Mid-Month March Reading

 Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

In February, 1910, in the middle of a snowstorm, Ursula Todd is born. The umbilical cord is wrapped around her neck and she is stillborn. In February, 1910, in the middle of a snowstorm, Ursula Todd is born. The umbilical cord is wrapped around her neck, but the doctor has just arrived so is able to save her and she lives--until she dies. In February, 1910, in the middle of a snowstorm, Ursula Todd is born. She lives a little longer before she dies. In February, 1910, in the middle of a snowstorm...

With this beginning, I embarked on the journey that is Life After Life, written by the woman who is probably my favorite contemporary author, Kate Atkinson. I've never read a book of hers that I didn't love and his one is no exception. I often feel my mind expanding and experiencing small explosions when I read her books--sometimes I even get goosebumps. This was the case with this book as well. I knew the basic premise of the book--that Ursula Todd lives many different lives. As I commented to Bill halfway through the book, I was expecting a different structure--one that's more straightforward--with succeeding sections describing the next life of Ursula Todd. This was silly of me because it's Kate Atkinson! Of course it's not going to be straightforward and linear! No, we jump around forwards and backwards in time as various scenarios play out. Things happen in one lifetime that are avoided in another by a chance decision or unexplained feeling. Then she takes us back to the beginning and we see Ursula going down a different path. I guess you can tell that I loved this book. I'll be thinking about it for a long time. I'm thrilled that I have more of her books to discover and that she has a new one coming out in September, which is shaping up to be a very good publishing month indeed!

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi (personal copy)

In 1937, mathematician Grant McAllister wrote an academic paper on the mathematical possibilities of mystery story structures. He was interested in what features were required to make a story a mystery story, what the permutations were, and how many possibilities there were. He then constructed a book of 7 stories that illustrated his theory. Then he disappeared from public life. Decades later, Julia, an editor, has tracked him down to talk to him about the book which is going to be republished. The chapters in this book alternate between the stories and the conversations between Grant and Julia. I recently picked this book up at a charity shop. It will be re-donated. It was OK in parts. It was an interesting structure and an original idea. The author has a PhD in mathematics. It started off pretty well for me. I though there was something a bit off about the short stories although I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was. They became darker and more gruesome as the book went on though. Every chapter involving the conversations between author and editor began with the editor repeating the last lines of the previous story. I guess in the end I didn't think the book was particularly well written and by the time the big reveals came at the end, I no longer cared. I can't really recommend this one.

Murder at Mount Fuji by Shizuko Natsuki, translated by Robert Rohmer (borrowed from the library)

Jane is travelling to a wealthy neighborhood on the slopes of Mt Fuji to stay with her friend's family for the New Year festivities. There's a lot of snow, but she arrives safely. Things go downhill from there. Jane is doing a study abroad year and needs some extra income, so she is tutor to Chiyo, who is studying English literature and needs help with her final paper, which must be written in English. The visit will be a working one. Chiyo's family has several members and much tension. It's a wealthy family and there's some tension about the family business as well as interpersonally. It's not much a a surprise when the patriarch is killed on the night Jane arrives, but it is surprising that Chiyo says she did it. The cover-up begins and Jane participates. The police begin their investigation and plot ensues. This author has been described as the Japanese Agatha Christie, which is why I requested the book. I've tried a couple of other classic Japanese mysteries and didn't get very far before deciding they weren't for me. This one wasn't really for me either, but I did finish it. I found it very repetitive and the dialogue felt stilted. The latter may have worked well in Japanese or it could be a translation issue. But there were several times in the book where someone basically gave a synopsis of where the case stood at that point, covering the same ground numerous times. The solution was credible. The ending was rather abrupt. If you like Japanese mysteries, by all means, give this one a try, otherwise I'd give it a miss. Not terrible, but there are other books to spend time with.

Second Fiddle by Mary Wesley (personal copy)

This was another charity shop purchase and it was another book that I thought was OK. Claud has come home to his mother's house in the country having broken up with his girlfriend and failed his accountancy exam. He's decided he's going to write a novel. At a charity concert with his mother, he meets Laura and becomes slightly obsessed. Laura decides she'll help him cope with life so he can write his novel. She's 20 years older than him and has a mysterious background. Her mother lives in the area in an old rectory. An uncle lives there too. There's another family that Laura grew up with and there are rumors about who her father is/was. Laura spends a great deal of her time in London, where her business is located and she has a flat. And so the story follows Claud and Laura as they go about their lives. There are other people as well. There were funny bits in this story, but as it progressed, it got darker and eventually we learn why Laura behaves as she does. There's not a lot of plot in the story and there were some things I found off-putting. The book was published in the late 1980s, which I am old enough to remember and it did feel of its time. I've read a couple of other Mary Wesley novels and I have to say this was the one I liked the least. Had it been longer, I might not have finished it. I have her most well-known novel and a biography of her, both picked up at charity shops, so we'll see how they are at some point.

