Friday book review day

So... I've been reading so many good books lately, feast or famine, I thought I should say a few words on them.  I've decided to give a few opinions on this here blog, because that's what I seem to look for in other blogs.  It's hard to get opinions without a motive behind them, so I'm here to provide them with the only motive being that I like these things and wanted to share that with you.

The first book I'll comment on (because a review seems a bit of a weighty term for what I'll be doing) is Forest Lover by Susan Vreeland. I just started this book, so it's a bit risky to gush over it too soon, but it's one of those books that I find myself reading very carefully so I don't miss anything.  It's based on the life of Emily Carr, a Canadian artist that was famous for painting the First Nations and the rugged forests of Vancouver Island.  I saw a really amazing exhibit maybe 8 years ago on a trip to Vancouver called Carr, O'Keefe, Kahlo: Places of Their Own.  I was commenting, at our waffle brunch last weekend, on how Emily Carr used to have her furniture on pulleys so that she could use her house as studio space and her friends knew that if they dropped by and she didn't lower the furniture it meant that she really didn't want company.  It's one of those things that you learn that stick with you.  Yesterday I was wondering if on our slightly narrow front porch if we could rig a bench on a pulley.  Might looks kind of fun from street view too.  Anyhow, a friend just finished this book and suggested I read it.  Picked it up at the library yesterday and faked sick so I could lay around and read it (kidding, I wasn't faking).  I love historic fiction, not that I love the genre, but I love reading about a real person in a more personal way.  I also like to ponder what was actually real and what was fabricated by the author and fine this provokes me to research more on my own than a biography would.

If you're in the mood for a book about Vancouver Island (I think partly I love this book because Brian and I hiked the West Coast Trail b.c. and it was one of the best backpacking trips I've ever done.) and a really strong female figure then read this book (I'm channeling my inner Lamar Burton).  I also think that was such an interesting time to be a woman.  Women were allowed more freedom in theory, but there was still so much pressure to conform and I love reading about women who didn't conform, like Carr, Kahlo and O'Keefe.  Dad-I think this would be a good audible choice.

Happy Reading!

Just had to add two quick things for today:


Quote of the Day:

"When I'm older, and I'm waiting for a girlfriend, I think I'm going to be a drummer in a band."
-Eason

Moment of the Day:

Often when we're packing for a trip (we're meeting Aunt Michlain in San Francisco this weekend) the boys like to crawl inside our very small suitcase that I pack their clothing in.  Today, after leaving them on their own for maybe 39 seconds, I returned to find Eason giggling in the room, no Eliot in sight.  I noticed the suitcase was zipped and said "oh boys, we can't zip anyone in the suitcase." I then opened the suitcase to find Eliot securely STRAPPED in the suitcase using the clothing fasteners.  He seemed perfectly at ease.  A picture would have been a nice compliment to this entry, but I didn't want to encourage this behavior.