Deacon: Dad, that team we just beat is the same one we lost to in the first game of the season.
Steve: That’s great. What do you think was the difference?
Deacon: The score.
Our very own Jack Handy
It’s that time again when the weather warms and our thoughts turn to summer.
Blogging has leveled a serious hit at our reading lists. While time on the old laptops has done wonders for the creative juices, we could use some time away to really unwind and catch up on some good reads. With this in mind, there is only one thing our husbands should do (really, really, really, pretty please) for us this summer: Lifeguard the kids on the beach so we can get some ever-loving reading done. With this miracle day in mind, here are some books that hit that perfect note. These books are kind of like the perfect beach snack—not complete crap, but nothing too fancy either. Bon appetit!
1. When She Woke by Hillary Jordan— Fans of The Hunger Games or Margaret Atwood will appreciate the dystopia of this not-too-far-off future. But there is more to this tale than just a society in freefall—this is The Scarlet Letter for the new millennium, and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s got nothing on Jordan. The central heroine Hannah Payne is a rock-solid reimagining of Hester Prynne—sweet, innocent—a little naive—but brave and smart too. You will be cheering for Hannah as she travels from disgraced social pariah to embattled but empowered woman. This novel will get you thinking, and you will have a better summer because of it.
2. The Cure for Modern life by Lisa Tucker— This is a story of love thwarted by ambition and greed. Amelia and Matthew were college sweethearts who now stand not just apart but on opposite sides of the Big Pharma issue. One day someone walks into their lives who offers a chance for them to re-examine the choices they have made and even, maybe, a way back to the future they had once imagined together. This book’s romantic heart and Tucker’s steady hand in bringing these characters to life make it perfect for a day at the beach.
3. In the Woods by Tana French—If you haven’t fallen in love with her books yet, then you are in for a treat. Not only can this Irish writer pace a novel to keep you begging for more, but she is THE master of language. Her beautiful storytelling will keep you mesmerized for hours. This book is a murder mystery where the lead detective was also the victim of a copycat crime years before. The best part? There are two more great novels (with familiar characters) to read right after you finish this one (and you will want to, believe me!) and another coming out this summer. Lose yourself in her fabulous characters and richly imagined worlds and get ready to buy me a drink for introducing the two of you!
4. One Day by David Nichols—There is a cheesy movie that came after this novel, but this novel is the REAL deal—a romance of the highest order. I loved the characters (Emma and Dexter with their infinite charms and charming neuroses) and their drawn-out love story (the story takes place over twenty years on the same date). Put away those 50 Shades and fall in love with romance again with all the passion you can muster. Funny, sassy, and fun, this love story will make you laugh and break your heart. As Nick Hornby said, this book is “the perfect beach read for people who are normally repelled by the very idea of beach reads.”
5. The Good Father by Noah Hawley—This good father’s son is in trouble BIG TIME. But Dad can’t believe it’s true. This story reads a little like a mystery and although you pretty much know what’s coming, you just can’t bring yourself to put it down. It examines the guilt and blind love all parents experience in the context of an interesting and quick-moving story. Without crossing the line into “too much”, this book tackles modern parenting—the good, the bad, and the out-of-our-hands of it. In addition to a compelling story, it might give you something to talk about other than which brand of sunscreen works best.
6. Family History by Dani Shapiro— You are definitely going to need a reliable babysitter for this one, because you will not be able to put it down. This book is about a family’s unravelling, but there is just enough hint of redemption to balance the careening off the rails. Shapiro makes these characters real in the best possible way, so you can explore questions of how great kids go bad, how you can carry on in carpool line as your world collapses, and how ultimately we can find our way back to one another in the wake of betrayal. Come to think of it, you are going to want to buy me another drink.
7. Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner— Any book by Jennifer Weiner is sure to hit the mark, but this one is my favorite. Sylvie’s life has transformed her from her wilder, former self into the quintessential politician’s wife. After her husband’s affair becomes national news, we watch her wrestle with the question of whether it was all worth it. To make the story even more interesting, her daughters have similar journeys as they work through their father’s betrayal. It all makes for a great read worthy of some ocean breezes.
8. Lone Wolf by Jodi Piccoult— Piccoult is our go-to girl for great characters, interesting plots, and topical discussions. She is a known entity which makes her great for this list. Her latest novel is one of her best. Questions of family loyalty are interspersed with the larger questions about euthanasia and end-of-life decision-making. Piccoult always draws her characters convincingly, and this novel is no exception. You can always pack some Piccoult in the old beach bag and be a happier reader for it.
9. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides— I already reviewed Eugenides’ newer book, The Marriage Plot , but this book was our book club’s favorite read one summer and deserves to be on this list (and honestly every other list—it’s THAT good!). Spanning 80 years of family history to bring us the transformative story of Calliope/Cal, this is a big, honking book, but you will lose yourself in the story. If you are someone who loves a good, sweeping epic (and come on, who doesn’t?), then this book is for you. The fact that Eugenides is such a wordsmith only compliments this story. We ALL loved it and still speak of it as the perfect summer book club read.
10. State of Wonder— Ann Patchett is a great writer who has only gotten better with time. In this book, she gives us a woman on a mission. Literally. Dr. Marina Singh needs to find her mentor Dr. Annika Swenson who has disappeared into the jungle of Brazil. But, of course, this book wouldn’t be such a great read if that were all it had to offer. Marina’s journey takes her into her past, her future, and even makes her start looking at her work with new eyes. Nothing better than a mission that brings us to ourselves and this one does not disappoint.
So get a lifeguard, get a beach chair, get a cold drink, and get reading!
And I thought of another thing our husbands should do, open a line of credit at Amazon or Barnes and Noble for us. No time like summer time to get our read on! Erin
Jellybean (11) quipped this after I announced that not only did I send her prepared water bottle off to school with her sister, this meant that Coco (13) had not one, but two water bottles in her lunch bag. I do blame blogging. Ellen
You know the saying, “You never know someone until you have walked a mile in their shoes.” Well, it was never truer than when said about a mom. Here is a little snapshot of Ellen’s Friday told through her footwear.
Ellen– Get it?
[Blog]+[Birthday]=[bLirth-day]. Our blog went live and in the spirit of Sisterhood, we are sharing our bLirth story with you.
Erin– I still think we can call it a bLaunch…
Ellen- Ummmmm, no. Just no. Sounds like the noise the cat makes when she coughs up a hairball. And, I am really feeling the pregnancy metaphor. We had only been gestating this baby for 2 ½ months, but you all know that feels twice as long in pregnancy time. This blog was draggggggging out through the holidays—HALLOWEENTHANKSGIVINGCHRISTMASNEWYEARS. I was tired of the whole thing. I was begging for some relief. The only thing missing was swollen ankles.
Erin- So we did what any sensible mom would do. We kicked the blog under the bed with the dust bunnies and walked away. FOR A MONTH. I once tried to mention the blog to Ellen, and she almost stroked out begging me not to discuss it.
Ellen– But then we got our Christmas miracle. Steve surprised Erin with a MacBook Air.
Erin- Forget that he broke our “Hey, it’s a frugal Christmas” agreement. Forget that I felt huge guilt when he was opening his dixie cups and chapstick (For real. We were supposed to be frugal, People, and, that’s right, I wrapped them, too. What of it?). I was already posting on Facebook from my shiny, new Mac.
This sweet man in one grand gesture gave me the biggest, best vote of confidence in our blog. With one click, I dragged our blog out from underneath the metaphorical bed and blew off the dust. I loaded our site with everything we had written and then some.
Ellen- We are giving Steve props for getting us back on track. We were going to make everything perfect. We were going to finally birth this baby. So we did what every sensible mom does, we made a plan. We even made a date, for scheduling a date, to create our Facebook page and Twitter account. Then with the good fortune that has constantly shone on this project, Elizabeth, our graphic designer, emailed us our banner. Oooo, we could take a step forward! Then came the email from our Tech Angel, Colleen: “Ok, I just added your header – let me know if you think you’re ready to go.”
Ready to go!?! I’m not ready to be a blogger! What do I know about blogging? I made all kinds of excuses to Colleen about why we were not ready: no social media buttons, no contact form, blah, blah, blah.
As with all good “birthing” plans, ours was not worth the computer file space it was residing in. I woke up the next morning, logged onto the site, and right before my very eyes, I could see Colleen adding the social media buttons. Colleen was addressing every excuse, um, I mean barrier, that was preventing us from taking this blog live. The Sisterhood’s water had broken, and things were starting to move.
I was not entering this bLirth-ing room alone! I picked up my phone to call Erin and… nothing. Direct to Voicemail. No response to text. No response to email.
