Ruth's reading notes resumed

Dit is een voortzetting van het onderwerp Ruth's reading notes.

DiscussieTattered but still lovely

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Ruth's reading notes resumed

12wonderY
aug 15, 2016, 5:27 pm

On my trip home last evening, I tried audio book after audio book. Several were Junior books, and the narrators and characters were just too saccharine. Couldn't get up a good enough care for the protagonist of A Trouble of Fools.

The only audio I could applaud was Penric's Demon.

My sister Maryhasalittledog is offering me hundreds of books, so that she can clear her shelves, but they will still be within reach if she craves them. What an unfair offer!

2fuzzi
Bewerkt: aug 15, 2016, 7:17 pm

>1 2wonderY: charge her a borrowing fee... ;)

It's only fair, you have to store them, right?

32wonderY
aug 17, 2016, 10:35 am

She hasn't been to my house for decades and she has no idea what a mess of books I have laying about for lack of shelf space. But she has really good books! I approve of almost all of her library.

42wonderY
aug 24, 2016, 2:52 pm

I like re-tellings of fairy tales, so I was happy to order Sarah Pinborough's Beauty. But, ugh! Not only naughty and adult, but downright nasty. I'm in the middle, and it may resolve satisfactorily, but I get the sense that the author is relishing the nastiness. I see, now that I look, that she is billed as writing horror. I don't much like horror.

It does have a very nice hardcover design.

52wonderY
aug 30, 2016, 6:48 am

In mundane life, I'm so tired of the things that go wrong. This season, I've had a broken tooth, three (THREE!) flat tires, and now the wax seal of my toilet has failed. Wah!

6MrsLee
aug 30, 2016, 9:42 am

>5 2wonderY: My regular lament, "Why can't things just work!"

7fuzzi
aug 30, 2016, 12:17 pm

>5 2wonderY: tooth and toilet and tires...see a pattern here?

82wonderY
sep 1, 2016, 10:27 am

>7 fuzzi: Hmmm.

I haven't been reading much in the way of tattered tomes, have I?

Does anyone else here subscribe to the Unshelved cartoon?
Today's cartoon also advertised a fantasy coming out this month titled Vassa in the Night and linked to an excerpt of the book: sneak peek

It's worth reading. Porter has a refreshing way of phrasing things. Do check her out.

9fuzzi
sep 1, 2016, 12:21 pm

>8 2wonderY: never heard of Unshelved cartoon. I will check it out. :)

10JerryMmm
sep 1, 2016, 1:35 pm

Ya, I've back-read them all, they're great :)

11harrygbutler
sep 1, 2016, 2:50 pm

>8 2wonderY: I also hadn't heard of Unshelved. It looks interesting.

12SylviaC
sep 1, 2016, 5:50 pm

I have all of the Unshelved collections that have been published so far. My kids love them, too.

132wonderY
jan 6, 2017, 1:03 am

I came into the city today to spend the day working at another office. Since my daughter lives here, I planned to stop for supper and then go on back home. Well, and then the snow came on. I did get in the car and tootled off, but felt the traction decreasing at every turn. So I came back and begged the couch. I brought NO BOOKS today. Harrumph! That's practically unheard of. There are shelves of books here too, but I am deeply committed to several at home. The grands are sent to bed, and I'm gonna have to retire myself without a comfort few pages.

14fuzzi
jan 6, 2017, 8:17 pm

>13 2wonderY: well, at least you're not in a ditch, somewhere...

152wonderY
jan 7, 2017, 1:55 pm

Yes, and it was an extraordinarily fun visit. Individual time with 3 of the 4.

So who is Monty Don? Celebrity gardener: BBC gardening correspondent and proponent of organic methods. Looking in the public library catalog, I ordered a few books almost at random. The three couldn’t be more different from each other.

Extraordinary Gardens of the World represents still shots from garden visits filmed for a BBC series. It’s a coffee table sized book and the photos star. Looking at the credits, there are 8 photographers, and Monty does have the bulk of the credits. So, he chose the gardens, hosted the TV series and wrote the copy as well. The chapters break out the types of gardens – personal, spiritual, natural, botanical, historical, edible and communal. It’s an abbreviated print version of the TV shows; there is no learning, just enjoyment.

In Garden Mania, Monty merely contributes the Preface. There are a couple of pages of text at the beginning of each section that don’t really inform, and then the book is given over entirely to illustrations from antique and rare garden pattern books. Garden architecture, statuary and other specialty features alternate with engravings of the grand gardens of several centuries ago. The book itself is textbook sized and soft covered and with heavy paper stock. It’s not comfortable to browse, as one is constantly in fear of breaking the binding while holding the pages open. However, visual treasures abound. This would be a good reference book for persons doing visual art work.

The Dorling Kindersley book The Complete Gardener is much more in the style of how-to. It records one year in Monty’s personal garden. I will guess that this too represents a BBC series product. Since Monty’s gardening activities (a la Martha Stewart) is the subject of many of the photos, he credits Ari Ashley as the photographer.
In 440 generously sized pages, the chapters are – Being Organic, Structure, Flowers, Vegetables, The Herb Garden, and Fruit. It functions as a general text for the beginning gardener, explaining how to do x, y and z, with the cozy angle of getting to know one gardener and his particular corner of the world. The photography is indeed lush and inviting. This is the one I will spend more time in this winter.

There are many features that make Nobody Said Not to Go a natural fit for my reading pleasure. It has a free-spirited woman who travelled the world, adventures in exotic places, historic times and with famous people. All this beginning in the 1920s and ending as an environmentalist in her later years. I love her! But I have to choose, as my library pile is immense again, and I’m even more excited about a microbiology book. I may someday come back to this, but today it goes back to the library.

So what can get me more excited? In my survey of new soil biology books, I’ve been holding on to The Hidden Half of Nature for months, partially read. This book, like a few others I’ve read, discusses soil and gut biotas. It starts with the authors building the organic matter in their gardens and then connects with one of them battling cancer. Their particular science backgrounds help them to synthesize a great discovery story. I must have skimmed past chapter 4 the first time through, and I’m glad I went back for a review. This chapter introduces two scientists who are turning what is “known” about biological taxonomy and evolution on its collective head. Carl Woese is developing classifications based on genetic analysis rather than morphology. Lynn Margulis is challenging the broadness of Darwinian competition. I'll share more when I finish the chapter.

162wonderY
jan 13, 2017, 3:51 pm

Listened to the first of nine Father Gilbert Mysteries, and wasn't particularly impressed. Returning it with the hope that more audios await me.

