Nothing is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn--book review

I finished a book! Now what?

This isn't the first book I've finished since I last blogged, though it's true that I've been doing a lot more writing (not here, clearly) than reading. Also more knitting (and yet, hardly any knitting), singing, attending various meetings, hiking, being with my kids, cooking and folding laundry (hardly any of that, either).

I have no idea what it was about Nothing is Quite Forgotten in Brooklyn that called me to pick it up again and again, without letting it fall abandoned with the others behind the beside table, until it was finished. It's kind of a quiet book, maybe that was what I needed. Very little tension to distract me from the rest of my thoughts. A little bit of a mystery, and yet easy to fall asleep to.

The book takes place on two competing time lines 14 years apart, back and forth, back and forth--which drove me a little nuts. It wasn't confusing, but it did get tedious at times, what with all the, Back in 1989 in her mother's apartment-s and, But in 2003 she wasn't thinking about that day 14 years ago-s. I think alternating chapters would have had the same effect without requiring the author to constantly step in to reassert the setting.

So, there's a woman, Con, visiting her mother's Brooklyn apartment, reading old letters between her mother and her mother's oldest friend during World War 2, and worrying about her teenaged daughter, and deciding to separate from her husband. And then there's the same woman 14 years later, awaiting overlapping visits from her mother's oldest friend, and her now-grown artist daughter, and her now-ex husband.

I never liked any of the people in Con's life much, but maybe that was the point. It didn't seem like she liked them all that much, either. She mostly wanted them to like her.

There's nothing like a secret stash of old letters to keep me reading, and then the mystery behind the letters was interesting, and I wanted to know how it was all going to unfold. So, I enjoyed the read. But when the mysterious things were all brought into the open it was kind of anticlimactic.

Con's daughter: Big accusation!
Con's mother's friend: Don't be silly.
Con: Oh yeah, I forgot all about that big stack of letters...
Con's Daughter: Circumstantial evidence! Of big accusation!
Con's Mother's friend: Uh....
Con: Hmmm, might be true. But it was 14 years ago, so I guess it doesn't really matter.

And that's the note the book ends on. In fact, during the day after I finished it, I kept thinking I wanted to finish that book I was reading, and then remembering that I had finished it, and then wondering for a second how it ended.

But I did finish it, and then I blogged about it. And seeing how long it's been since that particular combination happened, I guess that's saying something.

Hawaii!

Coming up on two years ago, I reviewed a travel book about Hawaii and concluded,

"I think we definitely need a homeschool field trip to Hawaii before the next edition comes out, don't you? We could call it a unit study. Read some more Graham Salisbury books...study Pearl Harbor and volcanoes..."

Guess what? We're doing it.

Gosh, I sound so serious.

Insert happy Hawaii hula dance here ------> whee! <------

Well, we're in the middle of that stressful trip-planning time where, having bought the plane tickets, unless we want to spend 9 days at the airport, we now need a place to stay and a car. Travel tip: allow plenty of lead time when planning travel to a popular tourist destination during the high season. We've made some of the arrangements, some we've made twice and still have to cancel the outrageously expensive one, and then there's all these exciting things we really want to do but holy moly, that's a lot of hula moolah! And some of them are not only spendy but meeting with mixed reactions from certain members of the family. ("A 1-hour submarine trip 100 feet under water? Did you not see what happened in The Abyss??? And snorkeling--doesn't that require getting wet? And what about the sharks? And no, we're not going to Hilo, that's where the tsunami was in Night of the Howling Dogs!")

The kid is totally excited to go, he just doesn't want to actually do anything once we get there.

So, what I need is a book to read. Inspired by Care's review of Honolulu, it occurred to me that a good novel or memoir set in Hawaii is just the thing.

I thought of Michener's Hawaii, but it's a) lonnnnnng and b) written in 1959. If you want to try to convince me to read Michener, you have my permission, but I'm hoping for some other ideas as well. Any recommendations?

Also the kids and I need a book to read together once we finish The Scorch Trials. Preferably something set in Hawaii that doesn't involve death or destruction.

And if you haven't got a single idea, a simple "Yay, you're going to Hawaii!" would be helpful.

Green Books Campaign: Food Security for the Faint of Heart

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

If you were stranded on a deserted island and could have one book along with you, what would you pick? I always thought it was a toss-up between the complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes, the complete works of Shakespeare, and a blank book I could write in.

But maybe I should pick Food Security for the Faint of Heart--a book that might help me survive long enough to return to the stacks of books I left teetering on my bedside table. Between the advice about using plants as medicine, growing, finding, and storing food, and collecting safe water to drink, this book is a great resource packed into a portable 175-page paperback.

But what if a person doesn't expect to be stranded on an island anytime soon, you ask. What if they're not interested in stockpiling food for the apocalypse?

Most of us have had the electricity go out, or the water shut off, for longer than we'd like, and Robin Wheeler has tips for those situations, too. Knowing how to preserve food safely can be a real money-saver if the fridge or freezer stop working. And her tips on edible landscaping are inspiring (I've all but given up on growing a garden, but maybe I could manage not to kill native plants that provide berries or edible flowers?), reflecting her expertise as owner of a permaculture nursery in Canada.