The New House by Lettice Cooper (borrowed from the library)

Originally published in 1936, this is a book about change--societal, cultural, personal change. It's about how people deal with change, both those who embrace it and those who resist it. It's about how some things are passed down in families, sometimes in surprising ways. It's about the often difficult task of determining how much you owe to others and how much to yourself. It's about fining the courage to be yourself even when familial and cultural expectations try to keep you in a box. It's about expectations met and unmet. It's a book that surprised me as there were parts of it that could have been describing my own life, both as a child and an adult, even though the book was published a few decades before I was born and is set in England and I was in the US. 

This gem of a book is set in one day--moving day for the Powell's. Mother Natalie and daughter Rhoda are moving out of the home Rhoda has lived in her entire life. At 33, she's not keen on this move at all. Neither is Natalie--and Natalie has been spoiled her entire life, so she's used to getting what she wants. Not this time, though, no matter how much she whines, cajoles and feels put upon and victimized. There's no choice really, since Tom, the husband and father, has recently died and the money to keep up a large house and grounds simply isn't there. Tom was the head of a steel company. That position now belongs to son Maurice. The business wasn't doing very well even when Tom was alive due to changes in the culture, which made it harder for small businesses to compete. Maurice is married to Evelyn, but they've drifted apart. Their daughter, Tatty, who is only three, is caught in the middle. Delia, the youngest, moved away from home a while ago and works for a lab. She's going to marry Jim, a scientist, and they're going to start their own lab. She wants to help her sister escape from a life of servitude with their mother. Delia comes from London to help with the move. Maurice and Evelyn are involved. Natalie's sister, Ellen, who is the model for what Rhoda does not want to become, also helps. The story takes place on one day, but we get background history as we go from one character to another, reading their thoughts and memories as the day progresses. I found this aspect of the book fascinating, although the main tension in the book is the question of what Rhoda will decide when Delia suggests that she move to London and take her place at the lab when she leaves to marry and work with Jim. Rhoda goes back and forth in her mind about whether she can, whether she wants to, or whether she'll be 'allowed' to. At one point, she thinks about a time from her childhood when the three siblings were at a frozen pond learning to ice skate. Maurice and Rhoda were ever so careful. Delia raced out onto the ice. Rhoda remembers that while she and Maurice were very slow and afraid to fall, Delia fell several times, but she learned to skate before either of them. I won't divulge what Rhoda decided here. I will say that I loved this book and will be looking for more by this author in future. The edition I read is a republication by Persephone Books (I LOVE Persephone Books!) and contains a preface by Jilly Cooper, herself an author. Lettice Cooper was Jilly Cooper's husband's aunt and it was quite interesting to read about Lettice Cooper's work and what the influences on it were. It's an excellent book all around.

Tyler's Row by Miss Read (BorrowBox e-audiobook)

Back when we first got to Ireland, I blogged about a book I'd been given by the librarian, who thought I might like it. It was by Alice Taylor, who writes mostly about Irish village life. The librarian said Taylor reminded her of her own childhood in a different part of Ireland. I loved the book, read it in an evening, and went back the next day to check out everything they had by Taylor. The librarian was thrilled. A retired English professor I knew back in the US suggested that if I liked Alice Taylor, I might like Miss Read--she did. Turns out I did too. I read what was available at the time. In the last several years, BorrowBox has added several Miss Read titles and I listened to them as they appeared, including a very enjoyable memoir. They've recently added more that I haven't read or listened to, this being one of them. As always, it was a great read/listen. These are very charming sorts of books, narrated by the village schoolteacher, Miss Read, who describes all of the village activities both in the school and beyond. This book does involve the school, but that's not the primary focus. Instead, most of the action (such as it is) takes place in Tyler's Row, a small compound of four cottages. When the middle two go up for sale, a couple from a nearby town consider buying all four. But there's a problem--the two tenants at either end. They dislike one another intensely and they cannot be removed from the cottages. Plot ensues from there. I thoroughly enjoyed this listen, sitting in bed, drinking tea, and stitching while I did so. There are some serious issues addressed within the book, but mostly it's a light-hearted and very pleasant book, narrated by Gwen Watford who played Dolly Bantry in the Joan Hickson Miss Marple series years ago. I kept picturing Dolly Bantry as I listened. She does an excellent job as a reader of these books and I enjoy her and the books very much.

So the first half of March is a wrap. I've got a growing pile of books here and another one to pick up at the library this week. I'll have no trouble finding reading material to see me through the rest of March. Hope it's the same for you!

