New Post / Just Stuff / Lots of Links

Hi all!

I’m busy updating my spreadsheet of books read and important stuff like that (must remember to water plants today) and really want to tell you that I loved The Only True Genius in the Family by Jennie Nash but that I want my review to show I gave it honest effort and worthy thoughtfulnesses.

In the spirit of Nymeth’s best of 2009 so far list, I give you a few of my favorites:

Still Alice by Lisa Genova -  An unforgettable look at Early-Onset Alzheimer’s devastation from the viewpoint of the sufferer.   (I feel like that sentence is paraphrasing Lisa?)   Click here for her review at Books on the Brain.     My fondness for this book continues to grow as time goes by.   A great one for discussion.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.   This is the book that I feel confident suggesting to EVERYONE!    My review here.

Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Cominations Thereof:  Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory by Roy Blount (no comma) Jr.    If you love words – the sound of them, the feel of them in your mouth;  if you wonder where words come from and how they continue to evolve – you will ADORE this gem of a nutty book.    I have a crush on this author, don’t tell his wife.   Nor my husband.    Alas, it would never work.   I’m absolutely positive that he would not approve of my punctuation choices.  oh well!

84, Charing Cross Road / Helene Hanff
Their Eyes Were Watching God / Zora Neale Hurston
Looking for Alaska / John Green

PS – the Books I’ve Read page in the header will list all my reads and links to my reviews.   Ignore the count – I don’t think it’s correct…

Interesting in winning what looks to be a very interesting book?   Visit Ali at Worducopia for your chance to win Boy Toy by Barry Luga.   (I keep telling my IRL friends how easy it is to WIN FREE BOOKS online.)

And now, BUY THIS BOOK!    I received my copy of Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart!     My Friend Amy tells you HERE why you must consider buying this for yourself.

and last but certainly not least, if you love AUSTEN, please click over to Stephanie’s blog The Written Word and read all about how you can revel in your fondness for all things Jane.

What are your answers to that question of  ‘Can you recommend any books to me?”

The Coast of Summer

Reader Thoughts   The Coast of Summer by Anthony Bailey, Sheridan House 1994 (paperback ed. 1999), 357 pages

“Sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod”

From the back of the book:   The seductive storytelling of Anthony Bailey is as gratifying as a full-sail breeze in this enchanting tale of a season afloat along the coast of New England.  Poking into deep harbors and shallow ponds, anchoring off fashionable resorts and in remote coves, Bailey and his wife, Margot, leisurely sail between eastern Long island and the tip of Cape Cod in their small sloop, Lochinvar.

Interspersing his narrative with local history, geography and biography, Bailey evokes curious legends and brings to life those rare intriguing characters who are drawn to coastal life.  And when, on occasion, this drowsy, idyllic cruise becomes a sudden, sober battle with the perils of the sea, Bailey offers modestly but enticingly the fruits of much hard-won and not always heroic yachting experience.

“In prose as gentle as the breezes that push his craft….  Bailey pulls you right to his side on a most amiable walking/boating tour:  an inspired guide in a fascinating locale with a rich past….   Bailey’s writing flashes with drollery and wit;  he’s a  comfortable stylist who works on the reader like a masseur.   From the shoals of Madaket to Sow and Pigs reef, Bailey wraps the reader up in this highly entertaining sea passage.”   – Kirkus Reviews

“…an engaging account….  Readers familiar with the area – its shorelines and waters – will savor every word.”  - Publishers Weekly

A BIG SHOUT OUT to Belle!  aka Ms.Bookish.   Who didn’t quite ask me a question for the latest Weekly Geek event, but mentioned this book in her comment at that post.  Thank you, thank you.

MOTIVATION for reading:    I was given this book by my cousin-in-law who loves to read.   I gave her The Book Thief* for Christmas, she gave me this.       AND…  since I’m powerboating in these same waters, I was very eager to read this account.   I also think this might be my very first travelogue!

I’m rating this FOUR PIEs;   I enjoyed it very much but have one big complaint:   no bibliography!     I wish I had jotted down my own reference points as I read along.   Now I’ll just have to re-read it!    Thankfully, the chapters are titled by location, so that when we do visit Martha’s Vineyard, I can look up descriptions of landmarks, rock hazards in the coves, and favorite beaches.   I look forward to seeing how the almost twenty years must have changed the land.

