Kathy's (kac522) 2023 Reading

Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.

--Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian and author (1912-1989)

Welcome to my 2023 Reading place. I read lots of classics, some comfort books and whatever looks interesting from my public library. In the last year or so I've also enjoyed watching booktubers on YouTube and that's expanded (for better or worse!) my TBR as well.

I participate in various challenges on LT and elsewhere. I have a 2023 Category Challenge thread here to help me manage them all:
https://www.librarything.com/topic/347256#

And I’m keeping track of the books I’ve owned before 2023 and that I read this year (my “Roots") with this ticker:



So pour yourself some tea (Earl Grey for me, please), grab a book and settle in.

Favorite reads of 2022:

Fiction (in order read):

Miss Mole, E. H. Young, 1930
Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886
A Lost Lady, Willa Cather, 1923
The Country of the Pointed Firs, Sarah Orne Jewett, 1896
The Feast, Margaret Kennedy, 1950
The Remains of the Day, Kazuo Ishiguro, 1989
Father, Elizabeth von Arnim, 1931
Small Things Like These, Claire Keegan, 2021
The Fortnight in September, R. C. Sherriff, 1931

Nonfiction (in order read):

On Tyranny Graphic Edition, Timothy Snyder, 2021; thoughts on the threat to democracy; even more powerful in this graphic book edition
Dangerous Work: Diary of an Arctic Adventure, Arthur Conan Doyle, originally 1880; this edition 2012; 1880 memoir of Conan Doyle's time on a whaling ship as medical officer; this 2012 facsimile edition of his journal includes photographs from the expedition and historical background
Epitaph for a Peach: Four Seasons on My Family Farm, David Mas Masumoto, 1995; memoir of running a family farm and Japanese American heritage
A Chelsea Concerto, Frances Faviell, 1959; memoir of living through the London Blitz during WWII
Our America: A Photographic History, Ken Burns, 2022; stunning historical American photographs selected by Burns

Re-reading classics is my greatest comfort; I re-read 29 novels this year, most by audiobook. Books that were even more wonderful on re-reading were (in order read):

David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy
North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell
The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
Middlemarch, George Eliot

2023 Reading: January through June

January

❤️1. The Complete Maus, Art Spiegelman (1996)
❤️2. The Forest of Wool and Steel, Natsu Miyashita (2020); translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel
3. Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books, Cathy Rentzenbrink (2020)
4. The Belton Estate, Anthony Trollope (1866); Root; re-read from 2021
5. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte (1847); re-read; Root from 1996
6. Understood Betsy, Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1916)
❤️7. Foster, Claire Keegan (2010)
8. Over By the River and Other Stories, William Maxwell (1984); Root from before 2009
9. Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink (1935)
10. A Pair of Silk Stockings and Other Stories, Kate Chopin (1996 this edition; stories from 1894 and 1897); Root from 2021
11. The Doctor's Wife, Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1864)
❤️12. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain (1876); Root from 2022
13. The Highland Widow, Sir Walter Scott (1827); Root from 2022

February

❤️14. The Great War: July 1, 1916, Joe Sacco with text by Adam Hochschild (2013)
15. Revenge of the Librarians, Tom Gauld (2022)
16. What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw, Agatha Christie (1957); Root from 2019
17. Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions), Louisa May Alcott (1863-74); this edition 1996; Root from 2021
18. Roughing It In the Bush, Susanna Moodie (1852)
19. The Journals of Susanna Moodie, Margaret Atwood & Charles Pachter (1997)
20. Susanna Moodie: Roughing It In the Bush, Carol Shields & Patrick Crowe, adapted by Selena Goulding & Willow Dawson (2016)
21. Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature, Margaret Atwood (1995)
22. West with the Night, Beryl Markham (1942); re-read from 1992
23. The Means of Escape, Penelope Fitzgerald (2001); short stories; Root from 2022
24. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass (1845); Root from 2022
25. Playing in the Dark, Toni Morrison (1992); Root from 2022
❤️26. The Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West (1918); Root from 2019; re-read from 2016
❤️27. Framley Parsonage, Anthony Trollope (1861), audiobook read by Simon Vance; Root from 2022; re-read from 2012
28. The Lady of Launay, Anthony Trollope (1878); Root from 2015
29. Two Heroines of Plumplington, Anthony Trollope (1882); Root from 2017; re-read from 2017
30. Two-Part Invention, Madeleine L'Engle (1988); Root from 2019
31. Browse: The World in Bookshops, ed. Henry Hitchings (2016)
32. Semicolon, Cecilia Watson (2019)

March
33. The School at Thrush Green, Miss Read (1987); Root from 2018
34. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, Kazuo Ishiguro (2009), short stories
35. A Son at the Front, Edith Wharton (1923)
❤️36. Maud Martha, Gwendolyn Brooks (1953)
❤️37. And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (1939); re-read from 2015; Root from 2022
38. Brooklyn, Colm Toibin (2009); re-read from 2010
39. The Lighthouse Stevensons, Bella Bathurst (1999)
❤️40. All Passion Spent, Vita Sackville-West (1931); Root from 2018
41. English Country Houses, Vita Sackville-West (1941); Root from 2016
42. Seducers in Ecuador & The Heir, Vita Sackville-West (1924); Root from 2022
❤️43. The Small House at Allington, Anthony Trollope (1864); audiobook read by Simon Vance; re-read; Root from 2022
44. The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851); Root from 2015
45. Crucial Instances, Edith Wharton (1901); short stories
46. Washington Square, Henry James (1880); Root from 2015

April
47. The Swedish Art of Death Cleaning, Margareta Magnusson (2019)
48. The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane (1895)
49. The Diary of an Isle Royale School Teacher, Dorothy Simonson (1988); Root from 2022
❤️50. The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green (2021)
51. Postcards: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Social Network, Lydia Pyne (2021)
52. Phoebe, Junior, Margaret Oliphant (1876); Root from 2021
53. Friends at Thrush Green, Miss Read (1990); Root from ?
❤️54. The Last Chronicle of Barset, Anthony Trollope (1867); audiobook read by Simon Vance; re-read; Root from 2022
55. A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare (1600); Root from 1980; re-read from 1968?
56. The Patriotic Murders, Agatha Christie (1940); Root from 2018
57. Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life, Lucy Worsley (2018)
58. Tearing the Silence: On Being German in America, Ursula Hegi (1997)
59. Madame de Treymes and Three Novellas, Edith Wharton (1916); Root from 2019

May
60. The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen, Elizabeth von Arnim (1904); ebook acquired 2023
61. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok (1972); Root from before 2011
62. Chaim Potok, Edward Abramson (1986); Root from 2020
63. The Betsy-Tacy Treasury, Maud Hart Lovelace (1943); first 4 books of the series
64. Soldiers with Picks and Shovels, Tom Emery (2011); re-read; Root from 2014
65. Shakespeare: The World as Stage, Bill Bryson (2007); Root from 2016
❤️66. A Month in the Country, J. L. Carr (1980); re-read from 2018; Root from 2015
❤️67. Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy (1872) re-read on audiobook by Simon Vance; Root from 2022
68. American Histories, John Edgar Wideman (2018); Root from 2019
69. The Squire, Enid Bagnold (1938); Root from 2018

June
70. To Serve Them All My Days, R. F. Delderfield (1972); Root from 2016
71. Celebrations at Thrush Green, Miss Read (1992); Root from 2018
72. Three Tales, Gustave Flaubert (1877); Root from 2018
❤️73. Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens (1841); audiobook rad by Simon Vance; Root from 2015
74. The Norman Maclean Reader, Norman Maclean (2008); Root from 2014
❤️75. Secret Harvests, David Mas Masumoto (2023)
❤️76. Lady Susan, Jane Austen (1871, post.); audiobook re-read; Root from 2016
77. The Time Machine, H. G. Wells (1895); re-read from 1990
78. The Betrothed, Alessandro Manzoni (1840 revised edition); Root from 2016
❤️79. The Girls, Edna Ferber (1921)

2023 Reading: July through December

July

❤️80. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (1813); re-read; Root from 2012 (Collector's Library Edition)
81. Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi; translated by Geoffrey Trousselot (2015)
❤️82. The Claverings, Anthony Trollope (1867); re-read from 2021; Root from 2021
83. The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole (1764); Root from 2022
❤️84. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen (1817); re-read; Root from 2012
85. Tove Jansson (The Illustrators) by Paul Gravett (2022)

August

86. Christopher and Columbus, Elizabeth von Arnim (1919); ebook
87. The Dressmaker, Beryl Bainbridge (1973); Root from 2021
88. Love and Youth: Essential Stories, Ivan Turgenev, translated by Nicolas Pasternak Slater and Maya Slater; (1852 & 1860 "First Love"); Root from 2022
❤️89. Unearthing the Secret Garden, Marta McDowell (2021)
90. From These Shores, Helga Skogsbergh (1975); Root from 2022
❤️91. The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911); Re-read from 2013
❤️92. Good Daughters, Mary Hocking (1984); Root from 2020
❤️93. My Life in Middlemarch, Rebecca Mead (2014); Root from 2015
❤️94. The Annotated Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911); Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, introduction and annotations (2007)

September
95. Jamaica Inn, Daphne Du Maurier (1936); Root from 2021
96. Simply Artificial Intelligence, DK Publishing (2023)
❤️97. Tales from a Village School, Miss Read (1994); Root from 2016
98. Harry Heathcote of Gangoil, Anthony Trollope (1874); Root from 2019
99. The Whistling Season, Ivan Doig (2006); Root from 2015
100. Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens (1844); audiobook read by Sean Barrett; re-read from 2010
101. A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams (1947)
102. Behind the Scenes: or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House, Elizabeth Keckley (1868)
103. Indifferent Heroes, Mary Hocking (1985); Root from 2020
104. The Faithful Spy, John Hendrix (2018); graphic book
❤️105. Excellent Women, Barbara Pym (1952); Root from 2009; re-read from 2013
106. Good-Bye, Mr. Chips, James Hilton (1933)

October

107. Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte (1847); Root from 2014; re-read from 2016
108. Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell (1853); Root from 2020
109. The Home-Maker, Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1924); Root from 2022
❤️110. The Golden Lion of Granpère, Anthony Trollope (1872); re-read from 2014; Root from 2013

Some end-of-year stats for 2022:

Total books read: 113 (2021 total = 117, so comparable)

"Roots" read: 67 -- far short of my goal of 75--must improve here!
Library books: 32
Re-reads: 29
Translated: 7 -- more books in translation than 2021, so an improvement to read books other than BritLit!

Male authors: 50 (44%) -- a bit higher for men than 2021
Female authors: 63 (56%)

Fiction: 83
Non-fiction: 28 -- more nonfiction this year than 2021
Other: 2 plays

Breakdown by years published:

before 1800: 2
19th century: 33
20th century: 54
21st century: 24

Will be keeping up with you as always, Kathy. Happy reading year!

Thanks for visiting, Paul. Lots of hope for 2023, both reading and otherwise, right?

>7 kac522: Certainly, Kathy. If January finds us pessimistic then what chance do we have?

>8 PaulCranswick: 🤞Right you are. My crew are back in Sheffield. They spent the last 2 weeks with the grandparents and cousins in Milano. My son is battling the flu, but hopefully he'll be better tomorrow to get back in the classroom. He's teaching secondary French and German at King Ecgbert School in Sheffield.

Welcome back, Kathy!

>10 drneutron: And thank YOU Jim for setting up and organizing the Group--it really is the best maintained group on LT, all because of you and your commitment all year long. People pay attention at the beginning of the year but I don't think they appreciate your constant maintenance throughout the year. Grazie!

Happy New Year, Kathy. I hope 2023 is a year of good reading for you. (You didn't do too badly with reading from your shelves.)

Happy new one, Kathy. I thought I starred this already but I guess not. Corrected!

>12 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. I didn't do badly reading off the shelves, but the problem is that I brought into the house more than went out! Library sales are my One Weakness....

>13 jessibud2: Hey Shelley, how's the Burns book going? I learned so many new tidbits from American history.

>14 kac522: - I am still in it. It's due back on the 12th and I will definitely finish it before then. It is so good

January Reading Possibilities

Let's start out the New Year by saying I have a pile of 19 books next to me that are all possibilities for this month, plus 4 coming from the library ("in transit"). There is NO WAY I'll read all of these, but here goes:

Currently Reading:
✔Maus, Art Spiegelman -- for 75ers NonFiction--Prizewinners
✔The Forest of Wool and Steel by Natsu Miyashita, translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel (library book)*
✔Over By The River (stories), William Maxwell -- RandomKIT Hidden Gems (oldest TBR books) and my Shorter Works challenge (see below)

Audiobook for this month & next: Dickens' The Pickwick Papers read by Patrick Tull

Everything else is up for grabs:
✔The Belton Estate, Trollope -- a re-read for the Group read led by Liz (lyzard)
✔The Doctor's Wife, Mary Elizabeth Braddon
✔Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte--a re-read for my RL Book Club
--Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, Kazuo Ishiguro (library book)*
✔Dear Reader: the Comfort and Joy of Books, Cathy Rentzenbrink (library book)*
--The 4.50 from Paddington, Agatha Christie
--The Highland Widow, Sir Walter Scott OR The Master of Ballantrae, R. L. Stevenson -- ClassicsCAT Adventure Classic
--Roughing It In the Bush, Susanna Moodie--for the Club Read Victorian Tavern challenge
--Ralph the Heir, Anthony Trollope

For the January AAC Challenge (children's classics), I have the following possibilities. I may only read 1 or 2:
--Under the Lilacs, Louisa May Alcott
--Madge Morton Captain of the Merry Maid, Amy Chalmers (1914 book that belonged to my grandmother)
✔Understood Betsy, Dorothy Canfield Fisher
--A Girl of the Limberlost, Gene Stratton-Porter
--The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain
--Daddy-Long-Legs, Jean Webster

This is the year of attacking the TBR. To that end I've set up 2 monthly challenges:

My "Shorter Works" Challenge: I've committed myself to read at least one, and hopefully 2, books from my shelves each month that are either short story collections, essay collections or a novella. These MUST be from one of the 60+ volumes of collections my shelves. For January:

✔Over By the River, William Maxwell
✔A Pair of Silk Stockings, Kate Chopin

My "Read or Rid" Project: Inspired by Tiffany of Beautiful Minutiae (on youtube), I've chosen 24 of some of the oldest books to "read or rid." I am committed to reading 50 pages of each book: if I'm not engaged in the book, into the donation box it goes. If I'm liking it, it stays and I commit to reading it, perhaps not right away depending on my other reading, but at some point in time. I hope to do 2 per month and my choices for January are:
--Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See
--The Cape Ann, Faith Sullivan

My full list of "Read or Rid" for this year is on my Category Challenge thread here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/347256#8020813
If there's any book on this list that you LOVED, please let me know--I may give it priority over the year.

I know--I am WAY "over-booked" for this month. What a way to go....

*these 3 library books were book bullets from Katie Lumsden, booktuber at Books & Things.

Happy New Year, Kathy. Looking forward to sharing another year of book banter and Chicago news. Good luck with those challenges. It looks like moving books off our shelves, is a major priority.

I hopped over to check your Read or Rid list. One of my book groups read "Mrs. Bridge" a year or two ago, and it did promote a lot of discussion. I'd give it a chance.

>18 ffortsa: OK, thanks Judy for the recommendation--appreciate you stopping by and commenting. I'm wondering if I'll have any books to rid! But that's A-OK😊 More good books means more good reading.

Dropping off a star, Kathy. Looking forward to seeing what your reading brings you.

>20 MickyFine: Thanks for visiting, Micky. I see you are about to start reading Cranford--I hope you enjoy it; it's a favorite of mine. Does your edition have the stories "Mr Harrison's Confessions" and "My Lady Ludlow" ? These stories are sort of the "prequel" and "sequel" to Cranford; they are set in or near Cranford, but weren't included in the original published book. Also these two stories have material that was included in the BBC miniseries (with Judi Dench). I especially liked "Mr Harrison's Confessions."

>21 kac522: No extra material included with the edition I borrowed from the library, sadly. I was checking some end notes while reading today that referred to an Appendix III that also isn't in this printing. I'd expect better of Penguin, even if it is a tie-in cover edition. Not that I read much of the additional material included in their editions but it's nice to have the option...

>22 MickyFine: This Vintage edition which I own, entitled The Cranford Chronicles, has the two extra stories. But I'm sure you can find them easily online or in other Gaskell story collections.

>16 kac522: Cool! A Read or Rid list, I love the concept. Very thoughtful way to establish whether the book is a keeper and tackle the TBR's.
You may have noticed on my thread (and thanks for visiting!) that I set TBR's as a big objective to at least attempt reading. I like your idea of the committed 50-page read. I'm going to copy that so I don't abandon a book too fast.

>24 SandyAMcPherson: I hope "Read or Rid" works for me. I've put all 24 books on a specific shelf in my bedroom where I have to LOOK at them every day. :)

I can't take credit for the idea, though; got it all from booktuber Tiffany Beautiful Minutiae and it has worked for her for a couple of years.

Usually I only participate in a challenge if I can find a book on my TBR that fits OR there's a book I wanted to read anyway from the library. Right now my "To Read" books on LT = 540; these are all physical books somewhere in my house. And this is fairly accurate. I joined LT in 2009 and in 2010 we moved, so it made it easier to just log the books in as I unpacked them in the new place. And since then I've been pretty good about recording the books as I buy them.

So a long, long way to go. Hoping for 75 Roots (books read from the TBRs) this year plus whatever books that I can mark as "Rid."

>25 kac522: - I like your "Read or Rid" idea too. In looking at my "To Read" group, I still have over 150 books that I entered fairly soon after joining LT. At the time, I was fairly active in Bookmooch and would grab books at library sales thinking I would put them on Bookmooch, but then read the back cover and think I should read them first. Those are the ones I need to take a hard look at and see if I can let some go. I started to do this last year and managed to get rid of quite a few.

>26 dudes22: I still occasionally scan the shelves and just pull out ones I know I'll never read (also mostly bought at library sales!). But most of them I really do want to get to, or at least give them a try.

Hi Kathy my dear, just dropping my star off and will be visiting throughout the year, i will also see you on the BFB thread. Good luck with all your reading this year my dear friend.

>28 johnsimpson: Thanks John, good reading to you, too!

>16 kac522: I thought I was the only one to post up highly ambitious reading plans, Kathy?!

Good luck with that little lot, I will be cheering you on. xx

>25 kac522: Amazing book cataloguing! I only listed as many of my own books on LT because of that LT scanner app (on my mobile phone) made it so easy.
Now I always add books with the scan app if they're new enough to have an ISBN as a bar code. Some of my books are pre-ISBN, but not too many.

