marise's 2009 reading log

Sorry to be so late in joining this year. Last year I did the 50 book challenge and exceeded that goal. That log is here.

I don't have a plan or any particular goals for 2009. I have joined citizenkelly's group Project 1929 and will be reading/rereading books from the list compiled by the group members. I will be reading Viragos and other books by women. In 2008 I "discovered" Stefan Zweig and hope to read all of his books that have been translated into English. There are many classics from my Modern Library collection that I have yet to read. I also enjoy reading poetry, plays, short stories.

My nonfiction reading is mostly limited to books on film or history. When I am stressed I read biographies.

So far this year:

1. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.



Lighthearted and fun, just what I needed post Christmas.

2. Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis.



Very funny and rowdier than the film with Roz Russell. But nowhere does the book contain the most famous line from the film, "Life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death!" Oh, well.

3. Beam Ends by Errol Flynn. 1st published 1937.

A wonderful chronicle of Flynn's journey from Sidney, through the Great Barrier Reef, to New Guinea (Papua) on his boat, the Sirocco. Along with some very funny situations, there is real danger, adventure and tragedy, all told brilliantly in Flynn's salty, witty way.

4. Fugitive's Return by Susan Glaspell. Published in 1929.



After carefully bathing and dressing herself, Irma sits down to compose a suicide note and finds she is unable to sign her name: "To write one's name is an assertion of one's self. When you write your name, you know who you are."

She is interrupted by her cousin, who sets Irma on her journey of self discovery by obtaining for her a passport and ticket to Greece under a false identity. Irma's feelings of isolation are also heightened by her loss of speech. There are many mythic symbols and allusions as Irma settles in Delphi and becomes involved in the lives of the village women, and as she faces her past and regains her voice.

I loved the first half of this novel, but found its resolution somewhat unsatisfying, as Irma seems to again retreat from the world. However, I am very glad I hunted it down as part of my reading for the Project 1929 Group.

Susan Glaspell, best known for her play Trifles, was instrumental in the founding of the Provincetown Players and won a Pulizer Prize for her play Alison's House.

5. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.

Not my favorite Atwood by far, but a very good read nonetheless.

6. Cimarron by Edna Ferber. Published in 1929.

Edna Ferber is on my list of authors who should be eternally grateful to Hollywood for remaking their books into films.

7. Lark Rise to Candleford by Flora Thompson.

Reading this in soothing bits.

8. The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden.

9. The Brontes Went to Woolworths by Rachel Ferguson.

Wonderfully funny, quirky story about an eccentric family and their friends, real and imaginary. Well, that really does not describe it at all...

10. The Lacquer Lady by F. Tennyson Jesse. Published in 1929.



A wonderfully written adventure set in 1880s Burma (now Myanmar) and based on historical events.

This is the third book I have read that was published in 1929, for the Project 1929 group.

11. The Boys in the Trees by Mary Swan.



Excellent. Mesmerizing. Could not put it down.

Love how your covers look - could you teach me how you do that? Have the Lacquer Lady which I must read soon and have to get The Boys in the Trees. When you say something is excellent and mesmerising, I know it will be.

Nice list! Welcome to our little group...

Welcome to the group, Marise!

I will be watching your thread closely - the Project 1929 idea sounds fun and I will probably be stealing books off your thread left and right.

Great to see you back for 2009. I always enjoy your thread.

Hmm, Fugitive's Return sounds very interesting! Too bad about the ending let-down... maybe I'll add it to the TBR list and keep an eye open anyway :)

Since you enjoyed Three Men in a Boat, I would highly recommend To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis. I think you would enjoy the humor as well as the allusions to the first book.

>2 tiffin: tiffin, I learned how to post those covers here on LT! I will try to find the place as the instructions were very clearly stated, and post it on your profile page. I hope you enjoy Lacquer Lady!

>3 drneutron:, 4, 5 Thanks for the warm welcome!

>6 dk_phoenix: dk phoenix, Fugitive's Return is one of those books you keep thinking about and I've decided that maybe my dissatisfaction with the ending is simply a case of trying to impose my 21st century values on an early 20th century character. Please give it a try if you find a copy, she is an excellent writer!

>7 ronincats: Thanks, ronincats, for the recommendation! I'll check it out!

Wow, marise! Everyone of your books sound like a great read. I'm currently reading Three Men on a Boat and I've been on the lookout to find The Brontes Went to Woolworths. I read Cimarron and practically everything else Edna Ferber wrote when I was a teenager. I didn't go see the movies because I didn't want to spoil the books. I wonder if I would still love them!

I'm starring your thread--I have a feeling you will make my TBR pile explode but it will be fun to see what other treasures you turn up. :-)

Hello and welcome!

Like MusicMom, I've been looking for The Brontes Went to Woolworths. I'm having a difficult time finding it. I like your review!

And, you are reading some great books.

Some wonderful books there, Marise. I have tagged your thread as we seem to have a similar taste in books!

#10,
Whisper1,
The Brontes went to Woolworths has been notoriously difficult to find for some time, but the good news is that it's being re-released by Bloomsbury in August. Hoorah!!

>9 MusicMom41:, 10 I would not have a copy but for the generosity of an LT friend from the Virago Group. She found a copy for $1 in a used bookstore, so don't give up hope!

>11 Soupdragon: Excellent news, soupdragon!!

message #2, Tiffin
for assistance with importing the book covers, I asked TadAd, the computer guru to help. Check posts 64-71 on this thread. I hope this helps.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/51408

Here you are, marise! I'm glad to finally find your thread!

I think I'm going to move The Boys in the Trees up in the reading line.

Whisper, thanks for this. I think it makes the threads look so polished when they're up. And I didn't know Tad was a techie!

Tad is a "techie" , and an all around nice, kind, helpful person!

Well, I could just squeeze the cheese out of both of you because it worked!!!! His instructions were so clear that I had no trouble. Thank you both. Now I have to get cracking and add my missing reads in.

ETA: sorry for thread hogging, Marise!

#9 & 10: In order to get a copy of The Brontes Went to Woolworth's last year to read, I put it on interlibrary loan. You might want to consider that option.

Thanks Stasia.
I'm heading to the library Saturday and will ask them to obtain this one for me.

Whisper, hope the interlibrary loan was successful!

11. Ex-Wife by Ursula Parrott. Published 1929.



Project 1929 read. I am sure this book was considered rather risque when it was published.

*Spoilers*

Pat's husband Peter has been unfaithful to her, so she cheats on him with his best friend. They separate, and later divorce. Pat recalls their courtship, marriage, one abortion, and their baby who died in infancy, all in a flat, rather unemotional tone. She moves in with a friend and starts to party hard. She drinks a lot, smokes a lot, even tries absinthe. She has several casual affairs, but still hopes Peter will come back to her. Eventually she marries a man who is her friend and the story ends with them about to embark on world travels, but she is still thinking about that stupid ex-husband in the back of her mind.

I did grow very impatient with this character and nearly put the book down several times. There were some really good passages - I especially liked Chapter XII, a day in the life of a "modern" woman in New York City, set to the music of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue - but overall I was disapointed. It felt dated in the same way that reading about the 1960s can feel dated.

"Families - strangers who knew one well when one was a child."

12. The Movies, Mr. Griffith, and Me by Lillian Gish.

>21 marise: haha lovely quote!

#22: How did you like the Gish book, marise? It looks like something I would like, so I am curious about your input.

Hi Marise, just discovered you here and starred your thread.

>Howdy, Pam!

>24 alcottacre: alcottacre, it's a very enjoyable read and I think you would like it.

I am now reading a biography of Miss Gish and of course there are many disparities between the two books. When I was in college she travelled across the country to many universities and lectured. She presented a mythic version of her story: she wanted D. W. Griffith to be revered as a great director, she wanted to be viewed as his muse, she wanted to hide some unpleasant truths about her sister and their early life in the theater. Her love for acting and for film was infectious and I do recommend her book.

However, she left an extensive collection of papers, letters and memorabilia when she died, and made no attempt to hide the truth from history. I think of her book as her story seen through amber tinted glasses. The biography is more factual as to dates and relationships, etc. By reading both I hope to have a more rounded view of Miss Gish. I've always admired her so much.

This is the book I am currently reading:



13. Lillian Gish: Her Legend, Her Life by Charles Affron.

14. The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth.



Absolutely brilliant depiction of the decline of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the years leading up to the First World War through the story of the von Trotta family.

#27: Sounds like another good one. I will add both it and the Gish book to my Continent.

You won't go wrong with The Radetsky March; it was one of my favorite books of last year, and I'm now reading The Emperor's Tomb which is a follow-up to Radetsky.

Adding The Radetsky March to the list!

Just out of curiosity, is Radetsky a reference to the general from the Napoleonic Wars or Strauss' tune? You hear references to him in O'Brian's books and the name caught my ear.

Tad, the book title refers to Strauss' waltz, which in turn was a tribute to the Austrian General Joseph Radetzky, hero of the Battle of Novarra.

Jennifer, glad you're here! I think you'll love this book.

15. Sometimes A Great Notion by Ken Kesey



Justifiably a modern classic, imho. I love this book. For me, it ranks right up there with The Razor's Edge and The Man Who Loved Children on my list of favorites.

Here is that list that is going around. I have "bolded" ones I've read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling Unfinished. My sons are old enough to finish the series on their own! Thank goodness.
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe isn't this part of #33?
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown ugh!
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy.
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth.
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt.
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare see #14
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

several of the unread ones are on mount TBR.

I loved Sometimes a Great Notion too. It usually gets overshadowed by One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I read it a long time ago, and recently acquired a new copy for a reread.

While I've read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and loved the movie as well, I haven't read Sometimes a Great Notion. Now, with these great recommendations, I'm adding it to the tbr pile.

Yes, Whisper1, Sometimes a Great Notion is a classic!!

Yes, yes, and yes! I will definitely reread it. It is still running around in my head.

16. One Way of Love by Gamel Woolsey



A lovely Virago by an American author I had never heard of before. She was primarily a poet. This book, first accepted for publication in 1930, was suppressed and censored, and finally published in 1987 by Virago. It was a revelation to read of a woman's sexual needs and desires from the perspective of a woman of that time period. Woolsey lived her own life in a manner very unconventional for her time.

I have never read - or seen for that matter (online doesn't count) - any Viragos. Is that a great loss? Maybe I should look for one or two just to get an idea. Many people seem to be completely obsessed about them!

By the way, there is also a movie of Sometimes a Great Notion. I think Henry Fonda starred as the father.

Sometimes a Great Notion is in my top five favorite books of all time. And do you know, I've never bothered to read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? I discovered SGN by myself many many years ago, and didn't realize at the time that it was written by the one of the guys who was involved with all the electric kool-aid acid stuff. If I had known that, I probably wouldn't have picked it up. Love the movie, too, which has Henry Fonda, Paul Newman and Lee Remick. It was the first program broadcast on HBO, over a cable TV station in Wilkes-Barre, PA, right down the road from where I am. Oddly, it is not available from Netflix and there is no DVD on Amazon. That's just not right.

>40 girlunderglass: Yes, a great loss!! So many excellent women authors to discover!

>41 arubabookwoman:, 42
I have never seen the movie, but went to TCM.com/suggestamovie to ask them to show it, if it is in their catalog. However, next month they are having a Michael Sarrazin night (They Shoot Horses Don't They?, Flim Flam Man, etc.) and Sometimes a Great Notion is not listed (he plays the younger brother). It seems they would have chosen it for the Sarrazin night if it's in their catalog, doesn't it?

I wish I had cable so that I could have TCM. The Cinema Classics night on my local PBS station is just not enough for an old movie fan like myself.