172wonderY
Bewerkt: jun 10, 2017, 2:18 pm

It appears it's been more than two years that The Mistress of Shenstone has been sitting patiently waiting for me to read the last section. Barclay manufactured a particularly annoying twist in her plot and obnoxious character attitudes to match. I finally got over my snit and finished the book. I still hate her declaration that men take and women give. That is so wrong! But she did bring friend Jane Champion in to help make things right. Jane is newlywed here, so I'll have to go back and read The Rosary again to see how the two stories intertwine. I don't recall any of Myra's troubles appearing during her presence in The Rosary.

182wonderY
jun 10, 2017, 2:24 pm

Oh, and sorting through old magazines, I found an article featuring the Baldpate Inn, named in reference to Seven Keys to Baldpate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Baldpate_Inn

While the hotel originally gave away keys as curios, today it is known for its collection of more than 20,000 keys, usual, unusual and figurative, that have been offered to the inn by visitors, hotel guests, and dignitaries from all over the world.

19harrygbutler
jun 10, 2017, 5:10 pm

>18 2wonderY: I really like Seven Keys to Baldpate; it's quite the enjoyable light novel. I first read it many, many years ago. I've seen at least a couple of the movie versions; the 1935 RKO picture with Gene Raymond is a lot of fun.

202wonderY
Bewerkt: jun 13, 2017, 11:46 am

>19 harrygbutler: Drat! My library has no film version. The book does seem to lend itself to film. I might have liked it more as such. But, for me, Biggers failed to portray an adequately appealing Billy Magee. If I'd had something pretty to look at, I might have had more patience with him.

222wonderY
jun 13, 2017, 3:15 pm

>21 fuzzi: Enabler!

23harrygbutler
Bewerkt: jun 13, 2017, 3:26 pm

>21 fuzzi: That's the Alpha Video version of the silent picture, starring George M. Cohan, who starred in the play. Here it is on the Alpha Video site: http://www.oldies.com/product-view/6845D.html

The Alpha Video prints aren't always all that great, but we used to watch a lot of them when we first started buying DVDs, as they were a cheap way to get old mysteries, westerns, and the like.

All three RKO versions are in this release from the Warner Archive Collection: http://www.wbshop.com/product/seven+keys+to+baldpate+triple+feature+1000356714.d...

24fuzzi
jun 13, 2017, 7:28 pm

>22 2wonderY: I'm just trying to help you...but >23 harrygbutler: is gonna cost you $$$...

252wonderY
aug 13, 2017, 5:33 pm

Yep. It was lovely to hear it live. One of my favorites songs ever.

262wonderY
aug 28, 2017, 7:06 pm

**finger drumming** Ho hum, sitting at the library waiting for audio books to download onto my phone.

272wonderY
Bewerkt: sep 20, 2017, 4:35 pm

I finally was able to borrow Lab Girl after a long wait. Lovely writing! Perfect pitch and phrasing. I love her.

In comparison, I'm also listening to The Zookeeper's Wife, which is disappointing. Of course it's translated, so I'm not sure who is to blame. The writing is overblown. Lots of detail, but not much emotional connection. I might almost call it tedious.

282wonderY
sep 22, 2017, 3:53 pm

I keep trying to stay with The Zookeeper's Wife, but I despair of her florid prose and the volume and oddness of her side trips. Honestly! There was a little bit of time spent in a lampshade shop. We got a full page inventory of the lamps and shades of the time period. There was a bit of action concerning an entomologist's collection, and we were treated to several pages of description of the beetles in the collection. Absolutely no need!

292wonderY
sep 25, 2017, 5:32 pm

Correction. Diane Ackerman wrote in English. I see lots of reviewers have the same complaint.

Switched to Village of Secrets, and by gully, ran smack into the same problem. Authors need to do lots of research for historical stories. However, they shouldn't feel compelled to share all of it with their readers. The first 6 chapters gave us life stories of a few of the children rescued to the Plateau Vivarais-Lignon. The next couple of chapters details the rescuers and their organizations and then moves onto the plateau and gives us the local history. I threw up my hands when we got detailed histories of each of the Protestant groups that have found shelter there. Too much! Can we just tell the story, please? I have encountered this story before, and this book does afford a better picture of why this spot was particularly ideal. It's not just geography and independence. The infrastructure was already in place. This spot next to the Alps was already a summer spa destination for sickly children.

30fuzzi
sep 27, 2017, 10:02 pm

>32 fuzzi: some authors appear to be showing off their extensive research and knowledge instead of just telling a story.

Less is more, aka KISS.

312wonderY
okt 17, 2017, 4:15 pm

I went to Pittsburgh this weekend to visit with an old friend who has been a librarian for a decade. She was in town for the PA Library Association meeting, and we thought it was quite appropriate for them to gather right near the tiny town of Carnegie. Though I'd always passed the signs for it on the Parkway, I'd never been. We walked the surprisingly alive and vigorous Main Street and had breakfast at the charming Carnegie Coffee Company, which we thought at first was housed in the original library. It turned out to be the old Post Office, with the new UGLY! Post Office built just down the block.

Jody just completed a public library expansion project in Shippensburg, PA.

32fuzzi
okt 18, 2017, 9:16 am

>34 Sakerfalcon: sounds like a lovely time!

332wonderY
jan 26, 2018, 11:27 am

Toothache forced me to the dentist today. Root canal might save the tooth. This’ll be my first.

To reward my fortitude, I visited a new used book store and salved my hurt with a purchase.

I found a wonderful leather-bound and boxed Hard Times. No printing date; bound by Charles E. Lauriet, Boston. The best part is the font size is generous to my aging eyes. I’m tossing the ratty old paperback I’ve had.

Also a copy of The Practice of Praise, again with large font.

34Sakerfalcon
Bewerkt: jan 26, 2018, 11:43 am

>36 2wonderY: Ouch! You definitely deserve a treat after that. I'm glad you found some good things.

I too had a visit to a second hand bookshop, and found a TBSL school story by Angela Brazil: At school with Rachel.

352wonderY
jan 26, 2018, 11:59 am

Nice! Now that’s an author I haven’t come across before. I wonder why not.

362wonderY
mei 31, 2018, 1:54 pm

Hey SilverKitty I'm just finishing up reading The Following of the Star, by Florence Barclay. I have found Barclay to be somewhat uneven; though when she gets it right, it's brilliant. I kinda panned The Wheels of Time if you'll remember. I thought the concept was good, but it suffered from the short length and forced plot line. It would have benefited from a novel length treatment. Well, here it is. A shallow woman learns to value her husband and grow spiritually. Yes, the plot is still forced, but the treatment of the deepening of sentiment is well done. I find myself tearing up.

Deryck Brand appears here again, in a passing, but still influential role.

