The Power of Writing: Thoughts on Grandma’s Book

The Power of Writing: Thoughts on Grandma’s Book

Published on January 12, 2011 | 41 Responses

I have not been in the mood for blogging or reading blogs lately, mostly because it’s been an emotional month (I suppose I could say year) for me so far.

Purple for grandchildren; pink for the great-grandchildren

Among other things, my grandma passed away peacefully on January 1, 2011 at age 87. She is survived by five children (one other passed away as an infant), 26 grandchildren, and 49 great-grandchildren. In the past six months, she had visited all of her children, from Washington, D.C., for her youngest grandchild’s baptism, to Chicago at Thanksgiving (my mother’s house, where I got to visit with her), to Utah, where she lost consciousness a few days after enjoying a happy Christmas holiday with another of her daughters and her family.

In short, she’s been busy right up to the end. I don’t think I’d want to go any other way, myself. (more…)

2010 Quarter 4 In Review

Published on January 3, 2011 | 4 Responses

The last months of 2010 went speeding by, but this is a good thing. We took a family vacation, we had a lovely holiday break, and although January is starting out just as busy, I still have hope that the year will be a good one.

At the beginning of 2010, I was still writing weekly reading reports. I went to monthly reports somewhere in the middle of the year, and now, here I am, with a report on the last quarter. (more…)

My Life According to Literature, 2010 Edition

Published on December 30, 2010 | 7 Responses

I am not in the mood to do stats for the year yet (maybe early next week), so instead I share with you the 2010 edition of “My Life According to Literature.”

This year, I feel quite satisfied in my role as stay-at-home mom. I love my home, I love my little boy (I think the 5 hours a week of preschool do us both good), and I love my husband (who is my best friend) and I think the new year will just keep getting better! It seems this satisfaction with my place in life reflects in the books I selected below. I had to cheat a little bit, as April is not a time of day and solitude is not the weather, but hey, there you go.

I’ve only included books I’ve read in 2010. I also limited myself to classics (for this, books written at least 30 years ago) and adult books. The last time I did this, I included children’s titles, which just isn’t as fun.  Each title links to reviews on Rebecca Reads. Click over if you wanted to know the author or read the review.

My life right now, according to literature

Using only books you have read this year (2010), cleverly answer these questions. No repeating a book title. It’s harder than you think!

Describe yourself:  The Home-maker
How do you feel? Great Expectations
Describe where you currently live:  Paradise Regained
If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Beyond the Blossoming Fields
Your favorite form of transportation:  Three Men in a Boat
Your best friend is:  Kindred
You and your friends are:  Wives and Daughters
What’s the weather like? One Hundred Years of Solitude
Favorite time of day:  The Enchanted April
If your life was:  The Masterpiece
What is life to you? The Joys of Motherhood
Your fear:   Little Boy Lost
What is the best advice you have to give? Silence
Thought for the Day:  Can You Forgive Her?
How I would like to die:  Strong Poison
My soul’s present condition:  Sense and Sensibility

A Moveable Feast and The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

Published on December 29, 2010 | 10 Responses

The “lost generation” was a term coined by Gertrude Stein about the young American and British expatriates in Paris during the 1920s.

Ernest Hemingway was one of the young friends of Ms Stein. In 1925 and 1926, he wrote his defining “lost generation” book, The Sun Also Rises, while he lived in Paris and visited Spain. His memoir of that time in Paris, A Moveable Feast, was written in 1960 and only published after his death. Although I can’t say Ernest Hemingway himself interests me, the look at the hopelessness of life post-World War was very intriguing, and I love the simple, clean writing style Hemingway devised. (more…)