Tolstoy and the Purple Chair

Just finished reading a book perfect for all book lovers: Tolstoy and the Purple Chair. Author Nina Sankovitch, an ardent reader all her life, decides to read a book a day for a year in order to take time for herself and to somehow find peace within herself after the loss of her sister.

One of the many passages I liked:
Pg 44 - Inspired by the poem "Stepping Backwards" by Adrienne Rich, Sankovitch writes, "Looking backward allows me to see the entirety of my present life, of what it took to get me to where I am, and of what I want to have in the life still ahead of me. The big picture, the great perspective. I understand what is important by looking back to see what I remember."

Haiku quoted:
"Since my house burned down
I now own a better view
of the rising moon."
by Mizuta Masahide

There is so much that I thought of writing about as I read through this book. I was inspired by so much that Sankovitch read and observed, and related it to my own memories and "theories" - especially her chapter about what she wishes for her children. (My kids tease me about my "theories.") She has a beautiful way of weaving through her book-a-day year. At the beginning of each day she blogged about the book she read the previous day. It's all at Read All Day. I recommend this book to all book lovers.

Cheers! Salut! Santé! To your health!

A nice way to start the weekend ... cheers!

In my latest book, "Lunch in Paris - A Love Story with Recipes" by Elizabeth Bard and recommended to me by my sis-in-law, Vicki, there is a line that I related to (pg 39):

We toasted. "Dans les yeux," Gwendal said, meeting my eyes. "It's bad luck to toast if you're not looking directly at someone."

Don and I had never heard this until we met our Montreal friends, Claude and Louise, on a blind date in Baltimore. We had met over the phone, realized we were both Canadians, and arranged to meet for dinner. I remember Claude clinking glasses with me and waiting ... finally I looked up at him, rather than at our glasses, to see what the problem was and as soon as our eyes met he continued to the next person. You can't fully "cheers" without making eye contact.

Don and I have looked our fellow clinkers in the eye ever since. It is such a nice way to pause and really acknowledge your friends if only for an instant. Try it, you'll like it.

(A daughter of our friends, who is 10 years old, always does cheers with us with an exaggerated leer ever since Don "taught" her - its pretty funny.)

Insouciant

I turned to Frank, who was pressing more distinctly against by sweatshirt. "I think I'll head to bed, " I said with what I hoped was insouciant uncaring.
     - pg. 350, The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova

This word is weird enough to stick with me forever, plus I like the sound of it. I first heard it, or became aware of it, when Anne Shaw presented it as 'The Word of the Week' at a Thornhill Toastmasters meeting at least 14 years ago.  Now every time I come across 'insouciant' in a book I think of Anne.  And I come upon the word more often than I would have thought!  But I have never come across it in a conversation with anyone.  

Insouciant - –adjective

free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.
It comes from the French verb soucier to worry, so this is no worry.

I like it.  So when next we converse, try using it in a sentence to me.  I will be so impressed!

Learning to ride a bicycle

Anyone who has taught a child to ride a bike knows that it is a difficult process particularly because you feel helpless. There's only so much you can do and the rest is up to the child - including picking themselves up and getting back on the bike after several falls.  

A friend of mine who is an avid cyclist has written a book called Peter Learns to Ride a Bicycle.  Its a great book with tips that help the child to ride, and help the parent to help the child.  Some of the basic tips were new to me, and yet they make a big difference in getting the feel for a bike. The illustrations are great. If you are readying yourself to teach your child to ride a bike or you know someone who is in this position, consider downloading his book.  The details are on the author's blog: http://www.dailybicycle.com/.  

I highly recommend it!

The beauty of book club is ...

... reading a good book that you would never have chosen to pick up and read if not for book club.

Just finished reading our May book (about 2-1/2 weeks too late) but the discussion in May was so interesting. Glad I didn't miss it. For anyone looking for something a little different, try In the Land of Invisible Women by Qanta A. Ahmed.

The Uncommon Reader

A friend recommended this great little book - perfect for those who enjoy reading. Its written by Alan Bennett who wrote 'The History Boys' which was also made into a great movie.

The title is perfect. It is a story about the Queen accidentally discovering the joy of reading and her journey as she expands her thoughts and observations on life.

Here are some of my fav observations from the book:

"Pass the time? Books are not about passing the time. They're about other lives. Other worlds." (pg 29)

"The appeal of reading, she thought, lay in its indifference: there was something undeferring about literature. Books did not care who was reading them or whether one read them or not. All readers were equal, herself included." (pg 30)

"Authors, she soon decided, were probably best met with in the pages of their novels, and as much creatures of the reader's imagination as the characters in their books. Nor did they seem to think one had done them a kindness by reading their writings. Rather they had done one the kindness by writing them." (pg 52)

"You don't put your life into books. You find it there." (pg 101)

I highly recommend this book!

The Blog Habit

I need to get into the blog habit.

How will I ever build a dedicated and loyal readership without regular postings? So far, I think I have a readership of one (thanks to Denise, my colleague from work)!

Here is our cat, Lucky. He's about 8-1/2 yrs old, 16 lbs. As you can see, he is incredibly handsome!

Let's see ... last night I went to Madison Square Gardens with Tracey to watch the Leafs beat the Rangers 2-1. The tickets were purchased through my university alumni group in NYC so we were sitting with a rowdy bunch of Leafs fans, who occasionally yelled "Aaaaaaarrrrrgooooos!" They were brave fellows in a sea of Ranger fans.

The night before, I went to a book club meeting at Julie's beautiful home. It was my turn to facilitate. We were doing "Anna Karenina" and had an interesting discussion. Considering Tolstoy got paid by the word for the serialization, I'm sure he made a pretty ruble on that one. Then Malathy led a thought-provoking discussion of "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost. Next up is "Memory Keepers Daughter" which I read last summer. My other book club is doing "Suite Francaise," having just discussed "The Lay of the Land." And in my car, I'm listening to "The Tipping Point." I have not listed authors as I figure you can look them up if necessary.

Happy reading!