What happens when the moderator of your on-line book club doesn't get to finish the selection for the month? Well, she considers throwing every excuse she can think of at you and graciously asks your forgiveness. February is a short month and Blessings by Anna Quindlen is a long-ish book. On top of that, the extracurriculars are really picking up with the last weekend, and two weekends before that, and the next two dedicated to competitive dance related things.
For the second month in a row I have had to miss our meeting which makes me sad. That hasn't happened in....oh...ever! I am going to do everything in my power to finish the next book AND make it to the meeting for the discussion.
In the meantime, with only 25% of Blessings completed, I will say that the book is enjoyable. But I think that in spite of my stops and starts this month it is taking a while to get into the meat of the story. The writing is very pretty and the concept is interesting.
I don't think I am giving much away by saying that in this story a new born baby is dropped on the doorstep of a prominent home (Blessings) in the town. (With 75% of the story waiting to unfold I'm sure quite a bit happens!) In the opening scenes the baby is discovered by the single male groundskeeper who lives in a small un-airconditioned apartment above the home's garage. He manages to care for the baby for a couple of weeks without being discovered by his demanding, geriatric, female boss. He hides the baby in his shirt as he hunches over the riding mower and leaves her unattended in a dresser drawer while he runs errands.
It got me thinking about caring for a newborn and how it completely changes your life. How every waking moment is filled with nurturing and feeding and burping and changing and soothing and rocking and holding. The newborn baby sleeps a lot--the majority of the day--and the irony is that the parent gets very little sleep. It is hard to imagine caring for an infant while also having to hide that fact. Your living space is quickly taken over by an overflowing sink of bottles, diaper trash, laundry piles and the flotsam and jetsam of baby paraphernalia that inevitably follows. I found it incredible that Skip was able to hide her for as long as he did.
How did you fare with your February Reading? Did you make it farther than I did? I will definitely continue to read but I want to know what you thought--does the story pick up pace?
If you whizzed through this month's selection and are ready to start the next, I won't keep you waiting. For March we will be reading
Ali in Wonderland: And Other Tall Tales by Ali Wentworth
.
It looks like it will prove to be humorous and Lord knows I could use the stress relief that a good laugh can provide!
Ali in Wonderland: And Other Tall Tales by Ali Wentworth
. As always, all the information that you need can be found in our Book Club tab above, including links to buy our selections through Amazon! (Both Kindle Versions and Hard Copy Versions available.)
Until Next Time,
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I think I read that book a long time ago. don't really remember it though!
ReplyDeleteUmmm I got 4% through it. In my defense I had to wait for it to be available from the library, but still that's no excuse. I however can say that I have been extremely impressed with the descriptive words that are used to paint a picture. I've been reading far too many books which are very lacking in the good picture creating with words.
ReplyDeleteI just finished it! It was interesting...I don't know if I loved how the author lapsed the voices through time, but I thought the plot was cool and unique. Another great pick!
ReplyDeleteWell, I hope you will consider reading along with us this month...looks like a change of pace for us!
ReplyDeleteMonica...I am so glad that I am not alone...although I must say your excuse is more legitimate than mine! I agree with your assessment of the descriptive righting. I can really picture everything very clearly through her writing.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad that I am not far enough in to have discovered the lapsing voices...but I will keep your critique in mind as I meander through this one in the next week or so! I hope you will join us for the inevitable laughs next month, Mer!
ReplyDeleteI need some laughs so I think I may just join you this month! Thanks for the great reading suggestion!!!
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