Friday 5ive- May 5, 2023

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly-ish post featuring five things that caught my attention recently.

It's hard to fathom that it's May already, and we've had enough April/May showers to last us for awhile.

1)  On a recent Tuesday while volunteering at the Book Cellar, we were surprised when nearly a dozen distinguished people in suits stopped by. It turns out the former president of the Dominican Republic was in town in his current position as President of United Nations Associations at the United Nations. Leonel Fernández was shopping for books to stock the Juan Bosch Library, a huge public library in Santo Domingo. He and his team picked out dozens of books about Hollywood films, current events, politics, and art. It was such a pleasure to speak with him, hear about his library, and share our story about the Book Cellar, a nonprofit bookstore staffed by volunteers who raise needed funds for the branch libraries of the New York Public Library. He was impressed that we have raised over $1 million in 19 years of existence. You never know who you'll meet at the Book Cellar. 

2)  Speaking of the Book Cellar, my fellow volunteers threw me a birthday luncheon recently. My friend and fellow book lover Allison gave me a plant, and I am proud that I have kept it not only alive but thriving thanks to the water globe she put in it.  (I have not always been successful with plants, so this is a big deal.) You fill the globe with water, turn it upside in the soil and it waters itself. I have named the plant Maisie in honor of Maisie Dobbs, the main character in Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs historical mystery series, a series of books Allison and I adore. 

3) There are some authors who I will wait (im)patiently for their next book, and Mary Beth Keane is tops on that list. Her newest book, The Half Moon, published this week and my preorder copy of the book arrived yesterday. I have read all of her novels, from The Walking People to Fever to Ask Again, Yes and now The Half Moon. Her latest tells the story of Malcolm and Jess, a married couple who are struggling with infertility, which has crushed them emotionally and financially. Malcolm has a chance to purchase the Half Moon,  the bar where he has worked for 24 years, but the bar business is difficult and he makes a decision that could lead to the end of his marriage. It's a beautifully rendered novel with gorgeous writing, and Keane creates characters that you root for to make it in this tough world. I give it my highest recoemmendation and a full review will be in my Book Report column on auburnpub.com on Sunday.

4) If you are a Broadway fan, and you Apple TV+, the second season of Schmigadoon should be on your list. This season Josh and Melissa (played to perfection by Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong) ,while looking for Schimadoon, wind up in Schimicago, where the 1970-ish Broadway musicals are a lot darker than they were in the sunny 1950s-1960s of Schimagadoon. Some of Broadway's most talented performers return, like Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth, Aaron Tvevit, Jane Krakowski and Patrick Page. Ariana Debose's knockout performance of Over and Done in the last episode is a stunner, and Titus Burgess as the Narrator is fantastic. The songs are memorable and clever and I can't recommend this highly enough. A standing ovation from me. 

5) Circling back to my birthday gifts, my lovely daughter-in-law Anna not only organized and cooked my birthday luncheon at the Book Cellar, she also got me the best gift- a year's worth of Blind Date With A Book- Banned Book Edition. My first book was April and it is SOLD, a young adult novel by Patirica McCormick. It tells the story of Lakshmi, a 13 year-old girl from an impoverished Nepalese family who ends up working as a sex slave in a brothel. She and her family were led to believe that Lakshmi would be going to work as a maid. The story is told from Lakshmi's point of view in one page diary-like pieces. It's powerful and heartbreaking, it shows the strength of the human spirit, and I can see how it was a National Awards finalist. I can't wait for my May book, Jonathan Evison's Lawn Boy. 

Have a safe and healthy week, until next time.

Friday 5ive- August 6, 2021

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention this week.

I can't believe it's August already. Why does the summer go by in the blink of an eye, but the winters drag on?

