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Sunday, January 15, 2012

Racing Through Pages



The frost on the porch windows yesterday morning was still there in the afternoon and later on, in the evening, when we returned from our second night out in a row, this time to the Northwest Michigan Regional Juried Exhibition at the Dennos Museum in Traverse City, where David scored an honorable mention, a result that pleased us both. It was a huge field of work, with all kinds of media represented. We saw many old friends, as well as a sea of strangers.


Tonight will be the third night out in a row for me, and I must spend the day getting ready for it. Preparations will not involve extensive wardrobe considerations or experiments with hair or makeup. No, I’ll be reading all day. Four of us (one will be absent—and greatly missed!) will be getting together to discuss Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken, and I have only reached Chapter 8 so far!

So, time to lay Dante aside and postpone further getting into Carol Gilligan’s new book (more of that in the near future) as I return to World War II and the life of Louis Zamperini. Not a moment to lose! I am only on page 82! I will only take time to note that on page 40, as runners all over America are straining to run a 4-minute mile, the author makes these observations:
His coach predicted Louie would take that record [4.06.04] down. The only runner who could beat him, the coach said, was Seabiscuit.
It tickled me that Hillenbrand was able to get in that casual and certainly appropriate reference to the subject of her own former best-selling nonfiction book.

No more dilly-dallying now, however: it is time to read, read, read! Outdoor fun in the snow must wait, too, Sarah!


7 comments:

Gerry said...

Congratulations David. I hope you decide to go to the book group, too. And there's PJ, heading for the homestretch--lookit that woman read, will you! She goes like Seabiscuit! Or at the very least like a spaniel haring off down the beach.

P. J. Grath said...

No, I'm not neglecting my book to goof off online! Just checking in for a moment after a sortie into the snow with Sarah. I have reached Chapter 12! Have not caught up with David yet, but I'm the one with possession of the book at present. Could the Cowboy keep up with me, you think, Gerry?

Dawn said...

Hope you're closer to the end now, before you go to the meeting! Congratulations to David!! That would have been a fun evening!

P. J. Grath said...

All three evenings out were fun. David did not go to the book discussion on Sunday. I only got the first half of the book read but held up my end pretty respectably, and today David and I have been taking turns reading the book. It’s been to have a whole day at home. Now tomorrow begins with an 8:30 meeting in Northport and continues with an 11:30 event in Traverse City. Good thing Sarah can’t read the calendar: she suspects nothing!

Kathy said...

Did you finish the book yet? This would not be unusual in our book club, as I might have told you before. Half of the club often hasn't finished the book. Sounds like you've been quite busy!

P. J. Grath said...

David and I stayed home yesterday and took turns reading it. I'd read half before going to my group meeting and did pretty well discussing, so I'll finish now at a more leisurely pace. There was other excitement today:

http://booksinnorthport.blogspot.com/2012/01/in-literary-terms-national-means.html

The Up North world of art and literature keeps us hopping!

P. J. Grath said...

Turns out that it's impossible to read UNBROKEN at a "leisurely" pace. I finished it yesterday morning, and the last pages were as gripping as the first. Now the course is clear for David to race on to the finish. We are both recommending this book highly. I also find that Hillenbrand's writing of this WWII tale reminds me of Doug Stanton's HORSE SOLDIERS: both books have the same "You are there!" quality for readers.