The Mixquiahuala Letters

The Mixquia-what? The Mix-key-a-wah-lah letters. This was our Book Club pick this month!
In all honesty, this wasn't one of my favorites, but the format was cool and a complete departure from previous picks we've had.

The Mixquiahuala Letters is about two women (an artist and a writer) who met in Mexico and the friendship they share over several decades. Actually, the letters were only written by one of the women (the writer, duh!) but it evidently contains the artist's point of view as well.

What made this book so different was the way the reader could choose to read it! It was kind-of like a choose-your-own-adventure book! The reader could choose to read the book as: The Conformist, The Cynic, or The Quixotic. (To be quixotic means to be not sensible about practical matters, to be idealistic and unrealistic.) Depending on which path you choose, you read the chapters (letters) in a different order. I guess it is meant to tell a different story each time.

I read The Conformist and The Cynic, I didn't have enough time to read The Quixotic. I didn't find the two paths I read to be too entirely different-most of the chapters were repeats, although the author doesn't direct you to read all the chapters in each path. It was kind-of confusing and I know I am not making this review any less so.

I wasn't blown away by this book, and I suspect that the Book Club girls aren't exactly going to be impressed, either. Lucky for us, we're having this month's Book Club at a Mexican restaurant, so we'll be entertained by the margaritas!:)

Letter to my Daughter

I can't believe it's already Book Club time again! Where did this past month go? Between work and my new found love of blogging, I haven't had as much time for reading I guess!

This month's pick was Maya Angelou's: Letter to my Daughter. It is a collection of short stories and poems that she wrote or enjoyed, describing different times in her life.

Maya Angelou never had a daughter, but she wrote this collection with all women in mind, as if they were all the daughter's she never had.

In my mind, I have always compared Angelou to Toni Morrison. While I have the utmost respect for Morrison's writing, I have never been "blown away" by anything that I've read of hers. While I had never read anything by Angelou, I was familiar with her poetry and public appearances. I was so impressed!

Even her poetry, which I have always struggled to decipher, was easy to understand. It was like you could hear her distinct voice speaking the words on the pages! And her writings on God and faith spoke to my heart in a way I would never be able to communicate in words that would give it any justice. It made me envious of her gift-an envy I've always had for people that are brave enough to put words to paper. (Although I suppose Angelou would say to examine my other gifts as everyone possesses at least one!)

This book was really easy to read and a nice departure from the "chick lit" I'm so fond of. Plus, the short story format makes it easy to consume in short spurts since I was so pressed for time this month!

I have never posted a question on my blog, but I think this is as good a time as any! Are there any special skills that people possess that make you envious? What would you love to do with your life if you could do anything?

There's a (slight) chance I might be going to hell

I devour books. I will pretty much read anything I can get my hands on! I thought that my book consumption was directly related to working the night shift (AKA graveyards) as there were several opportunities for downtime. I am beginning to come to terms with the fact that I just love having my nose stuck in a book! I'm a book worm!

I belong to a book club that my good friend G started over a year ago. It's basically an opportunity to get together for a couple hours and talk about the book for 5 minutes of those hours. I love Book Club.:)

It was M's turn to pick a book this month. I have given her a hard time in the past for picking a less-than-desirable book and I haven't had the opportunity yet to live it down. But I am always the first one to give her props for picking 2 of my favorite Book Club picks to date: "The Time Travelers Wife" and "The Glass Castle". Her third pick was no exception: "There's a (slight) chance I might be going to hell" by Laurie Notaro.

This book focuses on a woman who moves to a small town with her husband and finds it difficult to make friends. Notaro has an easy way of writing and this book was really funny. My only gripe was the unfortunate way she took several opportunities to bad mouth pit bulls and portray them as violent dogs. (I have 2 pit bulls, they are wonderful dogs, they deserve much more attention than a single sentence.)

Other than that, the book was easy to read and one of those reads I had a hard time putting down. Great pick M!