I love our blog, even if only three of us read it! :-) I check the blog fairly regularly to see if there is anything new on it. I decided that I should post something this time, instead of just wistfully re-reading the posts from August and September.
I want you to know how much you mean to me . . . especially the core group of the three of us that have been together for 11 years now. Last Saturday was wonderful, as usual. Whenever we get together I feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I love the shared history of our last decade of reading and friendship. I love knowing that when I'm really down, I'll get a little email from Ang or a sweet voice mail from Michelle, that make me cry and also make me realize that I'm not alone. I love knowing that there is always time to get together on a Saturday morning for a bagel and coffee and a quick hour to talk about a life crisis, or a fall Saturday morning spent wandering the downtown farmer's market. I love knowing you.
Happy holidays, and here's to actually having time to finish our two January books in the next couple of weeks while I'm off work! Can't wait to see you again in a few weeks.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Birthdays, baba ganoush, and belly laughs
I had such a great time this evening. Great food, funny stories, wonderful women and delightful Kennedy. Gathering without books, while it may seem odd for a book group, gives us more than words. Books have emerged as one thing on a list of many that keep our lives connected.
You guys are awesome!
Cheers.
You guys are awesome!
Cheers.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
A Strange Summer, Somehow
I've learned a few things about myself this summer.
I've learned that I am not a very good solitary being. I need friends and family around me; I need someone who knows if I have come home at night, or if I might be someplace where I might need some help. Traveling with people for a month made it very hard to come home to an empty house.
I've learned that always having a Harry Potter book to look forward to in the distant future leaves a huge void when there is no longer a book to look forward to in the distant future. Yes, I am a month shy of my 41st birthday (and Harry Potter is meant to be a children's series), but I know enough about myself and 38 years of reading to know that I sometimes get VERY involved in literary worlds and characters, substituting them for deficiencies in my own life or social circles. Harry lives!
Most importantly, I have learned that 10-1/2 years of book group in my life has made me sometimes take for granted the friendships, conversations, and mostly good (no, great) books that we have discovered together. I have had a mostly unsettling summer, and one of the reasons has been the absence of a book group meeting to look forward to, and an interesting book to read that I would probably not have otherwise picked up. I think book group has become one of the north stars in my life, and I am adrift without it. I don't think that we should take any more hiatuses, unless someone in the group wants a second job as my new shrink.
I NEED BOOK GROUP!
I've learned that I am not a very good solitary being. I need friends and family around me; I need someone who knows if I have come home at night, or if I might be someplace where I might need some help. Traveling with people for a month made it very hard to come home to an empty house.
I've learned that always having a Harry Potter book to look forward to in the distant future leaves a huge void when there is no longer a book to look forward to in the distant future. Yes, I am a month shy of my 41st birthday (and Harry Potter is meant to be a children's series), but I know enough about myself and 38 years of reading to know that I sometimes get VERY involved in literary worlds and characters, substituting them for deficiencies in my own life or social circles. Harry lives!
Most importantly, I have learned that 10-1/2 years of book group in my life has made me sometimes take for granted the friendships, conversations, and mostly good (no, great) books that we have discovered together. I have had a mostly unsettling summer, and one of the reasons has been the absence of a book group meeting to look forward to, and an interesting book to read that I would probably not have otherwise picked up. I think book group has become one of the north stars in my life, and I am adrift without it. I don't think that we should take any more hiatuses, unless someone in the group wants a second job as my new shrink.
I NEED BOOK GROUP!
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Bookgroup Blues
Overheard while in the dressing room of Nordstrom's Rack:
"Are you kidding, I don't read BOOKS. Who reads books?"
pause....
"Oh crap, I forgot my underwear."
I MISS BOOKGROUP!
"Are you kidding, I don't read BOOKS. Who reads books?"
pause....
"Oh crap, I forgot my underwear."
I MISS BOOKGROUP!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Taking the plunge in Maui...
It's finally official and we couldn't be happier.
I can't wait to share this with you all...prepare to be overwhelmed by tons of photos.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Spring in Eastern Europe (aka Is Anyone Reading This Blog?)
For some reason, it's been a very Slavic kind of spring . . . first, reading Prague for book group, and now my own reading of The Historian. I can't quite figure out why our latest selection is titled Prague - it's one of those vague, Catcher In The Rye-type references for the title. Anyway, I am/was pretty ambivalent about the book, despite my high expectations for it.
