Goals

With how crazy the past few weekends have been, is it any surprise that this one is lining up to be just as filled with wacky fun? I have only been in town for one of the past four weekends and will be out of town next weekend as well in Boise for an art show with my dad. Last weekend, we went to Leavenworth (not the prison, the Bavarian village) for a fun day with our friends, the Browns, and emerged pooped but happy. And I bought some lovely alpaca yarn for an even lovelier price, part of which I have been making a scarf for myself from a pattern on knitty.com.

But my sister in law and her best friend are coming down this Saturday for the three day weekend and I am also supposed to wrangle my grandmother’s cat while my brother is gone hiking and my grandmother is gone to a Bible conference on the west side of the state. And there is much much much I need to do – miles to go before I sleep. Here’s hoping that posting will get me more motivated:

1. Pick up the check from the bank for our new car’s title. (I will try and post pictures of Cordie the Accord at month’s end post).
2. Finish putting away our camping supplies which have been utilized repeatedly this month. This job will include…
3. Reorganizing the guest room closet to fit aforementioned camping supplies inside.
4. Washing sheets and towels from guest room.
5. Finish our laundry so I can wash those sheets and towels.
6. Clean up floor of guest room after cat mayhem and vacuum.
7. Clean guest room bathroom, including sweeping and mopping floor.
8. Straighten living room and vacuum.
9. Mop kitchen.
10. Put away plethora of er…crap on the stairs and vacuum.
11. Return library books which are threatening overdue fines…
12. Write reviews of those books so they can be returned.

Fun times ahead for me. Fuuuuuuuun times.

Pale Horse, Pale Rider

Who wrote this book and when?
Katherine Anne Porter published this in 1939.

Has there been a film version?
Not that I am aware of.

Who are the important characters?
There are three novellas in this book:
Old Mortality
Miranda and Maria – two young girls at the turn of the century
Aunt Amy – a beautiful woman who is the girls’ aunt, she is dead but lead a wildly exciting life
Uncle Gabriel – Amy’s husband
Aunt Eva – a suffragette who grew up with Amy

Noon Wine
Mr. Thompson – a dairy farmer
Mrs. Thompson – a sickly woman, mother of two boys, and Mr. Thompson’s wife…obviously
Mr. Helton – the hired hand at the dairy farm, he loves the quiet and his harmonicas, he is a very hard worker with a mysterious past

Pale Horse, Pale Rider
Miranda – a newspaper woman who is a little obsessed with the war and death, also the Miranda from “Old Mortality” now grown up
Adam – a soldier about to leave for the war

What’s it about?
Old Mortality: the story of Amy as she is viewed by her great niece, Miranda. Amy was supposed to be a tragic beauty who married without love and died early from a broken heart. But Miranda discovers there is more to the story.

Noon Wine: The Thompson dairy farm is revitalized when a mysterious man shows up and asks for work. Mr. Helton doesn’t talk much and seems only interested in working and playing the same song on the harmonica. The Thompsons consider him a Godsend until a man shows up who knows all about Mr. Helton’s sketchy past and changes everything.

Pale Horse, Pale Rider: Miranda works for the newspaper and is frustrated with the war and all the senseless death it brings. She has become involved with a young soldier named Adam who is resigned to dying in the war. When Miranda catches influenza in the epidemic of 1918, she details her near death experience for us.

Why is this book a classic/bestseller?
I’m not exactly sure except that it’s powerfully and beautifully written and that it seems to be a treatise on death…which is usually interesting.

Do I recommend you read this book?
*shrug* It’s good but not stellar.

How did this book make my list?
I don’t remember.

Has it won any awards?
I don’t think so…

Favorite quotes:
“Her heart was a stone lying upon her breast outside of her; her pulses lagged and paused, and she knew that something strange was going to happen, even as the early morning winds were cool through the lattice, the streaks of light were dark blue and the whole house was snoring in its sleep.” – p 179

“But she could not consent, still shrinking stiffly against the granite wall that was her childhood dream of safety, breathing slowly for fear of squandering death, saying desperately, Look, don’t be afraid, it is nothing, it is only eternity.” – p 252

Anything else?
I almost wonder if Adam is one of the two boys from the Thompson farm.

