Monday, January 26, 2015

Jan. 26: Bracing for "SNOWPOCALYPSE"!

Time FliesTime Flies by Claire Cook
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Scooped this up in a pre-snowstorm library trip, armed with a list of summer beach reads "with brains and bite" from Ridgefield Public Library. I liked Must Love Dogs a lot, but Cook has written a lot of books since then, and I found Time Flies to be a little disappointing--pleasant, but disappointing. Still, 3/5 stars ain't bad.


Save the DateSave the Date by Mary Kay Andrews
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Another "Beach Reads with Brains and Bite" pre-snowstorm and three day weekend book selection. I had forgotten Mary Kay Andrews, who is a solid fluff book writer: less sharp than Crusie, but miles ahead of Steele, etc., she's predictable but fun. I got sucked into this story set in the hot SC summer, dealing with wedding planners and society. Just the thing for a snowy, cold, three day weekend in Maine!

Unf. I had also forgotten that I'd already read her "Ladies Night," so I was disappointed when I sat down to long fluff book #2 only to find it too familiar (and too similar in plot to Save the Date) to reread!

View all my reviews Contents May Have ShiftedContents May Have Shifted by Pam Houston
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Whew. Could *not* get into this collection? novella? self-indulgent bundle of random ideas? by Houston. I liked Cowboys are My Weakness, but this one. . . whew. I tried a few times, but her voice seemed arrogant and pretentious, like a ninth grade student who tells me, "My writing is brilliant. It's my reader's job to figure out my meaning." I was working from my "Beach Reads with Brains and Bite" list, so too much anxiety about not liking something was not on the agenda. Back to the library with you, Houston!

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Well, the weather folks have shot from how the Patriots' balls could have deflated to THE STORM OF THE CENTURY. . .but even if we only get a foot, the timing looks right to have a snow day for my exam day, so I wanted to get caught up on my reading before a library trip en route home today, Monday. We'll see what unfolds. Always fun to anticipate, especially because I don't "need" a day off, but would certainly enjoy one!

Cheers, be safe, and be glad you're not a meteorologist.

Friday, January 16, 2015

Jan. 16: Friday; Senior Ex. Day; Last Weekend with Child; MLK Jr. Weekend!

Linnets and ValeriansLinnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One of my favorite book bloggers, Cornflower of Cornflower Books, read Linnets and Valerians (rechristened "The Runaways") recently, and I vaguely remembered it from days of yore at the Alvin Bolster Ricker Memorial Library and Community House, so I got a copy through interlibrary loan and had at it. As I read, it came back to me--Goudge's great descriptions, her occasional sharp, witty comments, Uncle Absolom, complete with Hector the owl, Ezra the manservant, and the haunting combination of magic, religious faith, classicism, and adventure that make this book unique.

I'm glad I read it while I was young first, because that familiarity smoothed over some spots that could've been irritating for an adult reader: there's a touch of smug cuteness in the story as well as some marked gender stereotyping that makes me twitch a bit now, but I do appreciate Goudge's satisfying story-telling and the book's energy and vision, as well as its complex diction and structure, a rare element in many ya novels of the present. I recommend this book to imaginative young readers and their book suppliers, but I do add a caution: I think Linnets and Valerians helped create my lasting Anglophilia!

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Sunday, January 11, 2015

Jan. 11: One Boy Gone. . . .

Well, Andy and I got in a full week of school last week, Nate headed back this a.m. (texted about an hour ago that he was all moved back in), and Lyle will leave next Sunday. It was a nice vacation, and each boy will have been home for a month by the time both are gone!

COLD this week, then some snow, which makes it so much better for the plants and the small critters. It's been blazingly sunny most days (hence the cold) which is a terrific change from December, but today has greyed into dullness. I am tidying up some reading details before I do a bit of school work and then some sewing as well.


Merry HallMerry Hall by Beverley Nichols
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got all three of this reissued series at the book sale, as I'd heard them referred to before (possibly in my book about Constance Spry, flower arranger?). It took me three separate attempts to read this one, and I twice packed them up to go BACK to the sale, but I think I'll hang onto them for a bit longer. Nichols is very "twee," sort of consciously cute and clever, but he seems actually truly very clever as well, so he frequently carries it off. He's sort of a cross between PG Wodehouse and Martha Stewart. His books would be great "at camp," as pleasant enough reading when one has nothing else. . . . but overall, Merry Hall was an interesting glimpse into a lifestyle I will never experience myself!

Merry HallMerry Hall by Beverley Nichols
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got all three of this reissued series at the book sale, as I'd heard them referred to before (possibly in my book about Constance Spry, flower arranger?). It took me three separate attempts to read this one, and I twice packed them up to go BACK to the sale, but I think I'll hang onto them for a bit longer. Nichols is very "twee," sort of consciously cute and clever, but he seems actually truly very clever as well, so he frequently carries it off. He's sort of a cross between PG Wodehouse and Martha Stewart. His books would be great "at camp," as pleasant enough reading when one has nothing else. . . . but overall, Merry Hall was an interesting glimpse into a lifestyle I will never experience myself!

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Friday, January 2, 2015

Jan. 2: One Goal Down!

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and RedemptionUnbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wow. I hadn't realized how little I knew about the experience of Pacific POWs in WWII. The story is haunting, horrifying, and remarkable; Louis Zamperini was an amazing man! Hillenbrand's writing style doesn't appeal to me, so it was a slog to get through, but the story will stay with me for a long time.

I can't imagine going to see the movie. The mental images are powerful and disturbing enough without the visual ones added in. Wow. How can people be so deliberately cruel to each other?

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January 2, 2015: Happy New Year!



Happy 2015: Yesterday, January 1, 2015, Lori and I went for a long, chilly walk in the sunshine towards Compass Harbor and then Schooner Head. We caught up on our vacations and generally set the world straight--fun!

After that, I did a Marden's sweep for some sewing stuff (and a funky dress for $12 that I think will work!) and got a hot chocolate at DD because I was still deep-down cold! Then, home, and I completed Susan's Hat, Version 2 (2.5, actually, because I also put in three lines of elastic thread in the brim so it will fit better):



Today, Jan. 2, I will send that off today, as well as a few other items. 

And I hope to do some school work (two goes of it, in fact), sew on my skirt and on a pair of those verdammte pj pants, and finish Unbroken. Woot, woot!