372wonderY
jun 3, 2018, 9:10 pm

I'm reading an odd WW2 romance. In blitz London, Valerie and Robin meet and marry within Robin's fortnight leave. On their wedding evening, Robin takes a walk to give Valerie time to do her toilette. A bomb blast injures him and robs him of his memory of her and she can't locate him. She has no way to find him. They meet again later, but another girl has just told him he proposed to her in that time period.

It was written in the early days of the war on very cheap paper. It's falling apart as I read it.

War Wife

38fuzzi
jun 4, 2018, 5:48 am

>37 2wonderY: how cool!

392wonderY
jul 16, 2018, 1:51 pm

Trying to dispose of a pile of books last week, the used book store took two, and gave me a minor credit. I took the opportunity to stay in the AC and browse their top shelf of tattered books. I found a mystery with a hilarious first page, which I will post about tomorrow, having unloaded it from the car last evening.

I also found a tattered copy of The Enchanted Barn. I hesitated, because I've already read it. Will I read it again? Oh yes! And enjoying every moment of it.

40fuzzi
jul 28, 2018, 6:55 pm

>39 2wonderY: some books need to be reread, and enjoyed anew...

412wonderY
jul 31, 2018, 11:59 am

Sorting through old papers, I came across a short story ripped out of a book. Title is Eighteen Oak Ties, and I had to manually add it. It's a beautiful story told in just a few pages.

Researching, I see I pulled it out of More Stories to Remember. Taking a look at the table of contents, I may want to pick up a copy of it again. That volume introduced me to Donn Byrne, Willa Cather and B. J. Chute. Those are still some of my favorites.

422wonderY
jul 31, 2018, 12:51 pm

>39 2wonderY: BTW, the book I referenced was The House of Intrigue. It's a mystery, and I hardly ever like a mystery. But this was the first paragraph:

"Before the tent-flap of every woman's soul, I think, sleeps a wolf-hound that answers to the name of Instinct. And Instinct stood up and showed the white of an eye as Big Ben Locke crossed over to the office door and swung it shut."

I thought it might be an interesting historical take on the #MeToo issue. Yes. It is.

432wonderY
Bewerkt: aug 2, 2018, 9:16 am

Randomly downloading audio books for the road, I tried Sense and Sensibility, by Joanne Trollope, a modern re-write of the Austen original. Not very far in, I discovered I have not read the Austen version (!) though it is in my library. I thought I had read her entire opus. So I remedied by downloading the audio of it and trying to listen to them in tandem.

I'm not feeling much sympathy for the Dashwood girls. I can't tell if it's the performance or if it's me. I may have to dig out the print version and try it that way. I'm very fond of Austen's other books.

Trollope has a hard case to prove. 18th century indigent ladies have almost no other goal than to marry. That's certainly not the case in present day England. Her Elinor aspires to architect and Marianne might pursue music. Of course that doesn't nullify the broader examination of temperament and self-discipline.

44fuzzi
aug 2, 2018, 12:53 pm

>43 2wonderY: Sense and Sensibility was not my favorite Austen, but I enjoyed the film version from 1995, with Alan Rickman:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHr1dL0MUb8

452wonderY
aug 2, 2018, 1:35 pm

Yes, I will plan to watch whatever versions are available after I'm done reading.

46MissWatson
aug 3, 2018, 5:59 am

>44 fuzzi: Alan Rickman ist definitely my favourite Colonel Brandon, but David Morrissey in the 2008 TV version comes a close second.

47MrsLee
aug 7, 2018, 9:05 am

>42 2wonderY: Interesting sentence there.

>41 2wonderY: This ripping apart of books. Is it something you do frequently? Do you then bind the story you like so it doesn't fall apart? Was the book falling apart in the first place?

No judgement on my part, just curiosity. Part of me is admiring the practicality of it, since I'm not sure I've ever read a short story collection with more than one or two stories in it I love. The other part of me is horrified at the destruction. ;)

482wonderY
Bewerkt: aug 7, 2018, 9:55 am

>47 MrsLee: No, it isn't. But we were living in temporary quarters in another state. We acquired furnishings mostly by picking up discards on trash day. Adequate stuff, but knowing we would leave it all behind at the end of the year. I do tear up magazines on a regular basis - or used to, when I was bringing them into the house.

I remember there were a lot of Readers Digest Condensed volumes that year as well. Perhaps they were already sitting within the lovely glass-front bookshelves that flanked the fireplace in the living room. (We really lucked out with this rental in the town my parents lived in.) So the Costain book was of the same vintage; good glued binding. I know I still have several of the other stories I pulled in the shelves alongside books by those authors. They hold themselves together.

Oh! I did regularly tear up the early 1900s annual USDA yearbooks; mostly for the color art prints of "Promising New Fruits."

492wonderY
apr 23, 2019, 12:00 pm

A very small book has found my hand and my favor this month. Old Gold, by Granville Davisson Hall is a ULTB and is from my husband's ancestor's collection. Granville Davisson Hall wrote in and around the Civil War period, referencing 'western Virginia.' So far, he leaves his origin town name anonymous, but he talks about the first oil wells in Wirt County, when the oil was bottled for medicinal purposes only. That would be purt near where I live now. It's a very soothing and well written little book.

502wonderY
Bewerkt: mei 5, 2019, 9:41 am

The wet weather this weekend kept me home.

My movie collection is modest. But I keep finding myself purchasing second copies. (always secondhand) I have less of a record in my head with these than with my books.

So I decided to finally record them in my LT catalog.

They are stored in the drawers of a cabinet that is built like this:



(Mine is black and has glass doors on top and has glass knobs.)

Top drawer is too shallow, so the lower two drawers hold the main collection. I'm nearly done with the middle drawer, A - L. (70 or so)

51fuzzi
mei 5, 2019, 8:24 pm

>50 2wonderY: I started cataloging my DVD collection, modest as it is.

Nice cabinet!

522wonderY
mei 8, 2019, 2:48 pm

I do like the grey. Maybe I'll paint mine --- someday.

53harrygbutler
mei 8, 2019, 8:01 pm

>49 2wonderY: Hi, Ruth! Old Gold sounds of interest. Do you know whether there is any connection between your author and Melville Davisson Post, who was born in West Virginia in 1869? I've enjoyed the latter's Uncle Abner, Master of Mysteries and was reasonably entertained by Walker of the Secret Service.

>50 2wonderY: >51 fuzzi: I gave in and cataloged on LT many, but not all, of our movies on commercial DVD (exceptions chiefly parts of the large sets put out by companies such as Mill Creek Entertainment), though I largely skipped cataloging the sets themselves (that is, if a DVD box set contained 5 movies, I cataloged those movies, and not the set itself). Like you, I was finding myself buying duplicates, and I'm hoping to mostly avoid that going forward. (You can see what we have on DVD in the Movies collection in my library.)

