Quote de jour

"I am sure everyone has had the experience of reading a book and finding it vibrating with aliveness, with colour and immediacy. And then, perhaps some weeks later, reading it again and finding it flat and empty. Well, the book hasn't changed: you have."

~Doris Lessing

Every writer should be lucky enough to enjoy over sixty years of literary success like Doris Lessing. She turns 92 this month and I can't fault her not wanting to write anymore. I'm a fan of this Pulitzer Prize winning writer, but somehow I'd missed her poignant memoir On Cats, an updated edition originally published as Particularly Cats in 1967. It predates the onslaught of current cat memoirs by about forty years and about forty times better. Catnip for any cat lover, myself included.


One of my favorite novels this year was the Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay. TatianadeRosnay.com I was thrilled to learn the film adaptation premiered at the Toronto Film Festival  last month to excellent reviews. But more thrilling was getting my hands on the author's follow-up novel A Secret Kept. My secret for avoiding the huge waiting lists at the library? Ordering the large print version online. This novel is another brother sister story of family secrets. The jacket copy is enticing and the first page has sucked me in which is the whole point of writing. It's not enough to have a great premise, you have to be able to tell the story with skill.

A publicist sent me a self-published memoir Living Without Reservations by Barbara Elaine Singer with the intriguing tagline: The Secret meets Eat Pray Love. It isn’t, but I give the writer five stars for walking her talk. Lot’s of middle-aged women would love to follow in Elizabeth Gilbert’s footsteps, but few have the courage to do it. Barbara, a spunky blonde from Florida does. She followed her intuition and her heart around the world ending up in Italy, where she met her Italian winemaker soulmate. I learned more about her compelling story when she called me from Italy last week.  We chatted about ex-pat life and the pitfalls of reinvention.

This blog is not about author interviews, but I may slide down that road sometime in the future. What most impressed me about Barbara is her can-do attitude. She didn’t flinch when I suggested the book need a major revision and edit. She promptly hired an editor and an improved version is in the works. Her compelling story deserves a wider audience, but what niggles in my head is a quote about writing by Doris Lessing: “In the writing process, the more a story cooks, the better.” We all know a stew improves its flavor by simmering over time. The art of memoir requires dredging the past in meaningful layers, adding spice, correcting the balance for a good read. I wish Barbara had spent more time stirring the pot, but at the end of the day, she is living her dream so what do I know?

To read more about Barbara, her life in Italy with her amore Giuseppe, including reinvention tips and photos go to

barbaraelainesinger.com 

Are you as tired as I am about the media frenzy surrounding Jonathan Franzen's new novel Freedom? Just when you think there couldn't be a new wrinkle, there is. In the "truth is stranger than fiction" department, it turns out the British version published oops, a rough draft. Apparently someone opened the wrong computer file and copied the rough draft instead of the final draft. Now, that's a book I'd love to read to compare versions.

This week's batch of magazines has a preponderance of pink. Perhaps for breast cancer awareness month?

•  I'm glad to see Martha giving her decorating expert aka right arm, Kevin Sharkey well deserved face time on the cover. Am I weird thinking it's odd that she named one of her French Bulldogs Sharkey?
•  More weird: Every time I see Jon Stewart, I'm reminded that I used to date his brother. They look similar except for this cover.