Reading frenzy continues...

Am currently reading Mississippi Sissy by Kevin Sessums...a coming-of-age memoir...even as young as 3 1/2, Kevin felt "different"...he wanted a skirt to wear, he wanted to be Arlene Francis from What's My Line and wear cat-eye glasses, he pranced instead of running, he wanted to stay indoors and listen to the women talk instead of run wild outside with his younger brother and sister. His father was a promising NBA candidate who gave up that career to "come home" to his wife and son. His father constantly called him a sissy when he was in a good mood and a g-d sissy when he wasn't. His father died in a car crash when Kevin was 8....and a year later his mother was dead of esophageal cancer. This is his story of growing up during the 60s and 70s raised by his grandparents, doted on by the family maid, and befriended by Eudora Welty. Would probably be a good YA book in a liberal community/school.

Loved The Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor! Set during the 1960s, Dr. Barry Laverty is fresh out of med school when he becomes an assistant to Fingal Flahertie O'Reilly in a small northern Irland town. It doesn't take Dr. Laverty long to find out that one must sometimes throw out "standard practice" when dealing with the town's odd assortment of patients. This story is filled with humor, lots of side stories, and great dialogue....a fast-paced and entertaining read.

The Midwife's Tale by Gretchen Moran Laskas is set in West Virginia during the 1930s. This is the story of 3 generations of mifwives while mainly focusing on the youngest of the three--Elizabeth Whitely. At times the knowledge becomes a burden to the teenage Elizabeth and eventually she faces a crisis when she learns that not all births are welcome.....and not all love is welcome. This was enjoyable for the layers of knowledge and levels of relationships portrayed along with truths about love and loss. I think this would probably be a good YA book in high school libraries.

Never too late!!...

I've been trying to catch up on all those children's classics I missed as a kid. I wasn't quite the reader then (Now don't you worry, I was ALWAYS a reader!! But, I was very interested in the mysteries and mysteries only at that time. Hence my obsession with Nancy Drew.) Within the past year I have read the entire Chronicles of Narnia, original Alice In Wonderland, and What Alice Saw (is that the correct title??), Wizard of Oz, and now I'm halfway through J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.

What am I missing?
I have never read Treasure Island, so that's one to put on the list, but other thoughts/ recommendations of a classic children's tale I've missed??

Catching up on Reading

Homestead...loved the format...it began in late 1800's in a small village located in the very western tip of Austria. Each succeeding chapter was a later year, but would skip gaps of years. Each chapter would focus on a different person or family in the community which you'd already "met" in a previous chapter. It ends in 1977, if I remember correctly. Think of all the historical events that happened during that time in Europe. It was very interesting and insightful. The only problem I had with it was my lack of experience with pronouncing the German place names and people names. I want to pronounce things correctly in my head! [I'm sending this one to Esther to read where it may get passed on to her mother and sister, etc. before it comes back to me.]


The Masque of the Black Tulip is the 4th in the Pink Carnation series which Kari and I have really enjoyed reading. This one was a bit slower for me to get into, but probably because it has been so long since I've read the third one! It picked up for me as soon as I devoted some time to reading it at length.


A Flaw in the Blood is a new author for me.....it was an unusual plot and very fast paced! It begins with the death of Queen Victoria's husband, Albert and races off with murder and mayhem galavanting all around Europe all because someone wants to know why there is a "flaw in the blood"...in the royal blood....which we know as hemophelia. Quite entertaining. The two main characters are an Irish lawyer and a female doctor who happens to be the niece of THE Dr. Jenner. Oh, and there is an evil best friend from childhood of the Prince Consort.




The Tailor's Daughter is also another new author for me, but I'm really enjoying the story so far. Set in Victorian England (can you tell I'm on a reading "theme"?), it tells the story of the daughter of a tailor who has an establishment on the famous Savile Row in London. She has the talent and passion to be a seamstress, however, her mother has much higher aspirations for her--such as marrying into the aristrocracy instead of sewing for them. Veda becomes ill and loses her hearing and the story really begins.

