The Hearts Have It

It has taken me awhile to read and to get back to writing about it, but I have read a couple of really great books that were thought provoking and very enjoyable. Summer activities have taken me outside and have kept me busy as they should but I have been able to sneak in a few pages here and there and have used Oliver's nap time as an excuse to curl up with a good book a few times. These days it is with lemonade not hot chocolate, however. So onto the books.

The book club girls and I chose to read Carson McCullers' "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter" last meeting. You can see from the book cover that this book may not be so happy, but this is an anniversary cover and is actually a photo of the author. I think it really shows a little window into an author's life because, unfortunately, I feel that most profound authors are a brooding bunch and have some major personal issues. This is also what probably makes them interesting and able to escape reality to put words onto paper in such a distinct manner. Hmmm to envy or not to envy.

McCullers is a Georgia author from Columbus and this book is set in this area without giving exact geographic location. I find it phenomenal that she was only twenty-three when she wrote this wonderful book and she deserves all the praise that litters the back of her book. The best "back of book quote" comes from Mary Sarton. She writes "When one puts [this book] down, it is with... a feeling of having been nourished by the truth." I read that sentence before I read the book and wondered what it was driving at and now that I am finished I think it is a perfect statement.

McCullars finds a gripping and interesting way to tell the story of a number of characters lives. They are all unique and all serve a purpose to get to a defining end which for better or worse is definitely truth. So well thought out are the characters and how interested you become in their well being. It is everything you could ask for in a book. This book is about social class, race, and generally the human species and our ability to survive together. Amazing book. I am for sure going to partake in McCullers other novels when I've finished up this project. (That may be years from now, but I WILL be reading more of her stuff.)

When the book club met in July, I was the only one who had finished the book because, well, I think we are all getting caught up in our summer activities but the girls said they were definitely going to finish it. So maybe I will be able to share there insights when we meet again.

I also just finished Graham Greene's "The Heart of the Matter." While these books both have the word HEART in the title and are both set in the 1940's they are extremely different. They both refer to The War but McCullars is looking at it from the "far away thing that is happening over there" point of view of small town America and Greene is looking at it as the reason his characters have a job to do in West Africa. (Both do not like the Germans...)

Greene's book tells the story of a distinguished police officer who has made his life and career in West Africa. His wife can't stand to be there anymore and can not figure out why her husband hasn't had enough of the place. He won't leave even when he has the chance to. But all that is back story but eludes to the meat of the book. It is all about love and what that really is and how it works when you are of devote Catholic faith.

Scobie, the police officer, falls so deeply that he doesn't really even know if it is love. In his mind, the feeling of being responsible for making someone happy means love and he can not stand to not meet his responsibilities. This book has such a different look at what love could be. The way this man deals with it is just utterly tragic. It makes this book thought provoking in the fact that it is like nothing else I have read on the subject and the fact that it is completely believable makes it all the more a worthwhile read.

On to the new stuff, The book club chose to read "The Sheltering Sky," by Paul Bowles. This is a post WWII book set in North Africa. (This is becoming a theme! I now know what type of book I need to write to get on a "Best" list.) This book is suppose to be about marital woes and traveling debacles so it should be interesting. I've only read the first 10 pages so we'll see where it goes from there.

Happy Reading!

Expatriates and Spies

This months book club book was The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. The girls and I were excited to read this as none of us had ever really read any Hemingway before. We figured now is the time and why not read the one that Time labels as a top book of all time. Unfortunately, I don't think any of us thought this was a super book by any means. I spent most of the time waiting for something to happen or to have some epiphany as to why this book and Hemingway are considered so great.

This book is suppose to "encapsulate the angst of the post-World War I generation" but it rarely spoke of war or other problems other than basic money problems. To me this book read like a sophisticated college road trip log. It details a journey with friends that begins in Paris and ends in Spain. The problem is that is it. That is what the book is in a nutshell. It gives street names that they pass, restaurant names that they eat in, and bars that they stay too long in. The love interest is every ones love interest, (Who hasn't had a trip where "the slutty girl" tags along) but you would think this would bring a lot of drama. Too bad it is downplayed and considered normal by the narrator. Really the only way I got through this book was when I decided to change my mind set and made believe that I was a man reading this story. I know that sounds weird but it worked and made the fishing expedition scenes and the details of Pamplona's bull fighting interesting and worth the read. Maybe Hemingway is a mans man writer, I don't know. (my husband loved The Old Man and the Sea) Once I left my emotions for the characters out the door and knew I wasn't going to be invested in them on a highly personal level the outlying story became much more available to me and let me enjoy the scenery and location. So while this book wasn't my ideal page turner I'm glad I read it and will definitely check out Hemingway's other works. ...but it may be awhile.



