The History of Love

I finished The History of Love by Nicole Krauss at the pool today (can you believe it's the last day the pools are open in DM for the summer? I'm glad I decided to go this afternoon). I was on a deadline to finish this book, it's due back to the library tomorrow. I think I must have read about it in a magazine, I don't think I would have picked it up otherwise. It wasn't as fabulous as the reviews led me to believe, but it was a good story. My favorite quote is this:

"One by one, families broke off with a goodnight and a squeeze of the hands, suddenly grateful for the company of neighbors. Doors closed to warm houses. Candles were lit in windows. Far off, in his perch in the trees, Kafka listened to it all: the rustle of clothes being dropped to the floor, of lips fluttering along naked shoulders, beds creaking under the weight of tenderness. It all caught in the delicate pointed shells of his ears and rolled like pinballs through the great hall of his mind."

It's been a quiet weekend in DM, which was needed after a busy week with friends visiting from out of town and too many late nights watching the Olympics. I can't help it, but I get kind of addicted to all the swimming and gymnastics and can't stand to miss anything! (even now I have it on in the background. I can't miss Shawn Johnson's floor routine! It doesn't matter that I've already seen her do it countless times, when the first notes of August Rush start playing I'm hooked.)

Back to friends visiting from out of town. I was telling Adam how lucky we are to be somewhere that may not seem that exciting, but that is a central location for our friends who have moved away to come back and visit. In the last month alone we have seen Becca and Dan from LA, John and Lynette from Portland, and Dave and Taylor from Cedar Rapids. We are blessed with great friends in DM, but it's always special to see people you've known for years and catch up on what's going on in their lives and share a meal. Anytime anyone wants to visit know we have an extra bed and would love to cook a meal for you.

favorite lines

I finished reading eat, pray, love last night and decided that I want to start documenting my favorite lines in books before i take them back to the library or put them back on the shelf. I'm always finding turns of phrase or compelling descriptions when I read and logging them in my memory, but how often do i ever return to them? So I'm going to try logging them here.

Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert is the first non-fiction book I've read in a long time. I enjoyed learning about the cultures and people of Italy, India, and Indonesia and also discovering things about myself that the author was learning during her year of travels.

Here are some favorite lines, in no particular order:

"Having a baby is like getting a tattoo on your face. You really need to be certain it's what you want before you commit."

"At some point you gotta let go and sit still and allow contentment to come to you."

"We sit on the beach and watch the dangerous waves, watch the lean brown and white Indonesian and Western surf-cats slice across the water like zippers ripping open the backs of the ocean's blue party dress." (can't you just picture that? I love it!)

Maybe this will inspire me tomorrow as I'm writing about furniture...