On the other hand, my friend Katie sent me The Historian for my birthday last fall, which I'm just getting around to reading now. It is also set (mostly) in Eastern Europe, and is about the Dracula legend. It is very compelling and I find myself wanting to read it constantly. However, it is very scary, and I have decided I can only read it while the sun is up (thanks, Daylight Savings Time)!
Ergo, it has been an interesting month of contradictions in my Eastern European spring. I had high hopes for Prague and no preconceived notions about The Historian. Isn't that also how life usually turns out?? I have high hopes for so many things that rarely, if ever, turn out the way I anticipate. And just when I am feeling down about the lack of good and/or productive things in my life, something will come along very quietly, with no fanfare, and knock my socks off. I'm glad I'm still able to recognize those things when they come by in perfect stillness.
On the other hand, my friend Katie sent me The Historian for my birthday last fall, which I'm just getting around to reading now. It is also set (mostly) in Eastern Europe, and is about the Dracula legend. It is very compelling and I find myself wanting to read it constantly. However, it is very scary, and I have decided I can only read it while the sun is up (thanks, Daylight Savings Time)!
Ergo, it has been an interesting month of contradictions in my Eastern European spring. I had high hopes for Prague and no preconceived notions about The Historian. Isn't that also how life usually turns out?? I have high hopes for so many things that rarely, if ever, turn out the way I anticipate. And just when I am feeling down about the lack of good and/or productive things in my life, something will come along very quietly, with no fanfare, and knock my socks off. I'm glad I'm still able to recognize those things when they come by in perfect stillness.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Baby Watch 2007
The first day of March brings thoughts of the impending arrival of the newest member to our book group family. We patiently await word of Baby N…and her thoughtfully chosen name.
We’re thinking of you Katie.
We’re thinking of you Katie.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Reading
I'm scared because I'm blogging. I've sat down many times to do this but here's the deal..I'm a reader not a writer. It appears that my bookgroup cohorts secretly wait until I leave and then hold writing group without me. But I'm proud to say I LOVE to READ. I'm the kid who won all the library contests held in the summer...not because I was incredibly gifted at guessing how many beans were in the jar but because I was there ALL THE TIME. I'm the college student who had a library card to every public library in every town I resided in no matter how short the duration (Holte, Denmark for 4 months...I read all 21 books available in English). I'm the new mom reading "Operating Instructions" for the 3rd time while nursing her newborn son at 3 a.m. on a cold January night. And I'm the mom who gasps with delight while taking her son to the libary because I'm constantly running into old friends...Ramona, the Great Brain, Blueberries for Sal, The Poky Little Puppy...
Books have always been a constant in my life and to share them again with my son or for the first time with my bookgroup makes the experience that much more meaningful. I love books...just don't expect me to write anything amazing!
Books have always been a constant in my life and to share them again with my son or for the first time with my bookgroup makes the experience that much more meaningful. I love books...just don't expect me to write anything amazing!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Blog Minded
I am torn by my desire to write, the sheer force of not being motivated to write, and the fear of dominating our book group blogging space. We (said book group) are treading into unknown territory, looking over the edge, dipping our toes in and scrunching our faces at the temperature of the water. I am aware and sensitive to the fact that my New York-loud-mouthed opinions are often not that interesting, and that my desire for our blog to be a successful representation and history for our group…may be mine alone. So I’m wading in, with my pasty winter skin exposed, wishing I had kept my resolution to finally put the book down and get some damn exercise. Actually, I didn’t make that resolution, but I do wish I had shaved my legs.
Leaving the Museum
Reading The Passion of Artimisia on the heals of The Lost Painting was a great idea. We were able to continue our journey through a portion of art history, guided effortlessly by Wendi. Artimisia was strong, determined and courageous in a time when women were viewed as weak and unimportant. How could we not be inspired by her story...
Our next stop...Prague.
Our next stop...Prague.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Dark Roman chapels come alive with Caravaggio
Well, as you all know from our meeting today, my "passion point" was finally found after 10 years of book group. I am a fanatic about art - a true art junkie. You would probably never guess that the Baroque is not my real passion. I am most passionate about Michelangelo, Picasso, the Depression-era female documentary photographers that I wrote my master's thesis on, and most female artists, but I can also wax poetic on Greek sculpture; the Early Christian and Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna, Italy; Medieval illuminated manuscripts and Gothic cathedrals; Giotto and Masaccio (Italian Proto- and Early Renaissance); Bernini; Goya; 19th c. French Realism . . . the list goes on. I can speak and show slides of Michelangelo's Sistine Ceiling (and altar wall) and their restoration for 2-3 hours without coming up for breath. (yikes!)
