Random Thoughts

The book MMommy, Are We French Yet by Shawn Underwood is OK for light -- I mean, very light, very very light -- reading but little more. It comes across largely as the story of two families with money and time on their hands who decide to spend a year in France. Written much like a journal, Underwood does have a knack for self-effacing humor. There were times when I laughed. But there were more times when I rolled my eyes. If you're in France already on somewhat of a vacation, a side trip to Italy is one thing. But to Egypt? No, these are not typical families. They make Peter Mayle, the British author who has made a home and career out of life in Provence, look like an ordinary fellow. In short, you'll be better off reading Mayle, Frances Mayes or others to get an idea of life in western Europe. And they can write better, too.

Objects of Our Affection by Lisa Tracy, a former editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer, could have been a wonderful book. As it is, it's mediocre. Tracy is telling the story of how she and her sister packed up and ultimately dispensed with most of their mother's furniture, dishes and other items when she entered a nursing home and died soon afterward. Tracy seems to mourn the fact that they auctioned off a Sandai chest and didn't even get that much for it, but she never clearly explains why they had to auction off that piece or some others for that matter. She seems focused on what's valuable and what's not but less focused on explaining why some pieces are meaningful to her and others not. Only near the end of the book does Tracy explain why such family possessions are the "Objects of Our Affection." The book would have been far more interesting had she focused on that concept more throughout the story and helped us better understand her own decisions. The book is replete with family photos as well as pictures of the objects going up for sale. But the book is lacking in the last word of the title -- affection.

Around the House and in the Garden by Dominique Browning is a slender book that I enjoyed but soon forgot. You know the kind of book I mean. It just doesn't leave a lasting impression. Browning is a former editor of the now-defunct Home & Garden magazine and previously was editor of Mirabella. This book, written after Browning's divorce, is, as its subtitle says, A Memoir of Heartbreak, Healing, and Home Improvement. Browning does not cast blame but seeks to restore her own love of house and home after her divorce, which tore both apart for a time. If you are going through difficult times and want to care again about house and home but don't want to be scolded for a lack of interest right now, this book would make a good, even helpful read.