July 2: A Few Ruminations, and a Novel

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I had this book on my "read" shelf, but I didn't enter a review, so I think I was just beefing up my Books list when I checked it off. Weirdly enough, I ordered a copy and got a profoundly abridged one, despite its having NO notice of its abridgement. I think I'll interlibrary loan it and then decide if I want to own a "real" copy. However, this novel is a gem, especially for Anglophiles, since it makes fun of exactly the tropes that we all love: the country vs city life, the multitude of characters, the issues of class and accent. . . One reviewer commented that it was a mix of PG Wodehouse and Jane Austen. I'd say AMEN!

I hope to find the movie on Netflix, as I remember loving it once already!

View all my reviews

 (Warm thanks to Mark Arnold, for showing me how to "Post to blog" from Goodreads once again.)

 Well it has been the Wet Week (going on "and a Half"), which we seem to have at the end of June/early July every year lately. If things go as they have in the past, we should be clear by the 5th and then in a drought pattern quite quickly! However, it's always a struggle not to get overwhelmed or depressed by the gloom and dampness, so since last Tuesday, when Andy and I beat the amazing heat with a nice trip to Richmond to see Craig and Heather, I have been:
 1. making 1.5 pairs of booties, the fuzzy green of which have been delivered to their future owner's grandfather already;

2. reading a lot (see posts).

 3. Exercising regularly, with a Fourth of July 5k due up and two excellent yoga classes lately. I like having taken a class with a teacher often enough that I can begin to focus on what my body could be doing to improve the experience: rather than just "not falling over" or "not hurting!", I have been able to think about what Cindy means when she says "tuck in to the midline" and "feel your weight evenly on both feet."

 4. decluttering! Started with a required picture of Camilla's future room, but has since extended to a "let's do it while it's rainy because we won't want to when it's nice" major room clean/book purge/clothes switch-and-purge with Nathaniel. Then delivered the books that we couldn't afford to ship to Ohio to Child and Family Opportunities, where they will be read and loved and used by families who really need literacy support. AND the ya books from that same drive to the Library, where they'll be sold to raise money for activities for youth and children at the library. So, good things, and all out of my side of the garage!

5. lots of small, puckety errands and details.

 6. follow up on Library Board stuff I'd postponed.

7. school planning and work three days/week, as I'd hoped. It's pretty exciting to have time to really PLAN. And today after my yoga/walk Z/ trip to hair cut/mail L's b'day pkg/drop off books, I went to school and did some consultation with Mark A about tech stuff (hence the fixed blog). So I can work when I need to and then not feel guilty when I don't. So nice!

 8. Planning our ANNIVERSARY AWAY! A and I are going to Belfast to stay at the Belfast Bay Inn and eat at the Gothic. ON our 24th anniversary. Really. Only someone whose anniversary falls on his/her son's b'day and a week from his/her second son's b'day could understand how rare that has been for the past 20 years! So: despite being ready for some sun, I feel pretty cheery. Off to read, I think!

July 1: A new month and a few books!

The Poacher's Son (Mike Bowditch #1) 
by Paul Doiron 

Andy recommended this novel to me and it took me awhile to read it, but after the first page I knew Doiron was a skillful writer who'd construct a worthwhile story. The book deals with a young game warden in the Maine woods, and a strong thread in it is the sorrow of losing the wilderness, the access to the woods, and the appreciation and knowledge of it. At the same time, Doiron doesn't glamorize the difficulties of woods life, poverty, and the impact of lack of options and opportunities. The plot moves rapidly, and the characters are interesting and varied, though I hope Mike's girlfriend gets developed beyond her somewhat flat role in this first outing. Mike's relationship with his female mentor and the wheelchair-bound wife of a bush pilot offer some nice variation in female roles. I think I'll keep an eye out for the sequel(s)!

The Supremes at Earl's All-You-Can-Eat 
by Edward Kelsey Moore 

Another Andy recommendation--actually, a command. This is a warm and "peopley" novel that offers an interesting and humane picture of an African-American community in Indiana. The characters are in their 50's, and their intertwined stories reveal changes and continuities in their experience and history. While I often complain about the new craze for multi-voice novels, Moore handles the format well: Odette is the first person narrator, and the other women's stories are in third person. It's confusing at first, but after a little while things become clear. A few of the revelations were predictable, but the overall structure of community and caring made the book a pleasure to read.

The Golden Egg (Commissario Brunetti, #22) 
by Donna Leon

I think I might like to BE Donna Leon--smart, chic, living in Italy. . . Failing that, I'll read her books, despite their clear focus on corruption in Italy and the decay of the environment. This one was a little less focused in general: at one point, Brunetti himself wonders why he's spent this week doing a fairly unnecessary investigation, so I felt justified in my sense of mild confusion! However, Leon does deliver her usual dose of detail and experience, despite the lack of pressing plot motivation. Enjoyable. Oh: and I just figured out the significance of the title as I typed it in!

June 27: Grey, Chilly, a Book, and a Finished Project!

Trains and Lovers: A Novel 
by Alexander McCall Smith (Goodreads Author) 

While not on par with the Ladies' No 1 Detective OR Sunday Philosophy Club (Isabel Dalhousie) series, this quick little book was intriguing. It left a good number of loose ends, and I did find the switching narrators a little annoying at times, but it was another pleasant book for the couch on a rainy June evening.

And, even tho it looks like part of my Goodreads review, here are some pics of the most recent pair of bootees I finished as a break from the unending leg of Andy's second green sock! These are very silky and fuzzy, sort of a Muppet/Grover undertaking. I think they'll go to Mark's grandson in Colorado. Next up, a pair of pink ones, I think!

June 26: And the grey settles in. . .

Dumping Billy 
by Olivia Goldsmith 

A heartily mediocre book: characters were kind of interesting (very stereotypical, many of them, but not 100%), plot kind of original (not 100% sure where it was going to end up), writing kind of interesting (too much telling, too little showing, but certainly not the least original I've ever read). . . Basically, it was an okay book to pay 50 cents for and to rip through, part skimming, on a rainy, dreary afternoon/evening.

People magazine's comment ("What a great feeling to fall into the capable hands of Olivia Goldsmith.") makes me question their definition of capable hands. Ah well. Back to the book sale with it!

June 24: A Good Sequel

Scumble (Savvy, #2) 
by Ingrid Law 

A strong sequel to Savvy, Scumble manages to surprise and entertain with a fairly unpredictable coming-of-age story. Meaty and well developed--a pleasure to read!


And, seeing as it's summer, another one as well, though the picture is the completely wrong edition. . . .

Presenting Miss Jane Austen 

by May Lamberton Becker

This classic, quirky biographer for young readers is a period piece that unashamedly promotes the idea of great books and The Literary Canon. May Lamberton Becker (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Lamb...) has a definite voice and a definite world view, and, luckily, Jane Austen aligned neatly with both. The book is interesting in both its content and its freedom in embroidering historical fact with personal opinion: Becker twice remarks that since Austen children never heard nor spoke bad grammar or slang, it was natural that Austen was such a great writer, for example. Interestingly enough, when I dug into who exactly MLB was, I found that the glowing blurb on the back of my vintage 1952 (Goodreads says "first published" in 2006--ha!) was written by Beatrice Warde, who happened to be Becker's daughter. Curiouser and curiouser! Still, the book is interesting, if only as an historical example of the inherited cultural canon and its promotion. I wonder if it has been brought up to date at all in its "new" edition.

June 21: First Day of Summah (and another book)!

Well, this tie in to the Jania that ruled the world a few years ago (it was pub'd in 2009) is an mildly amusing read. Because it's set at a place that reenacts Austen's society, the plot doesn't have to walk that line between outright copying and pale imitation that has doomed so many other retellings. However, it's only okay for several reasons: 
1. the editor was asleep at the switch for several pages: ". . . keeping one eye on the twins battling over blocks, the other eye ensconced in a throw pillow." (16). What? I reread that about 5 times, trying to figure out if the heroine had a fake eye or if the printer had skipped a few words.  "He was a few years younger than her" (134). . .  younger than her was? Please. And then, before she leaves, our Jane "used [a piece of metal] to carve Catherine Heathcliff to the underside of the windowsill." (171)  I think American English is Hale's first language, and don't we say on or into in that case?  And then, "On impulse, she took his hand, rubbed his index finger between her fingers. It was an intimate gesture, yet felt natural." (191). It IS an intimate gesture? Weird. There were a few other odd constructions--nothing that an alert editor wouldn't catch--but they began to grate. Well, this tie in to the Jania that ruled the world a few years ago (it was pub'd in 2009) is an mildly amusing read. Because it's set at a place that reenacts Austen's society, the plot doesn't have to walk that line between outright copying and pale imitation that has doomed so many other retellings. However, it's only okay for several reasons:
2. The bigger reason Austenland is only okay is that the woman's character is just never presented in a coherent way. Her mood varies, and she gives herself so many pep talks that I kept losing track of why she needed a pep talk *this* time: was she too careless? Too needy? Playing too much in the role, or too little? The constant twittering gets a bit old.

So why did I read this? Well, O Magazine said there's a movie version coming out, and it seems like just the right kind of eye candy for August, and I wanted to be prepared. Now I am!

June 19: Lovely Day, Last School Work Day, and a book!

Just finished Ingrid Law's Savvy, a fun ya novel about a family whose members each possess a unique "savvy," or power: Grandpa can move Earth, brother Fish can control water and wind, Rocket can conduct electricity. The focus of the book is Mibs Beaumont on her thirteenth birthday, the birthday when her savvy will reveal itself. . . A student recommended this book to me, and I really enjoyed it: Law's narrative voice is unique but never affected, creating a singing, swinging Western tone to the story. There's a sequel out, and I think I'll look for it!

Thank you, Matt, for the recommendation: a nice way to start summer vacation!