Page 26 of 29

The Tea Planter’s Wife and her predicament

August 12, 2016 /

The beginning of The Tea Planter’s Wife: A Novel reminded me of Rebecca: A new bride arrives at an elaborate and somewhat mysterious estate with lots of vegetation.

This newer novel, already an international bestseller after its initial U.K. publishing, is set during the 1920s-30s in Ceylon, an island off of India that was colonized by Britain until 1972 and is now known as Sri Lanka.

Like in Rebecca, the husband is a widower, and the story of the dead wife is shrouded in mystery. The likeable new wife is trying to figure out how to run her new household (this one obviously on a tea plantation) while also wondering what exactly happened to the first wife.

But then…the plot took a very interesting turn and definitely stopped reminding me of Rebecca.

Shaka Senghor’s story of redemption – through reading and writing

August 6, 2016 /

Shaka Senghor’s compelling memoir is about redemption.

The text of Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison moves back and forth between two segments of Senghor’s life: his life as a teenager who started dealing crack at age 14 and his life as a convicted murderer in prison for 19 years.

The story lines, which eventually read as a complete life story, are informative, distressing, and eventually hopeful and powerful.

As Shaka explains the series of situations and choices that led him to commit a murder and end up in prison, it does not read as excuses. It read so that I could truly understand how it all could happen. In fact, I would have been more surprised if he didn’t end up in prison for something.

When literature and TV collide

August 1, 2016 /

Literary cameos in HBO’s “The Night Of”

“Survival in here is all about your alliances….Those husky dogs knew that.” – Freddy from HBO’s popular new series “The Night Of” in reference to Jack London’s Call of the Wild

I get really excited when I see references to literature (or intertextuality) usefully inserted into an already great story line – it makes me pause, rewind, quote, and blog. So here goes:

If you are not watching HBO’s new drama “The Night Of” I STRONGLY recommend it (no serious spoilers here).

I want to reflect on a scene from episode 4 that offers some fascinating literary cameos when Naz, a soft-spoken university student who is in prison awaiting a trial for murder, meets with Freddy, a smooth, smart, and powerful longtime inmate who is essentially running the prison.

First, Freddie “educates” Naz on the “two most popular books in the prison library.”

“All the Light We Cannot See” – the glorious sea and Claire de Lune

July 27, 2016 /

“Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they are closed forever.” – Anthony Doerr in All the Light We Cannot See

A Pulitzer-Prize-winning bestseller hardly needs my recommendation. And you likely don’t need another raving review telling you the story line of All the Light We Cannot See, which of course includes a blind French girl and a conflicted Nazi-youth, both coming of age in WWII Europe.

Thus, my reflections today focus on the glorious sea and the power of the radio, especially its music. (no spoliers!)

Read around the world

July 19, 2016 /

I’m participating in Top Ten Tuesday hosted by The Broke and The Bookish; this week’s theme is 10 books set outside of the U.S.

A benefit of reading, of course, is that we can travel to another place and time without leaving our comfortable chair. These novels all touched me deeply while providing perspective from other parts of the world.

From the bottom of my heart and bookcases (which hold all of these books I’m listing) I fully recommend:

What all Cubs fans should know about the 1908 season!

The Cubs: Historical Reading about 1908 and the Merkle Game

July 15, 2016 /

Yes, I know it has been MORE THAN A CENTURY since the Cubs won the World Series.

As a realistic yet always hopeful lifelong Cubs fan, I recently picked up a book that has been sitting in my bookcase for some time: Crazy ’08: How a Cast of Cranks, Rogues, Boneheads, and Magnates Created the Greatest Year in Baseball History.

This book documents the 1908 season.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book unless you are a serious history buff with a great attention span and appreciation for detail, to the point you would enjoy following the play by play for an entire season 100+ years ago…

Detailed history buff does not describe me – BUT I did find LOTS in the book I appreciated and will share that information below.

The most interesting (and perhaps depressing part) is that the 1908 World Series win was largely due to a huge controversy referred to as the “Merkle Game.” You may have been to Merkle’s in Wrigleyville. If you don’t know the history of this season or this name, read on…

10 Bookish Facts about Me

July 12, 2016 /

On Tuesdays, I’m going to start participating in the Top Ten list along with other book bloggers. This fun, weekly event is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.

This week’s theme is bookish facts about yourself. So here are mine:

A crazy, delightful read about life and happiness: “The Invoice”

July 10, 2016 /

I was chuckling early on in Jonas Karlsson’s The Invoice: A Novel thanks to its crazy story line:

A seemingly Joe Average character in Sweden gets an astronomical invoice from a government agency. He has no idea what he is being charged for or how he could possibly pay it, so he incessantly calls the hotline and later visits the agency to get the answers he craves.

As he works through the shock and acceptance of this “debt” he has been assessed for a simple yet mostly happy life, he contemplates the value of life experiences. Consequently, a reader contemplates such things along with him.

My go-to baby gift book

July 7, 2016 /

I’ve been invited to two baby showers lately where the hostess asks us to “sign a book instead of a card.”

I love this idea! Of course I usually give books for baby gifts anyway, at least as part of my gift.

Over and over, I buy the same book for new babies. So now I need to order two more…(If I am invited to your shower stop reading now, and if you were invited to the same shower as me save this info. for next time! 😉

Richard Scarry’s Best Storybook Ever is super nostalgic for me, but that’s not the only reason I think it’s the perfect book to give at a baby shower or to a new baby!

Ode to vinyl records – also in my bookcases

July 6, 2016 /

I want to address the “other” shelves of my bookcases…the taller and deeper shelves I had custom made for my vinyl record collection.

Why do I keep vinyl records when most of the world has moved through cassette tapes, CDs, and now to digital downloads?

Leslie's Bookcase

Page 26 of 29

The Tea Planter’s Wife and her predicament

Shaka Senghor’s story of redemption – through reading and writing

When literature and TV collide

“All the Light We Cannot See” – the glorious sea and Claire de Lune

Read around the world

The Cubs: Historical Reading about 1908 and the Merkle Game

10 Bookish Facts about Me

A crazy, delightful read about life and happiness: “The Invoice”

My go-to baby gift book

Ode to vinyl records – also in my bookcases

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