More Salinger novels on the way. Whattttt?!?!

To say I'm a reader is putting it mildly. Ok, so maybe I've had a hard time getting through a proper book since Ben was born, but I try people, and before he was born I ripped through them. I've read hundreds of books, and not crap chic lit stuff but real books. Books are the only thing I let collect in my home that doesn't make me feel like a hoarder. 

Anyway, if I had to name one favourite author, it would be Salinger. I mean, of course. Salinger made me spend a good decade or more thinking I was destined to be a writer. And, through his books, I realized I could never be one. I knew I could never write a story like 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish', so there was no point. 

I read Catcher in the Rye when I was about 12 and I've read it a dozen times since. His other books are (even more?) brilliant. And when he died, I was devastated to think there would never be more. Even though I was pretty sure he'd never publish more anyway.

And then my mom shared this article with me. And I died. DIED. I still sort of think its a joke.

Some people read Salinger after hearing about The Catcher in the Rye for years and years and want to know what the fuss is all about, and though some are like me, others are left feeling like it was anticlimactic. I truly believe you have to first read it as a kid and reread it through the years to really fall in love with it. Just a theory.

Ok, officially time to pull out my old dusty copies of those four wonderful books and get reading....have to pass the time somehow...

Gone Girl

I started reading this book about a week ago. I've been in a weird book slump lately...I LOVE to read, furiously, but the book has to get me right from the start otherwise I'm bored to death and I give up. I favour the classics, but I've read so many, multiple times, I'd been craving something new.

Enter Gone Girl. Oh. My. God. I can't stop reading this. I've never considered myself a thriller reader, but maybe I am? My favourite books are by Salinger, Ayn Rand, Wally Lamb, Sylvia Plath to name a few...I've never read a John Grisham novel in my life (maybe I should?)

Anyway, I'm just over halfway through Gone Girl and I'm literally desperate to know how it's going to end. This is the kind of book I always want to read. The kind of book that you think about even when you're not reading it. It looks like the author has more books (yay!) so I think I might try this one next. 

Has anyone else read this one? Is the end going to blow my mind? 

What else are you reading?

The Conflict by Elisabeth Badinter

Everyone up for a little Mom ranting? I have some. Ok, I have a lot. Feel free to ignore this one...sometimes I get carried away.


The other day I was reading an article in Marie Claire magazine about a controversial book on motherhood being released later this month called The Conflict by French philosopher Elisabeth Badinter. In her book, she writes that the things we consider to be key elements of motherhood and parenting (attachment parenting, baby wearing, home made baby food, breastfeeding, the list goes on) have limited us as women. That we lose ourselves in the process. That these things tether us to the home. Um. Ya.


The article included an interview with Elisabeth, and gave a great deal of insight into her position. Some points I thought were actually ok, such as, "homemade baby food is terrific...but why demonize commercial baby food, which is balanced, quick, and accessible to fathers?" whereas other points...not so much.


For example, while Elisabeth admits to the known benefits of breastfeeding, she seems to feel that women should forgo breastfeeding (or drastically shorten it's duration) in order to maintain their freedom, and for their marriages to survive. Now, granted, it's a huge change for couples, the first year or two of parenthood. But in my opinion, the health of the child should always be number one. So whatever you feel that is, whether it be breast or bottle, the decision should be made with the child in mind. Period. (Note, I am NOT anti-formula whatsoever. But I don't like being made to feel guilty because I chose to go another way and nurse my son.) Also, I would like to know just how many divorces cite "My wife breastfed" as the reason for the split.


There are many other points made, including the fact that we must "be able to survive without a man" and her concern about "the effects of the long-term fusion between a mother and child beyond the first few months", but the general feel of the article was that as women, we have lost ourselves to motherhood and have reduced ourselves to animals (yes, she says animal). Huh.


Well, I will say that there are portions of this that I feel are important to think about. While I get her point about dependency in a relationship, I also think that making decisions as a family are very different from 'being dependant on a man'.  Also, I agree that women need to hold on to a part of themselves that is just their own, that we should be independent, and stay true to who we are. That we are more than just mothers, that we are well-rounded people with interests and views and that all of these things need to be fostered. But...I also think we can devote a HUGE portion of ourselves to being mothers, without losing the rest. It can be done. It's being done all the time.


