Falling for Me by Anna David

Falling for Me:  How I Hung Curtains, Learned to Cook, Traveled to Seville, and Fell in Love by Anna David

Published:  2011 by HarperCollins

Source:  Received from the publisher for review

  Once again, I am drawn to a project memoir that I was fully expecting to dislike, but am pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed.

   Anna David, a successful writer, has been unlucky in love one too many times and -- like many of us bibliophiles -- heads to the bookstore to search for that one perfect book that will cure everything that ails her seemingly bleak situation.  Her search appears to come up empty until she sees a pink cover on the shelf -- a copy of Sex and the Single Girl by Helen Gurley Brown.  The first line "I married for the first time at 37.  I got the man I wanted."  intrigues David and she purchases the book, but with the realization that is not likely to be a miracle worker:

I'm not the sort of person who transitions from a state of hopeless despair to one of zany optimism just because of a book - let alone some guide to living as a single girl in the 60's - so part of me wonders if I'm in a delusional state where I only think I feel better.  But I also know that I'm not really in a position to care.  This is the first time I've felt something other than miserable since my birthday, and these days, I'll take whatever I can get.

  And here is where I expected to start disliking the book.   I had preconceived notions of what a book written in the early 1960s would say about finding and keeping a relationship, and I didn't want to read about a woman in the present day changing herself just so that she could meet Mr. Right.  With some women, that may have been exactly what happened, but with David, what she learns about herself is much more than just how to get a guy.  For example, after some less than successful dates arranged through an online dating service, she realizes that her comfort zone is too small, she dusts off the Rollerblades that have been sitting in the closet and heads to the park to reacquaint herself with the activity; before she realizes, she is a fair distance away and is thrilled with herself and of the experience:

This place I've discovered because I'd forced myself to do something I'd long wanted to do, in other words, reminds me of some of the happiest times of my life.

 This experience resonated so strongly with me.  I've had the same types of experiences with things I've wanted to do but were afraid of trying because I thought it would be too hard; when I "just did it", the results were nothing but positive, even if there were some bumps along the way.  And in this sentence she sums this up beautifully:  "I can be whoever I want to be, provided I'm willing to not give up even when it's difficult." 

  In addition to expanding her comfort zone, David also picks up more domestic pointers from S&SG (as she refers to the book throughout her own); like how to cook a proper meal, how to decorate your home/apartment, how to "dress for success".  Ostensibly, these are improvements designed to impress a man, but to David they provide self-satisfaction; that you should be doing these things for yourself all along.

  Of course, the memoir does talk about David's adventures in dating and romance, and I found these parts to be uninteresting, even though I know they are a main point of the book.  However, I absolutely loved the overall message I took from reading it -- that anything you do should be done with you in mind first.

  Highly recommended.

  Here is a podcast interview with the author, Anna David (also available on iTunes)

Hamlet's Blackberry

Hamlet's BlackBerry:  Building a Good Life in the Digital Age by William Powers

Published:  2011 by Harper Perennial

Source:  Received from the publisher for review

  There are days when I pine for a smartphone.  The ability to be able to check my e-mail, Facebook and Twitter accounts wherever and whenever I wanted to seems like a good thing to me.  The fact that I check them several times during the day anyways on my computer and very little happens between each check  and that I rarely have my current "dumb" phone on and yet still rarely miss calls should be a sign that maybe that new shiny gadget isn't a priority in my life. 

 

  Reading Hamlet's BlackBerry has reinforced this justification to stay behind that trend-following curve, at least for a while longer.  William Powers is far from a technophobe and I think that is what makes this book so interesting and useful.  Not only does he take examples from his own life on his experiences in occasional "unplugging" (disconnecting from the Internet for entire weekends, for example), he also goes back into history and profiles the contemporary "technology" of seven great thinkers from Plato to Walden to Marshall McLuhan that provide lessons for us in the current era.  I especially appreciated his thoughts on Seneca, who encourages us not to allow outside distractions to disturb one's focus on the task at hand:

I force my mind to become self-absorbed and not let outside things distract it.  There can be absolute bedlam without so long as there is no commotion within.

For me, that means ignoring the e-mail and social media when I am in the midst of any work or personal project; and to give proper attention to the book I am reading now rather than think of the (many, many) other books sitting on my shelf that I want to read.  Right now that is still easier said than done -- old habits die hard -- but I am aware of these tendencies in myself and when I have made the effort to focus on the task at hand it is not as difficult to complete. 

Ultimately, technology is a great tool but should be used in conjunction with the other ones that civilization has given us over the centuries.

Highly recommended.



Readathon in December!

If you dislike crowds as much as I do, you will be avoiding major shopping districts on Saturdays from now until Christmas.  But what are you going to do with all of that spare time?  Housework?  (Ummm, no)  Watching TV?  (Is anything decent ever on TV Saturdays?)  Nap?  (Tempting....)

How about reading (Yayyyyyyyyy!)

Amanda of the extremely witty blog Dead White Guys and Brittney of The Souls of Thought are co-hosting a readathon (official name:  Belated Readathon For Those Who Forgot About the Last One or Were Out of Town or Slept Through it or Whatever) on Saturday, December 3rd, beginning at 7:00 am, and running through Sunday, December 4th at 7:00 am.  It's a fairly casual thing; you aren't obligated to participate in all 24 hours but if you have a blog they encourage periodic updates to make sure "you aren't buried under your TBR pile".  (hey, it could happen).

