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Someday This Will Fit: Linked Essays, Meditations & Other Midlife Follies
Someday This Will Fit celebrates the things that matter -- family and friendship, Dove Bars and thank-you notes. A collection of linked essays, the book muses on issues that are instantly familiar -- from privacy in the digital age to racism at the dinner table, to a friend's suicide; from Post-Its and Kindles, to head colds and home repairs. In the age of Twitter, these bite-size narratives evoke the richness and humor of daily life in a brief, compact form. The book's wry midlife observations offer an insightful, no-nonsense take on modern living.
172 pages, Paperback
Published September 23, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 13, 2019
Thanks to Bauhan Publishing via LibraryThing for an ARC.
This book consists of 15 chapters of themed vignettes about things that happen and matter in our lives. Some of the topics are At Home, Habits and Routines, Food, At Work, Health, Obsessions, and other topics that we all live and deal with.
Joan Silverman's intelligence and wisdom are displayed throughout while she entertains us with her observations on everyday occurrences in this modern age. She guides us through the fluctuations in our lives and definitely knows how to express her opinions. She's amazing on knowing how to keep us interested. One reviewer stated that her essays remind us of the wonders of everyday life. My thoughts exactly!
This book consists of 15 chapters of themed vignettes about things that happen and matter in our lives. Some of the topics are At Home, Habits and Routines, Food, At Work, Health, Obsessions, and other topics that we all live and deal with.
Joan Silverman's intelligence and wisdom are displayed throughout while she entertains us with her observations on everyday occurrences in this modern age. She guides us through the fluctuations in our lives and definitely knows how to express her opinions. She's amazing on knowing how to keep us interested. One reviewer stated that her essays remind us of the wonders of everyday life. My thoughts exactly!
June 17, 2020
Thanks to LibraryThing and Brauhan publishing for this book.
Considering it was a lot of her columns, etc. put into one it melded quite nicely in her writing and her chapters. I enjoyed reading a lot about her life and how she feels about many things. The title is only mentioned at the end of the book. I guess I thought it would have more meaning. One thing that didn't mesh out for me was because these were from many places, there were some places that she mentioned "they." I have no idea if she's talking about her friend or her spouse. She does mention friends by name though in this book.
Overall, a fast read.
Considering it was a lot of her columns, etc. put into one it melded quite nicely in her writing and her chapters. I enjoyed reading a lot about her life and how she feels about many things. The title is only mentioned at the end of the book. I guess I thought it would have more meaning. One thing that didn't mesh out for me was because these were from many places, there were some places that she mentioned "they." I have no idea if she's talking about her friend or her spouse. She does mention friends by name though in this book.
Overall, a fast read.
January 25, 2020
After reading this book, it seems like the author, John Silverman, and I have a great deal in common. She describes certain affinities, traits and habits that make me think she must have a direct connection to my head.
Where I once used to be (honestly) a slob, and now dance right up to the line of OCD tidiness, she exactly puts into words what I could not, why I can no longer bear dishes left overnight: “Forty years later, I now see what’s fundamentally wrong with dirty dishes awaiting one first thing in the morning. They’re like tarnish on a new day, a reminder, a throwback, as if yesterday never came to a finite end.”
My feelings about organization and how it can transcend the feelings of enjoying a clean desk are an echo for her first experience in an organization store: “I confess that my first trip to the store was not your standard retail foray. It was more like visiting a museum, church and therapist, all in one.”
I am not a big fan of change when I find something I truly like – and apparently she suffers the same curse as I: “So it goes that once you’ve used a product for years, and can’t imagine life without it, it vanishes.”
And most tellingly, the moral dilemma I have been undergoing for years in my love of the feel, smell, texture and permanence of physical books and bookstores…versus the ease and flexibility of an e-reader. “Whoever envisions a paperless society places his trust in the air, for the vision is one of invisibility, without texture or touch. A virtual world, where sense is made formless, and words lack a permanent home, is a place where meanings can shift like the wind.”