Much of our commercial DVD collection is in albums (like oversize photo albums with pages that have pockets for 8 discs, 4 on each side) as the quantity grew to be too many to shelve. Some are awaiting additional albums, at which point I'll remove them from their cases and discard or donate the cases.

Other DVDs (including those recorded for later viewing using a DVD recorder) are in paper sleeves in CD/DVD storage boxes that are kept on shelves.

542wonderY
mei 8, 2019, 8:41 pm

>54 2wonderY: Oh! Well, I hadn't noticed that Hall was born in Harrison County, though I must have been the one who added the CK. Post was born there too. So, cousins?

Harrison County is north--central-state. Husband's family was Doddridge County, just west of there, and formed from part of Harrison. I'm all the way west next to the Ohio River, next to Wirt County, which he does speak of specifically. But he admits that the village he writes about is where he was born and raised.

552wonderY
Bewerkt: mei 8, 2019, 8:57 pm

Randomly, I'm reminded of a family story about husband's grandma's (great?) grandfather, Ephraim Bee.

He claimed to have received a commission from the Emperor of China to establish a fraternal order named 'E Clampus Vitus' in 1845; and all the important men of the area were members. Bee would hold meetings and grand events timed to allow the Underground Railroad to run without interference.

562wonderY
Bewerkt: mei 10, 2019, 7:57 am

>50 2wonderY: Okay, I took a picture of my own cabinet. And I didn't clean it up for company. LT has cropped it some when uploaded, but there really is no way to get a good longshot. The room is too small.

572wonderY
mei 10, 2019, 8:29 am

Oh, and from the top, we have all the tiny old books that the shelf accommodates. There are several sets of old construction manuals. The most complete is a set published by International Textbook Company on various industrial topics. I have several incomplete Audel sets (hmm, some work needs done collecting this author on LT), steam--fitting, home construction and gardening reference books from the 1920s.

Second shelf down is my collection of Grace S. Richmond books. Third shelf is Louisa May Alcott, morecomplete than some public libraries.

Fourth shelf is a fun collection of old self-help books. Medical, familial and social.

58fuzzi
mei 10, 2019, 2:17 pm

>56 2wonderY: I have "stuff" on my bookshelves, too, things that aren't books.

They keep my books company. :)

59varielle
mei 10, 2019, 2:54 pm

>2wonderY It looks quite cozy. I have oddments mingled with my books too like a mini-catapult, a statue of Horus and an articulated wooden snake, among others.

602wonderY
mei 10, 2019, 3:19 pm

>59 varielle: ooh, I like that wooden snake. It feels so nice running it through my hand.

612wonderY
mei 16, 2019, 9:19 am

In Kentucky, I've got Little Women started. It's been too long since I've visited with the girls.

62gmathis
mei 16, 2019, 1:27 pm

I've been in deep need of comfort reads recently. My sister passed away recently and, after helping go through personal items at her house, I now have a copy of one of her favorites, So Dear to My Heart in hand. Plan to start it soon.

632wonderY
mei 16, 2019, 1:34 pm

>62 gmathis: Oh! Dear, I am so sorry. **wrapping you up in a big hug**

64MrsLee
mei 16, 2019, 5:34 pm

>62 gmathis: I am sorry. Reading one of her favorite books seems an excellent way to find healing and comfort for your heart.

65ChrisCheetham
mei 16, 2019, 10:59 pm

I have just this minute joined LibraryThing for the sole purpose of parachuting into this discussion thread. I was sucked in while Googling by the mentions of Georgette Heyer, D E Stevenson, and Elizabeth Cadell, but have come across so many old favorites here--and discovered so many new (well, old) writers to try--that I wanted to pop by and say hello. Before I take the time to go through the full archives of this thread, I want to mention that some of the books that some of you seem to be having trouble finding are available for free at the Internet Archive. I also want to recommend Angela Thirkell to you all; she would seem perfect for DESsies (I thought I was the only one of her fans left!) And for those of you with slightly more offbeat literary tastes, please try Ivy Compton Burnett and Ouida. Also Stella Gibbons wrote a great many novels after the success of Cold Comfort Farm that you might enjoy.

66MrsLee
mei 17, 2019, 9:36 am

672wonderY
Bewerkt: mei 17, 2019, 10:45 am

>65 ChrisCheetham: Hi Chris; glad you are joining us. The join link is at the top right of the group page.

Start adding your books so we can neb into your shelves.

And tell us more about yourself here:
http://www.librarything.com/topic/168811

68gmathis
Bewerkt: mei 17, 2019, 11:49 am

>63 2wonderY: and >64 MrsLee: Thanks for the kind words. The mention of Little Women prompted the mention of my sister ... I read her hand-me-down copy perpetually when I was a preteen. Christy, too. "Stuff" is indeed just stuff, but some of that stuff becomes awfully precious over the years, doesn't it?

69gmathis
mei 17, 2019, 11:50 am

>65 ChrisCheetham: Glad to know you! There are some lovely people in this bunch. Already making note of your recommendations!

702wonderY
mei 19, 2019, 12:52 pm

I’m sure I’ve never read My Antonia before, but I’m knowing character aspects before they are described. Feels like home.

71ChrisCheetham
mei 19, 2019, 7:48 pm

Thanks to whoever it was here who recommended Lucilla Andrews. I've just read two of hers in quick succession, first The Secret Armour, then A Hospital Summer. Armour was a sweetly written, slightly formulaic hospital romance (though extremely heavy on utterly convincing detail), reminiscent of Betty Neels, though considerably better written and mercifully devoid of the usual taciturn Dutch doctor (do women really daydream about such men?). It was published in 1955 and was only her second novel. Hospital Summer, however, was, with the exception of a rather unimaginative ending, transcendent at times, and actually moved me to tears at one point, something that almost NEVER happens. I can't recommend it enough. The detail, the bold canvas, the moving and utterly factual-feeling descriptions of the wounded soldiers coming home from Dunkirk and the first casualties of the Blitz, are magnificent, all seen through the eyes of a young woman's innocence. A tour-de-force, reminiscent of Richard Gordon or Monica Dickens at their very best. I'll take a break with a Regency or two, then get back to more of her work, which is all now available on Kindle Unlimited. Thanks again!!!

72fuzzi
mei 21, 2019, 1:02 pm

>62 gmathis: I am so sorry.

73fuzzi
mei 21, 2019, 1:02 pm

>65 ChrisCheetham: hi! Glad to have you here on LT.

742wonderY
aug 20, 2019, 11:12 am

In non-fiction, I'm enjoying the audio of Consider the Fork. I thought I'd heard about it here on LT, but I'm not finding the BB today.

At first, it sounded like a second best to Michael Pollan's Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, as it began by enumerating the basics of fire and water cooking. But then it leaped into more (much more) detail about the implements of the kitchen. The chapter on knives zigzags between consideration of awful bloody accidents and truly laugh-out-loud commentary.

I'll have to try some of her other titles as well.

The cover with antique silverware was a definite attractant for me.

752wonderY
aug 21, 2019, 8:40 am

I've added a tag to several books, and I want other recommendations and recall of old books that have the theme.

'favorite guardian'

Two old books:
Uncle Alec in Eight Cousins
the absent benefactor in Daddy-Long-Legs

Two recent books:
the Sweep in Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
Charles Maxim in Rooftoppers

76MissWatson
aug 22, 2019, 3:51 am

>75 2wonderY: The first guardian that comes to my mind is the magician who takes care of little Maxie in Erich Kästner's Der kleine Mann, one of my favourite books as a child.
And of course John Jarndyce in Bleak House.

772wonderY
Bewerkt: aug 26, 2019, 2:44 pm

Reviewing Stephen Gammell's books, I think I've fallen in love with Thaddeus. Or maybe the authors, Alison Cragin Herzig and Jane Lawrence Mali. I'll have to hunt up more of their books.

Thaddeus refers to Thaddeus Quimby Jones (Tad) and his great great Uncle Thaddeus Quimby (Uncle Go-Go), who is 90 years older than Tad. Each chapter shows their interactions on each of Tad's birthdays. There are repeating, but subtle, patterns and progressions. Not only do we hear stories from Uncle Go-Go's past, we witness the close and loving relationship between the two, built up over the years. Uncle Go-Go is a vital and exciting, not to mention eccentric, nonagenarian.

I finally made an outline of all of the story elements so I could grasp the beauty of it's structure. Wickedly subtle and nuanced.

782wonderY
sep 16, 2019, 4:44 pm

I'm in an outlining mood. I first listened to the Bobiverse science fiction series; but I'm a visual rememberer. So I borrowed the print books and made copious notes. The books are structured as dated and locational entries by various characters, and there is a lot of jumping around. With my notes, I can now more directly follow the action in one location, and gestalt them all. I do admire the way the author gradually tells the story and expands his scope.

I'm also determined to read A Weaver of Dreams, by Myrtle Reed. I have a short shelf of her novels, and I was oblivious to her cook books. Her novels have beautiful old bindings, which is the reason I own them; but haven't read any yet.

This one starts with a lovely description of a country road and then introduces three young people, all orphaned. At first, Margery seems an adolescent girl, but she is 20. She and Judith become fast friends, but Judith's fiancé begins to transfer his affections. I doubt I will enjoy this plot. There is a bit too much home-grown philosophy, but then there are some wonderful descriptive passages. Reed wrote this book just before she suicided, and this was published posthumously. It sound like it may be depressing. I might be better off to start with another of her titles. Hmmm.

792wonderY
nov 24, 2019, 3:02 pm

Trying to eliminate a small set of shelves because my house is too crowded.

Managed to sort and dispose some recent titles, but found a whole row of tattered books back behind the first row. To complicate, most are from husband's ancestors shelves, with inscriptions. I'm the caretaker of this collection, but I know my children are less interested than I am with these books.

So I spent the afternoon reading first few pages. That's how I judge whether I will love it. Found an outstanding character to spend time with in The Second Generation, by David Graham Phillips. Phillips was a muckraking journalist before fictionalizing some of his stories. In fact, he was shot to death by a man who thought he had used his sister as a character in one of his books. His nonfiction reporting of US Senate corruption led to many Senators leaving and the 17th amendment which changed how Senators are elected.

In this book, we immediately meet a manufacturing magnate. But, unexpectedly, Hiram Ranger is someone very admirable.

"He was not a rich man who was a manufacturer; he was a manufacturer who was incidentally rich - one who made of his business a vocation. He had no theories on the dignity of labor; he simply exemplified it, and would have been amazed, and amused or angered according to his mood, had it been suggested to him that useful labor is not as necessary and continuous a part of life as breathing. He did not speculate and talk about ideals; he lived them, incessantly and unconsciously."

He strides through his factories with a keen eye on each employee and they work with more vigor, not from fear, but from pride and his own example. He crawls under a machine that is malfunctioning to diagnose it and tips it over so that his mechanics and engineers can repair and adjust it more readily.

80gmathis
nov 25, 2019, 9:34 am

>79 2wonderY: Love that intro! Very rich and meaty!

812wonderY
nov 25, 2019, 9:50 am

It made me recall my mother-in-law's strong convictions on the privilege of work. That's how she phrased it. Not the dignity of work or any other phrase.

I'm wondering whether she read these old novels. They all lived in bookshelves that lined her parents living room walls behind the furniture. But I never saw anyone in that household the least bit interested in pulling them out to read. These were collected by the generation prior and gone before I met husband. When her mother died and the household was broken up, she rescued the shelves and their contents, but they lived in a spare bedroom and again, no one read them. When she died, none of her direct descendants wanted them; which is why I was allowed to take them. (Buck was long dead, and my children were still young.)

82fuzzi
nov 26, 2019, 9:37 am

>81 2wonderY: I'm glad you took the books. I hate seeing bookshelves covered in dust.

832wonderY
Bewerkt: mrt 4, 2020, 12:05 pm

Well, all. Howdy. It's been too long...

About a year ago, I downloaded part of a novel, as it was the first in a short series and I owned the second book. I promptly mislaid the pages and they finally re-surfaced last week.

The Rose-Garden Husband is a romance where the unloved bride proves her worth. A typical plot. But this one has a lovely twist. Phyllis Narcissa has worked her way up to the basement children's room at the library. Her charges love her, but she has no life beyond the library and the boarding house she returns to every night. An elderly couple who have been friendly approach her with a very odd proposition. A friend of theirs has been caring for and worrying over her invalid adult son. He was injured and his fiancée died in an automobile accident. He has been passive and ill for 6 years and his mother is nearing death. She decides he need a wife to continue the same level of care. Phyllis Narcissa agrees. Once she's in charge of the household, she makes refreshing changes. One thing she does is to buy a rose-garden (an item she has yearned for, along with a string of blue glass beads) and the accompanying house.

Now I need to locate the sequel, The Wishing-Ring Man, somewhere in my house. Probably in the stack behind the bedroom door.

84gmathis
mrt 4, 2020, 1:43 pm

> 82 That sounds rather delicious!

852wonderY
mrt 4, 2020, 2:05 pm

It's a short book. Come join us:

http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/26635

86rhinemaiden
Bewerkt: mrt 5, 2020, 2:44 pm

Dit bericht is door zijn auteur gewist.

872wonderY
mrt 5, 2020, 10:39 am

>86 rhinemaiden: I wanted to private message you, but you have that feature turned off.

I'm glad you've joined the group, and value your input. But I'd rather you post this type of message in one of the more general threads rather than my reading thread. Like this one.