The other book I read this month is The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre. This book took awhile for me to get into as well, but that was mostly because I usually read this right before going to bed and I would fall asleep after 2 paragraphs. The next night I would re-read and fall asleep again. Vicious Cycle. Anyway, I thought this book was excellent once I really got into it and I am not a spy book lover by any means but I definitely am going to read more by this author. He sets up this complicated half informed scene and you just have to trust it and go with it. When it all comes to a head you are completely blown away at how all the pieces come together in no way that you thought they would. It is smartly written. Their is a scene that I just can't get out of my head. It is a life or death situation and the characters are having this intense discussion that includes political and social views and the ideology that supports it or negates it. It is incredible. And the end, well you will just have to read the end. Beautiful in the most ugly way.

Well that is it for this month. I've started reading Carson McCullar's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter for book club next month. She is a renowned Georgia author and I'm already into the book and am excited to see where it goes. I haven't decided what else I will read this month, but whatever it is I'm sure it will be interesting.

Happy Reading!

For the Love of ...Books

I'm just going to jump into it. I finished reading The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thorton Wilder and I'm still thinking about it and can't get it out of my head. I don't know if I actually understood everything that I read or all of the understated undercurrents that take place in the book. What I do know is that almost every sentence is an eloquent well thought out construct of words that you can feel the beauty of even if you don't quite get the actual meaning. I know this sounds horrible, like, "You don't get it but you like it? Well Yes, exactly. I'm willing to accept that this book was a little over my head, but I also know that I'm going to read it again, probably when I'm 40. Maybe I'll be mature by then?!
Completely randomly this book was brought up while I was listening to RadioLab on NPR one night. (I must really like RadioLab, this is the third time this week it has come up in conversation. It is a science and medical commentary that is very smart and engaging. Check out their podcasts at RadioLab.org) This particular story was about a college girl who was in a horrific accident. She was hit by a truck and was so badly damaged that they had to pile her intestines outside of her body to alleviate the pressure on her body. Sad scary stuff. There is interesting back story but the premise is that nobody thought she would make it or recover except her boyfriend. She made it. She stabilized but she was non-reactive but sometimes violent and was considered a vegetable that was blind and deaf (she was deaf before the accident). She could breath on her own and could be fed through a tube but the decision her parents now faced was to put her in a home (institution) or a recovery center. Her mother reflects on the situation by referring to The Bridge of San Luis Rey and how she read it with her daughter and how it was speaking to her now especially the last sentence. "There is a land of the living and a land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning." With her daughter at death's doorstep and her acceptance of her daughter's future brought out by this passage, a door opened for me and the meaning and absolute beauty of this book was revealed. (somewhat) That really shows that the more you read and know the more able you to grasp and find understanding of the world around you. (This is my mantra for reading with Oliver and all children. It is SO important) ...and the girl. With the pure devotion and a never giving up attitude by her boyfriend, he was able to find out that somewhere inside his girlfriend's damaged body SHE was still there. He used techniques that Helen Keller's teacher used and was able to "write" on her wrist to communicate with her and she was sent to the recovery center instead of the home.














This month I also read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro for the book club. This book infuriated me because it seemed like the easy answer to everyone's doomed destiny was staring them in the face yet it was never talked about or thought about in the book. This seemed to me to be a gross oversight by the author. While the book does bring up some interesting questions on how far science should go, I feel so much was left out that I can't figure out why the book was even on the Time 100 list at all. These may be harsh words as I thoroughly enjoyed discussing this book with the book club members and thought there insights were helping me see the value of this book. However, this was a character driven book and I cared for none of the characters. Aha!, but is that the point of the book, is it so deep that my distance and unhappy feelings towards the characters is the intended reaction? I think that would be giving the author way too much credit. Good book to discuss not so great to read. Read for yourself, then we'll talk!

