The cover design on “The Memory Keeper’s Daughter” made me want to buy the book every time I saw it. I have a hard time spending money on myself, though, so I kept not buying it and not buying it. Then I ran out of things to read while Poppy and I were at my dad’s, so I picked up two books and tossed them in the grocery cart at Meijer’s. And then Dad paid for everything.

(Hooray for Dad!)

Turns out I should’ve kept admiring the cover without reading the book. It was an interesting plot, and it was well written. I’m just not big on the My Family Is Falling Apart genre.

….. the end …..

Okay, I’m throwing down the proverbial gauntlet…at my own feet! Last night I purchased Moby Dick at the local bookstore. It come complete with neat maps and drawings and a tiny dictionary to help me understand the lingo of the high seas! My goal: read a chapter a day until I’m finished. I am thinking I may even do little updates on the blog each day.
I plan on beginning my siege of Melville after I finish Blood Meridian which, at the rate I’m going, should be around February (ha-ha-ha — actually more like next week.) Anyway, I’ll make sure to post when I begin the personal abuse. Of course some would say that going from Blood Meridian to Moby Dick is just a continuation of abuse.

Whatever, man.

Call me Ishmael.

….. the end …..

I enjoyed “Life of Pi” much more than “The Inheritance of Loss.” I had been put off of “Pi” because of the story when it first came out. A boy and a tiger lost at sea? No thank you. But I finally read it, and I’m glad I did.

I’m not sure which of Pi’s stories I believe. I prefer the Richard Parker version, but I’m afraid that wasn’t the “true” one.

And now, some quotes.

I chose the sloth because its demeanour — calm, quiet and introspective — did something to soothe my shattered self.

The presence of God is the finest of rewards.

Faith in God is an opening up, a letting go, a deep trust, a free act of love — but sometimes it was so hard to love. Sometimes my heart was sinking so fast with anger, desolation and weariness, I was afraid it would sink to the very bottom of the Pacific and I would not be able to lift it back up.