The Magic Bookcase...

Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

2012-01-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

'It was the coldest winter for forty-five years. Villages in the English countryside were cut off by the snow and the Thames froze over. One day in January the Glasgow-London train arrived at Euston twenty-four hours late. The snow and the blackout combined to make motoring perilous; road accidents doubled, and people told jokes about how it was more risky to drive an Austin Seven along Piccadilly at night than to take a tank across the Siegfried line.'
First paragraph of Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett

It's funny that I usually don't care for spy novels, but I have really liked every Ken Follett book I have ever read and this one was no exception. Set during the last days of WW II, Die Nadel was Germany's top spy. The Needle was living in England under numerous identities while ferreting out all the British secrets he could. When he uncovers the biggest secret of all, the one that will make all of the difference in Germany winning the war, he must get this secret intelligence back to Hitler.

David and Lucy Rose were in a terrible accident the night of their wedding that ended David's career as an Army pilot and severed both of his legs. David and Lucy went to live on a remote Scottish island where David's dad owned a house and sheep farm, the only other inhabitant being Old Tom, the sheepherder.

These four lives intertwine in passion, treachery and absolute bravado. You will fall in love with Lucy Rose and will find yourself turning pages late into the night. Wonderful!

An Absence So Great - Jane Kirkpatrick

2012-01-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

An Absence So Great by Jane Kirkpatrick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

'A photograph, like life, often reveals as much about who's absent as who's there.'
~First paragraph of An Absence So Great by Jane Kirkpatrick

Another wonderful book by one of my favorite authors! An Absence So Great carries on where A Flickering Light left off in the life of Jane's grandmother, Jessie Gaebele. Jessie is now eighteen and living and working in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She has gone away from her family and hometown of Winona, Minnesota as a punishment to herself for the longing of a married, much older man; her boss and mentor Fred J. Bauer. In Milwaukee, Jessie is working for Suzanne Johnson, a woman who has lost her husband so is now running his photography studio. She is living with the Harms family who are actually relatives of Mr. Bauer and in the course of time it comes out that Mr. Bauer is paying them for Jessie's room and board. She does not at all want this support, so begins to take photographs at the local dances in order to tuck away enough money to pay Mr. Bauer back and be once again out of his debt. When word gets to Jessie that one of the studio's in Winona is up for sale, she goes back home only for a short visit to approach the bank manager for a loan to secure the studio. Turned down on the basis that she is a woman, Jessie instead goes to work for this same studio to prove her abilities to the owner. She does so and the banker has a change of heart and gives her the loan. But all is well only for awhile and circumstances have Jessie once again leaving her family and hometown for the wide open prairies of North Dakota. Will painful memories ever leave Jessie behind? Will she come to terms with the pullings of her own heart?

Another historical novel beautifully written. Jessie Gaebele will grab your heart.

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Don't I Know You? - Karen Shepard

2012-01-15T15:51:00.000-08:00

Don't I Know You?: A Novel by Karen Shepard

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

'August 1976
It was a Tuesday. Steven's key worked like it always had. His mother was lying between the living room and the front hall. He saw her feet first. They were bare, and at first he thought she was doing her yoga.'
First paragraph of Don't I know You? by Karen Shepard

This was a really interesting murder mystery written first from the perspective of the murder victim's 12 year old son, then wrapped around other lives in the neighborhood.

Gina Engel was brutally murdered in her New York City apartment in the summer of 1976. Her son, Stephen, coming home from a day playing with friends, finds his mother's body lying in the hallway of their home. Could the murderer have been Gina's current boyfriend, Phil; Stephen's abscent father; an ex-boyfriend? It's determined only that it was someone that Gina knew. Stephen caught only a glimpse of a man in green Adidas tennis shoes leaving through an open window. The story stays with Stephen throughtout the first week of the investigation and up until the time when his father comes to take him to San Diego and a whole new life.

Next, two years later with the murder still unsolved, we meet Lily Chin. Lily is engaged to Nick, a wealthy landowner. A strange woman brings it to Lily's attention that her fiance' may have a secret life that was once tangled up with Gina Engel's. Is he a dangerous man or the man that Lily thinks she knows?

Fast forward ten years to the fall of 1988. Louise Carpanetti and her son, Michael, live in the same building that Gina was killed in years ago. Michael is a slow, emotionally-disturbed man who used to water Gina's plants when she was away and had a relationship with her son, Stephen. Louise had recieved a phone call from Gina as she had lain dying. She has always had suspicions that she has kept to herself about her own son. Is it time to come forward?

I thought this book was done quite well, but was left a little disappointed with the ending. All three voices were done well and we got to know the people involved intimately, but the very last chapter that held the answer was too short and lacked the depth of the rest of the novel. I felt that it ended very abruptly.

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Death Comes As Epiphany

2011-09-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

Death Comes As Epiphany by Sharan Newman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a fun, light read. Set in 1139 France, Catherine LeVendeur is a novice nun who has not yet taken her final vows. She is at the Convent of the Paraclete studying under the abbess Heloise. Catheine had a part in preparing a manuscript for Abbe' Sugar that has disappeared and word is that the manuscript has been defaced with heresy. Catherine is sent back to her family from the convent in the disguise of a disgraced nun, but in reality is on a mission to find the missing manuscript and determine who defaced it and why. In this quest, Catherine puts herself in much danger physically and also mortally with the evil that is involved in this mystery.

Death Comes As Epiphany is the first in a mystery series, all with Catherine as the heroine. If you are ready for a light adventure, these are really fun books to dig into.

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Innocent Traitor

2011-09-16T19:55:00.001-07:00

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If my faults deserve punishment, my youth at least, and my imprudence, were worthy of excuse. God and posterity will show me more favor.
~Lady Jane Grey, in the Tower of London, February 1554

Everyone knows the basic story of Lady Jane Grey, but this novel really brought her to life for me. Author Alison Weir is a historian, so this book was painstakingly researched and all of the characters have so much depth and personality to them. I found myself either loving or hating each of them and feeling true sorrow for the innocent Jane.
Lady Jane Grey has Tudor blood; her ambitious mother is cousin to Henry VIII and in line for the throne behind Henry's son Edward and daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Jane's parents wanted a male heir, not a mere girl, and Jane's young life has been spent being the abused pawn of her repulsive parents but much loved by Mrs. Ellen, her nurse since birth. Jane has also had a loving mother figure in Katherine Parr, King Henry VIII's last wife, but when Henry dies, Katherine soon remarries and dies after a long and harrowing childbirth. Jane is sent back home to her parents, where the plot remains to marry her to her young cousin, King Edward. When Edward dies of consumption, the plot changes from marriage to a ploy to overthrow the next in line, Princess Mary, and crown Lady Jane queen instead. Poor Jane wants nothing to do with this, but as a young 15 year old girl, can do nothing but obey her parents and the all powerful Duke of Northumberland. The wheels are set in motion for betrayal and heresy that will bring the innocent girl to an early death.

This story is so well told through the eyes and imagination of the author that it left me wanting more. The story is a centuries old one that we are all familiar with, but the telling of it left me feeling very emotional and wanting to change history, if only we could.

I have done some ancestoral research and have found, before reading this book, that Lady Jane was a cousin of mine, (as was her mother, but I'm choosing to ignore that part!). I loved reading her story through the voice of Alison Weir.

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The Swimming Pool by Holly Lecraw

2011-08-30T12:47:00.000-07:00

The Swimming Pool by Holly LeCraw

My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Hmmm...what to say about this book. It sounded interesting and I was looking forward to reading it - the plot was a seven year old murder that somehow was tangled around the lives of two different families, a clandestine love affair and summer on Cape Cod. Sounded intriguing. What I found was a disjointed novel describing the events that lead up to the murder, interspersed with present-day drama from the families involved. I felt that the author didn't do a good job of jumping from one time frame to another or from one character to another. It seemed very abrupt.

Betsy was the woman murdered; I felt nothing for her as her character was not given any time or depth. Marcella, the woman having an affair with the murdered woman's husband, is now, seven years later, having an affair with the murdered woman's son since his father had died of heartbreak after the murder. Can you say yuck? I kept reading, thinking the plot would redeem itself, but towards the end, I found myself just skimming so that the pain would end.

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The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2011-08-15T17:49:00.001-07:00

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! I usually mark my favorite passages and quote them in my review, but it would be simply ridiculous to tap out all 451 pages, now wouldn't it?

This book grabbed me right from the beginning and kept me turning pages long into the night. I'm really impressed with the writing style and the ease that the author takes us from one persons perspective to another throughout the entire story. I really felt that the characters all had a lot of depth to them, letting the reader either connect with a character or loathe them. Not being from the south myself, this isn't a lifestyle that I am familiar with, but Kathryn Stockett wrote the stories so that I feel as if I was there. She picked such a hard time in the south to set her story in. A time when racial tensions were running extremely high and horrible things were happening to both the blacks and the white "sympathizers". We meet Miss Skeeter, a young woman who was raised and loved by her family maid. Skeeter wants to find out what happened to the woman who raised her and she wants to make some changes that will make life easier for the black families in America. Being a writer, Skeeter sets off to interview as many maids as will talk to her, telling their stories about the hardships, and pleasures, they have found working for white families. Jackson, Mississippi is one of the most dangerous places at this time and Skeeter and the maid's that finally agree to talk to her for her book are in great danger everytime they meet. Emotions are high when the book finally goes to press. Will the people of their community read it? Will they know who the people in the stories represent, even though names have been changed? Was it worth the risk?

Okay - I'll do it. Here are two of my favorite passages-
Minny is one of the maids that Skeeter is interviewing. It took awhile to talk her into it, but she finally decided to do it. Skeeter has to be really careful with Minny, making sure that she doesn't scare her off. In this passage, Minny is talking to her friend Aibileen, who Sketter is interviewing as well.
'"Oh, fore I forget, Miss Skeeter wants to come over early Tuesday night," Aibileen says. "Bout seven. You make it then?"
"Lord," I say, getting irritated all over again. "What am I doing? I must be crazy, giving the sworn secrets a the colored race to a white lady."
"It's just Miss Skeeter, she ain't like the rest."
"Feel like I'm talking behind my own back," I say.

In this next passage, we are listening to Minnie again, after a tough run-in with her mean husband.
' "I guess I got to go," I say, even though I'd rather spend the rest of my life right here in Aibileen's cozy kitchen, having her explain the world to me. That's what I love about Aibileen, she can take the most complicated things in life and wrap them up so small and simple, they'll fit right in your pocket.'

If you haven't yet read "The Help", pick it up. You will be so glad that you did!

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood - Rebecca Wells

2011-08-01T20:18:00.000-07:00

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've had this book languishing on my to-be-read shelf for a year - maybe more - and I was prepared for a book that I was just kind of meh about. Instead, I couldn't put it down and absolutely loved it. This was a wonderful story about a not so perfect mother and the harsh realities of life.

Sidda is a 40 year old theatre director who has fallen in love with the fabulous Conner McGill, but Sidda doesn't know if she knows how to love somebody right. She feels that she was not loved right as a child and does not want to pass that legacy on to her own family. She decides to take some time away to think so heads to a friends cabin in the pacific northwest, taking along her Mother's scrapbook "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood". Inside this wonderful scrapbook, Sidda finds more questions than answers about her mother's life in the bayou of Louisiana. It's not until her Mom's best friends, the Ya-Ya's, show up that Sidda begins to get some answers and understand that life is messy. As her mom, Vivi Dahlin says - "It's life, Sidda. You just climb on the beast and ride."

This was a wonderful, deeply moving book that had me in turns laughing out loud and wiping the tears from my eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

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The Language of Sand - Ellen Block

2011-07-24T17:31:00.000-07:00

The Language of Sand: A Novel by Ellen Block

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very quick read with enjoyable characters and a wonderful setting.

After losing her husband and young son in a tragic fire, Abigail has moved to Chapel Isle off the North Carolina coast as the caretaker for a lighthouse, hoping to connect in someway with the island that her late husband loved as a boy. When she arrives, she finds the lighthouse possibly haunted and quite run-down; the town full of colorful characters and herself changing from the Abigail she has always known into simply Abby.

I found it an enjoyable read, one that kept me turning the pages but left me in the end wishing that there had been more depth to many of the characters and more story behind the haunting of the lighthouse. It did feel as if the last 1/4 of the book was rushed a bit and could have been played out with more depth, but all in all a nice light read.

One of my favorite quotes from The Language of Sand was from a scene where Abigail was unpacking all of her books that she had brought to the island with her:
"As she organized, she allowed herself to read the first few pages of each book, tasting the story or sampling a morsel from a text. It was as if she were bumping into an aquaintance on the street-Abigail couldn't simply pass them by."

Happy Reading!

Voyage of a Summer Sun: Canoeing the Columbia River

2011-07-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

Voyage of a Summer Sun: Canoeing the Columbia River by Robin Cody

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was a bit aprehensive about reading this book, just because I thought that it may be a bit dry. Instead it was a completely delightful read and really interesting. I loved the way the author eased his way into the actual canoe trip by giving the reader a background of his family and his Dads love of the river. Robin Cody gives a wonderful history of the Columbia river and the dam's that provide the Pacific Northwest with power, as well as colorful accounts of his trip and the characters he meets along the way as he paddles his way from the source of the Columbia River to the mouth where it spills out into the Pacific Ocean. This book is really eye-opening and heart-breaking in many ways; the loss of native life-styles up and down the river as the dam's went in; the change of landscape as these dam's backed up creating reservoirs and leveling age-old falls.
If you have a connection with the Pacific Northwest or a love of rivers and wildlife, I would definately recommend this book.

A couple of my favorite passages from Voyage of a Summer Sun -

"From my mother came a strong sense that it mattered who came before us, and how they did it."

On witnessing a family of geese in spring on the river -
"Adult geese lose their flight feathers soon after the goslings hatch in spring. The adults can't fly until the little guys can, which is nature's way of keeping the family together."

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I Still Dream About You - Fannie Flagg

2011-07-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

I've read a few Fannie Flagg books and this one was certainly not my favorite. It was a very light read without much depth to any of the characters. The main character is a 60 year old former Miss Alabama who now sells real estate and thinks that her life has been one big disappointment. With nothing to live for, she makes plans to "leave", meaning that she is going to strap weights to her amrs and legs and throw herself into the river. Each time she plans the exact time of the end of her life, some crisis or another turns up that makes it necessary to put off her demise. I thought it got old really fast and honestly just kept reading, hoping that something interesting would happen. There were a little bit of predictable twists and turns, but nothing that saved the story in my eyes.

"Fried Green Tomatos" is one of my favorites and this one fell far short.

Daughters of the Witching Hill

2011-07-17T20:45:00.000-07:00

Daughters of the Witching Hill ~ Mary Sharratt

'See us gathered here, three woman stood at Richard Baldwin's gate. I bide with my daughter, Liza of the squint eye, and with my grandaughter, Alizon, just fifteen and dazzling as the noontide sun, so bright that she lights up the murk of my dim sight. Demdike, folk call me, after the dammed stream near my dwelling place where the farmers wash their sheep before shearing. When I was younger and stronger, I used to help with the sheepwash. Wasn't afraid of the fiercest rams. I'd always had a way of gentling creatures by speaking to them low and soft. Though I'm old now, crabbed and near-blind, my memory is long as a midsummer's day and with my inner eye, I see clear.'

I picked up this novel in Powell Books not long ago. The write-up on the back of the book intrigued me and I was not disappointed. The author has done her research well and each character is based on a true person; many of the scenes based on actual court clerk, Thomas Pott's account of the 1612 Lancashire Witch Trials.

Bess Southerns is a widow living in Pendle Forest who has built her reputation as a cunning woman; a woman who can heal the sick and bless others as well as animals. Her best friend has no such powers, but Bess teaches her what she knows and her friend turns to dark magic to save her daughter from their landlords son, who has terrorized her for years. As Bess' grandaughter grows, Bess can see that she has the gift as well, but Alizon wants nothing to do with it. One day Alizon meets a peddler on the road who seems to think she is a prostitute. Alizon exchanges harsh words with him, cursing the peddler who suddenly falls to the road with a stroke. The local magistrate is trying to build his reputation as a witch hunter, so locks Alizon up in the dungeon and the witch trials begin.

This book is written really well, bringing this disturbing time in history to vivid life. The author lives in Pendle Forest, right where the witch hunt took place. I think her nearness to the scene lent clarity and depth to the writing . If historical fiction is one of your passions, than this book should not be missed.

