So I've been sick as a dog this week—and am finally feeling better today, thank goodness. Alex was so sweet to come home early, put Toby to sleep, bring me Gatorade, make me a bland dinner (toast with said Gatorade) and lie in bed and read to me. The last time I was this sick (almost five years ago), he read me "The Diamond as Big as the Ritz" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which was creepy and wonderful, but this year I couldn't find any short stories so he read from Bird by Bird. Thank you, Alex; I love you.
(The experience also taught me that it's really nice to read stories in bed. Do you have any favorite books of short stories? I'd LOVE to hear...)
P.S. Toby's reaction.
(Photo of our bedroom by Oh Darling Photography)
feel better
ReplyDeleteThat's so sweet of him to take care of you! It's nice to have someone around who cares that much :) I'm actually reading a book of short stories right now! They are more of a collection of the author's ponderings so far... http://www.amazon.com/Varieties-Disturbance-Stories-Lydia-Davis/dp/0374281734
ReplyDeleteI also asked people on twitter and got some amazing recommendations, including Birds of America by Lorrie Moore, St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell, J.D. Salinger's Nine Stories, Music for Chameleons by Truman Capote; The Girl in the Flammable Skirt by Amy Bender; Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter of Maladies; Like You'd Understand Anyway by Jim Shepard; The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr; People I Wanted to Be by Gina Ochsner...
ReplyDeleteSuch a great list! Thanks for sharing!
DeleteFeel better! It's so hard when you are sick with little ones that depend on you.
DeleteThanks for the list--short stories are much more manageable at this stage of life:)
Everything Jhumpa Lahiri writes is wonderful.
DeleteJoanna, when you asked for short story recommendations I actually Tweeted at you "F. Scott Fitzgerald!" and here see you've already been hot on his trail. I absolutely adore his book of short stories and all of his work. Being from the Twin Cities really seals the deal on my literary love affair with Mr. Fitz!
Deletethat looks fantastic, kristi!
ReplyDeleteI don't have any suggestions, but do want to say that you are one lucky lady! I only hope to have a husband like Alex one day. I hope you continue to feel better.
ReplyDeleteThis is so sweet. Reading out loud in bed is such a wonderful experience. My husband just read The BFG out loud to our 5 & 3-year-old boys (one chapter a night) and it was such a bonding experience for them!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE The Diamond as Big As The Ritz!! Alex is such a hero. I'm so glad you're feeling better, Joanna!!
ReplyDeleteMy husband reads Moby Dick to my son and I before bed. Its actually a really funny book and it has short chapters so its perfect for a sleepy read.
ReplyDelete~Jennifer
So sweet! When I was very sick with bronchitis about 4 years ago, my boyfriend (now fiance) was living in Wyoming and I in Charleston, SC. We'd been long distance for 2 years, and were very used to talking on the phone - but sick on the phone and able to help each other...not so much. I was sooo sick- could barely talk, let alone breathe- and missed him so much. Each night that I was in bed sick, he read me a story or two out of Nine Stories by JD Salinger. It's always been one of my favorites, but having someone read it to you makes the stories that much better (and that much creepier, too) :) Even though he was over the phone, it felt like he was right there. Nothing sweeter than that!
ReplyDeleteI love short stories - my boyfriend and I sometimes read to each other from "A Kind of Flying", a collection of short stories by Ron Carlson. I would highly recommend it.
ReplyDeleteI hope you feel better!
Megan
My boyfriend and I read almost the entire Harry Potter series together (!). Okay, really it was him reading the entire series to me, and even though that sounds like overkill, it was lovely and wonderful and it's a memory I'll always cherish. :)
ReplyDeleteI have the audio books narrated by Stephen Fry. I find them so relaxing that I took them to hospital with me when I had my daughter :)
DeleteRoald Dahl's short stories are the BEST! My favorite collection is the Best of Roald Dahl. My parents used to read these when I was a kid (although many of them are very dark and not necessarily good for kids).
ReplyDeletesometimes the best remedies are little things. Where You'll Find Me: And Other Stories... to add to the list:)
ReplyDeleteget well
xo- Katie
You and Alex are so great together! And I hope you're feeling better soon--there is some nasty stuff going around!