I've never read Sometimes a Great Notion, but now I'll have to. I did love One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

I just scored a copy of the DVD of SGN from DVDclassics.com. It's described as "rare".

#45--Let us know how you think the movie stacks up against the book.

>44 jfetting: J, I know you will like it, I think you will love it! I have to subscribe to several other channels that I never watch in order to get TCM, but I must have it! It and PBS are all I watch!

>45 laytonwoman3rd: LW3rd, please report back!

Oh, I've SEEN the movie, several times. I enjoy the performances, but of course the story was simplified quite a bit for the movie version. There are a couple of indelibly memorable scenes, one funny, one heart-breaking. Definitely worth seeing if you can manage it.

17. Bel Canto by Ann Patchet.



I usually avoid the hyped books, but in this case the praise is well-deserved.

18. Taking Chances by M. J. Farrell (Molly Keane).



This might be my favorite Molly Keane!

19. The Moonflower Vine by Jetta Carleton. 1st published 1962.



This is the only published book by Missouri author Jetta Carleton. Thanks to Jane Smiley's mention of it in Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel and a consequent review of it on neglectedbooks.com, it has been republished this year by Harper Perrenial. A deceptively simple story of a family in early 20th century Missouri, it is told with a structure that allows us to see their life from each members point of view. Beautifully written, it leaves you wishing Carleton had completed another novel. This was a library book, but I will be looking for my own copy, as I know I will be reading this book again someday, a rarity.

eta: Here is an interesting article on Carleton that updates the story of her lost 2nd novel.

Marise, is there any explanation of why she only wrote one?

#50: My local library seems to have the original 1962 version, so I will pick it up there. Thanks for the recommedation, marise!

tiffin, I don't really know why Jetta Carleton didn't publish another book. Apparently she did work on another one. According to Jane Smiley's introduction, her family thinks it may have been lost, along with some other personal papers, in a tornado a few years back.

alcottacre, hope you enjoy it! Let me know.

Well I never. I have just found you, Marise, and you are tagged and ready to go!!! I am starting The Radetzky March on your recommend, thanks.

Marise, I too avoided Bel Canto because of the hype, and read it only because a friend gave it to me. I ended up loving it. And kiwidoc, I'm a fan of The Radetzky Waltz too -- one of my favorite books of last year.

Mwahaha - tracked you down, marise. You can run but there's no hiding. I hope its ok - I've copied our conversation on Glaspell/Showalter from your other thread over here, so that the conversation makes a little more sense when I continue it.

FP said: I noticed your post on Susan Glaspell. I recently started reading Elaine Showalter's history of American women writers, which is called "A Jury of Her Peers" and is inspired in part by Glaspell's story of the same name, which I believe was adapted from the play Trifles. So I found myself a version of the story to complement my reading of Showalter's book. I'll be on the lookout for other Glaspell now, including Fugitive's Return, which sounds really interesting.

Marise said: I really love Glaspell, and Elaine Showalter's book is on my wishlist!!! Please let me know what you think of both the Showalter and Glaspell's short story. I read the story a couple of years ago and was just stunned by it.

Okay, so continuing our conversation.

Re A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx. I read The Female Malady: Women, Madness, and English Culture earlier this year & Elaine Showalter is fast becoming one of my favorite writers of non-fiction, in part because she picks such fascinating topics and in part because many of her books are AVAILABLE ON KINDLE - yay! I got a Kindle for my birthday & it has fast become my preferred platform for reading most everything, but I find it works particularly well for reading non-fiction that I want to take notes on. Previously I needed pens, highlighters, post-it notes - it was a pain in the a**. Now all those tools are contained within the reading device itself. Anyhow, this book is dangerous because its introducing me to a whole new universe of writers whose work I'd like to explore. Other Showalter books that I've got Kindle samples of include: Inventing Herself: Claiming a Feminist Intellectual Heritage, and Daughters of Decadence: Women Writers of the Fin De Siecle. I'm sure these books will further add to my TBR pile. I also really want to read her older book on English women's writing.

Here's a short interview with Showalter about the book that tomcatMurr posted on my thread that I don't know if you've seen: http://chronicle.com/temp/reprint.php?id=yq3wny99v1lhxh68w9y811tljpqq9pt8

I do agree with Showalter's comments in the interview, which is also part of the philosophy behind the book - at least in other contexts (since I am less familiar with American women writers than women writers from other cultures), that there is a real unwillingness to judge the quality of women's writing and a focus instead on social significance. Both are important, but women writers will never be taken seriously if the only justification for reading them is that they are important because they are women. Certainly women writers operated (still operate?) under a set of disadvantages that men did (do?) not, but at some point the actual quality of the prose has to come into play, or reading women writers just seems patronizing. I hope I'm being clear, I don't want to offend.

I'm really enjoying A Jury of Her Peers so far - I thought the chapter on Mary Rowlandson, who writes of being held captive by Narragansett Indians, was especially fascinating. It seems that the Indian captive narrative was fairly common and that women used it to explore questions about identity and culture - Showalter talks about a couple of women who wrote about women who were captured and became completely assimilated and then refused to rejoin white society. That's an interesting story, I think.

I confess, however, that much of American literature has never interested me, which I know is a horrible, horrible attitude. I have read and LOVED some works of American literature, mostly in high school. I enjoyed The Grapes of Wrath and went around thinking in accented English for weeks afterwards; Little Women and Laura Ingalls Wilder's books were particular favorites when I was younger & I actually think one can glean a lot of historical and social detail from these "children's books", although I confess I didn't notice the racial attitudes until re-reading the Little House books in grad school for a break from critical literary studies of Lebanese women's novels (shows you how well THAT worked, that I just couldn't stop analyzing everything to death). So much of it just strikes me as pioneers and more pioneers. I am hoping that this book will open me up to reading more American literature, both by men and women.

