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Comments (48)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 48 items
Sep 17, 2023MHMaggie rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Lists all the books they read.
Jul 03, 2021krazykat13 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This as an amazing book. Give it a bit of time to get into it; if you love books, it won’t take long.
Feb 02, 2020DanglingConversations rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This is basically an annotated bibliography couched in an end of life narrative which is touching on a personal level but pedantic and a bit dreary for the dissociated reader. There are many everyday heroes like his mother but like this…
Aug 26, 2019
Tea & Talk Book Club / May 2016
Aug 14, 2019readmorebooks rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
This book is a love letter to the author's mother and the books they read in the hospital waiting rooms. I got more than I needed about how wonderful his Mother was, but nothing about what she DID in all the other countries she visited.…
Jul 14, 2019EljayJohnson rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
A memoir of the time spent and the books read together by a son and his mother over the 18 months from her diagnosis to her death from pancreatic cancer. I found it uninteresting and tiresome; obviously, I have no heart.
Dec 04, 2018IndyPL_MicheleP rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed reading the book. The many book titles referenced were intriguing and I loved his mother's attitude toward life.
Nov 27, 2018MiRiAm12345 rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Like the previous reviewer I too found this book focused far too much on the author's mother who was so perfect to be rather insufferable. I wanted to be moved by, inspired by and be sentimental about books, but I wasn't. Interestingly, I…
Nov 20, 2018VaughanPLDavidB rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
I looked forward to this book as a son who lost his mother to cancer. Beyond that I knew nothing about the main characters, and I otherwise did not identify with the relationship described in this book. I also looked forward to it…
Apr 19, 2017AlteredStaite rated this title 1 out of 5 stars
I couldn't even get half way through this book. It was embarrassing to read. It is poorly written and badly edited. It's a glaringly obvious vanity piece written by a privileged kid who has a job in the publishing industry because his…
Mar 17, 2017DorisWaggoner rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
The book's very title gives away the ending. It's ironic that the author's mother always reads the end first. But she doesn't convert her son to her method of book reading, or even try. Much as he loves her and applauds what she's…
Oct 16, 2016chloecat rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A beautiful tribute of a child to a parent, with a different twist to "living through the dying"process. Picked up several titles of books I now want to read. Would make a very good book club selection.
Mar 08, 2016MargoH rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Well written and touching story of a family confronting their Mom's terminal illness. Remarkable family, remarkable story.
Jul 23, 2015ms_mustard rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
an enjoyable read but definitely the product of a US family privileged to have health care, the money to travel, and the ability to take time off work. a loving portrait of a woman who dedicated her life to working for others,…
bibliotechnocrat
Dec 31, 2014bibliotechnocrat rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
How does one talk to the dying? Schwalbe, waiting with his terminally ill mother through interminable doctor appointments and chemo sessions, begins a 'book club' to give their enforced inactivity a focus. They read and discuss a huge…
Nov 10, 2014forbesrachel rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
The title says it all. This is the account of the moments, and the books shared, between a mother and son as she approaches the end of her life. Even while undergoing treatment for pancreatic cancer, Mary Anne Schwalbe continued to fight…
SallyMac_84
Aug 28, 2014SallyMac_84 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I loved this book. Beautifully written. A fitting tribute to books, as well as the author's extraordinary mother.
Jul 23, 2014Clara_Hoover rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is probably the best book I've read in many months and was also the discussion topic for my book club. We could have talked for hours. The book is a tribute to the author's mother. It's the story of her two-year battle with…
Jul 21, 2014
This is a gem of a book for fiction lovers and a life-lesson on using time, what we have left of it, brilliantly. Read it if you want to know a lovely and wise woman and if you love books, especially fiction.
Jul 12, 2014soozietrav rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
As I was reading this book I kept thinking of how amazing it could have been in the hands of a real writer. I got bored with his depiction of her and skipped alot of the book after page 50. Disappointing in that the author seems too…
Mar 31, 2014Liber_vermis rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
An incredible memoir of the last two years of the life of a woman who achieved so many things. Was it cruelly ironic that her final accomplishment was a library in Kabul, Afghanistan, where book clubs may not be widely tolerated? Most…
Feb 09, 2014KateHillier rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
As others have said, this is a hard book to rate because of the personal subject matter. It's also mostly a son transcribing and sharing the words of his mother. She is an admirable woman and her good work is given its moments but the book…
Nov 01, 2013modestgoddess rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I've been recommending this to everyone too. Think the mother is definitely Type A - she gets so much done, even while terminally ill! Love her deep and powerful faith and the way it colours everything she does. Definitely uplifting and…
Oct 12, 2013ser_library rated this title 1.5 out of 5 stars
i would have liked more info on the books discussed and less on the activities and meals of the family.
Aug 18, 2013mpfickes rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
By the time I finished it, my copy was festooned with yellow post-it notes, flapping like flags to remind me of authors to explore, books to find, and quotes to note or share with others. In writing his mother's end of life journey…