ReplyDeleteYou're in good hand with Alex and Ms. Anne Lamott. My mother gave me that book for my first day of high school and Plan B later. I honestly think her words could get me thought anything.
ReplyDeleteFeel better soon!
I feel the same way about Anne :)
DeleteMy husband *loves* to read me stories, and he's a storyteller at heart. Last Christmas when we were just engaged, he read aloud The Best Christmas Pageant ever while wearing a headlamp. So endearing.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Hope you feel better!
oh, yes! I see that Lorrie Moore is already on your radar in an above comment, but I can not recommend the collection "Self Help" enough. It is heartbreaking and hilarious and so well-written. xo Kim
ReplyDeletePS -- Feel better!
I recommend How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers. And Big Bad Love by Larry Brown.
ReplyDeleteI second the Oschner and Bender recommendations and would add The Dead Fish Museum by Charles D'Ambrosio and anything by Amy Hempel. I hope you feel better soon.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was small, a close family friend who was a reading teacher would give me the most wonderful books each year for Christmas. The Outspoken Princess and the Gentle Knight was my favourite. It's a collection of fairy tales with modern sensibilities written by some of the greats (Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen, and others) at various points in the 20th Century. It enchanted me then, and continues to do so now (I read Lee's story, "Princess Dahli" in the bath just the other day). I've also used it in several teaching situations, so I know it appeals to kids, too! http://www.amazon.com/The-Outspoken-Princess-Gentle-Knight/dp/0553375148
ReplyDeleteSO glad you are feeling better. If you like Bird by Bird, you may like some of Anne Fadiman's books, especially Ex Libris!
ReplyDeleteI'd also highly recommend Anne Fadiman's collection of essays "At Large and At Small" -- such an enjoyable to read. Hope you are feeling better!
DeleteEver so S W E E T !
ReplyDeletePS. Next time. Alice Munroe has a new collection of short stories out. She's the queen of short story writers.
I second the Alice Munro suggestion! I've read two of her collections so far, hoping to start the new one this weekend.
DeleteThe new Alice Munro is excellent. I keep finding myself rereading one line over and over wonder how anyone could write so beautifully - spare, elegant and powerful.
DeleteJoanna, I also like Michael Chabon's short stories, the collection "You Know When the Men Are Gone," anything from the Best American series, anything by Annie Proulx and Jhumpa Lahiri. Short stories are my favorite thing to read.
"Gravity" by Ann Beattie, one of my favorite writers. Though anything from "Burning House is wonderful.
ReplyDeleteMy husband read The History of Love and Half Broke Horses to me over the course of a couple of weeks. In his voice, his cadence, timing... it was so wonderful to listen. Being told a story is the best :)
ReplyDeleteWe read the Curious Case of Benjamin Button together aloud before the movie came out.
ReplyDeleteThe Collected Short Stories of Saki, you can't go wrong.
ReplyDeleteI struggle with insomnia and my husband reads to me from The Odyssey to help me fall asleep. It makes my mind wonder off on an adventure and I fall asleep like a baby. It's the best.
ReplyDeleteI had surgery last week and my guy took the best care of me...it was so sweet! He even missed his beloved monday night football to rub my back while I was feeling bad:) I love the short story idea...I'll have to look into your list above!
ReplyDeleteLove to be read stories
ReplyDeleteCanadian authors are among my favorite story tellers.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, Raymond Carver. Molly Ivins Can't Say That, Can She?, Molly Ivins.
ReplyDeleteYES!
Deletei'm home sick too this week; it's the worst!
ReplyDeletemy boyfriend and i have the same ritual; we read from old H.P. Lovecraft and M.R. James books that we've picked up at antique stores or book fairs. there's something both nostalgic and very adult about reading together in bed.
oddly, this exact tradition of reading to each other (or lack thereof) was a catalyst for the end of a previous relationship of mine. i had been dating one of those All American Jerk types for years, who considered himself a jock and videogame connoisseur. one night, while getting ready for bed, he mocked me for wanting to spend time quietly reading. the next day as a co-worker told me how she and her boyfriend were taking turns reading chapters of a book to each other each night before bed, i realized i would never have that with this man. and for whatever reason, it was the final straw. i'd already made the mistake of giving up much of myself to fit into a mold of who his All American Jerk wanted me to be. but the idea that this man would never want to read to me, well it was enough. i deserved someone and a future, where that was a possibility. we broke up the next week.
