I think we miss some of that now

The biography bug hasn't hit me yet; I'm still a fiction gal. But I like to peruse biographies every now and then to see if I've developed a taste for the genre. I recently pored over Linda Lear's Beatrix Potter biography. Titled Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature. I didn't read all of it, but enough to know that Lear is an interesting writer and a solid researcher. I was most fascinated by how much of Potter's life was spend studying and observing and drawing animals---Potter paid the price for her ability to draw creatures and make them life-like and fantastic at the same time. I think we miss some of that now---it's not in our culture for people to take time to "just" draw and watch. Pity. I think we're missing something.

So then the biography led me, of course, to Potter's fictional children's stories. I knew she wrote Peter Rabbit, but I had not met Timmy Tippytoes or Jemima Puddleduck or Duchess the Dog. These books are adorable! I'm going to put them on my Amazon.com wishlist and collect a bunch. They are not flashy (think: not David Shannon, whose work I adore). They are clever and charming. If you don't want to read the biography, at least venture into some of Beatrix Potter's lesser known fiction. It will delight both the child and the adult in you.

(But Liz, check out the biography. I think you'll like it.)

The problem with blogging about books

The problem about blogging about books is that it takes me a long time to have something to write about in a new post. It's not like a recipe blog where, poof, I can whip something up and TADA! Blog entry!

I'm currently reading three books simultaneously and I'll report on them soon. Some people think this is akin to book adultery, to read three books at the same time. I don't think it's disloyal, just interesting. It's like having three good friends all on speaker phone.

But I can tell you about Schwartz's bestseller, The Commoner. It amazes me what gets on the bestseller lists sometimes. I'd call The Commoner "good", but it's not enough to trip over an electric fence for, which is what "Bestseller List" conjures in my mind: stampeding readers willing to throw themselves in the path of danger just for a glimpse of chapter four. Schwartz writes in a 1st person female voice about the fictional life of a commoner in Japanese society marrying the crown prince.

The story was good, the writing was lovely (artistic even), but it was the voice that threw me off. I haven't yet encountered a male writer who can do a first person female voice that sings for me. Potok tried to do it in Davita's Harp, but it wasn't quite there. I could never put my finger on it in either book: but the narrator in both cases was missing . . . . something. But what it was, I could not say.

But still. Good work, readable. Interesting.

Saddle up

I finally found a book to give hope to Guernsey fans. Honestly, I was worried that I'd never find another good book again and I would wither away, pining.

But saddle up, cowgirls, and get ready for a wild ride. I've found a book that will put the spice back in your chili.

Read These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner. This came recommended from two sources: one, my friend Lys-An, who always finds the good stuff and two, from a woman on a plane who overheard me mention the title and turned around in her seat to tell me that she LOVES this book.

I liked it from the start, and by page eight, I was hooked. The passage that did it was when the narrator, teenage Sarah, is describing how she shot a deer and some other girls in her wagon train are shocked. Sarah says, "They said so many times oh my, oh my, that I thought I might of stood on my head and sang a song it was so strange to them. Well I lived in the territory all my life and I got four brothers and a girl has got to get along."

Hook. Line. Sinker. Right til the very end.

Just trust me. Go find the book. Meg in Sheridan, request that your library buy it.

Religion was the theme. But I wasn't expecting it.

I recently finished the next two books in the Ember series, The Prophet of Yonwood and The Diamond of Darkhold, as well as The Language of Bees by Laurie King.

The Prophet of Yonwood was well written and had an interesting plotline---jumping back to pre-city-of-Ember days. Ah, delicious twist, to take a book in the series backward before you go forwards again. Like a flashback, but with an entire book. Good story, good characters. But anti-religion, so I won't be keeping a copy on my shelves for one of my future teenagers to find. The anti-religion theme isn't overt, which is why it was scary, just as scary as the underlying (but obvious) anti-religiousness of The Subtle Knife by Pullman. DuPrau wouldn't admit that she's anti-religion, but that would be denial.

The Diamond of Darkhold was good. Recommendable if you like the rest of the Ember works. I liked the wrapping up at the end. Left me with a nice sigh of, "Oh. How nice." Since I am usually more likely to argue with an author's ending, this was a pleasant surprise.

As for Laurie King's The Language of Bees: I was excited about this one. Waited for it. Bought the hardback so I could read it on the plane (sans children, thus the reading material). And King clipped right along. King is blindingly intelligent on a range of subjects so it's refreshing when she wanders into places I wouldn't expect: Beekeeping anyone? Norse mythology? Celtic sites?

A joy.

My first complaint, though, is that King (again) played on the "religious organizations/leaders are underhanded" generalization. She's done this before (in Regiment) so I didn't think she'd go there again. Yet off she went.

Trite.

Worse than "The butler did it".

Well written. Well researched. I thoroughly enjoyed the new characters she introduced. But I won't keep a copy on my shelves---for the reasons above, but also because there's more sexuality in this book than I've seen in the others in the series, and legitimizing of relationships with which I don't agree. If any of the above will offend you, skip The Language of Bees. I'll find something just as good for you, but less questionable.

War and Peace

Has anyone actually read Tolstoy's War and Peace? It's sitting on my shelf, daring me to try to get through it again. Meaning: I tried to read it once and stopped. Not meaning: I'm trying to read it another time.

Anyone besides JoBecka.

Because if you can tell me that, really, it's worth reading, I'll try again. If not, I've got a few sci fi that look more interesting.

People of Sparks

I read the sequel to The City of Ember. It's called the People of Sparks. I thought it was better than the first book. If I were teaching a history class, any history class, this is the book I'd have my class read.

It's good. I was pleasantly surprised.

Guernsey pouting

I've been away from my book blog for a while, trying to find something to recommend that as good as Guernsey. I would stay away, I vowed, until I could wow you with something fabulous.

Finally I concluded that I need to stop looking for Guernsey reincarnated. It's not to be found. But if you are still pining for Guernsey, and want something like it/sort of, then try 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. Delightful non-fiction letters between Hanff and a bookseller on 84 Charing Cross Road. Hanff is sassy and fun. Quick read.

If you are looking for a great book, however, try Fleishman's Seedfolks, the narrative about a fictional community garden and its gardeners. Poignant. Inspiring. It will make you want to put your hands in humus and get to know your neighbors. If you are looking for more Guernsey, this is like recommending Beethoven to you when you are looking for Bach. Sorry. But if you want a good book, do read Seedfolks. Short. You can read it in an afternoon or two. (Anjanette, really, this is just SHORT short, not Deborah short.)

I can also recommend The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis, which was recommended to me by the darling and daring Sarah Comin Baker. The main character, Bathsheva, a Jewish convert, comes to Memphis to surround herself with the Jewish orthodox community. That's the plot. It's good. The writing is delicious. Written partly in the first person "we" (as in "we the ladies of the town"), you'll hear all the small towns/religious communities/church congregation concerns and cares. Confessions and complaints. For me, this book was part Turlock, CA; part Montpelier, CA; and part every-ward-I've-ever-been-in. Funny in parts, heart-breaking in others. Mirvis doesn't shy away from serious themes: outward vs. inward religion, repentence and forgiveness, how to teach children to be religious while letting them develop their own religiousness. Good book. I liked it. Read it and come back and talk about it with me. This would be great for a book club book.

And lastly (the next in my line of YA novels), I read Keeping Corner by Kashmira Sheth. About a Brahmin child widow in the time of Ghandi. But great window, really, into India of that time and the Brahmin culture. Good. I would not have liked it as a teenager, but I get it now. Since I know very little about India of Ghandi's time, this was a nice introduction. Nothing scandalous. Clean. Decently written.