#2: Give Me a Pencil

I love the library. We are total library rats. I take my children to the library every Tuesday, and sometimes more frequently than that.  But do you know the worst part of borrowing books from the library? You can't underline the good parts.  You can't write }yes! in the margins. You can't tab the bottom of the pages that you like the best. All the good chunks are forgotten.

So, in the great act of discipline, I am tuning into this blog, on day 2 of the great 31 day challenge, after watching my favorite show (Parenthood) to convey to you the awesomeness that is Cutting for Stone. If you are looking for a rich, complex read, this is the book for you. Verghese is simultaneously eloquent and technical.  For example:

"When he operated late into the night and into the morning, she was across from him, more constant than his own shadow, dutiful, competent, uncomplaining, and never absent. Until, that is, the day when my brother and I announced our presence in her womb and our unstoppable desire to trade the nourishment of the placenta for the succor of her breasts." (Verghese 30)

I am taking my time with this book. Partially because of the rhythms of daily life with small children, but also because of how dense and rich this book is.  I am only five chapters in, though the story is compelling and I am drawn in; however, I worry I might not finish it and pick up something else that reads more quickly instead...

Have you read this book? Without spoiling anything for me, what did you like best about it? What didn't you like?