Bettyville

Bettyville by George Hodgman, 278 pages.
George Hodgman, a book and magazine editor in NYC (Simon and Schuster, and Vogue, among others) returns to Paris, Missouri, to care for his aging mother. This is an interesting memoir, particularly because of the author's admitted reticence. He tell tales of his refusal to open up, and yet he seems to be truthful, as far as he can be, with us, his audience. His beloved mother, quickly becoming a shell of her former self, wants to live independently, but can no longer do so. George spoke at the Library in February and he was a wonderful speaker. He shared many of the stories that went into or surrounded those in the book. It was a great talk about a very interesting and engaging book. I look forward to reading his next book.