A Work in Progress

Fun Mail

Today I received my first issue of Martha Stewart's Living in the mail.   I admit I never used to give Martha Stewart the time of day.  I figured no one can really live like that!  But after subscribing for a while to her magazine, Everyday Food, I was won over.  I think everything I have tried cooking thus far from it has turned out well, which says a lot considering cooking is not my strong suit.  I think on only one recipe I was a little heavy handed with the salt, but I think that was my fault rather than the fault of the recipe.  And to be honest, ever since Martha did jail time, she has gone up in my estimation (I know odd thinking perhaps).  Unlike other CEOs who manage to get out of taking responsibility for their actions, Martha just did her time and got it over with.  So whatever you may think of Martha, you have to give her credit for not messing around.

I think I will like Living.  Granted my house will never look like the ones in this magazine, but I can dream.  There are articles on quilts and stamping,one on sea shells, and of course all the yummy recipes.  There is a "Did You Know?" page.  An interesting fact:  "The sounds you hear when you hold a shell to your ear aren't waves of the ocean or echoes of your heartbeat.  They are ambient noises resonating inside the shell.  Different shells accentuate different frequencies and so have distinct sounds." 

I also get loads of catalogs.  Have you noticed that if you order from one, all of a sudden you seem to be on everyone's mailing list?  I wouldn't mind except I hate to think of all the trees that went into making all this junk mail.  I only hope they used recycled materials (I recycle the catalogs!).  I get one called Acorn.  It is all British TV and novelties.  I always look through marking all the DVDs  I want.  Like: Second Generation.  I have never heard of this one--it looks good.  Or some that I have heard of and I want: House of Eliott (I have the books!), or the Inspector Lynley Series--I know the actors don't resemble looks-wise the characters in the book, but I am willing to watch them anyway.  I guess catalogs will be pouring in soon for Fall.  Any favorites? 

Evil Under the Sun

It is too hot outside to enjoy working in the yard, or even sitting on the porch.  I might not dislike such hot, toasty days except doing much of anything makes you hot and sticky and sweaty.  So, I am going to stay in the air conditioning and watch a nice movie.  It is the movie adaptation of an Agatha Christie novel set in the Adriatic.  So I can enjoy the sunshine and beach from the comfort of a nice cool room.  A nice way to end the weekend.

I Take Pen in Hand Chunky Book

I am so late with this page.  Really, really late.  I have the page finished, I have all the other elements ready to paste on.  I have my envelopes ready for the back (the book is a bit of a spin off on the Griffen and Sabine series--each page will have a letter in an envelope on the back, which "tells the story" of what is on the front).  I even have my letter all ready to go.  My problem is--I do not like my page.  I love it when other artists use loads of layers or various elements in their work.  When I seem to try it, mine just feels very busy!  So I have just kept this hidden away, but I need to finish it as I am sure others are waiting on my pages....The lady who organized this is very nice, and very laid back, but I need to get it done.  I have a new image to use, and now it is just getting the inspiration to get going with it.  Or maybe I should start completely over with a different idea?  Or maybe I should just use this page--it isn't as hideous as I think?  No, I think it is not so great.  Back to the drawing board!  Ugh.  I swear it is the weather's fault.  How can anyone get anything done in this constant heat.  Blah.

New Finds

Since it had once again been a few weeks since I hit the bookstore, I decided to go and browse after work.  I went to both bookstores by my library since I was feeling withdrawal pangs rather fiercely!  My gift cards are gone, so I had to actually choose amongst my pile what I really wanted.  I have to say it is much more fun to leave with a big stack rather than little one.  But I did manage to get several books and a few magazines as well.  I love it when I discover a completely new author, as with this book by Judy Fong Bates called Midnight at the Dragon Cafe.  I am happy to see at Amazon it has gotten good reviews (haven't actually read them--just looked at how many stars it garnered!), as well as a starred review from Booklist.  I was searching for some book that I had seen before, but I couldn't remember the title--just the general vicinity as I had seen it there before.  And there was this book.  The cover caught my eye, and it looked too good to pass up. 

It is interesting to see which books each bookstore chooses to spotlight so to speak--and put out on the front tables.  I have to say my local Borders does a much better job of picking out really good books that are new and different, and changing them around, so I don't see the same old stuff each time I stop by.  Barnes and Noble is where I prefer to shop (well any independent bookstore, but barring that...), but they never seem to have really compelling fiction on their new releases table.  I am always disappointed by what I see as it is not that new, or not that interesting to me!  It was at B&N that I found the Bates book, and that was purely by chance.  Now why wouldn' t they put this out on the front table??  When I worked at an independent bookstore I loved checking in the new books and then finding room to display the new stuff prominently!  But we were always more into showing off really good literature as well as bestsellers (not just what we expected to sell dozens of!). 