This book was a delight to have as a companion book to my boating safety instruction book(s).    It brought so much alive in my mind – weather, navigation, anchoring, etc.   Even though sailors and powerboaters are not supposed to like each other – we seem to be by definition at odds and in contention, I have a huge appreciation for the romance (and hard work!) of sailing.

I must address the skill of the author in creating and evoking a proper mood – - of relaxation and/or somber careful attention;  to what it feels like to sail, both in calm waters and in times fraught with danger.   Well done, Mr. Bailey!    Click here for his Wikipedia page and see what else he has written.   By the way, he lives in Britain;  he comes to America to spend his vacations on his sailboat.

British Civil Ensign Flag

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WONDROUS WORDS WEDNESDAY

(Do visit Kathy at BermudaOnion – the originator of this meme)

p. 91   adze - a tool similar to an ax with an arched blade at right angles to thehandle, used for cutting or shaping large pieces of wood.

p. 44   menhaden – a large deep-bodied fish of the herring family that occurs along the east coast of North America. The oil-rich flesh is used to make fish meal and fertilizer.

p. 114  ewer – “… practicing for the challenge or defense of the America’s Cup, the gruesome silver ewer which has come to represent supremacy in yacht racing.” – a large jug with a wide mouth, formerly used for carrying water for someone to wash in.

p. 130   avuncular** – of or relating to an uncle.

p. 131  seagirt – surrounded by sea

p. 180 – manqué - having failed to become what one might have been; unfulfilled.

p. 236 – priapic – “(the Pilgrim monument…)  With a red beacon light glowing on top, it seems less a commemoration of the Pilgrims’ oceanic achievements than a most unpuritan priapic emblem.” – of or relating to male sexuality and sexual activity

Port of East Greenwich RI

* Unfortunately, my gift to her required her to read and give back to me!    I won’t be returning to her The Coast of Summer – I want to keep it and refer to it.    Sorry Linda!

** I am ever-looking up this word!  Every single freakin’ time I encounter it, I jot down the page.  Why oh why can I not remember this definition?

Review A Woman’s Guide to Powerboating

Review   A Ragged Mountain Press Woman’s Guide: POWERBOATING  Everything You Need to Know to Get Started (and Keep Going)
Gear, Clothing, Tips, and Advice
Women’s Voices, A Woman’s Approach
by Sandy Lindsey, Contributing Editor of Boating Magazine 2000, 143 pages.

FIRST SENTENCE:   “The sea is so large yet my boat is so small” is the sobering thought I have nearly every time I pull away from the dock.

MOTIVATION for READING:    I just bought a powerboat.     Husband and I have had the dream for a very long time to own that “something-special” boat and now we do.     It is all very VERY exciting, until that realization hits that this is scary stuff!    AND that the ocean going vessel we have comes with a different language and culture.      How to properly tie it to the dock?   How not to run over a sailboat?  etc…

I decided to check on bookmooch.com to see if I could find any HOW-TO guides and this is one that popped up.   Why, yes!   One geared to the feminine perspective?   Sure, why not?    (I was able to score a few other guidebooks, too – Hub is reading those.)

WHAT’s GOOD:   You get exactly what is promised:   all good advice with a sensitivity to a female perspective.     For example, one section discusses whether or not a pregnant woman can or shouldn’t go out on a boat – it depends, of course, but just that it is mentioned let you know it’s definitely thinking of issues a typical guide might not.

WHAT’s NOT that GOOD:   I was hoping for more specifics on cleaning products –>  what makes the white cushions white again?      Not that girls are the ones in charge of cleaning!   But ANYTHING more than the ‘it’s important to keep your boat clean’ would have been more helpful.

QUESTIONS

Joanne the Book Zombie asks whether the book covers what to do in case of bad weather? And if so, is it geared to one specific area (ocean wise)?

Always check the weather before leaving port!    Know how to light your vessel in the case of restricted visibility.  Put on that PFD – personal flotation device.  Take waves at a 45 degree angle – sure, you might get a bit seasick but it’s safer to roll with the waves than risk taking a wave directly.    If that makes sense.    Yes, the book discusses monitoring weather, specifically air pressure and monitoring weather channels on the radio.    Also, KNOW YOUR BOAT and what it can handle.    A cloud chart depicting formation characteristics explains related weather conditions and how to head the warning signs.  

The question about whether or not the book is geared to a specific area is interesting because, yes, the book seems to be concerned with ocean-going vessels in the chapter about weather.       As opposed to inland waters, I guess.    