'She was a very old woman, about the age of Foure-score yeares, and had been a Witch for fiftie yeares. Shee dwelt in the Forrest of Pendle, a vast place, fitte for her profession: What shee committed in her time, no man knowes...She was a generall agent for the Devill in all these partes: no man escaped her, or her Furies.'

-Thomas Potts, The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster, 1613

What Matters Most - Luanne Rice

2011-07-17T20:31:00.000-07:00

'The annual Children's Home summer beach picnic was on everyone's mind, and the kitchen was bustling. A ham roasting, to be sliced and served cold; Dublin Bay prawns, a gift from one of St. Augustine's benefactors, chilling in the huge refrigerator; fresh-baked bread cooling on the rack; cookies already packed in baskets.
Kathleen Murphy, thirteen, stood at the long stainless-steel work table, peeling potatoes for potato salad. Her fingers worked so fast, a total blur to anyone who might be watching. Her long dark hair was held back in a ponytail, and her clothes were protected by a stiff green apron. She kept one eye on her work, another on the side door. Sister Anastasia would be back in five minutes, and if James Sullivan wasn't here by then, there'd be hell to pay.'

Luanne Rice is one of my favorite authors for quick summer beach reads. This book is one I had picked up at a yard sale last summer but had not gotten around to reading until now. It takes us from Dublin, Ireland to the Connecticut shoreline following the love and life of two different couples as they try to figure out What Matters Most. It's a story of true love that never dies and soul mates who are connected over time and space.

From the back cover:
For Bernadette and Tom it is a return to their roots in Ireland and a love that broke every rule and could have withstood any consequence-but the one that broke their hearts. For James and Kathleen, whose indelible bond was forged in a Dublin orphanage before one was adopted and carried across the sea to America, it's a reunion they could never see coming, even if they dreamed of it all their young lives. From the Emerald Isle to the Connecticut shore, four lives are about to come together in a confrontation that will challenge each of them to leave behind the past and all they once thought was important and embrace at last What Matters Most.

A great summer read, but make sure and keep the kleenex's close!

The Glass Castle

2009-05-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

'I was sitting in a taxi, wondering if I had overdressed for the evening, when I looked out the window and saw Mom rooting through a dumpster. It was just after dark. A blustery March wind whipped the steam coming out of the manholes, and people hurried along the sidewalks with their collars turned up. I was stuck in traffic two blocks from the party where I was heading.
Mom stood fifteen feet away. She had tied rags around her shoulders to keep out the spring chill and was picking through the trash while her dog, a black-and-white terrier mix, played at her feet. Mom's gestures were all familiar - the way she tilted her head and thrust out her lower lip when studying items of potential value that she'd hoisted out of the dumpster, the way her eyes widened with childish glee when she found something she liked. Her long hair was streaked with gray, tangled and matted, and her eyes had sunk deep into their sockets, but still she reminded me of the mom she'd been when I was a kid, swan-diving off cliffs and painting in the desert and reading Shakespeare aloud. Her cheekbones were still high and strong, but the skin was parched and ruddy from all those winters and summers exposed to the elements. To the people walking by, she probably looked like any of the thousands of homeless people in New York City.'
The Glass Castle is a memoir written by Jeannette Walls about her strange and dysfunctional, yet somewhat happy childhood. I really enjoyed this book, at times intrigued and other times disgusted by Jeannette's parents. She has written her story through the eyes of herself as a child and is a wonderful story teller. Jeannette's Dad is brilliant, teaching the kids physics and geology while they travel around, never living very long in any one place. I would describe their Mom as a hippie-type, never content to settle in any one place either, hating housework and responsibility, and completely embracing her artistic self. She gives the kids her love of reading, teaches them to paint in the desert and to be creative. She doesn't care if they attend school, it's much more fun and rewarding to wander outside at will all day. Dad has a drinking problem and becomes violent when he drinks. One of Jeannette's earliest memories is of her dad trying to run her mom down with the car late at night in the desert. The kids learn, at an early age, to take care of themselves and each other, that they are really all they've got to lean on. As teenagers, they rise above the poverty they were raised in, bettering their lives as they get older, while their parents choose to become homeless as the kids grow-up.
This is an incredible storyand written very well. I'm sure that I'll read this one again someday.

Inkheart

2009-05-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

'Rain fell that night, a fine, whispering rain. Many years later, Meggie had only to close her eyes and she could still hear it, like tiny fingers tapping on the windowpane. A dog barked somewhere in the darkness, and however often she tossed and turned Meggie couldn't get to sleep.
The book she had been reading was under her pillow, pressing its cover against her ear as if to lure her back into its printed pages. "I'm sure it must be very comfortable sleeping with a hard, rectangular thing like that under your head," her father had teased the first time he found a book under her pillow. "Go on, admit it, the book whispers its story to you at night."
"Sometimes, yes," Meggie had said. "But it only works for children." Which made Mo tweak her nose. Meggie had never called her father anything else.'
These are the first few paragraphs of Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.

This is a young reader book full of magic and mayhem. I first became interested in reading Inkheart when I saw the preview for the movie - (which I haven't seen yet.) It looking intriguing, stuffed with wonderful books and a fairy-tale like quality. My sister and I were at the movies together when this preview came on. I looked at her and said "I want to see that one!". She replied, "That's the best book I've ever read. Really!" Well, alrighty then, I had better pick it up somewhere. Pretty darn good recommendation, I would say.

The story begins with a stranger standing in the dark outside of Meggie's bedroom window. She runs to get her father, who happens to know this shady character, and the journey begins. Seems that Mo has has such a magical voice that you can actually see, smell and feel the story that he is reading out loud. Turns out that he has a special talent for reading people and things OUT of their stories, which is why Meggie can't ever remember him reading aloud to her. Nine years before, Meggie's mom disappeared into a story when Mo accidentally read the villain Capricorn, his henchman, Basta and fireeater Dustfinger out of a story. Ever since that day, Capricorn and his followers have terrorized the countryside, though they seem to keep under the law somehow. Now Dustfinger has reappeared looking for the final copy of the book Inkheart, so that possibly Mo can read him back into that old life. Capricorn has grown to like this life and has other evil plans concerning his story. What can Meggie do to save her father from his evil clutches? Is there anyway to find her lost mother in that other story land?

This book is a thick one, but a really fast read, mostly because it keeps you on your toes, wanting to know what is coming next. I finished it last night and keep thinking that I need to head to the bookstore for the next one, Inkspell. Thank you, Stacey, for the good recommendation, though I don't quite think it's the best book I've EVER read. There's way to many wonderful books out there for that...

The Widow of the South

2009-04-21T18:33:00.001-07:00

'Prologue
1894

Down the rows of the dead they came. Neat, orderly rows of dead rebel boys who thirty years before had either dropped at the foot of earthen works a mile or so away or died on the floors of the big house overlooking the cemetery. Now there were stone markers, but for so many years there had been only wooden boards, weathered and warped, and tall posts proclaiming the numbers of the dead.'

This is the first paragraph of Widow of the South written by Robert Hicks. This is an incredibly moving book that really opens your eyes to the horrors of the civil war. Based, and very well-researched, on a true story, The Widow of the South tells the story of the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. The battle at Franklin, Tennessee raged for just 5 hours, but when the smoke cleared there were 9,200 casualties in a field just outside the town of 2,500. Carrie McGavock's plantation home was turned into a makeshift hospital where Carrie and her slave and friend, Mariah, worked tirelessly for days on end to save the wounded men who covered every inch of her house and yards. Two Confederate doctors worked away in the surgery upstairs, tossing amputated limbs out the window until a huge pile had grown. The story continues even after the men are gone and a bit of normalcy begins to take it's place. For Carrie, the war still rages on and she will tirelessly write letters to the dead men's families, so that they may know what has happened to their loved ones. The field where the battle raged and the men fell has also become their graveyard, so when, a few years later, the man who owns the field threatens to plow it over to plant crops, Carrie works to bring the men home to her plantation and several acres that her and her husband have set aside to become a cemetery for those lost men.
This is such a compelling story, written so well and with so much emotion. It will haunt your days until you finish the last page. Beautifully written and so full of history that it is very hard to put down. I know want to visit Carnton Plantation and the cemetery that Carrie worked so hard to preserve.

The Lollipop Shoes

2009-04-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

(Originally uploaded here )

Wednesday, 31st October
Dia de los Muertos
It is a relatively little-known fact that, over the course of a single year, about twenty million letters are delivered to the dead. People forget to stop the mail - those grieving widows and prospective heirs - and so magazine subscriptions remain uncancelled; distant friends unnotified; library fines unpaid. That's twenty million circulars, bank statements, credit cards, love letters, junk mail, greetings, gossip and bills, dropping daily on to doormats or parquet floors, thrust casually through railings, wedged into letter-boxes, accumulating in stairwells, left unwanted on porches and steps, never to reach their addressee. The dead don't care. More importantly, neither do the living. The living just follow their petty concerns, quite unaware that very close by, a miracle is taking place. The dead are coming back to life.

This is the first paragraph of The Lollipop Shoes, the sequel to Chocolat written by Joanne Harris.

Vianne Rocher now goes by the name of Yanne, trying to create a "normal" environment for her two daughters, Annie and Rosette. She know longer uses magic charms to add sparkle to their worlds, the wind isn't blowing them back and forth and Yanne is soon to marry Theirry, the older pompous landlord of her Parisian Chocolate shop. Soon a new friendship blossoms for Yanne and her daughters with the vivacious Zozie de L'Alba, who blows into their shop bringing sparkle and laughter and wearing the fabulous lollipop shoes that catch Annie's (Anouk) eye. But Zozie has her own brand of magic and a dark and devious nature that threatens to tear this little family apart.

This is a very good read, especially for anyone who loved Chocolat. It's almost a thriller, full of magic, deception and even a bit of evil. A fast read that you won't be able to put down. I bought my copy in a little book store in Red Lodge, Montana. I found it in their used book section and when I brought it up front, the shopkeeper couldn't find it anywhere in his computer program. He finally found it, but the program told him that this particular printing had never gone to press. Hmmmm....very interesting. A bit of magic for me, wouldn't you say? I've googled it myself have not found the same cover so far, but have found that "The Lollipop Shoes" is the title of the UK version and in the US it was published under the title of "The Girl Without A Shadow". Again, interesting...

Fall On Your Knees

2009-02-16T18:26:00.000-08:00

They're all dead now.

Here's a picture of the town where they lived. New Waterford. It's a night bright with the moon. Imagine you are looking down from the height of a church steeple, onto the vivid gradations of light and shadow that make the picture. A small mining town near cutaway cliffs that curve over narrow rock beaches below, where the silver sea rolls and rolls, flattering the moon. Not many trees, thin grass. The silhouette of a colliery, iron tower against a slim pewter sky with cables and supports sloping at forty-five-degree angles to the ground. Railway tracks that stretch only a short distance from the base of a gorgeous high slant of glinting coal, toward an archway in the earth where the tracks slope in and down and disappear. And spreading away from the collieries and coal heaps are the peaked roofs of the miners' houses built row on row by the coal company. Company houses. Company town.

Look down over the street where they lived. Water Street. An avenue of packed dust and scattered stones that leads out past the edge of town to where the wide, keeling graveyard overlooks the ocean. That sighing sound is just the sea.

These are the first few paragraphs of the incredible novel Fall On Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald. I've had this book on my shelf for a while now and pulled it off to fit the "body part" category of the What's In a Name Challenge and so glad I did.

Dark and disturbing, but so well written and so real. I loved the multi generational part as you get to know the characters so well. There are so many different view points in this book that change the story and how the reader sees things as you look through the different characters eyes. The family drama and abuse are so real that I found myself almost reading with my hand over my eyes at times, just like watching a scary movie through your fingers, but this book isn't scary, only horrifying.
Even now, after I have turned the last page, I find myself still immersed in this family and thinking about these character. Haunting~

Blessed Are the Cheesemakers

2009-02-12T11:37:00.001-08:00

'The Princess Grace Memorial Blue sat on the table in front of Abbey, screaming to be eaten.'
This is the first paragraph of Blessed Are the Cheesemakers by Sarah-Kate Lynch.

Yolanda from The Mermaids Bookshelf sent me this book and I completely enjoyed it. Funny and quirky, it's a quick read and a lot of fun. The story is set in Ireland at a farm of two old Irish cheesemakers who employ singing milkmaids. The cows give their best milk to these young pregnant girls to the sounds of The Sound of Music. As in all good stories, there are some family secrets and mysteries that unravel as the story moves along. Corrie's granddaughter, Abby, has been gone from the family farm for way to many years and what really happened to her grandmother? The story also takes us to New York City to meet Kit, a stockbroker who has had his share of tragedy as well. A little bit of magic, mystery, romance, cheesemaking and a whole lot of quirkiness make this one an enchanting read.

Night Over Water

2009-01-23T19:28:00.001-08:00

'It was the most romantic plane ever made.'

And so begins Ken Folletts NIGHT OVER WATER. I am a big Ken Follett fan, my favorite being PILLARS OF THE EARTH which I read long before Oprah ever put it on her list. When I signed up for this years What's In a Name Challenge , it didn't take me long to decide that this was the book I would read for the "Time of Day" category. It was already on my shelf, just waiting to be read.
The story starts off in England, at the dock at Southhampton where people are gathered to watch the approach and water landing of the Clipper, a PanAmerican Boeing 314 passenger plane. The plane was what they called a flying boat, splashing down in the water instead of using a long landing strip. It was a luxury airliner, carrying only the wealthiest of passengers. It is September of 1939 and England has just entered the war with Nazi Germany. The passengers of this final flight of the Clipper,(due to the war), are all, for their own reasons, fleeing their country and the war. Aboard are the weathly Oxenford family. Lord Oxenford is a Facist and will be thrown in jail if he chooses to stay in Englund. His wife is from Connecticut, so they are headed to America to stay with her family for the duration of the war. Their children, Margaret and Percy, do not agree with their fathers beliefs and will do anything to get out from under his oppression and dictatorship. Harry Marks is a young lad of questionable means, but very charming, and has his eye on the upperclasses jewels. Diana Lovesey and her American lover, Mark are headed to a new life, with Diana's husband, Mervyen in hot pursuit. Eddie Deacon is the plane's engineer who is being blackmailed by a gang of thugs who have his wife held captive. Tom Luther is on board and part of the blackmailing, but Eddie hasn't quite figured out what their reasons are. Carl Hartmann is a Jewish scientist, who has been exiled from his country and is fleeing for his life.
Follett's story takes place almost entirely during the 27 hour flight across the Atlantic. It reads like a good movie with plenty of violence, intrigue and betrayal. I very much enjoyed this book, but do have to say that of Follett's work, it is probably my least favorite. Most of his work is full of history, but in this one he is really just telling a story, which is not a bad thing at all.

Happy Reading!

The Story of Doctor Doolittle

2009-01-11T15:44:00.001-08:00

'Once upon a time, many years ago - when our grandfathers were little children - there was a doctor; and his name was Dolittle - John Dolittle, M.D. "M.D." means that he was a proper doctor and knew a whole lot.
He lived in a little town called, Puddleby-on-the-Marsh. All the folks, young and old, knew him well by sight. And whenever he walked down the street in his high hat everyone would say, "There goes the Doctor!-He's one clever man." And the dogs and the children would all run up and follow behind him; and even the crows that lived in the church-tower would caw and nod their heads.'

This is the beginning of The Story of Doctor Dolittle written by Hugh Lofting. My edition was published in 1948 and given to me by my sister last summer, along with another book in the Dolittle series. She knows that I have a love for the old hardback classics whether they be young readers or adult novels.
I read this book for the What's In a Name 2 book challenge. It fit rather nicely right into the book with a profession in it's title category.
Until my sister gave me these books, I had never even considered reading Doctor Dolittle, but now I'm glad I have. They are really fun stories, full of the adventures of the Doctor who can speak to animals. When the story begins, Doctor Dolittle is a very good people doctor who has many pets. His parrot, Polynesia, begins to teach him all the animal languages of the world. His office is in his house and as he acquires more and more pets, he starts loosing his clients until he has none left and becomes very poor. Polynesia suggests that the good doctor become an animal doctor since he can communicate with them so well. He takes her advice and soon becomes the best animal doctor around, with more and more animals wanting to live with him until a crocodile takes up residence in his goldfish pond. Now the farmers and little old ladies no longer want to bring their pets and farm-stock as they are afraid that the crocodile will eat them up, so the Doctor is once again without patients and very very poor again. This starts his adventures in the open-ocean, that includes pirates and monkeys. It's a very fun story, one I'm glad that this challenge prompted me to take off of my shelves and read.

