I finished reading Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker.  It was a fascinating and emotional account of Elizabeth Keckley, the former slave who purchased her freedom, became a respected professional dressmaker in Washington, DC, and served as Mary Todd Lincoln’s modiste during her husband’s Presidency.  The book is based on historical fact, but the author did fill in certain gaps in the record, with her perception of what might have happened.

The stories of Mrs. Lincoln’s instability are well known.  This book supplied details and perspective.  The life of Mrs. Keckley was tragic and inspiring.  Stories about how she grew up a slave were interwoven throughout the book.  Her son was in college when the story began, but he soon joined the military to fight for the Union.  Before the war began, one of Mrs. Keckley’s clients was Mrs. Jefferson Davis, the eventual First Lady of the Confederacy.  Particularly compelling and poignant was Mrs. Keckley’s journey to visit the family who had owned her as a slave.

I love Jennifer Chiaverini’s writing style.  It is relaxed and inspiring.  I’ve enjoyed her Elm Creek series, but I hope this won’t be the last time she departs from that series to write a historical novel.  This book left me wanting to know a lot more about Elizabeth Keckley.

I pasted two images below of Mrs. Keckley, plus a video about her quilt which according to legend, was made from Mrs. Lincoln’s dress scraps.  But that is where I’ll stop with the links and images.  The book itself will compel you to do your own searches to learn more about Mrs. Keckley, and see the dresses she made.

Infinite Jest.  I nearly always have a sewing project that I work on only periodically and therefore takes months or years to be finished.  I’m reading a book that way now.  The book is Infinite Jest, written by David Foster Wallace and published in 1996.  I love reading it, but I keep getting distracted by other books.  Usually the other books are shorter and more contemporary fiction.  Once I finish the “distraction,” I return for more of Infinite Jest.

Infinite Jest is a 1000+ page saga that requires concentration to absorb every detail.  It is on the Time 100 best novels written since 1923 (aka the beginning of Time).  http://entertainment.time.com/2005/10/16/all-time-100-novels/#how-we-picked-the-list 

The book is set in North America in the then-not-too-distant future.  Some of the future projections made by the author have eerily become true since the book was written.  Example:  “Entertainment cartridges” that are inserted and played through the TV, are delivered to households, watched, and then returned via the mail service; i.e., a 1996 vision of what now looks remarkably like Netflix.  Other projections are not far out of the realm of possibility, especially to a cynical thinker.  Example:  Calendar years come with corporate naming rights as opposed to chronological numbers.  “YDAU” is the Year of the Depends Adult Undergarment.   Memorable scenarios that play out in the early part of the book include an awkward college entrance interview; and a dad who sends his son to a conversation consultant (ostensibly to help him develop his conversational skills).  The son realizes on the first visit with the conversation consultant that the consultant is actually his dad in disguise; it is a plan the dad conceived in order to trick his son into having a conversation with him.

There will be future updates as I continue to make my way through the book.

In the meantime, I’m reminded of the book every time I go for a run.  Last year Infinite Jest was gifted with its own awesome tribute song and video–by The Decemberists.  I have added the song to my running mix on my mp3 player.  It’s an excellent, fun running song, so it will probably stay in my running mix for a long time; possibly through the Year of the Chewable Ambien Tab.