Erin– To quote one text from Ellen: “I am dying of excitement. Colleen is pimping out our site so we can go live! AHHHHHH! Please call me when you get a chance :P. I will respectfully continue to blow up your phone with every new development. ”
Ellen is using an emoticon. She means business, but she doesn’t want to yell at me. Yet. Good grief.
Ellen – Soooo, no response still. Whatever. This thing was happening. Over the next 6 hours I proceeded to add some “final touches” to the site. This blog was not ready for prime time. I was laboring in the bLirth-ing room alone, people! A-lone! I felt abandoned like an iPad on the day they launch version “so-much-better-than-the-one-you-just-maxed-your-credit-card-out-on-three-weeks-ago.”
Erin- You are such a PC. Don’t be a hater.
Meanwhile, I was exactly where I told her I would be— teaching Advanced Math to middle schoolers. After 13 years at home, I was dipping my toe back into a classroom as a substitute. No horror stories to tell, but I couldn’t have been more difficult to reach if I were on the moon or at the bottom of a well. When class ended, I checked my phone. Ellen was summoning me, in ABUNDANCE, back to the blog.
Ellen- FINALLY, my phone rang. Erin was like, “Hey, I got your four emails and ten texts during math class. Deleted your Voicemail. I guess we’re starting today.” Someone needed to go to some bLirth-ing classes, because this was clearly not the enthusiastic, supportive response required.
Erin- Oh, I wanted to revel in our moment. I did. But jumping back into the classroom was the easy part of my day. When I got home, an afternoon was brewing unlike any I have had since the days of endless sippy cups and potty-training.
Cue a rising jungle beat crescendo. Serious stuff was going down at home. And Ellen needed my input. A LOT.
On this of all days, my kids decided to revert to their alter-egos Whiny, Clingy, Punchy, Needy, and Snotty.
Charlie was in a panic, because his report wouldn’t print. He was on the verge of a breakdown. Apparently, he had lost all memory of how to choose printers from the menu bar. Click. Crisis averted.
RRRIIIINNNGGGG (or really, new/age zen crap stanza)
Ellen- What do you want our Twitter user name to be?
Erin- Simultaneously, Biddie lost it. Middle School is a vicious creature and was having its way with her. I needed to talk her out of her tree. Hug. Crisis averted.
RRRIIIINNNGGGG
Ellen- You have to “Like” our Facebook page for me to easily make you an Admin.
Erin- Charlie, now buoyant from his printer triumph, was wrestling with Deacon and Eddie all over the house. At one point, they were perched together on the back of a chair like spider monkeys wrapped in headlocks. Mommy yell. Boys sent to their corners. Crisis averted.
Ellen- Yeah, I heard that one go down over the phone. She might be sugar-coating it a bit.
Erin- Then Ace joined the fun. He couldn’t find his soccer referee card that he needed to be recertified. Not in his room, his ref bag, his wallet, the wash. He was hyperventilating into a bag. Found the website and got his ID # electronically. Crisis averted.
RRRIIINNNGGGG
Ellen- Do you care if we have a gravatar before we launch?
Erin- And then my parents pick THIS moment to call, AND they want to talk about booking our summer vacation, AND they are not tech-savvy, AND they want my help. Oy. I might cry or kill someone.
Ellen- Erin is the best. In the middle of all that was going down in her home, she took every phone call to answer every question. I did giggle directly in her ear that SHE is her parents’ tech guru.
Erin- This was not an ideal environment to be having a moment, even a great one like the birth of our blog, with Ellen. But that’s the way life rolls. It’s coming whether you are ready or not.
Ellen- So, in the midst of Erin’s maelstrom, on January 11, 2012 at 5:47pm, I got the text from Colleen that we were live. We were the proud creators of a bouncing, brand-new blog! As I gleefully watched the visit counter spiral upward, I was so grateful that Colleen “bLaunched” us from our nest. We needed the push.
Erin- Aww, look at you, using “bLaunch.” And I was grateful too. The Sisterhood Secret: By all means, plan, but (and we are totally stealing this from Nike), in the end, JUST DO IT. Time to get blogging!! Happy BLirth-day!
While studying for a recent social studies test with the third-grader, I asked him this question: “Name three ways the Native Americans use their natural resources?” This is his inspired response. Pure genius. Erin