Awkward, At Its Best

It's when you put your coat on inside out on a first date. And run two stoplights. And babble on about "The Rules" while saying goodbye at your front door instead of letting him kiss you. It's when you give a giggly wave instead of a smoldering glance.

It's Gilbert dipping Anne-with-an- e's pigtails in ink. It's Darcy scorning an indignant Elizabeth. It's Inman garnering an introduction to Ada.

Despite the dark violence, Cold Mountain is a love story at its best. Perhaps because, in much of the novel, the two are apart. Inman is trying to make his way home from the war without permission. Ada is an educated woman who doesn't know the first thing about managing a farm. Moments other authors might romanticize, Frazier leaves as is. Goodbyes are honest instead of heartfelt. Letters are left crumpled on the floor, unsent. And a much anticipated reunion is clever in its clumsiness.

Oh, and the end might make you may cry even if it's the fourth time you've read it.

So trip rather than swoon. Tango across the room...badly. You'll have a funny, even romantic, story to tell your grandkids.

Humble Pi

My grandmother was a math teacher. My college roommates were math majors. My kindergartner loves the “dot game” at school. Although I am not a Mathlete like my husband, I did enjoy The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa.

The professor in the story is a renowned mathematician who can’t remember anything after 1975 for more than 80 minutes. He dons a suit each morning with tiny notes pinned all over it to remind him where his medicine is, who he needs to thank for the cake, and that he has a new housekeeper who has a son.

The professor greets the housekeeper each morning with an inquiry about her birthday or shoe size. He then informs her of the significance of whatever number is the answer. Throughout her employment, he teaches her and her son about everything from factors to triangular numbers to Euler’s formula. When he’s not lecturing, he’s solving the latest puzzler from his math journals or enjoying the baseball broadcast with the young boy.

As the housekeeper begins seeing the beauty in the numbers surrounding her, you will appreciate Ogawa’s work for its elegant balance of sweet plus intriguing. And then you will send this book to your grandmother.

Persistent

These are the ones I read this year that I almost abandoned, mid-read, for something less sparkly, less despondent, less wearing, less dysfunctional, and, well, less quirky. But persistence paid off. The Rhinestone Sisterhood: A Journey Through Small Town America, One Tiara at a Time by David Valdes Greenwood New World Monkeys by Nancy Mauro Solar by Ian McEwan Nothing Right: Short Stories by Antonya Nelson A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Best of...

I probably should read some of these.

Devouring

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
Finally. After waiting for fifty-six other people in Dallas to read this book, it was my turn this week. Imagine being able to taste the cook's emotions in whatever food they prepare. I tried to give an extra gentle pour to the milk this morning. You never know who else might have this gift.


The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
"Lillian's mother's face became a series of book covers," may very well be a sentence my children could write someday. Ironically it was this one that had my own face hidden until I had reached the end. Pancakes got burned, mismatched socks walked into school.

"The music is sweet"

So I was watching this movie which reminded me of this movie which reminded me of the book I'm reading. The Song is You by Arthur Phillips.

It's about a director, Julian, who falls for an up-and-coming singer, Cait. Rather than approach her after the concert, Julian leaves Cait a set of coasters illustrated with advice on life. She takes one of the phrases from the coasters and crafts a song. He secretly takes her picture and sends it to her. She puts the picture on her concert poster. And so forth- but with better writing, pleasing dialogue, and a decent soundtrack.

If you like Nick Hornby, you'll like the story. Which reminds me...

Safeway and Lucky Charms

Ruby meets a rich-boy biker whose hobbies include petty theft and manipulation. Trying to distract her from sure heartbreak, her mother invites her to the library book club she runs for seniors. The seniors are abuzz with gossip that one of their members was once the one-true-love of a famous writer.

Honey, Baby, Sweetheart by Deb Caletti takes you from the comforting exasperation of hanging out with your little brother to the exhilarating ride on the back of a motorcycle through rain-slicked streets. Just as you yell at the girl on the screen not to go in but are still mesmerized by her demise, you will be captivated by how Ruby falls for and resists his charms.