Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen
Read: August 2-7, 2012
read in 6 days
pages: 272
I heard about this memoir on NPR when Anna Quindlen was interviewed a while back. I have read a couple of her novels, Blessings and Rise and Shine, and thought I'd like to read her memoir as well. I'm on a memoir kick lately. Its interesting to see other peoples point of view on life.
I didn't know too much about Quindlen prior to reading this memoir other than the fact that she once wrote an OP column and had some novels out there as well. I remember reading her novels and thinking they were ok, I didn't get super excited over them, but this one I did look forward to reading. Once I started reading it read really quickly. The book is broken down into essays that touch on a vaierty of topics with a good deal of focus in each how topic has changed as she has aged. The essays provide her an outlet to reflect on her life and through those essays she shares the wisdom she has gained. Overall the book was very honest and thoughtful. She did a good job of highlighting the generational change of where women were once able to work, where they currently are working and is optimistic that the limit has not been reached yet. Despite the recession and given how few opportunities are available to everyone right now, the essays were inspiring to keep pushing forward to see just where we as women will one day be.
I especially enjoyed the essay on Solitude and found a couple quotes I liked:
"By the time you've lived for fifty or sixty years, you are better armored to embrace things about yourself that are true, even if you might think the world sees them as odd, eccentric."
"Solitude is an acceptable form of selfishness."
I really liked the essay because she focuses on the differences between being alone by choice and being lonely. I liked the confirmation I found after reading that I myself am not alone in needing to recharge my batteries and spend some needed time alone in this overly social bombarded world. One of my favorite things about reading memoirs is that they confirm our own actions and feelings. They make us feel less alone in the world knowing there are others out there who do the same as we do.
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