As I thought about everything I had been reading, and after the annoyance had subsided, I thought that there are women out there that I see, everyday, who are mothers, AND who are doing what it takes to stay true to themselves. They are wives, friends, bloggers, shop owners, designers, writers, musicians, artists, teachers...AND mothers. THESE are the modern mothers, the women who are smart and strong and brave enough to take on the role of being a mom, but refuse to 'lose themselves' in the process. They merge it all together and are living the lives they were meant to live! I thought about all of these ladies that I admire, and I felt inspired. 


I guess my point here is that I would like to say thank you, to all of those women, including of course my Mom, Billy's Mom, our friends, family, bloggers that I follow, people I look up to...for inspiring me to be a good Mom, and to not be afraid to stay true to who I am while simultaneously devoting my life to being Benjamin's Mom. 


And thank you to Billy, my sweet husband, for supporting my decision to breastfeed my son without waving the divorce flag! And for letting me spend so much of my time doing what I need to do to stay true to who I am. Be it painting, redecorating the house (againnn) or watching television shows that are clearly made for people much younger than me. Thank you babe. You're my favourite.


Alright. That's enough of me and my soapbox. Sorry friends!


(Note: I have not read this book, just the article about the book. Perhaps the book has a ton of hidden wonderful things, so this should not serve as a bad review, to be fair. Also, I have no plans on reading this book. I'll be too busy breastfeeding and making home made baby food. I know, I'm a terrible Mom.)


Image via Amazon

My Father's Daughter - Gwyneth's Cookbook

I recently ordered some books from Amazon, and this was one of my first choices. I love to cook, and I love Gwyneth, so it just made sense. Not only is it a beautiful book, but the recipes in it are AMAZING.





So far I've only tried one recipe, Fried Zucchini Spaghetti, but we loved loved loved it. This will officially become part of our regular go-to meals. And I love a good vegetarian dish :) Here's the recipe!


Gwyneth's Fried Zucchini Spaghetti




Ingredients:

• ¾ pound (¾ box) spaghetti
• Coarse salt
• 3 zucchini, very thinly sliced (but thicker than paper thin or they will just burn)
• 1 tablespoon unbleached all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
• ¼ cup pasta water, to thin
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Handful fresh basil leaves (leaves from 5 leafy stems) 

Preparation

Boil the spaghetti in salted water until just al dente. Meanwhile, toss the zucchini with flour. Heat the ¼ cup of olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over high heat and add as much zucchini as will fit in a single layer. Cook, stirring and flipping occasionally, until well browned and a little crispy, about 4 minutes. Remove the zucchini to a plate and sprinkle with coarse salt. Repeat until you’ve cooked all of the zucchini.

Whisk the cheese together with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in 1/4 cup of the pasta water, adding a bit more if necessary. You want the consistency to be creamy. Drain the spaghetti and add to the bowl with Parmesan mixture. Toss together, season with salt and pepper, and fold in two-thirds of the fried zucchini and all of the basil.

To serve, portion the pasta into four shallow bowls and evenly distribute the rest of the zucchini on top of each, along with a couple of gratings of Parmesan.

Yields: Serves 4


Images via Miss Yukisan and Hammertown

Rules for my Unborn Son

One of my favourite gifts that I received this year for my birthday was this lovely book.

A while back (as Rach remembered, ha ha) I mentioned this blog, and how in love with it I was. Now I have the hard copy!

Raising a little boy is something I have obviously been thinking about for months now. How can I make sure he's a gentleman? Not into hardcore rap? Has manners? Isn't a little bugger?

Well, thanks to Aunty Rach, we now have the answer. He'll simply have to live by the rules.

A little light reading...

...picked up from the library for the weekend...

All images via Amazon

Salinger.

And so goes the man who made me want to be a writer. My heart is broken.

One of the many reasons why J.D. Salinger is amazing.

Just a warning, this quote from The Catcher in the Rye does in fact contact a rather bad word. So, I apologize to anyone reading this with sensitive ears. But, this is one example of the hundreds of hilarious quotes from one of the best books in the world. I've read this book many times, but I've just finished it again for the first time in years. All people must read this book, at least once. I mean it.

"That's the whole trouble. You can't ever find a place that's nice and peaceful, because there isn't any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you're not looking, somebody'll sneak up and write "Fuck you" right under your nose. Try it sometime. I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all, it'll say "Holden Caulfield" on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and then right under that it'll say "Fuck you."

