Synopses & Reviews
The beloved author of andlt;Iandgt;Foreverandlt;/Iandgt; andlt;Iandgt;Fiftyandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Suddenlyandlt;/Iandgt; andlt;Iandgt;Sixtyandlt;/Iandgt; tackles the ins and outs of becoming a septuagenarian with wry good humor. Fans of Viorstand#8217;s funny, touching, and wise decades poems will love these verses filled with witty advice and reflections on marriage, milestones, and middle-aged children.andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Viorst explores, among the many other issues of this stage of life, the state of our sex lives and teeth, how we can stay married though thermostatically incompatible, and the joys of grandparenthood and shopping. Readers will nod with rueful recognition when she asks, and#8220;Am I required to think of myself as a basically shallow woman because I feel better when my hair looks good?,and#8221; when she presses a few helpful suggestions on her kids because and#8220;they may be middle aged, but theyand#8217;re still my children,and#8221; and when she graciouslyand#8212;but not too graciouslyand#8212;selects her husbandand#8217;s next mate in a poem deliciously subtitled and#8220;If I Should Die Before I Wake, Hereand#8217;s the Wife You Next Should Take.and#8221; Though Viorst acknowledges she is definitely not a good sport about the fact that she is mortal, her poems are full of the pleasures of life right now, helping us come to terms with the passage of time, encouraging us to keep trying to fix the world, and inviting us to consider and#8220;drinking wine, making love, laughing hard, caring hard, and learning a new trick or two as part of our job description at seventy.and#8221;andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;Iandgt;I'm Too Young to Be Seventyandlt;/Iandgt; is a joy to read and makes a heartwarming gift for anyone who has reached or is soon to reach thatand#8212;itand#8217;s not so bad after alland#8212;seventh decade.
Review
"Lipman's acuity as a social observer makes her voice seem to belong to a wise and funny friend." and#8212;The Boston Globe and#160; "More addictive than that bag of peanut MandM'sand#8230; [Lipman] is always in top form as an essayistand#8230;Her essays celebrate an uncommon virtue: common decency. Lipman is eloquent and loving." and#8212;The New York Times Book Review and#160; "Endearingly personaland#8230;The essays are full of wit and charm, along with some trenchant observations." and#8212;The Seattle Times and#160; "[Lipman's] good nature twinkles on virtually every page of I Can't Complainand#8230;Lipman is unfailingly funny, and comic flashes illuminate even her saddest essays...Lipman portrays our most painful emotions coexisting with the humor that makes them bearable." and#8212;The Washington Post "Engagingand#8230;Good-natured confessions run throughout the pieces in I Can't Complain." and#8212;The Miami Herald and#160;"Funny, witty, gracious and knowing personal essays that make a reader want to have lunch with the author." and#8212;Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "The essays in I Can't Complain bring warmth and insight to topics ranging from soap operas to the death of [Lipman's] beloved husband." and#8212;Parade "In each piece, no matter how brief, Lipman tackles the subject at hand with Dorothy Parker-esque wit and verve. The author's good-spirited openness and self-awareness shine throughand#8230;A feast of bite-sized morsels of humor and wisdom." and#8212;Kirkus Reviews "As if readers are sitting down to sip a glass of wine with their best friend (if that best friend happened to be incredibly witty, intelligent, self-aware and encouraging-and also a bestselling author), this collection feels like the very best gabfest imaginableand#8230;Very highly recommended." and#8212;Book Reporter "Charmingand#8230;Whether or not one is a Lipman fan before reading this collection, he or she most certainly will be by the time the final page is turned." and#8212;Publishers Weekly
Synopsis
The beloved author of Forever Fifty and Suddenly Sixty tackles the ins and outs of becoming a septuagenarian with wry good humor. Fans of Viorst's funny, touching, and wise decades poems will love these verses filled with witty advice and reflections on marriage, milestones, and middle-aged children.
