A Work in Progress

A Wednesday Mishmash

Right now I am reading an abundance of really good books (part of the reason I'm not posting every day this week).  Isn't this a great opening paragraph:

"Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions.  The streets of the cities were lined with buildings in bad repair or in no repair at all, bomb-sites piled with stony rubble, houses like giant teeth in which decay had been drilled out, leaving only the cavity.  Some bomb-ripped buildings looked like the ruins of ancient castles until, at closer view, the wallpapers of various quite normal rooms would be visible, room above room, exposed, as on a stage, with one wall missing; sometimes a lavatory chain would dangle over nothing from a fourth- or fifth-floor ceiling; most of all the staircases survived, like a new art-form, leading up and up to an unspecified destination that made unusual demands on the mind's eye.  All the nice people were poor; at least, that was a general axiom, the best of the rich being poor in spirit."

I forgot how much I like Muriel Spark and what a wonderful writer she is.  Isn't she marvelous--so descriptive and witty, too (witty in a good way).  The excerpt is from The Girls of Slender Means, which is where I am starting for Simon and Harriet's Muriel Spark Reading Week.  I plan on moving on to A Far Cry From Kensington when I finish.  The Girls of Slender means is a short book and reads quickly, so I'm being greedy and trying to squeeze in two books instead of just one.  The story centers around the women who live in the May of Teck Club.  But more about it next week (and hopefully A Far Cry From Kensington, too).

My reading pile has shifted slightly in order to accommodate the books I want to read along with others this month.  Happily I am getting on well with all of them so far.  I love the descriptions of Lyme Regis in Remarkable Creatures, and am falling in very comfortably with the characters in Coventry.  I don't think it is going to be as devastating of a read as the last two books in Caroline's Literature and War Readalong, but you never know with war stories.  Looking ahead, I'm excited about the next two books on the reading list, but first things first.

I've decided on not one but two (I always think big when it comes to books . . . I can't help myself) crime stories to start with my own Summering in Italy reading project.  I'm going to begin in Sicily and will work my way up the boot of Italy.  I've pulled out Andrea Camilleri's The Terra-Cotta Dog, and borrowed from the library Leonardo Sciascia's The Day of the Owl.  Although both authors are Sicilian and both write crime stories, or in the case of Sciascia a literary story with a crime element to it, I suspect they are going to have slightly different approaches.  I'm not trying to play them off each other, but thought it would be interesting to get two different perspectives.  At the moment, though, they are both on the bedside pile as I need to get some of my readalong books finished first.  So a little anticipation with those two at the moment.

'Tis the season for awards, have you noticed. Of course you'll already know that the Orange shortlist has been announced.  I'm working on two of the books on the shortlist as it happens.  I had been reading and enjoying The Song of Achilles until it had to be returned to the library.  I was enjoying it so much I got back in line and just recently brought it home a second time to pick up where I left off.  And I divided my treadmill time between The Madonna of the Sleeping Cars (which is really very entertaining in a sort of outrageous way...or maybe it is just Lady Diana Wynham who is a little outrageous), and Georgina Harding's The Painter  of Silence.  The Harding was meant to be a teaser but she hooked me, so there you go.

The Pulitzer Prizes were announced.  Sort of anyway.  No prizes were given for fiction or editorial writing.  Apparently the judges couldn't decide between the three finalists (for fiction) that were winnowed down out of an initial 314!  They must have been underwhelmed?  And this is not the first time this has happened.  A little disappointing it seems.

The first of several of CWA Dagger longlists has been announced--the Dagger in the Library, which is for a body of work for one author.  You can see the longlist here.  I've only read three authors on the list and have books by an additional two others.  Their is speculation on the Euro Crime site for possible longlist titles for the CWA John Creasy (New Blood) Dagger.  Although I've not been reading as much crime fiction this year as last I am always curious about who ends up on the lists and mine it for possible good reads!  I'll be taking a close look at this list as it is all new talent so to speak--first books.  A quick look at the list and I can see several books on my TBR pile just waiting for a little attention.  (If you'll form an orderly line books, I'll get to you as soon as I can).

