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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Audio book
The narration of the mother was distracting to me. The male voice pretending to be female gave her a pretentious tone I am sure she did not have.
And yet. I got tired of hearing how selfless she was in death. I also feel like a complete asshole for saying that. Also got tired of hearing how they both finished books in 1 afternoon. Wow.
Is there a list for what books they read? I probably am just not smart enough to really understand most of what they read.
Love the idea of this. Brought up all the feelings too.
MMD Challenge - Fun, category: a book about books
The narration of the mother was distracting to me. The male voice pretending to be female gave her a pretentious tone I am sure she did not have.
And yet. I got tired of hearing how selfless she was in death. I also feel like a complete asshole for saying that. Also got tired of hearing how they both finished books in 1 afternoon. Wow.
Is there a list for what books they read? I probably am just not smart enough to really understand most of what they read.
Love the idea of this. Brought up all the feelings too.
MMD Challenge - Fun, category: a book about books
I really enjoyed reading this book. Although you might think a memoir about the author’s mother dying would be horribly depressing, I didn’t really find The End of Your Life Book Club to be too much of a downer. Of course it was very sad that Will’s mother was diagnosed with an incurable cancer, but I think the book focused more on the journey they took together through their reading and discussions than on the sadness of her impending death. I think this is kind of the point, that we are all going to die, but what matters in the end are the lessons we learned, the discussions we had, and the people we loved.
“Even though The Elegance of the Hedgehog leads to a death, the experience of reading the book is even more joyful than seeing a Romeo and Juliet where they both live. I asked Mom why she thought that was, and she pointed out that the joy is a product not of whether characters live or die, but of what they’ve realized and achieved, or how they are remembered.”
I definitely recommend this book. It appealed to me on many levels: my love of memoirs, my interest in travel and foreign countries (many of the books they read were about life in war-torn countries or written by refugees), and, of course, my love of books. There are great passages about why reading is important, the love of books as physical objects, and the different types of serendipities in bookstores. As an avid reader, I loved quotes such as, “Reading isn’t the opposite of doing; it’s the opposite of dying.” I also really enjoyed reading their discussions of specific books, and I kept a post-it note in the back of my book to keep track of which ones I wanted to add to my TBR list. (Many, many books were added to that list with this reading.)
I found The End of Your Life Book Club to be a really enjoyable read about a man’s relationship with his mother, the beauty and importance of literature, and the value of discussing the important things with the ones you love.
More book reviews at Books Speak Volumes.
“Even though The Elegance of the Hedgehog leads to a death, the experience of reading the book is even more joyful than seeing a Romeo and Juliet where they both live. I asked Mom why she thought that was, and she pointed out that the joy is a product not of whether characters live or die, but of what they’ve realized and achieved, or how they are remembered.”
I definitely recommend this book. It appealed to me on many levels: my love of memoirs, my interest in travel and foreign countries (many of the books they read were about life in war-torn countries or written by refugees), and, of course, my love of books. There are great passages about why reading is important, the love of books as physical objects, and the different types of serendipities in bookstores. As an avid reader, I loved quotes such as, “Reading isn’t the opposite of doing; it’s the opposite of dying.” I also really enjoyed reading their discussions of specific books, and I kept a post-it note in the back of my book to keep track of which ones I wanted to add to my TBR list. (Many, many books were added to that list with this reading.)
I found The End of Your Life Book Club to be a really enjoyable read about a man’s relationship with his mother, the beauty and importance of literature, and the value of discussing the important things with the ones you love.
More book reviews at Books Speak Volumes.
This is a solid 3.5 star book but I rounded down because it became repetitious in too many places. Yes, Mary Anne Schwalbe was an inspiring person but I felt the constant reminders of her accomplishments annoying instead of humanizing.
Loved it! I wanted to read it for the book suggestions. I had no idea his mother would be so fascinating. I loved hearing her advice and stories.
His tips from The Etiquette of Illness
1 - ask "do you want to talk about how you are feeling?
2 - Don't ask if there is anything you can do. Suggest things, or if it's not intrusive, just do them.
3 - You don't have to talk all the time. Sometimes just being there is enough.
Book suggestion to check:
Russell Banks - Continental Drift
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Ishmael Beah - A Long Way Gone
AlanBennett -The Uncommon Reader
Roberto Bolano - The Savage Detectives
Karen Connelly - The Lizard Cage
The Etiquette of Illness
A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Bite of the Mango
Seventy Verses on Emptiness
Man Gone Down
Daily Strength for Daily Needs
His tips from The Etiquette of Illness
1 - ask "do you want to talk about how you are feeling?
2 - Don't ask if there is anything you can do. Suggest things, or if it's not intrusive, just do them.
3 - You don't have to talk all the time. Sometimes just being there is enough.
Book suggestion to check:
Russell Banks - Continental Drift
The Elegance of the Hedgehog
Ishmael Beah - A Long Way Gone
AlanBennett -The Uncommon Reader
Roberto Bolano - The Savage Detectives
Karen Connelly - The Lizard Cage
The Etiquette of Illness
A Prayer for Owen Meany
The Bite of the Mango
Seventy Verses on Emptiness
Man Gone Down
Daily Strength for Daily Needs
This was a bit preachy and similar to other "end of life" memoirs I have read. However, the references to books and the perspectives they had was interesting and provided for a great reading list.
reflective
medium-paced
As I read this book, I keep underline sentences, write notes on margins, make list of books I want to follow up. But most of all, I admire Mary Anne Schwalbe, mother of the author. I wish to have her gracefulness when I am facing death.
A book to keep.
A book to keep.
This book makes you fall in love with reading books all over again.
I expected so much more. Will seemed obligated, rather than moved, to share his experiences with his mom as she was dying. So oddly impersonal and lacking emotion.
Sad story, as expected, but I got a lot of new books for my list out of it.
Although this was recommended to me, I was skeptical. It sounded trite. It was anything but. I couldn't put it down, and I can't stop thinking about it.
The author and his mother spent her cancer treatment reading books together and talking about them. It was a window into learning more about his mother and a way for the author to write about her life after her death. As an avid reader who had read many of the books they discussed, I found everything about the book compelling.
The author and his mother spent her cancer treatment reading books together and talking about them. It was a window into learning more about his mother and a way for the author to write about her life after her death. As an avid reader who had read many of the books they discussed, I found everything about the book compelling.