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Things to Bring, S#!T to Do... and Other Inventories of Anxiety: My Life in Lists
The emotional highs and lows, the romantic escapades and the financial setbacks, the moments of comedy, anxiety, and personal tragedy: they're all brought vividly to life in Things to Bring, S#!t to Do, the first memoir told entirely in lists. Annotated with Karen's insightful recollections, the book presents a compelling portrait -- sometimes touching, sometimes hilarious -- of a woman, her family, and her friends from 1970s America to the present day.
Like many women (and some men, too), Karen Rizzo is a compulsive list-maker. She scribbles grocery lists on Post-It notes, pencils lists of resolutions on the backs of greeting cards, regularly jots down all the things she needs to bring, to do, to remember....
Unlike the rest of us, however, Karen has saved her lists -- dating from the list of favorite things she wrote as a kid (Favorite animal: horse; Color: purple; Food: olives from Dad's martini). Together, these scraps of paper form an intimate chronicle of her life's journey, from her early struggles with work and love to the years spent watching her mother battle breast cancer to the times she's had to juggle the demands of marriage and motherhood with those of her career.
Like many women (and some men, too), Karen Rizzo is a compulsive list-maker. She scribbles grocery lists on Post-It notes, pencils lists of resolutions on the backs of greeting cards, regularly jots down all the things she needs to bring, to do, to remember....
Unlike the rest of us, however, Karen has saved her lists -- dating from the list of favorite things she wrote as a kid (Favorite animal: horse; Color: purple; Food: olives from Dad's martini). Together, these scraps of paper form an intimate chronicle of her life's journey, from her early struggles with work and love to the years spent watching her mother battle breast cancer to the times she's had to juggle the demands of marriage and motherhood with those of her career.
- GenresMemoirNonfiction
176 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 16, 2021
Truly is a memoir written between lists of things to do, buy, etc. It was an interesting way of writing.
May 29, 2011
1.
I can't remember when I first started writing lists, only that I've been making them for a long time. There's something about being a listmaker that elicits polarizing reactions from people I know: I've been called weird, very organized, anal, obsessive-compulsive, neurotic, and more. It's probably all true; I haven't made up my mind yet. My favourite was being told I reminded him of a devout collector; only it's days and the most inane things that I have (which fits the bill, if you think about it).
2.
Nan said he gave me this book, if only to feel not so alone, and I'm grateful for that. I love how the author's lists show you how she's grown as a person over the years. These lists, which contain the tiny details of Rizzo's thoughts and activities - when compiled, do show a life well lived. I could only hope I can look back on mine someday and glean from them the same thing.
3.
Perhaps the most poignant lists for me in the book were those written when Rizzo was dealing with the death of her parents. I had to stop for awhile after that, and let days pass before I pick up the book again. When my grandfather died, I was a wreck. I couldn't work, I couldn't write. How do you begin living again after seeing someone you love die in front of you? It was harrowing. The experience left me hollow.
Then - at the wake, sitting on a bench trying to contain my tears, I got a pen and wrote lists on the back of a used envelope: Things I remember from my grandfather's visits when I was a child. Things Lolo used to greet me with whenever I would call. Questions he asks whenever he calls. Food he wants us to bring whenever we come to visit. Things he taught me. Things he taught my father. Ingredients for the barbecue sauce recipe that's been a family favourite for years. Reasons why I feel guilty when he died. Things I whispered in his ear during the night at the ICU.
4.
Lists have always been important to me, but I never realized how fundamental and significant they were to how I live until I read this book. My office is filled with lists: debts to pay, things to do, deadlines. My desk, too: thoughts for the day, numbers of people and friends, missing books, ideas for poetry collections. My lists are everywhere: in my bag, in my wallet, in my notebook, written on the back of receipts, random tissue papers, even sugar packets. And they not only include the to-do's or the to-buy's, but also: kinds of bread I like, high school pranks, sounds I like, reasons why I don't like my neighborhood. And it goes on.
5.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad this book has found its way to me. Thank you, Nan.
29 May 2011
***
December 2010
A Christmas gift from Nan. Thank you, dear.
I can't remember when I first started writing lists, only that I've been making them for a long time. There's something about being a listmaker that elicits polarizing reactions from people I know: I've been called weird, very organized, anal, obsessive-compulsive, neurotic, and more. It's probably all true; I haven't made up my mind yet. My favourite was being told I reminded him of a devout collector; only it's days and the most inane things that I have (which fits the bill, if you think about it).
2.
Nan said he gave me this book, if only to feel not so alone, and I'm grateful for that. I love how the author's lists show you how she's grown as a person over the years. These lists, which contain the tiny details of Rizzo's thoughts and activities - when compiled, do show a life well lived. I could only hope I can look back on mine someday and glean from them the same thing.
3.
Perhaps the most poignant lists for me in the book were those written when Rizzo was dealing with the death of her parents. I had to stop for awhile after that, and let days pass before I pick up the book again. When my grandfather died, I was a wreck. I couldn't work, I couldn't write. How do you begin living again after seeing someone you love die in front of you? It was harrowing. The experience left me hollow.
Then - at the wake, sitting on a bench trying to contain my tears, I got a pen and wrote lists on the back of a used envelope: Things I remember from my grandfather's visits when I was a child. Things Lolo used to greet me with whenever I would call. Questions he asks whenever he calls. Food he wants us to bring whenever we come to visit. Things he taught me. Things he taught my father. Ingredients for the barbecue sauce recipe that's been a family favourite for years. Reasons why I feel guilty when he died. Things I whispered in his ear during the night at the ICU.
4.
