In recent years, our family has essentially given up giving presents between adults – opting instead to donate money to a charity that one of us selects each year. This year it was Right To Play. However, despite not exchanging gifts, I still managed to find myself $150 richer in gift cards for that big-box Canadian store that shall remain nameless. So, last week Amelia and I sallied forth and purchased six books for slightly less than $100. Granted two of them were for Amelia, but nonetheless the savings seemed ample.
While in Vermont, I read Home by Marilynne Robinson who won the Pulitzer for Gilead a few years ago. Home is, in a word, depressing. The writing is good. And the characters are well drawn. But it’s a sad story from the get go for all involved. Not something to read when you are feeling down.
The second book I read in Vermont (two in two days. I was on a roll) was Still Alice. The nurse at my obgyn’s office recommended it so I thought I’d give it a try. Again, the story is not particularly a happy one, as it is about a 50ish woman who is suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s. But it was fascinating. Even though it was a novel, it seemed an honest and realistic portrait of what it would be like to live with the disease. And it was funny. And the main character was not hopeless, despite being in more and more need of help as the story progressed.
Now I’m reading The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. It’s a vampire tale, but combines numerous genres to make it a little more interesting (to me) than standard blood and fangs fare. It definitely makes heavy use of the the story within a story structure in the first 100 pages (as far as I’ve gotten), but the writing is good so I am enjoying it.
I’m saving what I hope will be the best of the four books I bought, Barbara Kingsolver’s The Lacuna, for last.
when you are finished with Lacuna can I have it to read?
This is truly inspiring. Barbara Kingsolver will be presenting writers’ workshops at the San Miguel Writers Conference in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico February 19-23 2010. I just signed up. It looks like a rare opportunity to meet her. Are you going?
I read Still Alice sometime last year–I also really enjoyed it! I am looking forward to her new book–she had a description about it in Still Alice….I keep looking out for it, but it doesn’t look to be out yet. I bought Lacuna for Karl or Xmas (alright, selfishly for me too–I’m looking forward to reading it as well!)
What a great tradition – donating to charity instead of giving gifts. How did your family initiate that?
I think lots of people would prefer to do that than give gifts – but are hesitant to interfere with/change family traditions, and not sure if everyone will be on board.
As for books, I re-read an old favourite over the holidays: The Girl’s Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank. Very smart and very fast.
Happy new year :-)
My brother actually initiated it a few years ago. We talked about it as a family and decided we didn’t really “need” anything so it would be better to donate the money we would normally spend on gifts to a charity instead. We decided we could still do stockings so we would all get something to open, but skip the “big” gifts. And now everyone gets to spoil the grandkid/niece.
Bank’s book is a fun read.