And finally, I finished a book that is not on the list but was for my own pure enjoyment. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Horrible title, great book. She nails the local food movement and what it takes to be a mostly self-sufficient farmer. This is a year of food life and what her family does to eat with in a 100 mile radius. I loved the farm parts and the cooking parts, some areas got too preachy and her "true" environmentalist crazy came out several times. (I call it crazy, but they are issues she is passionate about that I think go above and beyond what a "normal" person would consider to be actually doable and sustainable) I liked this book so much that I actually have two copies on reserve for me at The Book Stop. (picking them up today so don't think you can steal them!) I am giving them to friends who I think would enjoy this type of reading as well. My take aways for the book include really, I mean really looking, at where my produce comes from at the supermarket and making buying decisions based on that (I'm not ready to give up bananas just yet), my determination to hit the farmer's market every Saturday I can, and to have Pizza Fridays at the house, just like she does with her family. ...starting with homemade dough. A delicious and thought-provoking book that was a perfect read while I was planning and planting my garden. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Bill.

So next month will bring a review of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John Le Carre and next month's book club read The Sun Also Rises by Earnest Hemingway. (I feel so literary!) Plus finds at the Smyrna Library book sale.

Book Club and Book Buying

Hey there! So, I'm going to get myself up to speed and then talk about how the second hand book buying is going.

In February, I met up with the new book club members and discussed "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee. Thank goodness Laura downloaded some "book club questions" otherwise I think we all would have just said we enjoyed the book and went on to talk about our kids. We will have to try to do that for all the books. The book was amazing. It brought you back to another era and really made you think about daily life and the trials and tribulations a lot of people faced. I enjoyed that the book was told by Scout at an older age looking back on the events, it showed the difference between what she thought was going on and what really went on now that she can have some distance from it. I think the book club is great, the veggie nachos and margaritas were really swell too! I love hearing different interpretations of the same passages. It is so good to hear a different point of view. I think we have a good group of people too. We all seem to be busy girls with a lot going on who want to still take the time to read a good book and have some me time. I can't think of anything better.












We decided to read "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger for this month. What a wonderful book. When I read this before I automatically sided with Holden and took his problems as my own. This time I had thoughts that he was just a spoiled rich kid who needed to "man up" and get with the program. Things change, points of view change as you get older. Boo Hoo Ho Hum, getting older sucks in a lot ways... But in the end I was cheering for Holden again and was moved by his want to be the actual "catcher in the rye." Also, that the ideal thing that would make him happy and whole was actually a misinterpretation of a song he had heard. So is life. Everybody needs a somebody to pull them out of a hole. I'm glad Holden found his.











I'm about halfway through "The Bridge of San Luis Rey" by Thorton Wilder This is a completely different type of book. I'm still trying to figure it out. It is intriguing and confusing at the same time. I'll let you know more when I figure it out.

So on to book buying! So far I have found every book I have read at The Book Stop in Smyrna. My own local second-hand store that I love. (Including "To Kill a Mockingbird" I couldn't believe it. There it was just sitting on the shelf after my whole diatribe about its scarcity!) I have recently started volunteering for The Smyrna Public Library through The Friends of Smyrna Public Library. My job is to look through all the donated books that the librarians cannot use for the library shelves and organize them and price them for the semi-annual book sales The Friends have for the library. The revenue this brings in is staggering. So my first day I was in complete shock as to what was being donated to the library. Almost new hardcovers of "famous" fluff-read (I mean fiction) authors. These are the books that cost 25 bucks new. I hold on to books at that price point but I guess I get it the more I think about it. The people who get great enjoyment out of the John Grishams, Nora Roberts', and Clive Cusslars of the world seem to have this drive to get the newest one as soon as it hits the shelves and then devour it in a day in a half. I can honestly say this is not my type of reading. I really thought I would be sorting through the old and obscure that nobody was thinking about anymore. These still exist in the donated books but not to the extent I thought. As a volunteer, I get first dibs on things that interest me so we'll see what comes out of this. In the meantime, I love books and love to see what people bring in and I'm helping out the library, so bonus for me!

This weekend was the Cobb County Public Library system's huge book sale and I scored big. I found "Herzog" by Saul Bellow, "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison and "The Spy Who Came in From the Cold" by John Le Carre from the 100 list all for 25 cents a piece. Can you believe it? I picked up some other stuff too. Books for Oliver (all 25 cents a piece), some titles that just caught my eye, and a load of those famous author's books like I stated above for my mom, dad, and mother-in-law. People love them....

I have book club on the 15 of March and I can't wait to see what we decide to read next!

I'm blaming the holidays!

I haven't written in awhile and I have plenty of excuses, some of them are even pretty good, but I will spare you the drama. But I think it is covered thoroughly below. Since November I've been trying to get through "All the King's Men," but am literally still on page 82. I feel like I'm still waiting for the story to get started. Everything I have read (which is not a lot) has been build up, OK not really build up because that sounds like it would be interesting and suspenseful, let's say back story, Yes, back story for something. I don't know what that something is yet...

