The Great Escape

Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life. —Fernando Pessoa

It’s time to pull out my old 45’s—the ones I played throughout braces and badly feathered hair.  Although I’d be tempted to spin “Blinded by the Light” or “Pinball Wizard,” I’d definitely play David Soul’s “Don’t Give Up on Me Baby” for Rachel and all of you.  (Am I dating myself or what?)  Man these times have been hard. Work has been all-consuming and some of my closest family members have been hospitalized.  Never mind I’m still mourning Prince and now, the Golden State Warriors’ loss.  What’s a girl to do?

Escape comes to mind. Vacation is always a great escape. But since the sand and sea are far from me, I’m gonna have to read to get away from the rigor.  I’m good with that.  The boys and I just finished Wolf Hollow—loved it, every one of us.  So what’s next?  I got 4 books in the mail today.  Yep, F-O-U-R books! (My fab friends forget I’m a vampire; in lieu of birthdays, I’m opting for aging more slowly.)  So here are a few reads on deck that you might want to check out:

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks

One of my dearest high school friends, who’s a prolific reader, sent me this novel with a note that said, “It’s divine to be 29!”  I’ve still got a cheesy grin on my face. In the spirit of Crenshaw, this creative and clever novel shows how we get by with a little help from our friends, even those of the imaginary sort. One Amazon reviewer raved, “I cannot give this book too many stars! It’s a unique treasure.  Read it.”  That’s what I’m gonna do.  Thanks K.P.

Gilead by Marilyn Robinson

Rachel and Ted both love Marilyn Robinson.  I’m ashamed to admit I haven’t read the prize-winning author. So this gift felt particularly thoughtful.  In the words of Kirkus, this is a novel “as big as a nation, as quiet as thought, and moving as prayer. Matchless and towering.” Matchless sounds good to me right about now.  How bout you?

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

In our semi-frenzy to choose June’s book club pick, Rachel and I settled on this promising read.  Until I realized I already had a winner in my amazon cart.  Is anyone afraid for me? (We laughed about my absent-mindedness…better than crying, right?)  But I’ve had my eye on this young adult read ever since.  It’s a fictionalized story based on a true tragedy.  Steve Sheinkin, author of Newberry Honor and National Book Award finalist Bomb, ballyhooed with “a rich, page-turning story that brings to vivid life a terrifying—and little known—moment in World War II history.

Posted by Tracy

Literary Dads We Love

"We're the safest folks in the world," said Miss Maudie. "We're so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we've got men like Atticus to go for us." —Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

When it comes to dads, Tracy and I hit the jackpot. Big time. We could each write an ode to our fathers' gentle strength, immense kindness, larger-than-life hearts, and their way of being the calm in every storm. They've set the bar high, so it takes quite a man, fictional or not, to impress us. Here are a few literary dads who made the cut:

Atticus Finch. Of course. The Atticus of To Kill a Mockingbird, that is. Hopefully you skipped Go Set a Watchman and spared yourself the heartache of seeing one of literature's greatest father figures besmirched. Clearly, I have strong feelings on the subject. You can read them here.

The Book Thief's Hans Hubermann, whose love for Liesel proves fatherhood is not bound by flesh and blood. This passage about Hans appearing each night to chase Liesel's demons away says all you need to know about him: "Trust was accumulated quickly, due primarily to the brute strength of the man's gentleness, his thereness. The girl knew from the outset that Hans Hubermann would always appear midscream, and he would not leave."

Jeremiah Land from Peace Like a River. “Many a night I woke to the murmur of paper and knew (Dad) was up, sitting in the kitchen with frayed King James - oh, but he worked that book; he held to it like a rope ladder.”

The Bartender's Tale's Tom Harry. "...he added up to be the best human being there ever was. [And] the absolute best father of all time, in ways I could count....[As] peculiar a pair as we made, the bachelor saloonkeeper with a streak of frost in his black pompadour and the inquisitive boy who had been an accident between the sheets, in the end I would not have traded by involuntary parent for a more standard model."

