More Books! 52 Books in 52 Weeks

Book 10

The Long Journey Home

A Memoir by Margaret Robison

Margaret Robison is a published poet who holds a MFA from the University of Massachusetts. She lives in Amherst, MA.

Beginning with Margaret Robison's childhood in southern Georgia, with its facade of 1950s propriety masking all sorts of demons - alcoholism, sexual repression, misogyny, and suicide - then taking us through her mental breakdown and, more recently, her recovery from a massive stroke, The Long Journey Home is Robison's attempt to make sense of a complicated, often tortured, complex American life. She writes movingly and honestly about her shortcomings as a parent, her difficult marriage, and her two now-famous children.  An accomplished poet and artist, Robison tells the painful but ultimately uplifting story of a woman trapped by social convention in a time when escaping cultural expectations was harder than most of us can remember.  Hers is a beautiful, heartfelt, enduring story.

I found it amazing that the author could remember so many details of her life, especially those of her time in various institutions.  Having grown up in "the South" during the 1950s, I could certainly recognize much of what life was like back then. Fortunately, my family did not suffer from any of the problems mentioned above - suicide, alcoholism, etc., but "propriety" was very important in that period.  Since I went to Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, I also found all the scenes of her life in that area extremely interesting. 

Robison's two sons, Chris, who changed his name to Augusten Burroughs, and John Elder Robison are both bestselling authors, but I haven't read either of them.  Burroughs' book, Running with Scissors, apparently makes her out as a horrible mother. John Elder's book, Look Me in the Eye, also deals with family issues. Since I haven't read either, I don't know for sure, but assume Robison wrote her memoir at least partly to tell her side, her view of their early lives. 

Books 11 and 12

The Hunger Games Trilogy:

2:Catching Fire and 3:Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins

Read the books? Seen the movie? These are hot, hot, hot at the present time! One of my brothers gave me The Hunger Games to read last fall, saying it was a YA (Young Adult) novel but one I really needed  to read. And then he said I'd want to get the next two, read them and give them to him! Once started, I couldn't put it down! It was a while before I got the next two , so now would like to reread the first one - or maybe reread all three! I'm not sure if I want to see the movie or not.  Sometimes the movies are disappointing, although I've heard that this is not the case with The Hunger Games.  

Whether or not you see the movie/s, definitely consider reading this trilogy! Aside from the exciting storyline, there's SO MUCH to think about - our culture, historical perspective, oh, so much!!!

Book One: The Hunger Games - In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts.  The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live tv.  Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games.  But Katniss has been close to death before -- and survival, for her, is second nature.  Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender.  But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Book Two: Catching Fire - Against all odds, Katniss has survived the Hunger Games.  She and her fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive.  Katniss should be relieved, happy even.  Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be.  Gale holds her at an icy distance.  Peeta has turned his back on her completely.  And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.  Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest that she's afraid she cannot stop.  And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever.  If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying. Katniss is about to be tested as never before.

Book Three: Mockingjay - Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed.  Gale has escaped.  Katniss's family is safe.  Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist.  There are rebels.  There are new leaders.  A revolution is unfolding.  It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena of the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it.  District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol.  Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans - except Katniss.  The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem.  To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust.  She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost.