Stepping Away from the Edge

Still Growing!

A few weeks ago, I showed you Spot . . . my agave plant that was sending up a bloom.  Unexpectedly.  In the middle of winter.

I thought you might be interested in an update.

Here is Spot now.

When I last showed you Spot, the bloom stalk was just a little over 5 feet tall.  The pot had been sitting on one of the platforms of the plant stand you can see in the photo above, but last week, I noticed the stalk had reached the ceiling, so I moved Spot to the floor -- and staked him.

Now, he is well over 8 feet tall!  I'm 5'8" . . . and this is my view of the stalk looking up (from my eye level).

And it's still growing! 

The buds are getting larger and more pronounced.

It's really quite something!  I can't wait to see what the flower will look like when it blooms.   Any guesses on color?

In the meantime, I've purchased another agave plant (a different variety this time). 

I wonder what this one will do?

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Looking for something good to read?  I just read my first 5-star book of 2012 . . . and it was FABulous.   Really good.  This one will stick with me for a long, long time!  (Initially, I hesitated about reading it. . . because it is quite gruesome in parts.  I will say now, though, that this is one of those books that is worth a little wading around in the muck.)

 

Year End Review: The Books

I read a lot.  Like. . . I typically read somewhere between 45 and 65 books a year.  Mostly, I read contemporary fiction, but I like to mix in some literary classics and non-fiction books for good measure. 

When I look over my book list for 2011, I see that I read 48 books.  I was on track for 52 (my goal this year). . . but my reading-train derailed when my Mom had her accident in mid-December.  (I actually haven't read a page since. . .)  In review, I can see that I was heavy on contemporary fiction this year; a little lighter on the classics; and there were plenty of non-fiction books in the mix.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to reading, and I have my own "star-rating" system for rating the books I read.  Most of this year's reading fell into my 4-star category (which is typical), but 8 of them were 5-star books (not counting Get the F--- to Sleep, which was brilliant, and definitely worthy of 5-stars, but sort of out of my usual "realm" of categorization).

Here are the five absolute-best books I read in 2011:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I loved this book so much.  It actually may be one of my favorite books EVER.

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair: My Year of Magical Reading by Nina Sankovitch.  Fabulous!  Insightful!  AND. . . I now have enough book recommendations to last a good, long time!

Parrot & Olivier in America by Peter Carey.  Delightful.  Such wonderful contrast in perspectives.  (Plus, I sort of have a secret-love for American history.)

On Canaan's Side: A Novel by Sebastian Barry.  Lovely writing; compelling characters; heart-tugging story.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safron Foer.  So moving; I just loved this book.  (But I won't be going to the movie.)

So many great books!

 

Back to Front

I just finished reading listening to a really great book. . . The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides.

But.  I need to come clean.  Something . . . really odd. . . happened to me while reading listening.

If you listen to audiobooks, you know that they are divided into parts (typically 8 hours or less) for downloading onto your iPod.  Most books I read have multiple parts -- usually 2, but sometimes more . . . sometimes less.  So all of the "parts" are listed separately on your iPod playlist.

From time to time, I have mistakenly chosen the wrong part to listen to.  It's a quick fix, though.  You realize. . . HEY!  This isn't quite making sense!  And you switch over to the correct part.

I usually blame my iPod.  It's one of those teeny-tiny Nano models.  (Really.  What WERE they thinking when they designed this?  As a touch screen no less!!!!)  It's a challenge to read ANYthing on this teeny-weeny screen -- and it's easy to select the wrong item.

(Notice:  The chapter listings on an iPod download do NOT correspond to the chapters in the actual book.)

Anyway.  I started reading listening to The Marriage Plot.  Like usual, it took me a little bit of time to get into the flow of the story -- who was who, what they were doing, why, etc.  But within a chapter or two, I was totally THERE.  The characters were compelling, the language and dialogue crisp.  I love Eugenides' style of writing, and find his novels just . . . captivating.

So.  Imagine my surprise when I got to the end of the first "part" I was listening to . . . and realized that it was the END OF THE BOOK!!!!

Yes.  I listened to the second half BEFORE listening to the first half.

AND I DIDN'T NOTICE!!!!

