"However, after ninety years on the planet, I can confirm one absolute, fundamental, inarguable truth about life: it is an endless series of surprises. We old people---no, make that us folks who have lived a long time---have learned this basic truth: no one knows what is going to happen next. It's all a mystery wrapped in a gift box that you only find when you least expect it."
-Dick Van Dyke
With the subtitle and Other Tips and Truths About Aging, this book seems like a manual of how-to grow old gracefully. It was easy to read, just over 200 pages, with some very good advice for seniors.
Many of the "tips and truths" I had read or heard before but Van Dyke has put his advice together in an entertaining way, spicing it up with some of the humor for which he is well-known. Since I love to dance, I really appreciated his suggestion that the best way to stay sharp is dancing! Keep Moving gets a rating of 3 from me.
I have been a fan of Van Dyke's work but didn't know he currently sings with a quartet called the Vantastix. They do charity performances, including in hospitals. Throughout the book he includes anecdotes about his work and the people who have influenced him, particularly Carl Reiner. I didn't realize Stan Laurel was his idol, but it makes sense.
The chapter titled "Ninety Years--a Report Card" was cleverly written, covering the biggest news of his lifetime and grading each from A-F. Interestingly, his 3rd wife, Arlene is more than 40 years his junior. How they got together after the loss of his beloved 2nd wife to cancer added some romance to his book.
If you are over 60 and need some inspiration for staying young, read this one!
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Sunday, December 20, 2015
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith
"Then the sound....caused a sudden explosive chain reaction in Strike's brain, lighting a landing strip for a theory that he knew, with the certainty of a prophet, would lead to the killer. As the steel joists of a building are revealed as it burns, so Strike saw in this flash of inspiration the skeleton of the killer's plan, recognizing those crucial flaws that he had missed---that everyone had missed---but which might, at last, be the means by which the murderer and his macabre schemes could be brought down." -from the novel
This novel was written by J. K. Rowling by another name, a pen name she chose after finishing her Harry Potter series, which I loved. Her first was The Casual Vacancy which I finished but really disliked. Then came The Cuckoo's Calling, the first of the Cormoran Strike crime series, a better novel, in my opinion. Career of Evil is the third of the series with one called The Silkworm being the second and one I was unaware of until now. Not sure how I missed it and I am wondering if something I missed would have made a difference in my enjoyment of this one. Also I read The Cuckoo's Calling so long ago I had forgotten much of its plot. To add to all that, the thread of Blue Oyster Cult lyrics was lost to my understanding, since I have no experience with that music. Even the novel's title comes from one of the Cult's song titles, "Career of Evil." All things considered I give this one a 3.5. It WAS a page-turner, well-written, but the graphic violence was far from entertaining. Sort of reminded me of James Patterson's grisly themes. Most likely I will go back and read The Silkworm, if that tells you anything.
This thriller begins with Robin Ellacott receiving a woman's severed leg at the office where she is assistant to Cormoran Strike, private detective. It soon becomes apparent there is a vicious serial killer on the loose, one who is stalking Robin, seemingly to exact revenge on Strike. It doesn't take long for Strike to come up with 3 suspects, all of whom have been an ugly part of his past. The story alternates between Strike's investigation with Robin's help to the stalker's evil plans. Pretty exciting about 400 pages in!
I did enjoyed the setting of London since my husband and I visited there last spring. Mentions of the Tube and other landmarks like The Gherkin (a pickle-shaped building) elicited fond memories. I loved the British slang, expressions like nip into the office, mobile (cell phone), spot on, crisps (potato chips), car park, fag or cig for cigarette, ring pull (pop tab) and cashpoint for ATM. Many dialects were used by minor characters, some a little challenging to figure out. This was interesting to me since I was recently talking with someone from London who was saying how you can tell what part of London a person is from by how they speak.
One of these days I am going to go back and reread all those Harry Potter books. I believe they showed this author at her best!
This novel was written by J. K. Rowling by another name, a pen name she chose after finishing her Harry Potter series, which I loved. Her first was The Casual Vacancy which I finished but really disliked. Then came The Cuckoo's Calling, the first of the Cormoran Strike crime series, a better novel, in my opinion. Career of Evil is the third of the series with one called The Silkworm being the second and one I was unaware of until now. Not sure how I missed it and I am wondering if something I missed would have made a difference in my enjoyment of this one. Also I read The Cuckoo's Calling so long ago I had forgotten much of its plot. To add to all that, the thread of Blue Oyster Cult lyrics was lost to my understanding, since I have no experience with that music. Even the novel's title comes from one of the Cult's song titles, "Career of Evil." All things considered I give this one a 3.5. It WAS a page-turner, well-written, but the graphic violence was far from entertaining. Sort of reminded me of James Patterson's grisly themes. Most likely I will go back and read The Silkworm, if that tells you anything.
This thriller begins with Robin Ellacott receiving a woman's severed leg at the office where she is assistant to Cormoran Strike, private detective. It soon becomes apparent there is a vicious serial killer on the loose, one who is stalking Robin, seemingly to exact revenge on Strike. It doesn't take long for Strike to come up with 3 suspects, all of whom have been an ugly part of his past. The story alternates between Strike's investigation with Robin's help to the stalker's evil plans. Pretty exciting about 400 pages in!
I did enjoyed the setting of London since my husband and I visited there last spring. Mentions of the Tube and other landmarks like The Gherkin (a pickle-shaped building) elicited fond memories. I loved the British slang, expressions like nip into the office, mobile (cell phone), spot on, crisps (potato chips), car park, fag or cig for cigarette, ring pull (pop tab) and cashpoint for ATM. Many dialects were used by minor characters, some a little challenging to figure out. This was interesting to me since I was recently talking with someone from London who was saying how you can tell what part of London a person is from by how they speak.