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Journals, Braids, and Spirals

 Yesterday afternoon was the first cloth journal workshop. It was an excellent beginning and I was quite happy about how it went. I think it's going to be fun and everyone now has a fairly clear idea of what they want their project to be, at least in a general way. One of the fun things about a project like this is the way more ideas come as you stitch. One woman has a lot of stuff she wants to use and doesn't want anything left. I suggested she might want to make two journals and she was thrilled with the idea. People seemed a little bit unsure about what these journals are, but after I showed and explained mine and they passed it around a few times, the ideas were bouncing around in their heads. I told them that these journals could be whatever they want, but that since the idea of infinite possibilities could be daunting, in this class, we'd have a plan--it can be a loose plan, but they want some parameters. Once they have the one under their belt, who knows where they'll take it. It was very moving to hear the reasons for their journals and what they are hoping to do. A few left with a start and a couple of women decided that what they want to use for their covers was still at home, but now that they knew where they were going with this, they were eager to go get their supplies and begin. I'm so looking forward to seeing their work progress! I was also very pleased to hear more than one of them comment more than once about what a good group it is. I agree. It's always a gamble in a situation like this. You never know if there will be one person who is highly annoying and disruptive in one way or another, but the chatting was part of the fun and I think they'll be happy to share ideas with one another as we go forward--at least I hope so. 

A friend who also attends the yarn group at the library asked me if I could teach her to do kumihimo. She'd expressed an interest a few months ago and I got her a disk but she hadn't tried it yet. She's taking the journal class and as she was rummaging through things to see what she might want to include, she found some old jewelry that she wants to deconstruct and use in kumihimo. So today she brought her disk to yarn group and I showed her how to do it.

Last night I finished up a brooch that I was making for her. She's mentioned in the past that she likes brooches, the color blue, and the colorful ribbon yarn I've used for many braids. A friend found it in a charity shop and got it for me. I've done so many braids with it and I think I have enough for another one or two. I tend to use novelty yarn for either weaving or kumihimo, but ribbon yarn isn't great on the pin looms, so kumihimo it is. Anyway, here's her brooch, which I gave her today. Sorry about the less than fabulous photo--I was rushing this morning and had little time to snap the pic before I was off.

kumihimo braid sewn into spiral with glass art pendant attached sterling silver pin on back

I recently completed this one, too. I love purple and the purple/teal combination.

kumihimo braid sewn into spiral, teal glass bead, sterling silver pin on back

I always leave the fringe a little long at first so I can decide how long I want it. I think I might trim this fringe just a bit.

Today, because I was showing someone how to do it, I loaded my disk with 8 strands of yarn, each a different color. I figured it'd be easier to keep track of the strands that way. I brought some scraps so she could do the same on her disk and that seemed to work well. I'm kind of liking how the braid is coming out so I'm going to continue. It'll be a shorter braid than I usually make, but I'll use it for embellishment on something. 

It's been a busy week, at least by my standards. I'm thrilled to be at home now for the next several days. I picked up a library book that was waiting for me when I went to the art gallery yesterday (it's just next to the library on the ground floor of a larger building). I'm looking forward to starting that very soon. But first, I think a nice cup of tea is in order! I hope your week is going well.

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She Makes Things

 My cloth journal class starts on Wednesday. I'm going to be so curious to see what participants create, discover what ideas they some up with, and to hear the stories they share. My plan is to encourage them from the start to create something they'll be happy with and to not try to follow along with what someone else is doing if it's not their vibe. I'm going to suggest that they make their journal in whatever format they want, whether that's a book, wall art, scroll, bunting, vessel, or some other thing. I also intend to tell them how I work, but that might not be how they want to work. For example, I'm not into buying a bunch of supplies--at least not new. I have my basic tools, of course. But I don't go fabric shopping for yardage. I shop in charity shops and use worn out clothing--like my Nana, the upcycling is an important part of my practice, whether it's yarn or cloth that I'm working with. If I want to embellish, I use deconstructed bits of charity shop jewellry or other things I have. So with that in mind, I created a journal that I can show and explain (briefly) at the start of the class. I tried to include many different types of pages which will hopefully spark ideas for their own work. They can create their journal around a theme if they want or they can have fun playing with cloth and stitch without a theme. Many types of things can be incorporated. When I was teaching knitting and crocheting at the yarn shop, so many of my older students told stories about learning when they were young--taught my grandma or auntie who would get angry with them as they told them they were doing it wrong, holding their hook wrong, or even slapping their hands! Or they'd tell them how terrible the work was and make them rip it out. After being terrorized like this, they had no interest in pursuing these activities until they were older when they thought they'd give it another try. There will be none of that with me. Of course with some things, one learns the basic techniques--then it's off to wherever they lead. No rules. If someone does something and they don't like it, they can take it apart or cover it up. We won't be using expensive materials. We'll just be having fun (hopefully!). My sample journal has a theme and that is 'She Makes Things.' The title comes from a childhood memory. I was in some school gathering or something like that and I was asked who I most admired. I said Nana. She was cool, I said, partly because she makes things. And she sure did--she grew food, she cooked amazing meals, and she sewed. She didn't sew fancy things and use fabric store materials. She went to rummage sales, bought drapes and made slipcovers. She made aprons and basic dresses, patchwork blankets, and Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls. Growing up in a family where shopping was recreation, making things seemed pretty cool to me. My other grandmother was a knitter. I remember her always following patterns. Nana always seemed to wing it, although I'm sure she created her own patterns. So I'm a mix of both of them--I tend to improvise in most areas of my life.  I love yarn. And it's important to me to upcycle. So that's the theme of my journal, which includes honoring the work of women--both known and unknown to me--from previous generations. I'll show it to you now and explain (briefly) the reason I made the choices I did and how they fit the theme. This post will have a lot of photos and be kind of long.