Rather than think it's an indication of my own idiocy, I think this is a testament to Jeffrey Eugenides . . . that a reader can jump in at the midpoint of his novel and STILL be completely captivated by his writing . . . and, in fact, will feel satisfied to the point of being stunned (STUNNED) to have missed the first 8 hours of the book!

How does this even happen?

I went back and listened to the first half.  And while it deepened my understanding of the characters, setting, and plot, I do not feel that I had missed any of the cogent elements of the novel by reading it out of order.  (WAY out of order.)

I think Eugenides must be a bit of a genious. 

And what this says about me?  I'm not really sure.  But there you have it.  The ultimate case of my reading the ending. . . before the beginning!

 

Word Power

I have long been a fan of Kate Atkinson's novels, but I was a little bit leary of the new PBS Masterpiece Mystery series, Case Histories, which is based on the first three of her "Jackson Brodie" books.  I'm generally disappointed when books I love are made into movies.  Especially when I have a strong image in mind for the characters, or when the stories are more emotionally complicated than action-packed.

Like. . . Kate Atkinson's novels. 

Or . . . like the Jackson Brodie in my mind.

But then I saw this.

 

And decided to give the series a try.  Because the actor Jason Issacs (who was apparently Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies) matches up with the Jackson Brodie in my mind ... just fine.   (Just fine, indeed!)

Anyway, I watched Episode 1 last night on my iPad.  It was very good, actually.  I'll definitely watch the rest of the series. 

And, speaking of books, I just need to say that Nina Sankovitch's Tolstoy and the Purple Chair is fabulous.  Simply fabulous! 

It is a reader's memoir, relaying the discoveries of Nina's own "year of magical reading" and demonstrating the sheer power of words to heal and comfort and ground us.  Very worth a read -- especially if you like books.  (And, trust me, you'll boost your own personal reading queue by. . . oh, about 365 book titles or so!)

And one more thing.

Can any of you explain what I'm missing with Joyce Carol Oates?

I've just read another book by Joyce Carol Oates.  (My fourth.)  I know that she is considered a "must-read" author.   She's prolific (having written over 50 novels!).  She's won many literary awards -- and been nominated for even more.  She's always mentioned as a "favorite" to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.  And she's "discovered" and encouraged many young and up-and-coming authors (like Jonathan Safran Foer).

But.  I don't get it.  I just . . . don't like her books.

There's just something about her style that doesn't resonate with me.  And her characters?  Well. . . I never seem to connect with any of them.   In the book I finished last night (American Appetites), I actually did a little celebratory dance when one of the characters died mid-way through the book. . . because then I wouldn't have to listen to her whine anymore!

It's that bad.

So.  What am I missing here?  (Help me.)

But no worries.  There are plenty of other books to read! 

Word power!

 

 

The Freedom to Read

We are in the midst of a very special week!  Yes, my friends, it's Banned Books Week!

Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment.  Held each year during the last week in September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information, while highlighting the harm of censorship --- even when the information and ideas might be unpopular or . . . difficult.  Banned Books Week is all about the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox - and unpopular - viewpoints for any and all who wish to read them.

Banned Books Week teaches about the danger of imposing restraints on the availability of information in a free society.

As an avid reader (of both contemporary fiction and the classics), I'm always interested in seeing how many banned books I have read!  Here is a list of the most frequently challenged classics:

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

As for me, I've read 9 of the 10 books listed above.**  I'm grateful that, at some point in the future, I'll be able to read the 10th (Lolita) if I so choose!

Celebrate Banned Books Week.  Check out the website for more information.  Go to your library or bookstore.  Grab a banned book -- and enjoy the freedom to read! 

** Truth be told, I struggled with Ulysses.  Really struggled.  I didn't read all of it.  (Really. . . has anyone?)

 

A Little Bit of Vindication

First of all -- can anyone tell me how it got to be September already?  Man.  I'm scrambling here to figure out where the summer has gone. . .

Now, then.  Last week I made a True Confession.  I think it's time for another one.

Sometimes (actually, more than sometimes) I peek at the end of a book before I get to the end.

Only a few people know about this.  Because -- whenever I happen to mention it (out loud) -- I get horrified reactions sort of like you might expect if I had announced that . . . I kick my dog (I don't) . . . or that I like one of my children more than the other (I don't). . . or that I dig up plants that are still living and throw them in the compost pile (well, ummmm, sometimes I do that). 