However, it has been very beneficial for my boating understanding to have this book as an alternative reference to my class book.    I enjoy knowing that I really am learning this!   Very reassuring.   (PS the TEST  for my certification is in two days…)

 

Jill aka Softdrink at Fizzy Beverage asks what’s the best bit of advice they’ve offered?     Now that I have skipped around this book AND have taken a class that covers the very same issues, I cannot pinpoint the best bit.    What I appreciate most is the casual and helpful, gentle tone of instruction and information.     It’s not a dull instructional book but almost like a friend giving advice; assuming you know nothing and not making you feel stupid about it.   

 

 

 

Back to Treading Water

Thanks to all who commented on my last post!   and maybe – just maybe – I should set up a laundry service…    Nah, probably NOT.

The rain-strangeness that has parked itself over New England is what we are blaming our intermittent internet connection on.    (do you lurve awkward sentences?   I tend to, sometimes)  and the fact that Hub took three days off work just cramped my style.   I am bizzy-bizzy on my reviews that I must post just to clear my head;   it’s not that I really believe anyone is impatient for them.      

So, this is a just a quick blurb that says “I’m back!   or trying to be!”    and I have 3 reviews to spit out hopefully before I finish my current lovely read of Alphabet Juice.     (<— the link is courtesy of a local indie bookstore that I will be visiting on Thursday with my good friend Holly!)

Thanks again for the commiseration and offers to visit!   Even if you just want me to slave away in the laundry room…

 

“Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song? The guy who wrote that song wrote everything.”

-Stephen Wright

 

OH – I changed my gravatar/icon/flavawhateverthingy to the Pie Slice!    Like it?      and, I made a roasted garlic artichoke pie for Father’s Day…    I’ve also created a ‘pie’ category in goodreads to keep track of books that mention pie.    I’m silly, but it amuses me.   

Drowning

I am drowning.   I have TOO MANY favorite blogs that I want to visit and actually read posts-in-entirety AND think of thoughtful comments and I can’t get to you all and I don’t even have a job!   

My wonderful fan who often wonders how I ever have time to write my posts knows that I visit her once a week as a volunteer and yet – really?   I don’t ‘do’ anything!      I do laundry*, interview boat canvas repair people, take a boat navigation course, often decline substitute teaching opps, pay bills, buy groceries, sometimes mow the lawn, never actually clean my house, attempt to sort my husband’s laundry and put it away correctly (DO NOT ASK**),  feed the dog, walk the dog, arrange play dates for my dog, spoil my dog, clean up after my dog and take photos of flowers.  I read books.   I blog.   

I don’t feel like I’ve done much of anything WELL in awhile.

Yesterday, I cleared out my Google Reader READ-AS-MARKED.    

Today, 70+ posts.    Still want to actually visit some of the WeeklyGeekers and ask some good questions.   I want to visit people who have been so very extremely kind to comment here and I want to read my favorite blogs!       ACK!!

I’m rambling, I’m wondering, (I’m drinking beer), it’s 10:36 at night, I’m on the boat, and it’s RAINING.    again.  RAIN.    I’ve got the dog asleep on his bed in the ‘aft cabin’  and the Hub is asleep in the bow.     I’m sitting at whatever they think might be called the dinette – laughable – across from the galley and 

Have I said how much I’m thrilled with the boat?

Oh…   a story – no time for a story!***   I’m frantic!  I’m trying to comment on my blog comments and go visit those blogs and here I’m a just a-rambling away and typing and venting and whine – ing.  

Please, may we have longer days for catching up and longer days to appreciate our blessings and longer moments to smell the fragrant flowers, love our loved ones, and be kind and generous to those nuts who get in our way of the things I just listed?

G’night.    I wish us all our creative outlets and joy and glee.    Tomorrow is a fresh new clean happy sunny bright day.

 

* I love laundry.   It is my favorite chore and I have been known to offer to do my neighbor’s laundry when they complain.   Which they do (complain) to my amazement.

**   Of course, this means DO ASK!   and you don’t have to now:   Hub actually gave me a tour of his closet so I would know that ’short sleeve tees go here’.   I sure hope the look I gave him was the one that would be read “You didn’t really just say that to me, did you?   You can’t be seriously expecting me to take you seriously, right?”

