Finding a rhythm

Taking a break in between Thanksgiving yesterday in St. Louis with my Mom and family and a repeat performance tomorrow at Ryan and Angy's house. It will be their first time hosting the event. The first of many, I hope.

Driving back today, I've been listening to Anna Quinlen's "Blessings," an interesting story but agonizingly slow in the telling. Every other sentence is a flashback. I spoke to Quinlen a few years back when she wrote "Black and Blue," a book about domestic violence. That book takes place in Florida and one of the most interesting things I gleaned from talking to Quinlen is that she simply fantasized the details about the location. Although she had been a reporter for the New York Times, she didn't feel any need to visit Florida in order to write about Florida. The approach seemed to work fine in "Black and Blue" because it was more about the people than the place. "Blessings" takes place in upstate New York, an area Quinlen is familiar with. The people and the class structure the story explores are very interesting, even though I find her style on this particular book frustrating. I'm more action oriented.