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laurieb755's Reviews (784)
Reading Tapestry of Fortunes reminded me that I had read previous Elizabeth Berg stories – Range of Motion and Talk Before Sleep. All of them tugged at my heart and drew me in as if I were a neighbor or a friend.
Tapestry of Fortunes. The title alone shouts out loud that life's adventures can be myriad; that we can stay on our path or change our path; that it is the doing of life that weaves the tapestry.
Okay, so maybe my verbiage is mixing itself - I am tired at the end of a full day, but I was determined to add my notes and comments, which are simply this – the older I get (60 not even a month ago :-)), the more I appreciate the women in my life, and the more I want to cook a savory stew for my future.
And Ann C, if you read this review, I am giving a copy of this book to you! You continue to teach me the beauty of friendship. We may not be taking a road trip (yet…) but we are taking a high heeled hot cocoa drive. May the tastiest cocoa warm the heart, and may the highest heel tickle our imaginations. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLM5NEsINTo)
Tapestry of Fortunes. The title alone shouts out loud that life's adventures can be myriad; that we can stay on our path or change our path; that it is the doing of life that weaves the tapestry.
Okay, so maybe my verbiage is mixing itself - I am tired at the end of a full day, but I was determined to add my notes and comments, which are simply this – the older I get (60 not even a month ago :-)), the more I appreciate the women in my life, and the more I want to cook a savory stew for my future.
And Ann C, if you read this review, I am giving a copy of this book to you! You continue to teach me the beauty of friendship. We may not be taking a road trip (yet…) but we are taking a high heeled hot cocoa drive. May the tastiest cocoa warm the heart, and may the highest heel tickle our imaginations. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLM5NEsINTo)
Two weekends ago my friend Ann took me to see the Brooklyn Museum exhibit Killer Heels: The Art of the High-Heeled Shoe. (http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/heels/) The exhibit led to conversation about shoes (of course!) and that led to Ann mentioning Adriana Trigiani and this three-book series, in particular.
I definitely enjoyed the book. Trigani's writing (at least for this book) is an adjective's best friend and, coupled with my being a New Yorker, I often felt like I was right smack there in Little Italy or Greenwich Village or mid-town, along with Valentine and her family and friends - that's how robust the descriptions are.
Trigani or, more precisely, Valentine, is also sufficiently chatty that I knew what was going on from the very start thanks to her non-stop patter.
All this communication made me feel like another member of the family, and I was enjoying being complicit until the return from Italy and Gram's episode. Maybe it was jet lag, but at that point I was beginning to wish Valentine would use less verbiage to tell her tale.
Yet, when all is said and done, I am curious to know how Valentine's tale turns out, and am likely going to reserve the next book in the series. And, it did make a nice vacation read!
I definitely enjoyed the book. Trigani's writing (at least for this book) is an adjective's best friend and, coupled with my being a New Yorker, I often felt like I was right smack there in Little Italy or Greenwich Village or mid-town, along with Valentine and her family and friends - that's how robust the descriptions are.
Trigani or, more precisely, Valentine, is also sufficiently chatty that I knew what was going on from the very start thanks to her non-stop patter.
All this communication made me feel like another member of the family, and I was enjoying being complicit until the return from Italy and Gram's episode. Maybe it was jet lag, but at that point I was beginning to wish Valentine would use less verbiage to tell her tale.
Yet, when all is said and done, I am curious to know how Valentine's tale turns out, and am likely going to reserve the next book in the series. And, it did make a nice vacation read!
This was another great discovery, courtesy of Ann, yet again! (When it comes to book suggestions, there is nothing quite like the advice of a friend who is an avid reader and also happens to be a librarian.)
This book resonated not just for the delight of getting to know Don and Rosie and their friends, but also because one of my nephews has Aspergers. And wouldn't you know it, just this Christmas Eve my nephew proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes. :-) And not dissimilar from Don and Rosie, my nephew's financé is also in the medical profession: she is a nurse.
