Little Earthquakes: Passing It On – March 2009

Today I gave away one of my favorite books on earth…

Note to Reader: Books are one of my all time favorite things on Earth. I cherish the ones I buy and I covet the ones on bookstore shelves when I’m out of spending money.

I say “gave away” because I learned in college that when you loan a book to someone, you must loan it with the expectation of never getting it back. Then, if that person skips town and you never see it again you aren’t heart broken. You’re left to wonder if they never got around to reading it even after they asked you over and over and over to barrow it.

If you are assuming positive intent, then you might be able to assume that they loved the book so much that they either passed it along to one of their friends or that they couldn’t bare to part with it.

However, it’s even worse if they do return it with coffee stains throughout, dog eared pages, writing in the margins, highlighting over the best lines, there's a bow so deep in the cover that it will never sit on the book shelf quite right again, and the bottom half of the book looks as though it has been dropped in water, which leaves your mind to imagine that they were reading in the bath tub when your book slipped through their slick wet hands into the tub, where they were, heaven help us, naked… Oh my goodness!!!

So the book I passed along was the first Jennifer Weiner book I ever read, Little Earthquakes, and I have since read everything she’s published. Her books have touched my heart and funny bone in ways that no other author has been able to before. The genuineness of her characters’ flaws and their journey through them makes them real. From the very beginning they are people you would be friends with. They’re your neighbors, your ex-lovers, your best friends, and they’re you, at your most raw and truthful moments. Her characters finish your thoughts, and her description completes the picture.

Note To Author: I doubt she would ever read this, and it's even less likely she'd actually comment, but Jen, if you ever do stumble upon this blog, I'd just like to say thanks for writing and I can't wait for your next novel! Oh and I'd love to host a Jennifer Weiner Novel Give Away! Have your people call My people, and we'll make it happen! =)

As of last Friday, I’ve read this particular Jennifer Weiner novel 6 times. And as with each time before, I found something new this time through. Because of where I am in my journey through life, I was able to find maturity and wisdom in how Becky grows in her relationship with her mother-in-law. I can also find strength in how Lia bravely regains control of her life. I find that Kelly could be me, or either of my sisters desperate to prove we can overcome the struggles of our childhoods. We could all learn from Ayinde and what she endures to make her family work. All of this being said I find myself in all four of these women and also see bits of them in my friends and sisters.

So today I passed my beloved paper back on and didn’t even write my name on the inside cover with a marker. I said a sad goodbye to these four women, friends, in hopes that through Jennifer Weiner’s story, they will quietly begin working in the heart and life of another.

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!