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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
I admit, as I write this review I am just about half way through the book. However, given the way the book is progressing, I find it more exciting to write a review of the book rather than read it. I thought that each chapter would be about a book and relating it to life and the relationship between this mother and son. What I'm finding instead is at there are various titles tossed out randomly throughout the book. The only thing thrown about more than book titles is the wonderfulness of this family and the name dropping based on where they're from and what they do. It's been an enormous turn-off for me as a reader and its keeping me om moving forward in the book. While the sentiment is good' the delivery has halted me in my reading.
Read this for book club. Loved it! Was a beautiful and sweet memoir of the author's mother. A very unique approach. I liked how he weaved all the things that were going on in their lives with different books they were reading. Sounds like his mother was an amazing lady.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, War
Minor: Suicide
A 2013 staff nonfiction favorite recommended by Sonia and Jo.
Read Sonia's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/549386972
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Send%20of%20your%20life%20book%20club__Orightresult__U1?lang=eng&suite=pearl
Read Sonia's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/549386972
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search/C__Send%20of%20your%20life%20book%20club__Orightresult__U1?lang=eng&suite=pearl
"What are you reading? How do you like it? Do you have any recommendations for a book that you think I would like?" These are questions that book-loving friends ask each other constantly. When Will Schwalbe's mother, Mary Anne, was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer, they formed a book club of two that often met in the waiting room or during chemotherapy sessions at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. As anyone involved in a book discussion group or even an internet discussion with one person knows, using a book as a starting point for a conversation can lead that conversation down very personal and intimate avenues. Will and his mother used the last two years of Mary Anne's life to rediscover each oher in a whole new way through books and take a powerful journey together. I loved this moving tribute by a son to his beloved mother and only wish that all of us could experience our end of life issues with such love and respect.
I’ve started avoiding books about books because the people sound a bit pretentious and this is no exception. I would love to have the time and quick reading ability to read a big book in a day. I would love the money to build my in-home library. It drove me nuts how much they spent on books. Use the library people!!
Mary also seems to be wanting to make the world better. If I had an external source of income that could give me the ability to travel the world and volunteer to help people I would. Alas, the cost of living continues to grow and a lot of us are just trying to get by. Hearing how all the family could travel the world for vacation, just up at jet off to their sick mother, randomly change careers with little financial confidence, lose all their money on a website without worrying about their livelihood AND still be able to jet off to their sick mother, and kept top quality health care in the US made it very difficult to sympathize with the family. Everyone is dealing with health problems either individually or through a close family member or friend. Everyone is struggling to get though life.
Anyways, this is not a book for me. I would not have grabbed it off the shelf. I know I don’t like books about books, for the most part. But, book clubs are here to get you to read books you normally wouldn’t.
Mary also seems to be wanting to make the world better. If I had an external source of income that could give me the ability to travel the world and volunteer to help people I would. Alas, the cost of living continues to grow and a lot of us are just trying to get by. Hearing how all the family could travel the world for vacation, just up at jet off to their sick mother, randomly change careers with little financial confidence, lose all their money on a website without worrying about their livelihood AND still be able to jet off to their sick mother, and kept top quality health care in the US made it very difficult to sympathize with the family. Everyone is dealing with health problems either individually or through a close family member or friend. Everyone is struggling to get though life.
Anyways, this is not a book for me. I would not have grabbed it off the shelf. I know I don’t like books about books, for the most part. But, book clubs are here to get you to read books you normally wouldn’t.
Really loved this memoir! Well written and gripping - makes you want to know Mary Anne. She seems to be a delightful human being and the epitome of class and grace. This memoir is not only about the experience of losing a loved one to illness, but also a homage to the great life led by the author's mother.
Real life tears (which are infrequent, somehow)—it took me a minute to adjust to reading a book about someone's mom... yet I feel like she's someone I now know. (And there's nothing better than learning about what people are reading!)
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
While the story was touching, I still found it repetitive and a bit boring. I love that the author had such a close relationship with his mother and that they could discuss so many varied topics, especially at the end of her life. I would be interested in more a biography of his mother, especially her times working with refugees - she really sounds like an interesting person.