Personal thoughts:
This book takes a little reading to understand what’s going on. I gathered by the title that it had something to do with death but the three different takes Porter has on it are magnificent. She looks at deaths that are from suicide, from accident and murder, and from illness and war. She uses these examinations to pose the age-old questions of who are we and where are we going and what does all this mean in relation to eternity. Overall, these stories are gorgeously and painfully written and wonderful to read.

The Lemon Jelly Cake

Who wrote this book and when?
Madeline Babcock Smith published this book in 1997.

Has there been a film version?
No.

Who are the important characters?
Helene – our narrator, a young girl who is the daughter of a doctor
Mama/Kate – Helene’s mother, well educated and beautiful
Frank/Papa – Helene’s father, a doctor
Mr. Wint Fenton – a man who has befriended Helene and her family and is in love with Kate
Antha – their next door neighbor, a woman who loves to cook
Gracie – the preacher’s daughter and Helene’s best friend
Mr. and Mrs. Baldwin – the preacher and his wife
Uncle Will – Antha’s husband

What’s it about?
This story seems to tell simply a set of stories about growing up in the early 1900’s. Helene is the town doctor’s daughter and together with her friend, Gracie, gets into all sorts of trouble from trying her hand at matchmaking to accidentally finding herself in a “hoarhouse.” Underneath the story of Helene’s mishaps, however, is the story of Kate, Mr. Fenton, and Frank. Kate is beautiful and intelligent and when Mr. Fenton comes into their lives, an immediate attraction is lit. Frank is so busy with his patients that he doesn’t seem to notice that his wife is struggling against having an affair. Only when scandal strikes elsewhere in the town does Kate face up to her attraction to Mr. Fenton.

Why is this book a classic/bestseller?
I’m not really sure.

Do I recommend you read this book?
Eh, it was mediocre.

How did this book make my list?
I thought the cover was cute.

Favorite quotes:
“In a town where everyone knew what your grandmother had died from and how many quarts of tomatoes you put up each year, this was irritating. But everyone liked Canary.” – p 75

Anything else?
My favorite story was Helene curing the stomach ailment where a woman got so upset after eating cream that her “stomach churned it into butter.”

Personal thoughts:
This book was a nice easy read that was pleasant on the brain. There was a lot of fluff – little stories that didn’t take much thinking or effort to understand. I was a little frustrated that the author didn’t address the conflict of Wint and Kate until the very last 2 chapters of the book, especially as it was so obvious throughout the rest of it. In her defense, she did have Helene as a narrator. There was a great deal of humor when it came to Helene’s antics. She was a pleasant mixture of Anne Shirley, Laura Ingalls, and any one of the girls from the Betsy Tacy books. Anyone remember those?

Anne of Windy Poplars

Who wrote this book and when?
L.M. Montgomery published this book in 1936.

Has there been a film version?
The stories in this book were adapted for the majority of the story in the TV miniseries “Anne of Avonlea.”

Who are the important characters?
Anne Shirley – now engaged to Gilbert, she is teaching at a high school in Summerside
Aunt Kate and Aunt Chatty – two elderly women whose house Anne boards at
Rebecca Dew – the no-nonsense housekeeper for Kate and Chatty
Elizabeth Campbell – the small girl who lives in the house next to Anne, she desperately misses her father and is always searching for the magical land of Tomorrow
The Pringles – the high society family of Summerside, they have it out for Anne
Katherine Brooke – another teacher at Summerside High School, she is very bitter and sarcastic

What’s it about?
This set of stories covers the three years of Anne and Gilbert’s engagement. Anne has taken a position teaching at Summerside High. She boards at a lovely house in Spooks’ Lane with two elderly women and their spirited housekeeper. Included are a great many letters from Anne to Gilbert as well as stories concerning Anne’s struggles to win the hearts of the Pringle family and Katherine Brooke. Anne details several weddings and romances which she becomes entangled in and also the story of Elizabeth Campbell.

