Search This Blog

2026 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


27 / 30 books. 90% done!

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge (hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


39 / 50 books. 78% done!

2026 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona
- Arkansas (1)
- California (7)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (1)
- Illinois (2)
- Indiana (1)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (2)
- Maine (4)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan (2)
- Minnesota (2)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico
- New York (4)
- North Carolina (2)
- North Dakota
- Ohio (3)
- Oklahoma
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (1)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee
- Texas (3)
- Utah (1)
- Vermont (1)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (1)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin (2)
- Wyoming(1)
- Washington, D.C.*

International:

- Australia (6)
- Austria (1)
- Canada (2)
- England (21)
- Fiji (1)
- France (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Mexico (1)
- New Zealand (1)
- Norway (1)
- Scotland (1)
- The Bahamas (1)
- Vatican City (1)

My Progress:


37 / 51 states. 73% done!

2026 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


25 / 25 books. 100% done!

2026 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

My Progress:


30 / 50 books. 60% done!

Booklist Queen's 2026 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


38 / 52 books. 73% done!

2026 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


34 / 52 books. 65% done!

2026 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


22 / 40 books. 55% done!

2026 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


24 / 51 books. 47% done!

2026 Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge

2026 Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


19 / 25 books. 76% done!

2026 Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


44 / 52 books. 85% done!

Shelf Reflection Candy Reading Challenge for Kids (and Adults)

My Progress:


55 / 65 books. 85% done!

2026 Countdown Reading Challenge

My Progress:


55 / 55 books. 100% done!

2026 Series Reading Challenge


23 / 36 books. 64% done!

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

Dragon Rambles' Law of Fives Bingo

My Progress:


72 / 125 books. 58% done!

2026 Southern Literary Reading Challenge

My Progress:


9 / 9 books. 100% done!

2026 Reading Challenge (by Linz the Bookworm)

My Progress:


36 / 60 books. 60% done!

2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

2026 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge

My Progress:


10 / 40 books. 25% done!

European Reading Challenge 2026

My Progress:


7 / 50 books. 14% done!

2017 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge (retired challenge - doing old boards for fun)

My Progress:


67 / 125 books. 54% done!

2026 Reading Challenge Addict Reading Challenge

My Progress:


4 / 5 challenges. 80% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


98 / 100 names. 98% done!

The Life Skills Reading Challenge

My Progress:


76 / 80 skills. 95% done!
Showing posts with label Grandparent/Grandchildren Relationships. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grandparent/Grandchildren Relationships. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Lamott's Griping Makes Grandparenting Memoir More Annoying Than Affecting

(Image from Barnes & Noble)


(Note: While it is certainly not necessary to read Operating Instructions before its sequel, Some Assembly Required, I recommend doing so in order to get a more panoramic view of the relationship between Anne Lamott and her son.)

When Anne Lamott's son (the one whose first year she chronicled in Operating Instructions) becomes a father at nineteen, she deals with it the same way she did her own surprise pregnancy twenty years ago - she journals. Putting everything down on paper helps Lamott cope with all the anxiety, frustration and stress she feels while watching her only child, Sam, learn how to be a father. At the same time, it gives her a vehicle for expressing the intense love she has for her grandson, Jax ("This is the one fly in the grandma ointment—the total love addiction—the highest highs, and then withdrawal, craving, scheming to get another fix" (40-41). As with Operating Instructions, Lamott's unfailing honesty makes her story intimate, engrossing and illuminating.

I have to say, though, that while I found Lamott's neurotic nature more or less endearing in Operating Instructions, it annoyed me to no end in Some Assembly Required. Perhaps it's because as Jax's grandmother—not mother—she's more removed from the situation, making her insanity less justified (in my humble opinion). Naturally, Lamott's concerned for her only grandchild, especially due to the tumultuous relationship between his parents, but after a while, I found myself siding more with Jax's mother than grandmother. I kept wanting to yell at her (as Sam's girlfriend, Amy, no doubt did), "Just mind your own blankety-blank-blank business, Lamott." Still, the author's commentary brings up some good questions about grandparenting: How involved should parents be in the lives of their adult kids and their children? Should they have any say in how their grandchildren are being raised, especially if the kids are growing up in a stable environment, if, perhaps, not a perfect one? And are adult children required to listen to their parents' advice, opinions and criticism when it comes to child-rearing? I think the conclusion Lamott finally comes to—that she has no control over the situation whatsoever—is probably most apt.