Our book this month (The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr) introduced everyone to the sublime Caravaggio. I'm so glad that almost 400 years after his death, his particular genius is truly appreciated. I had never really studied Caravaggio before the summer that I lived in Italy in grad school (I had yet to take my grad course on the Baroque period). When my more enlightened roommates suggested spending our only free afternoon in Rome going around to small churches to seek out Caravaggio altarpieces and chapels, I reluctantly agreed, as I was longing for some idle hours spent eating gelato and hanging out in the only air-conditioned hotel we would see for months. What did they know that I didn't? True, they did attend Columbia, Princeton, and Yale, respectively, but why were these undergrads who were not even all art history majors willing to give up drinks and philosophical chat in the hotel bar to traipse around to a dozen small churches, when we already spent 8+ hours a day, 7 days a week, in lectures?
We walked into the small, inconspicuous San Luigi della Francesi near Piazza Navonna in Rome. The church was dark (and blessedly cool) inside, and mostly vacant. We walked down the nave, and stopped at the last chapel on the left before the altar, where a small sign marked it as the "Contarelli Chapel di Caravaggio." We pooled our meager lira coins together to put into the light box, and suddenly the entire chapel was intensely lit. And in front of me, on the left, was The Calling of St. Matthew, in glorious color and the amazing bright lights and intense darks of Caravaggio's characteristic chiaroscuro lighting. I was enthralled with the faces of the figures: the authoritative gesture of Christ on the right, the puzzled expression of Matthew near the left side, the fear of the the younger boys in the middle. And most of all, the warm, golden light pouring in from the top right corner and illuminating the most important aspects of the painting. I was hooked on Caravaggio, and I have loved teaching his work ever since.
There is nothing more exciting for me than seeing the light come on in students' minds when they also get excited about a place, work or artist that they hadn't studied before. I derive great satisfaction from students who come in the next day, full of enthusiasm, to tell me that they went home, opened their textbook, and explained what they had learned to a friend or loved one. It is intensely gratifying, and it is why I was hooked in my first art history class.
Thanks for indulging me today. You all mean so much to me.
Wendi
Our book this month (The Lost Painting by Jonathan Harr) introduced everyone to the sublime Caravaggio. I'm so glad that almost 400 years after his death, his particular genius is truly appreciated. I had never really studied Caravaggio before the summer that I lived in Italy in grad school (I had yet to take my grad course on the Baroque period). When my more enlightened roommates suggested spending our only free afternoon in Rome going around to small churches to seek out Caravaggio altarpieces and chapels, I reluctantly agreed, as I was longing for some idle hours spent eating gelato and hanging out in the only air-conditioned hotel we would see for months. What did they know that I didn't? True, they did attend Columbia, Princeton, and Yale, respectively, but why were these undergrads who were not even all art history majors willing to give up drinks and philosophical chat in the hotel bar to traipse around to a dozen small churches, when we already spent 8+ hours a day, 7 days a week, in lectures?
We walked into the small, inconspicuous San Luigi della Francesi near Piazza Navonna in Rome. The church was dark (and blessedly cool) inside, and mostly vacant. We walked down the nave, and stopped at the last chapel on the left before the altar, where a small sign marked it as the "Contarelli Chapel di Caravaggio." We pooled our meager lira coins together to put into the light box, and suddenly the entire chapel was intensely lit. And in front of me, on the left, was The Calling of St. Matthew, in glorious color and the amazing bright lights and intense darks of Caravaggio's characteristic chiaroscuro lighting. I was enthralled with the faces of the figures: the authoritative gesture of Christ on the right, the puzzled expression of Matthew near the left side, the fear of the the younger boys in the middle. And most of all, the warm, golden light pouring in from the top right corner and illuminating the most important aspects of the painting. I was hooked on Caravaggio, and I have loved teaching his work ever since.
There is nothing more exciting for me than seeing the light come on in students' minds when they also get excited about a place, work or artist that they hadn't studied before. I derive great satisfaction from students who come in the next day, full of enthusiasm, to tell me that they went home, opened their textbook, and explained what they had learned to a friend or loved one. It is intensely gratifying, and it is why I was hooked in my first art history class.
Thanks for indulging me today. You all mean so much to me.
Wendi
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