Bluebird Books

Life is interesting.  One minute you think, "Gosh, I'm so busy and stressed," and the next minute you realize that the minute before you were in an idyllic place of peace and you would give anything to go back.  This happened in my life a few weeks ago.  I thought I was overwhelmed with life (hosting Thanksgiving, concerts for all of the kids, having colds and sinus infections circle our family) and then--boom--my dad got a terrible diagnosis and we are still trying to understand it.   I didn't feel like writing for quite some time, but I'm ready to get back to it.  Maybe it's because of the imminent New Year, maybe it's because "la, la, la, la life goes on" but whatever the reason, I'm here.   Ummmmmm, yas. And, I realize my reading recap for November is coming at the eleventh hour.  I almost scrapped it, but November was full of good books that I want to talk about.   A Tree Grows in Brooklyn I had misconceptions about what thi

2018 has been one of the most stressful years on record for our family.  We've lost people we love, we've faced new parenting challenges, job stress, and one of our children had surgery.  It was rough.  And maybe it's that time of year, maybe I feel the need to be ready for whatever might come next, I'm sitting here taking stock.   no, really. What worked...and what didn't? How did we handle these circumstances with grace and what made us come apart at the seams? More than any other year I've found my coping mechanism in 2018 to be books.  Reading for me, audiobooks when I'm folding laundry, talking about books with my husband, children, friends.  When life got hard, I cracked open a book and hid there for a while.   actual footage of me It may sound a little unhealthy (can you say "avoidance"??) but it wasn't.  In going to books I learned so many things this year.   I learned how to love difficult people through difficult

Fall is here, everybody!  This is not a drill!  My favorite reading is lazy Saturday afternoon reading with a big mug of tea/spiced cider/hot cocoa, and a blanket of course.  #basic #idontcare I have been enjoying getting a little cozy this month.  Traveling with Ghosts 🌟🌟🌟 My book club book of the month.  I didn't read much about this memoir before I began and that was a big mistake.  I was expecting a memoir akin to Lab Girl (which I loved).  This was not that. The author is a scientist--a marine biologist--but science does not play a role in her story.  She recounts the sudden death of her fiance after a fatal jellyfish sting.  Then she goes on a grim pilgrimage of grief. I didn't understand that this was about the grieving process and I couldn't relate to her desire to be far away from everyone and everything she knew while working through her loss.  I also felt weird about not liking a book about someone's very personal journey of sadness. I'

I feel like this might be a spicy take: I really don't like reading in public.  I do it.  But I don't like it.  There's something very vulnerable about letting yourself get lost in a story while other people could very well be staring at you.   Yesterday I was at the ophthalmologist's office with two kids waiting for 40 minutes, you bet I pulled out a book.  Everyone (including my 7-year-old) was watching Love It or List It reruns on the oversized TVs mounted on the walls.  I still felt self-conscious.    I read at LOTS of doctors' offices Once a week I spend a few hours at Barnes and Noble.  I sit in the cafe with broccoli cheddar quiche and a coffee.  After catching up on the 1,000,000 emails I get each week from the kids' schools, I crack open a book and read for a bit.  Are my lips moving?  How is everyone else able to drink coffee and read without spilling all over themselves? all. the. time. And of course, at baseball practice and socce

Today is Sunday.  After four days of clouds and rain, there are patches of blue sky that fill my heart with hope and happy thoughts.   I went for a walk with my husband.  We took in the fall colors and the neighborhood decorations.  We talked and laughed and no one interrupted us.   And then, after lunch, I took my two youngest children to a birthday party at a birthday party mecca: laser tag, bowling, and arcade games all under one roof.  It is my son's favorite place. "Who cares," you say.  "No big deal!" Well, I say it is a big deal, ever since they opened a Barnes and Noble next door. I didn't need another book.  God knows I've got too many unread books in my house already.  But, after some leisurely browsing, I settled on Virgil Wander because I adored Peace Like a Rive r and it sounded like something I'd love: a small town story with a quirky cast of characters.  Yes, please. I grabbed a venti hot cinnamon spice tea fr