Happy reading to you!

A Clearing In the Wild

2009-01-08T19:12:00.000-08:00

'Some say that love's enough to stave off suffering and loss, but I would disagree. Quietly, of course. Words of dissent aren't welcome in our colony, especially words from women. I should have learned these lessons-about dissent and love-early on before I turned eighteen. But teachings about spirit and kinship require repetition before becoming threads strong enough to weave into life's fabric, strong enough to overcome the weaker strains of human nature. It was a strenght I found I'd need one day to face what love could not stave off.'
First paragraph in A Clearing in the Wild by Jane Kirkpatrick

This is the story of Emma Wagner Geisy, a young wife in the mid 1800's who has been raised in a communal colony in Bethel, Missouri. Emma has married an older man, a pillar of the colony, against their leaders wishes. The leader chooses to send Emma's husband, Christian, off as the leader of the scouts to find a new God-chosen place to move their colony, away from worldly ways. Ever defiant Emma is sent along to Oregon territory as punishement for her outspoken ways. The scout troop settles in what is now Washington state, making way for the rest of the colony to arrive. Emma becomes her own person during this journey, learning to support her husband along the way.
Jane Kirkpatrick has taken real people and with the gift of a wonderful storyteller, brought them to life again in a way that their stories will not be forgotten. She is absolutely one of my all-time favorite authors and I will definately be running to the bookstore for the 2nd and 3rd novels in this Change and Cherish series.

This story takes place right across the Columbia River from our home. One of my favorite passages in the book is about our crazy coastal winters. Here Emma is trying to convince her husband to stay in the land they have chosen:

'"It isn't disloyal to follow your heart," I said. "Karl didn't go with Wilhelm to Portland because he believes there is something here worth staying for. Everything about it here, except the rainy winters, is an Eden. We'd appreciate the blooms and beauty less if we had nothing to contrast it with, and therein lies the joy of the rainy winter months, the dark heavy clouds that shadow our days and promise sunshine in due time. I never thought I'd say such a thing, but I mean it, Christian. I do."

What's In a Name Challenge 2

2008-11-30T21:26:00.000-08:00

Here's my list for the What's in a Name Challenge 2. I had all of these on my shelf and didn't have to buy a single book for this challenge. That tickled me to death!

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. ~ The Story of Doctor Doolittle by Hugh Lofting(1948 Hardback version)

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. ~ Night Over Water by Ken Follett

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. ~ Daughter of Fortune

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. ~ Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie Macdonald

5. A book with a "building" in its title. ~ The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. ~ A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

It's really fun to go through your stacks and find books that meet the criteria of the challenge. Can't wait to get started, but must wait until January 1.

2008 Back To History Challenge

2008-11-30T20:36:00.000-08:00

Good Grief!! I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted on this blog. I've been reading since July - I really have. Can't remember what all I've read but I'm going to try to list some of the Back to History Challenge books that I've read but not done a post on. I think I've read the twelve we were supposed to, although I know I haven't stuck to my original list very well (or at all!)

9) The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom (Really Good!)
10)Little Britches: My Father and I were Ranchers by Ralph Moody (another good one)
11)Judge Sewall's Apology - The Salem Witch Trials by Richard Francis (good, interesting, only a little dry)

Dang. I can't remember. Going to have to go and look through my read stack...

Ah, I remember now, even though it's no longer in my stack since I've passed it on already...

12)Washington's Lady . Another about Martha Washington and Very Good!

Yeah, challenge completed.

Now I'm going to participate in the second year of What's In a Name. I'll post my list soon....
Happy Reading!

Mount Vernon Love Story

2008-07-22T22:46:00.000-07:00

"March 4, 1797
11:45 A.M.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
It was a windswept, raw March morning and the city looked bleak and dreary as it shivered under the overcast sky. But the man who stood at the window of his study in the large house on Market Street didn't hear the rattling of the wind against the panes or even feel the persistant draft that penetrated between the window frame and sill. He was staring unseeingly into the street."
First paragraph of Mount Vernon Love Story by Mary Higgins Clark

I read this as my 8th book for the Back To History reading challenge and really enjoyed it. This was Mary Higgins Clarks first book, written long before her fame as a murder mystery writer and published afterwards. It is written very well, really gave me so much more information on this first family then I was ever aware of and reads like a good story.
Two thumbs up!

A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith

2008-07-02T22:21:00.001-07:00

"Serene was a word you could put to Brooklyn, New York. Especially in the summer of 1912. Somber, as a word, was better. But it did not apply to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Prairie was lovely and Shenandoah had a beautiful sound, but you couldn't fit those words into Brooklyn. Serene was the only word for it; especially on a Saturday afternoon in summer."

I've had this book on my shelf for several years now and the What's In A Name challenge gave me the push I needed to read it, fulfilling the Place category. What a fun, sweet and light read. I absolutely loved it. The version I have is not the one pictured, but a hardback Reader's Digest version that came with a paper insert flyer about the author. This was Betty Smith's first novel and it is autobiographical. Betty grew up in a tenement house in Brooklyn, eldest daughter to German immigrants, with a Chinese sumac tree growing outside of her window. At age 11, two of Betty's poems were published in a local newspaper. Her father died the next year and Betty had to quit school to work and help support her family. We read about those jobs in Betty's novel. Just like in the book, Betty was accepted into the University of Michigan's writing course without her high school diploma. There she met and fell in love with law student, George Smith. In 1938, Betty had two kids and was divorced, but continued to write, starting A Tree Grows In Brooklyn in 1939 and finally getting it published in 1943 to great success. Betty also wrote three other, much lesser known, novels.

From Amazon.com:
"Francie Nolan, avid reader, penny-candy connoisseur, and adroit observer of human nature, has much to ponder in colorful, turn-of-the-century Brooklyn. She grows up with a sweet, tragic father, a severely realistic mother, and an aunt who gives her love too freely--to men, and to a brother who will always be the favored child. Francie learns early the meaning of hunger and the value of a penny. She is her father's child--romantic and hungry for beauty. But she is her mother's child, too--deeply practical and in constant need of truth. Like the Tree of Heaven that grows out of cement or through cellar gratings, resourceful Francie struggles against all odds to survive and thrive. Betty Smith's poignant, honest novel created a big stir when it was first published over 50 years ago. Her frank writing about life's squalor was alarming to some of the more genteel society, but the book's humor and pathos ensured its place in the realm of classics--and in the hearts of readers, young and old. (Ages 10 and older) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. "

The Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank

2008-07-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

"Sunday, 14 June, 1942
On Friday, June 12th, I woke up at six o'clock and no wonder; it was my birthday. But of course I was not allowed to get up at that hour, so I had to control my curiosity until a quarter to seven. Then I could bear it no longer, and went to the dining room, where I received a warm welcome from Moortje (the cat)."

The Diary Of A Young Girl by Anne Frank is the 7th book that I have read for the Back To History Challenge. Again, this is a book that I would have sworn I read in school, but it must have just been pieces and parts because I know now that I have never read the full book before.

Anne's diary opens on June 14, 1942, just two days after her 13th birthday. She recieved a blank diary as one gift for this momentus birthday as well as a fun birthday party with her friends. Anne and her Jewish family live in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam during WWII and within just a few short weeks of her first diary entry find themselves in hiding with a second family, and a middle-aged dentist that joins them shortly. Anne is in many ways a typical teenager, hating her mother, jealous of her sister, with very scathing remarks about the others around her. At anytime it would be hard to live in such close proximity to 7 other people. In war time it would be almost unbearable ~ not being able to go out of doors, not having enough to eat, outgrowing your clothes and having no private space of your own, amongst many other complaints. The residents of the Secret Annexe had to spend much of their days making absolutely no sound so as to not get caught. What a hard life. Anne's wisdom and belief that all would turn out good in the end are amazing under such circumstances. Don't get me wrong, she most certainly fussed and fumed about all sorts of issues in her diary, but she was also a very remarkable writer for her age. I think anyone who reads Anne's diary eye's will be opened to the horrors that so many people faced during those horrible years. This is a book each and every one of us should read, so that we never ever forget.
Thank you, Anne...

Luscious Berry Desserts

2008-05-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

Both my husband and I love to cook, sometimes fighting over whose turn it is in the kitchen. You can often hear a voice raised in mock anger in our house, "Get out of MY kitchen!", and an arm pointing straight and strong to the other room. Just leave, go, I'M cooking today. Our kitchen is fairly small so it's not often that we squeeze around, doing the kitchen dance to cook together. Riff is the breakfast king and I generally always bow to him when breakfast is in the works, but I am the baking queen, standing tall over my domain. Anyway, (I'm getting away from my point here), I was tickled to death when I saw the post on Ex Libris site for the Soup's On Challenge. Oh, what fun! Another reason to pull out a few of my cookbook's, read them from cover to cover, and maybe add a couple of new one's to the mix. Wa-hoo! I joined right up. Next stop was Powell Books in Portland where I picked up Luscious Berry Desserts. I thought this one was really appropriate for us here in the Pacific Northwest with our abundance of berries and I was not disappointed. Mmmmm....you should see some of these recipe's. Delicious!

Being early spring, Strawberries are starting to be available in our local grocery stores so the first recipe I picked is Roasted Strawberry Shortcakes with Vanilla-Scented Biscuits. I had never roasted strawberries before, but they turned out so good. The roasting just inhances the sweet juicy flavor. And those vanilla-scented biscuits? Yum! You need to serve them warm, just as the recipe says, and they don't keep well, so gobble them all right away. I took pictures, but they came out dark and blurry, so I don't have a visual for you today.

Roasted Strawberry Shortcake with Vanilla-Scented Biscuits
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 3 tblsp. granulated sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
1 tblsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups heavy (whipping) cream, plus additional cream or milk for brushing
2 tsp. pure vanilla paste or vanilla extract
2 pints small ripe strawberries, hulled
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tblsp. confectioner's sugar

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425 F. Butter a large baking sheet.

Step 2: Whisk together the flour, the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, the baking powder, and the salt in a medium bowl.

Step 3: Beat 1 cup of the cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed in a large deep bowl just until it holds soft peaks when the beaters are lifted. Beat in the vanilla. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the whipped cream, and stir the mixture with a fork just until it begins to form a dough.

Step 4: On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough several times, just until it is well combined. Pat it out to 1/2 inch thick. With a 3-inch cutter, crinkle-edged if you have one, cut out 6 rounds; gather the scraps together and pat them out again if necessary. Brush the biscuits with cream and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place on the baking sheet.

Step 5: Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on the pan on a wire rack. Increase the oven temperature to 450.

Step 6: Meanwhile, toss the strawberries with the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar in a medium bowl. Transfer to a baking sheet with sides. When the biscuits are out of the oven, roast the strawberries, stirring twice, for about 12 minutes, until soft and fragrant.

Step 7: Just before serving, beat together the remaining 1/2 cup cream, the sour cream, and confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer on medium sped in a large bowl until the cream forms soft peaks when the beaters are lifted.

Step 8: Split each biscuit with a fork and place the bottom halves on 6 serving plates. Spoon a generous portion of warm berries over each one, add a dollop of the cream, add the tops, and drizzle with the juices on the baking sheet. Serve immediately.

You're going to love these!

There's a long introduction in this cookbook where the author talks about her love of berries. Really fun to read. A great cookbook for any berry lovers shelves.

'One of my most memorable mornings ever was picking strawberries with my friend Barbara on a warm summer day in Maine. We literally lay down among the berries, picked dozens, and ate more. We were giddy and exhilarated at the thought of actually getting all the strawberries we wanted, and slightly guilty at the pleasure.'
Lori Longbotham

Across Five Aprils

2008-05-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

'Ellen Creighton and her nine-year-old son, Jethro, were planting potatoes in the half-acre just south of their cabin that morning in mid-April 1861; they were out in the field as soon as breakfast was over, and southern Illinois at that hour was pink with sunrise and swelling redbud and clusters of bloom over the apple orchard across the road. Jethro walked on the warm clods of plowed earth and felt them crumble beneath his feet as he helped his mother carry the tub of potato cuttings they had prepared the night before.'
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt

Read as my 6th book for the Back to History Challenge.

Across Five Aprils is a book that our 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Pawlson, read aloud to us. I don't remember actually paying attention to it then, but I have just read it for myself many years later and found it a very good read. As the story opens, Jethro Creighton is a 9 year old boy living on his families farm in southern Illinois. The civil war is starting and there is much heated discussion around the dinner table of right and wrong. All of Jethro's older brothers end up going off to war and the only news is the occasional letter and accounts of battles written in the local newspapers. Five years pass, with Jethro having to take on the farm work at any early age. The story touches on brothers fighting on both sides of the war, desertion, death and politics. It hit home to me with one passage how times have not changed so much in the way that we think and talk about the leader of our country. Read on:

'Ed Turner wiped the sweat from his eyes with an angry gesture. "I got no use for McClellan. I don't know what Ol' Abe means - tuckerin' to him like he was some little sawed-off king."
Then Tom Marin from Rose Hill spoke up. "If you ask my opinion of McClellan, I'll tell you I don't think he WANTS to win. I don't think he's EVER really goin' to move in on the Rebs, because their way of thinkin' is his way of thinkin'."
"Oh, I reckon he ain't THAT low. Ol' Abe must not be quite that pore in pickin' his head men," Israel Thomas objected.
"Maybe Ol' Abe aint' losin' HIS breath to lick the Rebs either - did ye ever think of that? Why is it he ain't freed the slaves? Is he afeared of hurtin' the feelin's of some of his woman's kinfolk down in Kaintuck? Why does he put up with this no-account that's runnin' the Army of the Potomac? Does he LIKE seein' Bobby Lee run over us? I got a lot of questions about Ol' Abe that I'd like an answer to."
"Youre doubts ain't goin' to make me down on Ol' Abe, Tom," Israel Thomas answered angrily. "Things is tough right now, but this war is a big thing. It's middlin' easy fer us farmers and the big editors and the abolitionist preachers to run the job of bein' president. Ol' Abe is doin' all he KIN do, I say, and I'm fer him - all the way."'
Sound familiar?

I was really interested to find in the author's notes that this is the story of her Grandfather, written years after he passed away. A very good read told from the viewpoint of a young boy left to take care of the farm while the fighting raged around him.

I remember this same teacher reading us Up a Road Slowly by this author as well. I think I'm going to head over to Amazon and find it...

The Shape-Changers Wife

2008-04-29T07:36:00.000-07:00

'Until Aubrey arrived in the village to study with Glyrenden, he had no idea that the great wizard had taken a wife. At the time, drinking an ale in the warm, lightless tavern which was situated at the very center of town (in fact, the heart of the small community), he did not think it mattered one way or the other. Nonetheless, he was surprised. From what old Cyril had told him, Glyrenden did not seem like the kind of man disposed toward the softer passions. But then, it was obvious Cyril did not like the court magician, and perhaps his unflattering words could be traced to professional jealousy.'
First paragraph of The Shape-Changers Wife by Sharon Shinn

This is a fairy-tale story about Aubrey, a young magician sent to study with the cruel wizard, Glyrenden. Warned by his former mentor to always be on gaurd around Glyrenden, Aubrey enjoys his first months at the dusty strange castle, especially his time spent with the shape-changers wife, Lilith. But there is something very strange about the inhabitants of the castle, including Lilith. Can Aubrey unlock their secrets? A fun little magical read that I think should be in the young readers category. This one isn't as predictable as so many other fairy tales, so was quite enjoyable.

"But magic, I have discovered, is like any skill. It is not inherently good in itself. And some of it - yes, some of it is inherently evil. There are wicked spells, savage spells, enchantments that are so black that even to know them withers the heart a little, taints the soul. And yet to be a great magician, to be a sorcerer of any ability or renown, those spells must be learned as well. For if a magician does not know them, they can be used against him - and what is magic, after all, but a man's power to change the world while it is incapable of changing him?"

Snow Falling On Cedars

2008-04-19T23:42:00.001-07:00

'The accused man, Kabuo Miyamoto, sat proudly upright with a rigid grace, his palms placed softly on the defendant's table - the posture of a man who has detached himself insofar as this is possible at his own trial. Some in the gallery would later say that his stillness suggested a disdain for the proceedings; others felt certain it veiled a fear of the verdict that was to come. Whichever it was, Kabuo showed nothing - not even a flicker of the eyes. He was dressed in a white shirt worn buttoned to the throat and gray, neatly pressed trousers. His figure, especially the neck and shoulders, communicated the impression of irrefutable physical strength and of precise, even imperial bearing. Kabuo's features were smooth and angular; his hair had been cropped close to his skull in a manner that made its musculature prominent. In the face of the charge that had been leveled against him he sat with his dark eyes trained straight ahead and did not appear moved at all.'
First paragraph of Snow Falling On Cedars by David Guterson

I read this book as part of two different challenges. The first being the What's In a Name Challenge for the plant category and the second being my 5th book for the Back to History Challenge .

