Category: Books

Littler Women

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Littler Women: A Modern Retelling (2017) by Laura Shaefer

This book takes the characters and story of Little Women and sets them in modern day.  The girls are younger, but they’ve got their same personalities and go through many of the same life experiences, although usually with a bit of a twist.  Littler Women, of course, doesn’t cover the entire plot, but it felt like a wonderful way to introduce Alcott’s story to younger audiences who might not be inclined to sit through the entire original.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book.  While I don’t feel that I know Little Women as well as some other books, I did use to read it once a year for awhile.  I also recently saw the Greta Gerwig’s new film version.  Well, I am so pleased to say, that the book is charming.  Only a few chapters into my library copy, I ordered one for our family.  The author finds clever ways to unfold the story in modern times, while still keeping the lovely feel of old-fashioned coziness.  Each chapter ends with a recipe or knitting project or some such wonderful goodness.  The story is told simply, but it hits many of the story’s events and really keeps the heart of the characters.

This book is probably advertised as a middle-grade novel.  Some of the story does deal with a bit of middle-school age insecurities or transitions, but I would probably feel comfortable sharing a majority of the book with our seven-year old.

—

“Sometimes it was fun to dream about the day and years ahead, and sometimes it was better to leave them alone to take care of themselves.” ch 13

 

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Little Women

Hug Machine

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Hug Machine (2014)
by Scott Campbell

This book seems so crazy simple, but it is one I always love reading and re-reading with the kids.

A young boy calls himself the “hug machine.”  The book follows him as he hugs everything he sees–mailboxes, trees, babies, whales, you name it.  And that’s it.  That’s the book.  But, it’s just darling and sweet, and I love the boy’s enthusiasm for hugging.  The checklists on the endpapers are also a favorite of the kids.

(I also love that this is the book that introduced us to Emily Arrow.  I found her video of Hug Machine and fell in love with her immediately.)

On a Magical Do-Nothing Day

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On a Magical Do-Nothing Day (2017)
by Beatrice Alemagna

When a boy and his mother arrive at a home in the woods, all the child wants to do is play a handheld video game.  When he finds himself having to sneak outside in the rain, the game meets a sudden end when it falls in icy cold water.  The boy is upset, until a group of snails catches his eye.  His magical encounter with nature follows.

This story and nature adventure is so simple, and yet so refreshingly alive and wonderful.  There is a spread during the child’s outdoor exploration that always reminds me to take a deep breath and almost brings tears to my eyes to feel that deep connection with the world around us.

I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this book when I saw the video game obsession in the first few pages, but it absolutely delights.  Simple, heartening, short, and beautiful.

…Of course, it wasn’t until the 9th read or so that my 2-year old told me this was a “sad” book.  I thought perhaps he meant “happy sad,” which he calls it when he sees me cry happy tears at something.  But I realized he is very sad that the boy loses his game.  Not that he was relating it to video games, but he was just upset that the boy lost something special of his in the water and couldn’t get it back.  As an anti-technology type, I had been kind of silently cheering at this wake-up call for the kid, but my toddler brought up a good point.  I mean, as an adult, how upset would one of us be to drop a “precious” phone into a pool of water?   His comment helped me see and feel the child’s perspective better, and just what a huge shift the boy undertook in his ability to find the goodness in what was really a very tough moment of letting go.

Book Quotes

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I love, love, LOVE collecting quotes from books.  For me, it’s like a treasure hunt whenever I’m reading or re-reading books.  And, there are certainly so many treasures to be found.  The quotes I collect bring me joy and hope and inspiration and laughter.  I have collected hundreds and hundreds over the years, and I’ve had this driving desire to share them with the world.

I know there are lots of quotes already floating around out there, but I feel like it’s the same ones over and over.  And, sadly, sometimes, even very popular quotes online or in gift shops are absolutely and completely inaccurate.  Winnie the Pooh “quotes” are way more often MISquotes than actual ones.  One of my favorite little posters I’ve seen recently has a picture of Abraham Lincoln and it reads,

“The problem with quotes found on the Internet is that they often aren’t true.” -Abraham Lincoln.

And I love this so much, because it’s almost hilarious what gets passed around as quotations and even makes it onto best-selling products.

…I digress.  I am truly so excited to share quotations, and I am still figuring out just how I’d like to do that and what the legalities are of sharing a current author’s quotes.  For now, though, I’ve started an IndieMade shop of digital downloads.  Making each one takes considerably more time than I had planned as I learn what I’m doing, but it’s fun and such a relief to finally be doing something with my favorite quotes.  I love doing these as digital downloads, as it removes the pressure of mailing, and it allows the customer to immediately access what they’ve purchased.

If you’d like to check out my IndieMade shop, here is a link.

What Alice Forgot

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What Alice Forgot
by Liane Moriarty

When Alice comes to after falling and bumping her head at the gym, she’s worried about the baby in her belly.  Alice thinks she’s 29 and expecting her firstborn with her loving husband.  What she comes to find out, however, is that she’s lost her memory from the last ten years of her life.  Alice actually has three kids, is on the brink of divorce, and is about to celebrate her 40th birthday.  When this “younger” Alice starts piecing together her last ten years, she doesn’t like who she’s become.  She’s surprised to discover she has become distant from her sister, is too busy volunteering or exercising to really be there for her loved ones, and is in constant battle with the man she married.  It is only when Alice finally starts to get her memory back that she remembers how and why things are the way they are.

As I mentioned in other posts, I don’t read many novels for adults.  But, I’ve read this one twice now.  There’s “young” Alice with her optimism and naiveté, and there’s current Alice balancing motherhood, self-image, and a failing marriage. But it’s much more than Alice’s story.  We hear from Alice’s sister dealing with years of infertility and miscarriages.  Their mom, who has taken on a new, spunky zest for life.  And then there’s the adopted grandma who is cautiously letting love in after many, many years.

I think what I love about this book is the reflection on how we change over time and how our relationships shift.  How those changes can be viewed so differently by different people and even by ourselves.  I flew through this book both times, finding pockets of moments to read more and more.  I highly recommend it to adults.

 

P.S.  I found myself reflecting on this book again this evening, and I realized the (perhaps) obvious–which is that Alice “losing her memory” of the last 10 years is also very much a metaphor for what happens to many of us.  Whether it’s parenthood or a job or other all-encompassing life situations, sometimes people get caught up in the craziness and lose themselves or their awareness.  Not to say that there aren’t moments of clarity or joyfulness throughout, but I was definitely having one of those moments this evening.  A return to me.  A much-needed big deep breath while I realized that seven years of a lot of all-encompassing LIFE and love and chaos has happened.  What parent hasn’t suddenly looked up and, whether they’ve been present for it or not, asked, How did my baby grow up?  So, I was seeing that perhaps this, more than anything may have been the larger message of What Alice Forgot. Not simply about how we change over time, but how we sometimes get so swept up in things that we forget to look around and be present for what’s happening around us and within.