Mimi

I first read this in 1978, right after it was published, and have reread it many times since. I give it 5 stars because it always makes me feel good. Oddly, I have never read any other books by Laurie Colwin, but I should!

This series is available now through our library's e-book collection, so I reread this little gem. I always forget how much of the Ingalls's life was focused on subsistence. Ma works all day and then knits socks by the firelight; makes cheese and braids hats; hacks butternut squash with Pa's ax and sews calico dresses. Omnicompetent.

Others have described this as an historical detective novel, although it's not really a detective novel at all. It's more of political mystery set in India in the early 1800s, when the British were attempting to rule India–a unique setting, for sure. While it had its dry spots, there was a genuinely surprising (for me, at least) plot twist. I will read the second in the series, since I liked the main characters.

Finished a cluster of gratitude and habit books–a private little seminar for myself–comprising this book; Pema Chodron's [b:Taking the Leap: Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears 2571146 Taking the Leap Freeing Ourselves from Old Habits and Fears Pema Chödrön https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320388405s/2571146.jpg 7152343]; [b:Better Than Before: Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives 22889767 Better Than Before Mastering the Habits of Our Everyday Lives Gretchen Rubin https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415588203s/22889767.jpg 40771666] by Gretchen Rubin; and [b:Gratitude 27161964 Gratitude Oliver Sacks https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1445791421s/27161964.jpg 47201204], by Oliver Sacks. These haven't completely changed my life, but have prompted me to be ever more mindful of how fortunate I am!

Lovely book! Now I want more, too!

Five stars for being so moving and well-written. Feel a little odd counting it toward my goal of books read because it's really only four short essays that were published after Sacks died. But, a book is a book.

Did not care for this one. One reviewer said it seemed like the characters were often compelled to lick other people's faces, which is true. Is that a thing? A symbolic thing? Otherwise, I already don't remember much about it.

I wanted to read something different and lighter after [b:Bettyville 22571772 Bettyville George Hodgman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1404476865s/22571772.jpg 42038205] and [b:The Light of the World 22875479 The Light of the World Elizabeth Alexander https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422811469s/22875479.jpg 42439931], and this was ready for me at the library. It's clearly Hunger Games-ish, but I read it in an afternoon/evening because I couldn't stop. What do you know.

Not a lot happens in this book, but I am still thinking about it. A lot of reviews call it emotional and moving, but it struck me more as peaceful. What comes through is that taking care of his elderly mother at this stage of her life is what this author needs for himself as well.

Another short, powerful book (I read this and [b:The Light of the World 22875479 The Light of the World Elizabeth Alexander https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1422811469s/22875479.jpg 42439931] back-to-back). I liked Strout's [b:Olive Kitteridge 1736739 Olive Kitteridge Elizabeth Strout https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320430655s/1736739.jpg 3263906] so much that I avoided [b:The Burgess Boys 15823461 The Burgess Boys Elizabeth Strout https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1351213545s/15823461.jpg 21553934] when I heard it wasn't as good. But this one is also excellent.

Loved this memoir, which also happens to be Michelle Obama's favorite of 2015. I read a copy from the library, but am going to buy one for myself. I keep re-reading passages and want it on hand.

Read this one to finish the arc of the three-volume story, but my favorite is Hollow City, the second.

Loved this book, even though I've never seen any of her TV shows. I wanted her year of yes to go on and on!

A re-read, but such a great book. Something new jumps out at me every time. And, coincidentally, NPR had a story just yesterday in which Nabokov was quoted as saying:

Americans mispronounced Lolita “Low-lee-ta, with a heavy, clammy ‘L' and a long ‘o',” when in fact, “the first syllable should be as in ‘lollipop', the ‘L' liquid and delicate, the ‘lee' not too sharp.”

Don't think I can say it that way.

Quick and fun.

It had a lot of potential–New York, the 70s, frequent Patti Smith references. Yet, so tedious, and there is just too much of it. Didn't care for the gimmicky bits, either, such as the inclusion of a full issue of a fanzine and handwritten/typewritten documents. Whatevs.

Heard the author on Science Friday and thought he seemed legit. In fact, the book seems to make a lot of sense and matches updated notions of how to eat.

Four stars for tidying! The book, and her method, are quirky enough to be fun, and there are ideas with real merit here. She makes the very good point, for example, that most of us in the US or Japan have probably always had so much stuff that we haven't had the chance to know what it's like to live a truly uncluttered life.

I put off reading this book for a long time because I was afraid, despite its good reviews, that it would be a cringe-inducing portrait of a middle-aged woman. It's not. It's a series of stories, some that focus on Olive Kitteridge and some that just happen around her, that creates a community of characters. I read it in one afternoon because I couldn't wait to see what happened next.

I haven't read them all, but this is my favorite Murakami novel so far. Librarians! Cats! Oshima is, right now, my favorite Murakami character.

Excellent set of short stories written by a former coworker. Yay, Becky!

This is really three books, but I'll count it as one since I had read the first one years ago. I reread it and then kept going through The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem. This series captures post-WW II Germany in all its gritty detail so well that I've been having Nazi nightmares. Even though these are great books, I need to take a break and read something more cheerful before coming back to the next one.

Loved it. The first half, about her time with the Slits, was interesting. The second half, though, about being married, having a child, and then returning to music, was fantastic. She includes a review of one of her early solo shows written by Carrie Brownstein, which in itself was well worth reading.