The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

Title: The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
Author: Sherman Alexie
ISBN: 9780802141675, Grove Press, 2005
Genre: Short Stories, Native American Fiction
Rating: B

First Line: Although it was winter, the nearest ocean four hundred miles away, and the Tribal Weatherman asleep because of boredom, a hurricane dropped from the sky in 1976 and fell so hard on the Spokane Indian Reservation that it knocked Victor from bed and his latest nightmare.

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven is a collection of short stories written by one of my favorite authors, Sherman Alexie. Alexie's writing can be very powerful and beautiful, and it has the added bonus of taking us out of our comfort zones and letting us see "how the other half lives" in the United States. Alexie is a Spokane Indian, and his writing has been formed in part by growing up on the reservation.

Growing up in central Illinois, I had no clue about reservations, other than knowing that the governmental policy always seemed to be one of placing reservations on worthless pieces of land. It wasn't until I moved to Arizona and could drive to places like Chinle or Page that I realized that there are indeed countries within the United States. The Navajo Nation is a nation. It has its own police force, its own language, and-- unlike the rest of Arizona-- observes Daylight Savings Time. The trials many Navajo face just to have enough water for themselves and their livestock on a daily basis are trials that you and I would never put up with. We deserve better. (Hopefully I didn't lace that last bit with too much sarcasm.)

We need writers like Alexie. Not only does he possess story-telling magic, he reminds us that we need to take off our rose-colored glasses from time to time and take a much closer look at America. There's work to be done. This collection of short stories contains the seeds of future films and books. It spans several years in his development as a writer, since some were written when he was nineteen:

So why am I telling you that these stories are true? First of all, they're not really true. They are the vision of one individual looking at the lives of his family and his entire tribe, so these stories are necessarily biased, incomplete, exaggerated, deluded, and often just plain wrong. But in trying to make them true and real, I am writing what might be called reservation realism.

I would imagine that, if all writers were completely honest with us, they'd have to say that what they write is often biased, incomplete, exaggerated, deluded, and just plain wrong. Sometimes you need to do some (or all) of those things to get your point across. Although these stories aren't as strong as his novels Indian Killer or Flight (both of which blew me away), I'm glad I read these stories. They are good, and they show the evolution of a very gifted writer.

[Source: The Poisoned Pen Bookstore.]

Scene of the Blog Taking a Short Break

Scene of the Blog is taking the week off. I'm lining up January's guests, and it looks as though I'll be looking for more participants by the end of March.

I have pages of prospects, but I'm wondering if an email out of the blue is the best way to go? I'm also pondering the idea of a sign-up sheet here on my blog.

Any suggestions from the studio audience would be appreciated!

Wordless Wednesday

Click on photo to view full size. More Wordless Wednesday.

Killing the Fatted Calf by Susan Kelly

Title: Killing the Fatted Calf
Author: Susan Kelly
ISBN: 0749005785, Allison and Busby, 2002
Genre: Police Procedural, #2 Superintendent Gregory Summers mystery
Rating: A

First Line: A telephone ringing at midnight seldom brought good news, or not to a policeman.

Since the series of brutal wars in the Balkans in the 1990s, the influx of illegal immigrants to the UK has been an escalating problem, and Superintendent Gregory Summers of the Thames Valley police finds himself in the middle of Operation Cuckoo, an effort by police to stem the flood of illegals by finding the people smuggling them into the country.

Illegals aren't the only people Summers finds. He also finds a childhood friend, Elise Weissman, who's now a wealthy widow. Thirty years ago the young Elise gave up a son for adoption, and now Anthony Lucas has tracked down his birth mother. The reunion is tentative at first, and as long-held secrets start coming to light, Elise begins to fear for her family. And does the death of a story-telling old man in a nearby hotel tie into any of these secrets?

I had enjoyed the first book in the series, The Lone Traveller, but discovered that this second book is very difficult to come by over here in the US. I was happy to finally get my hands on a copy. The strength of the book is in its characterizations, led by Summers himself. Monroe, an officer on the fast track to promotion, doesn't quite know what to think of his new boss:

He wasn't sure, either, what to make of Gregory Summers, who was so different from his old guv'nor. In the three weeks he'd been commuting to Newbury he had yet to hear him bawl anyone out, for one thing, or reduce them to a quivering wreck with the sharp edge of his tongue. He was also a lot more hands-on than his former boss who'd seldom set foot outside his office except to go to a Rotary dinner.

The plot is tightly woven and the pacing quick. Summers has his hands so full trying to piece together evidence for the old man's death in the hotel as well as Operation Cuckoo that he doesn't have time to spare for Elise and her problems until it's too late. The characters of Summers, Elise Weissman, and Anthony Lucas are well-drawn and really grabbed my attention.

Kelly succeeded in keeping me occupied with the main plot lines that as a result one of the secondary ones held quite a surprise for me. I should have seen it coming, but I didn't. So much of Killing the Fatted Calf was serious and rather grim, so the brief splashes of humor throughout were welcome and even funnier than they would have been in a book with a much lighter tone.

I don't remember how I managed to stumble across this series, but I'm certainly glad I did. I'm very happy to know that I have other Gregory Summers books waiting for me on my shelves.

[Source: Paperback Swap.]

What Are the Chances You've Been Abducted by Aliens?

