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Essays After Eighty
Essays After Eighty | Donald Hall
8 posts | 9 read | 12 to read
"Alternately lyrical and laugh-out-loud funny."New York Times Deliciously readable . . . Donald Hall, if abandoned by the muse of poetry, has wrought his prose to a keen autumnal edge. Wall Street Journal His entire life, Donald Hall has dedicated himself to the written word, putting together a storied career as a poet, essayist, and memoirist. Now, in the unknown, unanticipated galaxy of very old age, he is writing essays that startle, move, and delight. In Essays After Eighty, Hall ruminates on his past: thirty was terrifying, forty I never noticed because I was drunk, fifty was best with a total change of life, sixty extended the bliss of fifty . . . He also addresses his present: When I turned eighty and rubbed testosterone on my chest, my beard roared like a lion and gained four inches. Most memorably, Hall writes about his enduring love affair with his ancestral Eagle Pond Farm and with the writing life that sustains him every day: Yesterday my first nap was at 9:30 a.m., but when I awoke I wrote again. Alluring, inspirational hominess . . . Essays After Eighty is a treasure . . . balancing frankness about losses with humor and gratitude. Washington Post A fine book of remembering all sorts of things past, Essays After Eighty is to be treasured. Boston Globe
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claffy_reads
Essays After Eighty | Donald Hall
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Pickpick

This is just a gorgeous book, from the cover to the last page. His writing is at times hilarious, other times heartbreaking, often both at the same time. I can't wait to pass this along to other people in my life.

claffy_reads I read this for #booked2018 for the category of MC over 70, and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to fulfill that category! @Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage 6y
Cinfhen You‘re on a roll!!! I think u are almost finished with the challenge 🙌🏻 6y
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claffy_reads
Essays After Eighty | Donald Hall
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#Booked2018 question- I'm thinking about reading the tagged for the prompt MC Over 70 years old- would that fly?
@Cinfhen @4thhouseontheleft @BarbaraTheBibliophage

Cinfhen Sure!!! Perfect!! Go for it 6y
MayJasper Great photi 6y
MayJasper Oops I meant 'photo' 😀 6y
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CaitlinR I had the great good fortune to grow up with Donald Hall during his time at UM (my Dad was chair of the English Dept). You‘ll love this! 6y
claffy_reads Thanks @Cinfhen 😁. I love this cover @MayJasper his face is so craggy, like his life is written all over it. @CaitlinR That is so cool! He lived pretty close to me here in NH, and I'm so sad I never saw him read. I can't wait to read this. 6y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Funny coincidence: I am visiting with my aunt this week. She‘s a big reader and turns 80 on Sunday. So I was telling her about this book. Maybe a birthday present?? 6y
65 likes6 comments
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DrSabrinaMoldenReads
Essays After Eighty | Donald Hall
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Pickpick

This was a delightful little book. The author is a great writer along with being witty and inspirational. He offers delicious slices of many aspects of human nature. 🌟🌟🌟🌟

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GoneFishing
Essays After Eighty | Donald Hall

Every day millions of people pass away—in obituaries, death notices, cards of consolation, e-mails to the corpse‘s friends—but people don‘t die. Sometimes they rest in peace, quit this world, go the way of all flesh, depart, give up the ghost, breathe a last breath, join their dear ones in heaven, meet their Maker, ascend to a better place, succumb surrounded by family, return to the Lord, go home, cross over, or leave this world.

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Bookbeez
Essays After Eighty | Donald Hall
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I can already tell this is going to be a good essay collection.

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MrCoachU
Essays After Eighty | Donald Hall
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Reading on the back porch of my hotel in Eureka Springs. I could definitely get used to this.