Thanks and blessings.

882wonderY
mrt 5, 2020, 10:47 am

I'm considering buying a hardcover copy of The Rose-Garden Husband.

There are a couple of things that jar, because of changed societal norms. Phyllis always refers to the library children as foreigners, instead of immigrants. And the staff she hires for the new house are at first described in racial terms and types. But later she prizes the cook as an individual - "Lily-Anna was a jewel. She built the fire up to a bright flame, and brought in some daffodils from the garden without a word from her mistress."

89rhinemaiden
mrt 5, 2020, 2:45 pm

>87 2wonderY: my mistake... message moved/deleted here.

902wonderY
mrt 6, 2020, 6:25 am

Dagnab. Left the pages on my desk at work. Will have to wait till next week to finish reading.

912wonderY
mei 24, 2020, 9:53 am

Hurray! I found my copy of The Trumpeter Swan by Temple Bailey. It is a very shabby copy with loose cover boards and lacks the pretty dustjackets I've researched. But it's a Bailey I haven't read yet. My other tasks may have to be set aside for a bit while I savour.

922wonderY
mei 24, 2020, 2:29 pm

I did put the Temple Bailey book aside, but in a prominent spot. The need to downsize is growing and I'm seized by it, continuing to scour the shelves and piles.

Two very small works got read in full today.
Mrs. Knollys is a short story found in just two collections. It's a re-print from an 1883 magazine story.

Tom Ilderton is a collection of religious tales published in 1865. The first couple were fine, teaching about how to be a good example and to do your small bit of good in the world. But the last two were just weird. A sickly lamb is cared for by the shepherd's daughter and becomes boastful of his special privileges until he is taken to the butcher.
In the other, a child becomes reconciled to an early death, and her poor mother is glad that Annie wins her battle with fear.

932wonderY
sep 7, 2020, 5:33 pm

I’m in the midst of my retirement move; taking the opportunity to examine which books I still want and those I can release to the wilds. Remembering Lloyd Douglas with much fondness, I went ahead and ordered the two titles I was still missing. In the few moments before exhausted sleep, I’m re-reading Invitation to Live. With decades of practical experience under my belt, it seems more artificial than my earlier impressions. That’s okay, though. The general Christian message is still worth hearing.

I’ve moved much closer to my daughters and just hosted a weekend. It was everything I’d hoped it would be. Naming this house “Celebration Cottage.”

94Cynfelyn
sep 7, 2020, 5:57 pm

>93 2wonderY: Congratulations on your retirement. And I hope that the move turns out to be a success.

95varielle
sep 7, 2020, 6:53 pm

2wonderY - what about your garden?

962wonderY
sep 7, 2020, 7:51 pm

>94 Cynfelyn: Thanks! So far, so good.

>95 varielle: You mean the one that’s been on it’s own or the ones on Brambly Ridge? Check this year’s thread in Gardens and Books. This new yard has no plantings, except for two stately maples out back. As soon as I can prepare beds, my perennials will be migrating.

What? You thought I might abandon my babies?
Retirement just means I have all day to start new projects. ;)

97pgmcc
sep 8, 2020, 4:54 am

Congratulations and good luck with your retirement.

98MrsLee
nov 28, 2020, 8:03 pm

>96 2wonderY: How lovely for you! I look forward to some photos of your new projects in the yard if possible.

992wonderY
Bewerkt: dec 27, 2020, 3:31 pm

>97 pgmcc: Thanks! It’s going pretty swell!

>98 MrsLee: Did you catch my note in the other thread? Photos are occasionally posted on LT; but I’m using Instagram for more. I like that they upload with less effort and I can group them to tell a story. My user name there is twowondery.

I’m reading E. P. Roe’s He Fell in Love with His Wife. I like it a lot except for the small font in the small book. I have a lot of his titles, but haven’t read them. Was saving them for later. It’s later now😋

100MrsLee
jan 10, 2021, 11:09 am

>99 2wonderY: Ah, I don't use Instagram. Keeping my social media to a bare minimum.

1012wonderY
jan 23, 2021, 11:10 am

>100 MrsLee:. Me too. I’ve never done Facebook. Instagram is my limit.

Sorting piles today, I dipped into several, and find two grandmas described. The one in Grandma Called it Carnal supposedly leaves all household work to her daughter Martha; but in every description, her hands are busy with some task. I get the feeling that Bertha considers her upbringing by grandma to be very circumscribed. I may be wrong though.
The description in Earlham is luscious and loving. If this is real biography, Lubbock considered his childhood visits to the old family place very near to heaven. His recollections of the staff are warm and loving too.

1022wonderY
feb 12, 2021, 3:49 pm

I’m supposed to be sorting at the old house again this week. I’ve dipped into two old books featuring adolescent girls; extremely different personas.

Bab, a Sub-Deb tells of the silly love interest she invents and doesn’t know how to extricate herself from the situation. Not sure it’s worth following through. Lots of deliberate misspellings throughout, to prove it’s really written by a careless young thing.

Miss Billy is just as clueless, but possesses much more warmth and sincerity. She’s a recent orphan and contacts her father's old friend who she was named after and requests to make her home with him. She proceeds to brighten the entire household.

1032wonderY
feb 13, 2021, 7:56 pm

One of my bedside tables consists of three deep drawers stacked atop one another. It’s time to decide what will be done with it. The drawers will probably end as firewood, after saving the lovely Art Deco handles for re-use somewhere else. The books, though...

I thought perhaps I’d dispose of Small is Beautiful, but I must keep it after reading chapter 4 - Buddhist Economics. It brightens the soul.
The Scent of Water is still awaiting me. I’d borrowed it from the library after someone here recommending it; and after a short sample, knew I would want to own it. But I never have finished it!
I’m in the midst of Told in a French Garden, August 1914. The author spent WW1 in France and wrote several non-fiction books about her observations. This is her only fiction published. It recounts a couple of weeks at a country house outside of Paris, where American expats have gathered. Instead of arguing about the war, each tells a story, one per evening.

1042wonderY
Bewerkt: feb 13, 2021, 8:27 pm

Oddly, just next to it is The Arm-Chair at the Inn, published in 1912, and located in Dive-Sur-Mer in Normandy. The author lovingly describes the William the Conquerer Inn there. I had to look it up. Hopkinson Smith not only wrote about it, he painted it several times too. Sothebys and Christies handle them.

http://www.artnet.com/WebServices/images/ll441912llgE2952CfDrCWvaHBOAD/francis-h...

105fuzzi
feb 13, 2021, 9:19 pm

>103 2wonderY: sorry to hear of any furniture ending up as firewood.

1062wonderY
feb 13, 2021, 9:35 pm

It’s just the drawers. The case is long gone. And they are not pretty, except for the hardware I mentioned.

