My trip to the Netherlands

Have to bring a book along for my trip and I chose the best one Eat, Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I love this book. It is so good, so real so honest and so full of life. Life affirming. Who knew, well, Beth did, she told me I would love it, and my daughter Sara told me to read it too. A spiritual quest and travel and food, I said I was a foodie. There goes all my resolutions after reading the Skinny Bitch, Liz knows how to write about good food, I want that pizza from Naples right now, and yes, I too think Italian is the most beautiful language in the world, and I like to watch Bread and Tulips just to hear the language. Also Life is Beautiful. Must start Italian Lessons now. Was that the name of that movie when the people all learn Italian in Sweden and then travel to Vienna? Gotta get back to my foreign movie mode. Loved Bride and Prejudice and also The Monsoon Wedding. Who knew those Indian movies could be so beautiful. And loved the music. Okay, I love movies as much as I love books. Right after I was graduating from library school my husband and I talked about going to Paris, it didn't happen, but I made him sit through loads of French movies, the second best thing. Is that when I started reading Alan Furst? That's a load of history. And European cities. May even try to post pictures of my trip to Amsterdam and Hoorn Holland. Wow!

Charlie Wilson's War

The movie looked good, always loved Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, win-win, and a good story. The book has so much information, shocking really. Amazing power in Washington, especially if you have an agenda and Charlie Wilson did. He hated communism and he found others like-minded to help with his crusade. Now, my question is, how does a covert operation become a best seller? What is the statue of limitations per se, when does private become public, and does it happen too fast in our world today? 1985 seems like yesterday to me, some of the same charcters are still alive and maybe potentially powerful, is it a good idea to share this with the world? I'm not going to use this information to hurt anyone, but can this hurt people, the USA and how we are perceived around the world? I always hate to think that foreigners are watching Jerry Springer and thinking, that is America. Will they watch this movie and think, that is US Congress? Interesting yes, entertaining yes, helpful, I don't know. I don't like the ending of the movie where there has to be a Hollywood ethic lesson. Anyone else agree or disagree? Tell me.

http://www.patryfrancis.com/patry-bio.htm

Book discussion group

Just finished the book, The Fig Eater by Jody Shields, her first novel. It was a fascinating book. Strong sense of place, providing the reader with a good description of Vienna in 1910. The protagonist is the wife of the Investigator, who has brought her into his case, a murder of an eighteen year young woman in a Volksgarten, I think was the name. Basically it is a city park with statues. His investigation is the basis of the story, but Elizabeth ( I know I spelled it wrong from the book) takes over the story as she draws in more characters to help solve this mystery for her. I believe this strong attraction to her is told in the beginning of the story when she totally engrossed herself in the nursing of one of her servants, whom later died. She has no children, her life revolves around her husband, and this fascination only draws her closer to him, but it seems that she is distancing herself from him through the story. Their marriage is presented in interesting clips, her spying on him, and he likewise. Theirs is a physical relationship, with not too much intellectual intimacy I think. I liked the book, I like descriptive poetic language, but I know that language is the strong draw for me. I found the story interesting, pacing good, finished the first quarter of the book the first evening, and I wanted to get back to it. The turn off for some in our book group perhaps was the sexual content of the book, the perverseness of some characters. I only took this to be an aspect of the Freudian culture of Vienna. I also was captivated by the gypsy lore, and the superstitions of the characters, the tarot cards, and the mutilation of the grave site. Reminds me of the Gothic romances I would read in the 70's. My draw to some books lately is the fascination of other people, other women in differing times or locations. I like just the difference of what it means to be human in our world, today or yesterday.

Distracted by reading

Found the most fun book, Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. Guess I am pretty much a foodie. Love to read about food, but haven't mentioned that, have I? Anyways the book's premise, young married secretary frustrated by her life choices (or the direction her life is going) decides to challenge herself by making all 500+ recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking in one year, and learn to be a better cook in the meantime and save the tuition to cooking school. But, one interesting fact, her husband suggests she blogs her "project". And the world learns that Julie is a writer we want to read. She has quite a few "bleaders"(blog readers) Who knew?