Sunday, July 24, 2011

Sunday

 Happy Sunday Biblomaniacs

This morning I slept in 'til about 10:30, brewed some coffee, watched "Say Yes to the Dress" on TLC, and then indulged into the final 1/4 of my book Maine.It was SO good. What I really liked about this book is that even though it chronicles 4 women (changing views from each chapter) it is all in 3rd person. Sometimes when I am reading books that change from person to person in 1st person, it takes me a minute to get back into that person's head. 
As I said, the book chronicles 4 women. The first 3/4 of the book is getting to know the characters, learning their secrets, their pasts, and what they think about the other women. It shows how rumors get started among family members, how stories get exaggerated, and also how long grudges can be held.
When you know someone well you gain a certain perspective of them and crown them "this kind of person". A "perfect" person, a "sensitive" person, a "know it all" person. Although we see people certain ways, it is not always they see themselves. This book was very good about describing how each character was perceived by the other 3 women, then you see the other woman and learn how she views herself. For example, the character Ann Marie is viewed as "Miss Perfect" by Alice, Kathleen, and Maggie. All of her children appear to be successful. Her house is always perfect. Her marriage is perfect. Then, when you get into her chapters you learn that her children are far from perfect, that she resents some of the housework, and that she and her husband sleep in different beds. It really made me think about how I perceive people and how it is probably not at all how they perceive themselves.
I won't spoil the story for all of you, but I think this book is going down as one of my all time favorite summer reads! I hope you all read it and then let me know what you thought about it. I finished the book very sad because I wanted to keep reading!! 
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As I said in a previous post, I am on the waiting list for A Stolen Life, the Jacyee Dugard memoir. Still no e-mail saying that I can pick it up. I meant to go to the library and get the book One Day by David Nichols, but I checked online and the Upper Arlington Library is still without air conditioning. No thank you. So, I rooted through my books from my friend Erin and decided to read the book The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. I have seen the movie, but I hardly remember it. I think it's going to be a quick read and so far it's pretty good. 

Keep reading biblomaniacs. 
-Jacqueline

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