The timing was perfect! Elaine phoned this morning to say she was in town and would I like to go for lunch?! WOULD I??!! And so Elaine picked me up and took me to McNally's for lunch after which we spent some delicious time in the children's section selecting books for her 9 grandchildren! How fun is that?! Elaine is getting started on her Christmas shopping and she now has the book shopping done. Then, because Elaine will be vacationing for a couple of weeks this winter, we perused my own shelves and I was able to send her home with a selection of titles she hasn't yet read.
Thanks, Sylvia, for the very pretty rose! The colours are magnificent!
Thanks, Alanna, you silly woman, for dropping off this recipe book. You have way to much on your plate to be doing this, you know ... and I know. The book looks great and I look forward to trying some of the recipes. Good luck to Ron. I'm thinking of you both constantly.
And what do you think I just found in the mail?? Well, it's a "happy hallowe'en" card from one princess to another. That would be from Meghan to me, in case you didn't already figure that out. She included a photo of herself and I wearing our princess hats. Fitting. Thanks, Princess Meghan!
Thanks, too, everyone for your celebratory emails and phone calls! I'm so excited about being able to skip the surgery phase. It puts the end of this ordeal closer in sight! I can almost imagine ...
I'm obviously having a super day with more warm fuzzy attention than I deserve!
I have just perused a couple of your book shelves, Heather. Very interesting. How is "Sawtelle" going. I guess you haven't had much time since you began it, with all your traipsing out and about to social events, meals, and making life-changing, stress relieving decisions!
ReplyDeleteAbout books, I see you have Joyce Carol Oates. Not many people read her. She has a very different voice. May I suggest "the good good pig" by sy montgomery (sic) for the sheer joy of it. (You learn something about pigs, too.) And "Hannah's Dream" by Dianne Hammond. This one is about an elephant....
I just finished "The Memory Keeper's Daughter"-Kim Edwards, and think I will finally begin "World Without End" along with "The Interpretation of Murder".
Cheryl
Hi Cheryl!
ReplyDeleteHow nice to have you checking out my book shelves! This photo is just a small selection, of course, and a good number of my books are out on loan. I have good reasons for loaning my books: 1. It's my personal philosophy that books should be read instead of gathering dust, and 2. I don't have enough shelf space for all of my books so it's a good thing idea to keep them rotating.
I did finish Sawtelle and I really loved the writing. In fact, the writing itself was my favourite part of the book. Learning such detail about dog breeding and training was interesting. I'm not a fan of the ending but I won't elaborate just in case you choose to read it.
I'm not a big Joyce Carol Oates fan. I tried her novels after liking her short stories but find I prefer the stories.
I'm now reading In the Skin of A Lion by Michael Ondaatje, a book that Hannah gave me. So far so good! When I was in the hospital after my first chemo treatment, Hannah started reading it to me so I'm glad to get back to it. The book is dear to me for that reason, too.
I'm almost done In the Skin of A Lion and so, after that, I think I'll start on Atwood's, The Blind Assassin.
I always pick up novels that are about librarians or books and I find now that I'm also interested in books about "Hannahs" to I might look for "Hannah's Dream" to take with me to Vancouver next week.
I very much appreciate these and any other recommendations you send my way. I do love bookish talk and I'm happy that I've been able to start reading again even though it takes me a while to get into the flow of it with this damn chemo brain!
By the way, one of my favourite books that has been on my mind lately (probably because In the Skin of A Lion reminds me of it) is Mark Helprin's, A Winter's Tale. I read it when Hannah was little and I loved it. Magic Realism and I was enchanted by it. I've always meant to read another of his novels. Someday ...
This is something I can only admit to you now, and I do so only because you mention liking Oates's short stories. I have NEVER liked short stories. A short story is one method of writing I will make a point of avoiding, if I have a choice. Interesting, eh.
ReplyDeleteWOW! That IS interesting! Surprising! I, on the other hand, quite LOVE short stories and go through short story phases. I think I really fell in love with short stories when I read Pearl Buck's collections of short stories and an anthology of short stories I had to read for a class at University. I purchase some anthologies but mostly I borrow collections by individual authors from the University Library.
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