Sunday Salon: The Story of Forgetting

Today I finished The Story of Forgetting, by Stefan Merrill Block.

This is a beautiful debut novel (a Random House Advanced Reader's Edition, not for sale until April 2008), an epic story centered around generations of a family afflicted with Early Onset Alzheimer's.

I usually select books when I feel I can personally relate to their subject matter. At first, since I'd never had any experience with the disease or known any family members who have, I thought it wouldn't interest me, at least not on such a deeper level.

I couldn't have been more wrong. The story was more than a book centered around a disease that the majority of us (albeit, incorrectly) think we are familiar with. The Story of Forgetting is a patchwork of nuances -- memories found and memories lost, that connect those related by both blood ties and love.

Despite my initial reservations, I discovered that the book spoke to me through a universal theme -- one of its main characters had attempted to forever escape her past. This left open the possibility that she would one day need to come full circle and return home. I have always considered the need to return to my home state of Alabama, to come to an understanding of my own past and the parts of it that haunt me. By choosing this seemingly unfamiliar book, I came face to face with my own inner thoughts.

Here's what readers of this story are saying on LibraryThing.

Smirnoff for the Soul, by Yakov Smirnoff

In the midst of reading Listening is an Act of Love, I took a brief hiatus to read Smirnoff for the Soul by Russian-American comedian, Yakov Smirnoff. The book was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend Tim's mom. His parents live in Branson, Missouri, and when we visited them this past Thanksgiving, we sat in Yakov's own theater, as part of a packed house, as Yakov gave one of his well-known performances. This comedian, who first came with his parents to America in 1977, has one of the most inspirational success stories I've come across. Reading his anecdotes can cause even the weariest, most bitter American to take heart and see our "Land of the Free" in a better light.

Yakov and his family arrived with barely the clothes on their backs, and now Yakov owns his own theater in Branson, and it's one of the biggest attractions of this destination for many who visit this locale of the Ozarks. Smirnoff for the Soul is truly a shot of "100 Proof Pure Wisdom Gift-Wrapped in Laughter," as the book's cover advertises.

Yakov is more than a comedian. Though the pages of his books are filled with jokes, between the laughter, he imparts wisdom with a personal touch, sharing the lessons that he's learned firsthand from all stages of his life -- from the importance of being humble, to driving on, held together by nothing but the convictions of his own beliefs, pursuing personal goals no matter what others say, and being a good father to his children.

In my opinion, because Yakov comes from the perspective of having been a newcomer to this country, which many of us who were born here sometimes take for granted, he truly has a fresh approach to many of the issues he touches upon. I enjoyed this fast, fun read that also spoke to my soul in a number of ways.

Book Swapping or Trading Services

I just joined Bookmooch today. Over 2,500 people had bookmarked it via their del.icio.us accounts, over and above all of the other book-swapping services I've been able to find via Google; so I figured it had to have some validity.

With as much money as I shell out on books, and the speed with which I plow through them, I'm really interested to discover how well this service works. I'll let you know when I do.

For a while, I was hot and heavy into the Bookcrossing phenomenon, which really is a fun concept, but your luck in getting hold of a book you've had on your reading list via Bookcrossing is kind of skewed, if you go about it using this service. Still, it's fun to come across one of these registered finds, especially if you are in the market for a new title to add to your reading repertoire.

The only other service I found to be fairly popular was Bookins, and I haven't looked into that one very much.

I'd be interested to hear from other readers - how do you get your books? I imagine like many of us, you have a card for your local library branch or, when the mood strikes, you hit up Amazon or your favorite brick-and-mortar store; but I would love to get recommendations for alternate means to satisfy my book cravings. As for myself, I've discovered AbeBooks to be the best shopping site offering the most reasonable prices on titles I want to buy, as well as a good resource for out-of-print books.

Authors@Google Program - Videos, Author Readings

I just found out about the Authors@Google program through a Technorati search. I'm really going to have to make time to check out more of these.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Elizabeth Gilbert's video, author of Eat, Pray, Love.

Listening is an Act of Love, Storycorps Project

Following onward with my personal interest in the life stories of ordinary people, last night I began the book, Listening is an Act of Love: A Celebration of American Life From the StoryCorps Project (edited and with an introduction by Dave Isay).