I'm sure there are more. I'm already fretting about leaving out Jean Valjean and Ordinary Grace's Nathan Drum. Did I forget one of your favorites? And of course the moment calls for a shout out to some of literature's worst: King Lear and Harry Wormwood immediately come to mind. Happy Father's Day! (I sure miss you, Dad.)

Posted by Rachel

Grief Is A Common Denominator

My mother used to say my father and I thought in the same circles. I never understood it until I watched us later, in memories—when we were gazing at the sky (and we often were) we could unconsciously turn in the same direction and extract the same face from the clouds.

Father's Day is hard for me. While I gratefully celebrate the man who is the center of my kids' worlds, my heart aches from missing the man who was the center of mine. Nothing prepares you for losing a parent. And nothing is ever the same again. Every joyful moment or milestone is tinged with a lingering wistfulness, a sense that something—or rather, someone—is missing.

At first glance, Girl at War's Ana Jurić and I could not be more different. She's a ten-year-old Croatian girl, caught in the middle of a civil war, whose life changes forever in a brutal instant. She's seen things I hope to never see in my lifetime, lived through the unimaginable, and come out on the other side of it, bruised and beaten, but alive. Fiction can bring other worlds to our doorstep, remind us that the people we see in news snippets nations away are more like us than they are not. They're mothers and fathers whose first thoughts in the morning and last at night are of their children—children who once played soccer in fields where sniper fire rains. Who once played with toys and now carry guns.

Fiction does have its limits though, and without living the story myself, I cannot know what it feels like to be a girl at war. But I know precisely what it feels like to have a father I adore. One who, like Ana's, makes me feel better just talking with him, no matter the conversation. One who would do anything to shield me from harm. And I know loss. The deep kind that separates the person you were before from the one you are after. So Ana and I aren't that different after all. Not where it counts. We've both learned the lesson her father taught her, that "sometimes hard things are worth the trouble" and looking back, we still prefer our own lives, "even with [their] sorrows, over all the ease and happiness in the world."

*Girl at War was our book club selection for April. For further discussion that may include spoilers, see my comment below and feel free to let us know your thoughts on the book there as well.

Posted by Rachel

Dads And Grads

It’s that time of year.  When grad caps and advice is flyin’!  When we’re reminded to “Go confidently in the direction of [our] dreams and live the life [we’ve] have imagined.” (Rachel, are we doing it wrong?) So we’ve come out of unintentional hiding to share a few timely picks for your shiny grad or for your awesome book-lovin’ dad.

GRADS FIRST

Very Good Lives by J.k. Rowling

I gave these words of wisdom from the girl who grew up to write Harry Potter to Rachel’s grad girls (along with Whatever You Choose to Be). Cash inside the cover may have created more stir. This book began as a commencement address given to Harvard grads in 2008—boy, they were the lucky ones.  Rowling’s words are emotive; they had a profound impact on me as I read about how to embrace failure, and how to use my imagination to improve myself and others.  This is fantastic for grads, or everyone honestly.

Whatever You Choose To Be by Ann Romney

The former Lady of Massachusetts and all-around rock star role model, Ann Romney, imparted eight key life lessons in a commencement address she gave just two years ago.  She gives honest and inspirational advice she wishes someone would have offered her for the road ahead, after college graduation.  I trust Romney. I’ve met her several times and I’m always impressed by how sharp she is and I’m astonished by how firmly her feet remain on the ground.

NOW DADS:

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

I just gave Destiny of the Republic to one smart dad and he reported back that he’s lovin’ it! This New York Times best seller is an extraordinary account of James Garfield’s improbable rise to the American Presidency.  He triumphed over abject poverty, political corruption, and medical challenges.  One reviewer gushed, “One of the many pleasures of Candice Millard’s Destiny of the New Republic is that she brings poor Garfield to life—and a remarkable life it was…fascinating…Millard has written us a penetrating human tragedy.”