There's a 32% Chance You've Been Abducted By Aliens

Even though you have a few alien abduction signs, you're almost certainly in the clear. However, if aliens ever do come to your neck of the woods... they'll probably be coming for you!

What Are the Chances that You've Been Abducted by Aliens?

Blogthings: Our Quizzes Weren't Written By Bored 12 Year Olds

Santa, You Rock!

I hope Christmas Day was as marvelous for each and every one of you as it was for me. It was just Denis and me all day. We woke up when we felt like it, opened our gifts, and spent the day enjoying them and each other's company.

Denis modeled one of his new T-shirts, we listened to a few discs of the remastered Beatles boxed set, and watched Independence Day.

Besides Independence Day, I also received Andrea Bocelli's My Christmas CD. (We listened to that first. Beautiful!) And my blue netbook was thrilled with the Bluetooth cordless mouse it received. I think the mouse was a bit perturbed with me at first because I kept trying to use its butt to point with instead of its head. (I've got myself sorted out now. 'onest!)

I have a husband who pays attention to online wish lists. All I have to do is keep them current. When Denis went Christmas shopping, he also shopped for books. Once again I can murmur "Precioussssssssssss!" and stroke a shiny new stack of books. (I'm beginning to think that my middle initial G stands for Golum.) Of course I'm going to let you know which books he chose for me!

--Cut Throat by Lyndon Stacey. "Beset by nightmares of the riding accident that sent him crashing into a viewing stand full of people, crippling a young girl, 27-year-old American rider Ross Wakelin is devoting most of his time to getting drunk when Lindsey Cresswell, a young British colleague, offers him a chance to return to the riding arena in the U.K. Her uncle, Colonel Preston, has a show-jumping yard in Wiltshire and needs an immediate replacement rider. Ross agrees, but he has scarcely gotten out of the car at Oakley Manor when he is greeted with the news that one of the horses is dying, the apparent victim of poisoning, the second such incident at Oakley Manor."

--Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer. "Living on the streets of London with a gang of street urchins, orphan Mary decides she’ll have an easier time of it if she poses as a boy. Following the murder of her friend Charlie, Mary steals his clothes, collects his “shiv,” calls herself Jacky Faber, and signs on as a lowly ship’s boy on a Royal Navy frigate."

--Castles in the Air by Judy Corbett. "When Judy Corbett caught sight of a great stone mansion in the craggy wilds of north Wales, she had little idea of the adventure on which she was about to embark. She and her husband, Peter, had long dreamed of buying an old ruin and escaping the pace and excesses of modern life. But it was only when they had moved into the vandalized, squalidly filthy, cold and wet Gwydir Castle that they began to realize what restoration dramas lay ahead. Restoring the 16th-century castle, which reduced the couple to near penury, turned their lives into a curious blend of real and imaginary, past and present. But the magic of the place, its history and the landscape, ensured that they stayed to tell this charming, deeply romantic tale of escape and homecoming."

--Company of Liars by Karen Maitland. "Desperate to outrun the Black Death ravaging England during the sodden summer of 1348, nine disparate souls band together in this harrowing historical, which infuses a Canterbury Tales scenario with the spectral chill of an M. Night Shyamalan ghost story. Maitland gives each of the travelers a potentially devastating secret. As the nine strangers slog cross-country through the pestilential landscape, their number shrinking one by one, they come to realize that what they don't know about each other might just kill them."

--The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas. "Newly transferred from his home in the Pyrenees to Paris, the 45-year-old Adamsberg arrives with a reputation for solving big cases, though his diffident manner doesn't impress his colleague and foil, Adrien Danglard. A solitary man drawing blue chalk circles at night around stray objects in Paris streets manages to create a media sensation, but Adamsberg senses evil behind the act. When the corpse of a woman is found encircled in chalk, he's proven right. Adamsberg's indirect approach, his ability to sense cruelty and to let solutions percolate to the surface make him one of the more intriguing police detectives in a long time."

--Monty Halls' Great Escape: Beachcomber Cottage. "Former Royal Marine Monty Halls recreates the simple life of a crofter on the west coast of Scotland, living off the land, raising sheep, pigs and cattle, and growing his own vegetables. It’s a life-changing, survival story set against the most dramatic landscape in Europe."

Fabulous haul, eh? Santa (AKA Denis)-- YOU ROCK!

Mailbox Monday-- Santa Didn't Forget My Mailbox Either!

Mailbox Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Marcia of The Printed Page. If you're insatiably curious about the books others are receiving, this is the meme for you. Just click on that redhead to the left to be taken right to the heart of the action on Marcia's blog. Thank you, Marcia!

I made out like a bandit with the books I received for Christmas, and from the look of the stack of what I pulled out of my mailbox, Santa spread some joy there as well.

As befits a holiday week, I sent out a mere 3 books to new Paperback Swap (PBS) foster homes, but I received a whopping 9 from two different sources. Here's the rundown:

--Homemade Sin by Kathy Hogan Trocheck (PBS). "The third appearance of Callahan Garrity, the quondam PI and owner of the House Mouse cleaning service, is a page-turner. When her cousin Patti McNair is shot to death in her new Lexus near the Garden Homes project in Atlanta, Callahan refuses to believe it was a senseless murder resulting from a random robbery. Learning that things may have been amiss in Patti's marriage to successful, secretive attorney Bruce, Callahan employs her clue-ferreting skills to stay ahead of the official investigation."

--Invitation to a Funeral by Molly Brown (PBS). "The deaths of two impoverished brothers (one found murdered in her own back yard) draw 17th-century playwright Aphra Behn into royal court intrigues in this debut. Aphra has troubles of her own, including a soured love affair with a drunken attorney, a doltish lead actress foisted upon her by the dissolute Lord Rochester and enough debts to get her arrested. But one of the dead men is Matthew Cavell, who once helped her in a great hour of need, so she feels bound to organize a proper funeral for him. Meanwhile, the paramours of King Charles II vie for power in the palace. One of them, Nell Gwyn, brings her friend Aphra into the royal orbit. Brown generously mixes factual and fictional Restoration history and campy drama?including such devices as secret passageways, knockout drops in the claret and manipulative mistresses to great effect."

--Cut Short by Leigh Russell (PBS). "D.S. Geraldine Steel expects the quiet town of Woolsmarsh to be dull. She quickly discovers she is wrong. The park is a place where children play, friends sit and gossip, people walk their dogs, or take a short cut to avoid the streets. But in the shadows a predator prowls, hunting for victims. A woman sees the killer and comes forward as a witness-someone whom the killer must stop at all costs. For D.S. Geraldine Steel, it is a race against time to find the killer before he strikes again, as public pressure mounts with the growing death toll."

--High Citadel by Desmond Bagley (PBS). "A group of adventurers set sail to track down the treasure and smuggle it out, encountering many enemies along the route, including murderous ex-partisans, ruthless beauties and menacing smugglers, all of whom will stop at nothing for a chance to hijack the fortune."

--Haunting Jordan by P.J. Alderman (PBS). "Jordan Marsh left L.A. for the quaint Pacific Northwest town of Port Chatham in pursuit of some much-needed R & R. As the prime suspect in her cheating husband’s murder, she had been hoping to immerse herself in the restoration of the charming Victorian she’d just bought—and put all talk of homicide investigations behind her. But as she soon discovers, the coldest of cases cry out to be solved, too. For this old house comes fully furnished—with two garrulous ghosts who have a century-old murder of their own they’d like her to look into. Now, if Jordan can keep the L.A. police at bay, and sort through a suspect list of shady characters circa 1890, she might just clear a wrongly accused man’s name—and her own."

--War Horse by Michael Morpurgo (PBS). "In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red colt with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?" (I'll keep Kleenex on stand-by in case this turns out to be Old Yeller in disguise.)

--Paper Butterfly by Diane Wei Liang (PBS). "Mei Wang, a private detective in late 1990s Beijing who works under the radar after being forced out of a government job, is hired to search for a missing singer. Mei’s search is interspersed with the story of Liu, a recently released prisoner making his way back to Beijing. China’s Communist past is always near the surface here, and Liang shows how it affects contemporary events. This time the focus is on the student revolt that led to Tiananmen Square. As Mei learns of the effects that tragedy had on the missing singer, she contemplates her own actions in 1989. The skillful storytelling—Liang effectively juggles the dual narratives—and the strong sense of place combine to create a tense and compelling private-eye mystery. Mei’s gentle but fiercely independent nature may remind readers of Jacqueline Winspear’s Maisie Dobbs."

--The Disappeared by M.R. Hall (Amazon Vine). "Jenny investigates the disappearance of two young Muslim students, who vanished without a trace seven years ago. The police had concluded that the boys, under surveillance for some time for suspicion of terrorism, had fled to Pakistan to traffic in the atrocities of Islamic fanaticism. Now, sufficient time has passed for the law to declare the boys legally dead. A final declaration is left up to a coroner, Jenny Cooper. As Jenny's official inquest progresses, the stench of corruption is unmistakable. Not only does it appear that British Security Services played a role, but the involvement of an American intelligence agent soon makes it clear that a vast conspiracy is in play."

--When Wanderers Cease to Roam by Vivian Swift (PBS). "Filled with watercolors of beautiful local landscapes, seasonal activities, and small, overlooked pleasures of easy living, each chapter chronicles, month by month, the beautifully mundane perks of remaining at home—from curious notices in the local paper to the variations of autumnal clouds. At once gorgeously rendered and wholly original, this delightful and masterfully observed year of staying put shows us how the details of travel and the details of our lives remain with us—how they can nurture and sustain us, and how the past and the present become, in the end, intertwined."

Stop by again soon-- I'll be talking a bit about the books Santa put under the tree!

Further Down the Slippery Slope

What happened?

It used to be that my eyes would fly by any and all references to reading challenges. Nope. Not interested. Comin' through. I have posts to read. Outta my way.

Well...now you'd better get outta my way because I'm gaining speed on the slippery slope of reading challenges, and I think my brakes have failed. If "Flat" isn't a becoming style for you, please... step aside.

The latest challenge that has lit up my life is Book Chick City's Typically British Reading Challenge. Since I was an Anglophile whilst still in diapers, how can I resist? I read many British authors as it is, so I should be able to reach the highest plateau of the challenge (Cream Crackered) with both hands tied behind me back and an eyepatch o'er one eye.