First off, the front cover, which I was making whilst away from home, using what limited supplies I had with me.

The pocket is a needle tatted doodle that I had in one of my stitching pouches. When I was teaching needle tatting at a local yarn shop, my students were always a couple of decades older than myself. They would talk about their grandmothers tatting with shuttles. They tried but couldn't get the hang of it. With the needle, they were able to finally do this and several of them through the years were literally in tears to feel that connection with their grandmother. I found that very moving. The photo is of Nana. The ribbon yarn was scrap from a kumihimo braid I made. The yarn was from a charity shop and given to me by a friend. The bead is from a charity shop necklace.

On the left is the inside of the cover--a piece of a leg from worn out jeans, a cross-stitch doodle from my pouch, and some scrap thread stitching. I stitched the rectangle and did a bunch of seed stitch inside it, then wove thread at random through the seed stitches. On the right is a sleeve from a sweater given to me by a dear friend. The sweater was made by his late wife and he thought maybe I could unravel it to get the yarn and use it. I did, but kept the sleeves so some of her work would be preserved. I made a bag with the other one and decided to use this one as a page in the journal. The stitch holder at the cuff and the stitch markers on the sleeve belonged to my mother-in-law, who gave me a pouch with some of her knitting tools many years ago. The stitch markers are quite fragile so I don't use them in knitting. The cuff is folded over from the back and serves as a closure with the stitch holder. It also serves as a pocket, so I can add things to it.

The knitting pin gauge belonged to the woman who made the sleeve. The UK numbers are different from US numbers and all my knitting needles are from the US. I have a gauge for those. The page on the right is part of a shirt a friend of mine gave me years ago. I wore it until it was shredded in places. I layered two pieces of that with a piece of a worn out T-shirt of Bill's and used odd bits of leftover thread to do a simple running stitch. It's wonky as is typical of my slow stitching. There is space to add embellishments if I want to at a later date.

The other side of the shirt page--I stitched around the embroidery. The doily on the right was made for me by a cousin's other grandmother. I was close to this cousin as a kid and often stayed for weeks at her house, where her grandmother also lived. Her other grandmother, Mrs. Marx (I don't think I ever knew her first name), was a small women with a heavy accent and a love of threadwork. I can still hear her laughing and see her sitting in her room with her hands flying. When Bill and I got married almost half a century ago, she gave us a set of these crocheted doilies that she'd made. I treasured them. I had no idea that a few years later, I'd become passionate about crocheting myself, although it took a while for me to be able to work with fine thread.

On the left you can just see a crochet hook attached to the doily. That belonged to Mrs. Marx. My aunt gave me a bunch of her hooks after Mrs. Marx had passed away and this one is slightly bent. On the right is a card from the friend who gave me the shirt, which I chose to use for the patchwork vibe on the elephant and the association of elephants with remembering.

Here is the center On the right, I cut down an envelope to fit and attached it, closing up the cut end with double-sided tape. A friend was going to throw away a box of the envelopes years ago, but I took them and use them. The floral bit on top is the inside of the front of another greeting card. On the left is a poem I wrote years ago in honor of Nana, who was unappreciated by my grandfather. Grandpa wanted his meals promptly at the times mentioned in the poem. If they were not there, he'd complain or think he was punishing her by choosing not to eat at all. Fine, go hungry, would be my response to that--or make your own lunch.

In/visibility

Invisible kitchen spirit

stands stirring oatmeal

at 6 a.m.

No one sees her there

stirring, poaching, brewing,

serving.

No one says

thank you.

No one notices

unless

the food does not appear

on the table before them

promptly at 6, 12, 5.

Invisible kitchen spirit

visible only

in your absence.

The back of the card with the inside of a candy wrapper glued on--I liked the pattern on the paper. And the doily. Again, there's space to add things if I ever want to.

More stitching on the right and a cross-stitched iris. Nana had purple iris in her yard and when we moved, my mother dug some up and took them to plant in our new home, over 1000 miles away. I always loved the irises.

