*~* bought through Amazon to read then pass on to NancyNova

Amazon Editorial Review

Now that popular household advice columnist Delia Bennet is dying from cancer, she's compiled the ultimate to-do list: plan her daughter's future wedding, fill the freezer with her family's favorite meals- perhaps even do some matchmaking for her husband.

But just as Delia comes to terms with the impossibility of ever tying every loose thread together in her too-short time, an unexpected visitor helps her believe in her life's worth in a way no list ever could...

A story within a story. Not quite what I expected but a good read.
Packaged up for its trip up to PA. i wish I was going too. Best time of the year to visit friends.
I could use Miss Nancy's advice about moving from 2400 to 860 sq ft of living space.

Got here today. Thank you! Adding to the TBR from others - read sooner stash to be matched up with a reading/release challenge. (and this one takes me to the magic 2400 books TBR, in a two BR apartment!)

rabck from Mysscyn; if you skip the section about the blood sausage, which was just gross, this is an excellent book. Delia is the author of the Household Guide to xxxx series, and a columnist. She pitches the idea of The Household Guide to Dying to her publicist, as the last book she'll write as she's dying of terminal cancer. The book is intended for "what to do pre-death" and this book follows her journey in writing it - including interwoven chapters of her life as a young single mother of Sonny, who is tragically killed at age 8 & you can tell that until now, she never reconciled that loss. It's also the story of her life, relationships and family. Very well written, quite humorous at times and definitely NOT morbid at all.

For the 2014 Australian Literature Sweepstakes

Enjoy!

This book arrived in today's mail along with an unregistered little book called "The Little Book of Australia". I've already read some of the little book but this book will have to wait on Mt. TBR for a while.

Thank you NancyNova. This looks very interesting and I will pay attention to the subtitle.

Although the title of this book sounds like it might be a hard go, the subtitle is “a novel about life” and that is the overwhelming message of this book. All of us will die at some time but how we live before then makes all the difference.
Delia is dying of cancer. She had a double radical mastectomy two years ago but the cancer returned and metastasized and chemotherapy is just postponing the inevitable. Delia is married to Archie and they have two daughters, Estelle and Daisy. The girls are old enough to know their mother is dying but young enough to not be sure what that means. Delia stayed home after the girls were born and looked after them and the house. She is a consummate house cleaner and cook and laundress and makes everything she does look easy. She is so good that she does an advice column for a magazine. She has also written a series of books called Household Guides in which she imparts her advice for laundry, the kitchen and other topics. Now that she is dying she is writing The Household Guide to Dying. As she writes it she realizes she has some unfinished business to take care of and it entails a long journey to the northern area of Australia. The book is structured so that portions of her trip are interspersed with her life at home getting ready to die. There are also samples of her advice column sprinkled here and there so some people might find the book disjointed. I enjoyed the various levels which allowed us to get to know Delia over time, much as we might if we met her in person.
I won’t say that this book isn’t sad; there were parts when tears came to my eyes but there were also parts where I snorted with laughter. I thought frequently of two good friends who died recently of cancer leaving behind children and a husband. Like Delia, they faced death with grace and courage and lived life to the fullest while they could.
I think this book would be a wonderful read for a book club. Lots of meaty discussions could be had about the revelations and the subject.
A special word goes out to NancyNova who sent this book to me last year when I was the lucky winner of the Australian Literature Sweepstakes. Unbeknownst to me until I started reading it she stuffed little goodies in between the pages throughout the book. What a delight it was to find bookmarks and book labels and notes as I read along.

I am taking this book to the Winnipeg BookCrossers Meetup today. If no-one takes it home it will be sitting on the OBCZ shelves waiting for the next reader. This release is for the 2015 Tick Tock release challenge for the word "Life" in the subtitle.

After a short appearance at our BC meeting last night, gypsysmom said she had a date. When a truck rolled up to the door, she ran out and announced that this was a good book. So I took it. I'll read it this month and bring it back to our next meeting. I'll report on the book and expect a report from gypsysmom on how her date went. :)