Ex Libris

Once Upon A Time

After my recent spate of unfinished reading challenge fiascoes, I told myself that I really should not sign up for challenges that I am unable to finish.  "But...but...," myself said to me, "you love reading challenges and coming up with lists of books to read.   Besides, you were planning to participate in this one because reading some fantasy books was high on your list of non-resolutions for 2007!  What better way to begin?"  As usual, myself won the argument.  So here I am, officially signing up for the 2007 Once Upon A Time Reading Challenge put together (complete with reading suggestions) by Carl V.

Carl has come up with various ways of participating in the challenge, since there seem to be many varieties of fantasy genres and subgenres.  I know little to nothing about fantasy, so I think I will do the track  (or Quest) that allows you to pick 5 books from any of the 4 genres described in the challenge post.  Here, then, is my list:

1. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (on CD, read by John McDonough).  As luck would have it, I checked this out of the library a few days ago to listen to in the car.  This  is a very adult version of the life story of Elphaba, better known as the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz.
   
2. The Tower Room by Adele Geras.  You'll remember from a few posts ago that Adele was kind enough to send me a copy of this, the first in the Egerton Hall series.  It is based on the fairytale "Rapunzel", so I think it qualifies for this challenge.
3. Redwall by Brian Jacques.  This is the first of a fantasy series for children featuring animals who dress, talk and act as people do.  I love any type of fiction featuring talking animals dressed in clothes, so this is right up my alley.  It seems to feature lots of sword fighting, etc., and has an Arthurian look to it, so I should enjoy it.
4. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, Book 1) by Philip Pullman.  This is a YA fantasy series that probably everyone has read except me.   It was highly recommended to me by Ann at Patternings as a series and author I really should read.  I plan to take her advice.
5. His Majesty's Dragon (Temeraire, Book 1) by Naomi Novik.   This series combines historical fiction (which I love) with fantasy.  Looking forward to this, too.

The Challenge began March 22 and ends June 21.  I sincerely hope to not only read and enjoy the books on this list, but to get good suggestions from all the participants' lists and to devote more of my reading time to fantasy.

A New Project

I have embarked on a new project this week which is totally non-book related.  It is a family project of sorts - my two brothers and I are going to scan and catalog my father's massive collection of slides.

My dad (who died 6 1/2 years ago) had a life-long obsession with photography.  Beginning with his mother's box Brownie camera, he lived his life behind the lens.  Ever the perfectionist, he built his own darkroom so that he could have greater control over the quality of his photographs.  In the 1940's, Dad took roll after roll of photos in Middletown (OH) and Cincinnati , leaving behind wonderful studies of those cities  and the surrounding area.  The darkroom slowly came to a halt after he and my mom began raising a family.   By this time, he began working with slides.  Dad went on to chronicle every moment of our lives for the next 40+ years.

What we have are virtually thousands of slides.  They are contained and cataloged (and cross-referenced) in slide carousels  in my mom's basement.  The coolness of the air has kept the film from deteriorating too much, but it is starting to happen.  My brothers and I decided that we need to put all (or most) of the slides into a digital format and put the slides themselves into cold storage. 
It is extremely time-consuming, but well-worth the task.  Here's an example of what I am doing...

This is a picture of me and my dad taken in July 1957.  I'm about a month old.  (I'm not sure if Mom took the picture or if Dad used the tripod.) 

And here I am with Mom...(how about that bonnet!)

As I said, almost every moment of my life lives on film in my parents' basement!  I'm glad we  have the means to capture and preserve it before it disintegrates.

A Shade of Orange

It is that time of year again when there is an orange cast to the literary world.  Yes, the longlist for the 2007 Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction has been announced!  Here are the books:

• Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Half of a Yellow Sun
• Clare Allan, Poppy Shakespeare
• Rachel Cusk, Arlington Park
• Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss
• Patricia Ferguson, Peripheral Vision
• Margaret Forster, Over
• Nell Freudenberger, The Dissident
• Rebecca Gowers, When to Walk
• Xiaolu Guo, A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers
• Jane Harris, The Observations
• M J Hyland, Carry Me Down
• Lori Lansens, The Girls
• Lisa Moore, Alligator
• Catherine O’Flynn, What Was Lost
• Stef Penney, The Tenderness of Wolves
• Deborah Robertson, Careless
• Rachel Seiffert, Afterwards
• Jane Smiley, Ten Days in the Hills
• Anne Tyler, Digging to America
• Melanie Wallace, The Housekeeper

Of these, I own three (the Adichie, the Cusk, and the Desai) but have not read them.  The two selections I have read (the Hyland and the Tyler) were library books.  Of those two, the Hyland gets my vote, hands down.  (It was my pick for the Booker, but they never listen to me.)