What an excellent read, emotional on so many different levels. The author writes so well that you can smell the musty ancient cedar forests as the rain drips onto the ferns. The warm sun beats down on us as we squat with the characters to pick juicy red strawberries from the local fields. This novel takes us to San Piedro Island in the Puget Sound of Washington State for a murder trial in 1954. Kabuo Miyamota, a gill-netter of Japanese descent stands accused of the murder of fellow fisherman and childhood friend, Carl Heine. Carl has been found dead in his own nets with a blow to the head. To understand why Kabuo is accused of this horrific crime we must go back in time to the days of their boyhood and the townsfolk around them. The story is narrated by Ishmael Chambers, the local newspaper man who also grew-up on the island beside the two other men. Ishmael had a long standing first romance with Hatsue Imada, who is now the accused man's wife, so this is also a tale of forbidden interracial love that ends abruptly when Pearl Harbor is bombed and the Japanese-Americans from the island are sent to interment camps in Montana and California.
Many of the local boys join the service, including those of Japanese descent, to defend our country. On returning, things have changed. The war has left many scars behind, both visible and invisible.
This is a novel of murder, mystery, racism, world war II, interment camps and forbidden romance. One that I will keep on my shelves and recommend many to read. Very, very good.

'One hour later, inside the cedar tree, she brought this matter up with Ishmael. "We've known each other forever," she said. "I can hardly remember not knowing you. It's hard to remember the days before you. I don't even know if there were any."'

Book Lovers Mail

2008-04-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

JenClair over at A Garden Carried in the Pocket , was getting rid of some of her stash and I was the lucky winner of last weeks giveaway. Wa-hoo! I'll be reading The Shape-Changer's Wife really soon. It's next on my stack ~ moved it right to the top.

Thanks, Jen!

The Mistress of Spices

2008-04-14T15:07:00.001-07:00

The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
'I am a Mistress of Spices.
I can work the others too. Mineral, metal, earth and sand and stone. The gems with their cold clear light. The liguids that burn their hues into your eyes till you see nothing else. I learned them all on the island.
But the spices are my love.
I know their origins, and what their colors signify, and their smells. I can call each by the true-name it was given at the first, when earth split like skin and offered it up to the sky. Their heat runs in my blood. From amchur to zafran, they bow to my command. At a whisper they yield up to me their hidden properties, their magic powers.'

This book is a magical fable, written in a very poetic prose. It tells the story of Tilo, a girl born in India with the sight of a seer. This very power gets her kidnapped by pirates and eventually leads her to a magical island where she is taught the mystery of the spices and by the Old One. Once her education is complete, Tilo is made immortal and sent through time to an Indian spice shop in Oakland, California, in the body of an old woman. Here she administers the spices as a balm and healer for her customers. As a Mistress, there are many rules that Tilo must follow in order to stay in the good graces of the spices, but life and love call and Tilo finds herself breaking these rules.
This was a fun read, one of magic and mystery, that I did enjoy, but will probably not keep on my shelves to read again later.

'We are laughing but there is a raw edge to it, a laugh that knows how easily it could have turned to weeping. A laugh like this, when you share it, loosens the knots in the heart.'

I'm now off to spend sometime on San Peidre Island off the Washington Coast, beginning in 1942...

Drums of Autumn

2008-04-04T19:12:00.001-07:00

"I've never been afraid of ghosts. I live with them daily, after all. When I look in a mirror, my mother's eyes look back at me; my mouth curls with the smile that lured my great-grandfather to the fate that was me."
First paragraph of Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon

I read Drums of Autumn as my 4th book for the Back To History Challenge , jumping into this chunkster with both feet, not realizing that it was actually the 4th in the "Outlander" series. For some reason when I picked it up, I thought I was going to be immersed in the civil war. I was completely wrong. This book is set in Pre-Revolutionary America and is a continuing time travel saga. I hadn't read the first 3 in the series, so know that there are things that I missed and somethings that I didn't quite know what had happened, but for the most part it read very well as a stand-alone book. The author did a good job of filling in details from the former novels.
A story of timeless love and adventure. Claire is a 20th century doctor who somehow (in the first novel) has traveled through time via an ancient stone circle in modern day Scotland. There she meets and falls in love with Jamie, an 18th century Scottish Highlander. Fast forward 20 or so years to our novel, where Claire and Jamie are living in 1770's North Carolina and their daughter, Briana is in 20th century Boston. Claire had traveled back through the circles while pregnant with Briana during the Scottish uprisings, given birth and raised her in modern day America. Claire has since re-joined Jamie in the 18th century and left Briana, a grown woman, to her own devises. Briana and her boyfriend, Roger, come across an old document that tells them that Briana's parents died prematurely in a fire, so Briana, unknown to Roger, heads through the circles to find her parents and try to change history. Roger figures out what she has done and follows her into the past. Much adventure follows.
It really was a good book and held my attention well, through most of the 1070 pages. At the end I was ready to be done and move on to the next book on my shelves. I did enjoy this one, but will probably not read the others in the series, though the reviews that I checked out on Amazon are all very positive.

I'm off now to San Francisco to spend a little time with the Mistress of the Spices...

Heidi

2008-03-04T07:18:00.000-08:00

'From the old and pleasantly situated village of Mayenfeld, a footpath winds through green and shady meadows to the foot of the mountains, which on this side look down from their stern and lofty heights upon the valley below. The land grows gradually wilder as the path ascends, and the climber has not gone far before he begins to inhale the fragrance of the short grass and sturdy mountain-plants, for the way is steep and leads directly up to the summits above.'
The first paraghraph from Heidi by Johanna Spyri
My copy is a Rainbow Classics edition published in 1946 by The World Publishing Company

I had not read Heidi since I was young and don't honestly think that I had ever read the full book, just an abridged version. Heidi is a classic and should be on the shelve of any classic lover. I really enjoyed my re-visit to the Swiss Alps and romping with Heidi, Peter and the goats through the mountain meadows. I felt sad for the little girl who was taken away to the city and rejoiced for her when she was allowed to return to her mountain home.
A wonderful book!

Mr. and Mrs. Cugat: The Record of a Happy Marriage

2008-02-29T17:25:00.001-08:00

"Mr. Cugat was a little older than Mrs. Cugat, so that there had been a period of several years during which he, full-fledged and out in the world, sportively tried his wings while she pounded the playing fields of Westover."
Written by Isabel Scott Rorick. First published in 1940 ~

This was an enjoyable book. Quite the little comedy that takes us through some very comical times in the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Cugat. The chapters are each named for a part of the wedding vows, the first chapter being called "...forsaking all others..." In this chapter the newlyweds are invited to a party because Mr. Cugat's ex-girlfriend will be there and would love to see him. Mrs. Cugats jealousy overtakes her (as it should!) and the story reads reminiscent of a I Love Lucy episode. The book was fun and quick, but not one that I will read over again. This edition did have some very cute illustrations to go along with the story.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

2008-02-29T17:07:00.000-08:00

"Let us begin with two girls at a dance."
Written by Maggie O'Farrell

I really enjoyed this book ~ when I had to put it down it was on my mind until I could pick it back up again. The story is told of two sisters, one growing up "proper", the other being a bit of a rebel, in the days when a Father could decide that it was in a girls best interest to put her in an asylumn for awhile. In this case Esme was left there, virtually forgotten, for over 60 years until the institution was closing down and the nearest relative had to be contacted. From here, we go 60 years into the past, to a world of family secrets and lies. A wonderful book, one that I'll keep on my shelf for some time to come.

The President's Lady

2008-02-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

The President's Lady by Irving Stone is the 3rd book that I have read for the Back To History Challenge and I absolutely LOVED it. This was a book that I just couldn't put down and found myself thinking about during the day. It is a biographical novel, written in 1951, about the lives of Rachel and Andrew Jackson, told from Rachel's viewpoint. The author took great pains to research the Jacksons lives, thus the story is authentic, yet not at all boring. It does not read like a documentary but like a good story.

Rachel and Andrew met at her family plantation just outside of present day Nashville. Rachel was married but living back home because her insanely jealous and mentally abusive husband had turned her out, denouncing her and sending for her family to take her home. Andrew was a young lawyer who lived in one of the family cabins while building his practice. Rachel tryed, time and time again to reconcile with her husband, who would be repentant, wanting her back only to accuse her of the same flirtations once again, sending her back home. When word came that Rachels husband had secured a divorce, the first in the territory, Rachel and Andrew married. Two years later it came to light that the divorce was never granted. It was finally finished, with Rachel being accused of adultery because of the two years that the Jacksons lived as husband and wife. A second wedding ceremony took place immediately, but those two years would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Rachel was shunned by the vindictive town women, who thought she wasn't good enough to join their little clubs. Andrew was away from home more than half of their marriage, serving on the sentate, running for office or fighting in the war, so Rachel spent her time running their plantation, The Hermitage, and caring for any sick neighbors, her support and love for her husband never failing.

She was a remarkably strong woman in many ways. I found that I really liked Rachel Jackson. The author did a fantastic job of bringing her personality and who she was through in his writing. I sympathized with her, cried with her, hurt for her. What a wonderful historical novel.

I've had this book in my stacks for a couple of years now, picked it up at a thrift shop, but don't know when I ever would have gotten to it if it wasn't for this challenge. So glad I was prompted to read it. I've just heard that there was a movie made and now I'm on the hunt to find it...

Baker's Hawk

2008-02-01T06:59:00.001-08:00

(originally uploaded here )
Baker's Hawk by Jack Bickham was my choice for the book with an animal in the title for the What's In A Name Challenge . This book came off of my shelf where it has been since I was in Junior High School, so it's been many many years since I had read it. I was surprised to find how much of the story I had forgotten. It was almost like reading something for the first time. This book has been compared to Where the Red Fern Grows which is one of my all time favorites.

It is about a young boy, Billy Baker, in 1882 Colorado who has a great love for wild animals. Billy's dad has told him that he cannot bring any more pets home, so when one of the young hawk's that Billy has been watching falls from the next on his first attempt at flight, Billy takes him to the old crazy man of the mountains. Rumour is that this old crazy man has a special way with the wild creatures and may be able to help Billy's hawk heal his injured wing.

In town, the lawless antics have caused a group of citizens to form a vigilance committee to try and run any bad elements out of town. These citizens feel that the Sheriff isn't doing a good enough job, so they decide to take the law into their own hands, pressuring all to join them. Billy's dad refuses, raising questions in Billy's young mind. Is his Dad not brave? Is he a coward? Why will he not join this committee? Things quickly get out of control. Billy takes to spending much time in the mountains with the old man who turns out to not be crazy at all. Together they are training Billy's Hawk to fly on a tether and come back to him when a whistle is blown. Meanwhile, the vigilance committee is scouring the countryside to get rid of any individual who is different. Is Billy's friend in danger? What will happen to Billy's Dad for not joining in?

I really enjoyed reading this book again. It evokes alot of concern and emotion for the charachters and keeps you reading.

Here are a couple of my favorite passages:

'You imagined old things were put away, he thought, and in one way they were indeed gone forever. But in another way the past was never behind a man; he carried it in his mind and sinew, and in his gut. And he never knew when it would come back.'

'Billy, knowing hawks had to have roughage, bones and feathers to keep their digestion straight, had been catching small sparrows and offering these to the hawk. It got to the place by the end of the week that the hawk knew whether Billy had a dead sparrow for it before Billy was even halfway up tghe last rise from the woods to the house. If he had a sparrow, the hawk cried and spread its wings, moving around nervously, in anticipation. If Billy was empty-handed, the hawk just sat there like some regal king, giving him the cold-eyed stare.
"He's getting trained to expect the sparrows," Billy told McGraw, "and that's good."
"I think he figures he's getting you trained to bring them, only sometimes you're a little dumb and forget," McGraw said.

Happy Reading!

Blood Brothers

2008-01-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

Nora Roberts trilogys are one of my pleasures, so I was excited when I ran across Blood Brothers in the store around Christmas time. This is the first of the Sign of Seven Trilogy and I really enjoyed it. I was a little apprehensive going in because I didn't even finish the last book in the Circle trilogy, thinking that it was way to far-fetched for me. I was completely pleased with Blood Brothers and think that Nora Roberts is back on her romance/paranormal mark.
Our story begins with:
'Hawkins Hollow
Maryland Province
1652
It crawled along the air that hung heavy as wet wool over the glade. Through the snakes of fog that slid silent over the ground, it's hate crept. It came for him through the heat-smothered night.'

As you see, the story starts off in 1652 Maryland, in a place called Hawkins Hollow, with an evil prescence battling good. Flash forward to 1987 ~ three young boys, best friends and celebrating their 10th birthday (all three born 7/7/77), take a forbidden trip into the woods to camp and turn 10 next to the Pagan Stone. The boys decide to become blood brothers at the witching hour of midnight and unknownly let loose an evil upon the town of Hawkins Hollow. What was to be a fun camping night turns into a nightmare. When the boys, Cal, Fox and Gage, get back to town they find many things changed. The evil that has been released returns to the the town every 7 years, on the 7th month, 7th day and wreaks havoc for 7 days before disappearing again. The townspeople go mad, beatings, rapes and murders take place, but when the 7days are over, the memories seem to fade. It is now the year that the "boys" will be turning 31, and the 7 is coming only stronger and more powerful this time. A reporter and author, Quinn Black, has come to town to research the 7 for a book she plans to write, but quickly becomes personally involved with the evil prescense and with Cal Hawkins. Two other women, Layla and Cybil have come to town and also can see and hear this evil prescence where others cannot. Why are these women, these outsiders, part of the circle? What part could they possibly play in the history of Hawkins Hollow?
I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the second book, The Hollow, to come out in May.
Two thumbs up!

The Truth About Sacajawea

2008-01-16T19:16:00.001-08:00

This is my 2nd book for the Back To History Challenge . I chose to read The Truth About Sacajawea by Kenneth Thomasma because much of it is local history. I live in Clatsop County, Oregon which is where the Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered while at the Pacific Ocean. I have been to Fort Clatsop many times and also to the Lewis and Clark Discovery Center at Cape Disappointment on the Washington side of the river. Both places have museuems and wonderful places to take visitors for a look at our countries history.

The author wrote this book using the actual journal enteries from Captains Lewis and Clark from the time that Toussaint Charbonneau and his Shoshone wife, Sacajawea joined the expedition as guides and interpreters. The first entry that included any mention of Sacajawea was made on November 4, 1804 and reads as below:
'Sunday, November 4, 1804 CAPTAIN CLARK
A French-Canadian, Toussaint Charbonneau, visits the two explorers. He wants to hire on as an interpreter and guide. Although he has two Shoshoni Indian wives, the explores engage Charbonneau and one of his wives who would be needed to interpret the Shoshoni language when the explores entered that territory.'
The author adds notes and much to the journal enteries from his own research, showing us all a clearer picture of the importance of this teenage mother on the 21 month journey to the Pacific Ocean. From the journal entries it becomes very clear how much the Captains relied on Sacajawea, not only for her interepreting skills, but also her knowledge of edible plants along the route, her calm manner in taking care of disaters and her mothering skills of her infant, Jean Baptiste.
This book is written for the young adult, but any one with an interest in Sacajawea and the Lewis & Clark Expedition would enjoy it. I actually didn't take away much new information from it, but I believe that is because of our close proximity to the fort and the time that I have spent there, reading parts of the actual journals.

The Edge of Winter

2008-01-15T22:40:00.001-08:00

My daughter, Shilo, gave me The Edge of Winter by Luanne Rice for Christmas and it fits in nicely with the weather event portion of the What's In A Name Challenge , so I've decided to replace my first pick, Fog Magic, with this one. (I may still get to Fog Magic, also.)
The first paragraph of this book seemed promising:
'The day the world ended started out crystal clear, the sky so heart-stoppingly blue, it seemed it might crack. Although it was near the end of February, and freezing cold, Mickey and Jenna rode their bikes down the windswept road toward the barrier beach. They did this all spring, summer, and fall, but this was their first bike outing since the winter snows had receded.'