Since the book is slow I've used every excuse to put off reading it. Family's in town for the holidays. CHECK. A friend loaned me a book, I should read that first so I can give it back promptly. CHECK. This book is on sale on Amazon and looks really good. CHECK. I read a paragraph in "All the King's Men" and I fell asleep. CHECK. CHECK. Needless to say I was going nowhere. Then my friend, Laura, swoops in and and invites me to join a book club that is using the Time's 100 list as its book list. Wahoo, Perfect! They are starting with "To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee, since most of the group has already read it and can do a comparison from what they thought when they read it in high school to how it is as an adult.

So I ran over to The Book Stop to find a copy and Ginny informs me that "To Kill a Mockingbird" is one of the hardest books to find secondhand. I couldn't believe it. You would think with all the copies out there it would fill the shelves. She said it is common practice these days for teachers to tell their students to take notes in the book so it is almost impossible to find a clean copy. Who'd a thunk it? She hasn't had a copy in her store for the past 6 months. I got it at the Vinings Library (All of Smyrna Library's copies are overdue or lost), but I fully intend on finding a used local copy at some point for the collection!

I have to say this book is really good and the more I read the more I know I have never read this book before. Can you believe it? I know I saw the movie ages ago and I thought I had read it, but no. Growing up in North Dakota may have something to do with it? Teachers were more apt to pick titles about the prairie, fur-trapping, or extreme survival because that related to us more, maybe? Maybe my "too cool for school" attitude had something to do with it? I'm sure it was on many a reading list I received at one time or another, but my thought would have been "Everyone reads this book, I going to pick the most obscure, least known book on this list just to be different." Yep, I was that kid. Annoying sometimes...

Right now I'm cruising through "To Kill a Mockingbird" and am really enjoying it. More on it and the book club later. Thank you for getting me out of the funk, Laura!

M. Night Shyamalan technique saved it

So I've recently finished book number two, Atonement by Ian McEwan. As soon as I started the book I got worried that I wouldn't be able to read all the books on my list. So flowery, so much detail about how everything looked, and about every thought that ran through each persons head regardless if it was pertinent or not. I was worried that their may be many of 'this sort' of book on the list. I'm much more of an adventure/outdoorsy/non-fiction reader by nature. But I said to myself, "Self, you said you were going to do this, their has to be a reason why they selected this book and even though it is not like the things you normally enjoy reading you need to give it a chance." So I did and it was worth it.

The book is divided into three parts as it goes through a family's history and how one nights' events and misunderstandings changed the fate of all of them. The first part was everything leading up to "the crime." I figured out "the crime" and how it was going to play out much sooner than the author would let me have the outcome in words on the page. Thus the flowery language and too much attention to detail. The book was saved by two things for me. Part two was a view of WWII and the flowery language and attention to detail was riveting and I wanted more. Finally, the ending which actually ends after the end of the story (I know that doesn't make sense, but it does if you decide to read it) clinched it. The author took a page from M. Night Shyamalan (who unfortunately hasn't made a good movie in quite awhile, though I feel he is trying hard.) There was a twist, a twist that I didn't ever see coming and would alter my views and thoughts of the book if I ever read it again. Like looking for clues, like you did when you re-watched The Sixth Sense. This twist made the book and all my frustrations more than tolerable and I would recommend it especially if you enjoy English literature.

So what is coming up? Well, I've been back to The Book Stop and purchased two additional books, but I also have All the King's Men waiting for me. This book is on the massive side, so I have been trying to decide if I should start it or if I should blow thorough one of the much shorter books I recently purchased. In the end, I'm going with All the King's Men. I figure it will take me through the winter holiday's and my friend, Bill, said it was good read in passing when he saw it laying around my house. Bill's a reader, so I trust his judgement. Next time I write I'll talk about the new books I bought for the collection and how the second hand book hunting is going, along with how much I've spent and what books I've traded in.

Happy Thanksgiving Early!

One down ninty-nine to go!

So I've finished Animal Farm and it has left me feeling melancholy and defeatist. During the whole book I found myself yelling REVOLT ANIMALS, REVOLT AGAINST THE PIGS in my head. Would that happen in real life or would we blindly serve those who are taking advantage of us? Unfortunately, I think in most cases we would sit back and take it. Like the animals who just knew it had to be ok that they were going through all this hardship because in the end they were working for the betterment of themselves, only to find themselves in the same dictatorship with a different face on it.