a very long way of saying that i completely understand how cherished and lovely this ritual is. i'm happy i fought for it, and waited for a man who would share in, and treasure it with me.
glad to hear you're on the mend!
http://leanerbythelake.com
So glad you're feeling better! Being sick is the pits.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite book of short stories (right now) is Annie Dillard's Teaching A Stone to Talk. She is a genius. (honorable mention to In Fact: The Best of Creative Nonfiction)
My favorite book to read when I'm sick or to read to those who are, or to children or to anyone who will sit still long enough to listen is Animal Family by Randall Jarrell. It is so simple and sweet and lovely.
Enjoy the holidays, now that you're well!
I'm glad you're feeling better! Feeling sick is awful!
ReplyDeleteWhen I read, I prefer The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson!
http://thehonestfox.blogspot.com/
Interpreter of Maladies and Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri (I liked Unaccustomed Earth better). But be warned, these stories will gut you. So emotional.
ReplyDeleteDorothy Parker and Philip K. Dick have fabulous short stories that are great for reading out loud. My husband reads to me from the passenger seat while I drive on long trips, it's such fun. Feel better!
ReplyDeleteAlex reading aloud to you reminds me of this Daily Beast post on the intimacy of being read to as an adult :) http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/10/the-intimacy-of-reading-aloud.html
ReplyDeleteI also recommend the collection of short stories The Worst Years of Your Life: Stories for the Geeked-Out, Angst-Ridden, Lust-Addled, and Deeply Misunderstood Adolescent in All of Us, edited by Mark Jude Poirier. It has Julie Orringer's "Note to Sixth-Grade Self," probably my favorite short story, told in the second person as a grown-up looking back and giving advice to her (yup) sixth-grade self. It's poignant. I'm also convinced it spawned all those magazine articles featuring celebrities writing to their younger selves.
Sorry you were sick!
ReplyDeleteAnytime I need to keep my mind occupied while sick or cleaning, etc., I listen to "This American Life" (they have an EXCELLENT app!!) or "Stuff You Should Know" or "On Being" podcasts.
That is truly so sweet.... I love it.
ReplyDeletexoxo
Liesl
woodsy-soiree.blogspot.com
I love Barbara Kingsolvers short stories. Small wonder or high tide in Tucson. Feel better.
ReplyDeletea little piece of happiness : )
ReplyDeleteI'm a long lurker, never commenter, but I'm so obsessed with this collection I had to jump in: Delicate Edible Birds, by Lauren Groff. The prose is so beautiful, and each one just leaves you sitting there like: whoa. What just happened? One of the stories is available free online if you'd like a sneak preview - it contains, I think, as much as many novels do within its few pages. It's here: http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/08/l-debard-and-aliette/305035/
ReplyDeleteFierce Pajamas and/or Disquiet Please! - Both are short humor pieces from past issues of the New Yorker. It's an anthology of essays. You get a lot of great writers in there like Woody Allen, David Sedaris, Veronica Geng, Steve Martin, Christopher Buckley etc. They will definitely make you laugh and are great to have around.
ReplyDeleteAfter all, laughter IS the best medicine ;) (sorry, I couldn't resist)
Just get well...vitamin D...
ReplyDeleteReading Pete Hamil's the Christmas Kid now, which paints such a vivid portrait of Brooklyn in the 70s and 80s. Also, anything my Neil Gaiman on audiobooks is excellent. He's a wonderful narrator of his own work, which is rare.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so glad to see you're reading Baked Explorations! I hope you have a copy of their latest cookbook, Baked Elements.
I hope you feel better soon dear :)
ReplyDeleteI have been wanting to read this book Bird by bird for so long!...How is it? I heard it is really good and helps to improve writing.
this is really wonderful. i look so forward to a love like this!
ReplyDeletei hope you are feeling better!
