We were super chill this trip. We stayed at our timeshare Marriott resort on the ocean, which also boasts the largest pool on Kauai and acres of gardens and walking paths. It's really beautiful. And we barely left the property, except to take our morning walks along beachfront trails and extended walking paths that meander in a huge loop around the golf course. I did some of that walking; Hub did it every day -- about 5 miles at each outing (overachiever that he is). Other than that we claimed our lounge chairs on the lawn under the palms at the beach and camped out there for several hours each day. Occasionally we strolled to the pool for a refreshing plunge, then back to the beach. Hub did a lot of Boogie Boarding and I read a lot of books. Ten.
When I told a friend that I read ten books in twelve days, she was a little surprised. I had to quickly explain these were not the Great Russian novels. They were more like a gathering of old friends, a reunion with bright, funny, inspiring, interesting people, both real and fictional.
I used to be a voracious reader. I don't know precisely when that fell away, but sometime around peri-menopause and a full time job and corralling teenagers and caring for my ailing mother, I lost my ability to focus long enough to stick with a novel. I was in a bookclub but after a while I realized I was going for the socializing and the great desserts, rarely even finishing the assigned book. I was not a very lively contributor to the conversation -- about the book anyway. Occasionally another woman and I would digress into People magazine reporting and trash TV updates, which was great fun and quite lively. But that just demonstrates where my brain was at that time.
For the trip I took two paperbacks with me, but didn't want to pack any more than that, so I went on the public library website to load ebooks onto my Kindle. I love memoir and essay collections (go figure!) and given how stressed I've been I wanted to find some humor too. And I'm always up for inspiring "self-help" books. So here's my list:NONFICTION
Ageless Body/Timeless Mind -- Deepak Chopra A classic that's now 20 years old has been on my shelf, unread, for years. But since I now would like to achieve both of these things, I decided to see what he had to say. I love the sound of Deepak's voice -- deep and resonant with that lovely accent. I do the daily meditations that he and Oprah post on online occasionally and I could almost "hear" him talking as I read. The book is a bit dated, but still I found it inspiring and it helped me shift my perspective and find the peace I was seeking early in the trip. And it fit with lots of the thinking I've been doing lately about healthy, natural aging.
Orange is the New Black -- Piper Kerman This is the memoir upon which the hit Netflix show is based. It's the tale of Piper's youthful flirtation with the drug world and how ten years later (after completely going legit and having a normal, happy, productive life) she is sent to prison for her earlier (relatively minor) involvement in a drug ring. I watched the show for about half the first season and for some reason it didn't resonate with me then. But the book is great! Honest, insightful, sympathetic, terrifying, and quite the indictment of our prison system and over-zealous sentencing laws. I came away with a new perspective and the urge to lobby for reform. I'm also going to give the show another try.
Believer: My Forty Years in Politics -- David Alexrod I'm sort of a political campaign junkie -- all the more so when the candidate is someone I so admire. That would be Barack Obama. Or "Almost God" as I like to call him. David Alexrod was his Communications Director for the campaigns and also for a time in the White House. Inside stories around public events in recent history are irresistible! I relived my time growing up near Chicago too. Alexrod also lived and worked there naming all the "big time" politicians of the day he worked with before he hooked up with Obama and his life took surrealistic spin into national politics. Fascinating read, even if a little self-serving at times, but hey -- ya gotta have a little bit of ego to do his job.
Small Victories -- Anne Lamott Oh, Anne, I love you so. Her essays are so funny, so smart, so true, so inspiring. I could read her forever and I actually have. All of her books are on my home bookshelf and I get her regular Facebook post essays too. Plus, she is my favorite Christian and she could also be my best friend. We all feel that way.
Dad is Fat -- Jim Gaffigan I LOVE to laugh out loud. This book had me in tears of laughter. I kept apologizing to Hub, next to me on his lounge chair trying to concentrate on the NYT crossword, but he said he loved the sound of my laughter. Good thing. This is a funny book by a well-known stand-up comedian about his NYC family life with five young children. I kept thinking of Son One and his stories of life with his kids. Son One is really funny too. I'm getting this book for him for Father's Day.