If reading British authors makes your heart go pitty-pat, or if you've always wanted to give them a try, this is the challenge for you!

From No Challenges to FOUR Challen...WOWZA! Black Ice! Comin' through!

I'm Going Global!

Well...in my reading anyway! I've always enjoyed reading about other countries and other cultures, so when one of my crime fiction buddies, Dorte, created the Global Reading Challenge, it didn't take me long to sign up.

From Easy and Medium to Expert, you're signing up to read books from each one of the continents on the globe. If you're like me and enjoy reading about other countries, or if you've been thinking of broadening your reading horizons, this challenge is for you!

Click on the globe to get all the details!

Weekly Link Round-Up

I think the only thing that saved me this week is the fact that there were fewer posts due to the holiday. I did read all the posts in my Reader, and it was a bit of a miracle because I did spend all of Christmas Day enjoying myself with my Very Favorite Guy. Some of the links I've found to share are holiday-related, but I thought I'd give you a head start on next year! Okay... time to pull the rabbits out of my hat....

Get a Head Start on the 2010 Holiday Season

• 99 Christmas Wallpapers (also includes 2010 New Year wallpapers)
• The Ultimate Christmas Round-Up
• Free Christmas Graphics
  

Bookish News

• A long but worthwhile article in the Christian Science Monitor about the future of e-books and reading.
• Hackers are working to "unswindle the Kindle".
• A few of us had a mini Tweet-Up about hilarious reviews on Amazon. If you'd care to read what had us chortling and guffawing, take a look at the reviews for The Secret and Birth Control is Sinful in the Christian Marriages....
• The LA Times often found now-defunct Kirkus Reviews to be annoying, but they don't have much faith in its successors.
• It's not really a surprise: shoplifting is on the rise. Want to know the titles of the books that are most often stolen?

Photography

• I don't know why (ahem), but the Women of Mystery's Forest of Merry Christmas Trees caught my eye.
• I can't believe how beautiful this place is: The Most Popular Tourist Attraction in Croatia.
• a Flickr gallery of Spectacular Landscapes.

Around the Water Cooler in the Book Blogosphere

• Liz B. at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy has a very informative post about Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs).
• I don't think I'm going to Iceland any time soon to sample their traditional holiday delicacies!
• After movie watching, Abby (the) Librarian wants to know which sections we'd hit first if we were trapped and freezing inside the New York Public Library and needed fuel.
• Life as a guest on Scene of the Blog can be more exciting than you'd think. Find out what happened to Jena of Muse Book Reviews! (Here's the post that featured Jena.)
• Join Wendy of Caribousmom in Reading for a Cure for Childhood Cancer.
• Once you stick that first toe into reading challenges, it's like falling down the slippery slope, isn't it? I've found two more that I'll be joining soon: Book Chick City's Typically British Reading Challenge, and DJ's Global Reading Challenge.

New to My Google Reader

• Absorbed in Words
• Raymond Chandler Drank Here

That's it for this week. It's hard to believe that next Sunday's Link Round-Up will be the very first of a brand-new year! See you then!

Pirates by John Matthews

Title: Pirates
Author: John Matthews
ISBN: 9781416927341, Atheneum, 2006
Genre: History
Rating: A

First Line: They have many names: pirates, buccaneers, corsairs, Brethren of the Coast.

This book is gorgeous, with its cover showing a glittering ruby eye and a gleaming gold tooth; it's informative; and it's fun. Printed on thick stock, Pirates is loaded with illustrations, history and facts about... pirates.

The movie Pirates of the Caribbean provided some inspiration for this book, and there are a few stills from the film scattered throughout. I didn't mind a bit because not only am I a pirate at heart, Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the movies I watch whenever I want to laugh and have fun.


As you can see in the illustration above, it's a large book. This particular photo shows that there is quite a bit of detail given on the various parts of seventeenth- or eighteenth-century ships commonly used by pirates as well as many of the flags they flew under. Since the pages are printed on such heavy stock, Matthews has had attached throughout small pamphlets on pirate slang and weapons as well as envelopes containing facsimiles of such items as the Articles (laws), Licenses, and treasure maps.

Adults and children alike can enjoy Pirates. The book is so beautifully illustrated, so accessible, and so much fun that you might just read it and think you didn't learn a thing.

Arrrrrgh!

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Your Christmas is Most Like: The Muppet Christmas Carol

You tend to reflect on Christmas past, present, and future... And you also do a little singing.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

The Day Santa Claus Died

There had been a sudden dip in temperature that day. The air was crisp. Christmas was in the air.

The men were gathering for work, and as they gathered, they talked. Most of them still had last minute things to do for their families' Christmases. They hoped that their children hadn't found the toys that they had been making for them. Mr. Haslam was holding little gifts for most of the men's wives. They sure hoped that their wives would like them. They would have to go down to Mr. Haslam's store right after work and pick them up. Did anyone know how to wrap a pretty package?

Steve Novota and Anthony Pekovitch hadn't reported for the shift yet. They must be sick for it wasn't like them to miss a day's work. Mike Potsick was teasing his sons and wondering if the new baby would be yet another son. Andy Corby and his sons were talking to Mike Tirpak and his sons. The Sarver brothers were playfully scuffling around. They were just seventeen and eighteen, but darned good workers.