So I will be participating, though I can't see myself participating for all 24 hours (I do need beauty sleep periodically).  That said, I am going to challenge myself to read as much as I can with the aim of helping others during this holiday season; for every hour I read, I pledge to donate $5 to Sit Stay Read, a Chicago charity that encourages at-risk children to read to dogs, in turn increasing their confidence and love of reading. 

My reading list?  I haven't exactly figured that out yet, but I think I'm going to go with the lighter, fluffier books on my TBR pile and hopefully clear some of them off the shelf.   I'll probably pick out five books, but even though I am a fast reader I only expect to complete two. 

If you have nothing else to do on Saturday, why not join us (sign up here)?  Or if you do have a life have other plans, why not check in with us once or twice to cheer us on?

Wishlist Challenge 2012

  As you all know, I have a lot (A LOT) of books sitting on my to-read shelf, waiting patiently for their chance to be selected.  However, there are almost as many books waiting just as patiently on my to-read list, hoping for that opportunity to regain that attention that put them on the list in the first place. 

  I'm sure anyone who is an avid reader has the same "problem", and Leeswammes' Blog is here to help!  Judith has created a Wishlist Challenge, which challenges you to read 12 books that you would like to read but don't already have on your shelves.  The rules:

1. The challenge runs from January 1st, 2012 to December 31st, 2012.
2. You are to read 12 books from your current wishlist. If you don’t have a list anywhere, write down books that you are eager to read, that you don’t own yet, and choose 12 books off that list.
3. If you can’t find a book that’s on your wishlist (your library doesn’t have it, or you don’t want/can’t buy it) then you can use another book. But: you are not allowed to include any NEWLY added books for this challenge. So, whatever your list is now, that’s it.
4. You can overlap with other challenges, as long as you read books that were on your wishlist before January 1st, 2012.

  My wish list is on Goodreads and here are the books I've tentatively selected for this challenge:

1. The Little Shadows by Marina Endicott
2. The Art of Losing by Rebecca Connell
3. Galore by Michael Crummey
4. The Art of Eating In:  How I Learned to Stop Spending and Love the Stove by Cathy Erway
5. Strangers at the Feast by Jennifer Vanderbes
6. Madame Proust and the Kosher Kitchen by Kate Taylor.
7. The Jewish Husband by Lia Levi
8. Homer & Langley by E.L. Doctorow
9. February by Lisa Moore
10. Cool Water by Dianne Warren
11. The Baker's Daughter by Sarah McCoy
12. The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

  I'm holding out for the glory and honor that is promised to those of us who completes the challenge!
 

Spoiler Alert! (but not that kind)

  So..... I may have mentioned once or twice about my collection of nieces and nephew (soon to be nephews in another week!).  Well, my twin nieces -- Abigail and Marlowe -- will be turning two in a couple of weeks and so Auntie Sue has been surfing the internet in search of some interesting and fun gifts.
  Look at what I found at Bas Bleu and Cafe Press:

  They absolutely love "reading" the board books they already have, and it's never too early to start them on the classics, right?

  There may be a few other gifts heading their way too..... I am a spoiler after all.....

2012 TBR Pile Challenge

  Thank goodness for Adam at Roof Beam Reader.  Though I didn't complete his 2011 TBR Pile Challenge I did manage to blow the dust off of a few books; and was pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed a lot of them.  So I'm checking in again for the 2012 Challenge and hope to get all of my selections completed.

  The rules are the same as last year:

1. Read twelve books that have been on your to-read pile for at least a year (you may include two alternate titles).
2. You must write a review/response for each one you read.
3. You must link your master list to the sign-up post .

  Here are my books for this challenge, a mix of fiction and non-fiction:

1. Annexed by Sharon Dogar
2. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
3. Mrs. Somebody Somebody by Tracy Winn
4. Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold
5. The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris
6. Postcards from a Dead Girl by Kirk Farber
7. Ill Fares the Land by Tony Judt
8. The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work by Alain de Botton
9. Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
10. The Dead Beat:  Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs and the Perverse Pleasures of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson
11. Ghost Soldiers:  The Epic Account of World War II's Greatest Rescue Mission by Hampton Sides
12. Nine Lives:  In Search of the Sacred in Modern India by William Dalrymple

  My alternate titles are:

1. Triangle by Katharine Weber
2. The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton

  Any thoughts on these books?

Recent DNF's

  Here are three books that I've not been able to finish in the last week:

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James.  I've actually read it before, several years ago, but aside from disliking the ending I don't remember much about the book at all.  When my Classics book group selected it for November's discussion I picked it up again.  However I only got about 100-150 pages in before I couldn't handle it anymore.  I found Isabel to be annoying this time around and I just don't think I had the patience to deal with James' very descriptive (and to me, sometimes rambling) writing style.

The Bomber by Liza Marklund.  Judith at leeswammes really enjoyed this book; and since she and I have similar tastes, and the book sounded interesting, I thought I'd give it a try.  The main event happens right away, but I found that it almost takes a back seat to the the media covering the story, and of the primary character's struggle to maintain the work-life balance.  I got bored.  I also found the translation of the edition I read to be hard to follow sometimes. 

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  I admit, the premise of this novel didn't interest me that much, but I bought into the buzz/hype surrounding its release and I picked up the audio version and started listening in the car driving to and from work. The first part of it seemed interesting but the magic stuff lost me and unfortunately I let my mind wander and I lost the storyline. I'll probably go back to this one again when I'm taking an extended road trip.


 
 
 
 
 
If you've read any of these books, can you give me a good argument for going back to them one day?