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I lost track of the titles mentioned (which is probably for the best). Also, I've been reading about death and family a lot lately...I wonder why.
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Made me tear up several times on the airplane. I liked how these smart and well educated people talked about the books they read in a simple way that connected to their lives instead of analyzing them academically. The mom especially had a strong conviction that reading good books mattered. I was surprised by how much she valued Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. This family seems super tight and I liked reading about their generally harmonious relationships. Refreshing to read abo
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I basically read this in one day. The beauty of the mother and son's relationship, their mutual love for books and the power of words, along with the mother's incredible life made this a compelling read. I will think of this book for a very long time.
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finished 10/2/13
Will Schwalbe looks back upon his mother's life and the final years of her life as she is living/dying with pancreatic cancer. Books were very important in both their lives and they decide to have their own two person book club while his mom is getting her chemo treatments.
I started this book only a week after a death in my own family, so it hit me pretty hard and I had tears in my eyes pretty much throughout the entire book but it was also cathartic and very enjoyable. It did ma ...more
Will Schwalbe looks back upon his mother's life and the final years of her life as she is living/dying with pancreatic cancer. Books were very important in both their lives and they decide to have their own two person book club while his mom is getting her chemo treatments.
I started this book only a week after a death in my own family, so it hit me pretty hard and I had tears in my eyes pretty much throughout the entire book but it was also cathartic and very enjoyable. It did ma ...more
This book sounds very depressing but actually isn’t. It’s a book about readers and the love of reading; it explores the relationship between a son and his mother, the amazing and inspirational life of that mother, and of course, the many quirky and little-known books that they read. It does get sad near the end (having a close relative who died of cancer, this one really hit home for me,) but it’s really more about the celebration of an amazing life and the love of reading.
Loved this book. Such a beautiful story of how a man connects with his dying mother through books. Enjoyable even if you haven't read the books they have, although it does make me want to read more of them! Not at all depressing even though the topic is challenging. I wish I could handle challenges in my life with half the grace that these people do!
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Ignore the title and read this book. It's wonderful on so many counts: great books, familial love and the etiquette of death.
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This is beautiful and heartbreaking, and exceptionally well-written
Oct 28, 2012
Eunice
marked it as to-read
Nov 05, 2012
Leslie
marked it as to-read
Mar 01, 2013
akaellen
marked it as to-read
Mar 21, 2013
Erin Black-Mitchell
added it
May 01, 2016
Terri FL
marked it as to-read
Jun 13, 2017
Lia
marked it as maybe
Oct 02, 2017
Akilah
marked it as to-read
May 15, 2018
Rachel
marked it as to-read
May 24, 2018
Lynne
marked it as to-read-biography