Men continued to drift in to the group: Supini, Negra, Geletka, Luconic, Catherwood. Andy Campbell met a barrage of teasing and jokes when he came up. He was an old married man of two weeks that day.

Just about the last man to come was Tom Jackson. He was to play Santa Claus for the village children that evening at the City Hall. He had been doing it for years and loved it.

In all, there were 52 men who went to work that day. The men got in the cars and went down to their work. They didn't notice anything until after "Santa" Jackson threw the switch that turned on the lights in the tunnel.

That drop in temperature had been accompanied by an unusual drop in barometric pressure. This had caused the escape of deadly methane gas.

The light switch sparked. There was a flash, followed by two explosions. 52 men died in the Moweaqua Coal Mine that day. Fathers, sons, brothers and husbands died that day. Santa died that day. Moweaqua almost died that day: December 24, 1932.

It is now 1972, and it is nearing Christmas time again. Moweaqua is now a quiet little farming community. The village is getting ready for the holidays. Steve Novota is helping his son decorate the television store. He will take his sister, May Supini, and Mrs. Luconic to midnight mass. There aren't many of them left now. They have either passed away or moved to the big city (Chicago).

The old ones that are left will do their shopping in Moweaqua's thriving business district. There is a variety of business and professional places: supermarkets, restaurants, barber and beauty shops, dry goods and variety stores, a cabinet and woodworking shop, printing shop, ceramic shop, a Ford agency, auto body and repair shops, appliance shops, plumbing and heating shops, a jewelry store, gas stations, a bowling alley, a medical doctor and a dentist, cement plant, fertilizer plant, antique shops, laundromat and dry cleaning shops, lawyers, feed stores, and grain elevators.

There is no coal mine.


© Glenore Brookshier Cole

[This story was written by my mother about the little farm town we both grew up in-- Moweaqua, Illinois. Mom went to school with many of the children who lost fathers and brothers in the mine disaster.

The three photos I used here were taken from an excellent resource, Mining More in Moweaqua. If you'd like to read more about it, that's the best place to go.]

Scene of the Blog Featuring Jackie of Literary Escapism!

Most book bloggers who enjoy fantasy and paranormal books are going to be familiar with Jackie of Literary Escapism. I love her clean blog design in which two things really stand out: (1) the cover art of the books she reviews, and (2) that Eyeball. Whenever I visit her blog I could swear that Eyeball is staring at me accusingly in an attempt to get me to clean my desk.

It only takes a second for me to put up a force field between me and that Eyeball so I can start reading Jackie's posts. Literary Escapism isn't just another pretty face-- there's plenty of content. If you haven't checked out her blog, please head on over to Literary Escapism to say Hi. It's her second Blogiversary, and she's got contests for all sorts of good stuff!

I have to admit that when Jackie sent me photos of her blogging space, all I could say was, "Awwwwwwwwww!" You'll see why in just.... a.... second..............



See? What'd I tell ya! If you want to take a better look at all that adorable cuteness, just click on the photo.

Now it's time to let Jackie tell us about her creative space:

This is my son, Ian. He's my only one and I've been a SAHM ever since he was born. He loves playing in the same room I am, so whenever I'm at my desk (and he's awake), I have to make sure that the end of my desk is cleaned off. That's his corner. While I'm typing away at my laptop, he'll get out his crayons, a coloring book or whatever else he has with him at the time (although the crayons and coloring book are now a part of my desk accessories). I'm dreading the day when he'll be too big to sit on my desk and I have to tell him he has to stay down. By that time, I'll probably end up with another desk in my office just for him to use or a chair for him to use.

This is pretty much where I do all of my work, which generally occurs when Ian is napping. There are times I'll be on my computer while Ian is up, so then I'm usually where he is - either outside in the grass or sitting on the couch while he plays on the floor.

My desk is pretty simple - it's two sections of a Sauder cubicle set that my husband and I bought when we moved to a new apartment and wanted a better layout for the office. My desk technically has another end piece and the hubby and I would be at each corner with the longer table between us. It worked out great and gave us so much more room than having two separate desks. At the time, we were going to get other pieces of the cubicle set to fill it out, but then we started moving around a lot and the tables worked.

Now that we're homeowners, I'm thinking that maybe it's time for a better desk, one that actually looks like a desk. But honestly, I need more wall space for another bookshelf, so I would be happy with downsizing my desk for more bookcases.

I don't know about the rest of you, but I love Jackie's set-up... probably because, in many ways, it reminds me of my own. I have two rooms of my house with the same color on the walls (as well as the white trim), too. She's got a window for light and a view, she's got photos of the important people in her life right at eye level to provide inspiration, and she's got lots of books close at hand. The only sad thing about it is--- since there is a time delay between when Jackie sent me her photos and this feature being written, Ian is now too big to sit on Jackie's desk. (They grow entirely too fast, darn it!) Knowing that, I'm wondering if he has his own desk now?

Jackie, thank you so much for letting us take a look at your creative space and your gorgeous son!

Whose blogging space will be featured next Wednesday? You'll just have to stop by and find out. See you then!



Did you honestly think I'd be able to resist sneaking another peek at Ian? Of course not!

Wordless Wednesday

Click photo to view full size. More Wordless Wednesday.