1072wonderY
feb 14, 2021, 9:22 am

Further into the drawers, I discovered my collection of Michael Pollan titles. Oh! So that’s where you were hiding! These will be tucked in with the other gardening memoirs in the bedroom case.

109fuzzi
feb 14, 2021, 12:22 pm

>108 2wonderY: ooh, lovely!

1102wonderY
feb 16, 2021, 3:44 pm

I know some of you have enjoyed the threads reviewing picture books. So I thought to invite you to the one I just started in the Picture Books Group:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/329812

This one celebrates The Three Little Pigs.

1112wonderY
Bewerkt: apr 18, 2021, 8:55 am

I’m about half-way through Sapphira and the Slave Girl. Sapphira’s widowed daughter, Rachel Blake, is a pleasure to spend time with. And then she has a particular appreciation of one of the rough hill women of western Virginia, Mandy Ringer. “Mrs. Ringer was born interested.”

I happen to have met the woman myself. I spent an afternoon with her a few decades ago. She changed my understanding of what is needed for intelligence. I’d been prejudiced toward the need for formal education; but she taught me that wasn’t so.

1122wonderY
Bewerkt: apr 24, 2021, 10:46 pm

Rachel Blake, as a child, sensed the wrongness of slavery, and it came between her and her mother; as Sapphira sometimes treated the negroes with sarcasm and scorn. When Rachel, at twelve, overheard a conversation between two people she respected:
“A feeling long smothered had blazed up in her - had become a conviction. She had never heard the thing said before, never put into words. It was the owning That was wrong, the relation itself, no matter how convenient or agreeable it might be for master and servant.” Pages 136-137.

Some reviewers don’t like the book because it presents such a mixed set of attitudes on being a slave. I’ve read several other accounts that also describe this fondness and loyalty of slaves to their owners. It’s hard for us to conceive of the complicated interpersonals in these households. I think Cather has it right.

In the short section titled ‘Nancy’s Flight’ she expresses her reticence succinctly:
“I can’t bear it to belong nowheres!”
Back Creek is the only place she has ever known, and her life circumstances have been absorbed as natural from birth.

113Sakerfalcon
apr 19, 2021, 6:58 am

>112 2wonderY: Sapphira isn't my favourite of Cather's novels but I agree that it is worthy of our attention for its complexity regarding slavery.

1142wonderY
Bewerkt: apr 25, 2021, 9:25 pm

Found the geography of Sapphira and the Slave Girl.

Back Creek flows north from Lehew to Gore in Virginia, near the border with West Virginia. Gore intersects the Northwestern Turnpike, now US Rt 50.
It’s 42 miles from Winchester VA to Romney WV. Gore is only 12 miles out of Winchester.
The book makes it feel much further.

After finishing the autobiographic epilogue, I read the Wikipedia article. Cather was indeed born in Gore, VA. Although she never refers to Mrs. Blake as a relative, much less her grandma, Mrs. B seems to live in her household. Her mother was Mary Boak. Mary was Mrs. Blake’s surviving daughter.

1152wonderY
aug 27, 2021, 11:23 am

I’m only picking up my tattered book while in WV, clearing out the old house.

There are still piles of them all over; and I’m trying to sort and dispose. But I can’t do that without opening and reading the first pages, eh? Sometimes it’s easy to determine a discard; painful as that is. Other times, I get caught up in the story, and the work is paused.
I’d read 80+ pages before I stopped of The Mettle of the Pasture. James Lane Allen is a Kentucky writer from the turn of the last century. I’ve read another of his, The Choir Invisible. I find his writing unique and somewhat torturous for the modern reader. His character expositions are elaborate and subtle; written sideways from any other author. His story line resembles a romance but loops through psychological thriller as well. His characters act in ways contrary to expectation and logic, painting them in human complexity.
I’m about a quarter of the way through now; but I have to get back to KY. I’m hoping I finish it.

116fuzzi
aug 28, 2021, 12:56 pm

>115 2wonderY: if you decide to discard, I'd be happy to give it a try.

1172wonderY
okt 14, 2021, 12:53 pm

I searched my shelves yesterday for a book I could
1. leave behind, if it happened
2. I could read the font comfortably without glasses on.

I settled on Cat’s Cradle. I know, not as old as most books referenced here, but still plenty tattered.

The remarkable thing is I am continuing to read it today, with great pleasure. Only half because of the content. The other half is the ease I am having with reading the print.

Left eye cataract surgery yesterday, and my vision is remarkably improved. Right eye was done last month; but my brain continued to believe the dominant left eye. The left eye has now apologized for acting so like a bully, and there is harmony.

1182wonderY
jan 4, 2022, 4:09 pm

Still sorting through piles of books. Haven’t been able to discard many; finding plenty of old friends and old new friends. If I were on the laptop, I would share the first page or two of Our Hearts Were Young and Gay.

Well, all I can do is point you to Open Library:
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL6443869M/Our_hearts_were_young_and_gay

It’s pretty sweet. I may take it to bed tonight; though I’ve got several other good books started.

119fuzzi
jan 5, 2022, 8:28 am

>118 2wonderY: I've heard of that one, never tried it. Ouch.

1202wonderY
Bewerkt: jan 20, 2023, 10:41 am

I’m avoiding studying for Soils class this morning. I’m a good procrastinator.

I’m reading my second book by Maria Thompson Daviess. I own four, and have read The Melting of Molly multiple times with delight. I’ve been holding on to the others for when I’m retired and have lots of time. That is now. (Except for the noted school obligation)
Rose of Old Harpeth is just as delightful. Every page holds either clever phrasing, life wisdom, or a character you can love unreservedly.
Daviess is loose with her locational naming. Providence Road, Harpeth Valley or variants, and Sweetbriar village are the most frequent referents.
Daviess lived on a property called Sweetbriar near Nashville, Tennessee. But I’m having difficulty pulling all the terms together on a modern map.
When Uncle Tucker mentions Selina Lue, it rang a bell, as that’s another title. Digging around I find at least 7 of her books are located in the same geography and sometimes the characters mix. He also speaks of Dr. Mayberry, who is featured in another book.
So I created a series.

One of the other books I own looks less fascinating, but I will give it a read later.

Now I want her autobiography, Seven Times Seven. I could pay $30 for a POD from India or $200 for an original copy.
Hmm. Please keep an eye out for a copy in your local secondhand bookshops.

1222wonderY
jan 21, 2023, 10:28 am

>121 fuzzi: Thanks! I don’t do eBay, but my daughter does. She will buy it for me. Yay!

123merrystar
jan 22, 2023, 5:44 pm

>120 2wonderY: I was inspired to try The Melting of Molly during a car-ride today, and found it completely charming. Thank you!

