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Two Book Reviews: Cutting For Stone and A Reliable Wife

February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Cutting For Stone

I usually like to record my thoughts about books that I read on this site and the last two are worth reporting on. So, without further ado, they are A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese.  I highly recommend one, the other not so much.   I'll start with the one I adored. I knew nothing about Cutting for Stone before I started it, I just knew that it was very, very long, over 700 pages and I was wondering how I'd get through such a ong book.  Once I got into it, the length became no problem.  As a … [Read more...]

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Bella’s Vietnam Adventure: The Cultural Experience Continues

February 8, 2012 By 1 Comment
BellasVietnamAdventure cover

"C'mon, Bella, it's all part of the adventure."  This is a line from the book Bella's Vietnam Adventure by  fellow blogger, Stacey Zolt Hara, about a little girl's travels through the country for the first time.  And my favorite chapter in the series to date. We loved Bella’s Chinese New Year, based on the real life adventures of her daughter, Bella, and my daughter was very excited when her new book arrived at her door.  Bella is a very lucky little girl, with a travel enriched life passed down to her by her travel-loving mama, and we have … [Read more...]

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My Pop Culture Best of List 2011

December 27, 2011 By 1 Comment
midnightin-paris

Here's a short top 10 of my richest pop cultural experiences of 2011: Best Movies: I loved that my son enjoyed the dazzling film directed by Martin Scorcese, Hugo, just as much as I did. A long time fan of Woody Allen, I adored Midnight in Paris and found it just as compelling and genuine as some of his early films.  I saw it in a Brooklyn film house with other longtime Woody Allen fans and it was one of my most memorable cinematic experiences of the year.  I laughed out loud with all the ladies of the hit movie Bridesmaids and am thrilled that … [Read more...]

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Review: Then Again by Diane Keaton

December 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Diane Keaton's memoir, "Then Again"

I just knew that Diane Keaton's new memoir Then Again would resonate with me on more than one level. For one thing, her films, particularly Annie Hall and Manhattan, stand out in my memory as all-time favorites.  But there is much more than her films to relate to: her eternal feeling of self-doubt, her close relationship and love for her mother, the asthma we both experienced as young girls and even her move to NYC as a young girl.  I read her book laughing and nodding my head, just as I knew I would. Her book is a beautiful salute to her mother, … [Read more...]

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The Book Corner: My Tween Daughter’s Picks

November 3, 2011 By 1 Comment
Dork Diaries

When it comes to reading, my tween aged daughter (age 8)  takes after me.  I was a book worm when I was younger, so now she's a book worm.  After we say good night, she reads into the wee hours.  I don't want to know what time her light goes off.  It's been so interesting to see her book choices develop as a tween and how they compare to my own choices, either now or back then.  She's slightly selective based on the cover of a book, which I'm constantly trying to convince her not to be, but I must admit that even as an adult, a cover can be … [Read more...]

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Book Review: The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin

October 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Happiness Project

I recently finished The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.  She and I had a chance meeting this past summer at BlogHer.  We were both gathered to celebrate our friends from ONE MOMS  who had just returned from Kenya.   We were about to watch an ABC segment all about their trip and mission as a result of their involvement with ONE.  It was awe inspiring, to say the least, and since then, I have joined their effort. But back to my meeting Gretchen.  I instantly liked her, but I have to admit that I wasn't familiar with the content of her book. … [Read more...]

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Review: M.O.M (Mom Operating Manual)

October 14, 2011 By 1 Comment
momcover

I was sent a copy of a new book called M.O.M. last week. I took a look at the cover with the image of superwoman in a box being passed from one child to another and decided that it was reading material for my 6 year-old son and I.  So we sat down on the floor and started to read. Very quickly, I realized this was actually a book for me, not him.  On page 3, when I read that moms are the "the most advanced human models on the planet," I thought, "hmmm....kid's book?  I kind of got the idea on page 6 when the book started talking about signs of wear … [Read more...]

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Review: Sarah’s Key, the Film

September 5, 2011 By 3 Comments
sarah's key

One of the first posts I wrote on this blog was about the book, Sarah's Key by Tatania de Rosnay.  I described it as "a very sad, haunting book, whose images and impressions will linger with you long after you’ve set the book down. De Rosnay is a brilliant story teller, and she certainly had an important story to tell."  There was so much about the book that I appreciated, particularly that De Rosnay was able to bring an important story to the mainstream public.  Even I had never heard of the Vélodrome d’Hiver round-up, when thousands of Jews … [Read more...]

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Review: Why I Recommend “The Help” (the film)

August 11, 2011 By 1 Comment
The Help

I've been quiet this week for a reason but it's kind of ironic.  I've been hanging out with 3,000 other bloggers at a conference called BlogHer in San Diego but I've hardly blogged.  I have so many posts to write post BlogHer, but I feel compelled to write about The Help, since it premiered in the theaters today.  I attended an advance screening hosted by Dream Works, which was a highlight of the weekend, and also a rest from the craziness. I had a feeling I'd like this movie.  I read the book by Kathryn Stockett last year and finished it in 2 or … [Read more...]

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Summer Travel Read: Those Who Saved Us

July 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
49465

Do you ever buy a book that appeals to you immensely but sits inside a drawer of your night table for months until you pull it out, remembering how wonderful the back copy and cover looked in the book store when you bought it?  I suppose it was a year ago that I picked up Those Who Saved Us by Jenna Blum.  Maybe not quite so long, but it bothered me for a long time that I wasn't reading it.  I knew in my heart it was a book that would hold meaning for me on so many levels.  Like the author, I helped interview Holocaust survivors with the Shoah … [Read more...]

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