Live Right and Find Happiness -- Dave Barry Gaffigan only whetted my appetite for more humor. I was reminded how much I used to enjoy reading Dave Barry's collections of columns from when he wrote for the Miami Herald. But he quit that job and I sort of lost track of him. Rediscovering him in this book, I realized he is remarried with a daughter now 14, and his son (who last I heard was nine years old!) is now grown, married, and has a son. Oh, Dave, so great to read you again and to find you are still laugh-out-loud funny with your dead-on irony, school-boy silliness, and great big heart.
Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake -- Anna Quindlen Another favorite from many years ago, Anna Quindlen wrote the story of my life about the "mom years", raising young children, as well as social and political commentary in her NYT column and later in a regular column in Newsweek. Every word rang true then...and still does in this look at turning 60, her three children now grown, as she looks ahead to the eldering years of her life. She and Anne Lamott -- my writing and age-mate heroes; wish I could say it as well -- maybe I'll change my name to AnnSomething.
Survival Lessons -- Alice Hoffman I love, love, love, Alice Hoffman's fiction. But again, I'd lost track of her when I basically stopped reading fiction and I got caught up with this very slim nonfiction work written shortly after her battle with breast cancer. It's a series of reminders to appreciate all of life's simple blessings.
FICTION:
The Museum of Extraordinary Things -- Alice Hoffman Since Alice was on my mind, I found this recent novel and was hooked again on all things Alice. I love her evocative, slightly weird, a little skewed characters and settings. This one was full of melancholy and hope -- as most of her books are -- and chock full of magical realism which is a favorite genre. Loved it.
The Ice Queen -- Alice Hoffman A strange one; not my favorite, but still interesting with the same bent to the unusual and magical in the lives of everyday folks. Part prose, part poetry in form with an interesting premise, but characters uncharacteristically underdeveloped, I thought.
I think part of the wonderfulness of this trip was setting aside any real responsibilities, ditching schedules, appointments, meetings, and deadlines. It was indulging my Introvert with days and days of sweet interaction with only my Hub and no one else other than a passing "hello". I meditated, walked, read, lounged, ate lots of local fish and fruit, and got re-acquainted with old friends between the pages of books. Yep, pretty near perfection.
At least, that's the view from here....©
What a wonderful vacation and impressive reading list! I used to travel with a library of books too. Don would do his thing (which was talking with the locals) and I'd read then we'd share with one another what we learned. So glad you came home mellow and relaxed. Hold on to that feeling as long as you can.
ReplyDeleteI would love to read a few of the books you mentioned, especially "Dad is Fat" and the David Alexrod book---loved that guy when he was working in the White House. I used to read a lot of David Barry, too.
I'm working on the "mellow", Jean. Sounds like we would enjoy the same books. They were all fast reads and I loved just sinking into them.
DeleteI wouldn't read that many books in a year! I used to read a lot--every day--all the time. Now--it takes me about a month to read one book. I get distracted with the outside this time of year and in the winter, I am usually involved in a crochet/knit/or cross stitch project. Now--I try to read an hour every night before I go to sleep. I wouldn't read the kind of books you do, because to me, Mr. Obama is "Almost Satan". I do like Anna Quindlen though--have several of her books. It will be difficult for you to keep the stress out of your life. Close your eyes--take a deep breath and visualize that movie you still have in your mind of the ocean and beauty.
ReplyDeleteSounds like we are on polar opposite sides of the political/world view spectrum, Judy. But we can at least share our fondness for Anna Quindlen and crocheting. :)
DeleteFrom an email: Thanks, once again, for putting words to 'page'.
ReplyDeleteYour reading material was way deeper than mine. I got a library card, and each time I went, I headed directly for the 'new books' shelf, came home with arms loaded, devoured them, and remember none. I enjoyed every moment of that candy land of easy reading, as I have been reading to learn for so many years. I had some books on my home library account when I went to Mexico, but people put books in baskets by the pools, so I devoured those and did not touch my books on the computer. Not nearly as satisfying anyway as holding a book in my hands. Do do remember that I re-read Colleen McCulloch's last book. It is wonderful. It has a name, but I forget it.