And finally, to take up more space on your thread, I thought I'd share some thoughts on the Susan Glaspell story. I enjoyed it as well & upon reflection, I think it was rather fantastic. The problem that I had was that I read it soon after reading Showalter's rather comprehensive summary and discussion of it in the introduction to her book - in some places, it actually seemed like a word-for-word retelling - so I kind of felt like I knew what to expect, where it was going, what the style would be. That having been said, it is a powerful story & a remarkable picture of quiet domestic discord. I am a big fan of "quiet" unrest, if that makes any sense - writers to manage to convey potent emotional turmoil with the smallest, most subtle words or images, rather than characters who have a screaming fit and tell the reader exactly what the problem is in long speeches.

I loved the gender dynamics at work in the story - how the two women were treated like idiots for focusing on small, "insignificant" domestic things by their "smarter" husbands, who were formally investigating the crime. Showalter points out in her discussion of the story that this can also be read as a criticism of how the male-dominated world of writing scorned the concerns of women's fiction as small-minded and "domestic". I actually love "domestic fiction" - I think some of the most fascinating books I have read succeed because they recognize that the most interesting drama is often that found in the home, in daily life, in interactions between family members, etc. Anyway, enough ranting. You've got great books and I thrilled to be stalking you!

Marise
I'm falling behind in checking the posts on the threads. I'm checking your thread today and find such great books and wonderful comments.

I've starred your thread and will check in faithfully as time permits.

Linda

Welcome one and all!

Linda, I have fallen behind on reading threads as well, but determined to catch up soon. Glad you checked in!

fannyprice, I must find Showalter's books, especially this new one. They all sound fascinating. I am still mulling over much of what you wrote, as well as her comments in the interview. I really basically agree with what she said regarding how women writers are assessed.

I would love to know the new titles/authors you add to your TBR after reading this book.

quiet unrest
I know exactly what you mean. Glaspell's play Alison's House falls into this category, as well as several of Dorothy Canfield's novels and short stories that I love. Also the Jetta Carleson book I posted in #50. Last year I read Hannah Green's The Dead of the House and I think you would like it, too, for the same reason. It is also very Americana, but in a subtly different way from her male contemporaries.

I see you are reading You Learn by Living. I look forward to your thoughts!

I'm curious as well re. your thoughts on You Learn by Living. I have this book on my tbr pile.

20. You Learn by Living by Eleanor Roosevelt

Whisper and blackdogbooks: I highly recommend it!! I'm reading a library copy, but will definitely look for my own as I will want to reread sections and continue to refer back to it for insight and inspiration. Much more than a self-help book (which I do not typically read), Mrs. Roosevelt wrote a beautiful book on her personal philosophy of how to live a full and satisfying life. Such a wise woman!



21. The Time We Have Taken by Steven Carroll.
A very quiet, well written book about characters living in 1970s suburban Melbourne.



22. Brook Evans by Susan Glaspell.

Not as good as Fugitive's Return, but still very good! I want to read all of her fiction and drama.

I really want to read the Roosevelt book. I've read snippets of her writing and sayings over the years, all of which does point to a very wise woman indeed.

marise, I have already read it this year and it made my best reads list for the year already. It is an absolutely essential book. I was just looking forward to hearing what you have to say on it. Glad you also enjoyed it. The book is a great primer for everyday life!

marise, we're talking about Elaine Showalter's new book over in ClubRead! Please join us when you have time.

#63: Looks like some great recent reads for you, marise!

#63 I've heard so many good things about You Learn by Living that I'm adding it to the TBR pile.

23. Semaphore by G. W. Hawkes.

I read this book on the recommendation of laytonwoman3rd and I am so glad I did! An unusual and thought provoking story about Joseph, who does not speak and has glimpses of the future, but is unable to completely understand what he sees there. As the book cover says, it is in part "about the terrible weight of fear" that this places on Joseph and his family. I will be looking for other novels and short stories by this fine writer.

#69: That one has been on Continent TBR far too long. I must move it up! Thanks for the reminder.

marise, you are reading some great books. I am enjoying reading your thread.

Thanks, judylou and alcottacre! I've been lucky this year - no disappointments, yet. *knock wood*

I am currently reading A Jury of Her Peers, which is certainly adding to my wishlist, and The Letters of Noel Coward both very good!

#69 I am so glad you enjoyed Semaphore, Christine. One never knows about making recommendations! But, based on that success, I am giving Stasia a big SHOVE....go read it, please!! It is one of my life missions to spread the word about this man's talent.

#73: I appreciate the shove, Linda, but I would appreciate it more if you would come to my house and help me locate the book! I know it is in my library somewhere . . .

24. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood.

This was an advanced reading copy graciously loaned to me by an LT friend. It is a story that runs parallel to Oryx and Crake, which I read last year, but it could stand on its own as well. I think Atwood has really topped herself with this one! I was completely immersed in this story and felt so connected with the characters, which wasn't always true for me with O&C. As I told my friend, I didn't want the story to end, which seems a weird thing to say about a dystopian novel. I will be looking for my own copy when this is published next autumn, since I will reread it someday. It is brilliant.

#75: I definitely have to look for that one, Marise. I enjoyed Oryx and Crake quite a bit when I read it earlier this year. Thanks for the recommendation!

I keep saying I will read my first Atwood soon and that moment never comes ! My April reads are already planned out so maybe May...

#77: Eliza, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but April is already past. Maybe you should plan out reads for May and then add the Atwood for June?

ooopss uuhm I meant my May reads are already planned out! :))) haha
I guess June then - unless I surprise myself and read even more books in May than I had planned out (unlikely)

You may surprise yourself! You never can tell.

Want! Time to pre-order... I was one of the ones who loved Oryx and Crake, so I'm really looking forward to this new book.

So jealous!!!!!!!!!!! Must. Have. This. Book!!