1) It was a quiet week, but on a beautiful sunny Monday I walked nearly 50 blocks to the Barnes & Noble on Fifth Avenue to shop for children's books for a baby shower, a friend's new grandbaby, and a baptism. I was in my glory, spending nearly an hour in the store. The sales staff was very busy helping two other customers, and it took great restraint for me not to jump in and offer my assistance. But I did not. On the way home, I passed this massive, complete New York City block construction project in midtown. It looked like something from the Transformers movie.

2) So many restaurants and small mom and pop stores closed during the pandemic on the Upper East Side where I live, it's exciting to see that a new business is planning on opening. This one is called The Picnic Basket, and I am waiting to see if Yogi Bear and Boo Boo will be behind the counter when it opens.

3) One of the books that occupies a spot on my coveted Favorites Shelf on my bookcase is Mary Karr's brilliant memoir Lit. Karr's first memoir, The Liar's Club, about her growing up in a dysfunctional family in East Texas in the 1960s, ushered in the many memoirs that now line up on bookstore shelves. She was a recent guest on Katie Couric's Next Question podcast, and it was a fascinating discussion. I found her speaking about becoming a Catholic as an adult, and how her peers and friends dismissed her because of it, so enlightening. Karr became a Catholic while a professor at Syracuse University (where she still teaches) and it was because of meeting an older Irish priest who helped her that it happened. Give it a listen and read Lit.

4) If you are missing Broadway, Apple TV+ has a treat for you- Schmigadoon!  Keegan-Michael Key and SNL's Cecily Strong star as a couple who have been dating for a few years and while on a outdoor couples retreat get lost. They end up in the town of Schmigadoon, which looks like the set of a Broadway show, complete with people breaking out in song and dance at the drop of a hat. In order for Key and Strong to be able to return home, they must find true love. Is it with each other? It's so delightful, filled with wonderful performances from Broadway stars like Alan Cumming, Kristin Chenoweth and Aaron Tveit. The songs and sets will remind you of famous musicals like Carousel and The Sound of Music. You will not be able to stop smiling or humming along. 

5) I read three books this week. Naomi Hirahara historical fiction, Clark and Division, follow a Japanese-American family as their lives are turned upside down when they are forced to move to an internment camp in California after the Pearl Harbor attack. They lose their livelihood, home, and possessions, and eventually are moved to Chicago, where their older daughter was sent to live. When they arrive in Chicago, they discover their daughter was killed when she jumped in front of a train. Younger daughter Avi doesn't believe her sister jumped and is determined to find out how her sister died. Hirahara does an amazing job balancing the mystery of a young woman's death and letting the reader see how this group of Japanese-Americans were treated during WWII, losing their American dream in the process. I highly recommend it. 

Sara Arnell's memoir of her midlife crisis, There Will Be Lobster, takes us through a very rough patch in her life.  Just as she faces life as a lonely empty nester, she loses her job as CEO of a once prominent advertising firm. She spirals downward, drinking too much, not showering, staying in her bed all day watching various Real Housewives on TV. Arnell packs a punch in this slim memoir, with most chapters just a few pages. It's riveting.  My full review publishes August 18th.

A few years ago, I read Laurie Gelman's hilarious novel, Class Mom, about a woman with two grown adult daughters and a son in kindergarten. Jen Dixon was such a terrific class mom for her two daughters, she reprises the role for her son's kindergarten class. Her snarky letters to the parents in the class became legendary, and the book made me laugh out loud. In the third book in the series, Yoga Pant Nation, Jen is now class mom for her son's fifth grade class, and once again we are treated to Jen's parent letters. She's also now a certified spin instructor and trying to find a job as a instructor, while also dealing with her aging parents who seem to be having some troubles. As a former class mom and current Peloton riding enthusiast, this novel was speaking my language. (I also loved Jen's loving relationship with her husband.) Be careful where you read this one, you'll be giggling out loud and people will wonder what you are up to.

It looks like we are going backwards with COVID. Please be safe- get a vaccine to protect those who cannot, and wear a mask indoors. We can beat this if we work together.