All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House

This one is the must-read of the summer, particularly for us Ohioans. David Giffels is a writer for the Akron Beacon Journal, and if you have read his features, you know his witty, sharp voice. This memoir of sorts is the story of how he and his wife restored a grand manor house in Akron. Giffels' writing is effervescent, shimmering, as when he describes the first morning after they've slept in the house: "I woke to it slowly, with the dreamy awe usually reserved for children... [who] must orient themselves to the strange ceiling and the strange walls and the strange smell and a strange need for reconciliation: I am who I always am, but nothing else is what it always is." Those who are accustomed to Giffels' humor will find it here, too, but it's icing; you'll savor every word of this book, even when you're not laughing out loud. The story of the house itself is fascinating--particularly the sheer number of items that needed repair, and the enormity of the task. After you've read this book, come to meet David Giffels at the Twinsburg Library at 2pm on Sunday, September 21st.