It always takes some time to settle into the summer holidays. During the first week, I can’t quite let go of the hectic pace of our regular lives. I veer between furious cleaning — tackling long-ignored closets and dusty corners — and spending days in my pajamas, trying to ignore the feeling that something’s chasing me, a forgotten item on the to do list that makes my heart race when I try to read or take a nap. My husband’s constant presence in the house — his enormous shoes in the middle of the carpet, the extra plate at lunchtime, even the sound of him joking with a friend on-line in his study — is unsettling, it throws my balance in a way I can’t quite account for. But in the second week, the long aimless days begin to fall into their own rhythm. A gentle schedule emerges — writing in the morning, a trip to the store, we cook and do the dishes together. I’m catching up on that list of Korean and Thai movies my brother said I had to see, reading past my bedtime and allowing my body to forget its 6 am wake-up call. After dinner, we take long family walks where we pick blackberries, gazing over the fields of freshly cut hay while we nod at the running commentary that gurgles and bubbles beneath us.
In this relaxed space, Mr. Heidi and I have decided to attempt an experiment — The Husband and Wife Summer Book Club. I’ve written in the past about how different our literary taste tends to be. We are reliable (and not always complimentary) opposites. But we’ve decided, as a nod to cheap and nerdy romance, to make weekly trips to the library and read some books together. We plan to write about the results of our noble experiment on Doves and Serpents — a he said/she said series of reviews. We’ve settled on a list of biographies and one novel — a seemingly neutral meeting ground between the fractal geometry and wildflower books he is also reading and the Haruki Murakami novels and Alice Munro collections I’ve been devouring (I’m so grateful that she’s had a long and prolific career). If anyone wants to join us, our list is below:
No Man Knows My History by Fawn Brodie, Neither of us had read this, seems about time.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy, This novel was not on our original list, but it’s been on my to-do list for ages and Jared surprised me (and
himself) by picking it up the other day and reading it in almost one sitting.
Life by Keith Richards and James Fox, Trashy fun should be included in any summer reading plan.
Just Kids by Patti Smith, He’s not excited about this one, but I love Smith and my hopes are high.
Cleopatra by Stacey Schiff, We’re both excited about this one. He loves history, this one was on my radar after making all the best of lists
at the end of last year.
We’ll see how it goes, I trust our experiment will lead to some expected differences of opinion, but it might also let us find some surprise
connections. Either way, we’re hoping it will be fun to try something different.
If you aren’t on holiday, how are you filling your long, lazy days?
I’m not on holiday, so my days aren’t long and lazy :-) OK wait, I have to translate the Britishism…. my kids are off school until Monday, but we haven’t done much vacationing. About to remedy that, to some extent.
As for reading, I’ve had The Road on my list for a while myself, so will try to join in for that and Cleopatra. Have read NMKMH but it’s been a couple years. Much more readable that RSR imo.
Claire — Ha! After almost five years in the UK, I have no accent, but my language is being assimilated. A little cultural translating might be in order. The summer holiday (vacation) just started. My children ended school at the end of July and go back in the second week of Sept. My husband is a head teacher (principal) and thats why he is home all day and up in my business.
Yeah, i probably understand you more than most, as all of carlton’s many family members and all my kids cousins are on that schedule and using that terminology….. :-)
Do they say “all up in my business” in the UK?
That’s probably just me. :)
I’m reading No Man Knows My History right now. It’s an interesting read, with a narrative voice that’s different from more contemporary historical biographical writing. Where Bushman seems to always give the benefit of the doubt to JS in RSR, and leaves inexplicable behavior by JS to the judgment of the reader, Brodie calls it like she sees it at every moment, hinging her entire interpretation of JS upon the premise that JS fabricated the foundational stories of the beginnings of the Church (first vision, golden plates, translation, angelic visitations, etc.), but then grew further and further committed and faithful to his new role as prophet and leader due to his boundless ambition and real concern for those who had come to trust him so much. If you completely reject Brodie’s initial premise, it will be hard to get through the biography without feeling lots of frustration. I think that’s why lots of TBMs consider the book “anti-Mormon”; Brodie certainly isn’t trying to win any converts with it. But her biography helps provide a perspective that approaches one of America’s truly compelling individuals, whose impact has affected, and will continue to affect the lives of countless individuals, inside and outside the movement he started.
Glad to see The Road on the list. I don’t read much fiction, but this was an incredible book. The first time I read it, I was stunned. Then I had to read it again–underlining different parts of it, thinking about the writing itself, how the author was able to do what he was able to do. Then I talked Heather into reading it. . . She hated it. We’ve had several conversations about why the book resonated so much with me, but didn’t engage her at all. We have since talked to a number of couples that have had the same experience (he loved it, she hated it).
Can we join you for just that book? The Road. Heather, what do you say? You up for giving it another shot? (smile).
