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I'm going to start The Etiquette of Illness by Susan Halpern tonight. I learned about this book while reading The End of Your Life Book Club.
Synopsis of The Etiquette of Illness:
Case in point: About 15 years ago (and I'll never forget it), I had a co-worker friend whose mother had died. At her funeral, my friend thanked me for coming. My response: "My pleasure." Really??? My pleasure???
It is a very awkward thing to have to comfort people when you don't know how to respond. I'm sure your friend just appreciated you being there.
Thanks for the book title. I just ordered it from my library.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry
I am the slow poke in the group, and still working on "Dance for the Dead." Young Lisa, if you are hanging out in the eves here, I think you would like this one: strong female protagonist who fights evil and protects the innocent -- and even the "not so innocent." All the twists and turns and surprises wear me out and I have to put it down just to catch my breath and remind myself evil doesn't lurk everywhere!
Thanks....I also just ordered that from my library.
If I keep reading what all of you reading I may get banned from my library, lol. This morning I ordered the two from above plus Gone Girl, Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, and The Road by Cormac McCarthy..
BTW, Marlow found Come, Thou Tortoise for me at Better World Books. Supposedly the lowest price is from $7.97 but when I go in the lowest price is $65.90. Any idea why that would be?
I also tried Alibris and today it is $9.99. Yesterday it was much less Anyway, has anyone here used Alibris? And?
Welcome to my world! I actually have that book on my "to read" list but if I'm still having this problem (the one where I hate every book for reason X, Y, or Z), then I won't bother starting it until I'm cured.
Dr. Igor might have a cure for what ails you, but I really, really don't think that is what you are looking for!
I have gone through these sorts of spells before as well. Very frustrating to not find "the one". Often, though, my picky spell will be broken with an incredible book that was really worth the wait.
Another fix for this problem is getting a collection of short stories. After a paragraph or two (or sometimes just reading the title), you make a decision and move on. At least that way you don't feel like you have invested too much into the searching process. Plus, really good short stories are delightful. I know you like Tobias Wolff, have you read any Alice Munro?
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pinetreelover
Dr. Igor might have a cure for what ails you, but I really, really don't think that is what you are looking for!
I have gone through these sorts of spells before as well. Very frustrating to not find "the one". Often, though, my picky spell will be broken with an incredible book that was really worth the wait.
Another fix for this problem is getting a collection of short stories. After a paragraph or two (or sometimes just reading the title), you make a decision and move on. At least that way you don't feel like you have invested too much into the searching process. Plus, really good short stories are delightful. I know you like Tobias Wolff, have you read any Alice Munro?
Except for a very select few authors (Jhumpa Lahiri is the only one, actually, that comes to mind), I don't like short stories. I need a very distinct beginning, middle, and end, which I don't seem to get from short stories. And at the end, I usually feel like I didn't *get* it.
That said, I'm going to eventually read In Other Rooms, Other Wonders (by Daniyal Mueenuddin), which I learned of from The End of Your Life Book Club, but the difference is that they're interlocking short stories, each related, so it feels more solid. Another one like that, which I enjoyed tremendously, was Olive Kitteridge. I've tried to read short stories by authors that I typically enjoy -- T.C. Boyle, Ann Beattie -- but I always toss them aside, frustrated.
Oh, one collection of true short stories -- also learned of from The End of Your Life Book Club -- that I intend to read is Updike's My Father's Tears. I hope that I'm surprised, but I suspect that it'll be another case of "Why can't I just admit that I hate short stories???"
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by younglisa7
BTW, Marlow found Come, Thou Tortoise for me at Better World Books. Supposedly the lowest price is from $7.97 but when I go in the lowest price is $65.90. Any idea why that would be?
I also tried Alibris and today it is $9.99. Yesterday it was much less Anyway, has anyone here used Alibris? And?
Thanks.
I think the high price of Come, Thou Tortoise is for a few reasons:
1. It's a Canadian book that's only published by houses in Canada and the U.K. I doubt, too, that it's still being printed.
2. There are so few copies in circulation. When you look on Amazon, there are so few resellers compared to other books.
The one that I bought for my friend in NYC, for her birthday last month, cost me almost $25. But, really, that was because I wanted her to have a copy that was nearest to perfect as I could find. I recently got a few copies that were cheap ($4 shipping included) so that I could have them on-hand for future gift-givings.
As for Alibris, I think I bought from them once -- my very first copy of Come, Thou Tortoise, actually. Hmmm. That may have been from Abe Books, actually, meaning that, no, I've never bought from Alibris.
On breaking out of the "I cannot find anything I want to read" doldrum:
I love Google, and use it extensively. I love that I can type into my search bar things like: "book about zambia" and I usually get results that spark my interest. So, what I do is just sit quietly for a minute or so, and let my mind survey the world of interesting topics until it gets "hooked" on a topic (person, place, or just an idea). Then I let Google (Web) do its work -- always with the phrase: "book about" included. It almost always leads me to something completely new and different, which engages my mind just because of the newness.
(I also find myself coming across topics that interest me in the day, and do this in preparation for my doldrum to come, and add the results that are appealing to my Goodreads "To Read" list.... for that time ahead.)
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry
On breaking out of the "I cannot find anything I want to read" doldrum:
I love Google, and use it extensively. I love that I can type into my search bar things like: "book about zambia" and I usually get results that spark my interest. So, what I do is just sit quietly for a minute or so, and let my mind survey the world of interesting topics until it gets "hooked" on a topic (person, place, or just an idea). Then I let Google (Web) do its work -- always with the phrase: "book about" included. It almost always leads me to something completely new and different, which engages my mind just because of the newness.
(I also find myself coming across topics that interest me in the day, and do this in preparation for my doldrum to come, and add the results that are appealing to my Goodreads "To Read" list.... for that time ahead.)
Your way is so much smarter than my way: I just throw up my arms in defeat and eat cookies.
Your way is so much smarter than my way: I just throw up my arms in defeat and eat cookies.
Yes, but I've been dieting since I was five, and cookies are my absolute LAST resort! Then, it's the double fudge espresso cookies with the big chunks of dark chocolate... absolutely the BEST from North Seattle's Simply Desserts, in the Fremont neighborhood. (Just in case you ever decide to visit the Emerald City....
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LookinForMayberry
Yes, but I've been dieting since I was five, and cookies are my absolute LAST resort! Then, it's the double fudge espresso cookies with the big chunks of dark chocolate... absolutely the BEST from North Seattle's Simply Desserts, in the Fremont neighborhood. (Just in case you ever decide to visit the Emerald City....
OMG, you made me GUFFAW! Not just laugh, but guffaw. Five! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Meeting you AND having cookies with "big chunks of dark chocolate"? Yes and Yes!
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by younglisa7
Cookies are good...chocolate ones are the best. Hey no crumbs on the books
Just chocolate smudges on my Kindle. Still not a problem. Ha!
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Then, it's the double fudge espresso cookies with the big chunks of dark chocolate... absolutely the BEST from North Seattle's Simply Desserts, in the Fremont neighborhood. (Just in case you ever decide to visit the Emerald City.... 