Summer

porch swings
city pool
evening strolls
iced drinks
shade trees
paperback books
afternoon naps
endless sea
family dinners
balmy nights

What I've Been Reading

Extraordinary, Ordinary People

Condoleeza Rice attributes her success to her loving, wise parents, who taught her in 1960's Birmingham to "be twice as good." The book is a tribute to them. The Rices were devoted proponents of education and hard work, not only in the life of their own daughter but also in the lives of hundreds of students in several states through many decades.




The Hound of the Baskervilles
My first Sherlock Holmes! I felt like I already knew Holmes from the BBC portrayals of him and from Laurie King's novels. My dad loaned me his lovely Heritage Press copy, which had beautiful illustrations to accompany the suspenseful, spooky story set on the moor.




Big Stone Gap
I love visiting southwest Virginia, where my grandparents lived and where my mom grew up, so the setting of Big Stone Gap, Virginia, was the primary appeal of this book to me. I also enjoyed the characters and plot. Big Stone Gap is a series of four books by Trigiani, and the element of style which detracted from my overall enjoyment of the series was her use of present tense--so unnatural in a narrative.





My Life in France
Tres bon! Reading this book was like traveling to France every night before I drifted off to sweet, delicious dreams!

The Bad Luck of the Irish

I recently enjoyed two books about Irish folk down in their luck: Betty Smith's novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Frank McCourt's memoirs Angela's Ashes.

Of course, these books have been around a while and are quite well known, but I only just read them. Both are so sad. When I say I "enjoyed" them, I mean that I thought they were well written, moving, honest stories. Both are about children of alcoholic fathers who fail to provide for their families. The mothers are overworked and tired. The children are hungry and cold. Both are coming-of-age stories in which the children grow and triumph over their impoverished circumstances.

Someone in my library class said that we read to know that "other people's lives are as crappy as our own." A sort of "catharsis" may occur when reading these books. I was reminded of how richly blessed my life is now and always has been (loving, responsible parents; cleanliness, food, and shelter; faithful husband; healthy children) as I "experienced" the situations described by Smith and McCourt.

Pursuing the American Dream--working hard in a land of opportunity to achieve a better life for oneself--delivers the protagonists in the end of both books.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief is an award-winning young-adult novel set in WWII Germany. I was a bit creeped out when I began the story because it is narrated by Death, who is very busy gathering souls throughout the years portrayed in the book. He witnesses the worst of humankind as he observes Hitler and members of the Nazi party, but he is impressed each time he encounters young Liesel.

Reading books--which she steals--helps Liesel endure the loss of her brother, her adjustment to living with foster parents, her fears that the Nazis will discover her beloved Jewish friend in her basement, and the bombing of her city.

This is a sad yet somewhat triumphant book in which Death and the reader are able to observe the courage and love of Liesel, her foster father Hans, and her friends Rudy and Max in the midst of horrific holocaust Europe.

Good News for Couch Potatoes

I used to hate running. It made me feel miserable--sick, really. For decades I've assumed I simply wasn't meant to be a runner. All of us have different gifts, and my All-American-track-star twin sister is the runner.

Enter John Bingham's book. Bingham has been transformed from a smoking, overweight couch potato and music teacher to a slender, fit marathon runner and motivational speaker. His book explains how his marvelous transformation occurred one slooooooow step at a time.

Too many runners, according to Bingham, burn out by running too quickly too far too soon. They believe they are not true "runners" otherwise.

Bingham says that anyone can be a runner. He says even the guy who cannot walk around the block can begin an exercise program by putting on a pair of running shoes, running for thirty seconds, then walking for four-and-a-half minutes, and gradually--very gradually-- increasing the running time and decreasing the walking time. The beginner should never run so fast that he is unable to carry on a conversation comfortably.

I began run-walking in June as I walked my dogs. As I increased my "running" time, I found myself actually looking forward to these walks each day, and I enjoyed it even more when my husband joined me. We built up to jogging 2.8 miles a day, several days a week by fall; and we completed our first 5K last month.

Sometimes as an adult, I have seen a child running through a field with abandon, and I have wondered what happened to the child I was who could do that and love it. Now, when I jog in the autumn evening and breathe the cold air, I am that child again for a moment.

Bingham's book is humorous and encouraging. His personal struggles with obesity make him sympathetic and gracious to those just getting up off the couch; his advice is realistic and helpful; and his success is inspirational.

For Fellow Anglophiles

American author Laurie R. King writes English literature! I'd heard of her book The Beekeeper's Apprentice for years and had wanted to read it; I was intrigued with the idea of a twentieth century Sherlock Holmes coming out of retirement and solving mysteries with a young student. I finally checked out the book at my wonderful local library, and I liked it so much that I'm now reading the fifth in the series.

What do I enjoy in King's mystery books? (1) King's writing style. Believably British in its complex sentence structure, precise use of language, details. She doesn't jump quickly from scene to scene as though her reader has watched too much television and has no attention span. (2) Characters. Mary Russell is a bit more feminist than I, but she lives in a time when it is more difficult to be a woman and to be taken seriously as a woman. She is a suitable partner for Holmes in her intelligence and an effective agent for allowing the reader to see the private, more tender side of Holmes. (3) Setting. I love "traveling" in Oxford, London, Dartmoor, Sussex.

Shamefully, I have not read the original Holmes books. I'm perfectly happy with the Holmes portrayed by King. But I gave King's first book, Beekeeper's Apprentice, to a Holmes expert--my father--to critique, and he said yes, King's portrayal of Holmes is believable, and he enjoyed the book.

So for people who love Brit Lit, don't be put off by the fact that Ms. King is from San Francisco. She is a Holmes expert, has lived part of her life in Britain, is an excellent writer. Enjoy her Mary Russell series.

Grocery Savings

I have a friend who is on a very small grocery budget (half of my grocery budget, which itself is quite modest), yet she feeds her family well and saves hundreds of dollars a month by combining sales with coupons. I've always rejected this method of shopping; when I've looked through the Sunday coupons in the past, most of the coupons are for items my family would never buy. Instead, I have for years made weekly menus and shopped for the ingredients, thinking that it helped me avoid impulse spending. I always have spent much less than the average family, but after talking to my friend, then reading Shop Smart, Save More (which I found while browsing new books at my wonderful local library), I knew I could do better.


Though my family does not use most items featured in the Sunday paper's coupon section, we do purchase enough of the brands to justify the $2.00/issue of the Sunday paper. Even if we don't buy Gorton's fish sticks, the savings we get on Speed Stick, Secret, and Crest are easily over $2.00. So I've joined the coupon band wagon. On Sunday evenings I clip the coupons that I want from the paper, then I read through the flyers of the two stores I like to frequent: Food City and CVS. Food City is more convenient to me than Walmart or Kroger, and if I return to CVS every week or two to spend my ExtraBucks before they expire, I can save tens of dollars a month there. I make a list according to the items listed on sale in the flyers, and often I'm able to combine the sales with a coupon. I stock up on those items and have a "stash" from which to draw at home rather than paying full price for an item later. I'm saving at least $75-$100 a month using this new shopping method.