Disappearing Earth offers a peek into everyday life in a remote Russian community

Lynda Davis
July 18, 2019
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Certain books appeal to me for their ability to transport me to another place, another culture or another time that I would never otherwise have the opportunity to experience. That's what appealed to me about Disappearing Earth, a novel by Julia Phillips. It's set in Kamchatka, a remote peninsula extending south from the eastern coast of Siberia in Russia. It's a contemporary story about the abduction of two young sisters, 8-year-old Sophia and 12-year-old Alyona on a warm August day. This crime is the unifying thread that ties a wide variety…

A rose by any other name wins by a nose

Lynda Davis
July 15, 2019
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Scents touch a special chord, not only in our olfactory systems but also in our hearts and in our brains. We all can relate to a certain scent transporting us to another time and place. It's a magical transformation. The smell of certain things baking in the oven may take us back to our mothers' or grandmothers' kitchens. Being near water may remind us of all those carefree days as children swimming in the lake or nearby river every summer. The fragrance of certain perfumes may transport us to memories…

Japanese occupation of Singapore still resonates today

Lynda Davis
July 11, 2019
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Every so often we read a book that gives us a renewed appreciation for when and where we were born. That's what struck me the most after reading How We Disappeared, a novel by Jing-Jing Lee. I've always felt I won the lottery being born in Canada as a baby boomer after the end of the Second World War. Growing up in a free country that offers so many opportunities and privileges as well as a comfortable standard of living is truly a gift.The main character of this book, Wang Di…

When you’re retired, every day is Saturday

Lynda Davis
July 7, 2019
8 Comments

Type A personality types who must be constantly busy and productive must also be constantly exhausted. Or maybe I just wish that so I don't feel guilty about not being as virtuous as they are. Much as I wish I could be like them, that's not the way I was engineered. My mother had to register me in morning kindergarten so I could nap in the afternoons and unfortunately, the habit stuck. I still love to nap in the afternoons. It was inconvenient when I was working (!!) but now…

Cathy Guisewite is back with the opposite of a graphic novel . . . a narrative cartoon

Lynda Davis
July 1, 2019
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There isn't a boomer gal alive who hasn't at one time clipped a Cathy cartoon out of the daily newspaper and attached it to her fridge, tacked it to her bulletin board at work, or sent it to a friend. We were devastated when she 'retired' from her daily comic strip a few years ago but she's back in the saddle with a new book that picks up where she left off. Fifty Things That Aren't My Fault by Cathy Guisewite is like reading her famous comic strip in narrative style—fifty…

Can baby boomers literally outgrow jeans?

Lynda Davis
June 23, 2019
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As if I weren't feeling insecure enough already after a recent closet purge to get rid of things that didn't "fit and flatter", I foolishly went shopping for new jeans this week. The jeans and general closet purge preceded my recent big bra purge (by that I mean quantity not bra size, obviously). Embarrassed and frustrated with a closet full of jeans that no longer fit, tops that made me look pregnant and sweaters that only flattered my lumps and bumps, I trucked bags of cast-offs to charity bins and…