This book was culled from thousands of interviews from across the country done at various locations where StoryCorps makes available mobile recording booths and at static locations set up at New York City's Ground Zero and Grand Central Station.

So far I've only read the first story in the anthology, based upon an interview done by Adrienne Lea with her friend, Cynthia Rahn. The result is a heartwarming childhood memory shared with readers and listeners, from 48-year-old Cynthia's life, of how one small act of thoughtfulness on the part of her mother will resonate with her forever.

When Cynthia was in kindergarten, she was asked, as part of a class project, to bring in something to add to the classroom's farmyard scene. Her family was poor, and this was more difficult for her than her teacher may have realized. She put it out of her mind, played outside until dark, and only realized her mistake when it was seemingly too late. Upon telling her mother of her problem, she was told it was her fault for not taking the responsibility to bring up the issue earlier. When it seemed all hope was lost, this little girl awakened, after her mother had already left in the early hours for work, to find a magnificent piece of origami made from simple notebook paper, left on the kitchen table, and formed into the shape of a barn.

To this day, Cynthia still marvels at that inexpensive though sentimentally priceless item, a show of her mother's quiet but boundless love. She said she has no idea how her mother put that intricate piece together, since, to her knowledge, her mother had no experience with origami. It remains a mystery.

Cynthia says she went into the classroom where others brought store-bought plastic farm animals and other implements, and she felt like a queen. The usually shy, insecure girl had a magical conversation piece to buoy her confidence that day, all because a tired, overworked mom saw the value in taking a few extra moments to do something special.

Reading this story brings back to me my own belief that the smallest gestures can have a profound effect on others, when freely given to family members, friends and even strangers. I believe even a smile or a thank you given meaningfully, and with eye contact, or lending a quick hand to someone in need, may mean more to them than we could ever know. What we do for another may even rub off on others, as the kindnesses we share with individuals get passed on and on into eternity - small acts that multiply, building mountains.

The Wisdom of Crowds, by James Surowiecki

I've been a member of Audible for some time now, finding it a more economical alternative to buying audiobooks in my local brick-and-mortar stores. Just the other day, I was riding the Metro in to work and spied an ad for eMusic (an online site that sells both music and audiobooks). I signed up for the 14-day trial period via this link and was given the option to download 25 songs for free during the trial, as well as one audiobook.

Truth be told, the music is from independent labels, and although I can appreciate musicians that don't subject themselves to the McDonaldization of entertainment, I can't find anything remotely worth downloading, even for free.

But, the books portion of the site piqued my interest and wasn't half bad. I chose to download James Surowiecki's The Wisdom of Crowds.

Sunday Salon: This I Believe

Tonight I finished This I Believe, an inspiring and fascinating collection of essays covering a range of topics that fall under human beliefs. The many contributors to this book touched courageously and candidly upon their own varieties of faith -- faith in America, faith in humanity, faith in the future, faith in the higher powers that be, even faith in barbecue, and more -- personalizing these beliefs sometimes through story or anecdote.

The writers of these brief, 100-word essays hail from different age groups, geographic locations, ethnicities, religions, genders and races, with both famous and obscure names.

I enjoyed reading each and every one of them, but the ones that most spoke to me were:

Pages 40-42 - "Good Can Be as Communicable as Evil," by Norman Corwin
Pages 80-83 - "The Connection Between Strangers," by Miles Goodwin
Pages 90-92 - "Disrupting My Comfort Zone," by Brian Grazer
Pages 126-128 - "The Benefits of Restlessness and Jagged Edges," by Kay Redfield Jamison
Pages 159-161 - "The Joy and Enthusiasm of Reading," by Rick Moody
Pages 171-174 - "Mysterious Connections That Link Us Together," by Azar Nafisi
Pages 178-180 - "We Are Each Other's Business," by Eboo Patel
Pages 181-183 - The 50-Percent Theory of Life," by Steve Porter
Pages 204-206 - "The Artistry in Hidden Talents," by Mel Rusnov
Pages 247-249 - "How Do You Believe in a Mystery?" by Loudon Wainwright III

I found myself stirred to examine my own beliefs, to see if I could encapsulate them within such a small span of verbiage myself, after having read the heartfelt statements of so many other people. Because I'm feeling too lazy to explain the entire project, check out the associated site, This I Believe, to craft your own story, bring this project into your community, read and search for more essays, or listen to podcasts.