Love your rug Joanna!:)
ReplyDeleteSo many great suggestions! Add Other People We Married by Emma Straub, The Book of Life by Stuart Nadler, The Collected Works of Lydia Davis, Yesterday's Weather by Anne Enright, and anything by Flannery O'Connor to the list. Also, The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories. Okay. Done.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you are starting to feel better!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Roald Dahl’s short stories- they are thrilling and creepy and horrible and some are strangely beautiful. So fun.
Second the Nine Stories. My husband gave me a copy of a compilation called New York Stories from the New Yorker, edited by David Remnick. I'm not usually big on compilations, but I love picking this one up and just getting a little hit of something unexpected. It's also just the thing when I am missing NYC. (I now live in L.A.)
ReplyDeleteFeel better
Get well soon!
ReplyDeleteSO typically I prefer novels, but I have really strong feelings about the few short story books that I like. Favorites -
ReplyDelete1. Walk the Blue Fields by Claire Keegan - "An unforgettable array of quietly wrenching stories about despair and desire in the timeless world of modern-day Ireland." Beatiful and haunting.
2. St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell -Author of the novel Swamplandia which is also stellar. Such a unique voice and talented story teller.
3. A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman - "...lusciously written grand tour of the realm of the senses includes conversations with an iceberg in Antarctica and a professional nose in New York, along with dissertations on kisses and tattoos, sadistic cuisine and the music played by the planet Earth." (Non-fiction) I love opening this book to a random page and reading whatever is in front of me. Each essay is a little treat.
Get well soon!
A book of Sherlock Holmes mysteries is always a treat to read aloud in bed.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're one lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteI like to read the David Sedaris short stories such as "Squirrel seeks Chipmunk". *chuckle*
Sounds like you're one lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteI like to read the David Sedaris short stories such as "Squirrel seeks Chipmunk". *chuckle*
I hope I'm not being one of those annoying people but Gatorade has brominated vegetable oil in it which is banned in Europe and soon Japan. Drink some herbal tea, or a glass of water with some lemon..anything but this. If I was there I would make you some good chicken foot stock and make you drink that - it cures everything. Have you read The Sisters Brothers? Each chapter is only a few pages long which makes it easy to read. I read it aloud to my husband. It's a very good book!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/business/another-look-at-a-drink-ingredient-brominated-vegetable-oil.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes&_r=0
J. D. Salinger's Nine Stories is terrific.
ReplyDeleteThis year's book of the Best American Short Stories is fantastic. I always read the collection every year and like it, but I loved it this year! It’s a great variety of funny and moving stories. Jhumpa Lahiri is one of my favorite short story writers. She has two books of short stories out- The Interpreter of Maladies and Unaccustomed Earth . Both are fantastic. I also second St. Lucy's Home for Girls. They are surrealist stories that are imaginative and fun.
ReplyDeleteFeel better soon!
My husband and I have been reading Grimm's Fairy Tales (we downloaded them free from Project Gutenberg) to each other in bed. We read a few stories each night and it's been my favorite thing lately. I just read a tale about a cat who lied about being a Godmother so she could sneak a pot filled with fat. They are all so ridiculous, funny, and great.
ReplyDeleteOh yes! I am reading 'The Country of the Blind and Other Stories' right now and it's fantastic, each story is better than the last.
ReplyDeleteSorry you haven't been well. X.
I'm sure you've already read this one, but I love The Umbrella Man by Roald Dahl. I'm a Roald lover as well. :)
ReplyDeleteI really loved "Where the God of Love Hangs Out" by Amy Bloom. The way she writes love and relationships is amazing. Feel better!
ReplyDeleteNot exactly a book of short stories, but a novella, (56 pages, I believe, I downloaded it on Kindle) 'Cats and Dogs' by Norm Augustinus. It takes place in Michigan and is laugh out loud hilarious. Hope you feel better.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you're getting better! I recommended this on Twitter but also strongly suggest The Theory of Light and Matter by Andrew Porter if you like short stories. He was my writing professor in undergrad (and was one of my favorites!) and it won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction in 08. He just released his first novel, In Between Days, this year and I am hoping it is waiting under the tree for me this year at Christmas. :)
ReplyDeletehow sweet. hope you feel better! x
ReplyDeleteI love short stories! I have a big O Henry anthology, and it's great for reading out loud because his stories are always have such unexpected/hilarious endings. He wrote "The Gift of the Magi" (which my dad would always read aloud on Christmas eve after church!) and the "Ransom of Red Chief."
