The Gift of an Ordinary Day by Katrina Kenison

(my own image)

I am lucky to have found this book while my son is still so young. Kenison is at the other side of parenthood: one son entering high school as the other prepares to leave it. She throws another wrench into the works by determining that *now* is the perfect time to move from the only home their sons have ever known.

We follow the entire family on their journey from cozy home in a familiar and friendly neighborhood through a period of unrest; the old home sold before they had a new one picked out and Jack (the younger son) rebels in a way that only 13 year old boys can.  There are flashbacks, anecdotes, revelations and insights. I found myself pulling quotes to keep in the back of my head, most timely:

"The thoughtful life is not rushed."

Before long, Henry, the oldest, starts looking at colleges. Kenison starts taking a long hard look at what nurturing means when your children no longer need nurturing.

Ultimately, the family lands in a small town in the mountains, in possession of a house they're not entirely sure what to do with and surrounded by strangers. Well, they are strangers until a shop keeper becomes a friend and points out that there are partners all around, waiting to help...and by the close of this particular chapter in the Kenison's lives there are new friends and partners filling it. 

This book does not drip with sentiment, or preach about how your life should be lived. This is a woman sharing her journey towards balance. I do not think that you need to be a parent yourself to read it. I think anyone who has...well, lived, can relate to the events and emotions. And everyone can relate to how charming life because when even ordinary days are viewed as gifts.

Generation A by Douglas Coupland

I love Douglas Coupland. I have since my (old boy)friend told me to read Generation X because "the dude who wrote that writes like you speak." Have you read Generation X? No? I'm sorry, I can't be friends with you anymore.

Kidding.

Maybe.

Ok - so here's why I love Coupland (and this book) - in a numbered list:

1: he's not afraid to give one of the main characters Tourette's and then put us inside her head.

2: and then he puts us inside the heads of the other main characters so we can see how they react.

3: he gives characters "normal" jobs (Harj works in an Abercrombie and Fitch call center in Sri Lanka) and then he makes them LOVE them.

4: he uses healthy/healthful correctly.

5: he takes a concept like "the bees are dying" and speculates about what happens when they've been gone for half a decade and then 5 unrelated people get stung.

6: he goes there. The things the rest of us think about for half a second and then dismissed are fleshed out into actual plot points of brilliance. (example: brain masturbation.)

7: rapier wit and keen perception and a complete disregard for maybe offending some people (or groups of people.)

8: he keeps giving and giving and then just when you think "aaahhh....I see where you're going" he opens a conversation that wasn't on your radar.

9: he commands the English language in a way that is modern but not trendy and will therefore still be relevant decades from now.

10: he's just awesome. Need proof? Have you read Generation X? Jpod? Shampoo Planet? No? What are you waiting for?

You can start anywhere, really. But this is the newest and so it is fresh. Falling into a Coupland hold wouldn't be a bad thing. Operators are standing by!

Raining Cat Sitters and Dogs by Blaize Clement

 

Dixie Hemingway is back!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. I do enjoy this cozy little series...if that isn't so demeaning "little" - but in my defense there are only a handful of titles so far so the word is somewhat accurate. In addition to the quirky animals, the will-they-won't-they love interest (I do so hope they WILL), the endearing leave-it-to-modern-Beaver brother and brother-in-love (don't you love that phrase?), Clement has introduced a sullen teenager, potential gang members from the left coast, a very talkative parrot, and, of course, life on a Florida Key that makes you want to pack up and move.

I really want to write a review worthy of the book, but I'm having a hard time putting sentences together.

So: read this if you like animals, ex-cops with broken hearts who are open to maybe loving someone again, a bit of suspense and intrigue...and reading in the bath (which is where I read most of it.)

But start with the first (Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter) so you're up to speed - even though Clement does the "this is my name, this is my story" update with the best of them.

Enjoy!

God of the Hive by Laurie R. King

Read. This. Book.

Ok. Really, what you need to do is start with the first in the series (Beekeeper's Apprentice) and read in order of publication. At the very least you need to read The Language of Bees because this one starts literally minutes where the prior leaves off.

And it is so so so so good.



I'm not sure how to talk about this book without giving away major series spoilers. MAJOR. So let me say this for those of you who aren't caught up: go read the prior books and then read this one. Trust me.
Laurie King makes Robert Downey's Holmes look like a buffoon. Her adaptation is respectful, well researched, and intelligent. 

"The great marvel of King's series is that she's managed to preserve the integrity of Holmes's character and yet somehow conjure up a woman astute, edgy, and compelling enough to be a partner of his mind as well as his heart." - Washington Post Book World.

There. And at the risk of being redundant: read this.

SPOILERS!





We left with the family split apart - arrest warrants, Mycroft has been questioned and then abducted, Brothers may or may not be dead (depending on who you're asking,) Holmes has fled with Damian in search of medical attention, and Russell is the unlikely care-taker of Holmes's (SURPRISE!) granddaughter. They're in the far reaches of Scotland, headed in different directions and this is a time when phones are hard to find and cell phones are unheard of. They may or may not have murderous madmen on their tails and both are hampered. Over the course of the next few days, plots are created, revealed, and cast aside. There's a funeral, a man who seems to have walked out of a fairy tale, an unlikely surgeon, an equally unlikely confidant, and a mastermind...there's also gunfights, snipers, disguises, and secret messages.

The God of the Hive is King herself.

(Ok, it's not but you couldn't have imagined that I would spoil it THAT MUCH for you, right?)

Hmmm....

Ramona And Beezus Trailer

thoughts?


PS: I'm reading. I promise. Things happen slower with an infant in the house. But Sweet Mother of Abraham Lincoln it's a good book. Just you wait.