The Probable Future by Alice Hoffman.

I'm going to be honest and say that The Probable Future could be considered a chick read. I hate to say it, but it's true. Mr U. read it and he said it was pretty good, though, I think he was only saying that because I was claiming how much I worshipped this book at the time, and if he hadn't he knew he'd have been sleeping on the couch that night. Still, some of you sensitive guys out there who had close relationships with their moms might enjoy it. Give it a try!

When I think of Alice Hoffman I think of magic written into a book so expertly that you don't even notice it. The same holds true for this book. Here we have 3 generations of women - each possessing an extraordinary gift that in our world you'd be asked what drugs you were on, but in Hoffman's world it just seems so natural. We have a distant grandmother who can smell lies. Then there is the overprotective mother who can see people's dreams. Finally, there's a rebellious daughter who, at the tender age of 13, just received the gift of knowing when someone is going to die.
(Don't worry, this stuff is on the back cover.)
The heartbreaking relationships among these women cost me 2 tissue boxes. Yes, I cry easily, but still, this was an emotional read for me, and I loved every tear of it. For several years of my life I worked at various bookstores and this was one of my top recommendations. I know more than once I had customers who came and thanked me for this one and I hope you will too!
Here's to teary reading! -Mrs. U

New Year's Resolutions

It's a good thing to set goals, but too many of us do so with the best of intentions when we're really only setting ourselves up for failure. The practice of making New Year's resolutions is the prime example of the fact that people (myself included) just don't know how to set realistic, achievable goals for themselves. Few people who ever resolve to "lose weight this year" or "recycle more" ever succeed because these goals just aren't specific enough. Well, we've decided to remedy that problem this year with some specific resolutions we know we can make happen.
The following five resolutions belong to Mrs U.

1.)Consume more Grouper, Mahi-Mahi, Roughy and Salmon on a weekly basis.

2.)Learn the nuances of Lewis Carroll's poetry so as to be able to hold my own against any Jabberwocky expert that comes my way.

3.) To draw/write more often with feverish intensity.

4.) Expand my repertoire of birdcalls to include the Barn Swallow.


5.)And finally the most challenging one, step up my efforts to turn my daughter away from the unfortunate music of rapper 50 Cent to the more soothing sounds of Al Jourgensen.

Mr. U will:

1.) Doodle more frequently in the margins of notebooks.

2.) Write a poem about how difficult it is to write a good poem.

3.) Take more photographs of bizarre road-side advertisements.

4.) Dance with my wife in the frozen food aisle on our next trip to the grocery store.

5.) Not make any negative sounds or gestures the next time my daughter chooses music in the car.