The Rosie Project is a warm, heartening tale of one person's quest to discover his life, with a little help from his friends. (The Beatles got it right ;-)) I think self-discovery and learning how to engage with life are healthy pursuits regardless of where we start that adventure.
I have never listened to an entire book on tape, but have considered it might add to my enjoyment of The Rosie Project, as apparently the narrator is an actor with an Australian accent. I noticed in today's NYT book review that there is now a follow-up tale, The Rosie Effect. Perhaps that will be my first book on tape.
This book resonated not just for the delight of getting to know Don and Rosie and their friends, but also because one of my nephews has Aspergers. And wouldn't you know it, just this Christmas Eve my nephew proposed to his girlfriend and she said yes. :-) And not dissimilar from Don and Rosie, my nephew's financé is also in the medical profession: she is a nurse.
The Rosie Project is a warm, heartening tale of one person's quest to discover his life, with a little help from his friends. (The Beatles got it right ;-)) I think self-discovery and learning how to engage with life are healthy pursuits regardless of where we start that adventure.
I have never listened to an entire book on tape, but have considered it might add to my enjoyment of The Rosie Project, as apparently the narrator is an actor with an Australian accent. I noticed in today's NYT book review that there is now a follow-up tale, The Rosie Effect. Perhaps that will be my first book on tape.
I am a Python Fan, but that doesn't mean I was automatically prepared to like John Cleese's writing. Having no idea what he is like beyond his screen persona, of which there are many, and knowing he is a comedy writer, neither of these implied what type of life he may have had or how he would write about said life.
And then the book got off to, what was for me, a slow start. I found the first few chapters interesting but wordy and slow. Gradually, though, the boy and his adult writing grew on me. And eventually I did not want to put Cleese's book down, for I was far too engrossed in his tales. Then he started sharing some sketches. Yes, I took a picture of the zookeeper swallowed by the boa and emailed it to my younger son in college. It was hard to resist!
Cleese keeps his book focused on his professional life, yet it is obvious to me that he maintains great affection for Connie Booth, his first wife. (As an aside, I recent read about and heard an interview with Connie and her husband where they openly discussed her growing forgetfulness and dementia.)
I enjoyed discovering how the Pythoners met and appreciated the openness with which Cleese describes his nerves and aversion to making a fuss (which is directly opposite his love of pranks) and other insecurities that befell him as an actor, more so than as a writer.
And he leaves the book ripe for a sequel. Of course. So anyway, what happens next?
And then the book got off to, what was for me, a slow start. I found the first few chapters interesting but wordy and slow. Gradually, though, the boy and his adult writing grew on me. And eventually I did not want to put Cleese's book down, for I was far too engrossed in his tales. Then he started sharing some sketches. Yes, I took a picture of the zookeeper swallowed by the boa and emailed it to my younger son in college. It was hard to resist!
Cleese keeps his book focused on his professional life, yet it is obvious to me that he maintains great affection for Connie Booth, his first wife. (As an aside, I recent read about and heard an interview with Connie and her husband where they openly discussed her growing forgetfulness and dementia.)
I enjoyed discovering how the Pythoners met and appreciated the openness with which Cleese describes his nerves and aversion to making a fuss (which is directly opposite his love of pranks) and other insecurities that befell him as an actor, more so than as a writer.
And he leaves the book ripe for a sequel. Of course. So anyway, what happens next?
I finished this book over a week ago and it has been percolating in my thoughts. What began (and remained) as a book filled with curiously engaging people (and some who simply made me laugh - a good laugh, not a scathing one) wound up surprising the heck out of me as the story progressed. I could not put this book down, though the further I read, the more I winced.
Liane Moriarty paints pictures of people that go enough beyond caricatures as to seem real. And I particularly enjoyed the style she used of interspersing the story with snippets from the interviews, and beginning with the story with the scene just before the climax (which you don't find out till much later) and then backing up to several months beforehand and telling the story from there.