1242wonderY
Bewerkt: jan 22, 2023, 7:48 pm

>123 merrystar: Yep. Welcome to the Daviess fan club!

125fuzzi
jan 25, 2023, 1:00 pm

>122 2wonderY: yippee!

eBay can be dangerous, I've bought a lot of doll house items for my grands through eBay...

1262wonderY
apr 17, 2023, 8:23 am

Is Nevil Shute a tattered author? I think so. I came across a nice copy last year of Trustee From the Toolroom and I’ve been told it’s his best. So far, I have to disagree. I’ve almost struggled to stay with it. Knowing that Pied Piper started out slow, I’m staying with it. I’m about 3/5ths and Keith has just started his sea journey with Jack Donnelly.
The air trip to Honolulu is where the story picked up, and I think I like the fact that the modeling world is now getting involved in his trip.

127Cynfelyn
apr 18, 2023, 10:22 am

>126 2wonderY: "Is Nevil Shute a tattered author?"

Well, you're the creator and administrator of our little group, so if you don't know, I don't know who does.

The TBSL group notes include "I've pencilled a dashed line somewhere in the 1950s to separate 'old' and 'modern.'" Perhaps the rule could be tweeked to behave like copyright rules and archival embargoes, with books condemned as irredeemably modern for, say, "three score years and ten", before being admitted into the company of the blest. In which case books published in 1953 could now be considered TBSL, and this year's newly TBSL Nevil Shute book would be In the wet.

I might add that Nevil Shute was one of my dad's favourite authors, he having worked in the aeroengine side of Rolls-Royce in the 1950s. Shute's autobiography Slide rule (1954) is on the lower slopes of Mount TBR in remembrance. His A town like Alice (1950) was one of the set texts we read at school for GCE English literature O-Level in, hmm, 1974. Has anything happened in the world of Nevil Shute since the 2000 remake of On the beach? Whether or not he's tattered, he's certainly getting on towards being a neglected author.

128haydninvienna
apr 18, 2023, 11:07 am

>126 2wonderY: I've still got a copy of Slide Rule (inherited from my father) somewhere.

If Neville Shute is really TBSL, he attracts a surprising amount of attention on LT.

1292wonderY
apr 18, 2023, 10:09 pm

His writing career spans several decades. I guess I was taken aback at the 1960 copyright date. He is definitely in the tattered camp. This is my 4th title, and though I cozied into the last half of the book, it’s not my favorite.
I’ve got Pastoral waiting, but I’m really looking forward to re-reading Pied Piper. The three volumes were found together at the local lone used book shop.

130historyhound7
apr 30, 2023, 11:18 pm

>This sounds good. I will look for it.

1312wonderY
jan 3, 8:57 am

Good morning!

Collecting my 2023 statistics, I find I read 26 of my tattered tomes.

The ones that landed on my favorites list are
Grandma Called it Carnal
Sensible Kate
The Old Peabody Pew
Rose of Old Harpeth
Back Home
Buttered Side Down
Common Sense

And a non-fiction biography of a tattered author, C. S. Lewis, A Hobbit, A Wardrobe and a Great War

Happy tattered readings in the new year!

At the moment, there is a table set up in front of the bookcase that holds the bulk of my TBSL books. It was meant to hold Christmas party foods, but ended holding more misc. Christmas things. So it will stay up another week at least.
But there are always more books scattered or piled under furniture and there is the long narrow case at the top of the stairs

132fuzzi
jan 3, 9:16 am

>131 2wonderY: I love that bookcase.

Sensible Kate is on my Wishlist, I'll get around to it eventually. I read another book by the author, Little Vic, which was such a favorite I bought and read it again as an adult.

133Sakerfalcon
jan 3, 11:21 am

>131 2wonderY: That's beautiful! And you have room for more books! How wonderful!

1342wonderY
jan 3, 11:54 am

>133 Sakerfalcon: Well, no. I pulled that picture from when it was first installed😆

135Sakerfalcon
jan 3, 12:06 pm

>134 2wonderY: Ah, right! I must admit I was surprised that anyone in this group would have empty shelves!

1362wonderY
jan 30, 1:01 pm

For those who have read The Melting of Molly, you might enjoy more Daviess.
I’m working on collecting more when they are affordable and also finding them through my libraries.
My public library in Kentucky has a handful through Hoopla. Now I need to gain access. It appears I have a Hoopla account, but I can’t recall the password and haven’t been able to change it.
The college library had several more, one in their general collection, and several more in Special Collections. Which means sitting in a sealed room to read them.

I just finished reading The Tinder-Box. It is set in rural Tennessee too, and is written in the same rambling style of journal entries/musings, but more organized than Molly’s.

1372wonderY
feb 2, 12:06 pm

And rather rapidly wandering through Harpeth Valley.
The Heart’s Kingdom at first seemed discordant with the rest of her work. It was challenging from the first, attempting to deal in faith and religion. But count on Ms. Daviess to deliver. This one leaves me in tears.
There is a lot of yearning for motherhood in many of her characters; very possibly straight from her own heart.
And a theme of American equality that I hadn’t noticed before. This was written during WW1.

1382wonderY
feb 2, 12:12 pm

Since I was in the Special Collections room yesterday for class, I requested Over Paradise Ridge and sat and read it for a while. I should have waited, as it was a tiny bit confusing. Lots of characters to keep straight. And appears a staff member must sit in the sealed room along with me.

1392wonderY
feb 18, 10:01 am

Two more Harpeth Valley books enjoyed.

Andrew the Glad was a bit difficult to get through. She kept tiptoeing around the historic difficulty between the lovers. The young lady is daughter to a carpetbagger that left town two decades ago after enriching himself at the expense of many of the townsfolk. She doesn’t know specifics, but Andrew was one of the victims. Everyone, including him, seem to believe that will preclude a union. There’s also a lot of rah-rah politics and patriotism. And though relations between the races appears positive and tranquil, there are racist terms used casually.

Daviess was even more vague about the location of Miss Selina Lue and the Soap-Box Babies. Bot the short stories included at the end of the book, featuring Mrs. Pettibone, connect to Harpeth Valley.
Mrs. Pettibone has a rich history of great friendships in her three stories.
Selina Lue has never married and is widely pitied for her lack of motherly experience, but she is at center a mother figure to the whole community. Only a few people fully recognize the richness of her heart.

I discovered a title I hadn’t known about, The Treasure Babies, and added it to my wishlist.

I’ve displaced her autobiography🤔

1402wonderY
mrt 7, 9:10 am

Reporting back that if you love Molly, Over Paradise Ridge approaches it in charm and phrasings. I just ordered my very own pristine first edition copy with plenty of gilt on the binding. I found myself giggling frequently while reading the library copy.