Merry Ever After

Title: Merry Ever After
Author & Illustrator: Joe Lasker
ISBN: 0670472573, The Viking Press, 1976
Genre: KidLit, Social History
Rating: A

First Line: Anne was only ten years old when her father told her she would marry Gilbert, who was eleven.

This beautifully illustrated children's book is written by Joe Lasker, who also happens to be the illustrator. It is the story of two young European couples: Anne and Gilbert and Margaret and Simon, and how it came about that they married way back in the fifteenth century.

Anne was ten when her wealthy merchant father began looking for a suitable husband for her. With his wealth, he wanted to aim high. Eleven-year-old Gilbert's father was a nobleman who'd spent much of his fortune on equipping himself and his soldiers for war. The two fathers met and eventually came to terms over the dowry. Anne and Gilbert would be married when Anne turned fifteen.

Fourteen-year-old Margaret was a blacksmith's daughter. Simon, a year older, was already a plowman working with his father out in the fields. They all lived in the same small village, and although they had much less dowry to work with, both fathers made sure they were satisfied on all counts before their children were betrothed. Lasker then describes both marriages and their subsequent celebrations.

In his introduction, Lasker stated that, although there are differences between Medieval marriages and the ones of today, there are also many similarities because many wedding traditions date from that time. He uses simple, straightforward language to tell the story of the two young couples.

What makes this book so special, however, are the marvelous illustrations. They are vivid and detailed. The longer I looked at each one, the more I found to savor. (Usually there was more than one bit of sly artistic humor to chuckle over as well!) This is a book in which all ages can easily find something to enjoy.

[Source: My personal library.]

What Color Is Your Name?

Your Name is Gray

Your name tells people that you are calm and level headed. Your name makes you seem honest and fair. You are able to look at things clearly and without emotion. You tend to remain neutral in most disputes. People see you as reliable and trustworthy. You treat everyone equally, and you don't tend to have any prejudices. You are naturally calculating and even a bit cunning. You don't like to show your cards too early in the game.

What Color Is Your Name?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Mailbox Monday-- Christmas, Christmas Time Is Here!

A big Thank You to Marcia of The Printed Page for hosting my favorite meme. I love seeing what books arrived in other book bloggers' mailboxes! If you'd like to check out other mailboxes, click on that redhead to the left. She'll take you right to Marcia's blog!

I've now reached the time of year when I'm more concerned with that last gift for Denis that hasn't arrived; for once I'm not wanting to pull out an armload of books. (Bet you thought you'd never hear me say that!)

I sent 4 books to new Paperback Swap (PBS) foster homes, and I received 3. Here's the scoop on what arrived in my mailbox:

--The House on Tradd Street by Karen White (Alibris). "Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she’s going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog—and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets."

--Paddle to the Amazon by Don Starkell (PBS). "In 1980, the author and his two teenage sons embarked on a canoe trip from Winnipeg to Belem, Brazil, where the Amazon meets the Atlantic. One son, discouraged, returned to Canada from Mexico, but Starkell and his other son went on, completing the trip in two years. Traveling 12,000 miles on rivers and open seas in their 21-foot canoe, they encountered every conceivable obstacle--wild animals, hostile natives, near-starvation, terrifying ocean weather, arrest, robbery, illness and despair. They also met many sympathetic people who encouraged them and helped them survive."

--The Lady Was a Gambler by Chris Enss (PBS). "From the muddy cowtowns of Montana to the posh parlors of Deadwood and Tombstone, past a succession of swinging batwing doors to the smoke-filled rooms in the back, some of the most colorful ladies in the Wild West also happened to be some of the shrewdest gamblers.With her inimitable instinct for a good story, Chris Enss points her pen toward fifteen of the most fascinating characters to ever flip a hole card or lace a corset. 'Poker' Alice Ivers, for instance, checked and raised her way through some of the roughest mining towns in the West, while Lottie Deno, the prettiest faro dealer to ever turn a card, 'bucked the tiger' all the way from Texas to Alaska. And who could ever bet against Eleanora Dumont, a twenty-one dealer known far and wide as 'Madam Moustache'?"

Looks to me like I have some good reading ahead of me!

Here's hoping that Santa brings each and every one of you all the bookish things that were on your lists! See you next Monday for a new edition of Mailbox Monday.

Weekly Link Round-Up

I had this post half done when Firefox crashed. For some reason the Auto Save didn't save, and I'm starting from scratch. If it happens again, I doubt very much that there will be a Links Round-Up this week. I'm not known for my patience! Let's see how fast I can type....

Bookish News

• NPR talks about the Problem With Best-Of Lists. (You won't be seeing any here until after the first of the year. I'm still reading!)
• Stretch your brain cells a bit with this Snow In Books quiz.
• Who knew? There's going to be an online Bookmark Collectors Convention next year.
• The Guardian talks about the Best Words of the Decade. My personal favorite is "witches' knickers".
• Cultural name dropping in Stephen King's Under the Dome.
• Stephen King is paying for several troops' holiday trips home.
  

Social Media

• 50 Facebook Apps for Serious Bookworms.
  