On the other hand, Mr. SM's books are at least 60% too old. Fortunately I don't feel the need (or have the time) to catalogue all the books he considers "his". Only the ones I decide to read...

>30 PaulCranswick: Yeah, and I'm a much slower reader than you are, Paul. If I finish half of these I'll be delighted. I've finished 1 so far, The Complete Maus, which was outstanding, and a great start to the new year.

>31 SandyAMcPherson: I've catalogued all my husband's books, but only a handful are of interest to me and included in my To Read collection. Old books are difficult to do but seem much easier now than they were in 2010. Not sure if it's the technology or more old books in the databases and therefore easier to match, meaning less to add manually.

Happy reading in 2023, Kathy!

>33 FAMeulstee: Thank you! Stop by any time!

I've been very good this month and have stayed away from bookstores and library sales. But the sun pulled me out of the house today, and I picked up 4 (somewhat obscure) classics at Half Price Books:

--Ruth Hall: A Domestic Tale of the Present Time by Fanny Fern (1855)--totally new-to-me author and book. Is anyone familiar with Fern (1811-1872, American)? She apparently was a newspaper columnist.
--Anna of the Five Towns (1902) and The Old Wives' Tale (1908) by Arthur Bennett. The second book is vaguely familiar--has anyone read Arnold Bennett (1867-1931, British)?

and one familiar author, but new-to-me title:
--Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936) by George Orwell, a novel about a disenchanted writer. Besides Animal Farm and 1984, the only other novel of Orwell I have read is Burmese Days, which I enjoyed.

Any thoughts appreciated!

I loved Ruth Hall; I've read some of Fern's columns as well. She was quite famous at the time and is one of the popular female authors who got forgotten.

>36 BLBera: Good to hear! Where did you come across her columns?

I'm still hoping to finish a few more books before the end of the month, but thought I'd start wrapping up the month with my first 5 reads, which were mostly fantastic.

January Reading


1. The Complete Maus, Art Spiegelman, 1986 & 1992, this edition 1996
Type: nonfiction graphic memoir, Holocaust testimony
5 stars

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic book, Art Spiegelman tells the story of his father's experience in Poland during the Holocaust, from his early years to his imprisonment in concentration camps to his release. But Spiegelman also shows us the process of gathering these stories from his father and the conflicts that arise. Spiegelman portrays people as animals: Jews as mice, Poles as pigs, Germans as cats, etc. At first this seemed odd, but as I got used to it, I realized this had a purpose: to help Spiegelman himself put some distance between the real people and the characters he was drawing. It also helped me as a reader to quickly tell the "hierarchy" inherent in relationships at that time.

What struck me most about the book was the relationship between the author and his father, and then the author's own struggles as a child of survivors, and trying to make sense of it all. Although he doesn't specifically point that out, we can see it in how he deals with his father. I kept coming away with the father being quite the wheeler and dealer, but you had to be to survive. Overall a very compelling and very personal look at surviving the Holocaust. Note: this 1996 edition combined Maus Book I (1986) and Maus Book II (1992).


2. The Forest of Wool and Steel, Natsu Miyashita, translated from the Japanese by Philip Gabriel, 2015
Type: fiction
4½ stars

The story of a young man in rural Japan who hears a piano being tuned at his high school and is mesmerized by the sounds. Without any musical training, he makes the very brave decision to study piano tuning as a career. This quiet little book has so much packed into it: about striving for perfection, about perseverance, about mentors, about being completely dedicated to your craft. It's also about the importance of sound and tuning and creating the right timbre (tone quality) for a specific pianist on a specific piano. There are some very piano-technical passages (the "Wool and Steel" of the title refers to the piano hammers and strings), so I'm not sure how interesting the story might be to non-musicians; but as a music major in a distant life, I loved it.

The author has studied classical piano and the book was made into a movie in Japan. The book was not readily available at my library, so I did have to order it via inter-library loan.


3. Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books, Cathy Rentzenbrink, 2020
Type: nonfiction; memoir; books about books
3½ stars, with a 5-star book cover

This is a memoir through books. Rentzenbrink gives us a chapter of her life, how books were involved in that life, and then follows with a chapter of books she loved and that helped her in that period of her life. She starts with her first memories of reading, then a chapter on different phases in her life: middle school, high school, dealing with grief, young adulthood, jobs (bar tender, book seller, in publishing, writer) and finally, mother. The book felt very personal and yet not overly confessional; the book recommendations are wide and varied. At times it did get a bit repetitive, but overall a wonderful way to explore a life with books. This was another one that I had to order via inter-library loan.


4. The Belton Estate, Anthony Trollope, 1866
Type: fiction; re-read from 2021
4 stars

This is the story of Clara Amedroz, in her mid-twenties, who must choose between two suitors. Clara is in the position of the Bennet sisters in Pride and Prejudice: when her father dies, because of the entail, the estate will go to a distant cousin, and Clara will be left homeless and penniless.

I enjoyed this even more on re-reading, especially the portrayals of the 3 main female characters: Clara, Mrs Askerton (her neighbor) and Lady Aylmer (mother of her fiancée), who reminded me a bit of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The main male characters are good, but not as well sculpted as the women. Liz's group read helped me to see how quite remarkable some of Clara's actions are, and Trollope's interesting portrayal of the mysterious Mrs Askerton, whose background is the subject of rumor and gossip.

It's typical Trollope, and although completely predictable, I did love it. But I'm a sucker for Trollope, especially Trollope without hunting or horse-racing. There's even a decent lawyer in this one, which is rare. And only a smidgen of politics.


5. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte, 1847
Type: historical fiction; re-read
3 stars, mostly for the writing (upped this time from 2½)

I read this gothic classic for my RL Book Club. This was a re-read for me (4th time through). The action begins in 1801 Yorkshire, but does flashback to events in the 1770s-80s. It's complicated; if you don't know the story of Heathcliff and Cathy, there are all kinds of resources to sort it out for you. It would take up too much space here.

This is not a favorite of mine. Each time I've read it I've tried to figure out why people love it so much, and I come away baffled. On this reading I did appreciate Bronte's structure (a "framed" story within a story), her lush writing and the gothic atmosphere that she creates and sustains throughout the book. But the characters are overwhelmingly cruel to one another (with one or two minor exceptions) and that just leaves me cold. The story does keep you turning pages, but feels unnecessarily complicated, especially when you have to keep referring to the genealogy chart to keep the characters straight. So apologies to those who love this book; it's just not for me. I'll stick to Jane Eyre.

>38 kac522: I've had Maus on my TBR now for a year and this is another reminder that I really should get to it, sooner rather than later.
The Forest of Wool and Steel sounds intriguing and like a nice quiet read, I miss not having my old upright piano and that cover is so pretty.
I read Wuthering Heights back in 7th grade and keep feeling like I should go back for a reread after all these years, but then I also see subpar thoughts towards it and think it's maybe not worth it, especially when I still have books like Jane Eyre on my TBR.

>38 kac522: I counted Maus I & Maus II as separate books, Kathy, which of course helps the numbers!

Happy Sunday, Kathy. It looks like we dodged another snow bullet. I think we ended up with 3-4 ", at most, over the last few days. I am okay with that. I think the Complete Maus is outstanding and should be required reading, along with the March trilogy. The Forest of Wool and Steel sounds really interesting.

>39 WhiteRaven.17: Thanks for visiting! Like Mark says in >41 msf59:, it should be required reading. This year it is the "One Book, One Chicago" selection by the Chicago Public Library, and their website has additional material, including a recording of an interview with Spiegelman. It's not an easy book, and I had to put it down and take breaks. The Forest of Wool and Steel is a quiet but thoughtful book, and you can feel the love for the piano in it. I always encourage re-reading, but I'd say if you haven't read Jane Eyre yet, do that first.

>40 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul; to tell you the truth, The Complete Maus felt like one book and I'm glad I finally read it. I had been hesitant to read it, for fear that it would be too disturbing. But it was well worth it.

>41 msf59: Totally agree, Mark, on Maus and March being required reading, although probably half the country wouldn't allow it, and that's the half that needs to read them. Yeah, even though it seems like it's been snowing consistently for 2 days, it doesn't look that deep out there. I haven't been out since Thursday, so am going to attempt to clean off the car today and venture out. We need milk, if nothing else!

You had some great January reading, Kathy. Dear Reader: The Comfort and Joy of Books is on my WL; I am a fan of Wuthering Heights, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

>43 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. There are still some more for me to post, and I'm still reading a couple of books. I think these were the highlights, though, as some of the rest were a bit disappointing. But there's always next month!

Back in >16 kac522: I laid out plans for my "Read or Rid" project. Today I've spent some time with the two books and:

RID! The Cape Ann, Faith Sullivan; after about 20 pages of this book, I knew it was not for me.
READ! Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See--I was immediately engaged after the first few pages. I'll be reading this in February.

Tomorrow I hope to sum up another group of books I've read this month.

I'm finishing up The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and plan to read The Highland Widow, a short novella by Sir Walter Scott. And that should bring me to the end of the month.

Hi Kathy. This is the first time in 2023 that I've visited your thread. I'll be sure to return. Is your opening image a painting by Renoir? It very much looks like his art. The Philadelphia, PA art museum contains many Renoir paintings. I like his way of shadowing an image to make it seem to come to life.

I enjoyed your review of Wuthering Heights, and I agree with you regarding Bronte's depiction of characters that are exceedingly cruel. I have three books that have remained my favorite over many years. Jane Eyre is one of the three. I own, but haven't read books regarding the Bronte's. I know that their brother, Branwell struggled with addiction to alcohol.

January seemed to go fast. I read more books in 2022 in January than this year, I hope to get back on track in February.

>46 Whisper1: Hi Linda, thank you for stopping by. I downloaded that painting some years ago, but failed to note the painter or where it's from. It does look like a Renoir; the Impressionism rooms are my favorites at the Art Institute of Chicago, where I live. This image spoke to me because it reminded me of myself as a girl: I wore my hair in that style and it was long and red (no more!).

I first read Jane Eyre when I was about 12. I adored it. Sometime after that I read Wuthering Heights, expecting the same kind of book and I was so disappointed. I guess my early experience set the tone for me for life. I have re-read it since then, hoping to see what others love about it, but it never works for me. I was fortunate in 2017 to visit Haworth Parsonage in England, where the Brontes lived. The house and church are up on a hill above the village. The girls would write together at one table in a very small parlor in the back of the house. I think the surrounding area is much as it was in their time, although the main street is now quite a bustling little tourist center, with many small shops and cafés.

I would say my three favorite books, which I have read many, many times, are Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion. A recent favorite is North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Another recent favorite author is Anthony Trollope, although I can't say any one work of his stands out for me more than the others. They are all good in their own way.

I have too many books planned for February (nothing new there!). I have more books in my February stack than there are days in the month. Oh, well, one at a time, so we shall see...

January Reading Part 2


6. Understood Betsy, Dorothy Canfield Fisher, 1916
Type: children's fiction
3½ stars

I enjoyed this chatty tale of an orphan girl raised by over-protective aunts in Midwestern city. When one of the aunts gets ill, Elizabeth Ann must go live with poorer relatives who live on a farm in rural Vermont. She's immediately re-named Betsy and learns to be more independent, yet still loved. I enjoyed the description of rural life in 1916 and the contrast between city life and rural life (churning butter, farm chores, cooking, a one-room schoolhouse, county fairs, etc.). The last part of the book got rather too chatty and over-long, but it was still a fun read, as Betsy gets to remain living on the farm.


7. Foster, Claire Keegan, 2010
Type: fiction
4½ stars

The premise of this little novella is a bit of a twist on Understood Betsy. In 1980s Ireland, an unnamed girl from a struggling family is sent to live with better-off relatives on a temporary basis until her parents can gain some stability. We are told the story from the girl's point of view and in this new home she finds love and appreciation that her parents were unable to give. Keegan's spare prose makes every word significant and powerful. Like Keegan's Small Things Like These which I read last month, the ending is left open and the reader wondering.


8. Over By the River and Other Stories, William Maxwell, 1984
Type: fiction, short stories; Root from before 2009
3½ stars

William Maxwell grew up in the small town of Lincoln, Illinois and the stories in this collection that are set in the fictional town of Draperville felt the truest to me. The characters in these stories felt real and rounded. He lived in New York as an adult, but the NY stories just didn't feel authentic to me--perhaps the characters felt too distant and flat. So it was a mixed bag and glad that I can move the book along to another home.


9. Caddie Woodlawn, Carol Ryrie Brink, 1935
Type: children's fiction
3½ stars

Brink based the character of Caddie on her grandmother's stories of her girlhood in Civil War-era Wisconsin. This was a favorite of mine as a girl, but I remembered literally nothing about it. The story covers one year of Caddie's adventurous life as she keeps up with her brothers in all things. There are some uncomfortable references to Native Americans and there has been some objection to this portrayal. This troubled me, but at the same time I felt that Brink attempted to show that the native peoples of the area were victims of rumor, prejudice and race hatred. Some of Caddie's antics seemed implausible, but on the whole it is a good adventure story and shows a young girl being competent and taking initiative in ways that were not necessarily considered "lady-like."


10. A Pair of Silk Stockings and Other Stories, Kate Chopin, 1894 & 1897
Type: fiction, short stories; Root from 2021
4 stars

Good stories, although I had trouble with the Creole/Acadian dialect in some of the stories. My favorites were "Desiree's Baby", "The Dream of an Hour" and "A Pair of Silk Stockings". Chopin was a master of the surprise (almost shocking) ending.

January Reading Part 3


11. The Doctor's Wife, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, 1864
Type: fiction
4 stars

Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) was one of the most popular British novelists of the Victorian era. Master of the "sensationalist" novel, she produced more than 80 novels. The Doctor's Wife was Braddon's direct response to Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary (1857), a story of a woman who, influenced by romanticism in novels, spirals down a path of lust and greed to destruction. In The Doctor's Wife Braddon specifically set out to *not* write a sensationalist novel, but rather a literary and introspective novel.

This is the story of Isabel Gilbert, wife of small-town doctor George Gilbert. Isabel's life before marriage has been in a poor, struggling family in London, where she spends most of her day reading romantic novels and imagining a very different life and place. When George Gilbert proposes marriage and brings her to his small village in the fictional pastoral county of Midlandshire, Isabel hopes that her life will now have some romance in it, like Edith Dombey (from Dickens' Dombey & Son) or Jane Eyre. But she is soon disappointed as her husband is a kind but dull man, dedicated to his patients, and not the "hero" she has imagined. So she returns to her novels and spends her time in those worlds. Along the way she crosses paths with young, rich Roland Lansdell; he can discuss books and nature and life, and Isabel starts to imagine she will be lifted out of her drab existence and into the life of a heroine. But will she be disillusioned and led down a path of lust and greed, like Emma Bovary?

Braddon starts with the basic premise of Madame Bovary but takes a different approach. George Gilbert is not as oblivious to his wife as Charles Bovary; Roland Lansdell falls truly in love with Isabel; and Isabel starts to question whether her life can be like the lives of her heroines. Along the way, Braddon explores Isabel's thought process and her musings on the books she's read. Although not all ends well, there is hope and some sort of redemption at the end.

I enjoyed this book much more than Madame Bovary; we feel empathy with all of the characters and Braddon lets us inside the minds of Isabel and Roland in particular, unlike the cold distance Flaubert puts between the reader and his characters. Braddon's book seemed to drag for me about half-way through and sometimes the internal musings went on too long. Toward the end, the story picks up speed, and we can see how Isabel painfully learns to separate the lives of heroines in books from her own life.

One of the highlights is the character of Sigismund Smith (perhaps Braddon's alter-ego?), an unabashedly proud writer of sensation novels, and the discussions of novel-writing and plot-planning are some of the best passages in the book. On the whole I enjoyed this book, but it could have been a bit shorter and still accomplished its goal.


12. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain, 1876
Type: fiction; Root from 2022
4 stars

Although I've read Huck Finn a couple of times, I've never read The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It was much funnier and more adventurous than I expected. Our young hero Tom has been greatly influenced by wonderful tales of adventure: pirates, Robin Hood, avengers, and all sorts of rascals he's read about in books. And in this he is not unlike Emma in Madame Bovary or Isabel Gilbert in The Doctor's Wife (see above). In this excerpt Tom explains to Huck Finn the ways of robbers:

"You don't kill the women. You shut up the women, but you don't kill them. They're always beautiful and rich, and awfully scared. You take their watches and things, but you always take your hat off and talk polite. They ain't anybody as polite as robbers--you'll see that in any book. Well, the women get to loving you, and after they've been in the cave a week or two weeks they stop crying and after that you couldn't get them to leave. If you drove them out they'd turn right around and come back. It's so in all the books."

So it's not just sighing young women who are led astray by romanticism in literature. Perhaps if Emma Bovary and Isabel Gilbert had copies of Tom Sawyer on their nightstands, they might've avoided all those scrapes they got into. I'm very glad I finally read this American classic.


13. The Highland Widow, Sir Walter Scott, 1827
Type: fiction, novella; Root from 2022
3½ stars

I've never read any works by Sir Walter Scott, mostly I think because they look so long and imposing. I'm afraid I won't have the background to appreciate the history in the tales. When I spied this little novella at a used book store, it seemed a perfect way to dip into Scott.

The Highland Widow is one of three short novels that comprise one of Scott's last works, The Chronicles of the Canongate. It is a framed "story-within-a-story" structure that was confusing to me at first, because apparently the storyteller is introduced in the full Chronicles and not included in the edition I read. The mid-18th century tale centers around Elspat MacTavish, widow of the great hero Hamish MacTavish, who died in battle fighting the forces of the crown. Elspat is left a widow with a young son, Hamish Bean. The son grows up hearing stories of his father, but is not interested in being the roguish rebellious fighter his father was. The mother is over-bearing and eventually Hamish Bean leaves home to make his own way. When he returns some time later to tell his mother he has decided to join the military, his mother has other plans for him.

In less than 90 pages, Scott takes a simple story and turns it into a full and tragic tale that does not have the typical triumphant ending of a Scott novel. I particularly enjoyed the descriptive sections, and found the dialogue (even without any dialect) a little less accessible. My edition only had a few scattered notes, and I shaved a half-point off my rating because I could have used more notes, especially for archaic Scottish terms. I think I will continue with Sir Walter Scott, but only in a well-annotated edition, so that I better understand the background, history and language.

Some impressive January reading, Kathy. Like you, I thought Foster was just tremendous.

