42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Considering Alexandra Stoddard, July 3, 2006
This review is from: Time Alive: Celebrate Your Life Every Day (Hardcover)
I own nearly all of Ms. Stoddard's books and have been reading her reviews for this and other titles she has written. Clearly, it is true that she is consistent with her message, which is repackaged in different ways, with different themes and emphases: time, beauty, home, happiness, love, etc. Yet one does not buy a new Alexandra Stoddard book and expect a new Alexandra -- rather, one expects to resume a conversation with a friend who is known and trusted. Like a good friend, Alexandra repeats her ideas now and again, she shares with us what she considers important, and encourages us to move on in our own lives with grace, positivity, and joy.
I am a professor of American literature and understand that Alexandra includes quotes from great American writers including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Edith Wharton, and Henry David Thoreau. She also includes her favorite messages from world authors, philosophers, historians, politicians, artists, and designers. Indeed, in this sense, Ms. Stoddard does not have a new message: she shares her take on the messages she has gleaned from a lifetime of reading and experience. One could say that it would be best to just read Emerson or Thoreau -- but how many do? Is Ms. Stoddard not a messenger encouraging our own reading of these classics along with her message of how they have been important to her? As a professor of American lit, I am thrilled that someone is quoting Emerson and Thoreau in hopes that Ms. Stoddard will lead her own readers to search out these classic American texts. The 19th century British writer Thomas Carlyle wrote in "Sartor Resartus" that there are no new texts, but rather old ideas tailored in new and different ways. And so it is with Alexandra Stoddard. Before dismissing her, perhaps we might consider the possibility that she brings classic ideas to a broad audience -- that she has re-tailored the ideas of Emerson, Thoreau, and others for our times and for the general population.
I understand and can empathize with those who do not relate with her lifestyle -- indeed, she is blessed with a good life -- one that it appears she has worked for. I am happy for her and ask this: why should an individual's hard work, good fortune, and general abundance indicate that we, as a more general population, cannot relate to her? If she can afford more than we can does that mean her ideas do not apply to us, that she is removed from life as we know it? Oprah Winfrey, for example, is a fabulously wealthy woman -- one of the richest Americans alive -- and no one questions her ability to relate to common people. Granted, she was challenged as a child to overcome a difficult set of life circumstances, yet we do not know what Alexandra has overcome in her life -- can't she also express her ideas about a life well-lived without us judging her ideas in terms of her socioeconomic status? Let's move beyond this to her ideas, I say. Look at what she has to say at its core -- many of these ideas are universal.
I am grateful that Ms. Stoddard keeps writing. I read her as a respite from other reading. I read her as I would read a letter from a friend. I do not judge her as she does not seem to judge others herself. I take her messages at face value and accept her suggestions for living as her own way of spreading a spirit of good faith.
As I mentioned, I teach literature: my classes read works by Kurt Vonnegut, John Updike, Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison, Kate Chopin, Theodore Dreiser, and others. Ms. Stoddard presents a particular slice of life -- it seems as valid as any to me. She does not claim to be the great American author or philosopher, but someone who can encourage us to look at our lives more carefully and help us to live more fully and mindfully. Although I understand the misgivings of some, I am grateful that she has chosen to write. Her work has contributed to my life, and I look forward to her hearing her voice again in her next volume.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Time well spent, December 21, 2005
This review is from: Time Alive: Celebrate Your Life Every Day (Hardcover)
As always, Alexandra never fails to inspire me to be more creative, to open my eyes, to live life and enjoy even the smallest things. She does not advocate a lavish lifestyle. On the contrary, her books have more to do with enjoying the little things in life that do not cost much.
I have all her books and this one has new ideas for me to underline, just as her other books are well read and underlined on my shelf. She is one of my favorite authors....
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"You have 8,766 Hours a Year to Act Wisely", October 15, 2005
This review is from: Time Alive: Celebrate Your Life Every Day (Hardcover)
In a collection of essays, Alexandra Stoddard shares her philosophy on living well and living your life one day at a time. I own all of Ms. Stoddard's books - including those that are limited editions and out-of-print. This book is a delight - from the fuschia ink and chapter dividers to the quotes sprinkled thoughout the book!
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