I’ve Got Mail

I thoroughly enjoyed Katarina Mazetti’s novel Benny and Shrimp. This quirky love story follows the relationship of Desiree, an urban-dwelling fastidious librarian (nicknamed Shrimp), and Benny, a milk farmer who works too hard to settle down. This a real-life romance with all the lovely firsts at the beginning, the arguments and compromising in the middle, and a cliff hanger ending. I read this book in one sitting in one evening…it was a fast read, yes, but I wanted to find out what happened. The characters were believable and felt so real I could swear I’ve met them all in one form or another over the course of my life.

For me, the story brought home the importance of communication in any relationship and understanding your own expectations before shunting them off on another. For two middle-aged lonely people who have so much baggage (personal and relationship), it was amazing they were able to make it through the compromise stage at all. Their personalities were strong and their expectations were so reasonable yet so unreasonable at the same time. I smiled, I laughed, I shed a few tears, and I found myself wanting to read more when the end came. Overall, a great read if you like your love stories with a whole lot of real life thrown into the mix.

It’s hard to believe I’ve been reading for so many years and have never read Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple series all the way through. I do remember reading the first several way back when and enjoying them but I’m a little chagrined that a mystery-lovin’ book addict like myself has never finished such a classic series. So I’ve made it one of my reading missions for this year and I’ve just finished the first book, Murder at the Vicarage.

Miss Marple is a wonderfully likeable and understandable character and the village setting is quaint and lovely (I can so picture the gardens!). Christie does an excellent job of giving you just enough information to get a vision in your mind but not so much that you cannot expand on the vision with your own imagination. The mystery was comfortable and, while somewhat predictable, still enjoyable (most likely it was so predictable because I’ve read so many mysteries over the years). I liked the depth of characterization and the feeling I was sitting alongside Miss Marple enjoying a cup of tea and listening to her stories. Really looking forward to reading more in the series.

Enjoyed watching the movie Larry Crowne on DVD today. It was laugh-out-loud funny in parts…very sweet and definitely inspiring. Well-written story, great acting, and just plain fun to watch.

I enjoyed seeing Larry meet all kinds of interesting people and learn to love his new life. I’ve known folks in his exact situation…some have chosen to wallow in the pain of losing their old dreams and some, like Larry, have chosen to move forward towards a new dream. In the last few years, I’ve lost several long-held dreams and I’m slowly working my way towards embracing some new ones. It’s meant choosing to let go…of things, memories, wishes, friendships…but I’m finding so many fulfilling options to fill any voids.