Yet despite these similarities, and despite appreciating her clean and clear writing style…I felt that “Someday This Will Fit” was really missing something. I kept waiting for it to be funnier when instead each anecdote comes across as mildly amusing. I was searching for a real heart to it, especially since many of the essays are about painful subjects and emotional themes, but instead felt the real soul of the book was under lock and key. And I never got either. This book was good…but I feel that it could have been great.
Where I once used to be (honestly) a slob, and now dance right up to the line of OCD tidiness, she exactly puts into words what I could not, why I can no longer bear dishes left overnight: “Forty years later, I now see what’s fundamentally wrong with dirty dishes awaiting one first thing in the morning. They’re like tarnish on a new day, a reminder, a throwback, as if yesterday never came to a finite end.”
My feelings about organization and how it can transcend the feelings of enjoying a clean desk are an echo for her first experience in an organization store: “I confess that my first trip to the store was not your standard retail foray. It was more like visiting a museum, church and therapist, all in one.”
I am not a big fan of change when I find something I truly like – and apparently she suffers the same curse as I: “So it goes that once you’ve used a product for years, and can’t imagine life without it, it vanishes.”
And most tellingly, the moral dilemma I have been undergoing for years in my love of the feel, smell, texture and permanence of physical books and bookstores…versus the ease and flexibility of an e-reader. “Whoever envisions a paperless society places his trust in the air, for the vision is one of invisibility, without texture or touch. A virtual world, where sense is made formless, and words lack a permanent home, is a place where meanings can shift like the wind.”
Yet despite these similarities, and despite appreciating her clean and clear writing style…I felt that “Someday This Will Fit” was really missing something. I kept waiting for it to be funnier when instead each anecdote comes across as mildly amusing. I was searching for a real heart to it, especially since many of the essays are about painful subjects and emotional themes, but instead felt the real soul of the book was under lock and key. And I never got either. This book was good…but I feel that it could have been great.
January 17, 2020
I love really good short stories. They are the perfect toddy to help relax and just let the day go as they take my mind to another place. I loved these, and it was hard to put down and keep my self from reading ahead. I was so sorry when I had finally finished the last one, it was like saying goodbye to a storytelling old friend. Lots of "been there" moments and laugh out loud moments like the authors description of an overly talky waiter in "She Said, He Said". And some really great heartstrings moments like the one in "Departures" where she shares her forty year old brother's relationship with their departed mother including putting letters to her at her grave describing life events. For me "Someday This Will Fit" was a great fit from the time I opened the cover. I'm hoping for more soon from this author!
February 10, 2020
I finished this book a couple of days ago. Ms. Silverman is a hell of a writer. I was particularly moved by the chapter about her mother because of the insights it provided and ways of looking at things that would never otherwise have occurred to me. I sometimes had to lay the book open on my chest to think about how an ordinary, everyday event that I have also experienced fit into the larger scheme of my life.
I loved the book, and even when my schedule was hectic, I couldn’t wait to get back to it. This was a great read.
I loved the book, and even when my schedule was hectic, I couldn’t wait to get back to it. This was a great read.
November 12, 2019
I've enjoyed several biographies and memoirs lately, and was intrigued by the idea of this one being a little less personal about the authors life, and more about how several essays she's written over time are so relatable. I'm a millennial myself but still managed to connect with most of the stories and annecdotes. I definitely enjoyed this, and it's a great, short read!
January 17, 2020
Words, glorious words and Joan Silverman chooses each one with precision. She's a graceful writer and she's able to straighten out the many muddles of middle age. With wise insights and a glint of humor, Joan Silverman's new book is truly a treasure for those of us with short attention spans.
December 14, 2019
What a delightful read! Keep writing Joan!
January 23, 2021
I really enjoyed Joan Silverman's memories, and I liked the way she looks at everyday things closely. My favorite essay is the story of Silverman taking her dying mother to visit her mother's mother's grave. I was completely captivated and moved by this vignette - it's absolutely perfect.
November 4, 2019
I did not know that I would truly enjoy a collection of essays. Generally I read fiction, with a smattering of nonfiction on certain subjects of interest. But not essays. However, this book is a delight. Short, insightful chapters, on subjects ranging from the mundane (but significant in daily life!) to the most serious. It is a smart, funny and engaging book that I highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews