Two Books and Bad Moms

"Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all." 

-Abraham Lincoln

(as quoted by www.skipprichard.com; photo taken by Scottish photographer, Alexander Gardner (1821-1882), as shared at www.commons.m.wikimedia.org)

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 I think Abraham Lincoln had a good point...is there anything that is really original anymore? I can find out almost anything by googling these days. It reminds me that many other people have already thought about my question and have tried to find a good answer. They've mulled over the topic and used their own resourcefulness to find an answer. But nothing is really "original" these days. Still, I can try to write, draw, dance, think, perform, read, and watch as I so choose, because it's very unlikely that there is anyone else who has done these things EXACTLY like I have done them.

I listened to two books in the car recently and I enjoyed them. The first one is a book by Dave Eggers, Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever?

This is a strange little book about a young man who kidnaps the people in his life who he feels have wronged him in various ways. It's his tenuous attempt to make sense of his life, a life that he feels has been imbalanced and broken. He kidnaps an astronaut, a teacher,  his mother, a police officer, and a young woman.  He locks them in individual rooms in a large empty building complex near the ocean. He questions each one to try to understand why they did such mean things to him in the past. He is clearly angry at each one of them, and he takes the opportunity to tell them how they have wronged him. Each person reminds Kevin that the authorities will find him and put him jail for what he has done to him/her, but he doesn't seem to care. He continues to question each one because he wants to make sense of his life. This book is a little too weird for me, but the sentiment behind it is understandable. I think every human longs to live a life that "makes sense" and is at peace, but in order to do this we would have to live in a perfect world. How many of us have never looked back into our past and asked, "Why did __________ do that? Why did ________ make me feel bad?"

The second book that I listened to recently is What On Earth Have I Done? by Robert Fulghum. You may remember that Fulghum is the author of the popular book, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. What On Earth Have I Done? is a collection of essays in which Fulghum discusses all sorts of topics. He shares his likes and dislikes, the interesting people that he has met, and more. He calls himself a "storyteller," someone who enjoys writing about his experiences and thoughts. He relates many of his experiences from the years that he spent on an island in Greece.  Of course, he met a lot of interesting people there and he learned a lot from them. If you'd like to read something that is thoughtful and enjoyable, you will enjoy this book of essays.

I'm currently listening to an Anne Tyler book, Noah's Compass. It's about a man who is beaten and robbed during the night, but he has no memory of the attack. So far it's a pretty interesting story but I'll write more next time. Apparently I read this book in 2010, so this is my second time around, but I'm enjoying it. I've read three books by Anne Tyler so far.

Now about "bad moms." I'm sure you've heard about the new movie, "Bad Moms," starring Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, and others. I went to see this movie one discount day at Wynnsong because I thought it would be funny. Granted, it did have a lot of funny parts, but it was pretty vulgar as well. It's a Rated R movie for a reason, so if you don't like bad language, etc., just stay home. But it does bring up some good points about motherhood, the fact that we may often feel unappreciated and just plain tired. Yet we trod onward out of unconditional love for our families. The moms depicted in the movie are far from perfect, but what parent really is? We do the best that we can and put others ahead of ourselves. The three main characters in "Bad Moms" hit rock bottom and said, "NO MORE! We will no longer do everything for our families. We will take time for ourselves!" As you can imagine, there are many funny scenes, but it is pretty raunchy so think before you run out and see this flick. This movie makes me glad that the P.T.A. president doesn't really have this much power! In the movie, she abuses her power and controls everything that goes on at the school. It makes for a pretty funny series of events.

I'll close with some additional pictures of my recent trip to Alabama where I visited the home of Helen Keller and the hometown of Harper Lee. Have a great weekend!

-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com 

I'm reading To Kill a Mockingbird in Monroeville, Alabama.

 

Ivy Green, home of Helen Keller, in Tuscumbia, Alabama

The cottage where Anne Sullivan and Helen once lived and worked.