Reading this, I could feel the cold ocean air on my face, see the windswept beach spread before me, and was alive with the anticipation of seeing the Snowy Owl that the two friends were in search of. I have read quite a few of Luanne Rice's other books and have to say that when I finished this particular one, it did not go on my favorites list. It is not a bad book at all, just a bit slow and many of the characters seem to be a bit flat for me. At one point, I even had to back track to remind myself who Chris was. Turns out she was Neve's best freind. Neve is a single mother, divorced for a couple of years, who is in court fighting her deadbeat ex for the child support her owes her and Mickey. On Neve's small salary at the local art gallery, she cannot suffeciently support Mickey and herself. As you see from the first paragraph, Mickey and her best friend Jenna are on their way to Refuge beach after hearing about a Snowy Owl that has been spotted on this beach. The girls have been bird watchers their entire lives, are now 16 and Jenna is slowly turning to the crowds of popular high school kids activities while Mickey still wants to spend her time on the beach. Leaving the owl that afternoon, the girls see surfer boy Shane West preparing to destroy some heavy equipment that is sitting on the beach waiting to remove the sunken German U-boat and the watery grave of 55 German soldiers that is right off shore. The U-boat is a part of the communities history and many people, Mickey included, feel strongly that it should be left untouched. Mickey joins Shane in his quest to convince the rest of the community and state to leave the U-boat where it is, and a delightful young romance begins. Mickey and Shane also help rescue the Snowy Owl after a rich punk (son of the wealty man trying to turn the U-boat into a museum) strikes the owl with a piece of driftwood at a beach party. Both kids and Mickey's mom, Neve form a friendship with the park ranger for this stretch of beach, Tim O'Casey, who has demons of his own to overcome. Tim's father, Joe O'Casey, at the age of just 24, was the captain of the boat who sunk the German Submarine. He is very much a legend in the area and also the local expert on saving injured raptors.
Like I said, the book was a bit slow and some of the charachters were a bit flat, leaving you wanting just a bit more information about them, but the last few chapters, where the author really dealt with the emotions of raising the sunken submarine and the effect this had on the families and the soldiers involved, were quite powerful and very well written. This book would make a good fill-in or beach read, when you don't want something to deep but do want something with a bit of emotion.
Happy Reading!

The Blue Castle

2008-01-09T20:10:00.001-08:00

'If it had not rained on a certain May morning Valancy Stirling's whole life would have been entirely different. She would have gone, with the rest of her clan, to Aunt Wellington's engagement picnic and Dr. Trent would have gone to Montreal. But it did rain and you shall hear what happened to her because of it.'
The first paragraph of The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery

I read this book as my choice for a book with a color in the title for Annie's What's In A Name challenge .
I have read and completely enjoyed L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series and have also seen several comments from fellow bloggers that The Blue Castle was their favorite book by this author, so off to Amazon I went... Boy, was I not disappointed! What a wonderful, charming read.

The book opens on Valancy Stirlings 29th birthday, with the realization that she is now officially considered an old maid, that love has passed her by. Valancy lives in the family home with her very strict, proper and oppressive family. She has been stifled her entire life, never let to live and feel, always held up to the standards of her beautiful cousin, Olive. Valancy takes refuge in her daydreams of her Blue Castle and her much loved books by author John Foster, much to her Mother's dismay. On this fateful rainy day, Valancy decides to visit Dr. Trent, without her families knowledge, to find the cause of her "heart attacks" she has been experiencing. The Doctor gets a message during Valancy's exam and rushes out without finishing with her, only to send her a letter later telling her that her condition is serious and she only has a year to live. Valancy takes the news in stride, not telling her family, but deciding to live how she wants to for her remaining time. She moves in with Roaring Abel Gay, the town drunk, to care for his sick daughter after telling her family what she thinks of their stodgy ways. They, of course, think they she has gone completely mad and write her off as a lunatic. While at the Gays, Valancy becomes friends with Barney Snaif, a man who lives alone on an island and doesn't socialize with the townspeople. Because nobody really knows him, the stories circulate about Barney; he is a criminal; he is a drunk; he is this and that, and certainly not fit to be associated with. Valancy falls in love with Barney and finds that her life is so much more than she ever imagined it could be.

Each and every page in this novel is charming and wonderful. A feel good read, and yes, I would have to agree, my favorite L.M. Montgomery novel. I laughed and cried right up to the end. Delightful!

The Last Eleven Days of Earl Durand

2008-01-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

I have completed my first book for the 2008 Back To History Challenge and it was an excellent choice to get this challenge rolling. The book is The Last Eleven Days of Earl Durand by Jerred Metz. My Mother-in-Law sent it to Riff and I for Christmas this year and I couldn't wait to dig in.

The first paragraph is as seen through the eyes of Ronnie Knopp and reads:
'My father and stepmother moved the family from Montana to a farm just north of Powell, Wyoming, in September of 1938. We got there right in time for me to start school. During the first few weeks, I made friends with Tom Spint. He was in the same grade as me and we got off at the same bus stop. Tom walked west from the corner where the bus let us off and I turned north. But we lived close enough to each other that we could pal around together after school. A constant topic of our conversations was our neighbor Earl Durand.'

This is a true story set in our old stomping grounds around Powell and Cody, Wyoming in 1939. Earl Durand is what the newspapers called the last outlaw of the west. He was a local boy who choose the life of a mountain man, was known by many people to be a strange man but at the same time very neighborly and could be counted on to help out anyone in the time of need. Earl was a known poacher, killing hundreds of elk for their ivories. His last eleven days start out with him poaching an elk to help feed a hungry family. Earl had talked two young friends and one of the boys Dad's into going along on this poaching trip with him, so when they were caught, they were all in a bit of trouble. Earl breaks out of jail by taking the deputy sheriff hostage and in the next 10 days leaves 4 men dead and the county terrified before robbing the local Powell bank where he is finally killed along with a young bank teller. I have not spoiled the story for you, as there is no mystery how it is going to end. The author is upfront with that in the first few pages. What is so fascinating about this book, other than the fact that it took place in an area where we lived for a lot of years, is that the story is told over and over again through the eyes and words of those involved these many years later. The author, Jerred Metz, interviewed those people involved who were still alive and in the area years later and wrote the book through their eyes and with their differing opinions on the events. Each person from young Ronnie Knopp, Earl's 16 year old friend who was on the poaching trip, to Ray Easton, the county coroner and undertaker, has their own section.

It reads like a good story, not like a book filled with facts. Very interesting and quite the page turner. Hard to put down. My daughter has even asked me, "Mom, what are you going to do with that Earl Durand book when you're done? Don't get rid of it. I want to read it." I'm definately not getting rid of this one, it will be right on the shelf whenever you want it...

"The most imaginative creator of pulp melodrama never, in his wildest dreams, produced as wild a story as Durand lived in his last ten days. If it had been portrayed on the screen, no one would have believed it could be real."
~Denver Post, March 25, 1939

Merry Christmas Reads

2007-12-26T16:27:00.000-08:00

My family has induldged my love of books AND of Christmas. I had the pleasure of unwrapping all these wonderful books yesterday ~ The Final Eleven Days of Earl Durand is a true story of the "last" outlaw of the west and takes place in our old stomping grounds of Cody and Powell, Wyoming. Can't wait to dive into that one (and it fits the criteria for one of my Back to History challenge reads!). Luanne Rice is one of my favorite authors, so my daughter, Shilo, gave me The Edge of Winter. Yeah!
Falling into the Christmas category is Saint Nicholas from my husband and A Country Christmas from my sister. Saint Nicholas is a historical book that goes back to the real Saint Nicholas and his life. Gorgeous pictures, also! A Country Christmas is a cookbook/craftbook with lots of mouthwatering recipes and great projects. I've already picked some out for next year.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
Happy Reading...

Death Dance

2007-12-20T22:48:00.001-08:00

'"You think we've got a case?" Mercer Wallace asked me.'
The first paragraph of a book is many times for me the deciding factor on if I'm going to read it or not. This paragraph (can you really call one sentance a paragraph?!) generally would not have done it for me, but the book Death Dance by Linda Fairstein was given to me by my daughter, Brittany, after she had read it so I thought I might as well dive in. I have not read any other of this authors books and there were some things that I could have used a little background knowledge of with the characters, but most of the story could stand alone okay.
Alex Cooper is with the Manhattan DA's office and works alongside Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace from the NYPD's Homicide division to solve the murder of an aging prima ballerina, Natalya Galinova. Natalya disappeared during a perfomance at the Lincoln Center Metropolitan Opera House, so the books delves into the history of the theatre, which I found really interesting. We are introduced to our main suspects; Joe Berk, the slimy rich "Godfather" type figure who heads up the Berk family who own many of the Broadway theatres, Berk's young adult son, Briggs, his nasty out-to- get-the-old-man neice, Mona and her husband Ross Kehoe. There is also the head of the Met and former lover of Natalya, Chet Dobbis. Who done it? Where? and Why?
It really was a fun book, quick to read, with other minor sub-plots involved. These sub-plots were scattered throughout the book and solved in just a short paragraph towards the end. Not at all tied in with our main story. I thought that we should have gotten to know the deceased a bit better, also. The author did not really dive into her personality or who she was at all except to let the reader know that she was a bad tempered prima past her prime. We know that she was married, but are never introduced to her estranged husband. She really was a flat character to me and should have been more the focus, since it is her murder that needs to be solved. Like I said, I really enjoyed the history of the New York theatre scene and the buildings themselves. It was all in all not a bad book and I would read this author again if I came upon her. I would not search her out though. I will not be running over to Amazon to swoop up the rest of the series.

I am now of to read Amy Tan's The Kitchen God's Wife.
Happy Reading!

Pandora

2007-12-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

'Not twenty minutes have passed since you left me here in the cafe', since I said No to your request, that I would never write out for you the story of my mortal life, how I became a vampire - how I came upon Marius only years after he had lost his human life.'
Pandora by Anne Rice

Above is the first paragraph in this wonderful novel. I am far behind the times and have only read one other of Anne Rice's vampire novels, Merrick. I did not enjoy that one nearly as much as I enjoyed Pandora. This is a rich novel, full of history. We start out in present day Paris, in a small but busy cafe'. David Talbot is a fellow vampire who has taken on the task of chronicling the stories of his fellow vampires. In the paragraph above, David has asked Pandora to write down for him her story, how she came to be two thousand years old, the first vampire ever made by Marius. Pandora has told him no, that she won't do it, but finds that she can't stop herself and it is a healing process for her. (As writing our stories is for many of us). This book is much more than your typical vampire story. It is more the story of a young woman in ancient Rome. The book is alive with Roman and Greek history, from the year 15 BC, we are taken through time - through the Roman Empire as Pandora is a daughter of a Roman Senetar, through Greek Mythology and visits to some of the greatest cities of that era.
As a very young girl, Pandora meets and falls in love with the very handsome and charismatic Marius, who begs her father for her betrothal, only to be turned down time and again. Marius goes on his way and Pandora only meets up with him again years later in exotic Antioch. By this time Marius is immortal and very unhappy with his fellow vampires. The story continues with the next two centuries of Pandora and Marius' life together.
This one, for me, ended to soon. I could have stayed in Ancient Rome with Pandora for much longer. Now I may be looking for more in this Anne Rice series. I so enjoyed my time there. This book is being passed on to my daughter, Shilo. I think she will get the same pleasure from it that I did.
My favorite passage is this: (as Pandora is starting to write her own story for David)
'I reach now for a victim who is not easy for me to overcome: my own past. Perhaps this victim will flee from me with a speed that equals my own. Whatever, I seek now a victim that I have never faced. And there is the thrill of the hunt in it, what the modern world calls investigation.'

How ridiculous and what a stranger he is who is surprised at anything which happens in life.
~Marcus Aurelius ~ Meditations
'

Zanna's Gift ~ A Life In Christmases

2007-12-09T22:25:00.001-08:00

I read Zanna's Gift as one of my Christmas themed books challenge. I picked this one up at the Book Warehouse in the factory outlet stores in Seaside. They always have a great selection of books in there. This Christmas book was first published in 2004 and is written by Scott Richards. It was a very touching story, beginning in 1938 with a family trying to cope with the loss of a child. It begins:

'There are many ways to lose a child, and none of them is merciful. But like all unbearable things it can be borne, and in the weeks before Christmas 1938, the Pullmans were learning how.'
Ernie, age 15, died in his sleep, probably of an aneurism. Ernie had a special relationship with his four year old sister, Zanna, a budding artist. Ernie was the only member who could see the pictures in the strange patterns and shapes that Zanna drew. Zanna had been drawing a special picture for Ernie that year and finished it after his death, keeping it always to give to Ernie when she would see him again. The picture became a symbol for the entire family generation after generation, brought out each year at Christmas for it's special place on the mantle.
This is a very touching story, easily read in one sitting, and one that I will keep on my shelves for many years to come, reminding me of the love adn commitment of family.

Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates

2007-12-02T15:56:00.000-08:00

This classic was sitting on my bookshelf, quietly begging to be included in my reading for the Christmas themed book challenge . I could not ignore the pleas and am so glad that I read this. I had read abridged versions in school as we all did, but had never read the full novel. It is wonderful! Such a great read. I will start out as I always do with the first paragraph.

'On a bright December morning, long ago, two thinly clad children were kneeling upon the bank of a frozen canal in Holland.'
Author ~ Mary Mapes Dodge

We meet Hans and his young sister, Gretel, as they are strapping on their homemade wooden skates for a few minutes of early morning fun before their Mother calls them home for a long day of work and helping to care for their idiot (so the story calls him) Father. The Father had taken a bad fall from his dike work ten long years ago and has known nothing or no one since. Mother and Father had saved up their coins, but the very day that Father had been injured, those coins went missing, never to be found so the family has, years ago, fallen to the poorest of the poor. The children are both excellent skaters, but only have their old wooden skates which stick to the ice once they get wet. There is to be a race among the local kids and the winner in both the boys race and the girls race will win a pair of silver skates. One of the townsgirls, Hilda van Gleck, really likes both Hans and Gretel and wants to help them win the race, so she pays Hans a few coins to carve her a wooden necklace with the stipulation that he must use the coins to buy either himself or Gretel a pair of skates so that one of them can be in the race. Hans buys the skates for Gretel and a friend of Hilda's, Peter, then pays Hans for a necklace for his sister so Hans may also get a pair of skates. On the way to market to purchase the skates, Hans runs in to the great aloof Doctor and begs him to take his coins and please come to see if he can help his Father, who has taken a turn for the worse and is in great pain. The Doctor is intrigued by the case, does not take the money and tells Hans to expect him to be by the Brinker house in a few days time. Hans then continues to market and buys himself the much desired skates.
Is the great Doctor able to help Father before it is to late? Will Father die? Does Hans or Gretel win the big race and the silver skates? Are the lost coins ever found these ten years later? If you have not read this novel, pick it up. It is a wonderful classic tale. There is so much to this story that I was not aware of with just the short versions that we read in Elementary School.
Here is one passage that gives an insight into the Saint Nicholas legend in old Holland:
'We all know how, before the Christmas tree began to flourish in the home-life of our country, a certain "right jolly old elf," with "eight tiny reindeer," used to drive his sleigh-load of toys up to our house-tops and then bound down the chimney to fill the stockings so hopefully hung by the fireplace. His friends called him Santa Claus, and those who were most intimate ventured to say, "Old Nick." It was said that he originally came from Holland. Doubtless he did; but, if so, he certainly, like many other foreigners, changed his ways very much after landing upon our shores. In Holland, Saint Nicholas is a veritable saint, and often appears in full costume, with his embroidered robes, glittering with gems and gold, his mitre, his crozier and his jeweled gloves. HERE Santa Claus comes rollicking along, on the twenty-fifth of December, our holy Christmas morn. But in Holland, Saint Nicholas visits earth on the fifth, a time especially appropriated to him. Early on the morning of the sixth, he distrubutes his candies, toys and treasures, and vanishes for a year.
Chistmas day is devoted by the Hollanders to church rites and pleasant family visiting. It is on Saint Nicholas' eve that their young people become half wild with joy and expectation. To some of them it is a sorry time, for the saint is very candid, and if any of them have been bad during the past year, he is quite sure to tell them so. Sometimes be carries a birch rod under his arm and advises the parent to give them scolding in place of confections and floggings instead of toys.'

I really enjoyed this classic Christmas tale.