One of these days I am going to go back and reread all those Harry Potter books. I believe they showed this author at her best!
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Forever Island by Patrick D. Smith
"What good will there be in a park where nothing grows and no animals can live. Who would want to see that? If Big Cypress dies, the park [Everglades National Park] dies. And that's a fact."
-newspaper man Albert Lykes, from the novel
Though this book is fiction, it comes eerily close to the truth. Main character Charlie Jumper, an elderly Mikasuki Seminole, is faced with being forced from the land he loves in Big Cypress Swamp. In reading the novel one can learn much of the history of the Seminoles in Florida and the efforts by 20th century natives to make a living and maintain their culture while dealing with "progress." The story is short, simple and touching. My rating is a 3.
I am always struck by the profound respect that native Americans have for nature---the land, water, plants and animals. Forever Island reminds me of a song called "Seminole Wind" by Floridian John Anderson. Both the song and novel portray the unfortunate toll of land development on out beautiful state. I attempted to attach a link to the YouTube video with no success. Look for it if you are interested. The address is below.
https://youtu.be/KGoBQIhyFFM?list=RDKGoBQIhyFFM
-newspaper man Albert Lykes, from the novel
Though this book is fiction, it comes eerily close to the truth. Main character Charlie Jumper, an elderly Mikasuki Seminole, is faced with being forced from the land he loves in Big Cypress Swamp. In reading the novel one can learn much of the history of the Seminoles in Florida and the efforts by 20th century natives to make a living and maintain their culture while dealing with "progress." The story is short, simple and touching. My rating is a 3.
I am always struck by the profound respect that native Americans have for nature---the land, water, plants and animals. Forever Island reminds me of a song called "Seminole Wind" by Floridian John Anderson. Both the song and novel portray the unfortunate toll of land development on out beautiful state. I attempted to attach a link to the YouTube video with no success. Look for it if you are interested. The address is below.
https://youtu.be/KGoBQIhyFFM?list=RDKGoBQIhyFFM
Tuesday, December 8, 2015
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
"It is all connected, Dominick. Life is not a series of isolated ponds and puddles; life is this river you see below, before you. It flows from the past through the present on its way to the future...Life is a river. Only in the most literal sense are we born on the day we leave our mother's womb. In the larger, truer sense, we are born of the past---connected to its fluidity, both genetically and experientially." -Dr. Patel, from the novel
It seemed like I would never finish this novel of 897 pages but it was such an intriguing story, I was sorry when I finally did. It gets a 5 rating from me.
In this ultimate dysfunctional family story, Dominick Birdsey has an identical twin who is schizophrenic and a mother who has never revealed the identity of their father. Dominick feels overwhelmed with being brother Thomas's protector and frustrated by the mystery of his paternity. When Dominick meets with Dr.Patel to try to help her analyze his brother, he comes to grips with much of his own guilt, grief and fears. In efforts to help Dr. Patel understand Thomas, he begins to actually find himself.
The novel seems to me to be a story within a story within a story. Not only does the reader follow Dominick's own story but as he reads the autobiography of his late grandfather, we learn the story of a first-generation Sicilian immigrant of the early 1900's. Within the grandfather's story is another story involving two women, one of whom ends up being Dominick's grandmother. There were also flashbacks to the childhood and youth of the twins.
I mentioned this was a dysfunctional family story so it was depressing at times, infuriating at others. Not much entertainment value but very thought-provoking and even profound in places, especially in Dr. Patel's therapy sessions. (See quote above.)
I did enjoy the challenge of figuring out the Italian words and phrases in the grandfather's autobiography, the ones not translated in footnotes by the author. At times, I could use my slight knowledge of Spanish and the context to come up with a meaning. For example, il mal occhio---the evil eye and ovazione in piedi---standing ovation.
A fascinating saga, carefully researched, beautifully written---I Know This Much Is True!
It seemed like I would never finish this novel of 897 pages but it was such an intriguing story, I was sorry when I finally did. It gets a 5 rating from me.
In this ultimate dysfunctional family story, Dominick Birdsey has an identical twin who is schizophrenic and a mother who has never revealed the identity of their father. Dominick feels overwhelmed with being brother Thomas's protector and frustrated by the mystery of his paternity. When Dominick meets with Dr.Patel to try to help her analyze his brother, he comes to grips with much of his own guilt, grief and fears. In efforts to help Dr. Patel understand Thomas, he begins to actually find himself.
The novel seems to me to be a story within a story within a story. Not only does the reader follow Dominick's own story but as he reads the autobiography of his late grandfather, we learn the story of a first-generation Sicilian immigrant of the early 1900's. Within the grandfather's story is another story involving two women, one of whom ends up being Dominick's grandmother. There were also flashbacks to the childhood and youth of the twins.
I mentioned this was a dysfunctional family story so it was depressing at times, infuriating at others. Not much entertainment value but very thought-provoking and even profound in places, especially in Dr. Patel's therapy sessions. (See quote above.)
I did enjoy the challenge of figuring out the Italian words and phrases in the grandfather's autobiography, the ones not translated in footnotes by the author. At times, I could use my slight knowledge of Spanish and the context to come up with a meaning. For example, il mal occhio---the evil eye and ovazione in piedi---standing ovation.
A fascinating saga, carefully researched, beautifully written---I Know This Much Is True!
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