>77 girlunderglass: gug, I first read Atwood eons ago and I haven't necessarily liked all of her books. I didn't much care for Surfacing, for instance. The first one I remember really liking (loving) was The Handmaid's Tale. Although I am not necessarily a fan of the genre, I do like her dystopian novels. So I guess I am just saying that if you don't like one, you might like another. :)

>76 alcottacre:, 81, 82 Go for it!!

>83 marise:, My experience with Atwood has been very mixed as well. I could NOT get into Surfacing, but I enjoyed both Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid's Tale. I am a fan of the dystopia genre, however, so that probably explains it.

It's on my list . . now :)

Glad you enjoyed the Atwood. Yes, I had a similar response - but aren't the best books always the ones you don't want to end?

btw, I think the BlyssPlus pill is equivalent to the Orgasmatron in "Sleeper"

Thanks for the tip on The Year of the Flood, marise. I liked Oryx and Crake, and look forward to reading this offshoot. Semaphone looks very good, too.

I think you will like both, kambrogi!

25. The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham.

Another Project 1929 read. Enjoyable and I hear the series gets better, so I look forward to reading others.

26. Love In a Dry Season by Shelby Foote.

Oh, I really liked this one!


27.
A Jury of Her Peers: American women writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx by Elaine Showalter.


This book is a must for anyone who wants to know more about American literature than the usual, mostly white male, suspects. Showalter takes a fresh look at women writers you may already be familiar with, like Harriet Beecher Stowe, and rediscovers many writers whose works have been neglected or suppressed. She also dismisses a few, like Gertrude Stein: "the Empress Who Had no Clothes".

I also found her observations about the restrictions placed on women's use of language, range of characters, and narrative voice in the past and how this has changed and evolved during the last 40+ years to be very interesting.

I now have quite a long list of writers I am looking forward to reading for the first time!

I now have quite a long list of writers I am looking forward to reading for the first time!

Then I will be keeping an eye on your library, marise!

That book on writers looks very good, marise. Thanks for the tip!

Re: messages 50, 51, 53

In message #50 I have added a link to what I think is an interesting article on Jetta Carleton. It mentions the possibility that her "lost" novel has been found and may be published. Hope so, although it would be hard to top The Moonflower Vine.

Thought I would also share these:
100 Great American Novels You've (Probably) Never Read

What America Read: Taste, Class, and the Novel, 1920-1960

#93: Those books look to be terrific resources, marise. Thanks for sharing!

Curses!!!! Another 100 book list I don't have. Must. Resist. (Said in classic Kirk voice.)

In any case, I have added The Moonflower Vine to my look out list.

In attempting to resist, I suffered a bout of the shakes and double posted.........ETA the tale of my struggles to resist.

*snort* We all know the struggle, blackdog, but you might as well accept that resistance is futile.

Love the list/info, marise. As you know, my sister enjoys them, too.

lol, you two!

28. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield.



A gothic story of a bookseller lured into writing the biography of a reclusive writer, with many secrets. I really wanted to like this book, was hoping for a can't-put-it-down type story, but felt some of the plot elements just didn't meld the way the writer intended.

I have heard that several times lately, and may take it off my wishlist. Fingersmith, which I am reading now, is indeed that gothic tale that you can't put down! Have you read it, marise?

Rats. I already have it and it's on the tbr shelves.

>99 kambrogi: Yes, I have read Fingersmith and it's definitely better than The Thirteenth Tale. I won't say more, since you are still reading it.

>100 tiffin: I'm always hesitant to discourage anyone from reading a book. Try it anyway, maybe it was just my mood.

Not only have I never read any of the books from 100 Great American Novels You've (Probably) Never Read, but I've never even heard of them! Oh, boy - the TBR never shrinks....

>102 Cait86::

I've read none...

own the Alger, but not read it...

have read something by Dick, Richter, Rohmer, Stephenson and Tarkington, though not those mentioned...

pretty bad showing! :-(

29. The Pilgrim Hawk by Glenway Wescott.

Wickedly insightful story concerning the different meaning of love between three couples.

Sorry you didn't like The Thirteenth Tale! I knew nothing about it when I started reading it, and absolutely LOVED it. Took awhile for me to really get into the story, but I was captivated by the end and consider it a 5-star book for me.

Ah well, to each their own!

Thanks for letting us know about A Jury of her Peers. I was just looking through my library stats the other day, and I found that I have over twice as many male authors in my library as I do female authors. I was horrified, and am in the process of looking for new women authors. This book'll be a big help!

30. Painted Clay by Capel Boake.



This is a lovely book! I must find another by this Australian writer.

31. The Moon is Down by John Steinbeck.

more later....

Eager to hear what you thought of the Steinbeck title.

blackdogbooks, I really enjoyed The Moon is Down and my teenage son is now reading it. It reads like a play and I think it would be fun to see it done that way.

The fable about an unnamed country invaded by an unnamed enemy is somewhat simplistic and maybe even a little overstated, but when taken in the context of the early days of WWII (when it was written), I think that's understandable. Overall, though I thought it a strong statement of resistance to defeat.

I also found a book titled John Steinbeck as Propagandist to be very interesting and you can take a look at some excerpts here. Very interesting that this book was not initially received the way Steinbeck had hoped.

32. John Steinbeck as Propagandist by Donald V. Coers.

33. The Vet's Daughter by Barbara Comyns.

I don't know quite what to think about this book. It takes a strange twist about half way through and I was just not quite prepared to go along. Also I found some of the descriptions concerning animals, and things done to them, very disturbing. However, it was interesting enough that I finished it, though I am not sure why. Do I sound confused?

#110: RE 33, yes you do sound ambivalent about it and darn, it's on the TBR bookshelf. You know how I feel about things being done to animals. But I did smile over not being prepared to go along. The "hey wait a minute" moment in some books, eh?

I hope you read it, tiffin, or at least up to the "hey wait a minute" point. I would be very interested in knowing what you think.

Most of the stuff about the animals happens in the first chapters and you can tell when its coming. I just skipped over those paragraphs as much as possible.