Comfort & Joy

2007-11-24T00:45:00.000-08:00

"Christmas parties are the star on the top of my "don't" list this year. Other things to avoid this season: Ornaments. Trees. Mistletoe (definitely). Holiday movies about families. And memories."
This is the first paragraph in Kristin Hannah's Comfort & Joy. I read this as book number one for the Christmas theme book challenge hosted by Susan. It was a very quick enjoyable Christmas read. I like to read a book or two like this every year and I enjoyed this one more than I have any in the last couple of years. It started out as your typical bah-humbug Christmas story ~ Joy had had a very rough year, coming home one day to find her much loved sister in bed with her husband, so Christmas this year was going to be an awful holiday, filled with sad memories and no family to share the burden with. "Sometimes in the last year, , I've thought that my color was washing away in the shower or fading in the sun. I wouldn't have been surprised to wake up one morning and find myself a black-and-white woman moving through a colored world." Coming home the afternoon of the last day of school, (Joy is a librarian at the local high school), she finds her sister waiting for her with a wedding invitation and the news that she is pregnant. Joy speeds off, finding her self at the airport and on a whim buys a ticket on a puddle jumper plane to Hope, somewhere in Canada. From here the story takes an unexpected and much needed twist, holding the readers attention and keeping you reading late into the night. I'm not going to tell more, keeping the twist a secret for those of you who would like to read this one. Pick it up, it is a wonderful, engaging Christmas tale.

Mystic Sweet Communion

2007-11-18T19:41:00.001-08:00

"What is it about water that makes me dream of it so often? The lapping of the New River against pilings outside the camp, perhaps, sounds that now send me to sleep? Maybe it's the memory of 1896, sloshing through land still saturated by hurricanes, wet toes a constant even in the wagon that should have been dry but never seemed to be with six children scrubbed feet first by south Florida's steamy-water milieu."
Thus starts the prologue of Jane Kirkpatrick's novel, Mystic Sweet Communion. Jane is one of my favorite authors, writing wonderful fiction based on fact stories of historical women who are little known but who have made a great impact on our lives. Jane is a local Oregon author who I have had the pleasure of meeting and we share a close family friend, so reading her books is all the more special.

Mystic Sweet Communion is set in Fort Lauderdale, Florida in the early 1900's before it was really even a town. Jane tells the story of Ivy Cromartie Stranahan who gave up her school teaching career to join her husband at his trading post in a little place called New River, (now Fort Lauderdale). Ivy was a very strong willed woman who chose, along with her husband, Frank, to have a celibate marriage in order to not have any children. This decision came about because of a tragedy Ivy experienced when she was very young and watching her mother have 12 pregnancy's and die at an early age from childbirth. Ivy loved children and also had a love of the Seminole people of south Florida, so became a major spokesperson for the Seminole people, teaching them forbidden English and Christianity, not to change them but to help them survive in an every changing hostile world.
This is a wonderful book that takes you right into the world of the 1900's, making you laugh and cry for the lives of these wonderful people. After reading this, I want to rush right down to Florida to visit the Stranahan homesite and museum.

A couple of my favorite passages are as follows:

Advice Ivy is getting from her teacher and mentor as she sets out to take the first school of her own. We could all use this advice in raising our own children:
"Set the rules clearly and sternly, the very first day," Ada had said. "You can always go easy later, but once discipline is gone, you'd more easily wrestle alligators than get it back."

This passage is from Ivy's journal after seeing the proud Seminole people gather at the trading post for the first time:
"It's said that the southern half of Florida is truly just a giant river that flows so slowly south it's inhabitants fail to notice as it shifts from freshwater to salt, from solid ground to marsh. We've come to call it the Everglades with it's two seasons of winter and summer, wet and dry. But it could describe our lives as well, the inexplicable, almost imperceptible, movement and change. The times of fullness and moisture when our thirsts are quenched, followed by dryness when our souls feel cracked open and empty. Each is needed in the cycle of life. Each promises the return of the other. Lessons and guidance come packaged within. Each is recognized as part of our lives, though not awaited with the same songs of expectance."

A truly fabulous book, as are all of Jane's work.

Christmas Theme Challenge

2007-11-09T17:13:00.001-08:00

I came across this challenge today and just couldn't pass it by. Christmas books, Yes! I'm definately in on this one. It is being hosted by Susan right over here . The challenge is to read just two Christmas themed books in November and December.
I haven't yet unpacked all of our books from our move in August so following are a few I know I have but must find. From these,I know that I'll get two read.

1)Comfort & Joy by Kristin Hannah
2)The new Debbie MacComber paperback Christmas
3)The Flight of the Christmas Reindeer
4)The Treasury of Christmas
5)Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge
6)Zanna's Gift by Scott Richards

Back To History Reading Challenge

2007-11-09T07:39:00.001-08:00

Yep, joined another one. I couldn't resist this reading challenge for the 2008 reading year as I love history and there is so much out there to read. This one is being hosted over here ~
You can pop over there to sign up and read the formal rules and reg's. In a nutshell, you need to read one historical book a month for 2008, a total of 12 books, and you need to mix it up a bit. They cannot ALL be historical fiction, throw a couple of biographies and such in there.
Here is my partial list. I will add to it as I get my other books in line. I hold the right to change this list as I see fit. A couple of these books on my list I don't own yet, which is why the list may change if I can't get them for some reason.

1)Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabablon (Civil War)

2)The President's Lady by Irving Stone (Mrs. Jackson)FINISHED AND REVIEWED 2/10/08

3)Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt (Civil War)

4)The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks (Civil War) hmmm... I'm starting to see a theme here...

5)Night Overwater by Ken Follett (World War II)

6)Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende (California Gold Rush)

7)Laura - The Life of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Donald Zochert (Pioneer days)

8)1906 by James Dalessandro (San Fransico Earthquake and Fire)

9)The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank (Holocaust)

10)Judge Sewalls Apology by Richard Francis (Salem Witch Trials)

11)Life & Times of William I by Antonia Fraser (William the Conquerer)

12)The Truth About Sacajawea by Kenneth Thomasma (Lewis & Clark Expedition)
FINISHED AND REVIEWED 1/16/08

13)The Last Eleven Days of Earl Durand by Jerred Metz (True~ Wyoming "outlaw", 1939) Finished and Reviewed January 6th, 2008.

Whats In A Name? Reading Challenge

2007-11-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

I joined this fun reading challenge hosted by Annie at Words by Annie. Below is my list to be read between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008 and all from my stacks of to be read:

1)Choose a book with a color in the title:
THE BLUE CASTLE BY L.M. MONTGOMERY (Finished and Reviewed)
2)Choose a book with an animal in the title:
BAKERS HAWK BY JACK BICKHAM (this one I read as a kid and decided it's time to read it again!)(FINISHED AND REVIEWED)
3)Choose a book with a first name in the title:
HEIDI BY JOHANNA SPYRI
4)Choose a book with a place in the title:
A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN BY BETTY SMITH
5)Choose a book with a weather event in the title:
FOG MAGIC BY JULIA L. SAUER (this one is from my childhood stack, also)
2ND Choice - THE EDGE OF WINTER BY LUANNE RICE (Finished & Reviewed)
6)Choose a book with a plant in the title:
SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS BY DAVID GUTERSON

I really enjoyed going through my stacks to find books that met the criteria. It even got me digging through a couple of boxes in the garage that hadn't been unpacked from our move in late August. Jump on over to Annie's blog and join the fun ~ just don't start reading this pile until January. That may be the hardest part of all...

The Secret Garden

2007-11-06T19:45:00.001-08:00

I have seen many versions of the movie, but had not ever read the actual book. Having our own Secret Garden in our new house prompted me to get this classic on our bookshelves. I love this copy that I found on Ebay. It is a Hallmark Classic Gift Book and is covered in a beautiful red velvet which just adds to the pleasure of the read. The only complaint I have is that there is not any information in the book about the author and the writing of it. Not that it would be hard to find, but still... This wonderful children's classic was written by Frances Hodgson Burnett but I don't know when or when the first publication was.
The story was just as absolutely delightful as many of the movie versions and there was no surprises throughout the book that had been left out of the movie. It is a wonderful story of two rich cousins who are both left to themselves and are mean and spiteful children who know no better. When Mary, orphaned, is sent from India to live in England on her uncle's estate she is once again left to her own devises with not a soul who cares to be bothered by her. From her nursemaid, she learns the story of the Secret Garden and sets out to find it. Days in the sun begin to work their magic upon her along with her friendship with Dickon, the maids young brother. Finding the garden and starting the process of bringing it back to life brings out more and more of the girls natural happiness. One lonely windy night, Mary hears crying in the house and upon searching the corridors she comes upon Colin, neither knowing of the other. The cousins quickly become fast friends and determine to make Colin into a healthy young lad before his wayward father returns in the fall. A beautiful book of friendship and love to be enjoyed by all ages.
Following is one of my favorite passages:

"One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one's head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvelous unknown things happeing until the East almost makes one cry out and one's heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun - which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so. And one knows it sometimes when one stands by one's self in a wood at sunset andthe mysterious deep gold still slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in some one's eyes."

A Halloween Read

2007-10-07T10:03:00.001-07:00

I'm much behind on my scribblings here, but have decided to take the pressure off and do them at my own pace instead of one a day. There have been so many days lately, with the new baby in the house, that writing isn't able to happen.

I picked up this old Alfred Hitchcock book at a yard sale this summer and just decided to pull it out of mt stack. Seemed like a perfect October read. It is called Haunted Housefuls and is chock full of nine short stories for young readers, so I know that it won't be to spooky, but that's okay. I'll let you know what I think...

Not Guilty

2007-09-27T07:32:00.000-07:00

Lesson 262:
Finish the story. Start with: IT WAS A TIME OF INNOCENCE...

and a time of freedom for the little girl. The endless summer stretched out before her farther that her young heart could imagine. Hot sunny days were spent skipping down the gravel road between her house and her grandparents big brick home. The warm evenings were filled with the giggles of many cousins playing hide and seek in the dark while black bats swooped through the dark, warm air. The little ones were safe in the knowledge that the grown-ups were close by, gathered around the stone firepit where bursts of laughter erupted and low murmering voices could be heard.

Many long summers passed in just this fashion, each one bringing small changes within it's circle, until one June morning when the little girl woke up no longer little. No longer innocent. No longer free. She was now a young woman, her own baby daughter on her hip, the weight of choices made reflected in her wistful eyes.

Fresh Air

2007-09-25T19:07:00.000-07:00

Lesson 261
Start with the word AIR and write a story or poem, using each letter as you get to it. (This one had each letter of the alphabet scattered on the page and you were supposed to use it in a word as you got to each one. Most of the alphabet were placed at the first of the lines, with just a few scattered randomly throughout. I will capitalize my letters.)

AIR that i breathe smells of fall;
Birds in that air heed the call.
a Crispness surrounds us
as they Drive south,
Each Flock a large family
with one goal in mind.
Geese start to gather
witH other birds
In lakes and on ponds,
Just gathering strength to journey on.
Knowing that the cold is coming soon,
they are Leaving their northern summer homes.
Moving in formation,
Noisely they fly
On and on across our blue skies.
Passing over wheat fields,
Quickly taking a break,
Returning to the air before it gets to late.
Southern air is warmer,
The winters nicer down there.
Undulating geese are talking in the air,
as Visions of fall
Wave before my eyes,
an eXplosion of colors and sounds.
Yellow leaves rustle in the wind
as geese Zip through the golden sky.

Disaster Averted

2007-09-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Lesson 260:
Use these four words: TICKLE TEAR RITE LOCKET
Start with: WHAT A DISASTER...
Maria exclaimed, crashing through the door of her best friend, Tasha's bedroom. "I'll never live this one down", she wailed, a TEAR rolling down her check. Tasha looked at her with concern before answering. "Maria, it's not a big deal. Everyone's shot a basket for the wrong team at some point. Look at it as your RITE of passage. Now that you've already done it, it'll never happen in high school." Maria wasn't convinced and thought that her world could quite possibly be coming to an end. Tasha leaned over as if to look at Maria's LOCKET, but faked her out with a big TICKLE instead in the hopes of cheering her up. "Not gonna work, Tasha. Let's try ice cream instead", grinned Maria.

Naming Names

2007-09-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Lesson 259 ~
Finish all four of these shorts. The starter will stay constant but your name will change.

YOUR NAME IS ASHLEY. START WITH: THE PLAID SHIRT...hung down to my knees and was much warmer than the tank top I hand on under it. My dad pulled it out from behind the seat of the truck when I started shivering. I love wearing my dad's shirts, makes me feel safe.

YOUR NAME IS FANNY. START WITH: THE PLAID SHIRT...was tucked in my Wranglers, my dusty boots pulled on and my old leather gloves hanging out of my back pocket. What a beautiful fall day for riding fence, I thought, as I looked up into the immense blue sky.

YOUR NAME IS TAB. START WITH: THE PLAID SHIRT...was not something I wanted to be caught dead wearing. Who do these people think I am? Some kind of dumb country boy? I can't believe my parents actually sent me to this boy's ranch in the middle of nowhere just for that little bit of trouble I got into.

YOUR NAME IS MAURICE. START WITH: THE PLAID SHIRT...that I had picked out for tonights rodeo helped me to blend in with all the other guys behing the chutes. I've been riding at the night show here for several months, but still don't quite fit in with this predominately white group of rowdy cowboys.

Dial A Dialogue

2007-09-23T09:39:00.000-07:00

Lesson 258 ~
You are an actress who makes her living doing commercials. You are also the owner of a duplex, a home with two units, one on top of the other. You live on the bottom floor, and rent out the top floor to an undercover policeman. There's a little tension (actually, a BIG diagreement) between the two of you. Play it out through dialogue over the phone:

You: EVERY TIME YOU come home late at night, you wake me up. Must you always be so loud?

Cop: Gimme a break lady. It's been a long day.

You: Long day? Long day?! I'll tell you about a long day. I go to work at 5 in the morning.

Cop: Please! I'm sure it's real tough prancing around in front of a camera every day.

You: As a matter of fact, it is. Do not insult me.

Cop: Can we get to the point? My pizza's getting cold.

You: The point is, stop tromping around when you get home. Walk quieter, please.

Cop: I'm a big guy, not one of those twinkle toes you like to bring home.

You: Who I bring home is none of your business!

Cop: It IS my business since I can hear you through the floor.

You: I've had it. I want you out by the end of the month.

Cop: What?! I don't have any place to go. You can't do that!

(...and since you're the writer, YOU get the last word!)

You: Oh yes I can. Figure it out!

Framed!

2007-09-18T00:05:00.000-07:00

Finish this short story:
I WAS FRAMED...

I WAS FRAMED! Set up to take the fall by my own brother. I guess I don't blame him. Would I have done the same thing in his shoes? Maybe. I can't really say, but the wrath of the sister is far preferable to the wrath of the father anytime. We had been sent out after supper to finish fixing the pig pen fence that we had started earlier in the day. Just as Dad showed up to help, I picked up the hammer that Scott had left laying on a stump. The handle was in my hand, the hammerhead still laying on the stump. Hell hath no fury like a Dad whose tools are broken...

CR8-A-CHARACTER

2007-09-17T23:38:00.001-07:00

Lesson 256 - Sept 12th, 2007:
1)Write a religious trait/observation you associate with a parent or sibling:
Early morning prayer and Daily Guidepost reading
2)Write about a food a childhood friend ate and the funny way they ate it:
Bubble gum off the sidewalk
3)Write something a teacher always wore/wears that's unique to them:
A silk neck scarf
4)Write a saying someone you know always says:
Moving Right Along
5)Create a name using the initials S and P:
Sally Peterson
You've created a character with these four traits. Write from their point of view. Start with - I WISH I COULD STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT...

I WISH I COULD STOP WORRYING ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT my husband will be out of work by next week. Billy works as a carpenter, so when one job is almost finished up he's never quite sure when the next one will start. We have two little girls with another on the way. What I make as an Avon Lady is not even close to enough to pay the rent. With only three months left before the new baby comes it's really getting hard to tie on my SILK NECK SCARF everyday and head out on my route with my suitcase of samples. As I'm driving away from yet another farmhouse where I haven't made a sale, I just push on, saying the words "MOVING RIGHT ALONG" cheerfully to myself. "Surely Mrs. So-and-So will need something today!" Some days it's so hot and tiring that I just want to quit and stay home with my babies. Thank goodness that Mama watches them for me. I'm embarrassed just thinking about what I did yesterday. I was leaving the Larson's, the last house on my route, so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open. I needed something to keep me awake for the drive home but didn't want to spend an extra dime in case Billy gets laid off on Friday. Well, there I am, walking back to my car when I spot a big wad of pink BUBBLE GUM STUCK TO THE SIDEWALK. I bent over, picked it up and popped tht already chewed gum right into my mouth. It did the trick. Kept me awake, but, ew-yuck, never again! During my MORNING PRAYERS I'm going to make sure and pray that Billy's job doesn't end again. I think it's okay to pray for ourselves in a situation like this. It's for the babies. In the faith section of my DAILY GUIDEPOSTS, I'll write "A Good Solid Job For Billy" in. Well, that's settled. I'm going to try and get some sleep now.