Elegy for Eddie by Jacqueline Winspear

Jacqueline Winspear's Elegy for Eddie is yet another satisfying instalment in the Maisie Dobbs series of books.  To be honest, initially the mystery which concerns the death of a London costermonger didn't appeal to me as much as some of her previous stories.  But as the line for the book is long at the library, I knew I had to read it now or go the back of the queue and wait weeks for another turn.  It didn't take me long, however, to find I was totally absorbed in the story once I started, and now that I'm finished am sad to know there won't be another book to look forward to for at least a year.  I've been on a mystery binge lately turning to mostly cozy, comfort read type books, so Elegy for Eddie matched my mood perfectly as it turns out. 

If you follow the series as well, you'll already know about Maisie's history from her humble beginnings as a below the stairs servant in a grand country house and her love of reading and learning which caught the notice of Lady Compton who, along with Maurice Blanche, a family friend, helped nurture her talents to enable her to study at Girten College.  WWI intervened in Maisie's education as she went off to France to serve as a nurse.  All her experiences have helped mold her into a sensitive and inquisitive woman who is as interested in solving problems as delving into the psychological nature of both victim and perpetrator when she's asked to take on a new case.  Although she is an inquiry agent, or private investigator, she takes care to deal with the total well-being of her family, friends, and those clients who come to her for help and not just find a solution to a crime.

Maisie is an interesting character and a formidable one.  She's strong, intelligent and independent.  In some ways she's been damaged by the war, which though it's long finished still hovers in the background of the stories.  Perhaps she is more damaged, or better to say still affected by the war than she sometimes cares to admit.  And she is definitely something of a perfectionist and maybe even the tiniest bit controlling, though her intentions are always to make life better for those around her.  What I enjoy most about these books is seeing how she and the other characters have grown and evolved over time. In the last few books chinks to her armor have been spotted, and in this latest story she finally begins to realize some of her own shortcomings and how they impact those around her.  It turns out that Maisie is as human as the rest of us.

Elegy for Eddie is set in 1933, and while often Winspear's stories look back on WWI, her more recent books are looking forward as ill winds are blowing in Europe with Hitler's rise to power in Germany.  In the last book, A Lesson in Secrets, Maisie was asked to take on an assignment with the British Secret Service thanks to her association with Maurice Blanche her former mentor and colleague.  Maurice's work was far reaching and has influenced Maisie in her own endeavors, but it's a traditional mystery she's asked to unravel this time out.  Still, what appears to be a "simple" death under questionable circumstances will turn out to be darker and murkier and have far reaching connections to some close to her.

Maisie is asked to look into the death of a man she knew growing up.  Her own father was a costermonger, who sold fruit and vegetables in London before moving to the countryside.  Eddie Pettit, her elder by some years, was someone who was well loved by those close to him, and when he dies under unusual circumstances his friends come to Maisie hoping she can find answers to their concerns.  Eddie had a natural affinity and gift for working with horses having been born in a stable.  Although a gentle soul, there were a few around him who would take out their anger on his deficiencies, including a bully from his childhood who turns up just when Eddie seemed to be doing well for himself.  Eddie, it would appear, had gotten caught up in events much larger and more dangerous than he could handle.

During her investigation Maisie finds that nothing is quite as simple as it appears, and Eddie's death is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of lies and deceptions perpetrated by some in positions of power.  Finding a solution and revealing the truth becomes a moral conundrum, and while she might solve the murder she is left with uneasy answers showing that life is rarely pat and dry but plays out in shades of gray.  As with so many of my favorite mystery series it's not just the solving of the crime I'm interested in, but with the characters' lives and the world in which they live.  On these counts Winspear rarely fails to deliver.  Maisie is likable, but she is not without her flaws, and more so in this story than in many of the others she shows herself to have weaknesses.  And Winspear has a real knack for creating atmosphere and painting period details in a way that is natural and not glaring.  I think I say this with every new Maisie book I read, but I really do think this is my favorite one so far.

I'm almost finished with Andrew Taylor's The Lover of the Grave, which is another excellent mystery series, though set in post-WWII England.  I hope to write about it a little later this week.  And I'm also wrapped up in a Miss Marple mystery, The Body in the Library and still contemplating something with an Italian setting as well.  I'm having a really good run of mysteries at the moment!