 

***   I did have a story – but I’ve forgotten it already…

Library Loot: June 10-16, 2009

I decided that even though I didn’t visit the PUBLIC library, I did volunteer at the library of my favorite Home for the Aged.   And I brought home a few books…

Last Fall, I was asked to help shelve a few boxes of large print books that had been donated by an area public library and ever since, I go in and re-shelve any books I see lying about that need to be returned to their appropriate alphabetical slot.   Thus, I am the self-appointed adhoc librarian! (Just one more thing I can wow-and-astound anyone who happens to fall prey to that trap-ful social situation:  “So, what do YOU do?”   I am sure I bore all to tears and to their next hastily downed cocktail…)

The last time I was working through my ABCs with a book in my hand while looking up at the bookcases, I decided no one would mind if I take a few home…   Some were duplicates and some I don’t think will be missed.   I was given permission to weed out books I don’t think anyone will like.    Granted, this is absolute power of a curious nature!     I decide that any books that have tiny tiny print must be tossed (they go to a church bazaar); a few of those Reader’s Digest hardbacks that have four works of fiction printed together? – tossed.   And all those duplicate books – no need to more than one!

So, I brought these few home.    Five is the definition of ‘a few’, right?

Chocolat by Joanne Harris - loved the movie
Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg – I’ve been wanting to read this author
Mary Reilly by Valerie Martin – we have 3 of these, three!   should I read?
Eat Cake by Jeanne Ray- tiny print – ha!   beach read, methinks
Henry David Thoreau’s Cape Cod – hey, I live nearby…

A few other titles tempted me but not wanting to look like I looted the place,  I hid them in the cabinet below the shelves.  SHHHHH!   Madeline!   Don’t tell!!! One of these is a 1973 first edition printing of The Taking of Pelham 123 by Morton Freedgood writing as “John Godey”.   Hey – it’s tiny print; no one is going to read it…     I also found a 1960 paperback of The Call of the Wild. Old books are so awesome.

Weekly Geeks 2009-22

This week’s theme for Weekly Geeks is to catch up on reviews.      Actually, I only have one book I could possible work on for this -  I was not originally going to review it:

A Ragged Mountain Press Woman’s Guide to Powerboating

Everything You Need to Know to Get Started (and Keep Going)
Gear, Clothing, Tips, and Advice
Women’s Voices, A Woman’s Approach
Sandy Lindsey,Contributing Editor, Boating Magazine

I really enjoyed this book and am glad to have it as a reference and resource as I continue to learn and enjoy my new powerboat.

I didn’t really sit down and  read this start to finish.   I’ve cherry-picked sections and chapters on this and that, read and re-read  multiple some of the safety aspects and studied the diagrams in the how-to-maneuver sections.    I am taking an eight session powerboating class (all book work) and it’s good to have this guide as an overlap to the textbook – which I could also count as a book read this year.

Any questions?

___________________________________________________________

I didn’t get to read at all yesterday – playing with the boat…    But hope to finish The Coast of Summer maybe today.     This is a travelogue written by a Brit (Anthony Bailey) who grew up in the States and comes back each year to sail his boat in New England waters.

This book has a LOT of words to define for a Wondrous Word Wednesday – I’m learning a lot of sailing terminology and history of the area.

Blog Award and a Time Travel Book

While I sail around the waters of Cape Cod and the Islands in my current read*, feeling a bit transported to another world and another time, I reflect back on a terrific books I read pre-blogging and how much fun it is to find an amazing review that transports you back to when you enjoyed the story the first time…

I must give a shout out to one of my fabulous favorites in the book blogging world:   LitLove and her Tales from the Reading Room.     I’ve been delightfully surprised and honored with a blogging award;   thank you, Carrie at Books and Movies, for thinking of me! I cannot think of anyone better to pass it on to than to LitLove.      

 

The latest “Tale from the Reading Room” is a  review of The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.      Her book reviews always leave me incredibly impressed – I usually do not comment because the only thing I can think of to say is “You Rock!”    I don’t have much to add from a thoughtful educated insightful viewpoint, so I say nothing.    However, Litlove’s posts make me FEEL smarter for having read them!   I just can’t seem to express anything that would prove it.

