Sunday odds and ends

Today was a quiet day. Spent much of it reading an ARC (via LibraryThing's Early Reviewer program), Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited. I started to read this a few months ago, but set it aside. The authors, Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein were interviewed on the Today Show yesterday. I only caught the last few sentences of the interview, but it reminded me that I hadn't finished the book.

I'm the child of an identical twin and can attest to many of the odd similarities between twin siblings. At the same time, I realize that there could have been no mistaking either for the other except during a quick glance. They were alike, but could be so different and distinct. So, I thought that I'd find this book interesting.

There are those sorts of twin oddities throughout the book. And, as you read Schein's and Bernstein's book, it's hard not to understand both the curiosity and the anxiety that must come from finding out as an adult that you have a twin. The book is written in diary form, alternating between twins. While this does give the reader a sense of reading both sides of the story, I found it confusing after awhile. The voice of both authors is too similar. At the same time, that similarity is an oddity -- is it because they are twins? I have a few more chapters to finish the book. I'll have to think for awhile whether this ultimately takes away or adds to the the work.

-----Other things----

- It has turned cold here this week, and despite some rain, the leaves are still on the trees. It has been a pretty fall. In the last few days I've seen a few trees that have more than one color leaf on them. I took the photograph below at a school near my home. Green, yellow, gold, orange, red, gold, and purple leaves were all on the same tree. I'm not sure that the picture does the tree's glorious color scheme justice. This is the first year that I remember seeing multi-colored trees, like this one. Maybe it has to do with the milder weather we've had recently.

- For the second time in less than a week, someone has recommended the book Three Cups of Tea. I think I will need to go to the store tomorrow to find this one. Repeat recommendations always prompt me to consider buying the book (unless it's something like The Davinci Code).

- Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Here is all I need to know about cooking a turkey: I am the middle daughter of a large family; I have plenty of sisters who will dry out a large bird in the oven for hours. I don't need to know how to carve either. I'm not bringing pies this year. I'm responsible for sweet potatoes. Not the mushy, sickening sweet marshmallow-y kind. I have three recipes to choose from:

1) sliced sweet potatoes with a lemon glaze. Good mixture of sweet and sour.

2) sliced and baked with apples, cranberries and pecans, topped with a small amount of cinnamon and brown sugar. If I feel exotic, I'll have a little bit of nutmeg and cloves too. Walnuts or pecans are optional -- which means I usually forget to add them to the baking dish.

3) baked, then mashed with cilantro and butter.

I like #3 the best, but I think #2 is best for the company on Thursday.

- Someone I used to be friends with recently published a first novel. I'm pleased for her for accomplishing her goal. And a bit jealous too. I hope that I'm not one of the evil characters in the book -- or a dead corpse.

- Philosopher Henri Frederick Amiel said: Life is short and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. Oh be swift to love, make haste to be kind..

- Maybe it is time that I make amends and call my old friend to congratulate her on her book.

- The blogging roundtable should be posted in 1 - 2 days. Please check back for some lively discussion by some interesting bloggers: Litlove, Imani, Emily & Smithereens.