Armchair Traveling: Destination Italy!

I don't know about you, but with the pleasant weather we've been having my mind has turned to summery thoughts and fantasies of traveling somewhere far away and exotic.  Italy is one of my favorite places, though sadly it has been a very long time since I've traveled there (or well, anywhere to be honest).  Last year I had a little reading project going: Summering in Italy.  I was having a little crime/mystery binge Italian-style, and I enjoyed myself so much I am ready to do it again.  I know it's a little early to be in summer mode, but I think I'm ready to start reading a few mysteries set in Italy at least.  Armchair travel is about the only kind I can contemplate at the moment, since a trip so far away requires not only careful planning but also cash.  I have an abundance of one and none of the other.  And, well, books are always the next best thing really--books and a little imagination.

I've been working on a list of possible reads.  They are a mix of mysteries and crime novels by both Italian authors and writers writing in English but with an Italian setting.  I won't get to everything on my list and I may well add more titles to it, but this is where I'm starting my project.  If you've come across a good mystery or crime novel with an Italian setting, do please share it.  Some of these books are part of ongoing series and others are standalones.  And they are set all over geographically.     

The Faces of Angels or The Villa Triste by Lucretia Grindle - Both are standalones set in Florence with a historical slant

Girl with the Crystal Eyes by Barbara Baraldi - Bologna, sounds like a little serial killer action in this one

The Terra-Cotta Dog by Andrea Camilleri - Inspector Montalbano/Sicily, why has it taken me almost a while year to pick up another of his books when I enjoyed the first so much?

Death of a Dutchman by Magdalen Nabb - Marshal Guarnaccia/Florence, another case of enjoyed the first in the series and am ready for the next and the first felt rather cozy-ish

Blood Sisters by Alessandro Perissinotto - Anna Pavesi/Milan, this one is totally new to me

A Deadly Paradise by Grace Brophy - Inspector Alessandro Cenni/Perugia, read the first and was left with a little cliffhanger (or, there was promise to something interesting in the second book that was alluded to in the first anyway), sadly there seem to be only two books written thus far

Quietly in Their Sleep (aka Death of Faith) by Donna Leon - Commmissario Guido Brunetti/Venice, it may have been in my pre-blogging days that I was actively reading these, but I am ready to get back (Brunetti's wife is a Henry James scholar from what I recall)

Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli - The first of a trilogy, this one set in Fascist Milan, I read his mystery featuring Grazia Negro last year

The Dogs of Rome by Conor Fitzgerald - Police Chief Commissioner Alec Blume/Rome

Involuntary Witness by Gianrico Carofiglio - (defense lawyer) Guido Guerrieri/Bari, I was set to read this one last year but then got distracted (as I am want to do so often!)

Death in a Serene City by Edward Sklepowich - Urbino McIntyre/Venice, have had a number of books by Sklepowich for a very, very long time (may even have read one at some point, but it's all faded from memory, I'm afraid)

A Rich Full Death by Michael Dibdin - Florence 1855, did read this one a long time ago and recall being intrigued by it (should really read Zen, shouldn't ?!)

The Drowning River by Christobel Kent - Sandro Cellini/Florence

The Salati Case by Tobias Jones - (private investigator) Castagnetti, by chance this is sitting on the top of my pile

I haven't quite decided which book to start with--one of the shorter crime novels or one of the cozies/police procedurals.  A few of the authors I read last year and hope to continue on with their work and I also hope to pick up a few books by authors who are either new to me or who I've not visited in far too long (like Donna Leon).  I shouldn't be starting yet another project, but as there are no rules to reading, why not!

As a side note--I'll be posting on an abbreviated schedule this week (and maybe next as well).  Work has been hectic and I feel as though I'm burning the candle on both ends.  It's starting to wear on me physically.  There isn't enough time to do all the things I want to do no matter how hard I try and squeeze it all in.  And I'd like to spend more time reading and relaxing in the evenings, so I need to slow down just a bit.  I've finished several books that I want to write about, and I'm working on those posts now, so if you don't see me every day, do check back later for more bookishness!

