the past almost thirty years. I should have scrimped, borrowed, and begged my way (or just cut back on the Hobnobs and Callard & Bowser licorice toffees). While I spend my St. Patrick's Day in Shoulda Coulda Woulda Land, enjoy some picks from some of our favorite Irish writers, including Yeats above.

James Joyce. I'm smitten with this Penguin Classics Edition of Dubliners. My favorite Joyce short story is The Dead.

C.S. Lewis. I must confess I didn't know until today that he hailed from Ireland.  The Screwtape Letters is a must read, and of course, always, his Chronicles of Narnia.

Frank McCourt. If you have yet to read his Pulitzer prize winning Angel's Ashes, you should remedy that pronto!

Oscar Wilde. My favorite: The Importance of Being Ernest.

George Bernard Shaw. On my list to read: Pygmalion. Or as we know it, thanks to the lovely Audrey Hepburn, My Fair Lady.

Posted by Rachel

I'll Be The Riverbank And You Be The River

Human beings are the best hope in the world of other human beings to survive.

No, this is not a review of last month's book club selection, The Boy who Harnessed the Wind, that was promised for yesterday. And yes, this is the review I promised last week but didn't deliver. You should know by now I'm nothing if not unreliable. What can I say except that it's taken me this long to recover from the shock of Tracy finally succumbing to an escape read. Next up: audio books! Why quit while we're ahead?

While I can't say whether Tray will take to the sound of books in her ear, it's a safe wager she'll take to Anna and the Swallow Man. I know I did. This beautifully written young adult book (that every adult should read) centers around seven-year-old Anna, suddenly alone in a city torn apart by war, and a tall, thin, enigmatic man she calls the Swallow Man. She follows him as a river follows the riverbank, across Poland and parts of Russia, as they try to stay alive and out of war's way. While the Swallow Man teaches her how to survive in a time of war, Anna reminds him that survival, in and of itself, is not enough to support life.

I can't stop thinking about Anna and her Swallow Man, or her beloved Reb Hirschl, a Jew they meet along the way and against their better judgement, but to their betterment, befriend. This book will stay with you long after the last line. There is something uniquely unsettling about witnessing war through the eyes of a child: it's raw, unfettered, and devastating in it's simplicity. But at the same time hopeful, leaving us all better for the reading. Like Liesel and Marie-Laure before her, Anna helps us see the world through younger, yet wiser, eyes—as children so often do. In the words of her father: "Men who try to understand the world without the help of children are like men who try to bake bread without the help of yeast."

Posted by Rachel