Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Comfort Reading
Finished Under the Tuscan Sun and am well into Bella Tuscany (both by Frances Mayes). I have read them many times and tend to go to them when I'm busy, just coming off something more taxing, or just seeking comfort. I easily fall into her story of restoring a Tuscan farmhouse with her new love, savor the food writing and descriptions of rural Italian life, and enjoy the dips back into her memories from a childhood in Georgia. She writes beautifully. The first is the better book to me because it is more purposeful. By the second, much of the work of the restoration is done, and perhaps there is isn't as much to say. So it may be a cold, icy day here, but in my mind, for a few minutes a day at least, I'm on a terrace garden looking over a wall to the hundred-year-old olive trees below. Ciao.
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7 comments:
I'm in Hawaii with Mark Twain, but not as often as I would like to be (meaning I'm not reading it that frequently--in fact I'm not even sure where the book is at the moment--not that I would so love to be in Hawaii with a dead guy).
~Lisa
Is it funny? Is he describing the people and sights, or is it more introspective?
Insomniac, if you are out there, here's a book I thought you might like
The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier Collgee by Jacques Steinberg
It came up on my Book-a-Day calendar.
Why do you think I'd like The Gatekeepers Christine?
As for comfort reading, the next book on my list will definitely not transport me to anywhere I want to be; I finally got hold of "I was a doctor in Auschwitz" by Giselle Perl. Maybe not a great pick for the season but, having seen the movie I was moved by her courage. I want to read it in her own words.
Christine, Letters From Hawaii is kind of exponsitory/observant because he was writing for everyone in America who had never been to Hawaii, but it is written with his usual levity, and he also writes of his exploits with a crude, imaginary companion. I'm not that far in yet though.
~Lisa
Oops, "Collgee" should be "College." Insomniac, you read a fair amount of nonfiction; you are an eclectic reader, and you've got kids who are probably going to college. Just thought of you when I saw it. Don might like it, too, actually.
Thanks for the description, Lisa!
Insomniac: Where did you find "I was a doctor is Auschwitz"? I have been trying to locate a copy for years? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
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