Lost in the Stacks: The Madonna of the Sleeping Cars (Visiting Book Edition)

I thought I would skip my lost in the stacks post today as it's been a hectic week and I didn't have a chance to do much browsing in the stacks.  However yesterday I brought home a very interesting book that I had requested via interlibrary loan and was thinking it would be a perfect lost in the stacks book,  pity it wasn't one  my library owned.  But I like to be flexible, so today I have a 'guest' lost in the stacks book, all the way from Colorado.  Originally published in 1927, it's difficult to gage how often it has been circulating of late, but the due date slip inside the book (and you can't really go by those since they are often no longer used--my library doesn't use them anymore as a matter of fact) shows a last check out of March 27, 1961!

I'm sorry to say I can't lay claim on having "found" this book, as I came across it via Melville House Books, where I was browsing in their forthcoming titles section.  I read the description and thought, perfect, I need to read this.  Had I looked closer I would have found it is due to be published this month (according to the Melville site--Amazon lists it, perhaps erroneously, as being due out in July), but at first glance it looked months away from being available and you might already have noticed if you stop by regularly that I am not especially patient when it comes to books I want to read.

So, what was it about Maurice Dekobra's The Madonna of the Sleeping Cars (La Madone des Sleepings) that made me look twice, and then go directly to my library's ILL request form and ask for a copy?  First it was this little eye catcher:

"One of the biggest bestsellers of all time, and one of the first and most influential spy novels of the twentieth century, is back in print for the first time since 1948."

Although I've not been spending as much time lately with my thrillers and spy novels (and I have a lovely pile of them), I love to read them, and 'biggest bestseller' and 'influential' are high words of praise indeed.  A teaser from the description hooked me further.

"It’s the story of two tremendously charming characters who embark on a glamorous adventure on the Orient Express—and find themselves on a thrilling ride across Europe and into the just-barely unveiled territories of psychoanalysis and revolutionary socialism."

Alan Furst is an author I very, very much want to read particularly so now as Melville House notes that in his novels there is often a character traveling by train who happen to be reading just this book.  I love books that talk about other books (and what was agent 007 reading in From Russia With Love?  Am thinking it was a novel by Eric Ambler, but I could be remembering incorrectly).  Anyway, I love the sound of this book, and it sounds like a classic of the genre that I hadn't come across. 

By the way Dekobra is French, the book was translated by Neal Wainwright.  I was hoping to find a review of it from when it was first published in the US, but so far I've not been able to find anything.  Something of a curiosity--Dekobra's real name was Maurice Tessier. His pen name came (so the story goes on the wikipedia) that he saw a snake charmer in North Africa with two cobras and his name is a spin off from his experience--"deux cobras" became Dekobra.  Makes for a good story in any case.  I'd never heard of the term "dekobrisme", which is coined from his name, to describe his writing style which uses journalistic features.

He was apparently quite a popular author in France between the two world wars and his many books were published in quite a few other languages, but like so many authors he has been rather forgotten with the passage of time.  Thanks to Melville House for bringing him to  my attention and back into print.  I think I must now take a closer look at their Neversink Library and perhaps discover some other forgotten gems!

Now I'll leave you with a description of one of those charming and glamorous characters.  This is Lady Diana Wynham.

"Like lightning that blonde hair and that pure and classic face, only slightly ravaged by all-night revels at the Jardin de Ma Soeur or at the Ambassadors, appeared from behind the paper screen...But what is the use of describing Lady Diana's beauty?  Anyone can look at her for the price of a copy of the Tatler or the Bystander.  Weekly magazines all over the world never fail to include a picture of Lady Diana Wynham playing golf, cuddling a baby bull, driving a Rolls-Royce, shooting grouse on the Scotch moors of climbing the slopes above Monte Carlo in a white sweater."

April 12: Reading Notes

Just a few quick bookish things today as I am determined to turn off the computer early so I can read and maybe write a long overdue letter or two.  It's amazing how time speeds up when you are sitting in front of the computer.  Has anyone else noticed that?  I swear it moves at warp speed.