I understand why this book is on "the best list" because it really breaks down why communism doesn't work in a clear and concise way. Communism depends on equality between all and everyone doing their job based on their abilities. Under that structure someone is going to end up doing most of the work and provide for the others. And that is just the start of the breakdown. If those in leadership roles take advantage the whole system immediately shuts down and you now are part of a dictatorship. There are plenty of political arguments to be made but I find it unfun to rant to myself, I'd rather banter back and forth than to lay out my views on paper. Not a "happy" book but a worthwhile book for sure.

I'm on to Atonement. I have no idea what it is about, but since it has Kiera Knightly on the cover, I'm guessing maybe a pouty English girl is in my future. With all the Halloween and football stuff going on last week I had a hard time fitting in reading time hopefully this week will be smooth sailing. Crap baby is crying! Til next time!

Projects and Changes

Hello everybody!
It has been a really long time since I have written and I have decided to get back into the swing of things. I started this blog as just a means to put thoughts onto paper (so to speak) and then it morphed into my pregnancy/baby diary. Now with Oliver here at a full 17 months old and me not writing since he was a month old I've decided to change paths once again. While it is inevitable that Oliver, Jonathan, and Bluebelle will seep into the conversation, I want to focus this blog on a special project. I'm actually borrowing this idea from a friend but am morphing it into what I hope will be something special.

So the project is to read all of the books on All-Times 100 Novels list by the end of next year. While this is a noble feat in itself, my plan is to write reviews of the books, talk about how "easy" it is to curl up with a good book while dealing with daily life, and also talk about how I go about finding these books. My idea is to only purchase used books locally. No new paper, no shipping. I think it will be fun to hunt for some of these titles. Some will be easy, others not so much. My plan is then donate the amassed collection of books to a good cause. Still thinking of what that will be.

Here is the list: (Can't wait to hear what some of you think of these titles!) please check out http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1951793_1952021_1952025,00.html to see the parameters in which the books were chosen.