As for my other acquisitions?  I found another new one: Kingston by Starlight by Christopher John Farley, which is about a female pirate (my secret life--I am sorry but I *love* adventurous, swashbuckling stories like this!), and Divining Women by Kaye Gibbons.  I think Kaye Gibbons is an exceptional author.  Her work is really great.  I see Harper is redesigning her book jackets.  This is her latest just out in paperback.  I wanted to read it when it came out, but I never got around to buying it or checking it out from the library.  Her books are always set in the South, and this one is pre-WWI during the Spanish Influenza.  The women are always strong characters, which is a big draw for me!  I originally had a good pile of books, but I had to whittle it down to a few.  I did manage also to throw in a few magazines as well, including the new Bookmarks Magazine.  So I have plenty of reading material for the weekend.  I have a feeling, though, I will be spending lots of time on "The Historian", as I have really gotten into ti! 

This is what happens when you don't send in the card...

Not to ignore today's current events...how many more mornings will I be arriving at work to hear a coworker say did you see the news....I always know now that it is something bad.  More than once today I surreptitiously hit all the big papers online to read about the horrors of what happened.  I must say, though, Londoners are tough people.  Maybe stoic is the right word?  I read a quote from a man who said they made it through the Blitz and they'll make it through this as well.  And I have no doubt they will do it with real grace as well. 

I think it is for reasons such as this--the insane world we live in--that I love books and movies, too.  Pure escapism!  For a while you can forget all the craziness.  And here is a movie I would never have planned renting, let alone buying.  The funny thing with those mail order video clubs--if you don't turn down the selection of the month they send it to you.  And thinking they are sending a movie you did order, you open the box (which then means you can no longer refuse it and take it to the post office).  So please tell me someone, is The Aviator a good movie?  I hope so as it is now part of my collection.  Of course I have yet to unwrap it, so I can always re-gift it to someone for Christmas!

Finally!

My public library finally has cataloged The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova.  I have just started it, and I am looking forward to really getting in to it.  I have heard it is good, but I also took a peek at the Amazon reviews, and it looks as though those are mixed.  I don't plan on reading any of those reviews as I don't want to ruin my reading fun before it begins!  I just want a good summer read Ican really lose myself in!  At 600+ pages, this should be just the ticket!  I'll let you know what I think!

If you are looking for some good summer reads, check out the BookSense July picks.  I always manage to find a few (or more) good things over there!

Leeway Cottage

I think I have enjoyed everything I have read by Beth Gutcheon.  Even though I have somewhat mixed feelings about Leeway Cottage, I fairly inhaled it.  It is certainly very engaging.  It is essentially the story of a family.  Leeway Cottage is the name of their summer home in Maine.  Aside from the fact that I like Beth Gutcheon, I have a fixation with Maine.  I have never been there, but I have seen photos and read enough books to know I would love to visit there.  This was part of my attraction to the book.

I thought this would be a book about Sydney Brant, who marries musician Laurus Moss.  It is set before, during, and well after WWII.  My mixed feelings come into play in terms of the storyline, or I should say storylines.  The writing is very good, and I basically liked the characters (some more than others).    The novel is told from various points of view.  What starts out as Sydney's story, and then Sydney and Laurus' story jumps over to Laurus' family in Denmark in WWII.  It almost felt like this should have been two books rather than one.  The storylines weren't as seamless as they could have been. 

My other criticism has to do with the loose ends in the story.  Of course not every question in a novel needs to be answered or will be answered, but sometimes I hate it when an author dangles certain facts in front of a reader's eyes, but then never follows through connecting all the threads. 

Possible spoilers if you are going to read this and haven't:

If anyone has read this, or plans on reading this--please tell me where the little girl came from that Nina sends to Israel?  What was that final line she was standing in in her last chapter?  And what exactly happened to Sydney and Laurus at the end?  Was it planned or an accident.  I guess Neville must have been the big secret that Sydney had, but I didn't really see that one coming.  I am sure there might be a few more questions in there, but those are my big ones.

I don't want to scare anyone away from reading this one, as it is well written, and I never had any intention of setting this one down once I started it.  I zipped right through it actually. It was good, but an interesting (?) juxtaposition of storylines!

Book Meme

I found this book meme over at Musings of a Middle-Aged Woman, so I thought I would answer the questions myself.

You are stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book do you want to be?Hmm.  This is a hard one.  Another blogger interpreted this question as ,"if I had to memorize a book and live inside it."  Maybe "Pride and Prejudice".  I love Jane Austen's prose.  Imagine just living in that sort of a world.  Can I hop from book to book?  Maybe something by Edith Wharton?  I love the idea of NYC or Europe during the Gilded Age--but only if I can be rich!

Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?  I admit that if a book has a bit of romance  in it, and the male in question is decent, I probably fall for most of the heroes!  I rather like Roux  in "Chocolat" by Joanne Harris, but maybe that is due to the fact that Johnny Depp played him in the movie.  Need I say more?  There are two books by British author Clare Chambers that I just love--"Learning to Swim" and "In a Good Light", that I could easily see myself falling for the main male characters.  And I was fond of Mr. Rochester in "Jane Eyre", even though he was "unattractive".  I guess he garnered my sympathy.

The last book you bought is? I bought a stack of them a while back.  And I have been good since then (see angel halo above my head, thank you very much!).  The last one that I bought that I really would love to start now--"Coastliners" by Joanne Harris. 

