Scan barcode
taylersimon22's review
5.0
A beautiful story of a life woven together by a loving granddaughter. I cried so much thinking about my own grandmothers I lost. Kalb did a great job recreating the voice of her grandmother and telling these stories of three generations of women.
amyrobins's review
5.0
One of the loveliest, funniest, most charming books I've ever read. Short and sweet and made me miss my grandma. Bess Kalb does a great job narrating her book in her grandmother's voice.
wanderingmole's review against another edition
5.0
A great read. A funny and tender impression/ retelling of a life in a chain of wild and resilient lives.
————————————————————
“Bessie, if you try on a dress and you don't immediately want to parade outside the dressing room and show it off to everyone in the store, take it off and forget it ever existed.”
“Bessie, if you ever finally find a lipstick that actually, certifiably looks good on you, buy twenty of them. If it gets discontinued-and it always does-you'll never forgive yourself. Ever. Don't say I didn't warn you.”
‘There's only one other building that makes him more proud: his tree house. It was 1965 and the whole country was panicked about the possibility of a nuclear missile. Our neighbor in Ardsley dug an enormous hole in his backyard and poured in a concrete shell. He brought in pallets of canned soup and an oxygen tank and sleeping bags. A fallout shelter. It fright: ened me. I asked your grandfather, "Hank, should we build a bunker?" He said, “I’ll do you one better." That weekend, he brought in lumber and a cherry picker, and he built an enormous tree house in the elm tree right on our property line with the doomsday neighbor. When it was done on Sunday night, he brought me up the ladder. There was a table and chairs, a white tablecloth, and a bottle of champagne and two crystal glasses. "Bobby, when the bomb hits, here's where I want to be. Up in the sky with you”’
“No matter what happens, keep walking. My zayde always said that if the earth is cracking behind you right up to your heels, you put one foot in front of the other. You keep going. Nothing's as important as moving forward.”
————————————————————
“Bessie, if you try on a dress and you don't immediately want to parade outside the dressing room and show it off to everyone in the store, take it off and forget it ever existed.”
“Bessie, if you ever finally find a lipstick that actually, certifiably looks good on you, buy twenty of them. If it gets discontinued-and it always does-you'll never forgive yourself. Ever. Don't say I didn't warn you.”
‘There's only one other building that makes him more proud: his tree house. It was 1965 and the whole country was panicked about the possibility of a nuclear missile. Our neighbor in Ardsley dug an enormous hole in his backyard and poured in a concrete shell. He brought in pallets of canned soup and an oxygen tank and sleeping bags. A fallout shelter. It fright: ened me. I asked your grandfather, "Hank, should we build a bunker?" He said, “I’ll do you one better." That weekend, he brought in lumber and a cherry picker, and he built an enormous tree house in the elm tree right on our property line with the doomsday neighbor. When it was done on Sunday night, he brought me up the ladder. There was a table and chairs, a white tablecloth, and a bottle of champagne and two crystal glasses. "Bobby, when the bomb hits, here's where I want to be. Up in the sky with you”’
“No matter what happens, keep walking. My zayde always said that if the earth is cracking behind you right up to your heels, you put one foot in front of the other. You keep going. Nothing's as important as moving forward.”
tuabaxl's review
4.0
A love letter to the author’s grandmother. Sweet, entertaining, historical, and engaging. I especially enjoyed it as an audio book with the author narrating.
annabelleclawson's review
4.0
A sweet memoir that makes you think about your loved ones and hug them tighter. Loved it.
madisnowg's review
5.0
bess kalb clocking a win for grandma girls everywhere. this book made me wish i had given fewer books five stars, because this one is just so bright and it deserves to be its Own Thing. also, halfway through this book, i thought to myself, “my dodie would’ve loved this book,” which i think is exactly the point.
there’s something about grandmother-daughter relationships that is so hard to get right. age and death and young selfishness and all sorts of things can get in the way. i think part of why this story was beautiful to me was because it told of a relationship that realized all that potential. i miss my grandmother-who-told-stories very much, and this made me feel close to her. it made me remember what she might have been like if i told her all my news of the last six years. i don’t know the rest, but i know would’ve squeezed my hand hard and said “good girl!”
this was sparkling and beautiful and unlike anything i’ve read. bess kalb took the memoir format and made it something that feels a little miraculous, honestly, to consume as a reader. loved this so much.
there’s something about grandmother-daughter relationships that is so hard to get right. age and death and young selfishness and all sorts of things can get in the way. i think part of why this story was beautiful to me was because it told of a relationship that realized all that potential. i miss my grandmother-who-told-stories very much, and this made me feel close to her. it made me remember what she might have been like if i told her all my news of the last six years. i don’t know the rest, but i know would’ve squeezed my hand hard and said “good girl!”
this was sparkling and beautiful and unlike anything i’ve read. bess kalb took the memoir format and made it something that feels a little miraculous, honestly, to consume as a reader. loved this so much.
peedsreads's review against another edition
5.0
This was beautiful and poignant. Bess's relationship with her grandmother is the heart of this story, but it contains several mother-daughter relationships (with all their nuance). Someone suggested this to me, and I'm so glad I took their recommendation and listened to the audiobook. It's only 4 hours but feels so much longer. I laughed and cried. It definitely had Maisel vibes and is filled with 4 generations of Jewish immigrant family stories in New York.
I definitely recommend this to people with special bonds with their grandmothers.
Call your grandma
I definitely recommend this to people with special bonds with their grandmothers.
Call your grandma
jeansbookbag's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
3.0
This was an interesting book. The style won’t work for everyone, but I enjoyed it. I thought it was a poignant and often funny story. It’s pretty short, but packs a punch. I would recommend to fans of memoirs and family stories.