A few nights ago Wendy and I had a free night (meaning we had childcare at home). None of the movies out really interested us so we ended up at the Riverview Coffee Shop where we could sit and read. I pulled out the book I was trying to finish up that night and started reading. During the course of the hour or so it took me to finish the book I had a few people come up to me and ask me if I liked the book--plus a couple of explanations (or confessions--take your pick) as to why they had read the book.
The book had been recommended to me by Wendy. It was a family tale that spanned several generations. Wendy is a fairly fast reader. Even with that, she read this one very quickly and told me about certain things in the book. But she was careful not to give away too much since she thought I should read it too. The book was Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. This is one of those books from the Oprah's Book Club.
Having now finished it I can say that it is a really good book. It definitely presents a point of view that not many people have. For me it was the family story that I found so interesting. Towards the beginning of the book many secrets of the family are explained. The fun is reading, waiting for these secrets to come out and see what effect they will have.
But back in the coffee shop I had fun with the two separate "explanations" (confessions) I got from 20-something guys. "Do you like it? Yeah, I read that book. My girlfriend made me read it. It was really good." I wondered why each guy had to add "my girlfriend made me read it." Was it the "Oprah" sticker on the front of the book? I also wondered why they felt they had to explain it to me? At a bit past 40 I look like Fred Flintstone with a goatee. Back in college I was told that I look like "a very intelligent truck driver." Was it something about the juxtaposition of Fred Flintstone reading an Oprah book that allowed to them to ask how I liked the book and then follow it by the confession?
Who knows. In any case, it is a good book that I would recommend.
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