Buona Mattina!

Hello! Today is Thursday morning, August 28. On Monday, I will leave for Florence to study abroad for the fall semester.

I have created this blog to record my trip for my own enjoyment and for those who want to stay in touch with me. I hope you'll find it interesting, creative, and worth a few visits!

This is the question we all ask ourselves in the last week of August: Where did the summer go? It went too fast, we all agree. Whether you were trapped in an office, or working outside every day, or just lazing around deciding how to best pass the time--as the last days of August trickle away, there's this sense of disbelief, incredulity. I really enjoyed my summer. In fact, it was exactly what I needed and wanted.

In this final week, I've been packing, saying some good-byes, and taking care of last-minute arrangements. There's so much to think of and prepare for and I know I'm not going to remember everything...but that's just part of the adventure!

I'll write again soon, maybe not until I'm in Florence. To close this post, I want to share the books and songs I loved this summer.

Books

Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski: I will recommend this book to everyone I see regardless of their literary tastes until I hit my next favorite. In other words, this is the best book I've read in a long, long time. I'm always searching for a novel as good as The Great Gatsby and this one has some Gatsby-esque elements. There are even moments reminiscent of Mrs. Dalloway, my other all-time favorite. Basically, whether you are interested in living abroad, anthropology, journalism, murder mysteries, Christian missionary life, or a fabulous store, or if you don't much care about any of that, you should give Fieldwork a try. The writing is quality, and other than a few tedious mistakes with chronology, the intricate plot is well-thought-out and satisfying.

Girls Like Us by Sheila Weller. I've never been one for casual non-fiction reading until I found this book at the library. Its bright orange cover grabbed me with its three portraits: Joni Mitchell, Carole King, and Carly Simon as young women. I've listened to King and Simon more times than I can recall in the past three years or so. In any case this three-person biography is fascinating and the author is a great social historian who ties together the progressing history of women, of popular music trends, and of three lives with grace. Yes, I think she could have used a better editor, as she refers to 'characters' in the lives of the women before she's properly introduced them and she goes into sometimes-excessive details, which often but not always illuminate some aspect of the story. But there is a lot to learn from this massive book... for example, I didn't know that Carole King was a prolific songwriter before she was a singer-- only seventeen when she got pregnant, dropped out of college, and married her college sweetheart (Gerry Goffin.) The two of them both worked day jobs to support themselves and their daughter while writing songs together almost every night. Their first memorable hit, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow?" is one of my favorites and Carole was only about 18 when it was recorded by the Shirelles.

Okay, I will post the songs later (and some poems too.) This post is long enough already!