ReplyDeleteI love when you do book recs! I might be getting a Kindle for Christmas so this is perfect :_
Not sure how we caught the same muthableeping,miserable cold (mine has turned into a sinus infection and bronchitis) because you are in New York and I'm in Florida. Who gets sick in Florida?
ReplyDeleteAny book by Alice Munro. She's a genis!
If you like the Anthony Doerr, check out his "Four Seasons in Rome". Nonfiction, but short chapters, and it's one of my all time favorites.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby and I love reading aloud Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six Others. My fave is "The Boy who Talked with Animals".
ReplyDeleteBoyfriend and I read in bed (or rather I do) aloud every night. WE're working on The Mind of the South by W. J. Cash. Probably the best way to understand the South, why it is the way it is, and where it's going.
ReplyDeleteaww. love is so sweet. hope you're on the mend and feeling better in no time.
ReplyDeletefeel better soon!!
ReplyDeletei have begged my husband for years to tell me stories when i'm sick and in bed, and he has yet to do it - maybe if i bought him a book of short stories, he would at least read to me? :)
Gosh, I've been sick this week also! I recommend Sloane Crosley's essay collection entitled I Was Told There'd Be Cake. Sweet and silly New York-based humor.
ReplyDeleteWow! so many wonderful books. Glad that your much better! Emma Straub has a book of short stories 'Other People We Married', which is very good.
ReplyDeleteYou MUST MUST MUST read The Boat by Nam Le. The most gorgeous, powerful writing ever. www.namleonline.com No pressure!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSuch a great book and the reason for my blog title! Feel better Jo!
ReplyDeleteCaitlyn
http://birdbyebird.blogspot.com/
I hope you're feeling better and a bit stronger everyday. You're husband is so sweet. I love it when my guy will make me food and watch TV with me when I'm sick, who doesn't love a little babying ;)
ReplyDeleteMy heart melts, that is so incredibly sweet! I don't know that my husband has ever read to me, but he is always at my beck and call when I'm sick (and vice versa of course). Feel better!!!
ReplyDeleteStrive to Thrive,
Nic
www.Thriving-Wives.com
I'm currently reading "The Elephant Vanishes" by Haruki Murakami. It's wonderful! Feel better soon.
ReplyDeletePregnant?
ReplyDeletehow sweet!!!
ReplyDeletewww.mamajulesbrussels.blogspot.com
Feel better!!!! Maybe you're preggers! ;)
ReplyDeleteFeel better! It seems that everyone has caught something lately. Yuck!
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty I don't think I like short stories. However, I have never given them a fair chance. I love reading and devour books. I have always thought I didn't like short stories because I was sure I'd tear through the too quickly. Maybe I should give them a chance!!
I really love Lori Moore's short story collections: Self Help and Birds of America are two.
ReplyDeleteAny of Wendell Berry's stories are fantastic. Watch with Me and Six Other Stories are particularly great for reading out loud: so funny! So sweet! So charming!
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I started reading Willa Cather's Death Comes for the Archbishop aloud on our honeymoon, as we went to Santa Fe. Not short stories, but broken into short chapters, so nice for reading aloud.
Oh! My fiance and I love reading short stories and poetry together...
ReplyDeleteSome of our favorites include: Raymond Carver (short stories and poetry; very honest and direct yet beautiful writing), Flannery O'Connor, Mary Gaitskill (both for short stories).
Also, Sandra Cisneros' "The House on Mango Street" is a collection of vignettes that are lovely read together or separately.
Lastly, I just finished Sharon Olds' poetry collection titled "The Father," which is about her father's death. I wouldn't call myself an avid poetry reader but I loved it. She writes of her relationship with her father in a tender, sometimes blunt way. Her descriptions of the human body are simply wonderful.
JD Salinger's Nine Stories is great, as is Murkami's The Elephant Vanishes. My sweetie and I read a whole (loong) book together last year--Murakami's 1Q84. It was fun!
ReplyDeleteThis is totally aside form the point...but your carpet is rad!!
