10 years ago today...

I know I mostly write about books and movies here, or will be once I start writing more regularly. But this blog is called "Books, Movies, & Other Things I Love..." This blog will fall in the category of Other Things I Love. Today is the 10th anniversary of my Grandfather's death. And I loved him very much.

My Grandpa was more than just a "grandpa." He helped raise me- one of my 4 parental figures- each impacted my life in different ways. Grandpa was the one I did all of the stuff little girls do with their daddy, like dancing on their feet and telling stories. I was his little girl. He would play my favorite record over and over again, no matter how many times I asked. It was our favorite to dance to. That record is now framed and hanging on my living room wall. I have no idea how many times he let me play hair dresser (with his 10 strands of hair) or watch the movie I wanted to instead of the 'old boring ones' he wanted to watch. When I hit a line drive at his head- he didn't get mad at me. He was the first person to teach me how to drive- albeit 8 years early.

After my mom married my dad and we moved to Maryland, I spent every summer of my life with my grandparents. Some days I would go to work with Grandpa, before he retired. Others, I would stay with Grandma. On those days we would make special meals for Grandpa, and pick up his favorite doughnuts on our way to pick him up from work. He was a brilliant business man, and incredibly intelligent. I may not agree with his political beliefs, but he wouldn't hold that against me, or anyone for that matter. If you could hold your own in a debate with him, you earned his respect. My mom always said she loved bringing her dates home to meet Grandpa. If they couldn't hold their own against him, they weren't worth her time.

Grandpa also shared his hobbies with me. He loved his flowers, and tried desperately to get me love it too. I may not love gardening, but I certainly know how to. I helped him with his stamp collection- not an easy task when you're a small child and the books easily weighed 10 pounds. There are things that he loved that did sink in with me.

• I love music. I inherited his CDs when he passed- a few hundred- mostly of the big band era. He always got a look in his eye when he was listening to a piece he loved.
• I love traveling. It's become a family tradition- we all want to go to all 50 states. Grandpa made it to 49. Grandma 48, and this last summer I took mom to her 48th. Grandpa always wanted Grandma to visit Hawaii. He had a lot of memories from there. So this December we're going as a family. Get them one step closer to 50. I have been to 30, and the commonwealth of Puerto Rico. I've also been to 8 other countries. Nothing in comparison to the list I've generated of places to visit. I don't know if it's my love of history, learning, seeing new things, or literature taking me to these places, but I know I love to travel, and my first trips were with him.
• I love history- reading about it, traveling to historic places, tearing apart historically inaccurate movies. ;) WWII was his specialty, but one could certainly find books from every American war in his collection.
• I love movies- a wide variety of movies- watching them, going to them, analyzing them. If I'm ever on Jeopardy and John Wayne is an option- I'm sure to win thanks to Grandpa.
• I love reading. Politics. War. History. Fiction. Non-fiction. (I also like the chick lits, biographies of people he never would have read about, and a bit more of the liberal topics than Grandpa exposed me to, but I think he'd forgive me.) I am also thankful that I inherited my Grandma's ability to read very quickly- a handy gift with this particular love. I have no idea how many days he would be watching tennis or golf- or even Rush Limbaugh- while I was sitting on the couch devouring copious amounts of books. I think I polished off all of the Nancy Drew books in one summer.
• I love sports. I can't claim I got this one from Grandpa alone. The women in my family tend to have the market on knowledge of and ability to play. My love of football, baseball, and basketball come from Grandma, but from Grandpa I got the love of college sports over professional. I swear that man knew everything about Michigan State, and knowing about the other schools was important as it related to MSU.

Ten years ago today, the man who I wanted to walk me down the aisle left this earth. There are so many things he missed out on. He died about 4 months before I graduated from high school. And while I was accepted to OU before he died, he never got to see me graduate from college. Didn't watch me walk at gradation from grad school. He will never see me get married or fulfill my life's dreams. I miss him everyday. I can't share my joys with him. I can't ask him for advice. I can't ask the brilliant business man for advice on my next life adventure. But I know he's still with me. I don't know how to explain it- it's certainly not logical- but I know there are times when he's around. I just hope he's not disappointed.

Eighteen Acres

I grew up in the DC area--a suburb on the Maryland side of DC to be exact. You can't go anywhere without politics smacking you in the face. I also grew up in a very politically active family, so you could say enjoying politics and politically directed entertainment is in my blood. Which is probably why the novel Eighteen Acres popped out at me when I went to the bookstore.

Eighteen Acres follows three women- the first female president of the US, her chief of staff, and a reporter. All three women are strong, independent, intelligent, career women. Their lives, obviously, interact, and not always in expected ways.

I couldn't put it down. Nicole Wallace did an exceptional job of bringing the political sphere into reach, without shoving any political agenda down your throat. If you're looking for a healthy debate on any party's platform, this is not the book for you. But if you're looking for strong female leads, and enjoy political fiction, run to the bookstore and grab this book. I give it 4 stars.

The Recipe Club

Throughout their youth, two girls write to each other about the mundane details of their lives. During this correspondence they decide to create a recipe club, and they exchange recipes. These recipes are named after the events or emotions of their lives. At some point in college they get into a fight and don't speak again until one of their mothers dies decades later. This lasts for only a few letters. And then they catch up again after the other one's father dies. Of course, in the end they all live happily ever after...

You're welcome. I just saved you the purchase price of The Recipe Club, and the few hours of your life it takes to read it. I know I'm a quick reader, but it only took me 6 hours to finish the novel. Not a good sign. A book should inspire you. It should make you want to savor every last word, perhaps even make you want to come back for seconds. The Recipe Club made me want to run away screaming, and I suggest you do the same.

No seriously, run the other way if someone suggests reading this book. It's craptacular. That is the *professional* opinion of this individual. I imagine the recipes that were created for Club weren't very original either. The necessary ingredients were missing to make this book rise to the occasion.

I picked the book because it's kitch lit. On the same level as chick lit- not much brain function required to enjoy a book. (Others call it beach reading.) I like kitch lit because it brings in cooking, love of food, and sometimes recipes into the fabric of the story. The way it's done in Club is extremely forced. It was as though the editors saw the original concept and thought a 75 page book wasn't going to be enough. 30 recipes and bigger font later, and you have a bad book.

About 2 pages in, I realized what tragedy was yet to come. Calling Club predictable is putting it mildly. The book is separated into 3 sections: Mom dies, their youth, and Dad dies. When they're fighting in the 1st section you can tell they'll end their friendship again to keep the plot going. It's not until you're nearing page 200 that you find out what their fight was about. It left me thinking "seriously, is that it???" The motives and thoughts of each character were more transparent than Casper the friendly ghost. One best friend is more dedicated than the other and wonders why the other is not as available as she is. Again, seriously, is that it?

The authors didn't have the ingredients necessary to make this book a success. Yes, that's plural. The first sign of a bumpy ride. I'm pretty sure my puppy has more game than these authors. Save yourself.