Reading in the Garden

Triple Laughter Last week we looked at laugh-out-loud funny books that were memoirs or biographical in nature.  They were essays about real people and real events. They were definitely amusing. But they were not plot- or character-driven.   For the most part, they weren't structural stories complete with a background, conflict, climax, and resolution.  If you find yourself craving for more than funny essays and memoirs. If you’re craving for silly with no hint of reality, meshed with a traditional beginning, middle, and end, then you may want to peruse Roald Dahl’s My Uncle Oswald . Hmm… Roald Dahl, you say?  Sounds familiar? Yes, that’s right. Roald Dahl’s name might ring a bell because he was a famous children’s writer.  He delighted children all over the world with Matilda, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Danny, Champion of the World, just to name a few of his books. My son loved Roald Dahl.  He had

Me Like Book Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris had me laughing out loud.  This book is just plain funny.  It is not a book with an intriguing plot; it has no plot at all. But the characters sure are memorable, starting with David.  This book comprises essays of David’s life beginning with his lisp to qualms about his IQ.  He tells us about his analytical father and introduces us to his beautiful sister, who likes to wear disguises including the bottom half of a fat suit. If you are sensitive to the “F” word, you may want to skip the chapter about his brother, but I think you’d be missing out.  It was f%#@*ing  hilarious. One of the funniest parts of the book is when he moves to France with his boyfriend Hugh.  There he takes French lessons from a woman with a nasty, almost sadistic disposition.  At one point she tells David, “Every day spent with you is like having a cesarean section.”  Nice teacher.  Each chapter delivers laughter on varying topics.  The comparison of Davi

A Good Read A Good American by Alex George grabbed me and held me from the first page, not because it was action packed, but because the narrator had a luring, lyrical voice that pulled me into the lives of a couple of German immigrants and their families down the line. The narrator is the third-generation member of the Meisenheimer family now rooted in America.  He tells how his grandparents came to the United States and forged a new and unfamiliar life in the small town of Beatrice, Missouri. This book was rife with colorful and memorable characters from all of the Meisenheimers including Frederick, a good American, to the people who touched their lives like Lomax the cornet player, or the hell-fire, long-haired reverend, or Mrs. Fitch who taught more than music.  I wanted to hear about the people of Beatrice and was almost sad when the book ended.  I wanted to hear James, the narrator, eloquently weave more humorous and touching tales.  True to life, there were sad incidents t

To Cry or Not to Cry Firefly Lane by Kristen Hannah was on our book club suggestion list for a long time now.  So far, it has not been voted in—a matter of too many books, too little time.  But one of my friends in the club said she read it on her own and really liked it.  She said it made her cry.  “Hmmm…” I thought. I wonder if we’re made out of the same stuff? I wonder if it’ll have me weeping like I did with Of Mice and Men ?  So, I read it too.  And I must confess, I did NOT cry. Clearly my friend might be a softer, kinder person than I am.  But I did find the book touching.  I enjoyed the story of two very different girls who became lifelong friends.  I felt privileged to be peeking into their relationship, finding out how it developed and continued through to adulthood.  I also enjoyed the book because the author gives detailed descriptions of time periods I’m familiar with starting with the 70s. When the author talks about “low-rise, three-button jeans with tie-dyed

Cry Like Nobody's Watching Sometimes we all need a good cry.  A good cry is cathartic, a purging of the soul. Tears can provide a good emotional washing and afterwards you feel fresh and new.  It just feels good. That’s why we love a good tear-jerker movie every once in awhile. Something like, oh, how about “Steel Magnolias”? My mom and I went to see “Steel Magnolias” when it first came out in the theaters in 1989. During a particularly heart-breaking scene when Julia Robert’s character wasn’t doing so well, I got a little choked up.  As the scene went on and on and got sadder and sadder, I desperately tried to keep my composure. Tears threatened to break through my tough veneer, but valiantly I held them back. I was ashamed, ashamed to let my vulnerability be known.  Instead of letting loose and embracing that mental release, I held a big burning grapefruit size lump in my throat. Suddenly, I heard a sniffle in the crowd.  The sniffle worked its way into a sob