*semi-spoilers*
Something happens to a turtle in a later chapter. If you scan down the page and see dogs or turtles, etc., just skip over it! :) The parts about the parrot aren't as bad. The ferret fairs pretty well. This sounds just nutty...

taking notes...avoid turtle...keep eye peeled for dogs/turtles and skip...parrots maybe/maybe not. Ferret ok. Got it.

Oh, funny! But not. Strange book, it seems, and perhaps not too pleasant.
Thanks for the info on the Steinbeck book. Fascinating.

Interesting book on Steinbeck's book. Thanks.

34. Fidelity by Susan Glaspell. First published in 1915.

This is Glaspell's third novel, but the earliest that I have read. Although there is marital infidelity in the story, the title refers to being true to one's self. Another excellent book by this author and my long wait was well worth it! I am still thinking on it and may post more later.

#116: Thanks for the recommendation, marise. I will try and find that one.

35. Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips.

I picked this up impulsively at the library and it took a while before I fell into the flow of this book, but once I did I loved it.

36. By the North Gate by Joyce Carol Oates.

I have yet to read a novel by JCO that I like, but these short stories are ok and I will look for more of them.

#118: Lark and Termite has been on Planet TBR for a while now. I need to track down a copy!

I will be very interested in what you think of it!

37. Daisy Kenyon by Elizabeth Janeway.

*spoiler*
An excellent book marred by the fact that the title character blames herself for a violent act perpetrated on her about 3/4 of the way through the book. Otherwise this is a well written story by the author of such later feminist works as Man's World, Woman's Place, Between Myth and Morning: Women Awakening, Powers of the Weak and Improper Behavior. I can only hope she would have given a different interpretation of events if she had written this book later in her life. She also served as a judge for the National Book Awards and The Pulitzer Prize.

There is a 1947 film version of this book starring Joan Crawford, Dana Andrews and Henry Fonda. The book is better, of course.

#121: The book is better, of course.

Aren't they always?

Well, personally, I'd rather watch Gone With the Wind than read it, but there are not too many exceptions to that rule!

It's funny, I find exceptions more than I thought I would. Usually, it has something to do with people who are good at developing a story but not at telling it or sometimes people who create stories that are hard to tell and better visually shown. I often find I put a book down and think, "That would have made a better movie."

Some stories just beg to be filmed, it's true.

I hated The Thirteenth Tale, to be honest. I couldn't understand the hype at all.

Kiwi,
The more a novel is hyped, the more I avoid it. But I read the reviews of Thirteenth Tale on LT and thought it sounded good. Oh, well.

I am now reading Sunnyside. I read a couple of lukewarm reviews last month, saw it at the library, picked it up, didn't like it much for the first fifty pages. Tried again. I love it.

Guess you never can tell!

38. Sunnyside by Glen David Gold.

Well, I didn't end up loving it. This book is just way too long and, imho, some of the characters were superfluous. I liked it. It was good, and some parts were wonderful, but I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

I saw the Gold book recommended in Bookmarks (which I skimmed in the book store yesterday, very naughty I know).

I am now not sure if it is worth the read. I might look out for it in the library.

If you do read it, I will be very interested in reading your review! As I said, there were parts of it that were wonderful. And parts I wanted to skim, though the writing itself was excellent. Have you read Carter Beats the Devil by Gold? I haven't, but will definitely read it in the future.

Have you read Carter Beats the Devil by Gold?

That's one I have TBR, so I'd be interested in your opinion if you do read it!!

I think it was recommended by rebeccanyc, and she's very reliable!

Thanks for the compliment, but I haven't read either Carter Beats the Devil or Sunnyside (and in fact had never hard of Glen David Gould.

Oops, sorry!

39. Old Filth by Jane Gardam.

I really liked this story of Sir Edward Feathers, a barrister who rises to the top of his profession. But the story is not about his career, but rather what lies beneath the seemingly unruffled outward appearance of his life: growing up as a "Raj Orphan" and the trauma of an abusive foster parent, his inability to connect emotionally as an adult, the deaths of those close to him in his later years. Gardam is a wonderful writer and I don't know why I haven't discovered her before now.

40. Montana 1948 by Larry Watson

The moral examination of a tragic year in the life of a family and it's after-effects, told by a young boy. Very well written, thought provoking and a quick read since you do not want to put it down.

41. The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding.

This is a mystery that is not a mystery. You know, approximately, the outcome all along, but what fun: humorous, ironic, and sad in a way, prefeminist feminism - if you know what I mean. I am off to start another book by this author right away.

#135: I've had that sitting on the TBR pile for over a year. You've prompted me to give it a nudge. I do know what you mean in #137 and it looks like one to hunt down.

Glad you are moving Old Filth up the pile, I think you will like it!

#137: That one looks good. Thanks for the recommendation, marise.

42. The Innocent Mrs. Duff by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding.

Another excellent book by this author, although I like The Blank Wall best. Must find more by this author!

#141: Must find anything by this author here - my local libraries have failed me - they do not have any of her books. I will have to start looking further afield.

>142 alcottacre: Perhaps interlibrary loan? I think you will enjoy these suspense novels.

Apparently, Holding wrote more serious, or character driven books in the 1920s. She began writing her suspense novels during the depression because she needed money and they were more in demand. I haven't read any of the early books, but according to Gregory Shepard of Stark House Press, who published several reprints of her books in the last few years, her writing style evolved from the earlier books to this leaner style which I so admire.

43. Lady Killer by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding.

I am supposed to be reading another book, but during my trip to the library to return some books, I couldn't resist looking to see if they had anything by this author and came away with four more of her suspense novels. Yes!

44. The Rector and The Doctor's Family by Mrs. Oliphant.

45. Miasma by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding.

My first disappointment with Holding.

What did you think of the Mrs. Oliphant at #146? I have one of hers...somewhere...unread.