I love prize lists, but unfortunately there is only one month between the announcement of the longlist and the announcement of the shortlist (mid-April).  I will most likely wait for the shortlist to come out before engaging in an Orange-A-Thon.

Anyone care to join me?

Bad Blogger

I admit it - I have been a bad blogger lately.  Not only have I not had the time nor inclination to post blog entries, I haven't had time to read other blogs.  There have been several days where I have gotten little to no reading accomplished.  But I have a nice stack of  books on the nightstand to choose from when I do get a few moments to read:

On the top is Ice Cream, a collection of short stories by Helen Dunmore.  I am reading two stories per week with an online book group.  The more I read Helen Dunmore the more I like her.

Next is Dreams from My Father, a memoir by Senator (and Presidential candidate) Barack Obama.  I picked this book up at Barnes & Noble this past weekend, as it is the April read for my F2F book group.  It has turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  It is a well-written and very interesting read.

The next two selections are by Marge Piercy - Three Women (a novel) and The Moon Is Always Female (poetry).    Three Women is excellent and what I consider an up-all-nighter.  It is the story of a woman's relationship with her independent-but-recently-incapacitated mother and her daughter.  I love it when I feel a kinship with an author while reading a book - that is happening to me with this one.

Holding up the pile is Angel Pavement by J. B. Priestley.  I've slowed way down on this one, but refuse to give up on it as I really am enjoying it.

So never fear, I am still around - I've just had very little time to spend here.  I hope that changes soon!

Newly Arrived

I had an exciting arrival in my mailbox this week:

The Egerton Hall series by Adele Geras!  On the left is The Tower Room, followed by Watching the Roses, then Pictures of the Night.  They are lovely hardbacks, signed and sent by Adele herself!  I love the cover artwork on the dust jackets - very distinctive.  The books are not that long, so I should be able to work them into my current reading schedule shortly.

Thank you, Adele!

A Nice Surprise

I was taken by surprise this morning when I received an e-mail from Lisa, The Bluestalking Reader, telling me she had nominated me for this:

the Thinking Blogger Award!!  I can honestly say I don't believe I've ever been nominated for anything in my life!  So although I am probably undeserving of such an honor, I appreciate her thoughtfulness. 

In turn, I am to nominate five bloggers for this prestigious award.   I have the distinct feeling that most bloggers I read and admire have already been nominated.  If you haven't, then consider yourself A Thinking Blogger!

A Whole Lotta Reading Goin' On!

I've done it again!  The nightstand is stacked once more with several books that I am attempting to read all at the same time.  I love the idea of reading several books at once, but my reality is that when one grabs me, the others are left to linger until I can get back to them.  So I am trying my best to keep them moving along.  My current stack looks like this:

The Whereabouts of Eneas McNulty by Sebastian Barry.  This book is left over from the From the Stacks Challenge (I am woefully behind on ALL challenge reading).  This is Sebastian Barry's first novel.  I have been wanting to read more by Barry since being mesmerized by his latest (Booker short-listed/should-have-won) novel, A Long Long Way.

Eneas is similar to A Long Long Way in that it is written with the same gorgeous, lyrical prose and has a lonely protagonist who grapples with decisions he makes vs. politically-motivated events happening around him that he has no control over.  But for some reason, the detailed events of the plot are not commanding my full attention.  I think it is because Eneas is focused on the Irish rebellion that took place during/shortly after World War I and is something I know little to nothing about.  Not to worry, though, I will finish it.  The writing is just too good.  I think Barry could write a classified advertisement in a newspaper and I would feel it should win a prize.

Angel Pavement by J. B. Priestley.  This is the first Priestley book I obtained (and through its previous owner was able to purchase several more last December).  It concerns the London business world in the late 1920's and gives a wonderful view of life in London between the wars.  The book is not small (over 600 pages), but I am thoroughly enjoying it.   He reminds me as a sort of cross between Charles Dickens and Virginia Woolf.  I'm not even 100 pages into it yet, but I can tell already it is excellent.  I'm really looking forward to the rest of my Priestley collection.

Freckles by Gene Stratton-Porter.  I finished this yesterday evening.  This book turned out to be quite a surprise for me.  I was expecting something along a children's or young adult book.  In some ways it was, but I don't think that was the original intent.  This book has something for everyone.  It is in turn a tear-jerker, a naturalist's delight (for its vivid and detailed descriptions of wildlife and the forest that comprise the Limberlost), a romance, an action/adventure story:  you name it, it is in this book.  My only complaint is that it seems to uphold some stereotypes (especially class-related) that make it seem very dated in today's world.  Considering it was originally published in 1904, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised.  But there is enough wonderful storytelling in this book for a little forgiveness on my part.

