Happy Feast of the Assumption of Mary!
I had planned to make an edit for the Assumption, but ran out of time . Here is the quote I planned to use. I asked my theologian husband for some help, and he offered several different passages from today’s Byzantine liturgy. I may yet get to it today. If not, there’s always next year:
“Neither death nor the tomb could hold the Mother of God. She is always ready to intercede for us, forever our steady hope and protection.”
But, today I’m linking up with Anne at Modern Mrs. Darcy for her monthly “Twitterature” link up of mini-reviews of favorite recent reads:
Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan. Highly recommended.
I laughed and cried, sometimes at the same story in this book. Corrigan writes so well of the mother-daughter relationship, how one’s view changes of our parents as we become adults, and again when we have children of our own. It’s called Glitter and Glue because her mother told her how she was the glue in the family, and her more easygoing husband was the glitter. How Corrigan perceives the difference between them changes after she spends part of a year as a post-college grad nannying for an Australian widower and his family, and later when she has a family of her own.
I wrote down many, many quotes from the book. You can read some of them at my GoodReads review, but since this is meant to be short takes on books, here is just one:
“Raising people is not some lark. It’s serious work with serious repercussions. It’s air traffic control. You can’t step out for a minute; you can barely pause to scratch your ankle.”
Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster. A laugh-out-loud classic.
I was at a book group earlier this week (coincidentally, we were discussing a book that is reviewed in my August column for The Catholic Post (that column will post here in a few days), and several of us were professing our love for Dear Mr. Knightley. No one else knew that the book was a combination of Emma and Daddy Long Legs. And no one else had read it!
So I was happy to talk a little about it–Daddy Long Legs is an epistolary (told in letters) novel between a young woman and her male benefactor. It’s definitely old-fashioned in a lot of ways, but great good fun.
Books like Daddy Long Legs are like comfort food to me. I’m really enjoying it again.
Courage Has No Color: The True Story of the Triple Nickles, America’s First Black Paratroopers by Tanya Lee Stone
Extremely well-written longer-form nonfiction for kids (middle grades on up) about the first group of African-American paratroopers. I learned so much about World War II in this book I didn’t know about–segregation in the armed forces, and efforts to change that, the war effort in the United States. Such a fascinating read.
What are you reading these days?
Katie B says
Nancy, after hearing the “real” title of the book, I knew it sounded familiar. Low and behold, “Daddy Long Legs” was sitting on a shelf in my classroom, ready for me to read! I look forward to enjoying soon.
Nancy Piccione says
Katie! I only have the Kindle version, so be sure to bring your real copy. I predict you will enjoy it.
Rachel Friesen says
Happy Feast to you too! “Glitter and Glue” sounds very intriguing. Thanks for the recommend!
Nancy Piccione says
Rachel, I’d be interested to see what you think about Glitter and Glue. It makes me miss my mom, who died in 2008.
arendadehaan says
Wonderful reviews! Daddy Long Legs (despite the off-putting title) seems like the perfect book for the last few weeks of summer – I’m putting it on my to-read list!
Erica M. says
Happy Feast of the Assumption from the Orthodox!
I’ve got Daddy Long Legs on my TBR list. Mainly because I remember seeing part of the musical when I was a kid. I’m hoping to read it then re-watch and see how much I missed then!
Nancy Piccione says
Do you mean the movie musical? It’s very different than the book, so I’m interested to see what you think of the book. I was laughing out loud last night re-reading it. Such a fun book.
Anne @ I Need Some Inspiration says
Your write up of Glitter and Glue makes me want to read it. The book jacket did not make me want to read it!
JC-Deo Gratias says
I read Daddy Long Legs a couple of times as a young person and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think I’ll have to search through my shelves and read it again!