>148 tiffin: Margaret Oliphant is a wonderful writer and I liked both The Rector and The Doctor's Family. I suppose she is often compared to Anthony Trollope or Mrs. Gaskell.

I am now reading Salem Chapel and learning much more than I really care to about The Church of Scotland and a young minister's inner struggles with his calling, but I hope the characters and the plot will carry me through. At 459 pages, this is a much longer novel than the first two.

If she's compared to Trollope and Gaskell then I'm going to have to hunt up one of her books. Marise, thank you yet again for introducing me to a new-to-me woman writer!

>150 jfetting: ditto :) I've added the Carlingford Chronicles to my wishlist.

I will look for books by Margaret Oliphant, too, since I am a fan of both Trollope and Gaskell. Thanks again for the recommendation, marise.

In message 49, book #18 the touchstone takes you to the "wrong" book--here is the correct one.

Taking Chances by M.J. Farrell

Yes, I know I'm way behind, but hopefully I'll have a chance to catch up the next few days as we are in our R&R place this week. It's kind of fun getting to look at so many books at once! Like book shopping--but cheaper! :-)

#93

Thanks for the link to 100 neglected books. I've tagged it. I have only read two of them, but they are both favorites of mine so I'll have looking for others on that list.

The two I read: Godric by Frederick Buechner and Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr. I read them many years ago but I highly recommend both of them.

I had a great time last night catching up on your threads and getting several ideas for books to hunt out. Then I lost my web connection and gave up and went to bed. Just had to return and let you know what fun I had on your thread. Hopefully I will be able to keep up on it now. Great reading--and lots of "new stuff" for me.

MM41, thanks for fixing the touchstone for me, I have a terrible time with those sometimes. Glad you enjoyed "shopping" my thread! Come back more often!

46. Salem Chapel by Margaret Oliphant.



47. The Strange Crime in Bermuda and

48. Too Many Bottles both by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding.

Comments later.

Interested to hear about 47 & 48. Oh heck, and 46. ;)

#157: Anxiously awaiting along with Tui for the comments, Marise!

*waits patiently in line for marise's comments*

I'm wondering it it is necessary to read the Carlingford Chronicles in order? So far, I've only been able to track down book #3, The Perpetual Curate. :)

>158 tiffin:, 159, 160 Thanks for your patience!

While I liked Salem Chapel, it was a bit of a slog in parts. Quite a bit of dithering and slow passages. It could have just been my mood, but I grew very frustrated with certain characters. Trollope's characters are more fully developed than Oliphant's, and more interesting. However, I fully intend to read the other Chronicles of Carlingford that I have, but I am prepared to do a bit of skimming if necessary. The first two books in the series were shorter and more to the point and I liked them better. But as I said before - it could just be me and I don't want to talk you out of reading Salem Chapel.

Digi, I don't think it necessary to read them in order. Characters from one book show up as background characters in another book, but you won't be missing any ongoing plot or anything like that.

Tiffin, the Elisabeth Sanxay Holding short novels were fun as usual. The Blank Wall is still my favorite, though, as I just liked the main female character so much.

I am now reading The Quiet Man by Maurice Walsh, the stories on which John Ford based his movie of that name. They are really good, and quite different from the movie!!

>161 marise: Thanks, marise!

#161: Thanks for posting the reviews, marise!

49. The Quiet Man and other stories by Maurice Walsh.



Interconnected short stories concerning former WWI soldiers (Irish, Scottish and English) now involved in IRA activities in an Irish village. These are very human stories about men and women and the power of love.

John Ford's movie is based on only one of the stories in this collection, and bears little resemblance to the to the essentials of this book, or the intentions of the author, I think.

50. Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene.



Darkly humorous story about a vacuum cleaner salesman living in pre-Castro Cuba who is recruited to be a spy. This is satire in the same vein as Dr. Strangelove: a sometimes absurdist, but painfully clear-eyed vision of how the world operates. I have always loved the movie with Alec Guinness and a screenplay by the book's author, and now that I have been inside Jim Wormold's head, I will enjoy it even more!

comparing a book to Dr. Strangelove is a sure way of getting it onto my wishlist :)

gug, an LT reviewer called the main character a cross between James Bond and Inspector Clouseau. Please read it and tell me which of us is closer to the mark! You will like it, I know.

51. Close-Up on Sunset Boulevard by Sam Staggs.

52. Vanity Fair's Tales of Hollywood.

53. Vanessa and Virginia by Susan Sellers.

54. The Furies by Janet Hobhouse.

55. The Incredible Charlie Carewe by Mary Astor.



I bought this book after reading this intriguing review of it on The Neglected Books Page . I read A Life on Film, her 1971 memoir a few years ago and was struck by what a good writer she was. (Myrna Loy was also a delightful surprise as a writer.) This book is a good read, nothing profound or deeply thought provoking, and I could just visualize it as Douglas Sirk would have directed it.

56. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill.

57. A Brave Vessel by Hobson Woodward.

I just picked up The Woman in Black at the library and plan to read it next week. I'll be interested to know what you thought of it. I don't usually read "spooky books" but I'm trying some of them for Halloween month.

I read A Brave Vessel just a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I waiting for your comments on that one, too!

I enjoyed Woman in Black a lot - and horror is not usually my genre!

I am going to wait until MM41 finishes The Woman in Black before I write anything, but I had to return it to the library and wanted to list it before I forgot!

A Brave Vessel is very enjoyable. I've never thought of the founding of Jamestown and Shakespeare's plays as contemporary before. Looking (way) back, I think I was taught American history without much reference to what was going on elsewhere unless we were engaged in a war with another country!

"I think I was taught American history without much reference to what was going on elsewhere unless we were engaged in a war with another country!"

I'm feeling exactly the same way as I'm reading more nonfiction books lately. I'm enjoying being able to see how American history "fits in" with European and also Asian and African history. I bought A Brave Vessel because it was "about" Shakespeare and ended up being fascinated with the American history aspects just as much.