- Holden Caufield, The Catcher in the Rye

Dracula

In the spirit of the season, I have been reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula. What a book it is. Clearly I have been sucked in to the vampire craze, but this is also a really amazing piece of literature, so I’m pretty much in heaven.

Not only has it got me fully in the Halloween mood, but I have also learned several things that I thought I would share:

Lessons learned from Dracula:

1. Diaries were really hip in the 1800’s.

2. Buying real estate without the use of the internet, or open houses, or telephones was a very difficult task.

3. Women were pigeon-holed as silly things that faint a lot and giggle at inappropriate times.

4. There were no strict policies or procedures for performing blood-transfusions. Someone simply had to be willing, and in the room at the time of need.

5. Anything and everything can be cured with a little shot of brandy.

Book Review - Goldengrove

Via Amazon

Just finished this book and it was actually quite good. A little on the younger side, but in a sort of grownup Twilight way (minus the vampire romance). Here is the description they have on Amazon:

"In Prose's deeply touching and absorbing 15th novel, narrator Nico, 13, comes upon Gerard Manley Hopkins's Spring and Fall in her father's upstate New York bookstore, also named Goldengrove. It's the summer after her adored older sister, Margaret—possessed of beauty, a lovely singing voice and a poetic nature—casually dove from a rowboat in a nearby lake and drowned. In emotive detail, Nico relates the subsequent events of that summer. Nico was a willing confidant and decoy in Margaret's clandestine romance with a high school classmate, Aaron, and Nico now finds that she and Aaron are drawn to each other in their mutual bereavement. Unhinged by grief, Nico's parents are distracted and careless in their oversight of Nico, and Nico is deep in perilous waters before she realizes that she is out of her depth."

Truth be told, yes, it was a tad depressing, but the best books usually are. But between the sadness there is a great story. Give this one a try!

1000 novels everyone must read

An interesting list.

The Biology of Belief

The Twilight series is officially complete. I finished the 4th book yesterday. I have many, many thoughts on all the various twists and outcomes of this story. But overall, I loved it. I look forward to all of the movies. In particular, I look forward to seeing how they plan on conveying some of the more graphic scenes of book four (no spoilers, I promise).

Having completed that series, I have started a short book (funny how a 200 page book now seems like an essay) called The Biology of Belief. Don’t be thrown off my the weird cover. This book is written by a doctor who studied the placebo effect, and how the power of the conscious and unconscious mind has a direct effect on our physical and mental well-being. This goes far beyond the standard power of the mind stuff. This includes actual experiments that display not only the placebo effect versus pharmaceuticals, but actual surgery as well. I’m nearly finished, but if anyone’s looking for an interesting read, this one’s a good one.

The Hour I First Believed

Christmas always starts a little early in the Duckworth house, as Rachel and I always exchange our gifts on the day of the Christmas party. This year she bought me a book I have been dying to read, The Hour I First Believed.

For those of you who are not familiar with Wally Lamb’s novels, he has only ever written three. The first, She’s Come Undone, came out in the late 90’s, and I Know This Much is True came out shortly after. Since then, he’s been working on this one. According to Amazon, this is the plot:

When forty-seven-year-old high school teacher Caelum Quirk and his younger wife, Maureen, a school nurse, move to Littleton, Colorado, they both get jobs at Columbine High School. In April 1999, Caelum returns home to Three Rivers, Connecticut, to be with his aunt who has just had a stroke. But Maureen finds herself in the school library at Columbine, cowering in a cabinet and expecting to be killed, as two vengeful students go on a carefully premeditated, murderous rampage. Miraculously she survives, but at a cost: she is unable to recover from the trauma. Caelum and Maureen flee Colorado and return to an illusion of safety at the Quirk family farm in Three Rivers. But the effects of chaos are not so easily put right, and further tragedy ensues.

If anyone’s looking for a good read, I recommend anything he’s ever done. And I’m willing to bet this will soon be on a best seller list. If I can only hurry up and finish the Twilight series…

I have been sucked in.

I’m officially a Twilight reader. If you had asked me to read this book a year ago, I would have balked at the thought and proceeded to lecture you on why Salinger is the only relevant author.

But there is something oddly comforting about the story of a regular girl and a bunch of vampires in gloomy Forks, Washington. You may not think so, but it’s true. Trust me. Or trust the group of women at my work who are all now addicted. We have lunch book club meetings. It’s that ridiculous.

After we’re done the series, the plan is to start our own Jane Austen book club. But for now, we are all savouring every last bit of Twilight.

Via Amazon