>50 PaulCranswick: Here's an interview with Keegan about Foster and the ending: http://www.sccenglish.ie/2014/03/claire-keegan-and-foster.html

>51 kac522: I liked that, Kathy, and her very down to earth answers. Happy or sad ending? Rightly left for us to ponder upon.

>48 kac522: >49 kac522: Nice lightning round, Kathy. I need to get to Foster. I have never read William Maxwell. I should remedy that oversight.

We are warming up today! Yah!!

>53 msf59: Hi there, Mark! You will love Foster (even if the LT link always takes it to Infinite Jest...arrrgh!) and I liked Maxwell's novel So Long, See You Tomorrow much better than these stories. It's set in rural Illinois and Chicago, and I understand it has some autobiographical elements of his own boyhood/young adulthood. I think I even recognized his description of Senn High School, where he attended. So I'd recommend that one.

I read Revenge of the Librarians in one evening--I haven't laughed so much in a while.

And yep, I'm venturing out today--stayed in yesterday--just too darn cold for me.

Wow, you've done some great nineteenth century reading. I haven't read the Scott one. I will check out Understood Betsy as well. My granddaughter might like that. My daughter loved Caddie Woodlawn; she used to play out parts with her friends at school.

>55 BLBera: Thanks for visiting, Beth. Yes, I think I'm more comfortable in the century before I was born (1840s-1940s)!

Ever wonder why books released in both the UK and US have different covers? So does Katie, and she's got some theories about it. It's a fun video, with examples of books from the past few years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJgD8O-mh2E

She talks a bit fast, but you can always slow down the speed.

Dropping by after meeting you on the 2023 Nonfiction Challenge thread for February (https://www.librarything.com/topic/348217#n8063499).

>1 kac522: I'll have some of that Earl Grey, it's my favorite hot tea! I like the Barbara Tuchman quote, and she's an author I really enjoy.

>47 kac522: I'm with you on Wuthering Heights. I read that a couple of times growing up, once for a class, and I had mixed feelings about it. I'm not sure I could have expressed what bothered me at the time, but I think your review says it pretty well.

>58 atozgrl: Welcome! I'm currently addicted to Starbucks' London Fog Tea Latte (Earl Grey, steamed milk and a couple shots of vanilla). Barnes & Noble does them, too, at their cafes (and a little cheaper, too).

This last reading of WH was for my book club. Right now there are 6 regular members of the group (2 or 3 others show up on occasion). Of the 6, two of us had read the book before. Of the 6, only 1 person really liked it, and it was new to her. A couple were so-so about it, which I thought was interesting. I usually find people either love it or hate it.

I do think the Brontes were an interesting family; their works have endured and influenced readers and writers until our own time.

>59 kac522: The Brontes were an interesting family. I saw the dramatization of their lives on PBS a few years ago. I really didn't know anything about their brother Branwell before I watched it.

I probably fell into the so-so category in my reaction to WH. I've never had a hankering to read it again, but maybe I should, to see what I think now as a seasoned adult.

I'll have to check out the Tea Latte!

>60 atozgrl: Yes, I saw that, I think it was called "To Walk Invisible." They filmed much of it in Yorkshire. Back in >47 kac522: I mentioned that I visited the Bronte Parsonage/museum in Haworth. It was in 2017, about 6 months after that TV film, and they had some of the costumes from the film on display, as well as a few of the sisters' original dresses. It was very cool.

Happy Friday, Kathy. I would like to dip back into a few classic authors. It is easy to get caught in the mainstream, with so many contemporary books filling my book life, (not necessarily a bad thing). I will try to use you for inspiration, as I move along.

>62 msf59: Yeah, I'm a pretty heavy classics reader. I feel like I have so much to catch up on that I almost feel guilty reading something from the 21st century.

>60 atozgrl: >59 kac522: The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte covers a lot about Bramwell.

>64 m.belljackson: It was interesting visiting the parsonage: Bramwell had his own large room with his own desk and of course their father had a large parlor in the front of the house to receive parishioners, write sermons, etc. But the 3 girls shared one little parlor in the back, where they did their writing, reading, studying, etc. around one small round table.

I realized I didn't post my February pile of possibilities. Better late than never.

First, I won't go into detail now, but I did finish these so far:

✔ The Great War: July 1, 1916, Joe Sacco with text by Adam Hochschild (2013)
✔ Revenge of the Librarians, Tom Gauld (2022)
✔ What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw, Agatha Christie (1957) (better known as The 4.50 from Paddington)
✔ Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions), Louisa May Alcott (5 stories published 1863-74; this edition 1996)

I'm currently reading:
✔ Roughing It in the Bush, Susannah Moodie (1852), classic Canadian memoir for the Victorian Tavern
✔ Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature, Margaret Atwood (1995); lectures from 1991 on Canadian literature which includes comment on Susannah Moodie
✔ The Means of Escape, Penelope Fitzgerald (2000); short stories for the BAC
✔ Framley Parsonage, Anthony Trollope (1861); re-read on audiobook

Possibilities for the rest of the month (from most likely to read to least likely to read):

Additional books about Susanna Moodie and Roughing It in the Bush:
✔ Susanna Moodie: Roughing It In the Bush, graphic book by Willow Dawson, based on a screenplay by Carol Shields and Patrick Crowe
✔ The Journals of Susanna Moodie, Margaret Atwood (1970); poems by Atwood reflecting on Moodie's memoirs

✔ For my RL Book club: West with the Night, Beryl Markham (a re-read)

DNF: Carryover from my Jan Rid or Read project To Read: Snowflower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See

For other challenges on LT and elsewhere:

✔ The Lady of Launay, Trollope, for Feb BAC
--Nocturnes: Five Stories, Ishiguro, for Feb BAC
✔ Two-Part Invention, Madeleine L'Engle, for Feb RandomKit
✔ The Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West (re-read) for LT Virago 2023 project
--Lolly Willowes, Sylvia Townsend Warner; Feb Monthly Author Read

My February Read or Rid books (read first 50 pages; if I like it, read in March; if not, to the donation box):
--Mr Mac and Me, Esther Freud
--The Unknown Ajax, Georgette Heyer

and lastly maybe a couple of books for Black History month:
✔ Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
--Maud Martha, Gwendolyn Brooks (on order from the library--I will definitely read this, whenever it shows up from the library)

Yesterday was Lincoln's Birthday, so last night I decided to read a few selections from a book I own:


In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts with Commentary, ed. by Harold Holzer

Here are a couple excerpts:

From his Message to Congress, July 4, 1861, given after the attack on Fort Sumter:

Our popular government has often been called an experiment. Two points in it, our people have already settled--the successful establishing, and the successful administering of it. One still remains--the successful maintenance of it, against a formidable attempt to overthrow it. It is now for them to demonstrate to the world that those who can fairly carry an election, can also suppress a rebellion--that those who can not carry an election, cannot destroy the government,--that ballots are the rightful, and peaceful, successor of bullets; and that when ballots have fairly, and constitutionally, decided, there can be no successful appeal, back to bullets.

Eerily applicable to our current times.

And this last paragraph from Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, March 1865, just as the Civil War was winding down:

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and a lasting peace, among ourselves and with all nations.

Books are gifts in so many ways:

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/28/1159486924/flood-houston-books-librarian-kindess

Lots of reading (mostly shorter works) in February:

February Reading Part 1


14. The Great War: July 1, 1916: The First Day of the Battle of the Somme, Joe Sacco, illustrator; Adam Hochschild, text, 2013
Type: nonfiction, text and graphic illustration, World War I
5 stars
This pull-out panorama (almost 24 feet long!) done in pen and ink was a marvel. It illustrates the first day of the Battle of the Somme. There is a descriptive text by Hochschild of the events of that day and a key to the pull-out sketch. Each panel is a portrait as the day goes along, from morning rituals to evening dug-outs. The panels emphasize what a strange war this was: from airplanes, automatic machine guns and mustard gas to horses. It seems just a symbol of this war--vastly powerful modern weapons while hanging on to ideas of the traditional "gentleman's" war.


15. Revenge of the Librarians, Tom Gauld, 2015
Type: humor
5 stars
Some great cartoons here about librarians and books as only Tom Gauld can do.


16. What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw, Agatha Christie, 1957; also known as The 4.50 from Paddington
Type: mystery
4½ stars
More commonly known as The 4.50 from Paddington, this Miss Marple mystery has our sleuth mostly present at the beginning and ending of the book. She coordinates her detective work with a woman employed as a domestic servant in the house where a body has been found. What was interesting to me was the beginning scene: a woman on a train observes a train travelling next to hers in the same direction, and she sees a man strangling a woman on that other train. It's an interesting situation which I've experienced in Chicago, where there are some sections of track where two elevated trains travel in the same direction, and you can observe over several minutes the people in the parallel car. Usually one train eventually pulls ahead of the other. I thought it was interesting premise on Christie's part, and something that's probably more common in urban areas (like London, New York or Chicago) where there are multiple sets of tracks.


17. Short Stories (Dover Thrift Editions), Louisa May Alcott, 5 stories from 1863-1874; this Dover edition published 1996
Type: fiction; short stories
3½ stars
Five stories ranging from 1863 to 1874; the first 3 stories are based on Alcott's experience in a Washington, D.C. hospital during the Civil War and the last two are based on her experiences as a single woman in the 19th century. Sometimes they were a bit melodramatic, but still interesting. My favorite was "How I Went Out to Service", followed by "The Contraband."

February Reading Part 2
Four related books:



18. Roughing It In the Bush, Susanna Moodie, 1852
Type: nonfiction, memoir
3½ stars

It took me an entire month to make my way through Roughing It In the Bush, which I read for the Club Read “Victorian Tavern” thread. I'm not sorry I read it, but it certainly was a project.

Susanna Strickland Moodie was raised in comfortable upper middle-class surroundings in Suffolk, England. Her husband John's military half-pay income was not enough to support his family in the way they had been accustomed, so her husband decided that better opportunities existed in Canada. Susanna's memoir begins with the family's trip across the Atlantic to Canada in 1832 and here they join her brother Sam and sister Catherine Parr Traill (also a writer) in the "bush": the backwoods of Ontario. She describes the people, the landscapes and the trials of every day life. The book continues through 1840, when John is appointed to a civilian post in Belleville, Ontario, a small-sized town. Moodie continued her story in the town in her second book Life in the Clearings, which I did not read.

Moodie was completely unprepared for Canada and life in the bush. From the moment she sets onboard ship, she shows contempt for most persons who she considers beneath her, and on ship, those feelings are directed toward the Irish steerage passengers. When she gets to the bush, she is critical of just about every neighbor or person she meets. While her servants do all of the work, she seems to be idle and frustrated. Her servants eventually bolt and Moodie is left to figure out how to cook, clean and that dreadful chore, milking cows.

As their funds dwindle, the crops fail, and food becomes scarce, those neighbors, friends and servants start to be described in a more positive light, as she learns to appreciate their help and support. Moodie has a love/hate relationship with Canada: on the one hand, she is constantly in awe of the physical beauty but on the other she is terrified of the frigid temperatures, snow storms and "whirlwinds" (probably tornadoes) that ravage the land. Moodie's descriptions of Native peoples in the area are difficult to read. Yet, by the end, she recognizes that at many times her family would have starved if kindly Native neighbors had not brought them food and other provisions.

Finally, on the last page of the memoir, Susanna Moodie reveals the reasons for penning this memoir:

I have given you a faithful picture of life in the backwoods of Canada, and I leave you to draw from it your own conclusions. To the poor, industrious working man it presents many advantages; to the poor gentleman, none! The former works hard, puts up with coarse, scanty fare, and submits, with a good grace, to hardships that would kill a domesticated animal at home...The gentleman can neither work so hard, live so coarsely, nor endure so many privations as his poorer but more fortunate neighbor.....If these sketches should prove the means of deterring one family from sinking their property, and shipwrecking all their hopes, by going to reside in the backwoods of Canada, I shall consider myself amply repaid for revealing the secrets of the prison-house, and feel that I have not toiled and suffered in the wilderness in vain.

In short, Gentleman and Gentlewoman, stay home!

This reading led me to the following 3 books for additional context:

19. The Journals of Susanna Moodie, Margaret Atwood, illustrated by Charles Pachter, 1997
Type: poetry
A collection of poems that Margaret Atwood originally wrote in 1970 after reading and studying Moodie's works. My edition was an illustrated edition of the poems, with artwork by Margaret's long-time friend and Canadian artist, Charles Pachter. The graphic layout of the poems over the artwork brings the poems to life.

In her Afterword to the original publication of the poems, Atwood described Moodie’s memoir and the Canadian character:

Mrs Moodie is divided down the middle: she praises the Canadian landscape, but accuses it of destroying her; she dislikes the people already in Canada but finds in people her only refuge from the land itself; she preaches progress and the march of civilization while brooding elegiacally upon the destruction of the wilderness....She claims to be an ardent Canadian patriot while all the time she is standing back from the country and criticizing it as though she were a detached observer, a stranger.
Perhaps that is the way we still live. We are all immigrants to this place even if we were born here: the parts unknown to us we move in fear, exiles and invaders. This country is something that must be chosen--it is so easy to leave--and if we do choose it we are still choosing a violent duality.

20. Susanna Moodie: Roughing It In the Bush: A Graphic Novel; Willow Dawson, text; Selena Goulding, illustrator; based on a screenplay by Carol Shields and Patrick Crowe, 2016
Type: graphic novel
4 stars

This is a graphic book with a complicated history. The graphic text was written by Willow Dawson and the illustrations were drawn by Selena Goulding. The text is based on a proposed screenplay by Carol Shields & Patrick Crowe. Sadly, Shields died before the film project was completed, but Dawson & Goulding were given permission to turn the screenplay into this graphic format.

Like many screenplays, this story uses Susanna Moodie's two memoirs of her life in the backwoods, and takes liberties to condense and re-arrange events. Changes were made to the order, characters are combined and the real events are sometimes changed for dramatic effect. It does work in its own way, but did have me going back to the original text of Roughing It In the Bush to confirm what I'd actually read.

The illustrations are in full color and the book makes a good introduction to the Moodie family's story.

21. Strange Things: The Malevolent North in Canadian Literature, Margaret Atwood, 1995
Type: nonfiction, based on 4 lectures
4 stars

This is a series of four lectures Margaret Atwood originally gave in 1991 at Oxford and collected in book form in 1995. These four lectures focus on four different themes:
1) The doomed Sir John Franklin expedition of 1845 to find the Northwest Passage, the myth of the North surrounding it, and how it has influenced Canadian culture and literature
2) White men, like Grey Owl, who presented themselves as Native people and its influence on Canadian culture
3) The mythic Wendigo Algonquin monster in non-Native Canadian works of literature
4) General overview of women writers in Canada, and how they have incorporated the 3 previous ideas/myths of the North in their works.

As always, Atwood is funny, articulate and has an analytical mind that gets right to the heart of things. The first lecture was my favorite because she ends it with the lyrics of "Northwest Passage" by the great Canadian folk singer Stan Rogers. I think I was least engaged with the last lecture, particularly when she went into depth on specific works.

Sweet Thursday, Kathy. Looks like you have some interesting reading going on over here. I will take a pass of the Alcott stories. Hooray for Gauld! He is a treasure. Susanna Moodie: Roughing It In the Bush: A Graphic Novel sounds really good. I am requesting it. Sadly- it is not available in my area. Boo!

Hoping this snowstorm peters out before it gets here. I am done with winter. 🙏

>71 msf59: Oh, that's too bad, Mark. I got it from Chicago Public Library, if your library does ILL.

I'm only half-way done with my wrap-ups. I should really do them when I read them; this end of the month thing is tedious sometimes. I didn't expect to read as many as I did.

February Reading Part 3

Still more reading:


22. West with the Night, Beryl Markham, 1942
Type: nonfiction, memoir
3 stars

Beryl Markham (1902-1986) was born in England but moved to Kenya as a child. The memoir recounts many events with animals, the land and the native people in a lyrical, almost mythic quality. As she moves into adulthood, she becomes a horse-trainer for racehorses. The last quarter of the memoir details her flying experiences and her amazing flight across the Atlantic in 1936, the first woman to do so.

This was a re-read for me. I loved it when I read it in 1992. The writing is absolutely stunning and lyrical. On this reading, I also skimmed through a biography of Markham that questions whether Markham was indeed the author; some details seem to point to her third husband, Raoul Schumacher (a ghost-writer by profession), as the actual author. Certainly many personal facts of her life (her step-mother, step-brother, her marriages, her affairs, etc.) are not included in this memoir. Additionally, the memoir seems to be an eclectic gathering of various events in her life, rather than a straight-forward retelling of her life. Whether written by Markham or not, it is a captivating read.


23. The Means of Escape, Penelope Fitzgerald, 2001
Type: short stories
3½ stars

This is a collection of 10 stories by Fitzgerald ranging from 1975-2001. The best stories were “The Means of Escape” and the absolutely brilliant story “The Axe”. Some others were OK; some left me clueless. I will say that she immediately gets the reader into the place of the story, although sometimes the time/era is unclear. Tasmania, Turkey, Mexico, New Zealand. Scotland and England were some of the places featured in these stories.


24. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Frederick Douglass, 1845
Type: memoir
5 stars

This was a re-read for me and seemed appropriate for Black History month in the U.S. We are fortunate to have such a detailed slave history that has survived to today. A couple of take-aways on this reading: Douglass recognizes at a young age that literacy is his path to freedom and his disdain for the hypocrisy of the outwardly religious who use the Bible to justify slavery. Should be required reading for every American.


25. Playing in the Dark: Whiteness and the Literary Imagination, Toni Morrison, 1992
Type: nonfiction, based on lectures
4 stars

These three essays by Toni Morrison are nothing less than challenging. Morrison explores American literature and how "whiteness" becomes defined as the antithesis of "blackness." An excerpt:

Black slavery enriched the country's creative possibilities. For in that construction of blackness and enslavement could be found not only the not-free but also, with the dramatic polarity created by skin color, the projection of the not-me....What rose up out of collective needs to allay internal fears and to rationalize external exploitation was an American Africanism---a fabricated brew of darkness, otherness, alarm, and desire that is uniquely American.

If you had to read that excerpt over several times, you are not alone. I spent a lot of time re-reading sentences to fully absorb their meanings. Throughout the essays, she gives particular examples from the writings of white American authors, including Melville, Cather, Faulkner, Twain and especially Hemingway, and how they use “Africanism” to define and frame the white characters. A short book (90 pages) that's hard work and not for everyone, but an important one on the American literary legacy.