Gah! Cannot imagine reading that book again. Maybe I should make myself–just to see whether I’d still react the same way. But then there are SOOOO many other books I want to read–books that are on actual stacks in our house, books on actual to-read lists, and then book titles that are just floating around in my head.
Heather, maybe just join us for the discussion, then?
Brent, since Jared is already ahead of me, I’ll start with The Road and we can discuss. I’ve read McCarthy’s border trilogy — All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, can’t remember the third one. I generally like his spare muscular style, so I’ll be interested to see how I feel about this one.
Your summer schedule sounds wonderful! I’d love to hear more about which Korean and Thai films you’re watching, and what you think of them. I’ve got a friend who’s way into Asian horror and B-movies, but I’m guessing that’s not what you’re watching – ? :)
From this list, Keith Richards is tempting…! I’ve been reading a bit about Lemmy this week, and it’s got my ROCK-meter rocking, for sure. I wonder if Keith could live up to the Motorhead frontman’s stature, though – he’s a bit of a high water mark, I think! I saw a video the other day of Keith singing with the band he formed, the ‘X-pensive Winos’, lol… and it wasn’t great! I WANTED to like it, too!
I have Cleopatra checked out from the library, but have already renewed it once. I think that means I have one more shot at finishing it within my check-out window. ;) I’ve heard it’s great.
I’m sure H will join us for the discussion. . . I’m going to find my copy The Road and read it again. I have a few of his other books–and I’ve tried to get through a couple of them (All the Pretty Horses, I think, was my last effort), but I lose interest and end up skimming them. . . Looking forward to discussion. . .
I read Cleopatra while I was in the hospital, but I’ll follow your discussion, and if I can actually recall anything, I’ll join in.
Confess! Did you know you got a reader when you married him? Did you turn him to reading? And how? I think this is awesome. Right now this is a dream but I can always hope mine would want to read books and books with me. I look forward to your reviews!
Hinged, He is a voracious reader and that is one of the things that attracted me to him, but we never want to read the same things! He is usually non-fiction — mostly (sometimes very dry and technical) history and, lately, books about math. But we’re trying to spend more time together, so …
Brent also never reads the stuff I want to read. He reads tons of magazines–New Yorker, Harpers, Atlantic Monthly, and short fiction.
The only book we’ve ever both read and enjoyed (I think) is The Time Traveller’s Wife–and the things that frustrated me about it were the things that he liked. Go figure.
Heidi, I have wanted to read No Man Knows My History for ages, but I have never gotten around to it. I need to read along with your and your husband. My husband always frames reading that book in terms of how he waiting so long, until he was really “done” with church to do it. I always think that it so funny how the magical thinking can persist in interesting ways, like it was finally okay for him to read it at that point.
I had thought that you had already read The Road. I’m very much looking forward to your return and report on that one. I found it haunting and definitely one I will never forget.
Yes! Please join us. We had talked about The Road before and I had wanted to read it then, but never did. I was waiting for the book gods to bring a copy to the library (never did — even when I tried to reserve it) or to Oxfam (charity shop with a great book selection), which they finally did a few weeks ago.
The relationship between the father and son WAS the book for me (everything else faded into the background). The second time through I highlighted every exchange between the father and the son and I tried to figure out how–literally, what words were used, what punctation was used, etc.–the author had created the relationship. Some things that I thought were significant: the lack of names, the way the mother is introduced, the disagreement between the mother and the father about what would be best for the son, the way the mother’s decision to exit their lives is introduced (and how it is treated), the way the father and son interact with the outside world (their fear of it, etc.), the father’s attempt to straddle both worlds (and his realization that the boy doesn’t have the capacity to do the same), the way the father sacrifices for the boy (in a way, his life is over, and he knows it, so continuing the struggle is a sacrifice–a gift–he is giving his son), the ways the father protects the son in a physicial sense, the way the boys accepts (or doesn’t accept) the father’s sacrifice (he refused to let the father short his own rations), etc. For me, the relationship between the father and son was such a beautiful thing that under the author’s decision to put the relationship in the context of a dreary hellscape because that effectively put a spotlight on it. There isn’t anything in the book (names, other characters, plot, etc.) to detract from it. One of the first words that Heather used to describe the book after she read it (and I’m not being critical, H) was “dark”–that word didn’t even occur to me while reading it. Just the opposite.
And for me, the fact that McCarthy omitted names created too much distance between me and the characters. Also, the lack of context. I wanted to know their names. I wanted to know who they were, what their back story was, what had happened to get them to that point, etc., etc., etc. I know those omissions were intentional on his part, but it just left me wanting. The characters felt like cardboard cut-outs to me.
FWIW, I feel the same way when I read short stories (which is why I almost never read them anymore). I get to the end and I feel cheated. I feel like, “Wait! What about this?” and “But now what’s gonna happen??” etc. etc.