Review: Blink

Blink
by Malcolm Gladwell

I heard about Blink about a year ago when a group of women from a website I frequent were all reading it together. When I saw it at the library I picked it up but never actually read any of it. Then I noticed an audio version of it read by the author so I loaded it onto my Zune and listened here and there when I had the time. It took me months to get through Blink. Isn't that the definition of irony?

Blink is about the way that our minds can make a split second decision based on ... intuition? a niggling feeling? a gut reaction? Sometimes we just know that something is the case without knowing why. Snap judgment is what Blink is about. Gladwell gives many interesting and memorable examples to back up his assertions that we can and often do make better decisions when we stop analyzing data and use our own personal sense about life. I was fascinated with the stories of Dr. Gottman and his marriage studies, the way the music industry treated Kenna, and the lie detecting abilities of Paul Ekman. As it so happens I have a book on building a stronger marriage by Dr. Gottman and I enjoy watching the new Fox TV show Lie To Me based on Ekman's work. And I've now spent a little while enjoying the interesting videos that go with Kenna's unique music. I liked the sections about taste testing for Coke and Pepsi. I was not quite convinced of the ethics behind food packaging practices. I laughed at the end of the book about what happened to Gladwell when he decided on a whim to let his hair grow out.

Gladwell has a really soothing, humble voice that encourages trust. He is quietly intelligent. He sounds like a man I'd like to meet and talk about life with. Listening to him was pleasant and I'm disappointed that the experience is now over. I wonder if The Tipping Point and Outliers have audio versions of the same quality? I'll let you know.

Buy this book at Amazon.

Review: The World in Half

The World in Half
by Cristina Henriquez

I have been very fortunate to have read some truly awesome books this year(I am blatantly ignoring my one glaring exception). And this book was another one added to the Love It pile.

Miraflores knows little about her father. He was her mother's adulterous fling from Panama that ended with her conception. Now a college student, Mira learns her mother has been diagnosed with a form of Alzheimer's that strikes early. When Mira discovers love letters her father sent her mother twenty years earlier she is sent on a quest to find him, and herself, in the distant land of Panama, a place that is a big part of her heritage and yet that she knows nothing about. Along the way she makes a friend who will help her find her past and rediscover her mother.

The World in Half was one of the easiest novels I have ever read. Effortlessly I read through the long chapters, waiting to find out what would happen next. Would she find her father or was she finding something else? Would she follow in her mother's footsteps? I fell in love with Danilo's exuberance and Mira's thirst for life. And the love story, being understated until fully revealed, was touching and romantic. Panama came alive in my mind and was a beautiful place despite its flaws. I was able to see it from the eyes of Mira and Danilo. I realized early on that I was reading the dialogue with a Spanish accent; that's how effective the writing was in transporting me to another place.

Cristina Henriquez asks some deeper questions without seeming to in her book. What makes a person who they are? Can you belong to a place that you have never been to before? Can a decision be right and wrong at the same time? If forgetting is uncontrollable, where does forgiveness fit in?

It was a beautiful story beautifully told. I definitely recommend it.

I am grateful to Riverhead Books for sending me a copy and to the author for sharing such a touching story of discovery, love and forgiveness. I assure you I will be reading Henriquez' award winning debut novel Come Together, Fall Apart very soon.

Buy this book at Amazon.

Review: Nothing Right

Nothing Right
by Antonya Nelson

I made a mistake. I regret it. I read a blog review of this short story collect before I read the book for myself. When the review I read was negative I set the book aside for a long while. But I have learned my lesson now.

The review I read essentially said there was nothing right about Nothing Right. I disagree. What I found within the pages of this collection were characters that had given up on the ideal. They had thrown out the idea of being perfect a long time ago. They were now working on just living and being themselves. Some of them needed a hard thump on the back of the head. Some just needed the right kind of nurturing. Some got it. Some didn't.

The title fits well. The stories, and the people, are painful to watch. They are painful to experience. But they are authentic. Life is full of the ways we sting each other while we try to live our own way. We all step on each other's toes. We all make life more complicated than it has to be. But we go through it all because there is a need in all of us to be with each other. In real life there is often nothing right about the way we interact with each other. But occasionally something good comes out of it.