Around the Water Cooler in the Book Blogosphere

• Jen of Devourer of Books wants to know if she's really the Grinch in disguise.
• Does your blog need a bit of tidying up? Natasha of Maw Books has scheduled the next Bloggiesta. ¡Ole!
• This sounds like something that would happen to me. Betty Webb, one of my favorite mystery writers, lives in the Valley and had to drive to California for book tour commitments. Read what happened to her.
• It's Christmas. Let's take a look at some gingerbread houses.

New to My Google Reader

• Reviews by Lola
• Boarding In My Forties

That's it for this week. Wherever you are, I sincerely hope you're having a perfect holiday season. I'm going to go pour some egg nog and read a few pages before it's time to rest up for another interesting day in retail. See you next Sunday!

Weekend Cooking-- Christmas in the Kitchen

Weekend Cooking is a fun food-related meme hosted by Candace of Beth Fish Reads. Click on the logo above to be taken to her blog so you can sample the goodies that are being shared by everyone.

One thing that Weekend Cooking has made me realize is just how many memories I have that feature food. Of course Christmas time is not exempt! At one time I decorated every room in the house for Christmas with the exception of the closets. The "public" rooms, the bedrooms, the bathrooms-- all gussied up for the holidays. I normally decorate thirteen trees of various sizes. (Thirteen is my lucky number.) You can see my Christmas forest in the living room at the top of this page.

One of the things I thought I'd do this weekend is show you how I've decorated my kitchen. (You can click on any of the photos to view them full size.) In this picture you can see that I'm a bit fond of snowmen and teapots, and that I have Christmas mugs and cups, and a special set of Christmas dinnerware. I'm a bit of an anomaly in my family. I come from a long line of farm people, and food always took precedence on any holiday table. But once I began doing my own decorating, it didn't take me long to discover that, not only did I want plenty of food, I wanted everything to look festive, too.

When I began to go hog wild with Christmas trees, I wanted to have a tree in the kitchen, but it wasn't until manufacturers came out with "skinny" trees that I could actually have one.

The tree you see to the right is filled with kitchen ornaments: miniature utensils, teapots, copper pots and pans, and more, and it's topped by chopsticks. Instead of the normal garland, I made sprays using colorful ric-rac that I found in boxes of my grandmother's sewing notions.


As I was growing up, food was always an important part of Christmas, and cookies were always a highlight. (How do you like my favorite cookie jar over there to the left?) As a rule, we didn't go in for fancy cookies. We're not fancy people. There weren't any tiny little perfect circles with drops of jam in the center, or anything remotely like that. All the cookies my grandmother and mother baked were "man-sized" cookies-- and they were all delicious.

The Christmas I was five is very vivid in my mind. We were at my grandparents' house. Supper was over, the dishes washed and put away. Grampa was in the living room watching the news. It was time to bake cookies, and for the first time I was going to help!

I measured out cups of chocolate chips, got butter and eggs from the refrigerator, sifted flour (without getting too much on myself), and got to spoon out the batter onto the cookie sheets. It wasn't long before the kitchen smelled like chocolate chip cookies, and even though Grampa bribed me to bring him a never-ending supply, my grandmother and mother soon set him straight.

The evening became magical when we started to make sugar cookies. As I've said before, my family came from farms outside of town. The women didn't make fancy cookies, and they certainly didn't go out of their way to decorate any of them. As good as those cookies were, they didn't have a long shelf life. But for some reason, this night was different.

Mom had made a special trip to the grocery store for decorating supplies. When those sugar cookies had come out of the oven and cooled enough to work with, my grandmother and mother began to decorate them. "Joe the Bartender" had a handlebar mustache and black hair parted in the middle and slicked back. Each cookie representing a barbershop quartet was an individual little person. One cookie that was smaller than all the rest was Shirley Temple with curls and a hairbow. The more those two decorated cookies, the more their imaginations ran wild, and to this day, I can still feel my eyes growing as big around as silver dollars as I got to look at each new masterpiece.

The true masterpieces in the kitchen that night were the cooks. They made an evening's baking a very magical experience for a little girl. When I decorate my kitchen for Christmas, it's to honor them.

The Body in the Transept by Jeanne M. Dams

Title: The Body in the Transept
Author: Jeanne M. Dams
ISBN: 0061011339, Harper Mystery, 1996
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #1 Dorothy Martin mystery
Rating: C+

First Line: I was struggling against more than wind and rain that night as I battled through the Cathedral Close, but I blamed my mood on the weather.

American Dorothy Martin and her academic husband, Frank, had planned to retire to the cathedral/ university town of Sherebury, England. Unfortunately Frank died, and Dorothy made the move on her own. Still a new widow and a bit wobbly about being on her own, Dorothy is making steady progress at making friends and becoming a member of the community. Shortly after the Christmas Eve service in the cathedral, Dorothy literally stumbles over the body of Canon Billings, an argumentative man who had many more enemies than friends. Her discovery of the body makes Dorothy feel a sense of responsibility in helping discover the identity of Billings's killer. Little does she know that she's putting herself in harm's way.

Dorothy is a round little woman in her sixties who has a penchant for colorful, over-the-top hats:

I made for it like a homing pigeon, and five minutes out of Victoria I was asleep. I would have slept right past my station if the guard hadn't remembered my hat from the morning and wakened me. There are some advantages to being conspicuous.

