What are you reading right now?
I just finished reading "Home Is Burning" by Dan Marshall. It's a true story of a family in Salt Lake City. It's by the oldest son, who had to come home and care for his parents. His mom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after the birth of her fifth child. That was 20 some years ago - she's still alive. She's had 100 chemotherapy sessions. Dan's father assumed he was the strong point, but after qualifying for the Boston Marathon, he was diagnosed with ALS. I like the book because they're close personal friends of mine and I'm in the book, I mean, just briefly, although I had made several trips to Salt Lake over the years to help care for them.
It's Dan's first book. He's sold the film rights and two publishers bid for it. Part of what I found was so interesting is, I read the manuscript before it went to the publishers. I offered some suggestions, but I wasn't quite sure how it would all come together because it was (originally) written as a blog. They did a remarkable job. If high school locker room talk really puts you off, you won't like the book. But, if you can get past that, some of the stuff the family went through seems incredible. From someone who participated in a lot of it, it's all true.
When you read, do you focus on non-fiction or fiction?
I'm really into mysteries and biographies. I have a fascination with King Edward the VIII in England and the abdication, in the Wallis Simpson and the Gloria Vanderbilt connections, and all of that.
I like mysteries. I was so sad when Margaret Truman died and the Capital series had to come to an end. I used to read all of James Patterson's books, the Alex Cross series. On the opposite end, I read Debbie Macomber's "Cedar Cove" series. Another is Fern Michaels' "Sisterhood" series. I'm hooked on those. I've read every one of them.
Did you have a favorite book when you were growing up?
The "Boxcar Children" by Gertrude Chandler Warner. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that I found a copy at a garage sale and I had to buy it and reread it. I liked it just as much. I can remember my mother reading one called "Matilda's Buttons" by Mabel Leigh Hunt. I have never been able to find another copy. It's probably out of print by now.
Do you ever go back and reread old favorites?
Growing up, my mother, I swear she read "Black Beauty" to us 20 times because that was her favorite book. I read it again in the fall. Loved it just as much this time. A friend of mine had a copy of "Little Women" that I'd never read, so I'm reading that. I usually have about two to three books that I've got going at the same time.
What book inspires you?
Jan Karon's Father Tim collections ("Patches of Godlight" and "A Continual Feast.") It's just little snippets. I'd think, "Oh, yeah, that's really true." He's one of the characters in the "Mitford" series, the Episcopalian priest. I also have a whole book of phrases and sayings I've collected over the years that I don't know what I'm ever going to do with, but I've got them if I ever need them.
And I guess Dan's book, and I'm sure it's mostly because it's personal, thinking, "Oh, gee, I know what they went through and how they've come up."
If you could be a character in any book that you've read, who would you be?
I would like to be one of the people that witnessed the turmoil of the (King Edward VIII) abdication. I'm a big person for pageantry and the traditions. I don't think King Edward VIII was the most intelligent person in the world, but what he went through, the personal turmoil. I would just like to have been there and seen, not only what went on with the council and the government - it had to have been incredible - (but) how it changed the course of history.
Can you tell us about a book that you were disappointed in?
Some of John Grisham's books. Some of it, I can't swallow. I get so frustrated that, there it goes, back in the bin.
If you were stranded on a desert island with only one book, what would you want it to be?
I've never read "Gone with the Wind." The sheer size, I've started it so many times. I've just never been able to get through it. I think a lot of it was lack of time. I thought, "Oh, this is eight hundred pages." I think that (the book) taught a lot about perseverance, I think it taught about struggles, and all of that. I think there would be something I could get from it. That's one of my goals in retirement. I want to read "Gone with the Wind," and I've never read "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Can you share your thoughts on what libraries have to offer?
I think it provides such a wonderful opportunity. For example, I'm going to Costa Rica. I think I've read, or looked at, every book on Costa Rica so I know what to expect. I wish more people used them. They offer a great leisure. You can leave whatever problems you've got and get immersed in a book.
- Cover to Cover is provided by the Monroe Public Library and is published the fourth Wednesday of the month.