Rapid Recall

2007-09-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

Lesson 254: September 11th, 2007
Write the first thing that comes to mind, even if it's not all true. Use the starters provided. Do all four at once. Don't stop to think. Write fast!

1)RECALLING THE PAST MAKES ME WANT TO revert back to an eight year old. I would come home from school to a nice warm house with my Mom in the kitchen whipping up some yummy treat. No worries, no cares.

2)I RECALL WINCING when the dentist poked my gums with the needle. I was so sure that this appointment was going to be the worst one yet. Twenty-eight years of very little professional dental care had taken it's toll on my teeth.

3)THAT'S NOT ALL HOW I RECALL WHAT HAPPENED that cold winter night. My sister remembers it all so differently than I do. I say the first cougar scream echoed through the night while we were chopping a hole in the frozen pond. Stacey thinks we heard it while we were still at the barn.

4)I REMBEMBER FACES BUT I NEVER RECALL THE NAMES THAT GO WITH THEM. FOR EXAMPLE tonight in my CPR class, a woman smiled and asked how I was. She looked so familiar yet I cannot recall how or why I know her.

If It Ain't Broke

2007-09-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

Lesson 253: September 10th, 2007

Finish the story. Start with:

IT'S NOT LIKE IT HASN'T BEEN BROKEN BEFORE but why today of all days? I lean forward, squinching up my eyes to try to see out of the front window of my 1991 Ford Explorer as ice quickly forms on the frozen glass. This particular February morning had dawned cold and clear. I turned the weather channel on for a quick update as I tore through the house doing the frenzied morning dance. The "Local on the Eights" showed our airport reporting in at a crisp -2 F with a -30 F wind chill factor. Brrr! "Scarves, hats and mittens kids. Get it all on. Hurry up - Out the door!", I yelled, and away we all went. At 11:30 am, I stepped out into the frigid air to warm my car up for ten minutes before leaving the office to transfer my four year old from pre-school to his daycare. On my way back to the office I literally slid around a corner, not because of the icy roads, but because my steering had locked up when the engine died of causes unknown. So now here I am, sitting in a snowbank on the side of the road, peering out of the icy window. How far to go before I get to a busier street? Should I sti here waiting for help to come by or brave the cold and walk the five blocks to the main road? Lord only knows when someone may be by here. Times like this it sure would be nice to have a cell phone. I pull my wool hat down farther, make sure that my blue Columbia coat is zipped to the top and step out onto the frozen, snow covered street. Damn it's cold and I'm pissed! I slam the door hard. My anger carries me a full block before I feel the cold seeping in through my layers of winter clothing. Another block and my nostrils are frozen shut. Icicles have formed on my eyelashes. Block three and I can no longer feel my toes, yet I know that just two more blocks ahead is a real estate office where I can make a phone call to my boss.
"Mary, my car broke down and I'm at Cedar Realty. Can you come and get me? Oh, and before you do, will you please fire up that space heater under my desk?"
Just my luck that this would happen on the coldest day of the year. I've never before been so tickled to be back in my windowless closet-sized office. Thank heavens for the good people in my life who will come to my rescue when I call.

Sounds Like...

2007-09-12T08:29:00.000-07:00

Lesson 252: September 9th, 2007

B C D G J K L O P R T U X Y
Use all the above letters as initials, letters, or as the words and names they also sound like. Start with: We were in alphabetical order...

We were in alphabetical order as we climbed onto the bus for the field trip to the C (Sea). My name is Alicia so I knew that I would be stuck sitting next to B(Bea) for the three hour trip. Bea's alright, but a bit loud and I just wasn't in the mood this early in the morning. Christine and D(Dee) were in the seat behind us, already giggling and talking so there would be no sleeping this trip. I decided not to fight it and joined in the hilarity all the way to Seaside.

"R(are) we there yet?", my X(ex)-boyfriend, J(Jay), screamed from half way back in the bus. "I've really gotta P(pee)!"

Our busdriver, Mrs. Wolford, glanced up into the large rearview mirror with a scowl on her face. "G(gee), do U(you) think you drank enough T(tea), Jay?", she replied rather grumpily. At the next rest area, Mrs. Wolford pulled the big yellow bus over. We all watched as Jay flew out the door toward the outhouses, tripping over his shoe laces as he ran. My best friend, L(Elle), called up to me, "O(oh) Y(why), oh why did you ever date him, Alicia? Check with me first next time, 'K?

Idions Delight

2007-09-11T23:13:00.000-07:00

Lesson 251: September 8th, 2007

Start with the idiom: I can't put my finger on it, but...

Use the idiomatic expression Head and shoulders above the rest in your conclusion.

I can't put my finger on it, but time and time again my mind goes over the events of September 8th, 1984. It marked the day that I started to break out of my self-protective shell and gain the confidence that I have today. I was a senior in high school, sitting in the bleachers silently watching while the pep club cheered the Huskies on to victory. It was the first home game of the season and spirits were high. Our boys took the field accompanied by the cheers and whistles of the hundred or so hometown supporters filling the stands. Groans, jeers and cat calls greeted our opponents, the Panthers, as they jogged to the center of the field. Like always, I didn't join in the revalry, to afraid that my voice would actually be heard and that I would no longer be lost in the crowd. I was the kid who didn't make the team freshman year, was always picked last for dodge ball in P.E. and seemed to be one clap off beat during all our pep rallies. I just wasn't cool. Some guys don't have a problem with that, but I did. I was painfully shy in those days, but badly wanted to fit in, always thinking that if they just gave me a chance, that I could be cool to. Not really believing it. I must just be a loser. My family was pretty poor then and if you didn't wear Levi's and Nike's in the early 80's, you were almost invisible.

Sevarl minutes before the end of this particular game, I scooted off the bleachers and headed out of the school grounds on my way home. I walked head down and shoulders hunched so as not to accidently catch the eye of any of the popular crowd. Our town is so small that I didn't have but a few blocks to go. Passing the elementary school, I decided to stop and swing for just a few minutes. I closed my eyes and for one instant I was an eight year old boy again, surrounded by all my third grade friends, in the days before the popularity games took over. Suddenly I heard the squeak of a second swing. My eyes snapped open. Becky Childers, student body secretary, sat smiling at me. "Hey Bobby. I saw you take off early from the game. How are you?"
"Okay," I replied, nervously scuffing up the gravel beneath my feet.
I glance up. Becky's still smiling. "Remember when we fell off your woodshed roof? I was in so much trouble for being up there", she says. "Walk me home?"

Thus began the school year that stands head and shoulders above the rest and began the acceptance of myself.

Circle Game

2007-09-09T20:36:00.000-07:00

Lesson 250. September 7th, 2007.

Circle two words that appeal to you from each group: (I have capitalized my choices)

PEEP quest rotten SUNSHINE tarantula undulate

viola WEB xylophone zipper ASTRONAUT barracuda

calliope desert elegant finesse GERMAN HYSTERICAL

Use these six words in a story. Start with:

I WAS COMPLETELY CAPTIVATED, LIKE An ASTRONAUT on her first trip to the moon as I crouched down to peer into the nestbox. The little banty hen had been sitting on her eggs for what seemed like a lifetime to me, but just now, I thought I had heard a tiny PEEP coming from that direction. Reaching in, acutely aware that my hand was about to be pecked harshly at any given minute, I felt under the hen until my fingers touched the softness of chick down. How exciting this is, I thought. Our very first farm babies. I had began to think that this nest was a dud, but the warm SUNSHINE of the last few days must have helped the mother hen along.

I silently thanked my GERMAN-bred Grandmother for running me out of the house. Grandma was visiting us on our Kansas farm for the week. She had gone into the pantry to fetch some applesauce for the pork chops and had run right through a large sticky spiders WEB, the Daddy Long Legs still attached. I ran for the barnyard so as to get as far away from her HYSTERICAL rantings as possible. Thanks, Grandma, for getting into that nasy web. Like Mom always says, everything happens for a reason.

And We'll Be Back After This Break...

2007-09-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

I had to take a couple nights break from my writing workbook to watch our new little grandson, Noah, get born. You can read all about it right over here. I'll try to get caught up with the lessons over the next couple of days.

Here is lesson 249, which should have been dated September 6th.

LIP SERVICE

The lesson is just to finish these short starters in one or two sentences. I have capitalized the provided starts:

1) SHE PUCKERED HER LIPS and planted a wet two-year old kiss on the stone bird that is attached to the birdbath in Grandma's yard. Little Sophie loves animals of any kind.

2)WATCHING HER APPLY LIPSTICK in the rearview mirror, Jason once again thanked the stars that Janelle was his wife. He patted his coat pocket to make sure that her anniversary gift was still safely tucked away.

3)HER POUTING LIPS did not work in the quest to make her Mama buy the skittles. Maybe if she could just squeeze out a tear or two.

4)HIS LIP CURLED WHENEVER Farmer John approached, in anticipation of the apple that Flash knew was his daily treat.

Corner Pocket

2007-09-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

Lesson 248:
Finish this story-
Start with "He hustled everyone who came into Mort's Billards except..."

I had difficulty with this one today and don't really like how it turned out but here it is anyway ~

He hustled everyone who came into Mort's Billards except Chung Lou, the ancient Oriental herb peddlar who lived in his building. Leroy wasn't scared of much but the shadows he saw pass by Chungs windows and the eerie sounds that shook the walls on certain nights really frightened him. There was just something spooky and strange about that guy.

Leroy was standing at the bar, Michelob in hand, just waiting for the next sucker to walk through the door. Rent was due and he needed a quick game or two to set himself straight with his slumlord. As the dingy door of Mort's swung open, Leroy turned his head to see whose money he would be pocketing tonight. A smile spread slowly across his wide face as he sized up the newcomers. He had not seen them here before and they looked like just what he had ordered, a bit cocky, pumped up and full of their 22 year old selves. This would be an easy take.

"Hey guys. Welcome to Mort's. Getcha a beer?", Leroy grinned. "Either of you shoot pool? It's a bit slow around here tonight."

A chuckle passed between the boys as the dark haired kid answered. "Uh, yah." Reaching for a pool cue, he shouted to the bartender, "Get us a couple of Bud's."

The first twenty spot hit Leroy's hand with a satisfying smack. Seems it was going to be an early night, just as he had predicted. The second kid stepped up to shoot game number two, doubling the pot. In no time at all, Leroy has his rent money safely tucked away and was headed out the door into the swirling San Francisco mist.
Pea soup tonight, he thought to himself as he strained to see the sidewalk in front of him. In the fog he seemed to see shadows moving silently along, matching him step to step. Strange noises filled the air. A chill ran down Leroy's spine and he was frightened as he had not been in ages. He walked just a bit faster, telling himself it was all in his head. Nothing is out there.

A homeless woman stumbled over the body, screaming as she saw the look of terror in the dead Leroy's staring eyes. Up ahead, a tiny elderly Chinese man slipped quietly around the corner, this months rent tucked up his sleeve.

My Summer Vacation

2007-09-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

Lesson 247:
When telling the stories of your life, there's a lot of freedom in writing about what you haven't done! Use this starting phrase:

This past summer I didn't...

I choose to write a short poem with todays lesson.

This past summer I didn't
paint my toenails red.
I didn't laze around in bed.
This summer I didn't
run a marathon.
I didn't even re-seed the lawn.
I failed to have coffee beside the Nile;
Not a soul in Peru saw my smile.
I didn't dance the tango beneath the stars,
Or mop the deck of a pirate ship flying to Mars.
If you were in England having tea
there is no possible way that you would have seen me.
I wasn't at the circus, the zoo or the fair;
I didn't have Elvis' barber cut my hair.
Summer is over ~
The fall winds are blowing;
I'm daydreaming about all the places I'm not going.

First Grade ***

2007-09-03T22:58:00.000-07:00

Lesson 246
You are a first grader. Write from this perspective. Be inventive and playful! Give yourself a name with these initials, then fill in the blanks for the other items:
N__________ K___________ H____________
Natalie Kaye Hammerhead

A Nickname: __________________ (Nattie)
Eye color: __________________ (Brown)
Hair color: __________________ (Chestnut)
Siblings' ages/names: _________ (Jamie,9; Danny,3)
How you treat them: ____________ (I'm the buffer between them. They fight a lot.)
How they treat you: ____________ (I'm pulled between the two, wanting everybody to be happy)
Favorite food: ________________ (Bologna)
Thoughts on school: ___________ (I'm a little scared, but excited to go!)

Start with:

Here I am, the first day of first grade...
walking to school with my big sister, Jamie. I'm wearing a new dress that my Mama bought for me at Sears and my brand new shiny red shoes. I like to watch my pretty shoes and hear the clickety-clack sound they make when I trot along the sidewalk.
"Nattie. Hurry up," Jamie yells from up ahead. "I don't want to be late." She doesn't want to be seen with a first grade baby either. She's the one who made us late, I scowl to myself. Jamie's new first day of school dress was yellow with a really pretty silk sash around her middle. We were standing in the kitchen watching Mommy fill our lunch boxes with bologna sandwichs. Danny, our baby brother, had found my hidden color crayons and after coloring on the wall he colored on Jamie's sash. She was even wearing it when he did. I laughed right out loud. It was funny and Danny didn't mean to make Jamie cry. She's the one who acted like a baby, but I hurry to catch up, singing loudly as I go. "This is the song that never ends..."

The Write Brain Workbook...

2007-09-02T19:41:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting a creative writing workbook to get my writing juices flowing for, oh, probably a year now. Nothing like a little bit of procrastination now is there? I found this book on Amazon last week and impatiently waited it's arrival. It came yesterday and in true Paula fashion, I said, "I'll start it tomorrow." Today I decided to do both yesterday and today's excercises to catch up. The book is set up to actually start on January 1st, but not wanting to wait, I figured out which lesson was for September 1st so am starting in the last 3/4's of the book instead of the beginning and will work my way around to August 31st. I have decided to post my journey here for my own benefit. Please feel free to follow along and joing in whenever the fancy strikes you.

Lesson 244 ~ September 1st.: Making Headlines
You wake up one morning to the following newspaper story about you. Use this title and write the article:
WRITER STRIKES IT BIG

Local author, Paula N., has recently signed a contract with Penguin Publications for a series of children's books. The four book series will be known as 'The Adventures of Boots'. Boots is a black and white cat with a great big personality who will take young readers from the banks of the Columbia River, through a Gypsy caravan, into the rodeo's of the wild west and finally to the gold rush days of California.

Ms. N. lives in Astoria with her husband and children. This will be her first published book. We met with the new author in her beautiful, secluded garden where the real Boots kept us company, watching the interview through aloof and knowing eyes.

The first book in this delightful series is scheduled to hit the shelves later this year. Beach Books in Astoria will be holding a Meet the Author and book signing event. Be sure to watch this column for further details.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lesson 245 ~ September 2nd:SEPTember
Use these 7 words in your story. Start with the line: We took separate...
(I'm including the defintions from my old Websters dictionary)
1) SEPTic - to make putrid
2) SEPTuplet - a group of seven, usually of one kind
3) SEPTuagenarion - a person between the ages of 70 and 80
4) SEPTillion - amounting to one septillion in number; a number starting at 1 with twenty four zero's behind it
5) SEPTennial - a period of seven years; happening every seven years
6) SEPTilateral - having seven sides
7) SEPTum - enclosure, hedge

We took separate paths from the tent as we wound our way through the woods to the restrooms provided by the state park. It was pitch black in the trees. The rays of the moon could not penetrate the thick pine braches, yet the acrid smell of the SEPTIC tank helped me find my way to the row of SEPTUPLET forest service green structures. I hurried inside, taking care of business quickly, then sat down on a wooden bench across from the restrooms to wait for Riff so that we could walk back to camp together. As I waited, an older gentleman joined me. By his lined face and watery eyes, I judged him to be a SEPTUAGENARIAN. He pointed his gnarled finger to the heavens and asked me if I had seen his star. Gazing up, a SEPTILLION stars dazzled my eyes. They twinkled before me in a dance centuries old. The old man directed my eyes to a star that seemed to glow red among all the other golden sparkles. He told me that this particular star is SEPTILATERAL with one side being red. Scientists have yet to discover why this is. On this stars SEPTENNIAL the red side faces the earth, giving us this very short glimpse of it on this particular night, if you know where to look. The sight was breathtaking and magical. I thanked him profusely and as Riff and I entered the SEPTum that concealed our tent, I pointed out the sparkling red star to him. In another seven years, we will wait on our deck, eyes turned skyward, in the hopes of one more glimpse.