There is a new list up over at the Slaves blog of books to vote on.  Of course everyone who is interested is invited to join in.  If you think you'd like to read along leave a comment to help choose the next title for discussion.  As always it is an excellent list and I think I'd be happy to read (or reread in one case) any of the books listed. 

The month is speeding along, so I need to gather up a few books for readalongs.  I'll be starting Tracy Chevalier's Remarkable Creatures this weekend.  Emma at Book Around the Corner has organized things and you can read more about it here.  She'll be posting about the book on the 26th of the month, so there is still plenty of time to think about reading it.  It's been too long since I've read any of Tracy Chevalier's books and I'm really looking forward to it.

I also need to decide which book by Muriel Spark I'm going to read for Simon and Harriet's Muriel Spark Reading Week begins April 23 and runs through the 29th.  I'm leaning towards either The Girls of Slender Means, A Far Cry from Kensington or Territorial Rights.  They are all three fairly short reads, so if I start a little ahead of time I am sure I can manage one, but is it being too optimistic to think I might be able to read two?  Best to start small, I think and work my way up from there. 

And my copy of Coventry by Helen Humphreys is all ready to go for Caroline's Literature and War Readalong at the end of the month.  Discussion is set to begin April 30.  It's another very short book, with less than 200 pages, so there shouldn't be (knock on wood) any problems squeezing it in at the end of the month. 

My postal bookclub book arrived in the mail this week.  If you're curious to know what I'll be reading next, you can see it here.  I've read and enjoyed this author before, so am curious about this new to me book (though it was published early 1990s).  It looks as though it could be an emotionally draining book, however.  I have until the end of May to read it before it will need to get posted on to the next person in line for it.  I may have to save that one for May and a sunny day! 

There are some interesting lists via Rob Around Books to check out.  The shortlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize has been announced.  A nice source of good international titles to draw from (the longlist here).  You can also check out the longlist for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award for 2012.  I really am going to read more short stories this year (thinking Chekhov, and may have to see which books look of particular interest on that list, too).

And one more interesting item I came across by chance.  I've been reading Helen MacIness's Decision at Delphi you might recall.  I just discovered that Titan Books is going to begin reissuing her work.  I can only say yay--what good news.  The first three, Assignment in Brittany, Above Suspicion and Pray for a Brave Heart, will be out in June.   

Maybe I'll go and read her right now as a matter of fact!

New & Notable: New Books (Highlights)

I've been doing a lot of 'grazing' when it comes to books lately--both with my reading and buying, though this pile also includes a few review copies as well.  It's a mishmash of books which reflects how much I've been meandering lately.  From bottom to top:

An Unexpected Guest by Anne Korkeakivi -- I think it was the setting that first appealed to me about this book--Paris, but the story itself sounds riveting as well.  According to Margot Livesey, "Anne Korkeakivi writes wonderfully about Embassy manners, food, and Paris, and she writes even better about the darker world that threatens to disrupt not just Clare's seating plan for dinner but her entire life.  An Unexpected Guest, like its heroine, is a novel of great elegance, enormous surprises, and unexpected depths."

I've heard lots of good things about The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey, and I wonder if I am just about the last person to read it.  It sounds a little whimsical with its fairy tale-like story of a married couple dealing with grief who build a snow child, only to have it disappear the next morning to be replaced by a real child.  Alaska in the 1920s is another place and period that greatly appeals to me.  Both books came courtesy of Little Brown and Company.

Europa Editions is one of my favorite small presses and I am often adding their titles to my book orders and wishlists, so I was excited to see two of their new releases show up in my mailbox recently.  Seth Greenland's The Angry Buddhist is a mixture of satire and crime and sounds quite timely with its story of a California election with two candidates who could almost step out of the headlines of the national news.  The blurb describes the story as an intersection of Old Testament and Elmore Leonard!

When I read Jane Gardam's Old Filth a couple of years ago I knew I needed to read more of her books and set about acquiring her backlist of titles.  It's taken me a while to get around to it, but I already knew I wanted to read Crusoe's Daughter when it showed up in the mail.  There was my excuse, and I've lost no time starting to read it and am quite enjoying this story of Polly who lives her life on an isolated coast of England with books as her company becoming her source of "emotional and intellectual nourishment".  NPR's Maureen Corrigan calls Gardam the "best British writer you've never heard of". 