The stories in this collection deal with all the messy situations in life, like teen rebellion and pregnancy, selfishness, contempt, displacement, adultery. My favorite stories were the title story, Nothing Right, Shauntrelle, and We and They. Two of them (Nothing Right and We and They) end with the characters transcending their experiences. (See, even I like a happy ending.)

If you like characters, if you like to observe them in whatever situation they are in, then you will find something in this collection. But if you are reading to escape the stresses of life then you'd better move along. These stories are full of real life.

Buy this book at Amazon.

Review: Crossed Wires

Crossed Wires
by Rosy Thornton

I have done it! I have finally managed to complete an entire book. There are times when I devour books like my favorite cherry cheesecake. And then there are times, like now, when I can only take in a few pages at a sitting. It's been slow going but persistence has paid off.

Books each have their own style. Some move at a heart stopping pace, never letting up on the suspense. Some take energy and brain work to get to the core. But Crossed Wires was a gentle stroll through a quaint little park at the beginning of spring. It was a good, clean vacation romance.

It all starts when Peter, avoiding the neighbor's cat, runs his car into a tree stump. Mina is the young insurance claims agent to take his call. She is soon charmed by his humble manner and soon begins an over-the-phone friendship. But nothing is ever as simple as it seems.

What I liked about the book were the characters. They are all people you would want to meet in real life. They are good and kind and funny. They are just everyday folk with everyday insecurities; good people with the kind of concerns real people would have. And I liked the pace of the book. Nothing was rushed. The friendship between Peter and Mina develops naturally. Both of these can be liabilities too though. The characters are a little two dimensional. The storyline lacks action most of the time.

Maybe is was just the way that my reading has been lately or that I have been on vacation but the structure of this book worked for me. I would read about a day or two in the lives of Peter and Mina and then set it down. When I was ready to pick it up again it was as if just in time to hear their weekly phone conversation. I might describe it as milk and cookies reading; who doesn't take a measure of comfort from a dose of milk and cookies before bed?

Oh, and the quite British references, while sometimes lost on me, always made me smile. I would recite them aloud on occasion to see how they felt on my very American tongue. They gave the book charm and flavor.

I'd like to thank Rosy Thornton for sharing her characters with me. You can check out her website here. I like what she has to say about becoming an author. She's quite funny.

Buy this book at Amazon.

Alone and Lonely

Since Sunday and for the next two weeks I am without children. They are staying with grandparents who live several hours away. I have never been so long without my children. Heck, most of the time I have not even been more than a couple of hours without them. When you homeschool there is rarely a time when you are not with them. But they are having a great time with grandparents and cousins.

Today is my third day alone and I am feeling their absence. I awoke this morning with a sadness knowing that there was nothing for me to do and no one to talk to. My cat loves all the extra attention he's getting but then he's used to the kiddos loving on him all day long too. I have been productive for the last couple of days, gardening, quilting, shopping, eating whatever I want whenever I want. It's been great. But today I wish I had a little person telling me about the worlds he's created with his Legos. I miss snuggling up with my daughter who is always so warm and soft. I miss the hug my eldest gives since he has grown taller than me. I miss my kids.

But this was the purpose of this time. I was in need of a break and they were in need of some fun. When they return we will all feel renewed and ready to give each other our best again. After all, absence makes the heart grow fonder. In the meantime, I've heard that reading does a lot to relieve stress. Today I shall read.

Joyous Easter!

May your Easter be blessed and beautiful!

The Sunday Salon, Monday Edition

I have not been abducted by aliens. I am on vacation. And that means I am not doing a lot of reading. When I do take the time to read I am spending time with Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton which I received in the mail just before I left. It's cute and mild, just right for a vacation read. I had to return Drood to the library which was fine with me. I needed a little break from the monotony.

My husband was in a wedding and Wow! does he look great in a tux. I wore my Easter dress, a 50s-like chocolate brown dress with accents of turquoise. I got high heels to go with it for fun but I quickly found they were no fun at all. It gave me a new found appreciation for the gals on Dancing with the Stars. How do they dance in those shoes?

Easter is around the corner. I look forward to a day with family, enjoying my favorite holiday of the year. One of the great things about Easter time? Strawberries! I just can't wait.