A photo Bill took of Nana at work in her yard, buckets in hand. The house is no longer there--when she died the land was sold, everything knocked down, and yucky suburban houses built. I went there once and it looked like a completely different place--not a trace of Nana remained. I was kind of glad. It would've been worse somehow if just a little bit was left while the other stuff was thrown up around it.

The inside of the back cover, which is a shirt cuff that I sewed partway up, leaving the top opened so it can be used as a pocket and closed with the button.

The back cover--again made when we were away from home, using whatever I had. The fabric is from a pillowcase purchased at a charity shop. For both covers, I wanted a bit of sturdiness so the middle layer, between the pillowcase bits and the denim inside is pieces of a fleece scarf, also from the charity shop. The braid was a completed kumihimo braid I had with me, intending to make something else. I'll just have to make another one. 😀The spine was crocheted from some leftover thread.

So that's my sample journal. On this International Women's Day, I am happy to have this object to hold and look at as I honor the work of so many women who found creative ways to care for their loved ones. Often this was from necessity not from love of the work or joy in the doing. Thanks to so many women, I can stitch when I want to and with love and joy. I am grateful.

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February Reading: Second Half Wrap Up

 

The Jealous One by Celia Fremlin (borrowed from the library)

I discovered this author in December and loved the first book I read by her. I read another one after that because I could get the ebook from BorrowBox. I had to wait until we were back home to request any physical books and I picked up this one in the first batch of requests I made once we were back. I really liked it--sat down and read it in an afternoon. It was a page-turner. I will say that it wasn't my favorite of the three I've read. The writing was just as good and the story was paced well. I didn't care for one of the main characters but that's fine. I don't think she was meant to be likeable. I think what dropped the book a bit in my estimation was the ending which was a bit abrupt. 

The book opens with Rosamund waking up from a frightening dream in which she is pushing her neighbor, Lindy, over a cliff. She has a headache and feels like crap. Taking her temperature, she is relieved to find that she has a fever and tells herself that the flu is the reason for such a vivid dream. She isn't able to take comfort in this thought for long though, because her husband, Geoffrey, comes bursting in wanting to know if she knows anything about where Lindy is. She has disappeared. The narrative then goes back in time to describe Lindy's arrival in the suburban neighborhood and the manipulative way she insinuated herself into people's business--especially Rosamund and Geoffrey. About halfway through the book, the story arrives back at the day of Rosamund's dream and then carries on from there. 

Fremlin is excellent at creating the oppressive atmosphere of domestic stress. That has been a feature of all three of her books that I've read so far and in each one, I was there, feeling the feelings. This book was published in 1965, I think, and it illustrates changes n gender roles happening at that time. I was too young to really observe 1965 suburbia and this book is set in the UK, but I recognize so many features of suburban housewifery and life in general from my time as a kid in US 1970s suburbia. So even though this wasn't my favorite Fremlin to date, it's still a very good book. I will continue to read this author and I expect more good things ahead.

The Female Quixote by Charlotte Lennox (personal copy)

I'd heard of Charlotte Lennox and knew a bit about her life before I read Jane Austen's Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney last year, but hadn't read any of her work except for possibly a short story or two. After reading Romney's writing about Lennox and her impact on Jane Austen, I was quite intrigued. I finally got my hands on this book, which is probably her most well-known work. To be honest, I wasn't sure if I'd like it. I needn't have worried about that--I loved this book. 

First published in 1752, it's the story of Arabella, who was raised by her widowed father in a remote country house. She has very little interaction with the outside world or the people in it. Once her father sends the governess away, she immerses herself in the books that belonged to her late mother. These consist mostly of French romances, which Arabella reads as history. Without any experience to the contrary, she believes that this is how the world has been and still is. She dresses in ways that are outside of current fashion. She speaks in an odd way. And she is completely clueless about how people interact with one another. When she does come across a stranger, she usually misconstrues their intentions. Because she's beautiful, she thinks men are falling in love with her when they get a glimpse of her from afar. If she speaks to a man and gives him her version of a brush-off, she's quite sure he has gone off to kill himself and will often write letters or send her maid to tell the man that she commands him to live. I laughed all the way through this book--laughed out loud to the point that Bill commented on the fact that the book must be funny. I thought so. For me, the humor was mostly in the use of language and the response of people to it-- that's my kind of thing. Also people's confused responses to Arabella and her strange ideas was often very funny indeed. Although the underlying scenario was different, it did make me think of the Britcom Keeping Up Appearances. It also reminded me of someone I used to know a few decades ago. We'd be walking along having a conversation when someone would pass us gong in the opposite direction and say hi. Once they were out of earshot, the conversation turned to an analysis of the 'hi' and how it clearly didn't just mean 'hello' but meant a whole host of other things when body language, eyebrow position, tone of voice, etc were taken into account. At the time I found this exhausting but I laugh about it now. Arabella's unfortunate ideas do cause problems for herself and those around her. Her cousin, Glanville, is the choice of her father to be her husband. In spite of himself, he wants this too. Arabella has issues with the idea. Complications ensue. 