And the rest of the books are courtesy of my family since I used a gift card for the remaining titles.  I think I mentioned that I want to read Chekhov's stories, so maybe I'll start at the beginning, or at least early on.  The Steppe and Other Stories, 1887-1891 is one of the earliest collections from what I can tell.  "The Steppe" the blurb tells me "established Chekhov's reputation".

Thanks to Liz for the heads up on Cliff McNish's The Haunting Ground, which is a chilling ghost story.  Glebe House, a crumbling mansion, is the setting.  It's good to have something spooky on hand I think.

Still thinking about spy stories.  I think I want to try some of the Bernie Gunther books by Philip Kerr, so I bought this omnibus edition which includes March Violets, The Pale Criminal and A German Requiem under the title Berlin Noir.  Berlin in the 1930s is the stomping ground for ex-policeman Gunther.  I'm really looking forward to trying these books.

Bitter Lemon Press is another favorite small press of mine.  They specialize in international crime novels, so I always keep track of what's new on their list of forthcoming books.  Nights of Awe by Harri Nykanen is the first Ariel Kafka novel set in Helsinki Finland.  Kafka is one of two Jewish policemen in Finland working on their violent crime unit.  It sounds very intriguing.  Although I seem to be reading more cozy mysteries at the moment than crime novels, I'm sure I'll be in the mood for something gritty soon. 

New books are always so exciting.  It's only too bad they didn't each come with a built in hour of free time to start reading them!

Teaser Tuesday: Far from the Madding Crowd

Decisions, decisions.  Normally when I can't decide which book to start next, I start more than one--I've got a bad habit that way.  But with classics, the stories are often more demanding so I do better concentrating on one at a time.  Many thanks for the input on yesterday's post.  They all look good and I will certainly get to all of them in turn (at the moment am thinking Edith Wharton next and then John O'Hara to follow, but first things first).  In the end I felt like Hardy was calling out to me just a little bit louder at the moment. Far from the Madding Crowd is a book I have wanted to read for ages, and it has made its way onto more than one list of books I've been planning to read. 

So now it is time to meet the beautiful Bathsheba Everdene.  Apparently Virginia Woolf approved.  She is quoted as saying "The subject was right; the method was right; the poet and the countryman, the sensual man, the sombre reflective man of learning, all enlisted to produce a book which . . . must hold its place among the great English novels."  I only hope that Bathsheba gets a better ending than Tess did, but I am keeping an open mind.

I've just barely started reading and right off the bat have had to re-orient myself to Hardy's style.  Slow down, as this is not something that can be gulped.  His writing style demands thoughtful attention, and I hope to give it to him.  The story opens with the description of farmer Gabriel Oak, 28, who I am sure will be one of Bathsheba's suitors.  He actually began as a shepherd (and various other sundry jobs) but only recently have people taken to calling him "farmer" Oak.  Since it is through his eyes that the reader is first introduced to Bathsheba I thought I should share his first impressions of her.

"The handsome girl waited for some time idly in her place, and the only sound heard in the stillness was the hopping of the canary up and down the perches of its prison.  Then she looked attentively downwards.  It was not at the bird, nor at the cat, it was at an oblong package tied in paper, and lying between them.  She turned her head to learn if the waggoner were coming.  He was not yet in sight; and her eyes crept back to the package, her thoughts seeming to run upon what was inside it.  At length she drew the article into her lap, and untied the paper covering; a small swing looking-glass was disclosed, in which she proceeded to survey herself attentively.  She parted her lips and smiled."

Bathsheba had been waiting for the man driving her in his waggon to go pick up something that had fallen off the back end thought she was alone.  Later, when trying to pass the turnpike gate she refused to pay the full charge for the toll, feeling the price asked too steep, so Gabriel made up the difference without a look or thank you from Bathsheba.  When the gate keeper remarks on her handsome looks after she's passed, Gabriel says she does have her faults.  When asked what, then?  He replies:

"Vanity".