26. The Return of the Soldier, Rebecca West, 1918
Type: fiction
5 stars

A short (about 90 pages) but intense novella about a soldier's amnesia in World War I. The story takes place over several months in 1916. West explores class, love and war in a prose in which each sentence is packed with emotional power.

This was a re-read for me and it had just as much impact on the second reading as on the first. I was struck on this reading by how precisely West describes the contrasts of how people look, what clothes they wear, what furniture surrounds them, what the exteriors of the buildings and grounds look like. All of these descriptions divide the characters by class and wealth. I was also struck by how few characters there are and the limited scope of the book, while still having a broader vision. The novella was written and published before the outcome of the war was known, but its vision of a radically changed post-war Britain is clear.

We're almost done....

February Reading Part 4
And wrapping it up:



Three books by Trollope: one long and 2 short:
27. Framley Parsonage, Anthony Trollope, 1861; audiobook read by Simon Vance
Type: fiction
5 stars

The fourth book in Trollope’s Barsetshire series, it tells the story of cleric Mark Robarts, who in trying to advance his position among the local men with money and power, makes a decision he will forever regret. There is a parallel story concerning Mark’s sister Lucy and Mark’s good friend young Lord Lufton. But Lady Lufton, the young Lord’s mother, steals the show in this novel. This was a re-read for me on audiobook, and has a bit of a more somber tone than the previous books in the series.

28. The Lady of Launay, Anthony Trollope, 1878
Type: novella
4 stars

Re-visiting the theme of mothers and their sons in love, Mrs Miles urges her son to give up the orphaned and penniless Bessie for a more suitable match. Once again young people must convince their elders that love trumps rank and wealth.

29. Two Heroines of Plumplington, Anthony Trollope, 1882
Type: novella
4 stars

A long short-story (or a short novella!) that is set in Barchester about 30 years after the Barsetshire Chronicles and was published in the last year of Trollope’s life. Echoing the themes of The Lady of Launay, as Christmas approaches two young women challenge their fathers’ ideas of marriage, class and rank. Trollope pokes fun at the clueless fathers and, of course, the young people (and love) will triumph.


30. Two-Part Invention: The Story of a Marriage, Madeleine L’Engle, 1988
Type: memoir
4 stars

The last book of L'Engle's Crosswicks Journals tells the story of her courtship and 40-year marriage to Hugh Franklin. Interspersed are chapters about her husband's cancer diagnosis, lengthy illness and coming to terms with his death. She went into much detail about his illness, but always tempered by examining her response, her fears, her love & gratitude to her husband and her family. This makes a difficult subject palatable, as you learn about the strength of L'Engle's marriage, family and faith that she draws on to weather the challenges of illness. I hope I have even a tiny drop of that resilience when I need it.


31. Browse: The World in Bookshops, Henry Hitchings, editor, 2016
Type: essays
4 stars

I enjoyed this collection of essays by authors about their love of books and bookshops. I particularly liked that the authors are from around the world: Scotland, China, Egypt, Kenya, Italy, India, Ukraine, Turkey. Where there are booklovers, there are bookshops that are loved. Most of the essays, like Ali Smith's, begin with a love of bookshops in childhood. Michael Dirda's account of his 15,000-20,000 books on shelves, in boxes and occupying storage units made my overflowing bookshelves seem like hardly any books at all.

I had previously read a work of only one of these authors (Yiyun Li), but I found almost all of these pieces interesting and engaging.



32. Semicolon: The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark, Cecelia Watson, 1918
Type: fiction
2½ stars

Starts OK, with a history of the semicolon. Fun facts include that Kurt Vonnegut detested semicolons and Herman Melville populated Moby Dick with an estimated 4,000 semicolons. I also enjoyed the selections of texts where the semicolon was used well to make a point or with a particular effect. But in between and especially toward the end, the book rambled and wandered with personal asides that weren't that interesting to me. The * notes on the page annoyed me--they were too long (often spilled over into two pages--if was that important, incorporate it in the text!).

On the agenda for March:

✔ Completed: The School at Thrush Green, Miss Read (1987); only 3 Miss Reads left :( very sad face.
✔ Completed: Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, Kazuo Ishiguro

Currently reading:
✔ The Small House at Allington, Trollope, on audiobook
✔ The Lighthouse Stevensons, Bella Bathurst, for March RandomKIT (water)
✔ A Son at the Front, Edith Wharton

The Stack of Possibilities:
✔ Maud Martha, Gwendolyn Brooks--intended for Black History month, but just came in from the library
✔ Washington Square, Henry James OR re-read ✔ And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie, for March ClassicsKIT (book & a movie)
✔ All Passion Spent, Vita Sackville-West, March BAC
--Mr Mac and Me, Freud and Unknown Ajax, Heyer--My Feb Read/Rid choices: I've decided to read both
DNF Irish Girls About Town, short stories by various Irish women authors and The Country Ahead of Us, the Country Behind, D. Guterson, short stories; for my TBR short works challenge
✔ Brooklyn, Toibin (a re-read) for my RL Book Club
--Mandoa, Mandoa, Winifred Holtby and Angel, Elizabeth Taylor, for March Virago 50th Anniversary challenge
DNF The Dollmaker, H. Arnow and Electricity, V. Glendinning--Read 50 pages for Read/Rid project

For the Victorian Tavern 19th century 1st Q. American & Canadian writers--one or more of these--from most likely to least likely:
✔ The House of the Seven Gables, Hawthorne
--At Fault, Kate Chopin
--How the Other Half Lives, Jacob Riis
--Under the Lilacs or Jo's Boys, Louisa May Alcott
--Ruth Hall, Fanny Fern
--Looking Backward, Edward Bellamy

The Susanna Moodie books sound good, Kathy. I will look for Strange Things; I love Atwood.

>76 BLBera: Thanks for stopping by. Susanna Moodie's life is interesting and I have Sisters in the Wilderness by Canadian author Charlotte Gray on my WishList. I think reading about her life (and her sister's) might be more interesting than her own writing.

Atwood is great, of course, and Strange Things is especially interesting because it's about writing and Canada. She has a new collection of short essays that came out last year, and I keep eyeing it in the bookstore, but haven't succumbed yet. ;)

One of these days I'll write up my March books, but in the meantime here are some possible books for April:

Currently reading:
✔The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane
•The Last Chronicle of Barset, Anthony Trollope, on audiobook
•The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green, essays

Possibilities:
•A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare, for my RL book club
Currently Reading: Phoebe Junior, Margaret Oliphant, for LT Group Read
•Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life, Lucy Worsley, for April BAC
•Tearing the Silence: On Being German in America, Ursula Hegi, for April AAC
•In the Beginning, Chaim Potok, for April Monthly Author Read (Potok)
•The Patriotic Murders, Agatha Christie, for April ClassicsCAT
•Friends at Thrush Green, Miss Read

My shorter works project:
•Love and Youth: Essential Stories, Ivan Turgenev
•The Norman MacLean Reader, Norman MacLean

My Read or Rid Project: (read 50 pages to determine if I should read it or donate it)
•The Whistling Season, Ivan Doig
•The Dressmaker, Beryl Bainbridge

Books that I've decided to READ from prior month's Read or Rid:
•Mr Mac and Me, Esther Freud
•The Unknown Ajax, Georgette Heyer

Library books picked up on a whim:
Currently Reading: Postcards: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Social Network, Lydia Pyne
•Middlemarch and the Imperfect Life, Pamela Erens
Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi --had to return to the library
Learning to Talk, Hilary Mantel, stories --had to return to the library
✔The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, Margareta Magnusson

Oh, that book called Postcards: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Social Network looks interesting to me. I am a member of postcrossing.com and have been for about 10 years. It truly is a means of personal connection and outreach to people across the globe and, for me and others anyhow, shrinks the world and promotes positivity and good will. I will see if our library has it and I am interested in hearing how you liked it after you read it.

I also just finished the Margareta Magnusson one, too, as well as her newer one, about aging.

>79 jessibud2: Shelley, I picked up the postcard book because somewhere around here I have a small stack of postcards from my great-grandparents. Their family owned a pub in Bristol, England, and their patrons who went on holiday would send postcards back to the pub. These are from the 1910s-1930s, I think--there's even one of the Lusitania, before it was sunk! I was hoping the book might give me an idea about what to do with them, or even an appropriate place to donate them. I'll be sure to let you know what I think of it once I've read it.

I really love The Anthropocene Reviewed, Kathy. I hope it's a good reading experience for you!

>81 MickyFine: Thanks for stopping by. I'm enjoying it a lot! There are some great laugh-out loud lines, but there are some wonderful insights, too. I'm even trying to decide if I should just chuck the whole "stars" rating thing for books--Green has made me think twice about why I feel I need to do it.

March Reading, Part I:

I'm not sure what gives, but I've been reading a lot this year. Many of the books are short, but most have been pretty good. So let's get started with some of my March books:


33. The School at Thrush Green, Miss Read (1987)
Type: fiction

Another comforting read in the world of Thrush Green. This one is more about the teachers than about the students, which was a little disappointing, but still enjoyable.


34. Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall, Kazuo Ishiguro (2009)
Type: fiction, short stories

Five short stories, all told from a first-person narrator who is a musician. In the first 3 stories, the musician-narrator finds himself helping to repair relationships through music. The fourth story, which is the funniest and uses a character from the first story, is rather a wild tale involving plastic surgery and believing in yourself. The last story, about two cellists, starts in first person and drifts back and forth into third person. This story was the least memorable and didn't work as well for me. These are supposed to be about music and nightfall, but I don't recall much about the night in the last story. A good collection, but not great.


35. A Son at the Front, Edith Wharton (1923)
Type: fiction

The premise is complicated. The book starts on July 30, 1914 with the main character, John Campton, a struggling American portrait painter nearing 60 years old, who has been living in Paris for the last 30 or so years. John is divorced from his American wife Julia, who is also living in Paris and re-married to a successful American businessman. John & ex-wife Julia have one child from their marriage, George, who was born in France, but has gone to school in England and has recently graduated from Harvard (all paid for by the wealthy step-father). George has been groomed to join his step-father's business in New York and arrives in Paris for holiday before leaving for his new job. But when France declares war a few weeks later, dual citizen George is called up for the French military, since he is on French soil. John Campton spends the last few days trying to get as much time with his son George as he can, but is feels thwarted by his ex-wife and George's step-father.

Not much happens in this book until the last few chapters; it is a character study of the parents (and sons) left at home. Even as a character study, however, I still felt a certain distance from the characters (or perhaps I didn't fully sympathize with them). Beyond scenes in hospitals with the wounded, Wharton does not show any "scenes from the front." Some have labeled this an anti-war novel, but I don't see it that way exactly. Certainly there is much talk of "when the Americans will join" and indeed, the novel ends in April 1917 after the U.S. entered the war. There is an ambivalence here: Wharton describes the devastation to people's lives but she is still devoted to "The Idea of France...if France went, Western civilization went with her" (Ch. XXXII).

I feel as conflicted about the book as the picture that Wharton paints. Speaking of pictures, apparently the idea of the book came from a sketch that Pierre-Auguste Renoir did of his son in uniform before leaving for the front. That sketch is opposite the title page of my edition.


36. Maud Martha, Gwendolyn Brooks (1953)
Type: fiction

What she liked was candy buttons, and books, and painted music (deep blue, or delicate silver) and the west sky, so altering, viewed from the steps of the back porch; and dandelions.

She would have liked a lotus, or China asters or the Japanese Iris, or meadow lilies--yes she would have liked meadow lilies, because the very word meadow made her breathe more deeply, and either fling her arms or want to fling her arms, depending on who was by, rapturously up to whatever was watching in the sky. But dandelions were what she chiefly saw. Yellow jewels for everyday, studding the patched green dress of her back yard. She liked their demure prettiness second to their everydayness; for in that latter quality she thought she saw a picture of herself, and it was comforting to find that what was common could also be a flower.

So begins Maud Martha (1953), the only novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Gwendolyn Brooks (1917-2000). It is the story of a young girl's growing into womanhood. Brooks tells us after the title page: "Maud Martha was born in 1917. She is still alive." The book is structured into 34 short vignettes, mostly chronological, of Maud Martha's life, from girlhood to womanhood, on Chicago's South Side. These were lovely, touching, thoughtful and full of poetic phrases like the opening. Childhood games, skin color envy, awkward first dates, an ambivalent husband, seedy first apartments, childbirth, crazy neighbors and the inevitable encounters with racist white people are only some of the many and varied moments in Maud Martha's life.

A real gem. I borrowed this from the library, but I need to find a copy to own and re-read.


37. And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (1939); re-read from 2015
Type: mystery

This was the first Agatha Christie I read years ago, and after reading about half of her novels and stories over the last 8 years, I still think it is her best after this re-read. A group of ten people are invited to an island house, and we soon learn they were asked there for a particular reason. Chilling until the very end.

March Reading, Part II:


38. Brooklyn, Colm Toibin (2009); re-read from 2010
Type: fiction

This was a re-read for me. The book centers around, Eilis, a young woman who immigrates to Brooklyn from Ireland for a better life, encouraged by her sister and mother. Toibin's simple but effective prose captures the mixed emotions of the immigrant, not belonging to either the new world or old world. Also the silences between people--what we want to say, but never express. On this reading I felt frustrated with the our main character's inability to make her own decisions--to let things go along until they reached a breaking point. And some of the relationships consisted of cruel banter that left me cold. I also watched the 2015 film and appreciated that Eilis was given a bit more agency and determination. I liked the film better than the book, I think.


39. The Lighthouse Stevensons, Bella Bathurst (1999)
Type: nonfiction, family biography/history

A history of 4 generations and 150 years of the Stevenson family (ancestors of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson) who built and maintained nearly 100 lighthouses along the coasts of Scotland. On the plus side the book was well-written and easy to read, with full-fledged characters. On the minus side the book contained not a single footnote, no credits of the numerous quotes throughout the book, no attributions for the illustrations and photos, and there were typographical errors on nearly every page. As a story it was fascinating. As a scholarly resource on lighthouses and the Stevenson family, it's mostly useless, except for a bibliography.

