What Now? - Ann Patchett

I have been a huge fan of Ann Patchett for a few years. My favorite book by her is "Bel Canto" This is a very small book that comes from a graduation speech which she gave at her alma mater Sarah Lawrence College. This is a book which I would highly recommend as a gift to any graduate this spring. A favorite quote from the book is "Sometimes the best we can hope for is to be graceful and brave in the face of all of the changes that will surely come. It also helps to have a sense of humor about your own fate, to not think that you alone are blessed when good fortune comes your way, or cursed when it passes you by. It helps if you can realize that this part of life when you don't know what's coming next is often the part that people look back on with the greatest affection." I was crying by the end of this book. Wonderful, Wonderful Writing!!

http://www.annpatchett.com/

Fire in the Heart - Deepak Chopra

I bought this book at my daughter's book fair to give to my teenager for her birthday. I think it is hard to develop spirituality in Holland. There is alot of religion in West Michigan, but not much spirituality. The book focuses on learning about your own uniqueness and appreciating this great gift of life. I really enjoyed the lesson of the rainbow. The teenager asks his spiritual advisor why a rainbow makes him feel good and the response is "Because life is meant to be sweet, and when you see something as sweet as a rainbow, it makes you remember that."

I had never read anything by Deepak Chopra before, but I know that he has a huge following www.chopra.com

Ancient Futures: Learning From Ladakh by Helena Norberg-Hodge

My Friend Yvette loaned me this book. It was publiushed by the Sierra Club in 1991. When I first glanced through the book, I thought wow 1991 was before the explosion of the world wide web how must this "ancient culture" look now? I wasn't sure I would get much out of the book, but it is a wonderful study in sociology. It reminds me a bit of the more recent book called "Three Cups of Tea" which I read last summer. The theme of both books is that western culture and "development" are not necessarily the best way. The book "Three Cups of Tea" has a focus on education of children along western idealogies. Along the way, the author learns from the local people about the benefits to a slower pace of life. This book, Ancient Futures, focus is that we have much to learn from the way things used to be done. There was very little waste by the Ladakh people until they started to "modernize" their facilities. Interdependence was valued, but with the new more wetern ways independence became important. With the culture changes, problems of the west crept in such as depression and isolation.

One of the first things I thought of upon reading this book, was the stories about the Tsunami several years ago that killed so many people. Some of the more indiginous "boat" people in those areas were able to remain safe from the Tsunami as they had a vast culural knowledge of the phenomenon as it was occurring. I guess this was an extreme case of what happens to culture when the relationship to the environment and a respect of nature is lost. It also made me think of all of the "development" according to western standards that are happening in China today. How much of China's ancient ways will be lost in an attempt to modernize?

Closer to home, this book is a reminder to all of us to slow down and appreciate relationships with humans and the earth for what they are--life sustaining.

Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes - Alison Swan, Editor

Last Night, I attended the readings at Herrick Library from this book. I had purchased the book last fall and read most of it. I enjoyed seeing the women in person and as they read I began to relax and appreciate the writing again. The book inspired me to try my own hand at an essay. I then submitted my essay to a project that the Holland Area Arts Council was sponsoring and am anxiously awaiting their final product.

It has been a wild week for me and books. I worked the book fair at my daughter's school yesterday and purchased several books that I'm dying to dig into. My friend Yvette gave me two books to read last week which I have begun and last week while at the library renewing a book which I hadn't finished yet, I picked up this wonderful publication called BookPage http://www.bookpage.com/ As I was waiting for my daughter to dance, I read through the book reviews highlighted within and now have several more desirable reads on my list. How will I find time to get anything else done?

Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth -Alice Walker

As an example, here is one stanza from the poem: "When You Look"

That heaven

Is a matter

Not of inventing

Glory

But of recognizing

It.

That the blue sky with its

Sunsets &

Clouds

Is simply

Beautiful. And that is enough.

A great quick read for poetry month!

Your Own, Sylvia a verse portrait of Sylvia Plath by Stephanie Hemphill

I checked this book out of the library recently to honor April poetry month. The book is written in poems by Stephanie Hemphill with footnotes that chronicle what is going on in Sylvia's life at the time. The book is a quick way to read about the life of Sylvia Plath, but the author has spent an amazing amount of time and research to come up with 246 pages of poetry to detail Sylvia's life. The author's note clarifies that although the book is based on real events and real people, it is foremost a work of fiction. It seems that society has recently been sensitive to the fine line between fact and fiction. Pretty soon all historical books will come with this disclaimer. One of my favorite reads in the past year or so was The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova. Defintely a fictional genre book, but I certainly learned alot of history reading it!

Inheritance -Natalie Danford

This story swivels between the past and the present. The main character in the book is Olivia Bonocchio. She returns to her father's birthplace in Urbino, Italy after she discovers a deed to a house there in his name dated 1940. The story also takes place in present day 1994 after Olivia's father Luigi has passed away. Part of the story takes place in a week as Olivia is in Italy trying to determine the validity of the deed. The other part of the story, spans Luigi's life as an Italian Immigrant in New York City beginning in 1945. Finally, the end of the book fills in the World War II era and gives a big picture of Luigi's life.

This book reminds all of us of evils in the not too distant past that affected so many numerous individual lives. The fact that Luigi does not become bitter and continues to forage a life for himself is a testament to the human spirit.

www.nataliedanford.com

Not Quite What I was Planning Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure - Editors: Fershleiser & Smith

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed this quick read. Here are some six word memoirs from the book that embrace my life at the moment.

"I'm my mother and I'm fine." -K. Bertrand

"Secret of Life, marry an Italian." -Nora Ephron

"Fourteen years old story still untold." -David Gidwani

"I'm ten, and have an attitude." -Tillie Seger

That's one quick memoir for each member of my family. My husband is Italian and I have two children one 14 and one 10.

To learn more about this fabulous read go to www.Smithmag.net

The Winding Ways Quilt -Jennifer Chiaverini

This is the twelfth book in a series of books called "Elm Creek Novels". If you enjoy quilting or appreciate quilting as an art form, you will love these books. The character development over the series is amazing as well. You will quickly find yourself thinking of Sarah and Sylvia as your own friends. Sylvia is a Master Quilter who returns, after many years, to her family's estate in rural Pennsylvania. There she befriends a young woman named Sarah and together they turn the estate into a quilt camp. This book chronicles the lives of all of the founding members of the Elm Creek Camp. True to the title, Sylvia is working on a winding ways quilt pattern and the stories are about the different paths the lives of the eight founders have taken. One of my favorite quotes from this book is "..the bonds that unite us are so much stronger than the dozens of petty differences that divide us." Before you leave this book, you will also be thinking of Sylvia, Sarah, Judy, Gwen, Summer, Diane, Bonnie, and Agnes as your friends. If you live in Holland, you will also want to visit the Tulip Time Quilt Show in May. The beauty will inspire you whether you quilt or not!

www.elmcreek.net