Middle-Aged Crazy: Short Stories of Midlife and Beyond (The Complete Collection) is just what the title says, plus it's a lot of fun. In this collection of eighteen short stories and essays, author Lynne M. Spreen introduces a variety of characters--from Rita (driving a semi across the Donner Summit in a fierce storm) to Carolyn (advice columnist who writes "Carolyn's Corner" for the Bee). I enjoyed meeting every one of them. The book ends with several thoughtful essays, including "Could You Live in a Ditch?" and "Do You Lack Purpose?" Lynne Spreen, I like your attitude!
I highly recommend this book, not only for midlife readers but also for adult readers of any age.
FYI: Ms. Spreen is also the author of Dakota Blues.
Book Beginning (from "The Kirby Girls"):
This girl came up my son's driveway just as I was stepping outside to take my baby granddaughter for a walk. The Santa Anas were coming up already, and the wind blew the girl's shoulder-length hair every which way, hiding her face. She was holding a clipboard and I figured she was one of those Jehovah's Witnesses, here to save my soul, but then I changed my mind when I saw she was wearing real short shorts the color of old mustard, and black tights. I bent down to the baby in the stroller, fastening the straps so she couldn't fall out, and I thought maybe she shouldn't be seeing this girl.
The Friday 56 (from "Phoenix"):
(I found this terrific description at 54% on my Kindle)
The address on the cement saguaro confirmed she was in the right place, but Stacey stood on the front porch knocking for a good five minutes without any response. Now her knuckles were copper-tinged, and every time she knocked on the rusty security screen, she had to angle her body to avoid the Palo Verde tree. Its lacy branches buzzed with bees, to which Stacey was allergic.
Genre: Coming of Age / Contemporary Women
Amazon link: Middle-Aged Crazy
Length: 129 pages
Author Website/Blog: Any Shiny Thing - Aging Well
Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
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A friend loaned me this book, and I'm sure glad she did. I was in the mood for a nice, calm story -- not too fast paced, not too much tension, with the emphasis on the characters. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand fit my mood perfectly. The author did such a great job of adding meaning to the simplest scene. I've included an example of that in my Teaser from Page 27. I'm breaking the rules and stretching my Teaser to three sentences. Don't tell.
In my Teaser, Major Pettigrew is riding in the back seat of his son's car, coming home from a funeral:
He relaxed his head against the leather seat and gave himself up to the soothing vibrations of the road. He felt like a child again as he dozed and listened to Roger and Sandy talking together in low voices. They might have been his parents, their soft voices fading in and out, as they drove the long miles home from his boarding school for the holidays.
Genre: Fiction
Length: 384 Pages
Amazon Link: Major Pettigrew's Last Stand
Synopsis from Goodreads:
You are about to travel to Edgecombe St. Mary, a small village in the English countryside filled with rolling hills, thatched cottages, and a cast of characters both hilariously original and as familiar as the members of your own family. Among them is Major Ernest Pettigrew (retired), the unlikely hero of Helen Simonson's wondrous debut. Wry, courtly, opinionated, and completely endearing, Major Pettigrew is one of the most indelible characters in contemporary fiction, and from the very first page of this remarkable novel he will steal your heart.
The Major leads a quiet life valuing the proper things that Englishmen have lived by for generations: honor, duty, decorum, and a properly brewed cup of tea. But then his brother's death sparks an unexpected friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, the Pakistani shopkeeper from the village. Drawn together by their shared love of literature and the loss of their respective spouses, the Major and Mrs. Ali soon find their friendship blossoming into something more. But village society insists on embracing him as the quintessential local and her as the permanent foreigner. Can their relationship survive the risks one takes when pursuing happiness in the face of culture and tradition?
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away -- you don't want to ruin the book for others)
- Share the title and author too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers
- Leave a comment on MizB's Teaser Tuesday post (HERE) and include your link so everyone can find your post.