Three books by Vita-Sackville West:

~~~~
40. All Passion Spent (1931)
Type: fiction

Lady Slane is widowed at age 88. Against the advice of her elderly children, she leaves her fashionable city home and moves into a small row house to live alone with her maid. She reflects on the life she has lived for her husband, which meant she could not pursue her dream of being a painter. For its time this novel must have been extraordinary. I found it a compelling read, even these 90 years later.

41. Seducers in Ecuador & The Heir (1924)
Type: short stories

I read about 10 pages of the first story ("Seducers in Ecuador") and knew it wasn't for me.

"The Heir", however, pulled me in right away. Mr Chase, a mild-mannered bachelor insurance man, inherits a large country estate from an aunt he has never met. Unused to large houses, servants, tenants, gardens and animals, at first he is overwhelmed by the place, which is almost completely mortgaged and is to be sold, with Mr Chase to receive a small income from the sale. But gradually he comes to know the place, its people and his own family's heritage that it represents. A lovely story that I enjoyed, especially Sackville-West's descriptions of the house and gardens.

42. English Country Houses (1941)
Type: nonfiction; English house history

Houses play an important part in both of the previous books and in Sackville-West's life, so English Country Houses was a fitting little non-fiction work (85 pages with lovely illustrations) to complement the fictional works. This was part of a larger "Writers' Britain" series from the 1940s, in which noted authors wrote about various aspects of Britain. The book is roughly organized by eras and architectural styles. Although most of the places were unfamiliar to me, I was able to follow and appreciate how much she packed into this little book.

March Reading, Part III:


43. The Small House at Allington, Anthony Trollope (1864); audiobook read by Simon Vance; re-read
Type: fiction; book 5 of the Chronicles of Barsethire

Continuing my re-read of the Barsetshire books, I wasn't looking forward to this one, as it was my least favorite when I first read the series. To my surprise, I liked it better this time round. I still dislike the main "heroine", Lily Dale, but I found there were enough other interesting characters to make it an enjoyable read, especially the older characters, the squire and the Earl. And there were enough side plots (Johnny Eames and the bull!) to keep the entire book interesting.


44. The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1851)
Type: fiction

A classic tale of generations of two feuding New England families over contested property, with many gothic elements: a family history that includes witchcraft, an old decrepit house haunted by a curse, a heroine in peril and mysterious deaths. Hawthorne explores themes of class, wealth & greed, family legacy and progress v. tradition. Although it did drag at times, the second half of the book moved more quickly. I'm glad I finally read this classic, even though I can't say it will be a favorite.


45. Crucial Instances, Edith Wharton (1901)
Type: short stories

In my quest to read all of Edith Wharton's works, I read this early collection of 7 short stories (1901). Most of the stories feature art and/or artists as a theme, and in general were a pleasure to read. My favorite was "Copy: A Dialogue" which is written like a witty short scene in a play between two famous writers who are ex-lovers, and the man is trying to retrieve his old love letters for his memoir. My least favorite was "The Confessional", which was a historical tale set in revolutionary Milan, and in some ways reminded me of A Son at the Front, which I read earlier this month.


46. Washington Square, Henry James (1880)
Type: short stories

I've had Washington Square by Henry James (1880) on my TBR for years, afraid to tackle his writing which tends to give me a headache. But to my delight, this was a psychologically penetrating, yet still accessible little novel. Set in 1840s New York, the story centers around Catherine, a young, simple and shy New York heiress, who is courted by a selfish fortune-hunter, despised by her father, and maneuvered by her meddlesome aunt. The book is relatively short (under 200 pages) and has clear, concise prose (unusual for James!). Slowly but deliberately we watch Catherine's character change over the course of the novel, as she is selfishly used by those around her. James grew up near Washington Square, so the descriptions of the place and the people felt very true.

I then watched The Heiress (1949), starring Olivia de Haviland, Montgomery Clift and Ralph Richardson, directed by William Wyler, with music by Aaron Copland and outstanding costumes by Edith Head. The Heiress was a play based on Washington Square and then adapted to the screen. Although there are some changes, the movie retains the basic plot and character development of the book. All the performances were excellent, especially de Haviland. The movie is worth the viewing just for the costuming and interior designs of 1840s New York; Edith Head won her first Academy Award for costume design for this film.

I'd say overall I had a very good reading month, and my three favorite titles Maud Martha, All Passion Spent and Washington Square, were wonderful surprises, as I was not expecting to enjoy any of them.

You have had some good reading so far this year. I have Nocturnes on the list for some time this year.

>86 dudes22: I thought the stories were good, but not outstanding.

Hi Kathy. LT is being weird. I could not find your thread anywhere, not in the list of my starred threads, not even in the *Groups*. I had to go to the Threadbook. Yes, I have it starred, and no, I had not accidentally hit *ignore*. I will never understand technology and why things *happen* the way they do!

I see it's been some time since you last posted. I hope all is ok with you.

>88 jessibud2: Everything is good, Shelley, thanks for being Sherlock and finding my thread again!

I've been reading (you can check the list in >3 kac522:). For whatever reason, I just didn't connect with the Postcard book, although there are lovely illustrations. She does talk a lot in the beginning about Curt Teich & Co., which was a huge postcard producer in Chicago. I was fortunate to be able to see an exhibit of some of their best cards about 10 years ago in a small local museum, before the Newberry Library acquired the collection.

I really enjoyed John Green's The Anthropocene Reviewed. And right now I'm reading Lucy Worsley's biography of Queen Victoria, which is chatty and informative and very readable. I'll be all set for the Coronation ;)

So far this year I've read 59 books (>3 kac522:), which is an all-time high for me. There are years before I retired when I was lucky to read 20 books in the entire year.

At any rate, I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the books I want to read and challenges I want to participate in. It's sort of paralyzed me, in a way. I haven't even started 2 books that I wanted to read for last month's challenges. So this month I just have possibilities, and hope that I can cut myself some slack if needed, and just read the ones that I want to read.

So here are May's possibilities

Currently reading:
• Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens; a re-read on audiobook
• The Norman Maclean Reader, Norman Maclean
• Shakespeare: The World as Stage, Bill Bryson--May Nonfiction
• Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy--a re-read, which I'll do on audio. Apparently J. L. Carr was inspired by this book when writing A Month in the Country, so it seems like a good idea if I can fit it in.

To wrap up April challenges:
DONE My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok--April Monthly author
DONE Chaim Potok, Edward Abramson
• The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan--April Nonfiction

Everything else:
DONE The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rugen, Elizabeth von Arnim--May monthly author
DONE The Betsy-Tacy Treasury, Maud Hart Lovelace--May ClassicsCAT
• American Histories, John Edgar Wideman--May AAC
• To Serve Them All My Days, R. F. Delderfield--May BAC
• One Summer, Bill Bryson--Reading Thru Time Q2 (1919-1939)
• A Month in the Country, J. L. Carr--a re-read, for my RL Book Club (I'm leading the discussion)
• Celia and Chatterton Square, E. H. Young--May Virago challenge
• Under the Lilacs, Louisa May Alcott--May ClassicsCAT

and in-between these, I'm going to read as many of the Betsy-Tacy books as I can for this month's ClassicsCAT theme: children's classics. This is a classic series I never read as a kid, and wasn't on my radar at all until I started watching booktube. So I'm catching up with the stuff I missed in childhood ;)

The good thing is that all of these, except the Betsy-Tacy books, are off my shelves. I have two other library books (one I've had for weeks) that I may or may not add to this list, but have left them off for now.

I will eventually post mini-reviews of my April books, but I've been a bit low on energy the past few days.

Hi, Kathy. It looks like I have not been by in awhile. I love combing through your reads. You always remind me that I need to read more of the classics, which I seem to neglect but I am rarely disappointed in, when I do read one.
It looks like we get back to some fine Spring weather, starting Thursday, thru next week. I can't wait.

I have not been able to watch the Cubs much but I still follow them religiously. A bit uneven right now but I do enjoy watching this team.

>91 msf59: Thanks for stopping by, Mark. I've mostly listened to the games on radio when I can (and remember to tune in!)
Yes, I'm looking for better weather and it should be great by the weekend. Today wasn't so bad, but yesterday was dismal.

I haven't posted my April reviews, but I think you would like John Green's The Anthropocene Reviewed, which are essays on all kinds of topics.

>91 msf59: >92 kac522: I've been able to watch a fair number of Cubs games this year. The past weekend was frustrating, but overall I really enjoy this team. They don't give up, and the quality of play is much improved over recent years.

>93 atozgrl: I was really glad when they signed Ian Happ for a few more seasons. He's been one of my favorite players in recent years.

>94 kac522: I was also glad they signed Happ. I like him, and it means we don't have to hear all the trade talk all year. Phew!

Remember April???

It's pretty dim for me right now, but before the thoughts all disappear from my brain, here are the books I read in April:

April Reading, First Half


47. The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, Margareta Magnusson, 2018
Type: nonfiction, organization?

Meh--disappointing--too chatty, with a lot of excess talk about things other than cleaning/decluttering. One good recommendation: go through clothing first (easiest) and do photographs/letters last (hardest--may hinder or stymie your progress).


48. The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane, 1895
Type: novella

Although this is standard American high school required reading, I don't think I ever read it before. This novella follows Henry Fleming (mostly referred to as "the youth") as a young soldier during the Civil War. He's excited and petrified; he is not always "the devoted soldier", but by the end of the story he puts those failures behind him and concentrates on his successes. There is a lot of sensual imagery of war: sights, sounds, smells, etc. It was a tough one to read; I had to do it in bits. Amazing writing, too, considering that the Civil War ended before Crane was born and at that point he had never experienced battle first-hand. He had to rely on testimony from veterans for details for the story.

In the Library of America edition I read, I then found a short story by Stephen Crane a year later (1896) called "The Veteran." Henry Fleming is again the main character, this time many years later as a grandfather and celebrated humble war hero in his small town. Totally different feel to the story from the earlier novel, and I'm glad I took the time to read about Henry Fleming from a completely different vantage point.


49. The Diary of an Isle Royale School Teacher, Dorothy Peterman Simonson, 1988
Type: memoir

A daily diary kept by a young schoolteacher of her 1932-33 school year spent on Isle Royale teaching a small group of children. Isle Royale, now a National Park, is an island in Lake Superior, off the coast of the U.S.-Canada border. Simonson's diary was published in 1988 by her son Bob after her death, and he has written a short introduction and Epilogue.

Simonson, an Upper Peninsula (Michigan) native, was hired to teach the 5 children of island fisherman Holger Johnson from September 1932 through May 1933. She and her 6 year old son Bob lived in rooms attached to the schoolhouse, and ate meals up at the Johnson family's home. She was paid $65 a month, $35 of which she had to pay the Johnsons for her board. The diary entries start out enthusiastic and she loves the setting on the beautiful island, but as the winter settles in, life becomes exceedingly difficult. There are no phones, there is only one radio up at the family's house, and there is limited opportunity to meet other islanders. The weekly highlight is the arrival of the ship from the mainland with mail and supplies.

Simonson does record some of her reactions to national events that she hears over the radio: Roosevelt's victory in the 1932 election, the bank runs, the possible end of Prohibition. She also makes note of books she is reading (including Willa Cather's Shadows on the Rock and Theodore Dreiser's The Genius), craft projects, and of course the daily toil of cleaning, washing, ironing and feeding the wood stove heater in the schoolhouse.

By January, she is counting down the days left they must remain on Isle Royale; the sub-zero temps and six feet of snow outside her door don't make it any easier. A very illuminating look at a specific time and place during the interwar years.


50. The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green, 2021
Type: nonfiction: essays

I thoroughly enjoyed these essays that were a mix of funny, informative, quirky and painful. Each essay is about a different topic and he rates each topic at the end of the essay with the "star" system, which by the end you realize seems almost absurd. His evaluation of the "star" system (i'.e., 1-5 stars for books) had me thinking about how much I inadvertently depend on these ratings and maybe why I really shouldn't:

The five-star scale has only been used in critical analysis for the past few decades. While it was occasionally applied to film criticism as early as the 1950s, the five-star scale wasn't used to rate hotels until 1979, and it wasn't widely used to rate books until Amazon introduced user reviews. The five-star scale doesn't really exist for humans; it exists for data aggregation systems, which is why it did not become standard until the internet era. Making conclusions about a book's quality from a 175-word review is hard work for artificial intelligences, whereas star ratings are ideal for them.

Interestingly, the copy of the book I borrowed from the Chicago Public Library is a signed copy. Green even has an essay about it in the book: he personally signed hundreds of thousands of blank pages to be included in the printing of his books. Well worth my time to read these essays; each one had me thinking in a new way.


51. Postcards: The Rise and Fall of the World's First Social Network, Lydia Pyne, 2021
Type: nonfiction: postcards

This book would have been OK if the emphasis had not been so focused on comparing postcards to "social media" of today. It is a good, basic intro to the history, manufacture and breadth of postcards, particularly in the 20th century. It is skewed toward American postcards, the U.S. postal system and U.S. postcard manufacturers, although there is one chapter specifically dedicated to countries and nations no longer existing today, similar to postage stamp collecting. The illustrations were well-chosen and well-curated. The resources and notes at the end were excellent. But I don't think I am convinced that postcards were the "first" social media network.


52. Phoebe, Junior, Margaret Oliphant, 1876
Type: fiction

This is the last in the "Carlingford" series by Margaret Oliphant. Oliphant seems to have gotten her inspiration for this series about a small town from Anthony Trollope's Barsetshire books. Oliphant makes her focus the class and religious distinctions in a small English town, and how that can play out in a close-knit community.

In some ways this last installment is good (fine points of class/wealth/religious distinctions). But I didn't quite get on with our main character, Phoebe; I'm not sure why, but she seems too savvy and not particularly believable. I find it hard to believe her relationship with the buffoon-like Clarence Copperhead. I had more feeling for Ursula May, who is the daughter of Mr May, the clergyman who can't keep his finances in order and eventually forges a check to get out of debt. He seemed believable although quite hard on his family. The ending was somewhat abrupt and left me flat. If Oliphant knew this was to be her last installment, I would think she would have wrapped it up better.

I read this as an LT group read with Liz (lyzard) and her insights were particularly valuable--I'm not sure I would have finished the book without her guidance.

April Reading, Second Half


53. Friends at Thrush Green, Miss Read, 1990
Type: fiction

Another delightful entry in the Thrush Green series. Among the usual small town topics, alcoholism and senility are addressed with sensitivity.


❤️54. The Last Chronicle of Barset, Anthony Trollope, 1867; re-read via audiobook, read by Simon Vance
Type: fiction

This last book in Trollope's Barsetshire Chronicles focuses on Mr Josiah Crawley and the alleged theft of a 20 pound note. There is no one to match Trollope in the way he shows a man from all angles of his personality and how he grapples with ethical issues. I had remembered Mr Crawley's tortured story line, but had completely forgotten the love story between Mr Crawley's daughter Grace and the widowed Henry Grantley, son of the Archdeacon, which won my heart.

With this entry, I finished my audiobook re-read of Trollope's six Barsetshire books. I started this listening re-read marathon in July 2022 and am so glad I revisited the series on audiobook. There is a gentle but steady faith in humanity in these books. There is a recognition that people are far from perfect, but the positive goodness in most people can still be recognized and appreciated. This is what I found missing in Mrs. Oliphant's Carlingford series, I think.

All in all, a satisfying series, which I know I will come back to again.


55. A Midsummer Night's Dream, William Shakespeare, 1600
Type: drama

I first read A Midsummer Night's Dream in high school. This was a re-read for my RL book club, and we had a good discussion. For me the best quote is still so true today:

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

I also watched the Midsummer episode of the PBS series "Shakespeare Uncovered" in which actor Hugh Bonneville takes the viewer through the play, background info, interviews and various interpretations & productions. This really enhanced my understanding of the play.


56. The Patriotic Murders, Agatha Christie, 1940
Type: classic era mystery

Also known as "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" and "An Overdose of Death" this is the next entry in my chronological reading of Agatha Christie's mysteries.
The set-up and characters were interesting, with a contemporary "spy" theme. But the solution was overly complicated to the point of ridiculous, so it wasn't very satisfying.


57. Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days That Changed Her Life, Lucy Worsley, 2018
Type: nonfiction: biography

This biography takes 24 individual dates in Queen Victoria's life and provides background and context to the events of that day. Besides the obvious dates (birth, coronation, marriage, death), Worsley describes lesser celebrated but significant dates that pull together various aspects of Victoria's life and personality.

I found Worsley's writing style chatty but not simple, detailed without being tediously exhaustive. The book is full of quotes from Victoria's own journals, as well as journals and letters of relatives and contemporaries. Worsley is especially good with domestic details: the clothes, furnishings, homes, servants and food of Victoria's daily life. There are hundreds of notes and references, so it felt well-researched.

Some people may find this an unsatisfying book because it doesn't try to give a complete history of Victoria's life. And if you're looking for a whirlwind life of passion and scandal, then you'd best find a bit flashier Royal to read about. But if you want a taste of everyday life for Queen Victoria, with a basic look at the most important events in her life (and 19th century Britain), this might be a good book for you. It was perfect for what I was looking for; as they say, it does exactly what it says on the tin.


58. Tearing the Silence: Being German in America, Ursula Hegi, 1997
Type: nonfiction: memoir through interviews

Soon after it came out I read Hegi's Stones from the River (1995) and was blown away. Last year I read Floating in My Mother's Palm and only found it so-so. So I went into this nonfiction book with mixed feelings.

Hegi interviewed about 25 people who closely matched her own experience: 1) born in Germany between 1939-1949 and 2) immigrated to America, mostly in the 1950s and 1960s, with a few came in the 1970s-80s. She finally selected 15 interviews (plus her own story) to be included in the book. These interviews took place in the late 1990s, so most of the participants were in their 50s. The interviews were tape-recorded and a majority were conducted in-person; a handful were conducted by phone. Hegi provides an introduction and a concluding essay.

The interviewees showed a wide range of comfort with being German and being American. The ways of getting to America were as different as each person, but most were excited to come here. Some made regular return trips back to Germany; others did not. What becomes clear is that many have conflicting feelings about what it means to be German in America, and to discuss Jews and the Holocaust, in particular. They received little to no information about the WWII from their parents, with most of their knowledge about the war and the Holocaust being learned when they came to the U.S. Most wanted to learn everything they could about it; a few wanted nothing to do with that past history.

Hegi does an excellent job of finding the common themes of the interviews in her conclusion. One point that she does not mention, but stood out to me almost immediately, was how many of the interviewees had multiple marriages and/or had parents who eventually separated. I'm not sure if Hegi chose these particular interviewees with this in mind (as it matches her own experience), but it was apparent to me that maintaining stable relationships was challenging for all of these German Americans.

Overall this was good and I learned quite a bit, but by the last few interviews I found it repetitive.


59. Madame de Treymes and Three Novellas, Edith Wharton, 1900, 1903, 1907, 1916
Type: novellas