At the bottom of this lesson page is a small box that reads:
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Separate six memories form the Septembers of your life and make a note of them. Use these to prompt further writings.
Following are my six September memories ~

1)My little brother was born and I was sent to stay with my Grandma Sannar. I was a mama's girl and hopping mad. I wanted my mom. Grandma and I were at my house for a quick visit after mom and the baby had come home. I remember sitting at the bottom of the stairs, wanting very badly to be left at home with my mom. I dumped out Grandma's purse onto the floor. She promptly picked up the contents of her life, spanked my butt and loaded me into the car, taking me back to her house on Roosevelt drive. I guess being naughty didn't get me my way.
~ 3 years old ~ Ketchikan, Alaska

2)I've started kindergarten at Mrs. Faulks house. Our classroom is in the upstairs of her little yellow house. I'm so excited! My friend, Melissa, is there every day and other kids who I'm just getting to know. We sit on each side of long tables with our coloring pages, crayons in a box in the middle of the table. My mom has an appointment today, so after class Mrs. Faulk takes me to her kitchen table where she makes me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It smells like lemonade in this bright yellow kitchen. Most days I get to walk home by myself, because we live in a tiny little town and home is only two blocks away. I feel so big when I walk home alone!
~4 years old ~ Elgin, Oregon

3)Sept. 1985. It is the first fall after my high school graduation. I have decided to take a year off before starting college. It feels so wierd to not be preparing for school and to be so far away from all of my friends. I catch glimpses of them on every street corner, sometimes even of people that I never much liked. I know that it is just my lonely and homesick mind playing tricks...
~17 years old ~ Redding, California

4)Sept. 1992. I look in the side mirrors of the U-Haul that I'm driving to make sure that the golden colored van is behind me and not flashing her lights to signal another stop. My sister Susan and I are moving with our kids to California from Wyoming. We are both recently divorced and wanting to be closer to our parents. School will already have started by the time we arrive. Brittany and KP will be starting kindergarten. I can hardly believe time has gone by so quickly. It feels so good to be going "home".
~24 years old ~ From the road somewhere between Cody, Wyoming and Redding, California

5)Sept. 1998. I can hardly think or breathe. My mom died suddenly a month ago and I feel as if she has taken my life force with her. The phone rings, I don't want to answer but know that I must. It is my little brother, Joshua, who is only 16. He wants to come and stay. He cannot stand coming home every day after school to that empty house. It is time for me to wake up and carry on. If this is so very hard for me, what is it doing to him?
~30 years old ~ Cody, Wyoming

6)Sept. 2005. Ah, Oregon in the fall. We've moved back to my home state after so many years away. The days are warm and golden, the nights crisp and clean. So many beautiful trees are showing their autumn colors. We walk the dogs down by the middle school and I crunch through the leaves that are lining the streets. Crackle crackle crunch! A big smile spreads across my face.
~37 years old ~ Astoria, Oregon

Tomorrows lesson: First Grade

The Saints and Sinners of Okay County

2007-02-24T20:27:00.001-08:00

"By the time Aletta realized the bitter smell drifting out her front door was burning kolaches, it'd been too late to save them. Inside the house, two sheets of blackened fruit-topped pastries emerged from the veil of thick smoke like a magic trick. She plunked herself down on a bar stool, a dish towel still dangling from her fingers, and watched wisps of smoke rise off the kolaches. She couldn't help but draw unkind comparisons to her own life-singed beyond recongnition, stinking to heaven's pearly gates, and most likely irretrievable. The kolaches had been a shot at making a little cash, but this was the third batch she'd ruined, the first dying from a baking powder overdose. She still wasn't sure what had gone wrong with the second."
~Dayna Dunbar

This was charmingly written first novel by Dayna Dunbar. The author tells the story of Aletta Honor, mother of 3, pregnant with the 4th, whose alcholic husband, Jimmy, has left her and the kids for greener pastures, though he shows up periodically wanting his family back. It is the summer of 1976 and Aletta is trying to hold her family together, and decides to offer her services as a psycic to the residents and visitors of her small Oklahoma town. Aletta has had her gift since she was a small child, but learned early to keep it hidden from the rest of the world. Her small bible-belt community doesn't take well to the gift she has been given and tries to shut her down, calling her work that of the devil. Throughout the story, we see glimpses of Aletta's childhood, also overshadowed by alcholism, which plays a big role in this novel. It is a touching story of one woman reaching deep within herself and coming up with the power to face head on the problems of her world and being the stronger for it in the end.
I'm off to pick up the sequel "The Wings That Fly Us Home"

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

2007-02-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

"Tom!" No answer. "Tom!" No answer. "What's gone with that boy, I wonder? You, TOM!"

This delightful adventure opens with Aunt Polly searching for the mischeveous Tom Sawyer, which sets the tone for the entire book. Tom is your typical young boy, wanting to explore his world instead of spending his time in school and church. We meet Tom in the famous fence-painting scene, setting under the shade of a tree after convincing the other neighborhood boys that there is nothing better than white washing a fence. The story moves on to many other adventures which include Tom and Huckleberry Fin witnessing a murder late at night in the graveyard and wrestling with the right and wrong of telling what they've seen, but being scared to come forward and having the murderer (Injun Joe) find out that they were there that night.
Tom meets Becky Thatcher and falls head over heals in love, resulting in the two of them getting lost in a cave during a school outing. We experience, right along with them, those feelings of being alone with your crush in those young years.
I read this book to my kids as a bedtime story when they were young. They all enjoyed it then and I got as much pleasure in reading it to myself this time around. It is a classic novel that surpasses time. Any young boy can relate to these timeless adventures of Tom Sawyer. A must read for one and all....

Wuthering Heights

2007-02-16T18:22:00.000-08:00

"1801- I have just returned from a visit to my landlord-the solitary neighbour that I shall be troubled with. This is certainly a beautiful country! In all England, I do not believe that I could have fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society. A perfect misanthropist's Heaven: and Mr. Heathcliff and I are such a suitable pair to divide the desolution between us. A capital fellow! He little imagined how my heart warmed towards him when I beheld his black eyes withdraw so suspiciously under their brows, as I rode up, and when his fingers sheltered themselves, with jealous resolution, still further in his waistcoat, as I announced my name."

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte was my 4th read in the Winter Classics Challenge and boy was it a challenge. I have, of course, always heard of Wuthering Heights and what a romantic dark figure was Mr. Heathcliff. Not so, in my opinion. This book is definately a tragedy in my eyes and not a romance. Heathcliff is a tyrant and needs to seek the help of a mental health counselor. My goodness does that man have issues!! The story is told through the eyes of Mr. Lockwood, a tenant at the Grange and through the housekeeper and family friend, Nelly Dean. Catherine and Heathcliff grow up together as brother and sister after Catherine's father rescues homeless Heathcliff from the streets of the city. They are inseperable as children, but when Catherine's father dies, her older brother takes over the running of the household, is tryrannical in his behavior and Heathcliff becomes little more than just a servant. As they grow older, Catherine begins to have other suitors and ultimately marries her cousin, Edgar Linton, throwing Heathcliff aside because of his lack of education and status. Heathcliff is mad with jealousy and rage and grows ever more insane with the passing years. The characters and story line are complex and ripe with emotion. This is a classic and quite the story, but not one that all readers will enjoy. I believe you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy this one.

Anne's House of Dreams

2007-02-06T19:19:00.000-08:00

Thanks be, I'm done with geometry, learning or teaching it," said Anne Shirley, a trifle vindictively, as she thumped a somewhat battered volume of Euclid into a big chest of books, banged the lid in triumph, and sat down upon it, looking at Diana Wright across the Green Gables garret, with gray eyes that were like a morning sky.

My 3rd book in the Classics Challenge was "Anne's House of Dreams", the 5th book in the Anne of Green Gables series written by L.M. Montgomery. I had tried to read this series as a teenager, but couldn't seem to make it through the first book. I picked Anne of Green Gables up at a yard sale last summer and thought I'd give it a go again. Totally, completely enjoyed it this time around, so straight over to Amazon I went to get the rest of the series. This 5th book finds Anne preparing to leave Green Gables as the wife of young Doctor Gilbert Blythe. They marry in the shade of the old orchard trees then began their new lives together on another part of Prince Edward Island known as Four Winds Harbor. We meet Captain Jim, the old lighthouse attendant who has many tales of his seafaring days and Leslie Moore, a beautiful young wife with her own tragic tales who quickly becomes Anne's best friend. There are many more characters to meet in book 5, and adventures to follow with Anne and Gilbert. I have yet to tire of this series and can't wait to begin book 6.

For now I'm off to visit "Wuthering Heights" ~ the 4th book in my Classics Challenge.

Persuasion ~ Jane Austen

2007-01-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

"Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch Hall, in Sommersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs, changed naturally into pity and contempt. As he turned over the almost endless creations of the last century - and there, if every other leaf were powerless, he could read his own history with an interest which never failed - this was the page at which the favourite volume always opened:
'Elliot of Kellynch Hall'

The first paragraph of this classic Austen did not pull me in. I had to push and shove my way through the first chapter, but so glad that I did. I absolutely loved this novel. Anne Elliott is the second daughter of the above described Sir Walter Elliot and very much a down to earth young lady who does not put on the airs of her family. Anne is 28 when the story opens and was persuaded 8 years ago to give up the love of her life, Frederick Wentworth, as he was not deemed to be an acceptable match by Anne's family and close friend, Mrs. Russell. Anne has never completly gotten over her love for Mr. Wentworth, who returns from the sea as Captain Wentworth and has made his fortune. We are drawn into the heart of these two people who have tried to forget and move on, but each word and glance at the other only brings the past back again and again. It is a beautiful love story that anyone who has ever loved and lost can relate to. This one is a keeper for sure.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

2007-01-12T20:02:00.000-08:00

This is the first book I have finished so far for the Winter Classics Challenge. It is a short story, about 150 pages long, that we all think that we know well. There have been so many plays and movies made based on this novel that we are are very familiar with the story. I urge you to read this one as I believe you will be surprised by parts of the story that are not depicted in the plays. It is a great gothic read, very enjoyable and easy to read in one afternoon. The story begins with Mr. Utterson the lawyer and his cousin out for their evening walk. They come upon a rundown door at the back of a building which prompts the cousin to tell a strange story about his encounter with a Mr. Hyde. The story is then off and running and the reader is drawn in to the twists and turns. This classic reads like a mystery with cryptic notes, murder and general mayhem. Pick it up. I think you will enjoy it....

Stacey's Ghost Story...

2006-10-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

The year that I was 13, my family bought 40 acres of beautiful property in the northeast corner of Oregon. It had everything a family would want; a creek, a pond, gorgeous views and plenty of trees and bushes for kids to play in. It even hosted it's own resident ghost.
Mom and Dad picked out the perfect spot for a pole shed, with living quarters, that would become our temporary home while building a log house up on the hill.
Early that fall, when the evenings began to turn crisp, we noticed some mysterious occurences. We had moved in before drilling a well, so had no running water. Consequently, we had to carry water from the pond for our menagerie of animals. One dusky evening, while at the pond we heard people calling "Karen, Karen". We quickly packed the water in that night. It continued to happen, so there was no lollygagging at the pond in the evenings.
Sometimes the scent of a sweaty man hung in the air.
While we "noisy children" were in school and Mom was at home alone, she would often have things pulled from her hands and would see a little girl sitting on the ladder leading up to the loft.
Even though I heard the calls for "Karen", I never truly believed we really had a ghost until one day in the middle of the afternoon. The bus dropped us off as usual at the end of the driveway. I was the first one down the driveway and to my dismay, saw a little girl running around our yard. She had long blonde hair and wore a long dress. I went in the house expecting my Mom to be visiting with a lady friend and said, "Mom, who's here?". We had no visitors, only a ghostly apparition by the name of "Karen".
We believe Karen was a little girl from the 1800's, traveling with her family. She must have become lost on the property we later purchased. Her parents ghosts have been searching for her ever since.
Children have always felt safe and comfortable around my Mom, so I believe Karen liked to play at our house while we were in school.

By Stacey Roth
Written October 2005

The Grand Adventures of Boots

2006-07-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is a new story I have started for kids, maybe 8to 10. Its just the first little bit, but please, leave your comments and let me know what you think.

If you were to knock on the door of the little blue cottage at 820 Salmon Avenue, you would be greeted by a small black cat called Boots. He would grandly open the door and introduce himself as "Theodore Fitzsimmons-Jones, Esquire, at your service." You see, Boots had the honor of being born with a white patch of fur upon his chest that gives the impression that he is wearing a full black suit with a white collared shirt and a black tie. Because of these markings, Boots has been known to take himself a bit too seriously at times. At birth, he was also blessed with four white paws, this being the reason that he is known far and wide as "Boots".

Boots would then invite you in, as he does all the children who come to visit, and ask you to join him for a spot of lavender catnip tea. He would settle you into his favorite bamboo chair on his bright and sunny sunporch, bring out his finest china and offer you his delicious homemade crabcakes as a snack. You would politely accept, hoping upon hope, that this distinguished gentlecat would soon begin regaling you with the grand adventures thay you have come to hear...

"You see", begins Theodore "Boots" Fitzsimmons-Jones, clearing his throat and licking the last remains of crabcake from between his front claws, "I was born in a small fishing village off the coast of Oregon. My father was a respected Physician, the first medicine cat to bring his healing touch to this part of the world. The respect and loyalty given to my father and his family was to open many doors of adventure to me. My mother was a warm and lovely lady, as any doctors wife should be. My friends and I were greeted everyday after school by the smell of fresh baked cookies and loaves of toasty bread. To this day I have a weakness for fresh bread. I will sit right down on the kitchen floor and have as many slices as my poor tummy can possibly hold. Would you like a slice now? With milk and honey butter? Good, good. Now stay right there. I shall return shortly." With this, Boots jumped up and bound into the kitchen, as sprightly and spry as a kitten of much younger years.

The Messy Locker

2006-06-30T16:48:00.000-07:00

By Dustin- 7th Grade English

As Tod screamed for help the locker kept...Sorry, I am getting ahead of myself. This story started about three weeks ago at the beginning of school. Tod Jankins was just starting at Livingston Elementary School. He was starting fifth grade. He had heard rumors about locker 163 that it was haunted by a messy ghost. They say that the locker eats people too, but Tod was to smart to believe that.

As the day went by the kids started getting their lockers 1...2...3... Tod got locker 182 but when he opened it, there was mold in it. He went to the teacher and told her there was mold in it. So the teacher changed his locker to number 163. So he got his stuff and headed there. When he got thre he asked for the combo. It was 7,13,1. He opened the locker and started putting his books in it. When he put the last book in he heard a moaning in his locker. Now this scared him so much that all his muscles just tensed up so he could not move. Tod stood there for five minutes then slammed the locker shut and ran for his life.

The next day Tod went to his locker and opened it slowly. When it was opened he stared. All his books, pens, papers, and markers were everywhere. Tod decided he needed to get to the bottom of this after class. After class Tod ran to his locker and opened it to see a old newspaper dated 1969. That was thirty years ago! Then he spotted a hole. Se he stuck his hand in the hole to feel around. Tod felt something grab him. "Help" Tod screamed. Teacher came to help and pulled Tod's hand out. He went to go get a flashlight from his room to see what was in the hole. It turned out to be two sixth graders.

Hugging Sea Lions

2006-06-27T15:23:00.000-07:00

This post is dedicated to my daughter, Brittany. She has always wanted to hug a sea lion. Call her crazy, but she says they are just so darn cute!

What would happen if you hugged a sea lion?
Would he smile and hug you back?
Would he ask you to hop on
and tell you to hang on tight?
Would he take you for a ride?
Would he bark at you happily
and show you to his friends?
Would he teach you how to catch a fish?
Would he help you learn to swim?
OR
Would he bark and growl and carry on?
Would he tell you to go away?
Would he push you off of his rock?
Would you be afraid of him?
Would he say that you woke him up?
Would he smack you with a fin?
What would happen if YOU hugged a sea lion?