A - B
The Adventures of Augie March (1953), by Saul Bellow
All the King's Men (1946), by Robert Penn Warren
American Pastoral (1997), by Philip Roth
An American Tragedy (1925), by Theodore Dreiser
Animal Farm (1946), by George Orwell
Appointment in Samarra (1934), by John O'Hara
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970), by Judy Blume
The Assistant (1957), by Bernard Malamud
At Swim-Two-Birds (1938), by Flann O'Brien
Atonement (2002), by Ian McEwan
Beloved (1987), by Toni Morrison
The Berlin Stories (1946), by Christopher Isherwood
The Big Sleep (1939), by Raymond Chandler
The Blind Assassin (2000), by Margaret Atwood
Blood Meridian (1986), by Cormac McCarthy
Brideshead Revisited (1946), by Evelyn Waugh
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927), by Thornton Wilder
C - D
Call It Sleep (1935), by Henry Roth
Catch-22 (1961), by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye (1951), by J.D. Salinger
A Clockwork Orange (1963), by Anthony Burgess
The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), by William Styron
The Corrections (2001), by Jonathan Franzen
The Crying of Lot 49 (1966), by Thomas Pynchon
A Dance to the Music of Time (1951), by Anthony Powell
The Day of the Locust (1939), by Nathanael West
Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927), by Willa Cather
A Death in the Family (1958), by James Agee
The Death of the Heart (1958), by Elizabeth Bowen
Deliverance (1970), by James Dickey
Dog Soldiers (1974), by Robert Stone
F - G
Falconer (1977), by John Cheever
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969), by John Fowles
The Golden Notebook (1962), by Doris Lessing
Go Tell it on the Mountain (1953), by James Baldwin
Gone With the Wind (1936), by Margaret Mitchell
The Grapes of Wrath (1939), by John Steinbeck
Gravity's Rainbow (1973), by Thomas Pynchon
The Great Gatsby (1925), by F. Scott Fitzgerald
H - I
A Handful of Dust (1934), by Evelyn Waugh
The Heart is A Lonely Hunter (1940), by Carson McCullers
The Heart of the Matter (1948), by Graham Greene
Herzog (1964), by Saul Bellow
Housekeeping (1981), by Marilynne Robinson
A House for Mr. Biswas (1962), by V.S. Naipaul
I, Claudius (1934), by Robert Graves
Infinite Jest (1996), by David Foster Wallace
Invisible Man (1952), by Ralph Ellison
L - N
Light in August (1932), by William Faulkner
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (1950), by C.S. Lewis
Lolita (1955), by Vladimir Nabokov
Lord of the Flies (1955), by William Golding
The Lord of the Rings (1954), by J.R.R. Tolkien
Loving (1945), by Henry Green
Lucky Jim (1954), by Kingsley Amis
The Man Who Loved Children (1940), by Christina Stead
Midnight's Children (1981), by Salman Rushdie
Money (1984), by Martin Amis
The Moviegoer (1961), by Walker Percy
Mrs. Dalloway (1925), by Virginia Woolf
Naked Lunch (1959), by William Burroughs
Native Son (1940), by Richard Wright
Neuromancer (1984), by William Gibson
Never Let Me Go (2005), by Kazuo Ishiguro
1984 (1948), by George Orwell
O - R
On the Road (1957), by Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962), by Ken Kesey
The Painted Bird (1965), by Jerzy Kosinski
Pale Fire (1962), by Vladimir Nabokov
A Passage to India (1924), by E.M. Forster
Play It As It Lays (1970), by Joan Didion
Portnoy's Complaint (1969), by Philip Roth
Possession (1990), by A.S. Byatt
The Power and the Glory (1939), by Graham Greene
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), by Muriel Spark
Rabbit, Run (1960), by John Updike
Ragtime (1975), by E.L. Doctorow
The Recognitions (1955), by William Gaddis
Red Harvest (1929), by Dashiell Hammett
Revolutionary Road (1961), by Richard Yates
S - T
The Sheltering Sky (1949), by Paul Bowles
Slaughterhouse Five (1969), by Kurt Vonnegut
Snow Crash (1992), by Neal Stephenson
The Sot-Weed Factor (1960), by John Barth
The Sound and the Fury (1929), by William Faulkner
The Sportswriter (1986), by Richard Ford
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1964), by John le Carre
The Sun Also Rises (1926), by Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), by Zora Neale Hurston
Things Fall Apart (1959), by Chinua Achebe
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), by Harper Lee
To the Lighthouse (1927), by Virginia Woolf
Tropic of Cancer (1934), by Henry Miller
U - W
Ubik (1969), by Philip K. Dick
Under the Net (1954), by Iris Murdoch
Under the Volcano (1947), by Malcolm Lowry
Watchmen (1986), by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
White Noise (1985), by Don DeLillo
White Teeth (2000), by Zadie Smith
Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), by Jean Rhys
Graphic Novels
Berlin: City of Stones (2000), by Jason Lutes
Blankets (2003), by Craig Thompson
Bone (2004), by Jeff Smith
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2002), by Kim Deitch
The Dark Knight Returns (1986), by Frank Miller
David Boring (2000), by Daniel Clowes
Ed the Happy Clown (1989), by Chester Brown
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (2000), by Chris Ware
Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories (2003), by Gilbert Hernandez
Watchmen (1986), by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

Yesterday, Oliver and I headed to The Book Stop (http://www.thebookstoponline.com/)
on Atlanta Road (my favorite used book place). Please visit Ginny, she is really great and helpful. Anyway, I brought in my list of the "A" books and a few pregnancy books to trade in. Ginny helped me locate some of them. (I was having a hard time focusing with my little one going crazy for a new Curious George book we picked up.)

I'm starting with Animal Farm by George Orwell (which I remember reading in 8th grade, but was too cool for school to really care about the message), All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren, and Atonement by Ian McEwan. (which unfortunately has Keira Knightly on the cover. I hate movie covers. Now that character will be Keira and not the picture I form in my head. At least I have not seen the movie yet.) So last evening I thought about what I would write in this blog and if this was really doable. I think it is! With wheels turning I climbed into bed at about 11:30 with Animal Farm in hand, I got cozy, opened to page one, and promptly fell asleep.

Oliver at 1 month

Here he was at two weeks....

Now he is a whole month old and I can't believe it!

He is just growing and growing, becoming more alert, and is doing a really good job at keeping mom and dad up at night.

Ollie says check you later.

Oliver Wayne is Here!!

He is happy and healthy and we are overjoyed to finally meet him. Here is his story...