It's clear to see the influence of this book on Austen, especially with Northanger Abbey.

My one quibble with this book was that the ending was sudden and a bit too pat. In reading the introduction (always done after reading the book when the book is a classic, due to spoilers), I learned that Lennox felt the same way about the ending and wanted a third volume, but the publisher wanted only two so she had limited space in which to finish the story. In spite of that, this was an excellent read and one that I will probably pick up again.

Ensemble by Gail Varian (borrowed from the library)

This is a lovely collection of poetry and art, which I enjoyed quite a lot.

Grave of the Fireflies by Akiyuki Nosaka, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori (BorrowBox e-book)

Seita and Setchun, older brother and younger sister, survive the WWII bombing of Kobe, Japan. Their mother does not. Their father, in the navy and fighting in the war, may or may not be alive. After the death of their mother, Seita tries to care for his sister. The book opens with Seita dying under a bridge and then tells the story of how he got there. This is a short, devastating book. The translator's note says that it is semi-biographical, written as an apology to the author's sister, who did die in the war. He apparently always felt guilty about his own shortcomings in terms of her care. 

The Priory By Dorothy Whipple (borrowed from library)

Dorothy Whipple has rapidly become one of my favorite authors. I've seen her compared to Barbara Pym and described as the twentieth century's Mrs. Gaskell. I can see both. In this book, the first character to be described is Saunby Priory itself. Then we're introduced to the inhabitants-- the widower Major Marwood, his artist sister, and his two grown, but young, daughters. Son Guy is older, has moved away, and doesn't have much to do with the family. There are also servants in the house, of course. The major inherited the Priory and surrounding farmlands, but has no head for business so has gradually lost money, selling off farms and always in debt nonetheless. His one interest in life is cricket and he hosts a big cricket gathering every year. This is expensive and puts him further into debt, but he never considers not hosting. He decides that what he needs is a wife to take care of things for him and he thinks he knows just the woman. She's younger than him, but considered a spinster (the book was published in 1939 and takes place during the years between the world wars). She is infatuated and accepts his proposal. They each have expectations about what the marriage will be like. They are both quite wrong. Meanwhile, the daughters are not educated well, nor are they trained for any sort of work so they're stuck. Once the new wife is introduced into the household, things begin to change for everyone. Life, as it does, goes off in unexpected directions and people find themselves surprised at where they find themselves. Eventually, the threat of war enters the picture. I loved this book as I have the other Whipple books I've read. It wasn't quite as funny as Greenbanks, but there were funny moments. The Persephone version I read includes an Afterword by someone who stayed at the big house that Saunby Priory was based on and who knew and interacted with the people the characters were (sometimes very loosely) based on. It was interesting to read about her inspiration in writing the book.

Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield (BorrowBox audiobook narrated by Georgina Sutton)

This was a re-read for me. I have a book with four of the Provincial Lady novels in one and read that a few years ago. I loved it. The other day I was scrolling through the new-to-library section of the BorrowBox site and saw this audiobook. I loved it just as much the second time. I was laughing at the sharp observations of the diarist all over again. As the title says, the book (published in 1930) is written in the form of a diary and is, I believe, semi-autobiographical. The diarist is the provincial lady, married to Robert and mother of son Robin, who is often away at boarding school, but comes home on holidays with friends in tow, and daughter Vicky, who is under the care of Mademoiselle. Herein lies my one quibble with the book--Mademoiselle sometimes exclaims/gushes/screams in French, which one would expect her to do. However, I am not a French speaker, thus these passages were lost to me. Thankfully, they are short. Anyway, the diarist lives in the country, has servant trouble, is heavily involved with the Women's Institute, has community commitments, and social responsibilities. Although they live in a large house and are clearly not struggling financially from a survival standpoint, the provincial lady is usually overdrawn. Her thoughts about all of these things and more are the stuff of the diary entries which make up this novel. The narrator of this audiobook is excellent and enhanced my listening experience.

Finally, I read a couple of books from my NetGalley shelf in the second half of February that will be published soon. They are:

The Friend of the Family or, The Village of Stepanchikovo and Its Inhabitants by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, translated by Ignat Avsey (to be published on May 26, 2026 by Pushkin Classics)

A young man is furthering his education when he receives an urgent letter from the uncle who raised him, telling him he must return home at once to marry the governess. The young man, never having met the governess, is puzzled but sets off at once. Upon his arrival, he is dismayed to see the entire household in thrall to Foma Fomitch Opiskin, a bully and a charlatan. Mayhem, manipulation, madness, and misunderstandings ensue.

