It's Monday

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It's Monday, what are you reading?
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I finished this book last Monday at noon.  I could have written up a quick post and made it to  last week's meme by the skin of my teeth. But I knew I couldn't do it justice if I had to do it fast.
I'm talking about the book  "Sing You Home" by Jodi Picoult.

As you know, I don't review books, I just tell you if I like them or not.  "Sing You Home" has gotten mixed reviews and I was afraid to read it because I did not want to be disappointed.  I like Picoult and enjoy her books very much.

(a sidenote here....my daughter in law and I had talked about going to see Picoult in San Fransisco this month, and we ended up not going.  I  now wish we had tried harder, because I would have loved to hear her talk about this book,)

I was not disappointed.  I know Picoult's novels are not something like great classic literature, she'll never win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, BUT she writes popular novels with cutting edge topics, that keep thousands and thousands of fans hooked on her books.
Maybe my reasons for liking this book were more on an emotional level than the fact that it was well written, a good book, etc. Although I thought it was all those things.
I know people who live everyday of their lives dealing with the issues  Picoult wrote about in this novel (gay marriage--or lack thereof,  infertility, divorce ).  Not all at the same time as the story in the book portrays, but different people, same issues.   So it kept my interest on a personal level. 
I think Picoult always tries to show both sides of an issue and how complicated these situations can be.  I really appreciate her research and empathy for people and that comes thru in her novels.
The only thing I was a tad bit disappointed in, was that when Picoult addressed this 'hot topic' (same sex couples having children)  she represented the ultra-conservative, evangelical side of religion and there wasn't a  representation of the more moderate, liberal religious view.
I felt that  was a bit biased. For people who read the book and have no religious background, that could be a huge turnoff for religion for them. That is not always the religious viewpoint.   Of course, the ultra-conservative are the loudest, so they get the attention, but there are more moderate religions who would have shown compassion and kindness and  advocated for the couple.

I'm off topic, because what I really wanted to say about the book, the thing that really stuck with me was the idea of Music Therapy.   The main character was a music therapist.  I LOVED that idea.  I had never heard of a music therapist before, but once I did, I was hooked.
Music has always been an important part of my life.  I can't sing, I can't play an instrument, but I LOVE music. All kinds of music.   I DO have a soundtrack for my life.  I know it, I have it in my head  (of course the Handyman would say that his theme song is  I Can't Get No Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones.  He's so funny ) I plan dinner parties around what music I am going to play, I have certain music rules (rainy days I play the Sinatra channel on my car Sirius radio, Sunday mornings Gregorian Chant or  Yo Yo Ma,  working in the yard--the 60's channel,  country music when I'm at work, jazz on Friday nights!)
I just loved the idea of music helping people thru their lives.  Or out of their lives.  My friend Debbie, just lost her mother this past December, and in the last days the one thing that comforted her was music.  She would listen to Ava Maria over and over.

Some years back I read  "The Crosswick Journals" by Madeline L'Engle  ( A Wrinkle in Time) and she mentioned that she had four generations  of her family living under her roof one summer and she loved the fact that her 80 year old mother was subjected to the Beatles played by her son on his record player that summer.  She didn't want her mother to be so old as to never know what great  new music was being made every day.

I hope that my grandchildren want to share their music with me.  I know I'll never love it like they do  (it's an age thing) but I do want them to be able to share with me.
Who knows....what comforts me when I leave this world might be some new cutting edge rock and roll song in say....50 more years!

I liked the book, Sing You Home,but I haven't yet listened to the music CD that came with it.  For the same reason...I'm afraid of being disappointed.  But since I wasn't with the book, there is hope for the music, right?

I also listened to "The Weird Sisters" by Eleanor Brown on my Mp3 player.  I am not usually a fan of audiobooks, but I have to say this narrator kept me interested. I loved the way she read.   I downloaded it so I could listen on a drive to Reno, and then I enjoyed it so much I wore my little headphones all over the place, whenever I could.  
"The Weird Sisters" is about 3 sisters raised by  academic parents,  (They quote Shakespeare all thru-out the book) who return home as adults because their mother has cancer. 
All 3 have issues, and all see each other from their own/different perspectives.  It was all about family dynamics,  with Shakespeare quotes added in and a strong emphasis on book reading (they didn't have TV or radio growing up).
I liked the book.

I read "Still Life" by Louise Penny,  the first in a series, featuring Chief Inspector Gamache.  It takes place in a small village outside of Quebec.  I know nothing about Quebec and its relationship to Canada, so  a few insights have been quite interesting.  I will be reading the 2nd in the series soon.

This weekend I picked up  Don't Sing at the Table:  Life Lessons from My Grandmothers by Adriana Trigiani. I think it will be a quick read for me.  I always love a good memoir too.
And After that, probably  The Lonely Polygamist which is waiting for me on my Kindle.