It's always been amazing to me that most people think reading must be a linear exercise.

For me, I find that "knowing how it all comes out" actually helps me enjoy a book more.  When I don't know how things end. . . I find myself speeding along to get to the exciting (or even NOT exciting) conclusion.  If I'm fixated on plotline, I tend to ignore. . . dialogue; language; character development.  I don't enjoy the journey . . . if I'm tearing along to the finish line.

But, I've learned to keep this little secret to myself.  (I've met a few others like me -- but, most people think the "right way" to read is linearly.  And they are quite judgmental about those of us who. . . don't.)

Anyway.  While flipping through my copy of The Week magazine yesterday, I discovered this little blurb:

Mysteries without mystery
Have you ever been tempted to flip to the end of a mystery novel? Go ahead: Suspense, a new study has found, is irrelevant to our enjoyment of a story. In fact, say researchers at the University of California at San Diego, most people like stories more if they know in advance how they end—even with plots that hinge on a mystery or a twist. The researchers set up different versions of 12 short stories written by authors such as Agatha Christie, Raymond Carver, and Anton Chekhov. One came with an introduction that spoiled the ending; one had a spoiler embedded in the middle of the text; and a third appeared just as its author had written it. Surprisingly, readers who learned the endings of their stories up front reported liking them much more on a scale of one to 10 than did readers of the other two versions. Why? The pleasure readers get from a good story, researcher Jonathan Leavitt tells BBCNews.com, has far more to do with the quality of the writing and character development than with a nail-biting plot. Once a reader knows how a story turns out, Leavitt says, he or she “can focus on a deeper understanding of the story.”  (From The Week, September 2, 2011; volume 11; page 23)

SO THERE!

Vindication.

And speaking of reading . . . my reading has nearly slowed to a crawl this summer.  Why?  Well.  I've been reading this:

I don't know that I've ever had more varied and contradictory responses while reading a book.  Ever.  Oh, it's not for everyone, that's for sure!  A slog . . . in that same way that Tolstoy can be a slog.  But brilliant . . . in that same way that Tolstoy can be brilliant.  In the end, though, I'm going to have to give it 5 stars.  Because it will haunt me for a long time.

But I'm going to need some lighter fare for a while.  Good thing the new Louise Penney "Three Pines mystery" came out this week!  (Maybe I'll read the ending first. . . maybe I won't.  I'll never tell!)

True Confessions

Soundtrack. . .

 

Oh, come on now.  Everyone has at least one!

It's time to confess. . . my dirty little secret. . .

I follow fashion.

There.  I've said it out loud.

It's not like I practice fashion.  Not at all.  I don't own any designer labels of anything (well, except a few carefully-selected pieces from Eileen Fisher).  No Christian Louboutin shoes.  No Prada bags.  No little Michael Kors dresses.  But that doesn't mean I'm not interested!!!  (And you can be sure I'll be checking out the new Missoni line at Target next month!  I'm all about affordable fashion.)

Anyway.  I do like checking out the fashion mags -- especially the September issues (when they cover all the new fall styles).  And I read a few fashion blogs -- preferring the ones that don't take themselves too seriously.  And I can't seem to turn away from Project Runway.

I'm not exactly why I caught the fashionista bug, but I did.  And I caught it early.  Like, as a pre-adolescent.  I learned to sew . . . and sew well. . . at a young age -- just so I could copy the styles I saw in Seventeen magazine.

I've always considered my fashion-thing . . . a dirty little secret.  Because, well, fashion just seems so superficial.  And I'm not a superficial person.  But I am a person who likes . . . clothes, bags, shoes, patterns, textures, color, form, line, and design.  I also think clothes DO make a statement about who we are, what we care about, how we feel -- and how we WANT to feel.

This summer, I'm reading a book called The Thoughtful Dresser: the Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter by Linda Grant.  Superficial as it may sound, it's an interesting book.  (Linda Grant's blog -- The Thoughtful Dresser -- sports this tagline:  "Because you can't have depths without surfaces.")  The author explores the "dark side" and the "light side" of fashion, clothing, and dressing -- making the point that an attraction to fashion and beautiful clothing is not rational, but based on pleasure (sort of like. . . choosing to eat a chocolate eclair rather than, say, a container of Greek yogurt).