Oliver Wayne joined our family when we thought we would still have a couple weeks to prepare for his arrival. I had been on bedrest for the second week and thought for sure that at this doctor appointment my amniotic fluid level would be back in range. So, I would be put on modified bedrest and little Oliver would hang out until I was at least 37 week along. Jonathan and I were in the ultrasound room and learned my fluid level was back at 7.5 cc, which is the level that put me in the hospital 2 weeks earlier. Then we did the non-stress test. I thought the top band was just super tight, I was very uncomfortable, and my face felt just really hot. Jonathan looks at the monitoring tape and then at me and says, "Can you feel that?" I said, "I'm hot and this band is really tight. Do you think I can loosen it?" He replies, "No it is not the band, you are having contractions." And from then on, like every 3 minutes I was having contractions. Only one was a doozey, but I knew I wasn't going on modified bed rest after that. Dr. Shin came in and said she wanted me to stay on the monitors for another 15 minutes and to not eat or drink anything. That's when I new something was up because how was I going to eat or drink something while I strapped to monitors.

Jonathan and I went into an exam room Dr. Shin came in and said, " So, I think we should have a baby today!" I instantly burst into tears and Dr. Shin said, "No, No it is a happy day, It's baby day. I scheduled your c-section for 5 o'clock. So, here is your paperwork and we'll see you at the hospital in about an hour and an half." Jonathan and I were both kind of in shock that everything was set up and we were going to have Oliver in just a few hours. We asked some questions and then headed to the hospital.

Before I knew it I was being prepped for the c-section and things were just falling into place to have our little one. I was nervous but Jonathan was there and the staff answered every question I had. I was calm until Dr. Shin arrived, that made it really real and I was told that my heartrate went up when she came into the room. Dr. Shin went to work and before I knew it we had a crying baby. The nurses took him and were cleaning him up while Jonathan gave me the play by play of what was going on. We were so happy when we found out he was in great shape and didn't need to go to the NICU and we went to our recovery room as a family!

Oliver Wayne Brinson born Friday, May 1st, 2009 at 6:53 p.m. 6lbs. 7 ozs., 17.5 inches long.

Now we are at home and Oliver is really great. So many facial expressions so little time. Love his long fingers, big, big toe, little perfect nose, full lips, and baby soft hair. What is not to love...

Bye Bye! We'll have lots more for you soon.

How things change!

So here is my lovely "Kim at 33 weeks pregnant" photo. Yep, I was in the hospital after having a sonogram at my doctors office because my doc. was worried I was undersized for how far along I am. It turned out that my amniotic fluid level was pretty low and she shipped me off to the hospital for fluids and 24 hour observation.

Things are not all bad, however. Baby B seems to be doing great even though he has very little room to move in there. They figure he is 4lbs. 13ozs right now and his heart rate is good and steady. He passed their wellness assessment with flying colors. He is in the breach position right now and does not have an opportunity to change that because of the low fluid level around him.

So, now I am at home with my amniotic fluid level still considered low but increased from Thursday. I'm on bed rest and am instructed that I have to take it easy and only get up to go to the bathroom, eat a meal, or take a 5 minute shower. Super bummer. Jonathan has been great. (even though he took the picture on me in the hospital) :-). He set the bedroom up for me with a special wedge pillow, laptop tray, and a multitude of TV trays and chairs so we can dine together and watch a movie. He also made the upstairs bathroom functional this weekend. We were at the point of putting up the trim baseboards and crown, but he decided to forgo that and just put in the toilet, vanity, and shower door. While it will probably be a chore to later install the trim, it is really great to have that amenity upstairs again.

So now for he hard part, filling my days while just being able to hang out in bed. Sounds great to some, but I'm already trying to come up with creative things I can do. Hopefully work finds enough paper pushing type things for me to do and netflix never runs out of movies. This will be a good time to get to the reading I want to and probably comb the entire Internet.

The following picture is some of the stuff I had been working on. These are the burp cloths and pair of baby booties I made for my friend Megan's baby shower. I am hoping I will still be able to finish the sets for my other pregnant friends and Baby B soon. (I just have to figure out how I can run the sewing machine petal with my hand while still keeping the fabric straight) Just Kidding. I know that will have to wait for a little while...

Well, wish me luck and sanity and feel free to contact me at anytime. I'll be here :-)

My Super Fun Baby Shower

So, my baby shower weekend started with a big a surprise. On Friday, I got home from work, was looking for socks to put on my swollen feet and Jonathan comes homes and says, "Someones here to see you." ...and honestly I was like, Who is it now, I really just want to put my socks on and sit down for a minute. But to my very happy surprise I took a look around the corner and who did I find? BRITTNEY!