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

Why haven’t I written a throw-back post about this compelling book?  If your pops hasn’t read what has been called the best civil war novel ever written, he’s in for an unforgettable read. Years ago, I found myself turning pages of Shaara’s Pulitzer-prize winning novel about the battle at Gettysburg deep into the lightless morning hours in lieu of REM sleep. How many historical novels can do that to a gifted sleeper?  I’d like to re-read The Killer Angels when time and I become friends again.   

*If you're looking for a more recent read for your dad, we're hearing good things about Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow.

Posted by Tracy

Am I The Only One Who Didn't Know About This?

The very first moment I beheld him, my heart was irrevocably gone.

I shouldn't admit this to anyone, let alone Tracy, as she wrote her thesis on the esteemable Lady Jane, but I knew nothing about this book until today. Although that quote above has long been a favorite of mine, I clearly never knew which of her lovely books it came from. Inexcusable. Silver lining: there's more Austen to devour! Add the fact that the movie is being released this weekend and my Jane-loving heart is swooning.

Posted by Rachel

This Book Makes Me Happy

This year I hope
I truly learn
to fly-kick
not to kick anyone
so much as
to fly.

I’m writing this post mid grammar fair. One of my students just gave everyone a kid-size bag of pretzels after she taught us about how to use apostrophes in joint vs. individual possession.  I couldn’t help myself—two times I said, “these pretzels are making me thirsty.”  One precocious student’s eyes lit up; he parroted it back in his best George Costanza.  Seinfeld has that effect on people.  I love stuff that has a long-lasting effect on me.

I won’t soon forget the book I just finished reading to the boys: Inside Out and Back Again.  Luke and Jonah enjoyed it; I loved it.  They knew nothing about the fall of a place named Saigon.  Nor could they understand a 10-year-old girl’s plight of leaving home with only one personal item for a place as foreign as the moon: Alabama. This beautiful novel-in-verse naturally inspires empathy for refugees.  Remarkably, it doesn’t come off feeling heavy as much as heart-warming. And it will leave you thinking about Kim Ha and her family for some time.

Posted by Tracy

Weekly Wrap-Up

I think books are like people, in the sense that they'll turn up in your life when you most need them.—Emma Thompson

WHAT WE LOVE THIS WEEK

Emma Thompson. One of my favorite imaginary BFFs. Audible has just released a reading by her of Henry James' The Turn of the Screw and I can't download it fast enough. Who knows, maybe the lovely Ms. Thompson can even convince Tracy to give listening a try.

We're swooning over this online book/shop. We were sold the minute we saw one of our all-time favorite reading quotes in print.  Our books are begging to be slipped into this for safe keeping. All we have to say about this is "Hear, hear!"

Wanna get your chef on? Check out this year's award-winning cookbooks.

If you love food and flowers (who doesn't) you'll love this blog. It will make you want to move to a little cabin in the Northern California woods. Cheer up your Insta feed by following her here. And brighten your recipe bookshelf with her delightful cookbook. (She's got one for kiddos too.) I have no idea how practical or good her recipes are, I tend to buy cookbooks for the eye candy and the eternal hope that someday I'll turn into a domestic goddess.

Want to read 54 books a year? According to Time, you'll need to read an hour a day. For some of us, that may feel like a pipe dream right now. In case you missed it, check out our post on finding time to read when there's no time to read.

Posted by Rachel

June's Book Club Selection

You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.  —Madeleine L'Engle

731. That's the number of pages in the book we originally planned for June's book club selection. Fresh off the pity train, that's just too steep a mountain to climb. Ain't nobody got time for that...around here, anyway. Sorry history, and Alexander Hamilton, you'll have to wait. We're going with a brand new book instead—hot off the literary presses as of May 3rd. How's that for on top of our game? We were sold the minute we read this review from the New York Times: "Wrenching and true...comparisons to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird will abound. But Wolk gives us her own story—one full of grace and stark, brutal beauty."

So Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk it is! Don't let the fact that it's a novel for ages 10 and up scare you off—it's receiving stunning reviews from the young and old alike. Here's hoping we all love it as much as Cam and Phil love the latest Silverton novel.

Posted by Rachel