I just finished reading "Home Is Burning" by Dan Marshall. It's a true story of a family in Salt Lake City. It's by the oldest son, who had to come home and care for his parents. His mom was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma after the birth of her fifth child. That was 20 some years ago - she's still alive. She's had 100 chemotherapy sessions. Dan's father assumed he was the strong point, but after qualifying for the Boston Marathon, he was diagnosed with ALS. I like the book because they're close personal friends of mine and I'm in the book, I mean, just briefly, although I had made several trips to Salt Lake over the years to help care for them.
It's Dan's first book. He's sold the film rights and two publishers bid for it. Part of what I found was so interesting is, I read the manuscript before it went to the publishers. I offered some suggestions, but I wasn't quite sure how it would all come together because it was (originally) written as a blog. They did a remarkable job. If high school locker room talk really puts you off, you won't like the book. But, if you can get past that, some of the stuff the family went through seems incredible. From someone who participated in a lot of it, it's all true.
When you read, do you focus on non-fiction or fiction?
I'm really into mysteries and biographies. I have a fascination with King Edward the VIII in England and the abdication, in the Wallis Simpson and the Gloria Vanderbilt connections, and all of that.
I like mysteries. I was so sad when Margaret Truman died and the Capital series had to come to an end. I used to read all of James Patterson's books, the Alex Cross series. On the opposite end, I read Debbie Macomber's "Cedar Cove" series. Another is Fern Michaels' "Sisterhood" series. I'm hooked on those. I've read every one of them.
Did you have a favorite book when you were growing up?
The "Boxcar Children" by Gertrude Chandler Warner. In fact, it wasn't too long ago that I found a copy at a garage sale and I had to buy it and reread it. I liked it just as much. I can remember my mother reading one called "Matilda's Buttons" by Mabel Leigh Hunt. I have never been able to find another copy. It's probably out of print by now.
Do you ever go back and reread old favorites?
Growing up, my mother, I swear she read "Black Beauty" to us 20 times because that was her favorite book. I read it again in the fall. Loved it just as much this time. A friend of mine had a copy of "Little Women" that I'd never read, so I'm reading that. I usually have about two to three books that I've got going at the same time.
What book inspires you?
Jan Karon's Father Tim collections ("Patches of Godlight" and "A Continual Feast.") It's just little snippets. I'd think, "Oh, yeah, that's really true." He's one of the characters in the "Mitford" series, the Episcopalian priest. I also have a whole book of phrases and sayings I've collected over the years that I don't know what I'm ever going to do with, but I've got them if I ever need them.
And I guess Dan's book, and I'm sure it's mostly because it's personal, thinking, "Oh, gee, I know what they went through and how they've come up."
If you could be a character in any book that you've read, who would you be?
I would like to be one of the people that witnessed the turmoil of the (King Edward VIII) abdication. I'm a big person for pageantry and the traditions. I don't think King Edward VIII was the most intelligent person in the world, but what he went through, the personal turmoil. I would just like to have been there and seen, not only what went on with the council and the government - it had to have been incredible - (but) how it changed the course of history.
Can you tell us about a book that you were disappointed in?
Some of John Grisham's books. Some of it, I can't swallow. I get so frustrated that, there it goes, back in the bin.
If you were stranded on a desert island with only one book, what would you want it to be?
I've never read "Gone with the Wind." The sheer size, I've started it so many times. I've just never been able to get through it. I think a lot of it was lack of time. I thought, "Oh, this is eight hundred pages." I think that (the book) taught a lot about perseverance, I think it taught about struggles, and all of that. I think there would be something I could get from it. That's one of my goals in retirement. I want to read "Gone with the Wind," and I've never read "To Kill a Mockingbird."
Can you share your thoughts on what libraries have to offer?
I think it provides such a wonderful opportunity. For example, I'm going to Costa Rica. I think I've read, or looked at, every book on Costa Rica so I know what to expect. I wish more people used them. They offer a great leisure. You can leave whatever problems you've got and get immersed in a book.
- Cover to Cover is provided by the Monroe Public Library and is published the fourth Wednesday of the month.