I was quite pleased to read this book as I'm becoming quite a Dostoyevsky fan and the description indicated that it was different from his other work. It was different and it was a good read. It wasn't as comical as I thought it would be based on the description. I never quite understood what it was about Foma Fomitch that made people fall under his spell, but all we have to do is look around at the world today and we can see how easily people are duped into cults of personality. In any case, I'm glad to have had the opportunity to read this book and I'd recommend it if you're interested in the author and/or Russian literature. The introduction placed the work in context in terms of where Dostoyevsky was in his life when he wrote it and what his influences were. I was quite intrigued to read that he was influenced by Pickwick Papers and other work by Chares Dickens. This information was very helpful and enhanced my reading experience.

Calling It Back to Me by Laurie D. Graham (to be published on March 24, 2026 by Penguin Random House Canada)

In this collection of beautiful and powerful poems, Laurie D. Graham is searching for what can be known and what is unknowable about the women from previous generations of her family. She also explores place and what it means to be in and from various places, whether one lives a life in the same place or multiple places. Each jewel of a poem was a little story and I particularly enjoyed, and was moved by, the poems about her great-grandmothers. I will seek out more of this gifted poet's work.

And that's another month of reading. So many excellent books! Long may it continue! Happy reading!

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For the Mystery Lovers

 Shortly before we left to care for our furry friend last month, Bill was starting a book by Elizabeth George. There's always that page where they list the author's previous work and a title caught his eye. He knew it was a book for me and went looking for it online. He found a copy but there wouldn't be enough time for it to get to us before we left, so he bookmarked it and checked again when we got home. It was still there. He ordered it and it arrived today.

I could not be more thrilled. This is definitely my kind of book. Edited by Elizabeth George, it contains stories from classic mystery authors like Dorothy L. Sayers, Christianna Brand, and Ngaio Marsh as well as more contemporary authors. I recognize some of the newer authors from BorrowBox so if I like the stories in here, I'll try out some of the audiobooks of their novels. Mysteries, women authors, short stories--love this book from so many different directions! I can't wait to read it but I have to have some willpower because I have reading with time limits to do at the moment. So many books, so little time.

I'm posting this now because I know some of you are mystery fans like I am and in case you haven't already read it, it's one you might like to look out for. If you have read it, I'd love to know what you thought of it. Whatever you're reading at the moment, hope it's excellent!

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February Mid-Month Reading Wrap Up

Well, here we are a few days past the middle of this short month. Most of my reading so far has consisted of books off my NetGalley shelf, but I did read one of my own.

 The Muse by Jessie Burton (personal copy)

I picked this up in a charity shop while we were away. I'd read a previous book of hers and enjoyed it so figured I'd give this one a try. I quite liked it. The story opens in 1967 and is told by Odelle Bastien, who immigrated to London from Trinidad with her best friend Cynth. In the five years she's been in London, she's not pursued her dream of becoming a writer. Instead, she works in a shoe shop. But her life is about to change because at the same time Cynth is getting married, Odelle is starting a new job at an art gallery. Into her life comes Marjorie Quick, one of her bosses, and a young man with a painting that disrupts lives. The story of the painting is told in a related storyline, set in 1936 in Spain. The books alternates between these two timelines, both of which are equally compelling. As the book goes on, it becomes increasingly clear what the painting's relevance is and why it causes such distress to some of the characters. This was a good read and I'm glad I picked it up.

From the NetGalley shelf and soon to be published here--dates and publishers may vary in different parts of the world.

When the Good Life Goes Bad: The US and Its Seven Deadly Sins by Stacie M. Floyd Thomas (to be published on February 24, 2026 by University of Illinois Press)

When I saw the description of this book, I thought it looked like one I had to read. When I started it, I knew it was. The author begins by describing how she, as a child, could see the differences between societal norms and individual behavior. She wanted to understand these norms and why people behaved as they did. She started to ask why things were the way they were. This was also me as a child. I never got satisfactory answers when I would ask an adult, but I kept watching and thinking, as did Stacie M. Floyd-Thomas. Our curiosity led us along different paths--she became a social ethicist and I an anthropologist, but we're interested in the same questions. Therefore, it was with great interest that I read this book. Not being a Christian, I am familiar with the 7 deadly sins--lust, pride, greed, sloth, envy, gluttony, and wrath--but only from a secular perspective. In this book, Floyd-Thomas shows readers clearly and with examples, how these deadly sins put into practice actually define what it means to live 'the good life' in the USA today. There is a disconnect between what people say is good and how they strive for 'the good life.' While I don't think this behavior is limited to the US, that is perhaps the most blatant example and it is the focus of this book. I found this book to be highly readable and quite fascinating. She does a fine job of explaining her arguments and giving excellent examples to illustrate what she's writing about. This is an important book, especially now. I have known many people in the US who have been reeling from what has been happening. It took them by surprise because they didn't see beyond the myths of what the country is and always has been. They are now dealing with that knowledge. This book can help people do that. It can bring awareness. It can give people new frameworks with which to understand what is going on. It's a book that is timely and much needed. I highly recommend it.