I'll be starting The Woman in Black either tomorrow or Monday. I don't think it will take too long to read--especially since baseball season will be done for me on Monday. :-) Thanks for waiting--I will let you know when I finish.

58. If It Prove Fair Weather by Isabel Paterson. Published in 1940.

Excellent. My favorite quotes from this novel:

Friendship exists, complete and absolute from the beginning. You don't make friends, you recognize them.

The fact that other people have their separate being and may continue to exist without us, appears as a kind of treason.

There is no story per se, but a stream of conciousness narrative by a woman who is taking an unflinching look at her life and relationships. Ms. Paterson had early feminist leanings and her women characters are very independent and interesting.

This was a library book and I must find my own copy as I want to read it again someday. Alas, they start at $40 or $50!! This is a writer who needs to be reprinted!

If It Prove Fair Weather sounds like a "winner." I hope my library has it!

I'm behind in my reading, but I hope to get to Woman in Black by Friday. Did you start it yet?

Actually I got the Paterson book through Inter-library Loan, MM41. It came from a library in Georgia, I think.

Yes, as to Woman in Black. :)

Are you enjoying that one? I have some reservations because some of the reviews make it seem more "spooky" than my tolerance level. But I'm definitely going to try it.

I am going to write a private message to you on the subject.

>175 marise:, marise, I love that quote about friendship! I have to steal that.

>180 fannyprice: So glad to know it rang true for you also, fp!

I gather you were not at all keen on The Woman in Black! I can totally understand that - even though I loved it myself.

Love the quotes.

I am adding If It Prove Fair Weather to Planet TBR, marise. It sounds too good to pass up!

59. The Bird Artist by Howard Norman.

Engrossing story, interesting characters, the setting is a coastal Newfoundland village in 1911. The prose is spare and lovely.

60. Byron in Love by Edna O'Brien.

Byron lite. I picked this up at the library because I have read and enjoyed O'Brien novels in the past, but this little biography did not satisfy.

61. The Feast by Margaret Kennedy.



A fun book by one of my favorite authors. We know from the beginning that a cliff has fallen on a house in a small cove and that all who were in the house at the time were forever buried beneath the rocks. But we are also told that there were survivors. The story is told from the arrival of each family and we get to know them over the five days before the landslide occurs.

This is not Thorton Wilder's Bridge, just a little wicked fun as you find yourself hoping certain characters are/are not in the house when it goes.

Hi Marise - your touchstone goes to an Anne Rice book. I have never heard of this author so must look her up. Thanks.

She wrote Troy Chimneys, Kiwi.

Thanks, I think I have the touchstones fixed now. Anne Rice! *shudders*

LT seems to think I own that book! Now I just need to find it around here somewhere. . . :) (I love it when that happens!) Thanks for the review, marise! Now I know I want to read it soon.

oh, good! Hope you like it, too!

eta: I am finishing up The Letters of Noel Coward and starting Wolf Hall so it may be a while before I post the next two entries!

62. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel.

Mantel brilliantly brings Thomas Cromwell, et al, to life in this book. Definitely one of my best reads this year.

63. The Reef by Edith Wharton.

A novel about sex, desire, and passion for life in the lives of four people in the early twentieth century, subtly and beautifully written. I love this book.

#191: It has been far too long since I read any of Wharton's books, and I know I have never read The Reef. Thanks for the recommendation!

Deffo putting The Reef on the seek and read scanner.

Me too.

64. Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West.

65. White Mischief by James Fox.

#195: I already have Return of the Soldier, but I am curious as to your thoughts on White Mischief?

I felt as though I were reading an old tabloid, to be truthful, a waste of time.

#197 - OK, I will give it a pass then.

I think the "colonial attitude" just got to me after a while and there was not enough of a mystery to keep my interest.

Return of the Soldier is a gem, though.

#199: I had heard the same about Return of the Soldier, so I purchased a copy. One of these days I may actually read it!

I posted two differents books as number 11, so will correct that by skipping the number 66.

67.The Descendant by Ellen Glasgow.



This is Glasgow's first book, published anonymously in 1897. Her characters and story are unconventional and deeply imagined, but you are aware of her labor in writing it somehow and there are a couple of rather contrived plot twists near the end. I treasure my copy as the first effort of a writer I love, but it doesn't compare to her later books.

68.The Death of Sweet Mister by Daniel Woodrell.

Woodrell is a brilliant writer, but this is a very dark story about people living on the fringes in rural Missouri and I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, as there are some very disturbing aspects to the story. I have also read his book Winter's Bone, loved it, and will continue to seek out his books.

69. Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski.

This was my second book by Laski and I highly recommend her work. I will be looking for others.

#201: Sounds like a couple of misses for me. I look forward to your thoughts on Little Boy Lost (already in the BlackHole) and hope it is better for you than the past couple seem to have been, marise.

>202 alcottacre: Move it up the pile! A very profound story of a man searching for his lost child after WWII.

eta: I wouldn't want to discourage you from reading any book by Glasgow. This is not my best time of year, and perhaps my mood affected my judgement.

#203: OK, moving up Little Boy Lost.

Are there any of Glasgow's later works that you might recommend?

My favorite, so far, is Virginia, but I also liked In This Our Life and The Sheltered Life. Aluvalibri is a fan of The Romantic Comedians and I need to reread that one as I don't really remember it that well.

There is a film version of In This Our Life with Bette Davis and Olivia de Havilland that you may have seen.

#205: Thanks for the recommendations. I will see what my local library has available.

Hellow?

70. The Best of Everything by Rona Jaffe.

While I can't really recommend this book, it is fun in a guilty pleasure sort of way, if you are interested in a glossy fifties soap opera about young women going to work in New York City offices looking for an exciting career, or failing that, a husband. My mother and her sister were the ages of these young women in the early fifties and living the big city life in Houston, but nothing so melodramatic ever happened to them. Bet they read this book, though.

New 2010 thread is here.