This book, and the topic it addresses, demand of the reader that they pay attention. And I paid attention, and the topic wouldn't leave my mind. I found the resolution quite satisfying.
Liane Moriarty paints pictures of people that go enough beyond caricatures as to seem real. And I particularly enjoyed the style she used of interspersing the story with snippets from the interviews, and beginning with the story with the scene just before the climax (which you don't find out till much later) and then backing up to several months beforehand and telling the story from there.
This book, and the topic it addresses, demand of the reader that they pay attention. And I paid attention, and the topic wouldn't leave my mind. I found the resolution quite satisfying.
Yikes, was so sure I had already written comments about this book, only to discover this evening (a good month later) that it was stuck in my "currently reading" queue. Sigh. ADVANCE NOTICE - what comes next *might* be considered a spoiler by some, so read at your own risk.
Well, nonetheless, I enjoyed the book, though the ending was a bit tough to digest. Not because it didn't flow or wasn't believable, just because it made me sad. By tale's end I had determined to read all of the stories that A.J. has commented on. Turns out I was not the only one with that idea ;-) because a quick search of books turned up numerous links to people having the same quest. Also turned up many of the stories in pdf format, and a few that I wound up reserving at the library.
If the stories are a representation of the man, then I suspect A.J. was not my type of companion, as most of the short stories were a bit off-putting for my tastes. On the other hand, they sure did seem true to A.J.'s karma - the way he presented himself to many of the people he met. At least until he became a papa. It's up to you, dear potential reader, to decide for yourself. Definitely worth jumping into this story that has, I suspect, spurred many a reader to read more, which would have given A.J. great delight.
Well, nonetheless, I enjoyed the book, though the ending was a bit tough to digest. Not because it didn't flow or wasn't believable, just because it made me sad. By tale's end I had determined to read all of the stories that A.J. has commented on. Turns out I was not the only one with that idea ;-) because a quick search of books turned up numerous links to people having the same quest. Also turned up many of the stories in pdf format, and a few that I wound up reserving at the library.
If the stories are a representation of the man, then I suspect A.J. was not my type of companion, as most of the short stories were a bit off-putting for my tastes. On the other hand, they sure did seem true to A.J.'s karma - the way he presented himself to many of the people he met. At least until he became a papa. It's up to you, dear potential reader, to decide for yourself. Definitely worth jumping into this story that has, I suspect, spurred many a reader to read more, which would have given A.J. great delight.
Definitely predictable in many ways, but still a fun read for a very cold week and weekend (just past). I quite liked King's first Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes novel. Indeed, couldn't resist reading it for my love of Holmes and the many, many hours I joined him out on the moors or scurrying throughout England while I swallowed my way through after-school snacks of hamburgers and potatoes (would you believe the dehydrated flakes that came in a box!) That was my regular habit in high school back in the 1960s - home from school, prepare my snack, sit at the counter, and devour both a meal and multiple chapters of Sherlock Holmes.
Back to Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. I tried book number two in this series but the library copy was rather gross to hold, so back it went. This newest book is in excellent condition, and when looking for some easy reading to fill my mind on work nights, before bed, I am tempted to reserve some of the more recent precursors.
Meanwhile, good night.
Back to Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes. I tried book number two in this series but the library copy was rather gross to hold, so back it went. This newest book is in excellent condition, and when looking for some easy reading to fill my mind on work nights, before bed, I am tempted to reserve some of the more recent precursors.
Meanwhile, good night.
This is my second Liane Moriarty book, read because of how much I enjoyed my first one (see prior book review). My close friend Ann suggested I might not enjoy this book as much as the first, and she was quite correct. In describing this book to my husband, I said that Moriarty had perfected her voice with her last book, and this Three Wishes being her first book, her voice was still finding its way.
After starting with a verbatim read, I spent a large portion of the middle with a skim read, only to finish up verbatim. And that is all there is to that!
After starting with a verbatim read, I spent a large portion of the middle with a skim read, only to finish up verbatim. And that is all there is to that!