Viorst explores, among the many other issues of this stage of life, the state of our sex lives and teeth, how we can stay married though thermostatically incompatible, and the joys of grandparenthood and shopping. Readers will nod with rueful recognition when she asks, "Am I required to think of myself as a basically shallow woman because I feel better when my hair looks good?," when she presses a few helpful suggestions on her kids because "they may be middle aged, but they're still my children," and when she graciously--but not too graciously--selects her husband's next mate in a poem deliciously subtitled "If I Should Die Before I Wake, Here's the Wife You Next Should Take." Though Viorst acknowledges she is definitely not a good sport about the fact that she is mortal, her poems are full of the pleasures of life right now, helping us come to terms with the passage of time, encouraging us to keep trying to fix the world, and inviting us to consider "drinking wine, making love, laughing hard, caring hard, and learning a new trick or two as part of our job description at seventy."
I'm Too Young to Be Seventy is a joy to read and makes a heartwarming gift for anyone who has reached or is soon to reach that--it's not so bad after all--seventh decade.
Synopsis
The beloved bestselling author of
Forever Fifty and
Suddenly Sixty tackles the ins and outs of becoming a septuagenarian with her usual wry good humor.
Synopsis
The beloved bestselling author of
Forever Fifty and
Suddenly Sixty tackles the ins and outs of becoming a septuagenarian with her usual wry good humor.
Synopsis
The beloved bestselling author of andlt;Iandgt;Forever Fiftyandlt;/Iandgt; and andlt;Iandgt;Suddenly Sixtyandlt;/Iandgt; tackles the ins and outs of becoming a septuagenarian with her usual wry good humor.
Synopsis
A winning collection of essays about home, love, cooking, politics, and the writing life from the acclaimed novelist.
Synopsis
From theand#160;belovedand#160;and acclaimed novelist, a collection ofand#160;witty, moving essays.In her two decades of writing, Elinor Lipman has populated her fictional universe with characters so utterly real that we feel like theyand#8217;re old friends. Now she shares an even more intimate world with usand#8212;her ownand#8212;in essays that offer a candid, charming take on modern life. Looking back and forging ahead, she considers the subjects that matter most: childhood and condiments, long marriage and solo living, career and politics.
Here youand#8217;ll find the lighthearted: a celebration of four decades of All My Children, a reflection on being Jewish in heavily Irish-Catholic Lowell on St. Patrickand#8217;s Day, a hilariously unflinching account of her tiptoe into online dating. But she also tackles the serious and profound in eloquent stories of unexpected widowhood and caring for elderly parents that use her struggles to illuminate ours. Whether for Lipmanand#8217;s longtime readers or those who love the essays of Nora Ephron or Anna Quindlen, I Can't Complain is a diverting delight.
About the Author
Judith Viorst was born and brought up in New Jersey, graduated from Rutgers University, moved to Greenwich Village, and has lived in Washington, DC, since 1960, when she married Milton Viorst, a political writer. They have three sons and seven grandchildren. A 1981 graduate of the Washington Psychoanalytic Institute, Viorst writes in many different areas: science books; childrenandrsquo;s picture booksandmdash;including the beloved andlt;iandgt;Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Dayandlt;/iandgt;, which was made into a box-office favorite movie of the same name; adult fiction and nonfiction; poetry for children and adults; and musicals.
Table of Contents
Contents At Seventy
At Seventy Erotic Options
Teeth
Hmmm
Re: Vision
As Time Goes By
Soul-Searching
Still Married
The Secret of Staying Married Not Merely His Life Companion
Body Heat
Why Marriage Was Invented
At the Opera
In the Middle of the Night
Some of the Reasons I Love to Go to the Movies
To My Husband When He Starts Contemplating Remarriage or If I Should Die Before I Wake, Here's the Wife You Next Should Take
The Children and Grandchildren
They May Be Middle Aged, But They're Still My Children Granddaughter
New Kid Around the House
Namesakes
A Letter to My Sons About Mother's Day
What Do We Tell the Children?
Role Reversal
The Sixth Grandchild
The Rest of It
Nervous Too Young to Be Seventy
Keynesian Economics
If We Stopped Trying
On Not Being a Good Sport About the Fact That I'm Going to Die One of These Days
At the Airport
Still Dieting After All These Years
The Rest of It