Jubilee Trail....I bought this book because Sandra Dallas recommended it so highly as great historical novel and it has a 5-star rating on Amazon along with all the review rantings and ravings about how great it is. It is lengthy...almost 600 pages....and in the length of time I have been reading it, I could have traveled the Jubilee Trail! It's the story of a New York socialite freshly graduated from a finishing school who is bored beyond tears when she suddenly meets a young man who offers adventure and excitement. They marry and thus begins one adventure after another with an interesting cast of characters. I don't know why it is taking me so long to finish this book! I was shocked to find out after I bought the book, that it had actually been published in the 1950's!! I don't know what the story is about re-printing it now....I saw it on shelves in bookstores and Target forever.

Any Takers?

I'm going to Paperbackswap the following two books...does anyone want them before I do?

James Rollins...Map of Bones

and

Zoe Heller...Notes on a Scandal

Let me know ASAP! I want to post them in the next 24-48 hours.

Kari's Recently Read, too!:

1. Let Me Call You Sweetheart is a very classic MHC murder mystery. I got it for Christmas and I think I had actually read it a long time ago in high school. But I couldn't remember it so I re-read it. It has a very twisty plot, kind of a "cold-case" file, suspenseful, and can keep you guessing...even when you know you've already read it! I went through a phase of her stuff a long time ago, but then petered out when they all began to be too much the same.



2. Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton is the first book in a knitting mystery series. It all revolves around Kelly Flynn a corporate accountant who is called back to Colorado from D.C. when her aunt dies under mysterious circumstances. Kelly is suspicious of how the police are handling the investigation of her aunt's death and begins to do some snooping around of her own. Meanwhile, she also learns to knit from friends of her aunt who just happen to have a yarn shop right next door to her inheirited cottage...I'm enjoying the series and especially like how the book include a food and knitting recipe at the end! YUM!


3. A Deadly Yarn is the third book in the knitting mystery series by Maggie Sefton. I know, I know, I read them out of order! Which I hate to do! But I didn't have the 2nd book and couldn't resist going ahead and reading it. Again, a very engaging story...it makes me crave coffee and yarn!! Very inspirational to get me knitting again!



In other news, I joined the paperbackswap.com website this past week! Soooo cool! As you can see, I found the 2nd book to the series above and promptly swapped out the other two! I swapped three books this week! It was very exciting...has anyone tried Starbuck's new honey latte??!!

A Stack of Books

#1 -- About a week ago, I finished reading A Midwife's Story by Penny Armstrong & Sheryl Feldman. ©1986. It was a great read about Penny Armstrong's life as a nurse midwife. She began her training in Scotland and completed it in Philadelphia. While working in hospitals, she was especially upset by inflexible hospital regulations and the lack of respect for the birthing process. After training, she began working in Lancaster County, PA where she brought back dignity to home births and celebrated women's right to be in control of their birthing experience. She became an integral part of the community. In over 1000 births, she experienced only one stillbirth. Pretty amazing. I've had trouble learning anything new about her -- where she is, what she's doing, etc. (Thanks, Kim, for sending this one my direction!)
Then I needed some quick reads after a stressful week... so I picked these off of the YA shelf:

#2 -- life on the refrigerator door by Alice Kuipers ©2007. This first novel by Kuipers, and is intended for a YA audience. It's a series of notes that fifteen-year-old Claire and her mother post back & forth to each other as they go about their busy lives of school and work. Their normal mother/daughter relationship and interactions are shattered by a diagnosis of breast cancer. The format may be short, simple and straight-forward, but the emotions and interactions are poignant and touching. This one will stay with me for a long time.

#3 -- The Readheaded Princess by Ann Rinaldi ©2008. Another fine YA historical novel. It's told in first person by the young Princess Elizabeth (the daughter of King Henry VIII and the ill-fated Anne Boleyn) as she watches first her younger brother Edward and then older sister Mary take the throne of England and then succumb to ill health. The intrigues of court, the changing alliances, the lessons learned from tutors and her wise nanny -- all work together to help create a girl who grows into a great leader. Rinaldi works her magic to bring Elizabeth to life. A great YA read! It reminded me once again why I enjoy historical fiction.