What are you currently reading? I am nearly finished with Beth Gutcheon's "Leeway Cottage".  I have a stack of them going at the moment.  I want to start Martha Grimes' "Hotel Paradise", because I think it is a great summer read.

Five books you would take to a deserted island? Only five?  I'm not sure I could narrow it down. 

Maybe...something long that I have never read like "War and Peace" or "Anna Karenina" by Tolstoy (a better chance for Anna K.) or maybe the "The Magic Mountain" by Mann.

"Pride and Prejudice" by Austen because I could read this one over and over. 

"Age of Innocence" by Wharton ditto from above.

One of Clare Chambers books.

"Chocolat" by Joanne Harris. 

And maybe "Possession" by A.S. Byatt as an alternate.

This of course could easily change!

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why? I think I will do the same as was done on the Musings blog and say if you want to answer the questions, please do.  Please let me know, as I would love to see your answers!

A Flatiron Building

This is our very own flatiron building.  A miniature version of the one in New York City, I'm sure.  I have never been to NYC other than in the airport, but I imagine this one to be much smaller.  Can you tell the shape very well through the trees?  I took this photo a few weeks back as I was walking to the library.  I think it is a really cool building. 

No one makes buildings like this anymore.  Personally I prefer the older architecture of our downtown to the buildings that are being built out in the newer sections of the city.  I live east close to the Missouri River, but Omaha is expanding west sucking up smaller towns along the way (to their utmost dismay and I am very sorry for these people, who once thought they lived in a small town).  As someone who walks *a lot*, I find it poor city planning when you can no longer walk, or take public transportation and then walk to your destination.  I can do that in my section of the city, but that isn't really possible in other places.  In other places there is not much in the way of green areas and certainly no sidewalks.  You simply have to get in your car and drive from strip mall to strip mall, entering cookie cutter buildings that look like the same buildings in any other place in any other city as they are all chain stores.  There is not as much personality anymore, it seems. 

Anyway, I think this building has loads of personality.  It was built about 1912 and originally was a hotel.  Now it has offices in it.  The narrow part of the building in the bottom front has a restaurant in it.  It looks rather ritzy, but I have never eaten there.  Whenever I walk by there just seem to be people getting the place ready to serve meals, so I guess I must be coming by too early. 

I came across a book in the library where I work about city planning, and the use of pedestrian areas and green space.  The one town that has stuck out in my mind from that book as an excellent example of good city planning is Amsterdam.  They have pedestrian areas, and bike paths.  I think to ride a bike in Omaha would be to take your life in your hands.  It can be hard enough at times to just be a pedestrian!  I think as Omaha grows we are encountering urban sprawl, which I personally think is not such a great thing.  There is not a sense of community in many places.  I prefer cities laid out differently.  Vienna is one of my most favorite cities.  It is beautiful.  It is clean and organized.  It has excellent public transportation and lots of parks/green spaces all over the city.  And the architecture is lovely.  People walk and ride bicycles.  Too bad we don't have more of that here. 

My Library

Here is my public library.  Within these hallowed walls sit my stack of to be requested books!  Right now at the library where I work there is a practicum student getting his MLIS working in the cataloging department.  I have been waiting now for a while to get a copy of The Historian, along with other new titles.  The list is up to about 95 people.  I am #5!  So where is the book--I grilled him about it yesterday, as it turns out he works part time at the public library as a cataloger!  He taught me a little trick of their catalog--how to tell if a book was in the library or just on order or if it had been cataloged (but not yet on the shelf).   As it turns out they are way behind in their cataloging of materials as they are very short staffed.  They only have one full time and two part time catalogers!  No wonder I haven't seen the book yet!  I did check on the status today, however.  Originally they only had five copies on order to circulate.  They now have about 18!  Only the original five are there, and I am sure they will wait to catalog all of them once the additional copies arrive.  So I will have to continue to be patient!

In the interim, of course I have plenty to read.  That didn't stop me from browsing the new fiction shelves.  I came away with two new titles.  A Black Englishman by Carolyn Slaughter looked interesting.  It is set during the 1920s in India.  I had never heard of it, but despite the whole colonial thing being totally un-PC, I have always been interested in the British Empire, and India has always sounded exotic to me.  My second find is something that has been on my Amazon wishlist.  As I am once again completely broke, I figured I might as well just check it out rather than wait to buy it.  Victorine by Catherine Texier is set in France in 1940, but Victorine tells the story of her life in Indochina when she was a young woman.  Hmm.  More colonialism I guess.  It seems to be a bit of a theme for some reason.  Certainly this will keep me busy while I wait for my other requests!

Here is something interesting my library/city is doing.  Has your done anything similar?  It is Omaha Reads.  There just are not enough book clubs around!  In 2004 the book chosen was Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.  Sadly I did not read it then, nor had I read it previously.  It is on my classics pile, though, and I have every intention of doing so!!  The State of Nebraska did a similar thing with One Book One State earlier this year.  The book chosen was by famous Nebraskan, Willa Cather, My Antonia.  I have only read O Pioneers.  I really do need to read more of her work!  It will be interesting to see what the next Omaha book is!  Perhaps I will nominate one.