She flew all the way from SLC just for my baby shower and to be the best gift I could get. I can't believe Jonathan had totally kept me in the dark about it. His only clue that something was up was the statement he made the night before, "I know something you don't know." Which I completely dismissed because he knows lots of things I don't know and I know he would never spill the beans on a secret. He is much better at it than I am. He knows he'll never get a surprise party from me. Anyway, Brittney and I hugged it out, got some BBQ, made some cupcakes, and most importantly girl talked.
The next morning came very fast. Brittney and I frosted cupcakes, got ready, and hopped in the mini van with soon to be Grandma Cheryl and Great-Grandma Lillian. Liz (the ultimate planning princess) had everything in order and was busy setting everything up. She really thought of everything and I can't believe how great everything was. I think if I use the word everything one more time you will get the picture on how great EVERYTHING was. HA.

The baby shower was at Aunt Fannies Cabin which was THE restaurant in Smyrna way back when. It is now a part of the Smyrna Welcome center and has lots of history and early century charm. I think it was the perfect location for the shower and really solidifies Smyrna as my new home.
Here are the pregnant Kim's. Kim is due about 1 month after me and is having a little girl. Making here daughter Reese a big sis. Very exciting. I'm setting up the quilt square arts and crafts area.

This is my big belly and Liz with little Charlie. I can't wait for Baby B to meet his playmates!

This is what we all have to look forward to. By the time the babies reach three years old us mommas have to become a human jungle gym. Tracy does this with expert precision.

This is me with baby Marlie. She is such a sweet little girl and received the award for being the youngest babe at the shower as she was born at the very end of December.

And here are more of Baby B's future playmates and look at them go! Already sitting up and moving about!

Here are my ever vigilant pregnancy fitness class friends, Rebecca and Amanda, working on their quilt squares for Baby B's new quilt. They are both due in May. Coming up very quickly!!

Brittney is getting her baby holding fix with little Marlie. Brittney got great smiles from her.

Linda, Tricia, and the gang chatting and working on quilt squares.

Gift time! I really can not believe the generosity and thoughtfulness of everyone. Baby B is already spoiled! I'm truly grateful for being able to have such friends.

Yeah! Kim and Jessica! Not at a race this time, but I hope to be in running shape soon. She gave Baby B the mobile for his crib and nightlight for his room. What comforting gifts!

Great-Gram Lillian holding a sleeping Charlie. How sweet!

And me doing what I do best. Spouting off about something...

...At least Tiffany thought I was funny. Amy, not so much. Ha.

As things winded down I got a picture with Grandma Cheryl. It all went by so fast, that I feel like I really didn't get to talk to anyone. I had a lot of fun, but have no idea where the time went. I just know Baby B is going to be an extremely lucky baby to have so many great women in his life.

Blanket for Baby B

Just wanted to share the baby blanket I finished for little Baby B. (Well, technically it is not finished. I have to add his name and date of birth to the other side, but that will just have to wait a little bit longer.) This project was actually really fun to do and you could really see your progress with every stitch. ...unlike knitting which I have learned only makes me frustrated, so that kind of stuff has been put away.
The blanket is a really soft fleece so I have high hopes of our little one loving to cuddle with it and I think it will wash up well. Well now that I've finished this I have no excuse but to finally finish the baby booties I've been working on. Wish me luck!

27 weeks! ...less than 3 months left!

So, here I am at 27 weeks. My belly has really popped out in just the last couple days. (My belly button is extremely shallow and its new texture kind of freaks me out a little bit!) I'd say I'm still carrying really low and am gaining in width more so than out. Oh well, what can you do. The books say that little Baby B is starting to put some fat on his bones now and will continue doing so until he is born. He should be almost 2 lbs by now. That is amazing to me because I know that is more than the weight that some of those octuplets were born at. Things are still going really well. I'm excited to enter the third trimester next week. It seems like a major mile stone. I have my glucose test next week and I'm not too worried about it or at least that is what I keep telling myself. Then I start going to the doctor for check-ups every 2 weeks. Everything is kind of speeding up. I hope JB and I are really ready for it. We have made the list for our hospital bag and will be using the very awsome bag Brittney sent me for my birthday. SSSSOOO, enjoy my mugshots!

And here is me in my more "natural" state, working on the bathroom tile. That was so much work!!! Darn uneven Smyrna walls!

Are you seriously taking a picture of me looking like this, JB!

Bluebelle's 4th Birthday

Bluebelle sat so pretty waiting for her birthday bow to be tied.


Here are Bluebelle's fatty eggy beef baby food laced cupcakes. Yum!


And Bluebelle waits patiently.

Like all good little kids she goes for the bacon and yogurt frosting first!
ALL GONE! Can I have another?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE GIRL!!!