This of course has me hugely curious now.  I can't wait to pick up the book and read more.

Rose of Hope Scissor Case

I spent an afternoon this weekend working on a needlework project that was nearing completion and finally have something to share!  I've not had much time for my needlework lately and while this was a little frustrating to finish, I'm so glad I managed it.  This is what it looked like when I started the "Rose of Hope" scissor case by Indigo Rose in February.  The stitching was fast and easy, but the backstitching was tedious.  Once it was done, I was ready to actually turn it into a scissor case.

The color in this second photo is more true to reality than the photo above which looks ultra pink.  By the way this is one in a series of needlework smalls that were designed and donated by needlework artists.  The profits go to breast cancer research, hence the pink ribbon and color schemes.  I've finished three or four of them now, and will have to share them all sometime soon.

I've never made a scissor case like this before, so it was a challenge.  I've done similar style finishing, but a first attempt is always going to mean difficulties.  I followed the instructions carefully, but if I were to make one of these again I would do things a little differently the next time around.  What you see here if you are unfamiliar with needlework or sewing supplies are my linen, skirtex to give the case shape and body and stitch witchery (isn't that a great name?) to fuse it all together.  I also had a piece of wool for the lining, which is not in the photo.

I won't go into detail as to my frustrations finishing this, but using wool as a lining and having so much of a seam allowance which had to be turned inside made it really bulky to stitch together.  The lining part was a little clunky, and I won't share what it looks like if you peek inside as I was not happy with how it turned out.  But who's going to notice, right?

It's always a matter of persevering as if you take care the little imperfections will more or less be hidden.  So, while the during part of the process made the pieces of linen seem all out of shape and awkward with bit of the linen seeming to begin fraying, it's all hidden inside now. 

The back is pretty plain.  I decided to stick with my initials and the year.  This is  my first needlework finish of the year by the way!  Very tiny, really, but better than nothing.

This flower is made with an embroidery stitch called a "Spider Web", which I love doing.  You wrap your floss around each leg of the larger stitch.

I did everything entirely by hand and with the use of a hot, steamy iron.  I will say turning corners is the absolute worst.  With so many layers of linen (the corners are doubled up, too with the seam allowance folded in), and with the added wool I was wondering if I was actually going to be able to stitch it all together.

So here it is.  Despite my frustration, it does look pretty nice.  This is what I did yesterday afternoon.  Now, which project should I work on next?  Pick up one of my many 'works in progress' or start something new?

Choosing a Classic: What to Read Next?

I was all set to post a list of classics to read over the long-term--for the next five years or so, but then I thought better of it.  Not because I don't think it is an excellent idea, I do.  Jillian has created the Classics Club, which sounds like great fun and something I would love to take part in.  I even went so far as to start making a list, which pretty much included nearly all the titles from the massive pile of classics I keep on a shelf in my bedroom.  As tempted as I am, I also know myself and while I love making lists, I am very talented in then not following said list.  I am someone who tends to read according to mood.  I excitedly make my list in one mood and then it changes, so I'll reach for an entirely different book after the fact.  Of course with fifty books you'd think there would be plenty of variety to choose from.

So, I shall read along in spirit, and will send you Jillian's way in case you'd like to participate (from the look of things you'll be in good company there), but I will keep reading for the short term knowing all the books on my pile are books I want to read at some point in the near (or distant) future.  That's my way of committing without committing. 

I've not forgotten the Classics Challenge I signed up for last year.  My list of books is the one I will be drawing from (loosely speaking of course) over the coming months with plenty of wiggle room to read something else, too, if I feel like it.  I started with the longest book from the list, The Three Musketeers, which was a huge success, since I loved it.  As it was a chunkster, I needed something quick next, so I read Anton Chekhov's The Duel, which I really enjoyed.  It's a case of now I must read all his work, especially his short stories.  As for The Duel, I hope to write about it soon.  And I was thinking that I need to read all the "Duel" books now.  I've already got the Casanova in my pile and have (cough) ordered the Conrad, so that means I must acquire the rest soon (cough).  But I will wait a bit before picking up another of those titles.  I must say I like reading novellas--instant gratification thanks to the short length.  