Here's a little quote from the book -- and actually, the passage that made me decide to confess all in a blog post!

“The purpose of this book is to advance no thesis, to break no ground in the history or theory of fashion, but rather to explore what is already known but rarely thought about by the ordinary mass of humanity who is interested in fashion and might, quite wrongly, feel a little ashamed of this passion.  Might fear that they are not going to be taken seriously.  That in announcing this preoccupation they will have confessed that women are not really fully grown up; unlike our male counterparts, who have mature and adult preoccupations without which the human race could not survive, such as moving balls from one end of a grassy field to the other with the aid of the human foot.”

So, yeah.  I follow fashion.

(Jenny does NOT follow fashion . . . but she does follow yougurt!)

But. . . I don't LOOK like I follow fashion!

It's just my Dirty Little Secret!

If You Open Up a Drawer. . .

. . .you're going to find something that you've been avoiding dealing with.

After you finally deal with it. . .you're going to have to create a new file.

When you make a new label for the new file, you will realize you're out of label tape.

When you open up another drawer to get a new roll of label tape. . . you will find that you can't open the drawer because so many post-it notes are jammed inside.

When you pry open the drawer to take a closer look, you discover that most of the contents stored inside are useless and dated - yet sensitive - and need to be shredded.

When you turn on the shredder, you find that it is full-to-bursting. 

When you empty the over-packed shredded paper into the compost bin, you see that the compost needs to be turned.

When you finish with the compost, you need to wash your hands.

When you wash your hands, you see that the foaming soap container needs to be refilled. . . . which reminds you that you have a coupon for soap refills.

When you open up the drawer to find the coupon. . .

And so it goes.  That's how re-organization projects go for me!  But. . . I perservered.  Now my desk is organized, my sewing room is refreshed, AND my compost is turned!

==========

Many thanks to Pam -- for pointing out the obvious:  that home re-organization projects are Just Like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie! 

Expelliarmus!

Harry Potter!  Why. . . you're all grown up! 

With this Friday's opening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 2), the HP saga is coming to a close.  .  . and Carole has us thinking about the Awsome-ness of Harry Potter.

I remember when the first Harry Potter book was released.  Erin had just started fourth grade -- the perfect age for Harry!  She loved it -- she "grew up" along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione (the final installment of the book was released shortly after her high school graduation).

I've read each of the books (once), and I've seen a couple of the movies, so I'm qualified to create a list of ten awesome things.  But.  I decided to get a little help on this one -- from my family.  I figured it would be interesting to get the Harry Potter Perspective from a cross-section of ages --- AND a wide spectrum of Harry Potter Interest (spanning the range from . . . my sister, who will be FIRST in line to see the movie when it opens at 12:00am on July 15. . . to my son, who has never read a Harry Potter book and who has seen only a couple of movies -- and only because of "the most perfect female being on earth," Emma Watson).  So, I asked my family to help me come up with  Ten Awesome Things About Harry Potter (book or movie), and here's the result:

1 -- Magic.  From the spells to the gadgets, it was hands-down -- everyone loved the magic!  The Marauder's Map (me), the flying brooms (my Mom; my sister), time-turners (my sister), the Sorting Hat (my sister), the Cloak of Invisibility (Tom, who wants more than anything to don an Invisibility Cloak and skulk off to enjoy a Butter Beer!) -- the magic was just plain fun!

2 -- Classic story line.  Good triumphs over Evil; Love triumphs over Hate; choices matter more than abilities (my sister).  My child, with her liberal arts degree in English literature firmly in hand, explains the charm of Harry Potter this way:  "The fresh use of conventional fantasy tropes such as hero rescue (Harry and Ginny in Book 2), an arch nemesis (Voldemort), side kicks (Ron and Hermione), and the "destiny / chosen one" plot, to build a world that has enthralled so many readers of all ages and statuses (economic, social, political, etc)." (Erin)

3 -- The good guys really do win.  It was always exciting and a little bit scary (my Mom), but, in the end, we could depend on the kids in Gryffindor to win!  Why?  Well, because they had heart!  (Tom)  And not just regular "heart" -- but tenacious, gritty, loyal HEART; integrity; perserverance; muddy HEART. (Tom)  Ten points for Gryffindor!

