You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I wanted to love this book. Based on book editor Will Schwalbes last days with his dying mom. They always forged a bond through their love of books. This chronicles the last year of her life battling pancreatic cancer. Each chapter is a different great book that they read and discussed together. I shared a love like this with my mom and wanted to swallow this book and sink into it as I would have with my dying mom. Alas we each have different stories to tell. It was well written but I feel like it lacked the emotional connection that I was seeking. Really great concept.
A memoir of mother and son...she with pancreatic cancer and they, reading books together throughout her final years together. It wasn't at all what I expected. I often found myself skimming pages...eager to see which books they had read as there really wasn't much of a story. A springboard of self reflection for certain...relationships, values, religion, etc. Good but not great.
I enjoyed this book -- I didn't find it to be a page-turner, but I very much enjoyed the insights that the author and his mother had in regard to the various books they read, and their relationship. I found it touching how the author obviously very much respected and admired his mother.
The premise here is that Will Schwalbe's mom is dying of pancreatic cancer and during that process he and she start an informal book club of two. I typically like reading critics and authors talking about books they've read and talking about what they like or didn't about them (e.g., Nick Hornby). I also like memoirs, so this seemed like it would be perfect. However, I found myself bored, not only with the books they chose but also with the overall story of the cancer process, due in part to Mary Anne, Schwalbe's mom. Of course the book evokes sympathy for Mary Anne and she sounds like a strong and lovely woman, but it didn't quite cut it for me as either a critic talking about interesting books or as a memoir.
This is a nice tribute from a son to his dying mother. I enjoyed “meeting” his family and learning about their northeastern upper crust highly educated lifestyle. The mother, Mary Anne Schwalbe, was a generous volunteer & philanthropist who is absolutely worthy of remembrance. This book wasn’t especially spiritual, nor was it really a book study - it felt like a general obituary and memoir combined. About half way through - I just got bored. At this point, I got out of it already what I was going to get out of it. There are too many other good (or bad) books to move on to, so I shall do that now. Thus, I’ve joined the 2 star club on this one.
Jeg vet ikke hvor jeg skal begynne.. Denne er trist og vanskelig, men samtidig så optimistisk og fantastisk. Portretteringen av moren, familien, livene deres og de dagligdagse øyeblikkene er bare så ufattelig fantastisk og vakker. Schwalbe skriver så utrolig bra, og jeg skulle ønske jeg kunne møtt moren hans, for hun virker som tidenes dame. Dette er den type bok jeg har lyst til å anbefale til alle - jeg anbefalte den til en kollega før jeg var ferdig med den selv - og en bok jeg har lyst til å lese om og om igjen. Jeg har lyst til å lese alle bøkene nevnt i boken, for å så lese den om igjen, for å forstå enda bedre, for den er bare så bra at I can’t even .... Det er en så vond og personlig fortelling som deles på den mest fantastiske måte, og var for meg helt umulig å legge fra meg.
I don't know if it's for everyone but I really really enjoyed it. It's about a son and mother spending time together discussing books after she is diagnosed with cancer. It's a very gentle memoir with lots of book suggestions and just nice moments between them. Loved it.
A book about a man and his mother and they book they read together during her cancer treatments. They are prolific readers and read quite a bit. The book recollects the lessons the books taught and the conversations about them. It is a good book to listen to, if dry at times. I admit there were only about 5 books mentioned that I ever heard of. Their reading level was much higher than mine. It was a nice tribute to his mother.
A really wonderful read, well-written and so much that I could relate to.
“We're all in the end-of-your-life book-club, whether we acknowledge it or not; each book we read may well be the last, each conversation the final one.” -Will Schwalbe
Well, thanks to this book I now have a massive list of books to read this summer! I really enjoyed this book that chronicles the relationship of a mother and son as the mother is diagnosed and eventually dies from pancreatic cancer at the age of 75. Maryanne Schwalbe lived a wonderful life, travelling around the world and working with refuges, she also loved books and reading. This love of reading was passed on to her son Will, the author of this book. This combined love of reading led Maryanne and Will to develop the End of Your Life Bookclub - reading a diverse array of books and then discussing them in a bookclub of 2 as they sat through chemo treatments or doctors appointments together.
I really like how Will expressed at the end of the book, that this bookclub gave him the opportunity to not just tell his mom things as she was dying, but to listen to her and understand her life, her experiences, and her beliefs. I also love hearing about books, why people enjoyed them and how they affected them and this book does that with many books - I would guess close to 100 are mentioned in this book.
Overall, wonderful memoir from Will Schwalbe and a great tribute to his mother Maryanne.
Well, thanks to this book I now have a massive list of books to read this summer! I really enjoyed this book that chronicles the relationship of a mother and son as the mother is diagnosed and eventually dies from pancreatic cancer at the age of 75. Maryanne Schwalbe lived a wonderful life, travelling around the world and working with refuges, she also loved books and reading. This love of reading was passed on to her son Will, the author of this book. This combined love of reading led Maryanne and Will to develop the End of Your Life Bookclub - reading a diverse array of books and then discussing them in a bookclub of 2 as they sat through chemo treatments or doctors appointments together.
I really like how Will expressed at the end of the book, that this bookclub gave him the opportunity to not just tell his mom things as she was dying, but to listen to her and understand her life, her experiences, and her beliefs. I also love hearing about books, why people enjoyed them and how they affected them and this book does that with many books - I would guess close to 100 are mentioned in this book.
Overall, wonderful memoir from Will Schwalbe and a great tribute to his mother Maryanne.