ReplyDeleteThat is so sweet and romantic. We've all been sick in our house too and it's the absolute worst! Love "Toby's reaction." That's exactly my daughters attitude too lol
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy Dorothy Parker's Complete Stories. (There are probably numerous versions). I have the Penguin Classics one. So wry, witty, and intelligent.
ReplyDeleteHi Jo!
ReplyDeleteI'm only commenting because I JUST finished reading this NYTimes article (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/business/another-look-at-a-drink-ingredient-brominated-vegetable-oil.html?smid=tw-share) before checking out your posts from today.
I know everyone has her own specifications for what delimits safe food ingredients, so I rarely ever share articles like this, especially because most of us have done the research we deem appropriate to make sure we're comfortable with what we're eating. But just in case this is useful for you (as many of your sunscreen and organic veggie posts were me!) I thought I might point out Gatorade's position the crosshairs of the food additive safety debate..
Whatever your position, I hope you're feeling better!
Oops! Looks like I'm a little tardy to the party with the NYTimes share - sorry if it seemed I was pushing the issue!
DeleteMy twin sister when I was sick a few months ago read me chapters from The Phantom Tollbooth, which is hands down our favorite book. I love reading things like that when I'm feeling sick -- they are technically for kids, but have plenty of places adults can appreciate them. :)
Glad you're feeling better!!! Being sick is no fun!!
ReplyDeleteJoanna,
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear you've been ill and thanks for the heroic effort in keeping up with your posts!
A fantastic read in bed: M.R. James ghost stories. Classic supernatural tales, just spinechilling enough :)
Get well soon
Kate
We love short stories in our house. Have you heard of Sips Card? Short Stories or poems meant to last as long as your cup of coffee?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite collection of stories is "How to Breathe Underwater" by Julie Orringer. Every story is great!
ReplyDeleteI will second this-- that book is wonderful.
DeleteAlex is such a sweetie! And toby's reaction made me laugh :)
ReplyDeleteHope you recover soon!
xoxo
<3 Yeasol from theferrytale
I so get how you are feeling. We too have had a house hit with illness. Nothing like being sick with gastro and having a one year old.
ReplyDeletehttp://iliska-dreams.blogspot.com.au/
How We Are Hungry by Dave Eggers is my favorite.
ReplyDeleteAlso any of the Glass family stories by J.D. Salinger.
ReplyDeleteare you preggers? :)
ReplyDeleteJ. California Cooper, Sandra Cisneros and J.D Salinger all have great short story compilations. There is nothing like enjoying a great story in bed. Its even better with warm chocolate chip cookies and coffee.
ReplyDeletehttp://foodfashionandflow.blogspot.com/
Reading to another person who is accustomed to multiple forms of info stimuli is an art, so choose your novel wisely...depends on the audience. For the "Not easily Entertained, I'd read Justin Cronin, "The Passage" guaranteed to make them pee the bed. For the easily amused, Tina Fey, "Bossy Pants", and for the middle of the road - who like excellent fiction, try "The Kite Runner", nothing beats a well written, well told, well scripted story that makes your heart break at some point or another.
ReplyDeletemy 2 cents. read on...
c.h.
My boyfriend and I love reading short stories out loud too! Our favorite is Vonnegut's Welcome to the Monkey House. We took turns reading the stories out loud during a camping trip last year. The story Harrison Bergeron is especially wonderful. I hope you feel better, Joanna!
ReplyDeleteI just thought of another one The Lone Surfer of Montana Kansas by Davy Rothbart
ReplyDeleteloving the photo of the couple in this scene. Celebrity Photos
ReplyDeleteThat is so nice of Alex haha that's got to be appreciated! I love reading in bed too, and especially loved it as a child :)
ReplyDeletehttp://currentlylovingblog.blogspot.com/
I'm glad you are feeling better! I love thumbing through Whitman's "Leaves of Grass".
ReplyDeleteThis is so sweet of your husband. Being ill is the worst so for someone to make things a little bit easier is just lovely.x
ReplyDeleteSo sweet :) Adore the reaction of Toby!! Haha!
ReplyDeleteTrisha Xx
World Top Expensive Cars, Top Most Speed Cars, Top Super Cars and Strange Vehicles.
