Punctuated Post: Jonathan Safran Foer's Here I Am

Note the Arizona-themed bookmark
cross-stitched by my mother.

This book is long enough, so I will keep my thoughts to a Punctuated Post. I do not regret a single minute of the time I spent reading the nearly 600 pages of Jonathan Safran Foer's latest novel, Here I Am. In fact, most of it felt fairly fast-paced. There is a great deal of dialogue, and various narrative strategies keep the pages turning. If anything slows down the reading pace, it is the need to process some of the deep emotional episodes that sustain the book. From family to catastrophe, this book covers the gamut of heart-wrenching scenarios. And, I suppose it is this very breadth that became, in my opinion, the greatest weakness of the book. When a book is about everything, it sometimes feels like it is about nothing. Is this book about the father character, Jacob? His family? Dealing with crises? Politics and political catastrophe? Religion? Death and loss? I am never one to shy away from a long book with a complex plot, yet a can't fight the suspicion that this book would be even better if it were about just a little less.

While I would have wished for a little more focus to guide me to the core message that the author wanted the reader to walk away with, there were little literary nuggets throughout the book that served as a huge payoff for the reader. I'll end with one sentiment that resounded with me.

Jonathan Safran Foer, Here I Am, p. 493

Foer, Jonathan Safran. Here I Am. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2016.

Sprouts: My New Favorite Bookmarks, Naturally

If you had asked me last year what my favorite bookmark was, the answer would have been easy: my Phoenix Suns bookmark circa 1994 from the Charles Barkley era of the Suns. I mean, the bookmark had Dan Majerle AND the Phoenix Suns gorilla, so how could it have not been my favorite? Used to mark my page in many a book, I had to retire the beloved place holder many years ago as it started to deteriorate, but without a doubt it remained my favorite because of sentimentally attached.

If you ask me now what my favorite bookmark is, I would have no choice but to tell you my favorite bookmark has changed, thanks to a gift I got from a dear friend. These bookmarks are adorable. They are little green silicone rubber sprouts that shoot out of the top of the book. Here is a shot of the bookmark in action.

How cute is that? The sprout bookmarks are from Fred & Friends. They come in a pack of six, so no worries if you read multiple books at a time and need a marker for each. Another bonus is that they are synthetic, and so I'll never have to worry about the wear and tear of a paper bookmark. They also give a little touch of nature to your book, which just makes me happy. 

In sum, if you are looking for a gift for a bookworm friend, or if you are in the market for some sturdy bookmarks to replace the random things you're using to mark your place now (I am guilty of using hair ties, receipts, even a Kleenex from time to time), then I would recommend these, my new favorite bookmarks, naturally.