The Glassblower of Murano

I finished Italy- The Glassblower of Murano, by Marina Fiorato. This was a fine book, but the writing seemed a little elementary to me. As compared to some of the others, where I knew I was in the hands of a master, this one was just mediocre. But, I did learn something about Venice and the intriguing art of blowing glass. And a little interesting connection: in The Lady and the Unicorn (Belgium), there was a guild for the weavers- making sure women didn't do the weaving, keeping all the work set to a certain standard- and in The Glassblower of Murano, there was The Ten, an equivalent organization, keeping Venice's glass secrets from leaving the city, etc. So that was an interesting little note. I'm glad I read this book, even though it wasn't my favorite: a little history, a little modern love story, a lot of the magic of Venice- a decent little read.

Behind

So I'm very behind. 52 books in year is one book a week. It's been 20 weeks, and I've read 7 books. I should have read 14 more!!
This summer is not promising a lot of free time for me to catch up either- I have a college-level writing course beginning Monday, nannying up to 3 days a week, completing trigonometry over the summer, finding colleges and scholarships, training my karate, working part-time, writing a novel each in June and August... What will I do??
So I'm posting here. Any tips? How to read faster? Whether to catch up in a crazy-busy short period of time or to just slowly get back on track? If I should just bail?
Thanks for your ideas- I need 'em!

Waiting for Snow in Havana- Update

So I only have a minute here, but I realized I hadn't posted anything in quite a while. So, a quick update seemed like a good idea. I am currently reading Waiting for Snow in Havana, by Carlos Eire.

And I am in love.

With the writing style. With the story. With the realness of it. With the culture. With the land. With the people. With everything.

Left to right: King Louis XVI, Carlos, Marie Antoinette, Tony
Read the book to understand the French royalty names!

Unfortunately, Cuba is one of those places that you really can't just vacation to, but if it were, I would be there right now. I love everything about this book and the land and the life it tells.

This is my first nonfiction book, an autobiography of a boy growing up in Cuba. When he was 11, he was sent to the United States by his parents. His mother planned to come as soon as she could get her exit permit, and his father planned to stay behind with their belongings and his adopted son, but Carlos was sent to the U.S. with his brother, 3 years older than him, to live alone. He still lives in the U.S. today, and has not visited Cuba, and has no desire to, for reasons far too complex for this post. For the majority of the book, it is a warm recollection of his Cuban childhood, but there are flashforwards to his U.S. life.

Breadfruit, used as ammunition by Carlos and his childhood friends in The Breadfruit War

I cannot get over how much I love everything about this. There are countless stories of his neighbors, his family, his hatred of the lizards, his house, the land, Fidel, his school, his friends, the food. The turquoise sea, as he fondly calls it. The sun. The heat. The life.

This is definitely one to get your hands on and to read over and over again. It is a recollection so honest, so longing, and so there for lack of a better term, that it pulls on your heart and makes you, too, long for this essence lost.