Friday, December 12, 2008

And winter is here, with the first cold of the season


I've been home with a cold all week. Luckily, I'd been to the library just before I started this whole mess, so I've had plenty to read. And it's all been fun reads. I could only find little quibbles; I didn't have any reason to feel like heaving a book across the room.
Let the books begin:


The Bell at Sealey Head
by Patricia A. McKillip. 2008, Ace. 277 pp. Fantasy
Sealey Head sits on the ocean, a small village in "once upon a time". Judd Cauley runs his father’s failing inn and fancies Gwyenth Blair. Then there is his rival for Gwyenth’s attentions, Raven Sproule; the mysterious visitor Ridley Dow; and the aged owner of the great house, Lady Eglantyne. And we mustn’t forget the unseen bell that rings every night at sundown. I love McKillip’s books. In this one the words delicately pick their way through the action in worlds both mundane and faerie to create a story to enchant us all.



The Body in the Gallery by Katherine Hall Page. 2008, William Morrow. 262 pp. Mystery
Faith Fairchild is a caterer in Aleford, MA who dabbles in solving mysteries on the side. Unlike many other such caterers, who have husbands involved in law enforcement, her husband is a minister. In this, the 17rh Faith Fairchild mystery, she takes on art fraud while dealing with such domestic issues as cyberbullying and a husband who suddenly seems to need a stay at home wife. As is common with culinary mysteries, there are a few recipes at the end. This is the first book I’ve read in this award winning series. While the husband is a minister and Faith is also a Preacher’s Kid, this is not what I would consider a Christian Fiction.

The French Admiral by Dewey Lambdin. 1990, Donald I. Fine. 414 pp. Fiction
For people who enjoy their 18th and 19th century naval fiction (Can you say Patrick O’Brien?), this book takes place during the final years of the American Revolution. It is told from the British naval viewpoint which gives a slightly different tang to the story. In the first book of the series, The King’s Coat (which I haven’t read), our hero Alan Lewrie is pressed into His Majesty’s Royal Navy at the behest of his father, where he acquitted himself well enough to win a second book. In this one he continues his winning ways, finding willing wenches, plenty of liquid refreshment, and lots of adventure. His participation in some of the action is certainly involuntary, but he manages.

The Frontiersman: The Real Life and The Many Legends of Davy Crockett by Mark Derr. 1993, William Morrow. 304 pp. Biography
If you grew up in the 1950s you probably could sing all twenty verses of Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier. But Walt Disney didn’t get it quite right (Surprise, surprise!).
Derr has attempted a biography of a man who a) lived in a time period when record keeping was a little looser, b) in a part of the country where record keeping was a little looser, and c) was a lot less likely to let his personal thoughts and feelings hang out. This means that Derr has to make some assumptions, which he is quick to point out and defend. This was an interesting and wide-ranging read, with stories of the politicians (Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Martin Van Buren), Texans (Sam Houston, Stephen Austin), and others (Daniel Boone, Edgar Allan Poe) whose names we may or may not remember.

Save Weeping for the Night by Loula Grace Erdman. 1975, Dodd, Mead. 205 pp. Fiction
A fictionalize account of Bettie Shelby, wife of Confederate General Jo Shelby. This is a love story of a woman who "stands by her man". Bettie and her two children spent at least part of the war following the Confederate army with her husband. At the end of the war Shelby refused to surrender and took his like-minded men to Mexico. Bettie and children followed. Eventually, Shelby felt he could return with honor to the US and sent his wife and family too. This is a gentle read, a good historical fiction for people who want Civil War period books without the blood and grit.

The Story of a Marriage by Andrew Sean Greer. 2008, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 195 pp. Fiction
The early 1950s are often looked at with nostalgia as a kind of Golden Age of domestic relations in the US. Somehow the reality doesn’t always jibe. Story of a Marriage takes place in California after the close of World War II and shows us more of what life really held for many. Holland, Pearlie, and their boy Sonny, and Holland’s twin aunts live in San Francisco. Their world changes when the stranger enters with his offer of $10,000. This is an old fashioned novel, in the best meaning of those words, telling a story in a straightforward manner with honesty and dignity.

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J. K. Rowling. 2008, Scholastic. 111 pp Children's Fantasy
Five slight tales with commentary by the eminent Albus Dumbledore; translated from the ancient runes by Hermione Granger. The tales are common mundane fairy tale types, but with a magical twist, not the magic is the main focus of them. Dumbledore’s notes are rather puzzling; at times the remarks seems very cynical while in others they lean toward more helpful criticism. The profits from this book go toward Rowling’s charitiable foundation to aid children

Wesley the Owl: The Remarkable Love Owl and His Girl by Stacey O’Brien. 2008, Free Press. 229 pp. Nonfiction
Okay, I was skeptical on this one, but I was willing to try it. After all, just two month ago I’d had an Australian barn owl sit on my knee for a few minutes at a raptor show on Kangaroo Island and he was adorable. But… most of the people who do these books tend to go way overboard. I’m glad to say I really enjoyed this book. Parts of it are not for the squeamish (oooh, owl spit, owl pellets, owl shit), parts of it are a little preachy (although not as much as I feared it might be), but other parts are downright hilarious and/or heartwarming. O’Brien does a nice job of showing why people should NOT try this at home; she’s a biologist specializing in animal behavior, and initially took Wesley as part of her job.

*** SPOILER:





I admit I cried at the end when Wesley died. Actually, I don’t know why it’s a spoiler; all good animal books end with the animal dying and at least this was of old age.***

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