So, what's my final word on Some Assembly Required (which comes out in March 2012, by the way)? While the book is both funny and thought-provoking, it's not nearly as impactful as Operating Instructions, probably because it lacks the immediacy of Lamott's first parenting memoir. Some Assembly Required definitely asks important questions about grandparenting, but Lamott's griping—constant and irritating—overshadowed everything else. Maybe it's only because I haven't reached that stage of life yet and cannot possibly understand the worries of a grandmother, but the only thing this book makes me want to do is give Grandma Lamott a good shake and tell her to chill out a little.

(Readalikes: Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott)

Grade: C

If this were a movie, it would be rated: R for strong language

To the FTC, with love: I received an ARC of Some Assembly Required through Elle magazine's Reader's Jury program. All quotes were taken from said ARC.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

I Can't Say I Loved It, I Can Say I Enjoyed It

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

It's not easy for an (almost) high school freshman to land the perfect summer job. Luckily, Jock doesn't have to worry about flipping burgers at McDonald's or scrubbing vehicles at the car wash - his grandpa owns a golf complex, where there's always work to be done. It's fun work, though, and Jock loves it. He especially enjoys working with his grampus, a grouchy old geezer whose life seems absolutely perfect to Jock. Not only does grampus spend his days out in the sunshine, but he often does it sans shirt or shoes. He gets to toodle all over the complex in a golf cart, flirt with the lady golfers, and dig holes with his backhoe. What could be better than that?

Jock's shocked at grampus' reaction when two of his old cronies come to the golf complex, flashing all their money and success in grampus' face. Grampus puts on a good show, but Jock can tell he's ashamed, embarrassed by his unfinished, homegrown golf course. Stunned, Jock watches as a deflated grampus becomes obsessed with turning his business into something glamorous and profitable enough to impress his rich friends. Grampus is working himself to death and Jock just doesn't understand why. Can't he see he already has the perfect life?

As Jock tries to talk some sense into his grandpa, he learns some hard, but enlightening truths about family, friendship and what really matters in the "Big Game of Everything," otherwise known as life.

The Big Game of Everything, a YA novel by Chris Lynch, is skimpy on plot, but big on heart. It's a funny, quirky little novel that's simply about a teenage boy's concern for the grandfather he adores. With no love triangles, no vampires, and no excursions into Faerie land, it may sound a little dull to teenage readers - it's not. Nor is it terribly exciting. However, it's a sweet, entertaining book that will more than likely make you laugh out loud. I can't say I loved The Big Game of Everything, I can say I enjoyed it.

(Readalikes: Hm, I can't really think of anything. Can you?)

Grade: B-

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for vague (except in the case of Jock's grandma) references to sex

To the FTC, with love: I received a finished copy of The Big Game of Everything from the generous folks at HarperTeen. Thank you!

Blog Widget by LinkWithin


Readin'

<i>Readin'</i>
Beach Thriller by Jamie Day

Listenin'

<i>Listenin'</i>
Hidden Rooms by Kate Michaelson



Followin' with Bloglovin'

Follow

Followin' with Feedly

follow us in feedly



Grab my Button!


Blog Design by:


Blog Archive



2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge

2026 Reading Challenge

2026 Reading Challenge
Susan has read 0 books toward her goal of 200 books.
hide

2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

2024 - Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction

2023 - Middle Grade Fiction

2023 - Middle Grade Fiction

2022 - Middle Grade Fiction

2022 - Middle Grade Fiction

2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2021 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction

2020 - Middle Grade Fiction