In my quest to read all of the fiction by Edith Wharton, I read these novellas. This volume included 4 novellas: "The Touchstone" (1900), "Sanctuary" (1903), "Madame de Treymes" (1907) and "The Bunner Sisters" (1916).

All four works involve deceit in some way. I had read "The Touchstone" a few years ago, so only skimmed it to remind myself of the characters and plot line, which involves a married couple grappling with the husband's deceit in a published work. It is set in turn of the century New York.

"Sanctuary" is set in early 20th century Paris, involving an architectural competition, and how a young man's ethical decision could impact his upcoming engagement. Here's is Wharton's scathing look into the mind of his fiancée:

"She had begun to perceive that the fair surface of life was honeycombed by a vast system of moral sewage. Every respectable household had its special arrangements for the private disposal of family scandals; it was only among the reckless and improvident that such hygienic precautions were neglected. Who was she to pass judgment on the merits of such a system? The social health must be preserved; the means devised were the result of long experience and the collective instinct of self-preservation. (emphasis mine)

"Madame de Treymes" is also set in Paris, where a young American woman is manipulated by her French mother-in-law.
"The Bunner Sisters" was originally written in 1892, but not published until 1916. It's set in 1880s New York, and follows the lives of two spinster sisters, and what happens when one decides to get married.

My favorites were "The Touchstone" and "Sanctuary"; these also felt the most "Jamesian"--you could feel the influence of Henry James.

Glad to see you enjoyed The Anthropocene Reviewed, Kathy. It's a favourite of mine and is highly enjoyable both in print and on audio (I've read it both ways).

>98 MickyFine: And now I've started watching John & Hank's youtube channel, vlogbrothers. Short bits that are always thoughtful.

>99 kac522: That's a big rabbit hole. I've watched Vlogbrothers off and on since 2009 or so. I can also highly recommend their podcast, Dear Hank and John. Much like Vlogbrothers there's silliness but also plenty of thoughtfulness.

>100 MickyFine: Yep, youtube in general is a big rabbit hole 😧

If you're familiar with the British School system in the early 20th century, I could use your help!

I've started reading To Serve Them All My Days by R. F. Delderfield. Being unfamiliar with the British school system circa 1918, I could use some help in understanding the various levels at David's school.

The book mentions Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Forms. And some of these have "Upper", "Middle" and "Lower."

Sixth form are clearly defined as those aged 17 and older.

Second form are the newest away from home (therefore, youngest), but their ages are not given. This is where I need help: I'm not clear on the ages of the boys in Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Forms.

What do the distinctions of upper, middle and lower mean--is it a division by age or by ability?

Also he mentions "Classical Fifth" Form--what is this?

And "Remove"--Bickford at age 14 is in "Remove". What is this, and why?

Any help or pointers to external explanatory sources appreciated.

>102 kac522:, Hi Kathy my dear, i won a scholarship to Normanton Grammar School in 1974, originally when set up in 1592, the school was for boys only and i believe that girls and boys went together in 1918. The school had two massive building with a playing field between the two, this was to separate the boys and the girls, not sure when this ended but it then became the Lower School and Upper School.

The Lower School was for 1st, 2nd and 3rd years and the Upper School was for 4th, 5th and 6th form. We started at age 11 through to 18 and we had "Houses", Dodsworth, Freeston (after the founder, John Freeston), Levett and Ward. I was a Dodsworth boy.

The 6th from served as class prefects, each class had two prefects, a boy and girl and i had a massive crush on our girl prefect, Dawn Hepworth, she was gorgeous, i was only Eleven. I later worked with her cousin at Sharlston Colliery.

The 6th form had a common room and if we were cheeky to them, they would look for us and grab us and stand us on a coffee table and make us sing, all good fun.

Hope this is some use to you dear friend.

>103 johnsimpson: Wonderful memories, John, thank you! You sound like my husband--always remembering the interesting fellow female students! ;)

Yes, I see in Delderfield's book the boys are in "houses", too, from the description of the rugby games (or is it matches?) This school starts with 2nd Form I think, as he hasn't mentioned 1st.

Have you heard of a student in "Remove"? I think it's when someone advances mid-year, or something? I'm not sure.

>104 kac522:, Hi Kathy my dear, i must say that i have never heard the term a student in "Remove".

>105 johnsimpson: Thanks, John--yes, I assume it's an older term from pre-WWII days. Someone else suggested it might be for the "bad" kids; someone cited Billy Bunter of Greyfriar's School, the "terror of the Remove."

Oh well, maybe one day some of these books will be re-published with explanatory notes for 21st century readers!

I've read lots of old girls' school stories and the exact meaning of Remove has never been clear to me. I think it is often a form for students who need extra help - they're behind their contemporaries and so are hived off into a form where they get extra tutoring or just until they catch up. Although pupils talk about getting their remove when they are promoted to a new form. Private schools in England tend to have a more flexible form structure, based on ability and stage of study whereas state schools stick to age of pupil regardless, although year groups may be split into A or B (or Upper or Lower) streams based on academic abilty.

Secondary schools start at age eleven with (these days) Year 7. In my day (50 years ago now!) it was first form up to sixth form (which stretched over two years Lower and Upper). Public schools, which is the type in To Serve Them All My days tended to start later as the pupils would have gone to Prep (Preparatory) school first so the youngest pupils would have been 12 or 13.

I should think Classical Fifth were pupils who are specialising in the Classics - needed for university entry in those days - with a general fifth for a general education not followed by university. At that time minimum school leaving age was 14, although pupils at a public school would probably expect to stay on until at least 16 if not 18.

Happy Friday, Kathy. Still waiting for spring to finally take hold. It looks like it might happen next week. Thanks for the suggestion of The Anthropocene Reviewed. It looks very interesting and should work good on audio.

Go Cubbies! And welcome back Kyle Hendricks! Have a great holiday weekend.

>107 CDVicarage: Thanks, Kerry, that was very helpful, especially about "Remove." As I'm moving along in the book, it's more about the adults than about the children, so I'm less puzzled with these sorts of terms. But I did want to get a general understanding, and not just muddle through.

I had posted the same query on this month's British Author Challenge, since Delderfield is this month's author. Someone posted a link to this chart on Wikipedia, which I think is helpful, even if it's geared to today rather than early 20th century:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_American_and_British_English#Educati...

Useful for me, too, since my grandchildren are in school in the U.K., and my son is teaching French in a Secondary school in Sheffield.

>108 msf59: Hi Mark, thanks for stopping by. Yeah, I think you'll like it, and because it's essays, you can read a little here and there. John Green and his brother Hank have a podcast and youtube channel, too. I've only read one of John Green's books, The Fault In Our Stars, which I really enjoyed. I'm not much of a YA reader, but that one is really good. He grew up in the South, but worked in Chicago after college, and now lives in Indianapolis.

Yep, I'll have to pay more attention to the Cubs now that Hendricks is back. I've listened to a few games on the radio while I'm doing some work from home, but last week I was listening to a game and they were getting clobbered, I had to turn it off.

May Reading

Looking at these titles, it seems like ages ago. Anyway, here's what I read:


60. The Adventures of Elizabeth in Rügen, Elizabeth von Arnim (1904)
Type: fiction

This is a story about Elizabeth (from Elizabeth and her German Garden) as she goes on a traveling holiday around the German island of Rügen, located in the Baltic Sea. Von Arnim visited this island in 1901, and the original book has a map of her travels. She describes many real places, particularly the beaches, inns and the views of the sea. Woven into these descriptions is a fictional story of the main character Elizabeth and her maid Gertrud traveling the island and accidentally meeting Elizabeth's cousin Charlotte and Charlotte's estranged husband. Some of the dialogue is laugh-out loud funny. A sort of "chase" ensues, as Charlotte is determined to escape from her husband, and these escapades takes us to the highlighted places of Rügen. Lots of fun.


61. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok (1972)
Type: fiction

Asher Lev, in his twenties, looks back on his early life. His desire to be a painter from age 10 conflicts with his Hasidic family and community. Eventually Asher comes to realize that he cannot live a true life in both. Even though it seemed repetitive, the book did keep me reading. I found the portrayals of observant Judaism to be informative and objective, even when they seem overly strict. Potok's narrative writing, especially descriptive passages, are wonderful, but his dialogue leaves a lot to be desired. Not only is it painfully terse, many times at least one person in the conversation doesn't answer, and we are left with silence and often conjecture on what the participants are thinking. Potok based the story line on his own struggle with art (painting and writing) and his traditional Orthodox background. OK, but not the same emotional punch that I enjoyed in the other book of his that I have read, The Chosen.

(no cover image)
62. Chaim Potok, Edward Abramson (1986)
Type: literary analysis

Written in 1986 while Potok was still alive and still writing, this provides background to Potok's life and works, up to 1985 (Davita's Harp). In fact, Abramson was in communication with Potok to clarify points of understanding in his writings and interviews. I read the background chapter, the chapters on The Chosen and My Name is Asher Lev, skimmed the chapters of other works, and read the final summary chapter. Abramson states Potok, after being discouraged to continue painting, decided to be a writer after reading Brideshead Revisited as a teenager.

Abramson identifies some of the main themes in Potok's work including: religion in conflict with society; the individual's needs vs. religious beliefs; traditions vs. the modern; and fathers and sons. Abramson acknowledges that Potok emphasizes his themes and plots, while his characterizations and dialogue suffer. Abramson points out that although many of Potok's major characters in the end reject religious fundamentalism, they embrace a spiritual approach to life which may not include institutional religion.

Although a bit academic, I was glad I read the relevant sections of this book because it enlightened my understanding of Chaim Potok and his works.


63. The Betsy-Tacy Treasury: The First Four Betsy-Tacy Books, Maud Hart Lovelace (1940, 1941, 1942, 1943)
Type: children's fiction

I enjoyed the first 4 books of this new-to-me series. I'm sure they would mean even more to me if I had read them when I was a young reader. As an adult reader, I appreciated the way Lovelace pays attention to detail in the clothing, food and games of the children, as well as the streets and homes of Deep Valley (based on turn-of-the century Mankato, MN). Equally interesting were references in the later books to real events, real historical people, and real contemporary books and magazines that the girls encounter. I felt that as Betsy got older, not only did the books increase in difficulty, but Lovelace also creates increasingly complex issues and personalities and for the girls.

Book 1 Betsy-Tacy is a good beginning reader; Book 2 Betsy-Tacy and Tib gives us a wonderful sense of the personalities of Betsy and Tacy; Book 3 Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill includes an episode where the girls meet a young Syrian immigrant girl and her family; and Book 4 Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown takes Betsy downtown to visit the Carnegie Library, to see the first horseless carriage, a visit to the Opera House and a touching scene re-uniting Betsy's family with their missing Uncle Keith.

(no cover image)
64. Soldiers with picks and shovels : the CCC camp at Carlinville, Illinois, Tom Emery (2011)
Type: nonfiction; American history between the wars; local history of Illinois

An interesting little book about the CCC camp at Carlinville, IL, which was in operation from July 1935 until June 1941. Some pictures, although few identified specific individuals. The author is from the area, and was sponsored by a local historian. He includes interviews with men who had worked at the camp, visited local archives and libraries, and he read through the local paper at the time.

There's a lot of detail to process, but I found it fascinating. New to me was that in order to qualify for the camp, as well as male and at least 18 years old, you had to be unemployed, single and your family had to be on relief. Men were paid $30 a month, $25 of which was sent directly to the man's family. Much of the work done at the Carlinville camp involved helping local farmers with soil erosion prevention and planting trees. At any one time there was an average of 200 men being housed at the camp; men signed up for 6 months at a time.

The barracks and living arrangements were similar to military camps, and it's easy to see how many of the men would have easily transitioned into service for WWII. But utterly amazing (compared to today) was how swiftly the whole CCC organization was put into motion in the Roosevelt administration. In literally a few months thousands of men were being housed and employed in worthwhile projects. Congress moved with lightning speed in those days.


65. Shakespeare: The World as Stage, Bill Bryson (2007)
Type: nonfiction; biography

A good basic biography of Shakespeare and his times under 200 pages. I particularly liked the chapter about Shakespeare's language and the last chapter about the "Claimants"--various theories that Shakespeare didn't write Shakespeare. Bryson knocks them down one by one.


❤️66. A Month in the Country, J. L. Carr (1980)
Type: fiction; re-read

An absolute gem of a book, which was a re-read for me from 5 years ago. Set in 1920, it is the story of a young Great War veteran who goes to a North Yorkshire country village to restore a painting in a church, and begins to restore himself. As he slowly chips away at the old paint to reveal a medieval painting, so Carr slowly reveals bits and pieces of the veteran's life and emotions. In many ways, these returning men were a lost generation, with few people who understood the horrors of modern warfare they experienced.

Beautiful writing in a mere 135 pages; every word that Carr put on the page was for a reason. Of all the books I've read this year, this will be the most memorable, even as a re-read.


67. Under the Greenwood Tree, Thomas Hardy (1872)
Type: fiction; re-read on audiobook

I re-read Under the Greenwood Tree because in the preface to my previous book, A Month in the Country, Carr mentions that he was attempting to create the same sort of nostalgic look back in time as Hardy did in this book. I think Carr succeeded and it was well worth my time to listen to this Hardy favorite on audiobook, which made me appreciate it even more than on the page. It is a look back at a rural 1840s (pre-railroad) village and how the village handles change and even has a somewhat happy ending.


68. American Histories, John Edgar Wideman (2018)
Type: short stories

This is the first fiction I've read of Wideman, but I must say it didn't feel much like fiction. Every story is a first-person narrative that seems in (or very close to) the author's voice and experiences. There were 21 pieces in all, a few just a page and a half; a few were 25+ pages, and the rest in-between. For me the first ten stories worked the best. My favorite was "JB&FD," a series of imagined conversations with John Brown and Frederick Douglass. The last half of the stories wandered into stream of consciousness/random unconnected thoughts, and these did not keep my interest. A couple stories I mostly skimmed, as my concentration waned.


69. The Squire, Enid Bagnold (1938)
Type: fiction

This is the story of a woman (known only as "the squire") who is about to give birth to her 5th child. Her husband has gone on business for 3 months to Bombay, hence the Lady of the House is now In Charge. We follow her as she arranges for this birth: midwife, doctor, house staff and her other 4 children's are all on alert. Once the baby is born, the second half of the book follows the adjustment back to day-to-day life, with a large emphasis on The Servant Problem.

I almost gave up on the first half of the book. There are a lot of Important Statements about Motherhood and Life that got very tedious. However, the second half had more detail and less pontificating. Despite my impatience, this book is important for its time because of the way Bagnold realistically describes pregnancy, labor and breastfeeding, all subjects that were only hinted at before in a woman's novel. These were beautifully done without being sentimental. The children felt real and were a highlight of the book.

So an important book in the context of the practical portrayal of pregnancy and birth, but I could have done without the platitudes on motherhood and the angst over the ever incompetent staff.

I'm just so behind in everything LT. This month I'll have been on LT since 2009, so you'd think I'd have the hang of it. Oh well....

So far in June I've read:
✔ *To Serve Them All My Days, R. F. Delderfield (1972)
✔ Celebrations at Thrush Green, Miss Read (1992)
✔ Three Tales, Gustave Flaubert (1877)
✔ *Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens (1841); audiobook read by Simon Vance
✔ *The Norman Maclean Reader, Norman Maclean (2008)
✔ Secret Harvests, David Mas Masumoto (2023)
*These I'd been working on since April and May, so it was good to finish them FINALLY.

Hopefully I'll post reviews of these before it starts snowing....

I'm currently reading:
•The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni (1842)--this is a 19th century Italian classic, and I've got 2 different editions. The first is an old Penguin translated by Bruce Penman. I like the translation, but the print is tiny and there are no footnotes. I also borrowed from the library a new 2022 translation by Michael F. Moore which I don't like as well, but it's hardcover with larger print, a good map, some historical background and the occasional footnote. So I go back & forth with the two editions.
•Peace and Bread in Time of War by Jane Addams (1922)--an interesting perspective on the peace movement during WWI and afterward.
✔ Lady Susan, Jane Austen (an early start to Jane Austen July--see below!)

Some other possibilities for June:
•Fannie Herself by Edna Ferber, and possibly two other Ferber books coming in from the library for the Monthly Author group
✔ The Time Machine, H. G. Wells--for my RL book club
•One Summer: 1927, Bill Bryson
•Good Daughters, Mary Hocking, for the Virago group
•The Heir of Redclyffe, Charlotte M. Yonge, Victorian novel I've wanted to read for some time

And it's not too soon to plan for Jane Austen July: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ZCPSRPKxE

My July plans include, besides Lady Susan:
•Northanger Abbey
•Jane Austen at Home, Lucy Worsley
•Godmersham Park, Gill Hornby (historical fiction about the Austen family)
•The Mysteries of Udolpho, Ann Radcliffe (1794)--featured prominently in Northanger Abbey

and of course watching as many JA adaptations as possible.

>112 kac522: Ooh an excuse to rewatch Jane Austen adaptations. I'm in!

>113 MickyFine: Of course, it doesn't take much of an excuse for me for a rewatch😊

Besides the usual suspects (P&P 1995, Persuasion 1995, NA 2007, Love & Friendship), one of the challenges is to watch a modern re-telling (like Clueless or Bridget Jones' Diary). I might try the online Lizzie Bennet Diaries, which I've never watched. I just found out that it was co-produced and co-written by Hank Green, so I'm curious to check it out.

>114 kac522: Oh the Lizzie Bennet Diaries are great! I watched the whole series as it came out and then bought them on DVD when they were released that way (and I've rewatched it a few times since then). It's a really solid retelling, IMO.

>115 MickyFine: Glad to hear it--I may not wait until July to start--thanks!

I also heard there's one out now based on Northanger Abbey??? but I can't recall the name of it.

Happy Friday, Kathy. Looks to be another beautiful weekend in Chicagoland. Nice sweep by the Cubbies! I sure hope this puts them back on track. It has been a lackluster season so far.

I also loved A Month in the Country. I hope to reread it one of these days.

>117 msf59: I've been a bad girl and haven't paid much attention to the Cubs the last few weeks--the few times I've listened to a game on the radio, they're behind by a million. I'm afraid to listen--maybe I'll jinx their winning streak!

>117 msf59: Nice to see the sweep! Most of the Cubs games I saw in April, they looked good. I think when Bellinger got hurt, that hurt their offense, so they struggled more this past month. Of course, the biggest problem all year has been the bullpen. If that were working, I think they'd have quite a few more wins. It has been a frustrating season, but it could be worse.

>119 atozgrl: but it could be worse....spoken like a true Cubs fan, Irene 🤣

>120 kac522: True! But in this case I was actually thinking of the Cardinals, who were expected to win the division, and instead have been really bad--except when they played the Cubs, of course.

June Reading

I finished 10 books in June; 3 fairly long ones, and the rest fairly short. Here they are:


70. To Serve Them All My Days, R. F. Delderfield (1972)
Type: historical fiction

One of the last novels published during Delderfield's lifetime, this book tells the story of David Powlett-Jones, a Welsh miner's son and Great War veteran, who begins his teaching of history at a rural public school in Devon shortly after being released from a shell-shock ward in 1918. The book follows him through his years of teaching, as he slowly heals and makes his way from inexperienced teacher to respected teacher to headmaster of the school. Throughout the book, Delderfield has David (aka "Pow-Wow"-everyone has a nickname in this book) comment on the Great War, British politics, and British life in general. The book ends in the midst of war in 1940.

I really wanted to love this book, and at first I felt swept up by the story. But after about 300 pages, it felt somewhat the same and just seemed to go on and on and on. There were highs and lows; marriages and children; new boys at the school; difficult colleagues and bosses. There is a lot of "Old Boy" lingo that completely flew over my head. And there's a 1960s-70s feel to the language that didn't ring true with the book. The last 50 pages are essentially a listing of the various important events during Britain's entry into WWII, where Delderfield weaves in some of the more prominent prior students of the previous 550 pages into service in the war. And the last few pages contain a stunning revelation, which felt contrived (to me) to the point of being irritating.

I think I might have liked it better if Delderfield had broken the 600+ pages into 2 or 3 books, with real story arcs to each. I might have enjoyed the first book, and then after a break, moved on to the next. But all in one go became a chore for me, sorry to say. I think if I had grown up in this era in Britain, or had listened to my parents talk about it, the book might have had more meaning for me.


71. Celebrations at Thrush Green, Miss Read (1992)
Type: fiction

It's clear with this book that Miss Read was slowly bringing her series to a close. In this installment, no particular character is featured, but lots of characters are touched upon as Thrush Green moves through the year. The book takes us through the planning of a celebration of a famous resident, and as a family history researcher, I enjoyed the genealogy/family history hunt that takes place. I'll be sorry when I finish this series; it's been such a delight to come to between more challenging books.


72. Three Tales, Gustave Flaubert (1877)
Type: short stories

These Three Tales, published together in one volume, was the last published work during Flaubert's lifetime. Each has a different feel and language, which Flaubert pulls off well. "A Simple Heart" is the story of a dedicated servant, and actually shows some "heart" and compassion. "St Julian" is a mystical legend about a medieval man who has visions that he will kill his parents. It has animals, mists, visions and over-all has a very mythic feel. "Herodias" is the story of Salome, the daughter of Herodias, and John the Baptist, told as an historical tale. It has a very angular, imperial feel, emphasizing revenge and ruthlessness. I ended up skimming this last one. I appreciated Flaubert's ability to use language to suit the story, but only "A Simple Heart" was an enjoyable read for me.


❤️73. Barnaby Rudge, Charles Dickens (1841); re-read on audiobook read by Simon Vance
Type: historical fiction

This was a re-read on audiobook. Set during the London Gordon (anti-Catholic) riots of 1780, Dickens provides the most graphic description of mob riots that I have ever read, anywhere. A more rambling plot than A Tale of Two Cities, I still feel it's a vastly under-appreciated work of Charles Dickens, and wish it was more widely read.


❤️74. The Norman Maclean Reader, Norman Maclean, edited by O. Alan Weltzien (2008)
Type: essays and stories

Maclean, best known for his collection A River Runs Through It, died in 1990, leaving several writing projects unfinished. Editor Weltzien pulled together portions of these projects in this volume. It includes chapters of an unfinished manuscript about General Custer; a selection from Young Men and Fire; a story from A River Runs Through It; several stories and talks never published before; and collections of letters. There are also black & white photos of Maclean and his family.

I think my favorites here were "Billiards is a Good Game"; "An Incident"; and "Retrievers Good and Bad." My favorite quote is from "An Incident", a talk given by Maclean, which includes a section where he talks about his troubled brother who was murdered in Chicago:

In our Scottish family, the family and religion were the center of the universe, and, like Scots, we did not believe we should praise each other but should always love and be ready to help each other, only we never seemed able to help my brother, being hesitant because we were not often sure he needed help--in fact, were not sure we understood him, and we were also hesitant because we looked clumsy when we tried to be of help, and he looked like what he was, an artist whose Scottish pride was offended by a clumsy offer of help.....In the end all we knew--really knew--about him was that he was beautiful and dead and we had not helped. And, through him all we came to know about mankind my father summed up when he said, "It is those we live with and love and should know who elude us."

75. Secret Harvests, David Mas Masumoto (2023)
Type: nonfiction; memoir

Masumoto begins this book with a phone call from a funeral home about an unknown aunt, and this memoir goes on from there. It is a weaving of family secrets, disability, Japanese relocation and trying to find one's identity in an America that distrusts those who are different. The block prints by Patricia Wakida were stunning and definitely added to the atmosphere of the book.

I really loved Masumoto's memoir Epitaph for a Peach, about his life on his family's California peach farm, and was looking forward to this book. I thought it had great themes and various sections were well-written, but it seemed to need some editing and/or tighter writing. The book tended to wander and toward the end felt repetitive, coming back to the same points, almost as if the individual chapters may have been written as essays or separate individual pieces. Still, this is an American identity story that needs to be heard.


❤️76. Lady Susan, Jane Austen (1871 post.); re-read on audiobook
Type: fiction

A wonderful way for an early kick-off to Jane Austen July! This is the umpteenth re-read for me; it's certainly her funniest mature work. Told in letters, it's just made to be read aloud or on audiobook. A delight.


77. The Time Machine, H. G. Wells (1895)
Type: science fiction

Apparently I read this in 1990, but remembered absolutely nothing about it. So it was a completely new book to me. And it got off on the wrong foot from the very first page. when the character of Filby is introduced as "an argumentative person with red hair." And that's about the nicest thing said about Filby. As I'm a redhead, this was not a good beginning. I've never liked time travel books and this was no exception.

I have to admit that Wells makes the incredible feel credible, but that's the best thing I can say about this. And there's a way that Wells has of telling us what he thinks, but then maybe he doesn't, or says something the exact opposite. There's no moral compass here, and yet he tricks us into thinking there's a moral compass. One could argue that's the genius of the book, but I found it deceptive. There are ways to present various sides of a moral argument that make you think; Wells just left me confused and not knowing what to think.


78. The Betrothed, Alessandro Manzoni (1840 revised edition); translated from the Italian by Bruce Penman
Type: historical fiction

The Betrothed (I promessi sposi) is a long (720 pages) classic work of Italian historical fiction, set in the Milan/Lombardy region circa 1628-1630. The story follows two fictional characters, Renzo and Lucia, betrothed lovers who encounter various obstacles throughout the book, until they are finally united in marriage at the end.

Along the way we follow our characters during the 1628 Milan bread riots, the ravaging of villages in 1629 by soldiers in the Thirty Years' War, and finally the 1630 bubonic plague which devastated the Milan region. Manzoni brings in real events and at least a dozen real historical characters from the era by referencing actual memoirs and documents of the time. The descriptions of the plague were particularly detailed and were eerily familiar.

I found the first half of the book slow-moving, with a heavy emphasis on faith and religion, and I almost gave up. But the last third of the book brings in all the major historical events and flew by. It is said that Manzoni was inspired by the works of Sir Walter Scott to write a novel in this "new" historical fiction genre.

It's important to note that Manzoni originally wrote the book in 1821 in an archaic form of Italian, normally used by Italian academics of that time for great works of literature. Additionally, since Italy was not yet unified during the time Manzoni was writing, every region still had its own particular dialect and there was no official standard language of Italy. Dissatisfied with this stilted writing style, over the next 20 years Manzoni gradually revised the entire book into the more common Tuscan dialect and published a completely revised edition in 1840. This would later become the basis for the modern Italian language still in use today, and the book is still part of the standard secondary school curriculum in Italy.

Besides the Penman translation, I also referenced a new 2022 translation by Michael F. Moore, with Introduction by Jhumpa Lahiri, which had a detailed map of Northern Italy, a description of the real historical characters and a short description of the historical events mentioned in the book. Personally I preferred the older Penman translation, but the additional materials in the new Moore translation were invaluable.


❤️79. The Girls, Edna Ferber (1921)
Type: fiction

This is a charming, funny novel, and yet doesn't ignore the seriousness of its setting: Chicago, 1916, with a Great War hovering in the background. It's the story of 3 generations of "spinsters": Aunt Charlotte, in her 70's; her niece Lotte, in her early 30's; and Lotte's niece, Charley, about to turn 19. Their inter-weaving stories of joy and struggle and attempting to break with convention to be their own person have a light touch, but always giving us something more to think about. I especially loved all the descriptions of early Chicago, through a flashback of Aunt Charlotte's early years during the Civil War.

I think anyone can enjoy this story of 3 independent women, but it will be especially meaningful for those who love Chicago and its history. The edition I read from the library was a 2023 re-print by Belt Publishing https://beltpublishing.com a Midwest publisher, and is a recent selection in their "Revivals" series.

Some Mid-Year Stats:

Total books read: 79*

Type:
--Fiction: 51
--Nonfiction: 23
--Fiction/NF combo: 1
--Drama: 1
--Poetry: 1
--Graphic: 2
Authors: Female: 42; Male: 33; Multiple authors: 4
Re-reads: 19**
Roots: 46***
Bought & read in 2023: 1
Library books: 31
Audiobooks: 5
Published:
--before 20th century: 25
--20th century: 35
--21st century: 19

Some highlights:
*This is the highest number of books I've read in 6 months in my lifetime.
**Nearly a quarter (24%) of my books have been re-reads, which probably accounts for the overall high total.
***And I'm really pleased with my ROOTs (books off my shelves) total, even considering that I read 31 library books, too.

My July possibilities are all over the place, but I do hope to finish the Jane Austen July selections I've made:

I started in June with a re-read of Lady Susan and watched the Lizzie Bennet diaries on youtube. Pretty good series. I had a few reservations, but on the whole a good modernizing of P&P.

July JA possibilities:
✔ re-reads of Pride and Prejudice (currently reading) and Northanger Abbey
✔ The Mysteries of Udolpho, replaced with The Castle of Otranto, Walpole
In progress through August--Jane Austen at Home, Lucy Worsley (nonfiction selection)
DNF Godmersham Park by Gill Hornby--historical fiction based on Jane's friend Anne Sharp. who was the governess to Jane's niece.

Other possibilities:

Currently reading:
In progress through August--Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens, a re-read on audiobook
✔ The Claverings, Anthony Trollope--a re-read, for the LT group read with Liz

Library books:
✔Before the Coffee Gets Cold, T. Kawaguchi
--The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, Katie Lumsden
--Young Mrs Savage, D. E. Stevenson
DNF--maybe another time: Three Comedies, Kaufman and Ferber
DNF Reader, I Married Him, stories inspired by Jane Eyre

From my shelf:
In progress through August: One Summer: America, 1927 Bill Bryson (RTTQ challenge left over from Q2)
--The Underdogs, Mariano Azuela (RTT challenge--revolutions)
--Christopher and Columbus, Elizabeth von Arnim (Virago challenge)
--Good Daughters and Indifferent Heroes, Mary Hocking (RTTQ Challenges)

and all this may be blown out of the water by a nice big Library sale the weekend of July 14-15 at the Oak Park (IL) library!

>122 kac522: Congratulations on reaching 75, Kathy!

>125 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita--I can hardly believe it myself! July will be slower, for sure.

>123 kac522: Congratulations on finishing 75 books already this year! Especially your ROOTs! I'm not making as much progress so far.

>127 atozgrl: Thanks, Irene. It's a real milestone for me. There were many, many years when I could barely finish 25 books in a year. It's only since retirement that I've been able to read more. But I can feel that July is going to be slow--right now I'd rather be scrolling than reading.

Happy Friday, Kathy! Congrats on hitting 75! Always a joyful milestone around here. Cubs still continue to struggle but they sure matched up well with the Brewers. They could have easily swept them. Now, let's see how they do against the Yankees. 🤞

>129 msf59: I can't help but wonder what the Cubs' record would be this year if they had a lock-down bullpen. That series with the Brewers sure was close!

I was just looking through the titles I've read so far this year, and listed below are some that were surprisingly good. These were books that I wasn't sure what to expect, and they ended up being some of my favorites so far:

The Complete Maus, Art Spiegelman--I had avoided this for years; it was in some ways both easier and harder than I had expected.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Mark Twain--I though I'd be bored, but it was actually fun
Maud Martha, Gwendolyn Brooks--the poet's only novel, it blew me away
The Anthropocene Reviewed, John Green (essays)--had no idea what to expect--thoughtful and relevant
The Girls, Edna Ferber--more fun than I expected, and yet a serious side, too

Congrats on blowing past the goal!

>132 drneutron: Thanks, Jim, I'm pretty amazed myself. But a lot of re-reads helped.

Congrats on reaching the magic number, Kathy. I've been rewatching Lizzie Bennet myself although I'm tackling it much more slowly than you. I'm doing select challenges from Jane Austen July (thanks again for putting this on my radar) and am on to my second read for it. :)

>134 MickyFine: Thanks so much! I'll be interested to know what you think of the Lizzie Bennet diaries--in general, I liked them, but there are a few things that didn't set right with me. When you're done, stop by for a chat!

>135 kac522: Oh I watched them as they aired originally so there's no spoilers for me (I loved them enough that I bought the boxset). What parts didn't you like?

>136 MickyFine: I'm so glad you asked! It's not so much dislike, as feeling not in keeping with the spirit of the book. On the whole, I think they updated the story really well. The characters were great and true to the book. Charlotte and Mr Collins (for me) especially seemed spot on, but in an updated way.

***WARNING: Spoilers Ahead for the Lizzie Bennet Diaries***

Three (maybe 4) things stood out for me that I think they missed, and that are central to the book:

1. Caroline Bingley--In the book, Elizabeth doesn't like Caroline from the first time they meet and immediately senses her phoniness. But in the videos, Lizzie seems unsure about why Caroline is so nice to her, but doesn't suspect her or dislike her until near the end.

2. Pemberley--In the book, one of the major reasons that Elizabeth sees Darcy in a new light is because of hearing Darcy's housekeeper praise him. That's missing here--there's one video in which Lizzie remarks that all the employees seem happy at Pemberley, but that's it. Besides Gigi, Lizzie doesn't talk to anyone else about Darcy there. I think what makes it so strong in the book is that the housekeeper is not a relative and has known him since he was a child. I think they easily could have had Lizzie get interrupted in her office by a janitor, or office cleaner, or mailroom person (some lower level employee who is not related) who gives Lizzie these kinds of glowing praises, and perhaps had worked for Darcy's father, too. And then show how that conversation materially changes her thinking.

3. My biggest disappointment is that there was no Elizabeth/Lady Catherine confrontation at the end, which for me is the highlight of the book. I think they sort of half-way do it with an edgy conversation between Caroline and Lizzie, but that's totally missing the point. Lizzie has nothing to lose by arguing with Caroline.

Lady Catherine & Elizabeth are pivotal to what Austen was trying to show: the clash between classes, the clash with authority, and the clash between parents and children. Lady Catherine is a surrogate parent to Darcy and she thinks she can control him (and everyone else). Elizabeth is the young person questioning that authority and holds her ground, even though this may mean the end of any possible relationship with Darcy.

One of the themes in the book is about bad marriages and bad parenting: think of Mr & Mrs Bennet, Lady Catherine, the Lucases. But Austen also gives us one good marriage/set of parents: the Gardiners. And it doesn't seem that the videos caught on to that theme, except for the obvious bad parenting of the Bennets.

As a possible 4th item, Lydia's fate is very different from the book. It's more realistic in the videos, and we feel better about Lydia dodging a bullet, but it misses Austen's point about bad marriages and how clueless Lydia and Mrs Bennet are. But I feel that's a minor plot point and it didn't bother me as much.

OK, done. But honest, I really liked it as a whole😊

Hi Kathy my dear, congrats on reaching 75 books read for the year so far, sending love and hugs dear friend.

>138 johnsimpson: Thanks, John! I guess I can stop reading now, right? 🤣

>139 kac522:, Oh no, you must carry on, think of all those books just waiting for you, lol.

Happy Wednesday, Kathy. Our local sirens are going off. Possible tornados moving east, heading our way. Oh, boy!!

Yep, sirens still going off here at 7:25....but we've just had rain so far.

Hi Kathy - Lots of great reading here! My daughter loved the Betsy-Tacy books.

I've had the Bryson on my shelf for a while; I keep meaning to organize a Shakespeare read, but I always get distracted.

The Bagnold sounds good as well.

>143 BLBera: Good morning, Beth! The Bryson Shakespeare book was surprisingly good. I loved his A Walk in the Woods many years ago, but found At Home went on and on and on. I think the fact that the Shakespeare book is relatively short (around 200 pages, I think) that it kept it interesting. I have One Summer, America 1927 on the shelf and it's a longer one, so I've been avoiding it, even though the subject sounds interesting.

That was my first Edith Bagnold--it certainly was an important book for the time, so it was interesting from that aspect.

>137 kac522: Good points all. I think the series substituted the focus on marriage in the original text with that of career, which I think makes much more sense for a contemporary audience and also isn't that far apart as the marriage mart and the current job market have some very similar vibes.

How goes the rest of your Jane Austen-ing for the month? I just rewatched the 2005 P&P last night. The hand flex! *swoon*

>145 MickyFine: My JA July is moving along:

✔ 1. Main novel: finished P&P and NA
✔ 2. Minor work: listened to Lady Susan on audio
In progress--will continue into August: 3. Nonfiction: I'm about 100 pages into Lucy Worsley's Jane Austen at home
DNF: 4. HF: Godmersham Park, Gill Hornby
✔ 5. JA Contemporary: finished The Castle of Otranto by Walpole, which is sometimes called the first gothic novel; I had intended to read The Mysteries of Udolpho, but I knew I'd never finish it by the end of the month.
6. Screen: 1995 P&P. The 2005 just doesn't appeal to me, but I know lots of people love it. (I do like Mr Collins in that one, though--fits my idea of the character better than any others I've seen). I need to get the 2007 NA from the library this week, and I may sneak in the 1995 Persuasion before the end of the month.
✔ 7. Modern screen: finished Lizzie Bennet Diaries

I think I can get everything done by month's end. And you?

By the way, I really enjoyed Katie's long video yesterday about Austen love stories. She had so many good points.

>146 kac522: I'm not attempting all the challenges because I'm not in the mood for all of them but I have:

1. Done a re-read of Persuasion
2. Done a re-read of Eligible (contemporary P&P retelling)
3. Abandoned a non-fiction book about Jane Austen (it was a gift from a friend and while the premise was cute, the writing was not good)
4. Finished my rewatch of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries
5. Rewatched the 2005 P&P. I'll probably do one more novel film adaptation next weekend but haven't quite decided which one yet.

>147 MickyFine: I wonder if I can squeeze in a re-read of Persuasion....although maybe the film will have to do :)

How did you like Eligible? It's new to me, although I've heard of Sittenfeld.

>148 kac522: I posted comments about it over on my thread. Short version is that I liked it but not as much as the first time.

>149 MickyFine: I'll check it out.

July reading was pretty miserable: only 6 books finished and 3 of them were re-reads. I just can’t seem to stick with a new-to-me book these days, especially if it’s more than 100 pages.


80. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (1813); umpteenth re-read
Type: fiction for Jane Austen July
One of my favorite books of all time, which I have been re-reading since age 12. On this reading I noticed how Austen uses dialogue to flesh out her characters and to move the plot along. The only exception to this is the minor character of Georgiana Darcy, who never speaks a single line in the book. Georgiana is talked about by so many other characters, however, that we have a wonderful sense of Georgiana without ever hearing her speak. A comfort read that never fails me.


81. Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi; translated by Geoffrey Trousselot (2015)
Type: fiction
The premise of this book is intriguing: in a basement café, there is small table where a person can travel into the past or the future to re-live a conversation. The catch: you must finish your conversation before your coffee gets cold or you may disappear forever. The book is divided into 4 parts, each about a different café patron who sits at that special table. It started out well, but by the last part I had lost interest with the idea and with the writing. I am probably in the minority on this one, as it is a very popular book; I waited 3 months on my library’s wait list for my copy. But it fell flat for me by the end.


82. The Claverings, Anthony Trollope (1867); re-read from 2021
Type: fiction for LT Group Read
Young Harry Clavering must decide between two women: Julia, who jilted him years ago, but is now a wealthy widow; and Florence, his current fiancée, who is good and average and niece of his boss. Trollope really knows how to show a guy who can’t make up his mind, and I was pretty impatient with Harry this time round. It’s always interesting to see how Trollope re-works a plot line and puts his own special twists to each book and makes you think from another point of view. I enjoyed this, despite the frustration and the too-easy ending.


83. The Castle of Otranto, Horace Walpole (1764)
Type: historical fiction for Jane Austen July
I read this to get into the mood for a re-read of Northanger Abbey. Considered the first true gothic novel, it has all the tropes you expect and even more. It was entertaining, but I have to admit I've forgotten most of it, except the chase through the underground tunnels and the death of the heroine at the end.


84. Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen (1818); umpteenth re-read
Type: fiction for Jane Austen July
After reading The Castle of Otranto this novel of young Catherine Morland and her gothic imagination left me laughing out loud many times despite the many times I've read it before. Austen knows how to balance the ridiculous gothic tropes with the importance of reading. And I really do like our hero Henry Tilney a lot; I think he is my favorite Austen hero.


85. Tove Jansson, Paul Gravett (2022)
Type: nonfiction; biography
Short, but detailed life of illustrator (and painter, novelist, cartoonist and more) Tove Jansson. This biography focuses on her career as an illustrator and creator of the Moomins. It's filled with illustrations--probably an equal amount of text and pictures. I only know Jansson from her novel The Summer Book, which I loved, so this was a wonderful introduction to her life and art work.may have been written as essays or separate individual pieces. Still, this is an American identity story that needs to be heard.

August maybes

I have decided to make as few commitments as possible for August and just pick from a very big pile.

My one commitment is:

The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett--for my RL book club. As well as the original, I've got an annotated edition and an interesting biography about Burnett and her gardens: Unearthing the Secret Garden by Marta McDowell.

Next up would be books I didn't finish is July:

Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens--still working slowly on the audiobook; almost 1/3 through
Jane Austen at Home, Lucy Worsley--my nonfiction selection for JA July which I'm enjoying but not feeling in the mood to pick up. Maybe in August.
Christopher and Columbus, Elizabeth von Arnim; hope to finish this tonight.

After that there are some library books to clear out, including:

The Secrets of Hartwood Hall, Katie Lumsden
Young Mrs Savage, D. E. Stevenson
The Private Life of Spies, Alexander McCall Smith, a new book of short stories

And then I hope to read a few books published by Virago for All Virago/All August: https://www.librarything.com/topic/352498

I'll choose a couple from:
Jamaica Inn, Daphne DuMaurier
Good Behaviour, Molly Keane
Mandoa, Mandoa, Winifred Holtby
Celia, E. H. Young
Angel, Elizabeth Taylor

and I might throw in an Agatha Christie if nothing else appeals.

Happy Friday, Kathy. As usual, lots of good reading going on over here. How about our Cubbies? They are RED Hot!! Beating the Reds 3 out of 4, in such a thrashing manner was an absolute treat. Can they hold their own against the Braves? Stay tuned, my friend.

Thanks for stopping by, Mark. Yeah, Cubs are a real highlight, aren't they? This is the time of year when I want to hear MORE about baseball, and a lot LESS about pre-season football, especially about a so-so football team that can't decide where they want to play.

>154 kac522: I agree! It annoys me no end when the news wants to spend a bunch of time covering football in August. That's still baseball season! Leave me alone with football.

>155 atozgrl: just too bad they blew it today, though...

>156 kac522: Unfortunately, it's the Braves, and they've got the best team this year, so it didn't surprise me. But why did Max Fried have to return today? Couldn't he have waited until next week? That didn't help the Cubs' case today.

>151 kac522: I'm with you on Henry Tilney. The best book boyfriend ever. :)

>158 MickyFine:❤️

BOOK HAUL!

I don't normally record my book hauls here, but I was quite pleased with a handful of great finds this week.

Earlier this week, I picked up:



Unearthing the Secret Garden by Marta McDowell (2021)
As I mentioned in >175, my RL book club is reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. So I was quite pleased to find this used copy in excellent condition at the wonderful Evanston bookshop, Bookends and Beginnings. The shop is mostly new books, but there is a small room downstairs with used books. https://www.bookendsandbeginnings.com/

This book is a general biography of Burnett that focuses on the gardens in her homes, and how they are linked to her famous book. There are loads of pictures, too. It's a lovely book, and I'm about 75 pages in already.

Today I had some great finds at the Arlington Heights Library sale:



The Norton Anthology of English Literature: The Victorian Age
This is one volume is a larger series of English literature. I've seen the whole series for sale, but never just one book, and I was mostly interested in the Victorian volume. I was so lucky to find this as a stand-alone today. I can't wait to read bits for this year's Victober.


The Dickens Index, edited by Nicolas Bentley. A giant index of all things Dickens: character names, places, phrases, etc., etc. I've been listening to his novels as re-reads this year, but there's always the odd character or place that I just can't quite remember how to spell or the full story, so this will be so helpful.



The Edwardians, Vita Sackville-West
Earlier this year I read All Passion Spent and I loved it, and quickly put The Edwardians on the wishlist. Of course, in a perfect world I would have nabbed a Virago edition, but just to find it at all was a miracle.

And my big, big find:



Jane Austen by Toby Tanner (1986)
Most literary criticism anthologies of Austen's work always include at least one essay or excerpt by Tony Tanner. I was ecstatic to find this excellent copy today. Tanner was a recognized Austen scholar in his day and this book is not widely available. I will be saving it for next Jane Austen July (if I can wait that long).



I also picked up these Bantam Classics Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume I and Volume II, fifty cents each. I own only Volume II and it's battered and torn. These copies were again in fantastic condition. I'll toss the old one and now I have two clean copies. Yes!

>160 kac522: Nice book haul!

I had to read THe Castle of Otranto for a class, and what I most remember is waking up with the open book on my face. :)

>161 BLBera:🤣🤣🤣 I have to say my mind did wander a lot, although I managed to stay awake! 🤣🤣🤣 A lot of good it did me though, because I don't remember much of it at all.

I'm really behind, so these are going to be quick reviews of my August reading:

86. Christopher and Columbus, Elizabeth von Arnim (1919); ebook

One could call this a delightful book, but somehow I found it disappointing. It is 1916. A set of orphaned twins, Anna-R and Anna-F, are banished to America by their English aunt and uncle. Their crime? Their late mother was English who married their late father, a German. On their voyage across the Atlantic they meet Mr Twist, a wealthy American, who finds them delightful and befriends them, and everything goes on from there.

Von Arnim's tone throughout the book is almost like a fairy-tale or fable. It is half in earnest and half in jest. Underneath the surface the story is disturbing, because along the way the twins (who consider themselves German by accident only) are repeatedly shunned. Yet the Germans the twins meet in America are portrayed as boorish and unpleasant. But what bothered me most was that the ending completely veers away from the real issues and ends in Cinderella fashion.

87. The Dressmaker, Beryl Bainbridge(1973); Root from 2021

Set in Liverpool during WWII, the story centers around Rita, a sheltered 17-year-old, who meets Ira, an American soldier, at a party. Rita has been raised by her two middle-aged aunts, Nellie (a dressmaker) and Marge, who all live together in their family home. Their brother Jack (and Rita's father) lives above his shop not far away. This dark story is really about the family dynamics, and how Rita's teen-age crush up-ends the family.

Bainbridge's detailed descriptions of the characters, their clothing, their furnishings and the general shabbiness of their lives drew me in, but at the same time made me feel constantly ill-at-ease, like I was seeing things I shouldn't. I can't say I liked any of the family, but I didn't outright dislike them either--they were trapped. This was a quick read with a shocking ending, but I'm not sure I'll be seeking out Bainbridge again; probably too dark for my taste.

88. Love and Youth: Essential Stories, Ivan Turgenev, translated by Nicolas Pasternak Slater and Maya Slater; (1852 & 1860 "First Love"); Root from 2022

Like most short story collections, some were better than others. The best was the first (and longest), "First Love", which is about the adoring love of young teenage boy for a slightly older woman Zinaida. Turgenev completely captures that young devoted first love feeling. Of the rest of the stories, "The District Doctor" was my second favorite, about a doctor who falls in love with his dying patient. I thought these 2 stories were excellent and the other 4 stories just OK. Loved this Pushkin Press edition, though.

89. From These Shores, Helga Skogsbergh (1975); Root from 2022

This is a one-volume abridgement of Helga Skogsbergh's three autobiographical novels about her family's homestead on the southern shores of Lake Superior in Wisconsin. Originally published as Comes the Day, Comes a Way (1960); From These Shores (1963); and That Was Then (1969), this 1975 edition is an abridgement which has selected chapters from each of the 3 volumes. The story focuses on two young couples, the Hansons and the Samuelsons, who have immigrated in the 1880s from Sweden to Duluth. In 1891 the two men are enticed by a call for families to homestead on the southern shores of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin, near Ashland (their settlement would later be known as Port Wing). They pack up their families and travel by steamer across the lake with all their belongings, some furniture and a cow.

What was most interesting is that the books are more from the women's points of view, as Skogsbergh is relating the stories her mother (here called Mama Hanson) told about this pilgrimage. It deals with their hard work, loneliness (their husbands are away weeks at a time at a logging camp), privations and learning to help one another during high points and low points, childbirth and infant burials. There is an over-riding steadfastness and faith which keeps these immigrants surviving and thriving. Told as a novel, but knowing that the basic storylines were true, I found this an effective and moving way to tell an immigrant family's story.

90. Good Daughters, Mary Hocking (1984); Root from 2020, read for the All Virago/All August challenge

This is a quiet story, the first in a trilogy, of a family with 3 daughters (ages 16, 12, 9), set from 1933 through 1937. It's mostly told from the point of view of Alice, the 12-year-old, and is about their day-to-day lives with friends, neighbors, relatives and a unnerving undercurrent of the tidings of war. I loved this book, and look forward to the second book.

91. My Life in Middlemarch, Rebecca Mead (2014); Root from 2015

I've been staring at this book for 8 years now, and finally got around to it. Mead combines memoir, biography of George Eliot and analysis of Middlemarch in a perfectly seamless way. The eight chapters are structured around the eight "Books" of Middlemarch. I didn't feel like any one of the elements (memoir, biography, analysis) dominated. Mead is there, but she's not front and center. So glad I finally gotten around to reading this one.

My last 3 books of the month are all related to my RL book club's August read: the children's classic The Secret Garden:


92. The Secret Garden Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911); Re-read from 2013. I read a straight-forward edition about the selfish British orphan girl, raised in India, who is banished to her uncle's gloomy house on the Yorkshire moors. There she encounters nature, new friends and a secret place. I hadn't remembered the references to "Magic" from my past readings, which stood out to me this time. I also noticed how Mary becomes stronger and less selfish, but how little (except physically) Colin changes in temperament.

93. Unearthing the Secret Garden, Marta McDowell (2021) This is a wonderful mash-up of the life of Frances Hodgson Burnett, her love of gardens, and how that passion is shown in The Secret Garden. Burnett didn't become a gardener until she was 50, but she went into it with great zeal. The famous garden in The Secret Garden is based on a garden that she brought back to life in Kent. A lovely book with lots of pictures from both Burnett's life and illustrations from the children's classic.

94. The Annotated Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett, with intro and annotations by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, (1911; this annotated edition 2007). I read this one last, and just read the intro and the annotations, having read the novel on its own a few weeks earlier. Gerzina points out all the references to the Brontes (Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and the Yorkshire moors) that Burnett used in her story. She has some lengthy descriptions of Burnett's own "philosophy" of Magic: a combination of Christianity, nature, science, positive thinking, a bit a Freud here and there, all rolled into one. It's a big coffee-table type book, but well worth the read for all of the valuable insights into the novel and the era that it was written.

September possibilities...we know I'll never finish them all, but one can dream....

✔ Jamaica Inn, Daphne Du Maurier

Currently reading:
✔ Martin Chuzzlewit, Dickens, on audiobook....just taking me forever to finish
✔ Tales from a Village School, Miss Read, for the September "school" theme of the British Authors Challenge and Reading Through Time

From the Library:
✔ Simply Artificial Intelligence, DK Publishing, 2023
The Private Life of Spies and The Exquisite Art of Getting Even, Alexander McCall Smith, 2023, stories
Young Mrs Savage, D. E. Stevenson, 1947

From the TBR:

September LT Challenges:
✔ ClassicsCAT: nonfiction: Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave, Elizabeth Keckley, 1868
✔ RandomKIT: The West: The Whistling Season, Ivan Doig, 2006
Reading through Time Quarterly: WWII: A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute, 1950
✔ Virago: Excellent Women, Barbara Pym 1952
AlphaKIT: Angel Elizabeth Taylor (1957)

My Read or Rid Challenge:
Mrs Bridge, Evan S. Connell, 1959
Peace Like a River Leif Enger, 2001

Getting Ready for Victober (Victorian October):

Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell, 1853
The Golden Lion of Granpere, 1867, or ✔ Harry Heathcote of Gangoil, 1874, Anthony Trollope

Some nice books planned Kathy. I should read Excellent Women soon too.

>165 PaulCranswick: Thanks for stopping by, Paul. I've read all of Barbara Pym, so I'm looking forward to this re-read; it's one of my favorites.

Which would be the best place to start, Kathy, because I haven't read any of them?

I think Excellent Women and Quartet in Autumn are two of her best. Excellent Women is very much like her other books, and is considered her best in this style and subject matter. Quartet in Autumn was short-listed for the Booker, but is quite different from her other books, with a darker feel.

>168 kac522: I have them both so I will have a think about where to begin!

Victober (Victorian October) is almost here, and I'm piling up my possibilities for the challenges. If you're interested in reading Victorian literature (literature of Great Britain published between 1837-1901) during October, checkout Kate Howe's announcement video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwTa7bjePg4
Kate will continue to have Victorian themed videos throughout October.

There are 5 challenges:

✔ 1. Read a Victorian work featuring a stranger/outsider: Agnes Grey, Ruth
2. Read a piece of Victorian ‘New Woman’ fiction
3. Read a Victorian work by an author who is new to you
✔ 4. Read a Victorian first-person narrative -- Agnes Grey
✔ 5. Read a Victorian work in which class features strongly Ruth

There is a Group Read: The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope. I'm not going to do the group read, as I am trying to read Trollope in publication order, and I have a couple more until I get to this one.

Here are my possibilities, from most likely to least likely:

Currently reading: Dombey and Son, Charles Dickens (1848); on audiobook; meets challenge 5
✔ Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte (1847) meets challenges 1, 4 and 5; it's a book I've been meaning to re-read for some time.
The Odd Women, George Gissing (1893) meets challenges 2 and 3
✔ Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell (1853) meets challenge 1 and 5
A Child of the Jago, Arthur Morrison (1896) meets challenges 3 and 5
Jessie Phillips, Mrs Fanny Trollope (1843) meets challenges 3 and 5

Other Victorian works that are possibilities, but don't meet the challenges:

Currently Reading: The Golden Lion of Granpère, Anthony Trollope (1867)
Ralph the Heir, Anthony Trollope (1871)
Essays by Robert Louis Stevenson, collected essays from 1874 to 1888
Anna of the Five Towns, Arnold Bennett (1902)--just misses the cut-off but has the "New Woman" theme

And two nonfiction works about the Victorians:

Currently Reading: The Ghost Map, Steven Johnson (2006); about the cholera epidemic in 1854 London
Currently Reading: Elizabeth Gaskell: A Habit of Stories, Jenny Uglow

I know I won't finish all of these, but I'm ready to jump in!

Quick reviews of September reading...lots of books that were mostly OK:


95. Jamaica Inn, Daphne Du Maurier (1936); fiction
Historical fiction set in 1815 Cornwall that seemed repetitive, over-long and a romance I didn't believe in. Meh.


96. Simply Artificial Intelligence, DK Publishing (2023); nonfiction
Basic guide to that ubiquitous term "AI", which helped clarify some concepts for me. Good for middle grades to adults.


❤️97. Tales from a Village School, Miss Read (1994); fiction
Fictional stories based on Miss Read's real experience as a teacher in English rural schools. Like most Miss Read books, the stories follow the calendar, starting with September and ending at summer vacation.


98. Harry Heathcote of Gangoil, Anthony Trollope (1874); fiction
Entertaining novella set in the Australian outback approaching Christmas, about a man defending his property against heat-induced fires and vengeful neighbors.


99. The Whistling Season, Ivan Doig (2006); fiction
Historical fiction set in a Montana homestead school during the 1909-10 school year. Good story, but I found the writing unnecessarily ornate; to me it felt contrived.


100. Martin Chuzzlewit, Charles Dickens (1844); re-read on audiobook; fiction
Felt pretty much the same as on my first reading: the middle drags, but the beginning and especially the last third of the book is very good. Not a favorite Dickens, though.


101. A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams (1947); play
Unlikable characters who do painful, stupid things. I couldn't find any redeeming value in it.


102. Behind the Scenes: or, Thirty Years a Slave, and Four Years in the White House, Elizabeth Keckley (1868); memoir
This was easy to read and eye-opening, especially Keckley's years with Mary Todd Lincoln. Not as memorable as Frederick Douglass's memoir, but interesting from the point of view of a woman and domestic life.


103. Indifferent Heroes, Mary Hocking (1985)
Second book in Mary Hocking's Fairley family trilogy; I read the first book in August. This book begins in 1939 and ends in Fall 1945, and it felt more disjointed. I wanted more about daughter Alice, front and center.


104. The Faithful Spy, John Hendrix (2018); nonfiction graphic book for middle grade and older
The story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor involved in various plots to kill Hitler. Best known for his writings from prison and death in a concentration camp, just weeks before liberation. Appropriate for mature middle-graders up to adults; the disturbing facts are never glossed over or ignored.


❤️105. Excellent Women, Barbara Pym (1952); re-read from 2013; fiction
Wonderful witty short novel about a woman who is satisfied and fulfilled in her single life.


106. Good-Bye, Mr. Chips, James Hilton (1933); fiction
Boys' school teacher looks back on his long career and many pupils; wistful but not overly melancholy. Covers his teaching days from the late Victorian era (1870s), through the Great War and into the 1930s.

Victober Reading Update:

I've finished a re-read of Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte, which I enjoyed a bit more than my first reading, I think. It didn't feel as hopeless as the first reading.

Currently reading and am about 1/3 through each of these:
Dombey and Son, Charles Dickens, on audiobook, slightly more engaging than I remember it.
and
Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell, which so far I'm really enjoying.

I've picked up Elizabeth Gaskell: A Habit of Stories, a biography by Jenny Uglow. This is a hefty bio, so I doubt if I'll finish it this month.

Also I'll be reading some Gaskell "ghost" stories with the Liz's Virago group read.

Up next will probably be a non-Victober selection: The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, for the American Authors Challenge.

And I'm watching lots of Victober video content, so I'm very happy.

So far my Victober continues to progress. I've chosen not to do the Group Read, but rather read shorter works.
Finished:
Agnes Grey, Anne Bronte (first person narrative), a re-read
Ruth, Elizabeth Gaskell (stranger)
The Golden Lion of Granpère, Trollope, (class) a re-read

And two stories by Elizabeth Gaskell, which were re-reads:
"The Old Nurse's Story" and The Poor Clare

I also watched the BBC Mini-series of Martin Chuzzlewit, a book I re-read in August-September. The series was very true to the book, and I particularly liked the performance of Paul Scofield as old Martin.

Currently reading:
The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson; nonfiction about the 1854 cholera epidemic in London; read 3 chapters
Elizabeth Gaskell: A Habit of Stories, by Jenny Uglow; biography; I'm about 100 pages in, but will probably not finish this month
Dombey & Son, Dickens, on audio; a re-read; may run over into November

Still to be read:
A Child of the Jago, Morrison; (new-to-me author & class)
The Odd Women, Gissing; (new-to-me author & New Woman)
3 stories by Gaskell, all re-reads, part of a group read with Liz:
"Lois the Witch"
"The Grey Woman"
Curious, If True

Other possibilities if time permits:
Anna of the Five Towns, Arnold Bennet (new-to-me author & New Woman)
Finally, 3 stories by Margaret Oliphant in the Carlingford Chronicles (The Executor, The Rector, The Doctor's Family, all re-reads)

Outside of Victober, I also finished The Home-Maker by Dorothy Canfield Fisher for the AAC, and will be reading Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury for my RL Book Club.