Even if you don't live in an area where winter storms, earthquakes or hurricanes are likely events, FEMA lists any number of other disasters citizens should be prepared for, from flood to wildfire or worse. Really, a book like this is just one step beyond preparing the emergency supply kit we should all have at the ready. I'd stick it in my own (half-ready) kit, but I'm hoping to use the instructions for making homemade bouillon sometime before the next disaster strikes, so onto the cookbook shelf it goes.

All this and an eco-friendly format, too! This book was printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper using vegetable-based ink and an FSC-approved cover.

Getting organized

Fall has always had more of a "New Year" feel to me than January. The combination of my birthday in September, that back-to-school mentality, and something about the crisp fall air never fails to bring back that desire to start fresh.

This fall I vowed to get organized, and stay that way. To that end, I went to the library and brought home a stack of organization books to add to the teetering piles of books I don't have time to read.

Hmmm, what's wrong with that picture?

At the top of the pile was The Messies Manual, written by Sandra Felton of Messies Anonymous. I'll tell you, this book made me feel like I had it all together! My life and house may feel disorganized to me, but boy could it ever be worse.

That's not to say that Felton didn't have suggestions that were useful to me. The main thing I took away from this book was the understanding that procrastination is not the same as laziness. It is simply a habit, and habits can be broken.

So, I need to break the procrastination habit and replace it with new, healthier habits such as hanging up my sweater instead of laying it on the back of the couch, keeping my keys in my purse or on the hook by the door, and putting the toilet paper on its holder instead of setting it on the back of the toilet to deal with "later." Got it. But before getting started, I thought I'd probably better read a few more of these books I'd piled up. (What? What's funny?)

So, I turned to Hannah's Art of Home. The fact that Hannah Keeley is a homeschooling mom appealed to me right away, and I loved her concept of different styles of cleaning to match different personalities. The first part of the book is a personality quiz. I love personality quizzes! I not only took the quiz, but also gave it to my husband, my two children, and the cats.

The cats refused to participate and my ten-year-old gave up on question 8:

If I were an outfit, I would be

a. a tailored jacket with clean-cut pants
b. snazzy overalls with a banana yellow t-shirt
c. an oxford shirt and khakis
d. soft blouse and bohemian skirt

If there had been an (e) oversized skateboard logo t-shirt and ripped jeans, he might have stuck with it for a few more questions.

For the record, personality quizzes intended for mothers do not produce valid results when given to 13-year-old boys. Basically, a 13-year-old boy would make a really wacky mommy. (This could be the basis for a great novel!) My own quiz was more accurate, and Hannah's take on how my personality would impact my efforts to organize my home was entertaining. I enjoyed it so much, in fact, that I felt another book was just what I needed.

Some of what I'd read in the previous books had led me to realize that even though I've never thought of myself as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), I have certain, shall we say, ADD-friendly tendencies. Like, getting out food to fix dinner at 5:30 but then remembering that I'd planned to pay the bills before dinner so I start to write a check which reminds me that I need to order new checks so I get on the website to order checks and I'm in the middle of choosing which checks to order (and checking Facebook and looking for a recipe for pasta with chicken and no tomatoes because we're out of tomatoes) when my husband rides up on his bike which means it's 6:45. Doesn't this happen to everyone?

So, ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life seemed like a good book for me. I started reading it, and it really is helpful. The only problem is that when my friend and I were at the sauna talking about this whole organizational thing and whether there's such a thing as adult-onset ADD, we got distracted and started talking about food. My friend offered to lend me her copy of Nina Planck's Real Food: What to Eat and Why, and so I started reading that and it's fascinating (more on this another day). Alas, now ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life is due back at the library, so I'm going to return it. Just as soon as I find my son's copy of The Zombie Survival Guide, which was due last week. And then? Why, then I'll get organized, of course!

The Boy who Harnessed the Wind--Give away

It must be about a year ago now, that I saw a link to this book trailer on Twitter:



I can't believe it's been a year since then, people, where has the time gone?

William Kamkwamba's story touched me so deeply, I knew I needed to read his story. I got a copy of the book, and then lent it to a friend, who read it and returned it to me. I have read pieces of it since then. Only pieces.

So, why did I agree to participate in a TLC tour for the book? Well, because I think it's an important book and so I was going to finish it, of course. In fact, I was so going to finish it that I now have two copies of the book. Now they can make babies.

I am making this book part of our homeschool curriculum for this year, so I'll be finishing it with my kids this fall--

Wait a sec. Babies??? Good Lord! If my two books can make babies I'm in serious trouble, I don't have any extra bookshelf space! I obviously need to split up this happy couple before a population explosion occurs, so who wants a copy? How could you not want a copy, after watching that trailer?

If you'd like my gently-used advance reader copy, leave me a comment with your contact info and why you'd like to read it and I'll send it out to somebody. If they get it read and reviewed before I finish it, I'll eat the other copy.

Want to read an actual review of the book? Try Books By Their Cover, Chick With Books, Book Club Classics!, Find Your Next Book Here, The Zen Leaf, Eclectic/Eccentric or Reviews from the Heart