08-Sep-2006
Autumn is in the air! I love the fall, it always feels so ripe with possibility and new starts. Which is a little odd, when you think about it, given the fact that this is the time of year when nature is closing down and tucking in. Maybe the feeling of wanting to get going on new projects comes from all my childhood Septembers of new boxes of crayons and fresh, clean notebooks to write in. Or maybe it's simply that the hubbub of summer is behind us, and there is schedule and structure to my days again.
I'm sure every mom knows what I'm talking about. As much as we adore our kids and love the freedom and change of pace that summer brings, we also love to see them heading off to school every fall, hopefully happily so. The other day my daughter (now a senior in high school) was doing homework on her bed and she called me in. She wanted to read aloud to me a passage from her Language Arts reading assignment that moved her. We talked about it for a minute, the symbolism, the connection to her own life, her thoughts about it. Then she grinned at me and exclaimed, "I love school!" That has got to be on every parent's top ten list of things we love to hear!
Of course, not every day elicits such enthusiasm for school. Far from it. . . she already has highlighted in her planner every day she has off from school for the entire year! But the love of learning is a joy unto itself. I've always believed that one of the biggest ways we learn about the world, ourselves and our connections to each other is through reading.
So, here's a book recommendation from me: Range of Motion, by Elizabeth Berg. It's a little dated now (especially in this quick to print, quick to go out of print market of the current publishing world), but I think it is still one of the best and most original love stories I've ever read. Not a romance, per se, but truly a love story. I love the way Berg writes, etching details of emotional survival, compassion, and pain in layers, one atop the other, till you clearly see a character and her life, and recognize much of it as your own.
Now please share your thoughts on the good books you've read, recent or long ago favorites, via a new feature on my website called (appropriately!) Good Books! You can also comment on my recommendations, or ask me questions about my book, writing, etc. Just click the Good Books header on the home page.
Happy fall to all, and to all a good book!
Elizabeth
PS- A little news from my writing life...
Many of you have asked about my next book. I am working on my second novel, about friendship among three women during a time of transition in all their lives. But I'm also still busy with Around the Next Corner. I imagine it's more than a little like being very pregnant while looking after a toddler! Even though I might like to "put my feet up" (metaphorically speaking!) and just write, my firstborn needs me too! So I'm honored to be speaking and signing Around the Next Corner at The Tattered Cover *LoDo* bookstore in Denver, Colorado (1628 16th St.) on Thursday, Oct. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
If you are in the area I hope you'll attend and introduce yourself to me! If you do not live in the area but have friends or family who might like to come, please send them an email with the information above. I'm also hoping to visit the following areas in the coming months: Boston, MA.; Madison, WI; Knoxville, TN; Iowa City, Iowa; St. Louis, MO. Please let me know your favorite bookstores in these areas and I will try to set something up there. I'll keep you posted via this newsletter.