Why is this book a classic?
It’s part of the Anne of Green Gables series, which includes only bestsellers.

Do I recommend you read this book?
Yes, if you enjoy the series.

How did this book make my list?
I love books by L.M. Montgomery.

Has it won any awards?
No.

Favorite quotes:
“‘You are the only person who loves me in the world,’ said Elizabeth. ‘When you talk to me I smell violets.’” – p 60

“Gilbert darling, don’t let’s ever be afraid of things. It’s such dreadful slavery. Let’s be daring and adventurous and expectant. Let’s dance to meet life and all it can bring us, even if it brings scads of trouble and typhoid and twins!” – p 174

Anything else?
The Anne books were written out of chronological order. This was actually the next to last to be written, although it is the fourth in the series.

Personal thoughts:
I have such a horrendous time reading books that are comprised of letters. I feel as if I’m missing out on so much of the action going on outside of the letter writer. I did appreciate how this book blended both letters and narrative – but still. Entirely too much letter content. I adored the character of Elizabeth – she’s so sweet it’s almost impossible to believe such a child would ever exist. I also wish that there had been more stories about the Pringle girls. I was so interested in all of their hi jinks but we very rarely got to see much more than a glimpse. However, most of the other characters were just adorable and Anne was as lovely as ever a character she ever was.

A Dirty Job

Who wrote this book and when?
Christopher Moore published this in 2006.

Has there been a film version?
Not yet. The man who did the first two Harry Potter movies has bought the film rights, however.

Who are the important characters?
Charlie Asher – a recently widowed beta male with a new daughter, he owns a second-hand store
Sophie Asher – Charlie’s daughter
Lily – a goth teenager who works for Charlie
Ray – an ex-cop who works for Charlie
Minty Fresh – a tall black man with a penchant for pastel green suits, he owns a music store
Jane – Charlie’s lesbian sister

What’s it about?
When Charlie’s wife has their first child, Charlie sees a strange man by her bedside right before she dies of a rare complication from birth. No one else can see the man, and when Charlie tries to resume his life, he finds that he has been chosen as a Death Merchant – someone who collects souls from those who are about to or have just died and passes them on to someone else. Also, he is being harassed by strange voices from the sewer drains who are threatening to harm his daughter, Sophie, and the other people in his life. Only when Charlie realizes the sewer voices are connected to beings with very tangible plans to take over the “Above” does he realize just how important it is that he do his job – and possibly take on responsibilities that are vastly different from his fellow Death Merchants.

Why is this book a bestseller?
The author is considered one of the best black humorists in contemporary publishing.

Do I recommend you read this book?
If you enjoy dark humor then you will probably enjoy Moore’s works.

How did this book make my list?
I like the majority of the books this guy has written.

Has it won any awards?
It won a 2006 Quill Award in General Fiction.

Favorite quotes:
“Charlie spanked some mayonnaise onto a whole wheat slice to show he was serious.” – p 173

“They were more cautious now, their rapacious nature having been dampened somewhat by having been severely blown up the night before.” – p 313

Anything else?
Many characters from Moore’s other books make appearances throughout this book.

Personal thoughts:
This book is quite a bit darker than most of Moore’s other books. As my husband pointed out, you can see this from the very beginning with the death of Charlie’s wife. There is a theme of sadness and death throughout the book which comes along with Charlie’s newfound job. This doesn’t stop Moore from peppering every page with comedy. Charlie, being a beta male, has a humorous reaction to most of the situations that come about through this novel. And Lily, Sophie, and Jane only add to the hilarity. While this isn’t my favorite Moore book, I still highly recommend it.