Now I need to pick a new classic to read (I always have a classic on the go--being someone who always has several books started at once...) but can't quite decide what I want.  Often I know even before finishing one book which book I'll read next.  I thought it would be John Steinbeck's East of Eden, and it does look good, but I think I need to work my way up to another long read.  

So here are my choices (some from the list!), maybe you can help me decide.

Appointment in Samarra by John O'Hara -- I read one of O'Hara's other books but recall the bleakness of the story, so put off reading another.  Now I think I am in the mood, and as it is set in the 1930s it has an added appeal to it.  Caroline also put me in mind of reading it, though it's taken me a while to reach for it.

Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy -- I like the sound of a story of a headstrong woman farmer and her three suitors.  I've only read one novel by Hardy and have been steadily collecting them ever since.

In Chancery (the second book of The Forsyte Saga) by John Galsworthy -- I read the first of the nine books that make up The Forsyte Saga two years ago!  The idea was that I would read them all close together (in the same year anyway), which obviously never happened.  The story is something of a drama, but I love a good drama.

The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton -- So I know Undine Spragg is not an especially likable heroine from what I've heard from other readers, but I don't think Edith Wharton can write a bad novel, and it's time I read another of her books.

Something by Kafka--maybe The Metamorphosis or The Trial -- I'd been leaning heavily towards Kafka as I was making this list (inspired by Stefanie's recent post), but now I'm wavering.  Kafka has been someone who has both intrigued and intimidated me.  If you've ever seen a picture of him, there is something about his gaze that makes me want to know more about him (he seemed a tortured soul).  I've read books about him, books about his lovers, but I've read very little of his fiction--short stories as a matter of fact.  The Metamorphosis seems a good place to start, but my edition has also other stories and The Penal Colony, so I feel like I should read all of them. 

Choosing a new book is always fun--it's a nice kind of anticipation, don't you think?

Lost in the Stacks: The Power and the Glory

As many of the books that I choose for my lost in the stacks posts are early twentieth century titles and my library removes dust jackets from books, it's unusual for me to find an obscure author/title in such a lovely, new edition like Grace MacGowan Cooke's The Power and the Glory.  Cooke (1863-1944) published The Power and the Glory (not to mistake this novel for the one by the same name by Graham Greene--perhaps that's why the title caught my eye on the shelf?) in 1910, and it remains in print in this edition from Northeastern University Press.

Cooke was born in Ohio but was raised in Tennessee eventually settling in Appalachia.  After more than 20 years of marriage, which she never felt was quite successful at, she divorced in 1906 to write full time.  She had been published at the age of twenty-five in 1888.  She began writing stories for magazines and after her divorce supported herself through her writing.  

When The Power and the Glory was first published the New York Times gave it a positive review saying it had "undeniable charm".  I suppose like so many other authors who were once celebrated and popular, eventually interest in her waned, though it seems as though this one has a little something extra since it is still in print more than a century later.  It could be regional appeal, since she writes about the place she knew growing up, but the themes are also higher-reaching.  It was, however, the description that made me bring it home.

"A rollicking good read, The Power and the Glory is filled with plot twists and turns that include romance, a lost silver mine, kidnapping, shoot-outs, scheming villains, a wandering chiropractor, and a dramatic automobile chase."

An automobile chase ca. 1910 (hence the great cover image) sounds like fun.  I wonder just how fast cars even went in 1910?  I read some of the introduction, which had this to say about Johnnie, the heroine of the story:

"In The Power and the Glory, the auto becomes a symbol of all women's capabilities, as Johnnie harnesses technology to get herself and the people she loves out of dangerous situations.  Cooke completely rewrites the conventional action plot when Johnnie becomes the rescuing hero, and she does it by putting her heroine in the driver's seat."

Sounds like fun doesn't it?  Even a little progressive, too.  Along with a dashing heroine who doesn't  mind driving at breakneck speed, the novel also deals with the themes of "ecological feminism, social activism, gender roles, and class distinctions."  I like heroines who show a little moxie and Johnnie behind the wheel of a car in 1910 sounds like an independent woman indeed.