ReplyDeleteworldlatestvehicles.blogspot.com
I love short stories, too. My favourite, which I read over and over again, is The Most Beautiful Book in the World, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
ReplyDeleteAnything by Truman Capote, Vladimir Nabokov or Claire Keegan.
ReplyDeleteYou'll love "Roman Fever" by Edith Wharton or "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
ReplyDeleteAlso, "The Golden Key" and "The Wise Woman" (and everything else) by George MacDonald. He was an inspiration to CS Lewis, Madeleine L'Engle, J.R.R. Tolkien, and more. Beautiful fairy stories.
ReplyDeleteJoanna, I have to ask: how do you stay so healthy? FIVE YEARS between illnesses? That's great! If you have a secret, I'd love to know it.
ReplyDeleteJames also likes to read me stories. We read the ones in the New Yorker, even though most of the time we turn to each other at the end and say, "That was WEIRD." I also love anything by Jhumpa Lahiri.
winesburg, Ohio by sherwood Anderson!
ReplyDeleteI think Hemingway's short stories are really good. I also often read essays by Joseph Brodsky before going to bed when I'm sad.
ReplyDeleteoh! I love Brodski! his poems as well as his stories.
DeleteThe sweetest photo and post about exceptional everyday love. Made my heart full. (love that Toby reaction!!!)
ReplyDeletemy kids (9/7/1,5)love when I read their bed time stories ...so does my husband. At the moment it's Narnia stuff for the older kids and Agassi's autobiography for my hubby. Halas no one reads to me..
ReplyDeleteReading aloud is such a lovely, intimate thing. When I teach, it is my favorite time of day, and the children adore it as well. I feel incredibly close to them when we're all caught up in the same story together.
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriend has read "Winter's Tale" by Mark Halperin to me in bed, as well as a sweet children's book (at my request) called The Penderwicks. He's a teacher, as well as a trained actor, so I feel spoiled by the quality of my read-alouds :)
As far as recommendations, I'd go with "The Lover's Dictionary" by David Levithan. It's a clever novella composed of short vignettes told in the style of dictionary entries.
i always insist on reading aloud from whatever book i have on the go to my husband as he falls asleep, only a page or two..
ReplyDeletea few years ago on vacation he read me 'all my friends are superheros' by andrew kaufman while i ate dill pickle chips and watched the waves. it's only about 100 pages and really sweet.
You might like "Winesburg, Ohio" by Sherwood Anderson. It's a novel, but the stories of people are broken up in short story format. They all fit together, but they don't need to be read all together! It's one of my favorites :-)
ReplyDeleteBattleborn by Claire Vaye Watkins is stunning.
ReplyDeleteSorry for my English, I'm improving it. But I really like when somebody who loves you do this kind of sweet things. I fell in love with my boyfriend when he read me "The Eyes of My Brother, Forever" by Stefan Zweig, it was winter and he was reading me this book in a garden where the river used to stay.
ReplyDeleteI love Alice Munro's short stories. I have a lovely memory from many years ago of a friend reading Chaim Potok to me on the banks of a river one summer day. He's since died, so I get a bit misty thinking back to that day. I read aloud with my children constantly, though my 3-year-old has a gift for picking all the books that make me want to tear my hair out when repeatedly (Thank you Sesame Street :) )
ReplyDeleteugh hope you feel better. i am off work with the flu :( only been out of bed for a couple of hours (and it's 9,30pm at night my time). there is no one to look after me but my dog who has spent the day with his head on my back or stomach giving me cuddles even now whilst i'm reading thru the internet hes sat right next to me.
ReplyDeleteNice blog.
ReplyDeletewww.andrahomepage.com
Niceblog
ReplyDeletewww.andrahomepage.com
So glad you are feeling better! Thanks for the peek at your lovely bedroom. What a sweet man you have there. That sure does help. ;)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.womaninreallife.blogspot.ca/
Definitely Alice Munro!
ReplyDeletetwo amazing short story collections: cowboys are my weakness by pam houston, and interpreter of maladies by jhumpa lahiri--they are totally different and both amazing.
ReplyDeleteNice pictures
ReplyDeleteThat rug. I am dying! Hope you're feeling better too!
ReplyDeleteHe reads to you!? How amazingly sweet is that. Love it.
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