Today all of my kids are at school after a run of sickness.  I am in that euphoric state that will either result in great productivity or absolutely nothing.  But, if you're reading this I must be favoring productivity.  Yay me!   I took the dog out this morning.  It's one of those cold days, somewhere between fall and winter.  It might rain later.  The trees in our yard are maroon, orange, and red--really red.  Ruby and I wandered around the yard for a minute or two and then, when we went back in, I was immediately met with the smell of heater + candle and a comforting sensation: warmth.  This is why I love cold months.  That split second makes the cold house and the heavy jackets worth it.  Yesterday I put on a pot of hot apple cider and watched my whole family gravitate to the couches.  Carrying books and mugs we rested.  It was delightful and just what we needed.   I set a goal to finish A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by the end of the month.  I've pushed it asid

September was hard.  I feel like every month I say that, but this month: Wow.  Back to school, new routines, travel, going to my Grandmother's memorial, and off the charts humidity and rain.  I am ready for October.  I had hoped to get more reading done, but the four books I finished were important ones.  They helped me relax, taught me something, and took me out of my little world for a while.  Here are my October books: Persepolis 🌟🌟🌟 "Nothing's worse than saying goodbye.  It's a little like dying." I decided to start the month with a graphic novel and this graphic memoir has been sitting on my bookshelf for years.  I heard it discussed on a podcast and decided it was time. It didn't knock my socks off.  The art was striking but I've read better.  I learned a bit about Iran from someone who lived through much of the revolution but I think I would have liked a longer forward or afterward to add more perspective. Eleanor Oliphant is Co

Maybe because it's fall, maybe because my kids have gone back to school, but for some reason or another I think of this season as a great time to read books about children.  ...or watch movies about children.  I will be singing this song all day now. I'm not talking about the YA and middle-grade novels that I pick up randomly throughout the year.  In the fall I'm looking for an adult fiction novel that tells the story of a child or is told from the perspective of a child.  Either will do.  When I read middle grade or YA I'm thinking about the messages that are intended for a pre-teen/teen audience.  Themes of independence, standing up for something when the odds are against you, and finding community are primarily on display in these books.  Often, the protagonist is compared and contrasted with their peers or called on to save the day. All things that are important parts of teenage development. But, when I pick up a book that is intended for adults but i

It seemed like last year every website devoted to books put out a reading challenge.  In January these feel exciting and new.  But now that it's September...well, it's kind of uncomfortable to check in on my progress.   I didn't bite at every challenge I saw, but Goodreads always draws me in.  They only ask for a number:  how many books will you read this year?  Innocent enough.  At the end of the year, they provide you with a lovely infographic.  In years past, I've accomplished my reading goal and then some so this year I decided to be ambitious.   75.  75 books in a year.  More than a book a week.  I was excited, sitting on the couch by my fire.  Of course I could read that many books!  It would be easy! Now, it's September and I'm not in a good place.   I'm 9 books behind where I should be to keep pace for completing my goal.  And I obsessively check to see when that number will go up--oh, wait, it just did.  10 behind now.  Great.  #notgre

One of my absolute favorite things about reading is that it takes you to a new world.  This is not news to anyone who cracks open a novel with even a little anticipation, but it's always pure magic.  I can lead many lives all at once: imagining being a train with a murderer, sitting in a tiny dingy school in Brooklyn during the Great Depression, or traveling all over the world on an epic birthday trip.   Lately, I've been enjoying books that expose me to the immigrant experience.  I am not an immigrant but am the descendant of immigrants and the wife of an immigrant.  It's not something I have first-hand knowledge about but because so many people I love have lived through an immigration, I want to understand it better: enter books.   Stories that detail what it's like to move to a new country, where you may or may not be welcome, make the reader more empathetic.  It happens subtly and without guilt.  Reading about the first trip to a grocery store where yo