Lists have always been important to me, but I never realized how fundamental and significant they were to how I live until I read this book. My office is filled with lists: debts to pay, things to do, deadlines. My desk, too: thoughts for the day, numbers of people and friends, missing books, ideas for poetry collections. My lists are everywhere: in my bag, in my wallet, in my notebook, written on the back of receipts, random tissue papers, even sugar packets. And they not only include the to-do's or the to-buy's, but also: kinds of bread I like, high school pranks, sounds I like, reasons why I don't like my neighborhood. And it goes on.
5.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad this book has found its way to me. Thank you, Nan.
29 May 2011
***
December 2010
A Christmas gift from Nan. Thank you, dear.
May 16, 2016
Karen Rizzo was invited to a baby shower -- a new-agey baby shower to which guests were asked to bring not gifts, but words of wisdom from parenting through the ages. Though she racked her brain, what she came back to again and again was nothing more than a list of very basic recommendations. And then a list of what to buy. And then a list what not to buy. And then another list, and another. And from this exercise, the realized that women -- today, ages ago, and tomorrow -- tend to think in list. We compile lists of what to buy, where to go, who to see, and what we like. We compile lists of lists. And we use these lists to guide our lives.
Thus began a project through which Rizzo began to compile some of the lists that have guided her own life. Her earliest list is from 1972, when she was a small child, and the list is both basic and revolutionary, as it provides insight into her child-mind. Later lists are from her teen years, and her early 20s. Through these lists, we see snapshots of moments in time: the young loss of a parent, the earliest consciousness of AIDS, and cleaning up the messes of one's successes and failures. As she ages, the lists change: she is preparing to move in with a boyfriend, she is preparing for a wedding, she is preparing for a child, she is preparing to move, she is preparing for a second child. This is the story of her life, told through the lists she uses to keep herself organized.
What is beautiful about this book is that her lists, her story, are not so different from yours or mine. She struggles with many of the same ups and downs, wins and losses, and moments of complete panic as the rest of us. Aside from the delivery, the story itself isn't all that remarkable -- but narrating through lists adds an insider's perspective, almost like looking at the gears that run the clock. These lists are deeply personal, written in shorthand unique to Rizzo's experiences. Though they were never intended to be shared, the sharing tells its own story, bringing the reader into Rizzo's world and letting us take what we may from her life and lists.
If I could give this 4.5 stars, I would. I loved it almost 100%, but I will say that after a while, reading list after list gets a bit tedious. And I didn't like that Rizzo added more narrative to her most recent lists; I would have preferred that she kept the format more consistent, with only a high-level view of the context of some of the lists. Otherwise, I loved it. I feel like I know her, like her lists could be mine, and vice versa. And I am left wondering what sort of story my own lists would tell....
Thus began a project through which Rizzo began to compile some of the lists that have guided her own life. Her earliest list is from 1972, when she was a small child, and the list is both basic and revolutionary, as it provides insight into her child-mind. Later lists are from her teen years, and her early 20s. Through these lists, we see snapshots of moments in time: the young loss of a parent, the earliest consciousness of AIDS, and cleaning up the messes of one's successes and failures. As she ages, the lists change: she is preparing to move in with a boyfriend, she is preparing for a wedding, she is preparing for a child, she is preparing to move, she is preparing for a second child. This is the story of her life, told through the lists she uses to keep herself organized.
What is beautiful about this book is that her lists, her story, are not so different from yours or mine. She struggles with many of the same ups and downs, wins and losses, and moments of complete panic as the rest of us. Aside from the delivery, the story itself isn't all that remarkable -- but narrating through lists adds an insider's perspective, almost like looking at the gears that run the clock. These lists are deeply personal, written in shorthand unique to Rizzo's experiences. Though they were never intended to be shared, the sharing tells its own story, bringing the reader into Rizzo's world and letting us take what we may from her life and lists.
If I could give this 4.5 stars, I would. I loved it almost 100%, but I will say that after a while, reading list after list gets a bit tedious. And I didn't like that Rizzo added more narrative to her most recent lists; I would have preferred that she kept the format more consistent, with only a high-level view of the context of some of the lists. Otherwise, I loved it. I feel like I know her, like her lists could be mine, and vice versa. And I am left wondering what sort of story my own lists would tell....
July 5, 2013
This has book had been on my shelf for almost a year. I bought it simply because I liked the title and how compact it was. Turned out to be a nice, light read. Kudos to Karen for how she managed to map out a significant part of her life in a just about a 160 pages and with so few words. And so nicely; I felt like I was actually there - like the best friend who's been there with you through it all.
Looking for a light read? I recommend you dive into this.
Looking for a light read? I recommend you dive into this.
September 17, 2007
Delicious book of lists. In fact, it's a life told in lists, by turns hilarious, ordinary, touching, and heartbreaking. Rizzo grows up before your eyes in this book, marries, had kids, loses parents, the whole ball of wax. The conceit of letting the lists show how her life is changing worked really well for me. For list-makers everywhere.
September 1, 2009
This is a book that I spotted on the update of another Goodreads reader and I got it from the library and could not put it down. I love to make lists although I don't keep them for posterity as this author did. Her thoughts and reflections were so authentic that I felt like I was living her life with her. What an interesting book.
August 21, 2012
This book is a chronological series of lists, that allow you to see into the author's life. The lists deal with things like her mother's death, her pregnancies, moving to California, etc. It makes me wish I had kept some of my lists to see what changes I've gone through over time. Maybe it's something I'll start doing.
August 15, 2007
brilliant.
February 16, 2015
A memoir compiled from 40-odd years of lists, with some modern commentary on some of the items...loved it!
April 9, 2010
Insignificant.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews