Books! Books! Books! Can't get enough of them! But a book is never fully appreciated until it is discussed- with one person, many people, or on a blog. Since I retired, I have always belonged to book clubs - one, two, three, or even four at a time. I always have an opinion about the book I am reading. It isn't always the popular opinion, but it is mine. This is what will be on my blog.
Our local library book club enjoyed listening to Joyce Spring talk about the female pilots that she has researched while writing her non-fiction books: "Daring Lady Flyers: Canadian Women in the Early Years of Aviation", and "The Sky's the Limit: Canadian Women Bush Pilots". Joyce is working on the final book of the trilogy and the book club was cheering her on to finish. They even envisioned a documentary of Canadian women in Flight.
I really enjoyed reading about women such as Olive Stark. In 1912, she was the first woman airplane passenger in Canada. She sat beside her husband on the lower wing of his 'Curtiss'. The plane was a mass of wire and bamboo. Her feet were dangling and she only had the wire rigging to hang onto.
Madge Graham
Madge Graham, in 1919, navigated for her husband as they flew at tree-top level from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia to Grand’Mère, Quebec. The noise from the engine made conversation impossible so Madge rigged up a miniature clothes-line to send messages. The 800 mile trip took five days and nine hours to complete with crowds greeting them at every stop. But not everyone was impressed. Admiral Byrd (the first man to fly the Pole) declared, "Flying seaplanes over land is suicide and taking a woman along is criminal."
Certainly the flights were experimental and dangerous, but women continued their interest in flight and soon were taking off on their own. And now many women are qualified commercial pilots as well as bush pilots and military pilots. Even the Snowbirds have a female wing commander.
Joyce gave us an interesting look at women's role in aviation, but also the history of flight in Canada. We were fascinated!
I just finished reading this book and discovered that there are many different covers. The book was just published last year. It was written in Australia. The English covers are interesting, but there are other covers in different languages.
We will be discussing this book in an upcoming book club, so I won't comment on it now, but it is very popular and funny.
I was fascinated to see how Moose Jaw responded to world Book Day. They were declared
Reading Town Canada.
Many, many activities were planned over the week of May 3-10 this year. The students were doing a reading flash mob at City Hall. That sounds fun! Heres' another activity: Blind Date with a Canadian Book: Didn’t your mother tell you not to judge a book by its cover? Moose Javians (that’s actually what they call themselves!) who stop into the popular cafe 23 Main Street can pick up a book wrapped in plain paper. On the house! There will be some hints about the book’s content written on the paper, but it will otherwise be a completely blind date with a Canadian book. But my favourite:
Ceremonial Walk & Read
Robert Sawyer's short story, "The Stanley Cup Caper" was posted on the windows throughout the town. The mayor led a ceremonial walk along the main street to begin the special week.
Moose Jaw is a great town with 47 fascinating murals painted on the buildings. I would love to have been there for World Book Week and see Robert Sawyer's words posted throughout the town.
This book is called a psychological thriller. It certainly contains a lot of psychology, since the protagonist is a psychotherapist. However, it didn't appear to be a thriller. The language and feel of the book lacked suspense. In fact, the ending is announced on the second page: "a few short months are all it will take to make a killer out of her." Perhaps it could be called a psychological drama.
A.S.A. Harrison
I read it on a three- day bus trip. It kept my interest in spite of all the chatter and other bus distractions.
There was considerable psychological theory- Freud and Adler, in particular. Both Jodi, the protagonist, and her "husband" of 20 years had serious issues from their childhood and it seems that they were just playing out their parents' mistakes.
There were some surprises, but also some dead ends. Rather interesting and gets better on reflection.
The author, Susan Harrison died of cancer, at 65, before the book was published. She lived in Toronto.
Wanda Brunstetter is familiar with the Amish community although she is not a part of it. She has written a ton of Amish literature- adult fiction (series or stand-alone), novellas, cookbooks, devotionals, photography, children's books.
Her fiction series centre on Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
I just returned from that area and was very interested to see one of Wanda's books made into a stage musical.
My reaction- bizarre!
The plot is bizarre- Emma Yoder, a widow, decides to offer quilting lessons. She gets six replies- three men and three women! The men are: a widower with a baby, a biker fresh from jail, and an angry hen-pecked husband. The women are: a disillusioned minister's wife, a sulky, goth teenager, and a bossy wife.
The presentation is bizarre!
They constantly break out into song, with Emma joining in on all the dance moves! Bizarre!
Also, they added a scene about the war. The young father was a school teacher in the book, but in the play he was a soldier. So there were weird flashbacks. Very unsettling and unnecessary to the plot.
The Amish are peace-loving and that addition was bizarre!
I love the Amish and feel that they are an important and wonderful part of Pennsylvania. I was trying to decide if this musical was making fun of the Amish. It was unsettling! Bizarre!
My daughter, a quilter, did not like the book - too far-fetched. I thought it was-bizarre!
Wanda's books are all simple, easy-to-read, with God solving everyone's problems before the final page.
I prefer the real stories of the Amish. There are many road-side stands run by Amish people in Lancaster county, and they are often willing to engage in conversation. I admire them greatly.
Wanda Brustetter has a great following. Amish fiction is becoming extremely popular. Many women are entering this field, with names like Amy, Cindy, Linda, Laura, Suzanne, Tricia, Jody, Beth. No men!
My favourite and perhaps one of the 'originals' is Beverly Lewis. She has written over 80 books.
The cast of "half-Stitched"
The musical is called "Half-Stitched" and is presented in a bare basement room, with folding chairs, in Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania.
I greatly enjoyed Nancy Horan's novel about Frank Lloyd Wright, "Loving Frank", and was sure that Robert Louis Stevenson's life would be just as fascinating in Horan's new book, "Under the Wide andStarry Sky".
The connecting theme between the two books turned out to be the women who loved these men. Both Mamah Cheney and Fanny Osbourne fell so deeply in love with these men that they gave up everything, including their children.
Fanny Osbourne was married with three children when she fell in love with Stevenson. She left her home in San Francisco to live with him in France. When her youngest son died, she returned to the U.S.A. to try to put her marriage back together, but when she sent a message to Stevenson "I'm lost and sick- need you", he dropped everything in Scotland and traveled to California- almost dying in the process. When he arrived she was healthy and still married. He wandered off and nearly died.
However, eventually they married and traveled the world to find a healthy climate for his fragile health.
They finally settled in Samoa, where they built a huge house and brought all their fine furniture (including a piano), paintings and china. That is where Stevenson died at 44.
Robert Louis Stevenson. 1850–1894
Under the wide and starry sky
Dig the grave and let me lie:
Glad did I live and gladly die,
And I laid me down with a will.
This be the verse you 'grave for me:
Here he lies where he long'd to be;
Home is the sailor, home from the sea,
And the hunter home from the hill.
Photo
Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, an American, married Robert Louis Stevenson in 1880.CrI was prepared to love this book, but it took a long time to really get involved in the book. I considered quitting often. By about page 150, I began to get so involved that I didn't want to put it down.
I expected to love this book, but really struggled through the first 150 pages. At that point I became totally engrossed and didn't want to put it down. But the book is long and by page 400, I was again losing interest.
Much of the story seemed improbable but I know that the author had many resources to rely on and tried to pack all the details into the story.
It is often mentioned that they had no money, but they traveled constantly- England, Scotland, U.S.A., Switzerland, France. They lived in fine hotels and rented private ships. They were looking for a good climate for Louis' poor health.
There is great detail about his writing and the reactions of his friends in the literary community. I think overall, my problem with the book is that too much was jammed into it.
Stevenson's most famous writings were: "Treasure Island", "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde". and "Kidnapped". He also wrote "A Child's Garden of Verses".
The Land of Counterpane
When I was sick and lay a-bed, I had two pillows at my head, And all my toys beside me lay, To keep me happy all the day.
And sometimes for an hour or so I watched my leaden soldiers go, With different uniforms and drills, Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;
And sometimes sent my ships in fleets All up and down among the sheets; Or brought my trees and houses out, And planted cities all about.
I was the giant great and still That sits upon the pillow-hill, And sees before him, dale and plain, The pleasant land of counterpane.
I belong to Wordsmith.org and every morning, an e-mail arrives with the word of the day and lots of talk about 'words and their meanings'. There is also a quote for the day. Recently the quote was: "As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death" (Leonardo de Vinci)
Well, this morning I made my monthly visit to a near-by nursing home, delivering books for the public library. Many of the people are in their last days and sometimes the visit seems sad. But I have discovered a lady that really makes the visit interesting. I would like to have her picture, but I wouldn't ask because she wouldn't understand why I wanted to take her picture. Well, perhaps she understands much more than I thought! She was reading "The Case Against Darwin" by James Perloff. She has always questioned the theory of evolution and found this book very much to her liking. However, she also is planning to read a book that favours the theory of evolution. She is interested in reading both sides of the argument. Imagine- at 90!
I felt so connected to this lady. She actually doesn't need books from the library because her family buy every book she mentions. And she reads magazines to keep up-to-date on books that are hot off the press.
And so, we had a lovely 'book chat' about what she's reading/what I'm reading. What a delight!
I also deliver books to a retirement home that has a very different atmosphere. These residents are active and healthy. One resident attends (and leads) a book club. A few months ago she told me about the book that she was preparing to discuss: "The Kitchen House" by Kathleen Grissom.
So I decided to read the book.
It is a long book, following three generations on a plantation beginning in 1791, when Lavinia McCarter, aged 7, is taken to the plantation because her parents had died on the ship from Ireland.
Although it was difficult to get into the book, I was totally involved after a few chapters. I loved the description of the routines in the lives of those in 'the big house' and those in the 'kitchen house'.
The climax was chaotic and every time it seemed that things couldn't get any worse, they did!
Reading the book was a large investment of time and I would have liked it to be better edited, with a more satisfying ending.
When I returned to the retirement home the next time, the resident was delighted that I had read the book and she went to her room for her notes and we sat and chatted about the book. Delightful!
I am reading "Too close to the Falls", a memoir written by a psychologist, of her early years in Lewiston, New York. It surprises me that the author can remember so many details of childhood events. Can she really remember conversations from many, many years ago, when she was a very young child? Could she really read proficiently at four and help with pharmacy deliveries?
I realize that there is often a question about the truth in biographies. Certainly time changes incidents of your childhood. And, of course, two people remember the very same incident in different ways.
However, I always enjoy both biographies and autobiographies, realizing that there is fiction in both.
James Fry was publicly humiliated when the details of his autobiography "A Million Little Pieces" turned out to have some fictional aspects. But there was great emotion in the book and I felt that I understood addiction better after reading that book. Perhaps the fictional aspects were what kept me engrossed. The introduction was fascinating: "The young man came to the Old Man seeking counsel.
I broke something, Old Man. How badly is it broken?
It's in a million little pieces.
I'm afraid I can't help you.
Why?
There's nothing you can do.
Why?
It can't be fixed.
Why?
It's broken beyond repair. It's in a million little pieces."
The author was an alcoholic, drug addict and criminal. He began drinking at ten (football games, parents' parties). He smoked pot at 12 . He blacked out at 14 - coke, acid, crystal meth at 15, etc.
He talks about "The Fury" that he has always felt- never connecting with his parents.
There are no sentences or paragraphs - free style writing. It was compelling!
I learned a lot about addiction and didn't worry whether every detail was completely accurate.
"The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio" by Terry Ryan was a light and interesting biography.
The subtitle is: "How my mother raised 10 kids on 25 words or less".
In 1953, with 10 children to support, Leo Ryan worked in a machine shop making $90.00 a week and spending $30.00 of that on beer. His wife, Evelyn, wrote poetry and jingles to supplement that. When they were being evicted, she won $5.000. and bought a house. She also won a 5 minute grocery shopping spree. ($411.44 worth of food). "Her delight in living rose out of bed with her every day. It was the one thing Dad couldn't drink away." When Evelyn died, all 10 children returned to the family home and reminisced about their mother's resilience and creativity.
"An island to someone who has never left it is the world".
"The land is more important than the country". I have enjoyed reading Wayne Johnston's fiction stories that are set in Newfoundland and I enjoyed reading this biography of his family. The men are the main characters- Wayne, his father Art, and grandfather Charlie. I still remember, years after reading the book, the descriptions of travelling with horse and buggy in the winter. Sometimes the driver fell asleep and the horses found their own way home. There are interesting descriptions of the forge and blacksmithing during Charlie's life. Art was an inspector for the Department of Fisheries and made some interesting trips. The train trip across Newfoundland (Art and Wayne) described some of the geography as well as introducing mummers.
George Dawson was featured on one of Oprah's shows. He learned to read at 98. He was studying for his GED at age 103 when he died.
Dawson was born in 1898 in Texas. He saw lynchings and feared the Ku Klux Klan. He travelled until he married and had seven children. He always helped them with their homework even though he couldn't read. He also drove a car until he needed to take a test, so had to give up driving.A man came to his door and invited him to attend an adult education program. I enjoyed Dawson's memories and also his attitude. He was hard-working and honest.
Quote: “Things will be all right. People need to hear that. Life is good, just as it is. There isn’t anything I would change about my life.”—George Dawson _______________________________________________________________________________ I have recorded 63 biographies and autobiographies that I have read. Several of these are about a spiritual search. Others are appreciated for the sense of time and place, such as "Lemon Swamp and Other Places: a Carolina memoir". Mamie Fields, born in 1888 in Charlston, had collected a lot of writing over the years and her granddaughter helped her work on the book for 8 years, with the publication accomplished when Mamie was 95. I really enjoy biographies in any form. "Loving Frank" (Frank Lloyd Wright) was great and I am planning to read Nancy Horan's latest book "Under the Wide and Starry Sky"- a biography of Robert Louis Stevenson.
Book clubs are a great way to meet interesting people. Pat has been a welcome addition to our library book club and I had an opportunity to have coffee with her recently. What a delight! One of the joys in my life is chatting with other readers.
And Pat exudes a love for books. Growing up in the country, reading was very important to her family. Her mother belonged to a book club that sent out the books for purchase. The children were able to read some of those books and it made reading important and exciting.
The result is that Pat and her sister are both avid readers. Her sister lives in Toronto and they chat on the phone every day. Books are often part of the conversation. Do they always agree on a book? Often, but not always. So they discuss the book thoroughly and agree to disagree!
Pat's visual limitations have in no way limited her connection with books. She has two avenues of reading- one is a device known as CCTV. This machine projects the written words onto her computer. Thus, while reading in this format, Pat needs to be at her computer. And so, Pat supplements that reading with an e-reader that is portable. Actually she uses an ipad for this purpose, where she has a large screen with its own light. Two books on the go! And what are her favourites? Stories from a variety of countries. "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese Marion and Shiva Stone are twins born of a union between a nun and a British surgeon. When they are orphaned, they both become doctors in Ethiopia.
"The Colour of Tea" by Hannah Tunnicliffe. In Macua, Grace Miller's life is in turmoil. Her marriage is disintegrating and her dreams of a family seem impossible. She resolves to do something bold- she opens a small cafe.
"A Walk Across the Sun" by Corban Addison.
Two sisters in India are orphaned by a tsunami, kidnapped and delivered to a brothel in Mumbai.
And her most favourite is......
"Pride and Prejudice".
Pat's favourite
Pat also enjoys mysteries (Louise Penny, Giles Blunt) and legal thrillers (Robert Rotenberg).
For encouragement and support, Pat goes to Joyce Meyer, author of "Battlefield of the Mind".
What a delightful variety of reading styles and content!
Gabriel Garcia Marquez died on April 17 at 87 years of age. He was born in Colombia and died in Mexico City. Marquez wrote 6 full-length novels. They were tales of love, loss and magic, rooted in Latin American history. He wrote many non-fiction books and short stories. He popularized a literary style known as magical realism, which uses magical elements and events in order to explain real experiences. His biography, titled "Living To Tell the Tale" documented his life from birth to 1950. It is believed that he had intended to write his life story in 3 volumes. Several other authors have written biographies of Marquez' life. Marquez is world-renowned and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982. Colombia has declared 3 days of mourning. Tributes have come from many sources. Bill Clinton praised the legacy of García Márquez, adding: "I was always amazed by his unique gifts of imagination, clarity of thought, and emotional honesty. He captured the pain and joy of our common humanity in settings both real and magical. I was honoured to be his friend and to know his great heart and brilliant mind for more than 20 years."
"One Hundred Years of Solitude" is considered to be Marquez' masterpiece. It was first published in Spanish in 1967, and subsequently has been translated into thirty-seven languages and has sold more than 30 million copies. I read this book in 1999. Alas! It was beyond my understanding. Sample: "Time also stumbled and had accidents and could therefore splinter and leave an eternalized fragment in a room". I could not tell you what that book was about until I found the Spark Notes version. Aha!
My friend Terri has a great appreciation of Marquez' writing and has a collection of his novels and biographies. She informed me of his death. Terri's favourite book is "Love in the Time of Cholera". She certainly has a feel for this man's writing and this particular book really touches a chord in her heart. She has a real connection with the man and his writing.
Gabriel Garcia quotes: "The secret of good old-age is none other than an honest pact with solitude". "It is not true that people stop pursuing dreams because they grow old, they grow old because they stop pursuing dreams".(Memories of My Melancholy Whores)
"Age has no reality except in the physical world. The essence of a human being is resistant to the passage of time. Our inner lives are eternal, which is to say that our spirits remain as youthful and vigorous as when we were in full bloom. Think of love as a state of grace, not the means to anything, but the alpha and omega. An end in itself." (Love in the Time of cholera) "If I knew that today would be the last time I’d see you, I would hug you tight and pray the Lord be the keeper of your soul. If I knew that this would be the last time you pass through this door, I’d embrace you, kiss you, and call you back for one more. If I knew that this would be the last time I would hear your voice, I’d take hold of each word to be able to hear it over and over again. If I knew this is the last time I see you, I’d tell you I love you, and would not just assume foolishly you know it already." (One Hundred Years of Solitude)
Reading is a wonderful pastime because it is cheap and always available.
You can spend great amounts of money at the book stores, or get free books from the library.
You can read if you are in great health or failing health.
You can read books on an e-reader for comfort and ease.
You can listen to books on tape if you have visual problems.
There is no end to stories.
This is where I would like to be....cozy and content, each book waiting to be read.
But more often, I feel like this... frustrated that I can't get keep up with all the books that I want to read.
Alistair MacLeod died today- a great author, a great man! Born in North Battleford, Saskatchewan on July 20, 1936,
Alistair's family moved to a farm on Cape Breton Island when he was ten.
Alistair began his career teaching public school. After more education, he taught university in Indiana and Windsor. His summers were spent in a cottage near Inverness on Cape Breton Island, where he wrote lots of short stories.
Can you believe that he only wrote one novel? And what a novel!
This novel was published in 1999 and I have been in three discussion groups when this book was discussed. So I have read it many times. I believe that it is a 'perfect novel'. In 2002, Waterloo Region began One Book One Community and I was hooked from the start! This novel was the first book chosen! I was so excited about the book as well as the concept that I arranged to read the whole book at Fairview Mennonite Nursing Home. Three days a week I arrived with music to set the scene while people were arriving. I read in spite of coughing spells and listeners falling asleep. Nothing could limit my enthusiasm. I played great Scottish tunes while the residents left the room. I really looked forward to these readings. I had the last reading booked for the week before I was going on a holiday. The ending of the novel is fabulous and I was so excited to read it aloud. The recorder and book were ready as I prepared to leave the house, when the phone rang. It was the announcement that the nursing home was in quarantine. By the time the quarantine was lifted, I was on the road. Possibly no residents recognized the absence of the ending, and I accepted that I had a great time reading this delightful book aloud from beginning- almost to the end!
When Alistair came to speak for O.B.O.C. I was there with bells on. He was delightful and I had an opportunity to ask a question. I forget the question, but remember that Alistair responded that it was a great question and I was thrilled to be in conversation with him.
I had another encounter with Alistair at Eden Mills Festival. It was a very relaxed setting where several authors speak outside at different locations. After listening to him talk about his writing, a group of us chatted with him about his O.B.O.C experience as well as other things. It was very informal and he was delightful! We were all charmed! Alistair MacLeod won many awards, including The Dublin Literary Award - the highest paying award at $172,000.00. In the book "Atlantic Canada's 100 Greatest Books, his book is listed as the best Atlantic book of all time. What an author! What a man!
I met Gayle at a book club. She is a great reader and we clicked because we often enjoyed the same books. We both love interesting characters and we really prefer a linear story!
Because of a disability, Gayle is not always able to get to book discussions and so John and I visited to chat about books- our own little book club!
John loved "Emma" and had a great chat with Gayle about it. Gayle also wanted to discuss "The Woefield Poultry Collective", but John didn't like that one and didn't finish reading it.
We had tea and scones and a lovely chat.
Because we like the same books, I find Gayle's bookshelf intriguing. She had to down-size recently when she moved and, since her husband is building a house on Lake Huron, she is trying to get as many books read as possible before the next move.
Gayle had a career with Bell Canada, as a manager. She also spent three years working at Chapters where she must have spent her paycheque on books. This is only one of her shelves, but the most fascinating.
Gayle's book shelf
I have read some of the books on this shelf and there are others that are on my list of must-reads.
I can't wait until Gayle reads "A Round-Heeled Woman". The protagonist, Jane, was 66 and felt 'a little dying' happening to her. She had been celibate for 42 years and wanted to have one last fling. It is a bizarre, crude, quirky book. Quick and fun to read. Entertaining.
I'm also interested in Gayle's reaction to Mark Haddon's book "A Spot of Bother". Mark Haddon takes mental health issues and writes from the perspective of the patient. "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" was hugely popular. Wonderful to get inside the mind of an autistic boy. Now Mark has written about a 57-year-old retired hypochondriac. Sounds interesting, but some of his fans were disappointed. What will Gayle think?
Gayle has been reading for 20 years and "The Life of Pi" is her favourite book. Many people agree and it was made into a movie.
Gayle just finished reading John Grisham's "Painted House". Written in 2001, this book is very different from the legal thrillers that Grisham usually writes.
Gayle enjoys when she can learn from books. I love discussing books with her!
