Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Good Books for Old Broads (Like Me)

I forget sometimes. Then a twenty-something man will "yes, ma'am" me and suddenly I remember once again that I'm fifty-eight.

I've spent a lot of years climbing up the mountain. When I finally arrived, I wished I'd spent more time enjoying the trip rather than focusing on the goal. It's a much more pleasant trip down, I'll say that.

People expect wisdom from us at this age, and we need to be able to deliver that.

Sometimes we have to set aside our copies of Hunger Games and pick up books that will inspire us to be bigger people. Here are a few I recommend:


Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
A bit of a busybody in a small town.
And a retired teacher.


Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
Don't miss this one. Devastatingly poignant.



Emily, Alone by Stewart O'Nan


Miss Tizzy
Not everything is gloom and doom.


The Seven Sisters by Margaret Drabble
A woman starts over late in life.



The Stone Angel by Margaret Lawrence
At ninety, a woman tells the story of her life.



Woman: An Intimate Geography
You might want to know a bit about the terrain.


Florence Gordon
Blunt. That's the word for Florence at seventy-five. 


Who better to drag along on this trip than Anna Quindlen and Anne Lamott?


And, my favorite, Mrs. Bridge.

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

21 comments:

  1. I haven't read any of these yet though I am hoping to read Florence Gordon with my book group. I'll have to look into these other titles as book discussion possibilities too. Great list!

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  2. Some nice looking books on this list. I particularly like the look of Miss Tizzy and The Stone Angel.
    Lynn :D

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  3. I'm ashamed to say that I've not read any of these. In fact there are many that I haven't heard of. Thank you for such a thoughtful, useful list! x
    strupag.com

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  4. The depth and breadth of your reading is always astonishing, and always pleasing. Sadly I haven't read any of these books yet. Some of them are certainly on my wishlist.

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  5. I've never read any of these, but I found some good ideas here :)
    I know that feeling of "lets read something serious"!

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  6. Great list! I really need to check out Olive Kitteridge and Florence Gordon, I've heard so many good things about both books :)

    My TTT

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  7. Great list! I haven't read any of these, but I work in a bookstore and have sold MANY copies of each over the years. Age is just a number. I'm by mmno means a teen anymore, but I don't think I'm old enough for people to expect wisdom. Thank goodness, because I just spend 25 minutes in my pantry searching for a bottle of syrup that was right in front of my face! Have a great week!

    Michelle @ Michelle's Minions

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  8. Interesting books! Haven't read any of these books but Stone Angel (based on that short description) sounds very different and something new to me as reader so I might try that :)

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  9. Woman sounds like a MUST READ, and Florence Gordon sounds really amazing (she kind of sounds like my gran) - so I'm adding those to my TBR! Great list :) I LOVE that your reading style is this versatile, and it's great to know people from the blogosphere of all ages!

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  10. What a great top ten, Deb! Love the old broads designation - yep, you can add me to that group as I'm about a year younger than you. LOL

    I've read the Ann Quindlen book and wanted to read Anne Lamott's book. And I've been on the fence about reading Olive Kitteridge and have heard good things about Emily, Alone. Have you read Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck. Not all her essays applied to me, but some, well, I laughed and laughed.

    Hope you are having a good week and your cold has subsided. We can almost see the sun today - almost. ;-)

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  11. Love your TTT theme for the week!! I have Olive Kitteridge in my tbr and it's been there awhile, so should pull it out and read it at some point. Here's my link to my TTT post for the week: http://captivatedreader.blogspot.com/2015/03/top-ten-tuesday-ten-books-for-readers.html

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  12. I hear Anna Quindlen's name so much these days, but haven't had the pleasure of picking up one of her books. I must fix this.

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  13. What a wonderful title and list!! I've read and loved most of these... adding The Seven Sisters to my wish list.

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  14. This is a good list. I'd like to read Stone Angel and Mrs. Bridge. So much wisdom in these books you've listed

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  15. You're the same age as I am. My taste has changed since I was in my 20s, and sometimes I don't rate a book highly that I would have then.

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  16. Nice list! A few of those look good! Thanks for stopping by my blog!

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  17. LOVE LOVE LOVE this list! I am 42 and there is not enough literature out there for non YA and NA readers. Thank you for putting this together. Add them all the growing TBR list.

    Thanks!

    My TTT: http://littlepocketbooks.blogspot.com/2015/03/10-books-for-readers-who-would-like.html

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  18. These sound awesome and inspiring and I JUST WANT TO READ THEM ALL.
    Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!

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  19. I'm an old broad, too :) But I still prefer KidLit!

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  20. I just saw your link to this post on Goodreads, so I'm a bit late -- but it's a wonderful list! I've had a copy of the Elizabeth Taylor book on my shelf for years, and it's about time I read it. Definitely a list to be bookmarked and saved!

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