4 -- Strong social justice messages.  I like to think that an entire generation (or more) has just had a huge lesson in the silliness of bigotry.  Muggle?  Half-blood?  Full-blood?  Doesn't that seem silly?  I'm hoping so.  I'm hoping that a whole lot of people have had a subtle lesson in prejudice and discrimination.  (Me)  My sister points out several other important lessons.  Like . . . the fact that you don't have to be related to be "family". . . or that there are so many strong female characters in the HP series:  Hermione Grainger, Ginny Weasley, Molly Weasley, Professor McGonagall, Bellatrix Lestrange, etc.  The world needs more "sheroes" in literature. (my sister)

5 -- Quidditch.  Oh, yeah.  How cool is Quidditch?  (me, my sister, my Mom, my Dad, Tom)   Tom's goal (after the Invisibility Cloak and the Butter Beer)?  "I want to be a seeker." 

6 -- Getting people READING.  (my sister)  This was huge!  It seemed everyone. . . everywhere. . . was reading Harry Potter.  (Well, except my son. . .)  My Dad never reads books -- but he couldn't wait to read Harry Potter.  (my Dad)

7 -- The movie adaptations, generally, did not disappoint.  The special effects (Quidditch, the flying, the creatures - and dragons(!), the moving photographs, EVERYthing magical) were fabulous (my Dad; my Mom).  The casting was superb -- from the guys in Diagon Alley (my Dad) to Helena Bonham Carter (bow down!) (Erin), the characters translated well from book to movie.  And more on the casting . . .  "Emma Watson." (Brian)  "I'll see your Emma Watson and raise you an Alan Rickman." (Keith)

8 -- Owls.  (Erin) 

9 -- Chocolate.  Harry Potter just confirmed our faith in chocolate as a cure-all --- the perfect antidote to those pesky dementors!  (my sister)

10 -- It wasn't just about destiny.  Sure, there was destiny -- and that lightning bolt scar, etc.  But, when it came right down to it, Harry made "good choices."  And I like that.  (Me)

 

What'cha Readin'?

Oh, Carole.  You're killing me here.  First, the Ten Best Love Songs . . . and now, this.  Ten Books to Recommend to a Friend?  Ten???  Shoot me now.

Man, oh man!  Among all my other "hobbies" . . . I am a Reader, first and foremost.  Ten?  Only Ten?  I'm in agony. . .

So. . .

1. If I were recommending books to a friend who loves to Read like I love to Read. . . I would recommend my favorite novels.  Books like Three Junes by Julia Glass; A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris; or The History of Love by Nicole Krauss.
2. If I were recommending books to a friend who is in a self-reflective phase . . . I would recommend Composing a Life by Mary Catherine Bateson, Circle of Stones by Judith Duerk, or life is a verb by Patti Digh.
3. If I were recommending books to a friend who wants to start reading classics . . . I would recommend Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, or The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.
4. If I were recommending books to a child . . . I would recommend From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Koningsburg, Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry, or A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle.
5. If I were recommending books to a friend who is interested in reading non-fiction. . . I would recommend Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, or The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman.
6. If I were recommending books to a friend who likes biographies . . . I would recommend Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, or First Family: John & Abigail Adams by Joseph J. Ellis.
7. If I were recommending books for friends in my old book club (the group that I still miss deeply - even though it's been 8 years since I moved away!). . . I would recommend All the Little Live Things by Wallace Stegner, A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving, or The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.
8. If I were recommending books for a friend who just wanted fun, entertaining "beach reads" . . . I would recommend Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver, Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi, or The Stand by Stephen King.
9. If I were recommending books for a friend who was working along the cancer-continuum (diagnosis - treatment - survivorship) . . .  I would recommend Crazy Sexy Cancer Tips by Kris Carr, It's Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong, and Picking Up the Pieces by Sherri McGee and Kathy Scalzo.
10. If I were recommending books for a friend who liked mysteries with a little something extra. . . I would recommend The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (and the other two books in the series) by Stieg Larsson, In the Woods by Tana French, or the Three Pines mystery series by Louise Penny.

That's ten.  Isn't it?