I am keeping true to my intent of reading at least one poem per day, and am totally loving Marge Piercy's The Moon Is Always Female.

Up next is Christopher Moore's A Dirty Job, which I am to have finished by next Monday for my F2F group.  I've not read anything by Moore.  A lot of people like his humor, and I hope that holds true for me as well. 

In addition to all of this, I have several more books to read for review.  I also want to add in at least one non-fiction book.  Plus there are all those books I've bought recently that I want to read.....

Does anyone have a spare year or two I can add to this one?

The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society

The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society by Christine Coleman

Completed:  2/25/2007

Rating:  4/5

“Everyone is the age of their heart.” Guatemalan Proverb

When readers meet Agnes Borrowdale, age 75, on page one of The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society by Christine Coleman, she is climbing out of her window at The Harmony Home for the Young at Heart, where she has been placed by her son Jack.  Agnes is on a mission to find her grandchildren whom she believes to be in danger following a terse conversation with her ex-daughter-in-law's boyfriend.  In order to do this, she must escape the home unnoticed and travel a good distance by herself.  Agnes sets off with little money and few belongings on what will prove to be a journey of self-discovery, full of determination and fortitude.

On her journey, Agnes is faced with a number of situations and encounters with strangers that make her rethink her strict upbringing and 50 years as a vicar's wife.  Her quick wit and storytelling capabilities come to the forefront (much to her surprise), enabling her to help not only herself, but others. There is Joe, a truck driver who befriends Agnes; Molly, a hotel owner; and Felix, whom Agnes happens to come across while he is attempting to commit suicide.  She provides Felix with a little reverse psychology, making up The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society and presenting it to him as a desirable alternative.  When he takes it seriously, events are set in motion that provide lessons learned for everyone, including Agnes' son Jack.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.   I found myself completely charmed, page after page, by Agnes and her friends.   I was even sympathetic toward Jack, despite his relationship (or lack of it) with his mother, his ex-wife, and their children. More than anything, I loved how Ms. Coleman addressed some serious issues in such a clever and entertaining way.  The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society  is a gratifying and uplifting testament to living life to the fullest, regardless of age.

Poetry - The inside chance

One of my non-resolutions for 2007 was to read more poetry.  To date, I have been lax in this non-resolution, and that needs to change.  So better late than never, I am planning to read at least one poem per day.  (That should be workable with my schedule.)  Having little experience with poetry, I have no idea what constitutes "good" versus "bad".  As far as I am concerned, if a poem speaks to me in some way, perhaps through the rhyme (if it does) or the pattern of words, or creates some sort of a texture (I can't really explain this - I know it when I see it), then for me it is a good poem.

I am always intrigued by poets who write novels, and my latest discovery has been Marge Piercy (thanks to Ann and Danielle).  When I was at Borders yesterday evening, I found this volume of her poetry:

The first selection is entitled, "The inside chance."  I read it this morning, and could not help but think how appropriate it is for the first day of March:

Dance like a jackrabbit

in the dunegrass, dance

not for release, no

the ice holds hard but

for the promise.  Yesterday

the chickadees sang fever,

fever, the mating song.

You can still cross ponds

leaving tracks in the snow

over the sleeping fish

but in the marsh the red

maples look red

again, their buds swelling.

Just one week ago a blizzard

roared for two days.

Ice weeps in the road.

Yet spring hides

in the snow.  On the south

wall of the house

the first sharp crown

of crocus sticks out.

Spring lurks inside the hard

casing, and the bud

begins to crack.  What seems

dead pares its hunger

sharp and stirs groaning.

If we have not stopped

wanting in the long dark,

we will grasp our desires

soon by the nape.

Inside the fallen brown

apple the seed is alive.

Freeze and thaw, freeze

and thaw, the sap leaps

in the maple under the bark

and although they have

pronounced us dead, we

rise again invisibly,

we rise and the sun sings

in us sweet and smoky

as the blood of the maple

that will open its leaves

like thousands of waving hands.

(Marge Piercy from The Moon Is Always Female)

I love the images in this poem - the movement in dancing in the grass and the thousand waving hands, leaving tracks in the snow over sleeping fish; the colors - brown apple, red maple; the flavors - sweet and smoky.  My favorite, though, is "the ice holds hard but for the promise."  The promise of spring - I'm so ready for it!