The BookFetish Blog

Book 24, another audio book.  I loved Seth Grahame-Smith’s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Part of the reason I liked that one was that I was so familiar with the story of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that it was a neat experience to see how Zombies were woven into the story.  I was a little apprehensive on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter because I wasn’t sure how on earth the story of President Lincoln would translate into some Vampire story.  Would it be too much like Buffy?


Still, I downloaded it from audible.com and have been listening to it over the last few weeks during my commute.  I really enjoyed the listen.  I like the historical perspective. There was so much to Abe Lincoln’s life that is glossed over or completely eliminated from school books,and  I’ve never read a standalone biography.  But really, he had quite a remarkable life.


But how on earth would vampires fit into the story of a young Abe Lincoln, and eventually into the White House?  I don’t want to give too much away, but what if the Civil War had been about more than slavery and states’ rights? What if the South had really been led by vampires intent on enslaving the entire country?  And what other historical events might have been perpetrated by Vampires?  I think you get the gist of the  novel’s plot at this point.


That being said, I want to focus a bit now on the listening experience.  Scott Holst is a great narrator. His voice commands the ear the same way a respected orator would.  Clocking in at just over eleven hours to listen, this is perfect for a commute or a good road trip. The story moves quickly, from Lincoln’s early childhood, through his presidency and assassination, and then his legacy.  A nice addition to the end of the novel is a brief interview with the author.


So, Seth Grahame-Smith is two for two in  my book. I can’t wait to find out what he is writing next!


http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_HACH_000409&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

This was originally the next post. And then it wasn’t.  But then L told me she wants another GNO before she’s introduced to the blogosphere, so we’re back to last Wednesday at the Twisted Taco. Which makes me realize there was another theme to last week- Taco Mac, Twisted Taco, and the Mexican place by the Kroger. So yeah, chips-and-salsa was also a pretty big theme.


At any rate this GNO had been on the calendar for a while. A deadline was fast approaching. Two days after this dinner, K was scheduled to have her third child. (And she did,  a healthy little girl, congratulations to K and her husband).  Em and K and I were going out to give K a respite from pregnancy hormones and being Mommy and just having some girl time.


We were all sorority advisors for a while. In a unique twist, this particular group of advisors got on well together, and after we began taking divergent paths (I quit advising. E moved. Em and K went on to other roles) we realized we all genuinely like each other and have found ways to stay in touch over the years.  K hosts us for the Oscars each year.We all saw the Sex and the City movie together. There’s a bachelorette party whenever one of us gets married; a shower for a new baby; sometimes just gathering for a good time.  And that is what Wednesday night was. K and  Em and I having a relaxing dinner before this huge, wonderful event in the coming days.


Because the sorority is our commonality, some portion of our conversation inevitably revolves around what is going on within it. Thankfully it is not all we have in common. Because while I have wonderful memories of my time in this sorority, and admit that it did shape in part who I am today, I am not trying to relive glory days. And neither are any of these other women. They are giving back to an organization that gave so much to them.  It is a nice commonality, and  a good conversation starter, but with jobs and spouses and babies and life, it isn’t enough to hold a friendship together over years.


We’ve been through marriages and babies and divorces and surgeries and remarriages and moves and unemployment and new jobs together. And we’ve still had this bond.  And now we’re back to Wednesday, celebrating us, celebrating the new baby, and celebrating Em’s brand new engagement (now that story? That’s a chick flick or a chick-lit novel just waiting to happen, I’m just saying)  and we talked about all these wonderful things, then the conversation turned to me. “What’s new with you?”


The four words I’d been dreading.  Because I know they are asked with utmost sincerity, that they genuinely are curious and want to know what is going on in my life. But all that stuff I listed earlier that we shared? The only news I’ve ever had to share is a new job.   Now, I’m thankful to not have experienced surgery or divorce or unemployment- I realize I’ve been blessed in many, many ways. But I often feel slightly out step, out of place with this group because the things that are becoming more and more a part of the conversation when we are all together- the fiances, the husbands, the babies- don’t apply to me.


It is sometimes a bit of a challenge for us to find that common ground, that bond that tethers us to each other, now.  Fortunately, we all think these friendships are important enough to find that commonality.  I come away from dinners and nights out with these wonderful, dynamic women thinking, look how different we are! But look how much we enjoy each others’ company.  And I know that although we don’t see each other as frequently as we did when we were all advisors together, my life would not be the same without these women in it.


So we enjoyed our margaritas and mexican food. We laughed about so many random things. I shared a little story about someone they don’t know just to get something off of my chest. In short, we had a wonderful time.  And as soon as K can be away from the new baby and her other kids for a while,  and Em is in desperate need of a break from wedding planning,  I’m ready to do it again.

A and I used to be roommates.  She’s married now, and lives near my office.  Tuesday afternoon she IM’d me to ask if I could meet for dinner. Her husband was out of town, and she and the baby were feeling a bit cooped up.