If you read The Time Traveler’s Wife –>   do read LitLove’s thoughts.   If you are excited to see the movie starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, let’s schedule a time way way out in the future once the flick is rentable, to either have a blog party discussion or a #twitter review!      Does this sound like a fun idea?   

 expected release date is August 2009

 

* I’m reading The Coast of Summer:  Sailing New England Waters from Shelter Island to Cape Cod by Anthony Bailey.   This might be the first travelogue I’ve ever read – unless Eat,Pray,Love was considered such…

Review The Housekeeper and the Professor

Review  The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder, 2003 / Picador 2009 (English version), 180 pages.

First Sentences:    We called him the Professor.  And he called my son Root, because, he said, the flat top of his head reminded him of the square root sign.

MOTIVATION FOR READING:    June’s IRL Bookclub Selection.    And, I vividly recall Ali’s enthusiam (click here for Worducopia’s review) so I was quite excited that this was proposed and voted in for this month’s discussion.

WHAT IT’s ABOUT:     A housekeeper is hired to cook and clean for an elderly man who, as a result of a brain injury from a car accident, can only rely on his short term memory in 80 minute increments.   In other words, he has to ‘meet’ his ‘new’ housekeeper EVERY DAY as if for the first time!

WHAT’s GOOD:   The character development.   The tender endearing respect between all the characters.   The easy explanations of interesting* mathematical concepts.   The layering and weaving together of appreciation for education and children, love of baseball, and how a work situation can foster a unique friendship.

WHAT’s NOT so GOOD:    The underlying and underexplained tensions and misunderstanding of the lady who pays the bills.       Very minor, could have been me missing something key, I’m sure.     I will wait for bookclub to have this explored further.

FINAL THOUGHTS:      I am hesitant to add more about why I love this book because so many of my wonderful readers of this blog already make enough fun of me for liking mathematics.     Again – my advice is to go read Ali’s review!!!       If I tell you that this book has plenty of math in it, I am afraid some of you will decide NOT to read this and that would be a pity. I read this in one day (sorry Gail or THANK YOU GAIL!  I was subbing for YOU when I read this but saved the last ten pages for home, in case I had to cry.)     I did tear up a lot;    I even got teary listening to this country song the other day – so it only goes to show you that I can be extremely sentimental…

Rating:      FOUR PIES!

I prefer pi, too, you know…   ♥

*  Seriously, some math concepts are incredibly interesting!   Give this a chance!   Don’t let my inner math geek scare you off this book.

Also Known As Sticky Books

I thought it might be fun to expound a bit on the list of books that I wrote about in this post:    Books That Stay With You, also known as ’sticky’ books.

You’ve probably all heard of The Hobbit, Les Miserables and A Tale of Two Cities. I rarely meet women who didn’t read Are You There God when they were almost teenagers and most everyone knows about The Chronicles of Narnia.   Maybe you haven’t read Wind, Sand and Stars but you have read The Little Prince?   I REALLY enjoyed Wind, Sand and Stars (if you know anyone who is a pilot or likes to fly, I recommend this.)

I quite recently read The … Oscar Wao book, Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Art of Racing in the Rain so these might fade with time – who knows. Flowers in the Attic scared me like nothing ever has!     The Handmaid’s Tale scared me, too, and was one of those books I could NOT put down.

Mrs. Dalloway fascinated me due to its incredible style.   I physically felt breathless after reading this;  the pace was frantic.    Funny, that I have yet to read any other Woolf, but I will.  Someday.

The Soul of a New Machine was my introduction to Tracy Kidder who has become a favorite author.      In fact, I’ve decided to collect his books – crazy, since I rarely keep books!

When I moved to Missouri, I bought David McCullough’s Truman as an introduction not only to a great president but to the mindset of what it might mean to live in this diverse and beautiful state.    It did not disappoint.   And I fell in love with another author.    And please don’t ask me what else I’ve read of his – I am embarrassed to say they are all on my tbr and as of today, still unread.

Finally, the book you all may not have heard of!

The full title of this gem by Lawrence and Nancy Goldstone is Out of the Flames:  The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World.

from the blurb at goodreads.com where it has an average of 4.55 out of 66 ratings, “Out of the Flames is an extraordinary story providing testament to the power of ideas, the enduring legacy of books, and the triumph of individual courage.”

I found it captivating, enthralling and unforgettable.   Before book blogging and any attempt to track my reading, I did often forget the title AND the authors, but I could never get the STORY out of my head and would tell everyone about it  – WOW!   It’s got church history, medical history, book history, drama drama drama and more drama.    If that appeals to you, I recommend it.        Click here for the Powell’s bit.

Anyone else read this?