Into the Hush by Arthur Sze (to be published on February 26, 2026 by Penguin Press UK)

I read this collection because I heard the poet in an interview and was intrigued. I was not disappointed. With various poetic forms included, these powerful poems bring to mind our place in the natural world as well as what we and other creatures are losing--languages, habitat, and more. Much wildlife is included in these poems, particularly birds. My favorite poem in the collection was Jaguar Song, but I also quite liked Eraser Song. The poems are set in many locations, from India to the Arctic and many places in between. This is a wonderful assortment of poems and this book would be great to have nearby, opened at random, and a poem enjoyed when there are a few free minutes available. Highly recommend.

Murder Like Clockwork by Nicola Whyte (to be published on March 12, 2026 by Bloomsbury Publishing LLC)

Audrey Brooks lives in a community of people who were down on their luck bit who caught a break when they came to live there, being able to rent flats at well below market value. Each of the residents has a skill set and the 'matriarch' of the community and owner of the square is Celeste. Audrey is a professional cleaner who takes her job very seriously indeed. One of her clients lives abroad but has a house full of antiques. He's particularly into his clocks. Audrey's job is to enter the house at precisely noon on a particular day each week to clean, but more importantly to wind the clocks. One cold winter day, she arrives at the property early. She's freezing and decides that it'll be fine if she goes in half an hour ahead of schedule instead of waiting outside on the pavement, so she goes in, disarms the alarm, gets some feeling back in her fingers and toes, and gets to work. Suddenly all the clocks but one start to chime. She goes to investigate the outlier and discovers a blood spattered room with a dead body in a chair. She runs back outside and calls the police, who take a while to arrive. When they do, they find nothing amiss. The room is clean. Nothing to see here. But Audrey knows what she saw and with the help of her friends--in particular Lewis--she's going to find out what's going on.

This was a good read. I liked the characters and their individual quirks. I would have liked to know more about a few of them who made short appearances in this book, only to provide helpful information to the sleuths. This is the second book in a series, I think, and I didn't even know about the first one, so while I suspect I would know more about Celeste in particular and probably some of the others as well had I read the first book, it was in no way necessary to enjoy this one. The setting was interesting and the plot was unique in my experience. I quite like Audrey and her zeal for cleaning. Lewis grows a bit in the book and learns some things about himself, which I also found interesting. All in all, I really enjoyed my time with this book and I would read more by this author in future. Recommend.

I'm just about done with a funny classic that I'm enjoying very much--The Female Quixote, first published in 1752. More about that at the end of the month after I've finished it. I've got a comic Dostoyevsky novel (who knew?) on my NetGalley shelf that I need to read next because it's going to be archived in a couple of weeks. And when I got to the library on Thursday, I should have at least a few books to pick up besides the one that's already waiting. Plenty of good reading coming up! Hope it's the same for you!

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Snicker-ish Dates Again

 Last month, I posted about the snicker-ish stuffed dates I made with some medjool dates given to me by a friend. I loved them and wanted more, but had no medjool dates in the house. I have lots of dates, but not the big ones that can be stuffed. I get my dates at Aldi in 500 gram bags. These bags contain dates of various sizes and are already pitted. The friend who gave me the medjool dates orders hers online since there's nowhere around here to buy them. I like the Aldi ones just fine so don't feel the need to order online, but they're not really suitable for stuffing. So it was time to work with what I had to get the snickery dates that I wanted!

I poured a bunch of the dates (probably around 20 or so of varying sizes) into a bowl, covered with boiling water and let them sit for 15 minutes. Then drained them and placed them side by side on some baking paper on a cookie sheet. I opened them up and flattened them out a bit.

I melted 150 grams of dark chocolate and stirred in 1/2 cup of peanut butter (1/3 to 1/2 cup works well for this amount of chocolate, depending on how much you want). I removed the dates from the baking paper and spread out a thin layer of the chocolate peanut butter mixture. I didn't cover the entire surface, just made a rectangle.

I placed the soaked, flattened dates side by side over the thin layer of chocolate. I put some small dollops of peanut butter fairly evenly placed across the surface of the dates, then sprinkled chopped walnuts over the top. Finally, I spread the rest of the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the top. I let it sit for a few hours in a cool place to firm up then cut into pieces. 

just after spreading chocolate on top

the inside after cutting

Yum, yum, yum! I love these and so much less fussy than trying to stuff the dates. I'll definitely be making these on a regular basis--at least as long as Aldi keeps selling dates!

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