I typically love an impromptu dinner out, so of course I said yes here.  We went to a sports bar type place, kid friendly. 


This is why I like being around A.  Because we were roommates, she’s seen me at my best and worst, she’s seen me without make-up, and we’ve had all those deep talks over mugs of coffee or bottles of wine. I don’t feel like I have to be “On” when I’m with her. I can just be myself.  It is easy being around A.  She’s also one of the nicest people I know, and, at least in our area, it’s much more “six degrees of A” than “six degrees of Kevin Bacon.”  But that means she’s busy, and I’m busy and we don’t get together nearly enough.  So this dinner out was perfect.  The baby is the cutest and was so good over dinner, and A and I were able to talk and catch up.  


I didn’t know it at the time, but there was going to be a bit of a theme through the rest of the dinners I had this week, and it started on Tuesday. Politics and Religion.  A and I are much more aligned politically than any of the other people I saw this week. There’s an ease there where, should the conversation turn that way, I don’t feel as though I either need to go on the defensive, or, in an effort to keep things light, simply not comment.   That’s something I’ve grown to appreciate.  


Another thing that makes Girls Nights Out with A so fun is that I’m guaranteed to laugh. And I love to laugh.  But A is also one of the few people I can be serious and authentic with, and I feel like she knows she can be that way with me.


It wasn’t a late night, baby needed bathing and bed, after all.  But it was such a pleasant night, as impromptu nights tend to be.  I like having that kind of friendship, where you can actually plan some things on the spur of the moment, without having to take out calendars to plan for weeks in advance.  Those are sometimes the best Girls Nights Out.


Also, note to self… plenty of guys hanging out here after work. Must file that away for future reference…

Yes, yes. Book 23 was supposed to be the Biography of Mark Twain.  I will eventually finish it.  But, I had a crazy week, and I suddenly wanted Fiction. Part of the reason I’m reading these 52 books is to go through ones I had bought and not finished yet.  Yesterday was rainy and dreary and just cried out for a good story.  Jennifer Weiner’s Best Friends Forever fit the bill.


The thing I like about Jennifer Weiner is that she writes about real women. Women who aren’t the epitome of beauty as defined by any number of magazines. But also women with real insecurities, a real sense of humor, with things they love and hate about themselves. Women with gumption.


I’ve had the same best friend since I was 15 years old. While the adventures in Best Friends Forever feel somewhat surreal and beyond anything I can imagine experiencing with my own best friend, the authenticity underlying the friendship between Addie and Val is striking. The sense that there is nothing that can destroy your friendship. The sense of that one person who is there for you, no matter what.   


In this story, Addie and Val’s friendship suffered for 15 years, after Val betrayed Addie in high school.  Their lives took very different paths, and on the night of their high school reunion, an accident brings them back together.  Despite the hurt feelings, and despite the betrayal, despite fears about what might happen, Addie and Val are able to resume their friendship and set off on an quirky adventure.


That’s the kicker for me.  I have that kind of best friend. I’ve mentioned her before in other posts, and we’ve never had an incident between us like the one that ripped Addie and Val’s friendship.  Still, there’s the comfort in that relationship, that even when we go months between visits, this friend is still the one I first want to tell happy and exciting news. Or the one I want to talk to when I need additional insight somewhere.


That sense of enduring friendship, is, I think, one of life’s greatest treasures. I love an opportunity to read any book that celebrates that kind of relationship.


http://www.amazon.com/Best-Friends-Forever-Jennifer-Weiner/dp/0743294300/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272230323&sr=1-1


By the way, Good in Bed and In Her Shoes are also excellent reads by Jennifer Weiner.

In my twenties, GNOs were all about going out to some bar, dancing, drinking, and flirting, and having a good time.  In my thirties, they’ve taken on more significance.


There’s still the nights we plan so we can blow off steam. No husbands or boyfriends, no kids.  Dressing in something cute, blocking the night on the calendar a few weeks in advance and going somewhere a little different.  Then there’s my monthly dinner with three friends I met in 2007 when I walked the Breast Cancer 3 Day.  We met each other on a training walk, and formed a team and have stayed in touch since then.  


There’s the ladies I know through the alumnae association of our sorority. We were all advisors together at a local University, and although we’ve not advised together for years now, we still stay in touch.


There are the more simple gatherings.  The people I’m friends with simply because we are friends. My best friend. The women I went to college with, the women I met once I joined the working world.  Whether we are meeting for dinner and drinks, or coffee, or even a walk.  


All of these offer something.  In the bar hopping days of our twenties, there wasn’t a lot of substance. But now, as we’re all getting a little older, we have bonds that are deeper than which guy we think is cute. We have relationships that transcend marital and parental status.  Those things can certainly change a relationship, but we’re bonded on things beyond that, but our Girls Nights let us connect on the things that unite us.