I enjoyed the depiction of her life in a new town and a new country, as any Anglophile would who's harbored daydreams of moving to England. The Body in the Transept is a pleasant cozy mystery, but it's really not very memorable for me. Nothing like damning a book with faint praise, is there? As in everything else, reading mileage varies greatly from book to book and from reader to reader. If you do enjoy cozies about an older American lady living in England, by all means give this book a try. Even though it wasn't my cup of tea, it may very well be yours.

[Source: Paperback Swap.]

The Devil in the Bush by Matthew Head

Title: The Devil in the Bush
Author: Matthew Head
ISBN: 1933397217, Felony & Mayhem, 2005
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #1 Dr. Mary Finney mystery
Rating: D

First Line: That was a wonderful job I had in 1943.

World War II is raging and young government flunkey, Hooper Taliaferro, finds himself on a mission out in the boonies of the Belgian Congo. He is supposed to be dealing with the owner of the Congo-Ruizi plantation, but when he gets there he discovers that the owner is dead. At first thought to be death by disease, the true cause of death is poison. Who would want to poison André de l'Andréneau? At first Hooper doesn't seem overly concerned about it; this young man tends to be interested in other things:

The first thing I always wonder about new people is what they manage to do for a living and how they arrange their sex life, because it seems to me that those two activities plus sleep and a movie or two account for most people's twenty-four hours a day.

It doesn't take long for Hooper to run into Dr. Mary Finney, a Yankee version of Miss Marple. She likes the amiable young man, but has no illusions of his powers of deduction: "You're a nice kid, Hoopie," Mary Finney told me, "but you're blind as a bat. I'll tell you when it's time." Finney has strong opinions about everyone and everything. She's convinced she knows what really happened, and she sets about to prove it.

The Devil in the Bush was originally published in 1945, and as a depiction of life in the Belgian Congo at that time, I did enjoy it. However, the plot was too derivative of Conan Doyle and Christie, and the two main characters were two-dimensional. Perhaps I've been reading too many mysteries lately that are very complex, but The Devil in the Bush was a Wham! Bam! Thank you, ma'am! piece of crime fiction that really didn't satisfy.

[Source: Amazon.]

Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis

Title: Miracle and Other Christmas Stories
Author: Connie Willis
ISBN: 0553580485, Bantam Books, 2000
Genre: Short Stories
Rating: A+

First Line: I love Christmas.

Connie Willis, one of my favorite authors, loves Christmas and doesn't much care for Hans Christian Andersen:

Nobody, before Andersen came along, had thought of writing such depressing Christmas stories. Even Dickens, who had killed a fair number of children in his books, didn't kill Tiny Tim. But Andersen, apparently hell-bent on ruining everyone's holidays, froze innocent children, melted loyal toys into lumps of lead, and chopped harmless fir trees who were just standing there in the forest, minding their own business, into kindling.

Willis goes on to say in her Introduction to Miracle and Other Christmas Stories that she prefers Miracle on 34th Street to It's a Wonderful Life when watching holiday films (so do I), and she joyfully rolls with abandon through lists of her favorite Christmas stories. What she sets out to do in this book is provide all sorts of well-written, fun holiday short stories, and she succeeds brilliantly.

For those of you who are more familiar with Willis's science fiction novels, be warned that these stories aren't exclusively in that genre. There's something for everyone. For example, "Inn" is a church choir story with a time-travel twist; "Miracle" is a delightful duel between Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life; and "Cat's Paw" is a British country house Christmas mystery.

My two favorites are "Adaptation" about a divorced bookstore employee trying to spend Christmas Eve with his daughter, and "In Coppelius's Toyshop" in which a world-class jerk gets his just desserts. And if that isn't enough, Willis includes lists of her twelve favorite Christmas stories and movies at the very end.

Normally I don't seek out holiday-themed reads. If they fall into my hands, all's well and good. I'm very glad this particular Christmas book fell into my hands this year. I love Christmas but have found myself lacking the true spirit. (I don't want to sound like Hans Christian Andersen, so I won't go into the reasons why I feel this way.) Miracle and Other Christmas Stories went a very long way in bringing some much-needed cheer into my rather bleak frame of mind. Connie Willis continues to be one of my Go-To Authors.


[Source: Paperback Swap. Fulfills my requirements in the 2009 Holiday Reading Challenge hosted by Nely at All About {n}.]

Scene of the Blog Featuring Jena of Muse Book Reviews!

This week we're going to satisfy our Inner Peeping Toms in British Columbia with Jena of Muse Book Reviews. Jena's blog is another that I've been subscribed to since forever. She's still recuperating from moving to her new house, and I have to admit that I hope she recuperates soon. She hasn't been able to post all that often, and I very much miss her insightful, thoughtful reviews!

Jena may not be able to respond to comments as often as she'd like because she's up to her eyeballs in coordinating celebrations: holiday, birthday, anniversary... you name it, Jena's going to celebrate it, so let's make sure to leave plenty of good wishes and congratulations in our comments, okay?

If you haven't met Jena before or visited her blog, Muse Book Reviews, please stop by soon. You'll be glad you did!

Okay, Jena-- you have all these people (including me) trying to peek in your windows. Please show us where you blog! (Don't forget that you can view the photos full size by clicking on them.)

My husband and I bought our first house and moved from our dinky little apartment to our spacious (by comparison) house in July. Typically, I sit on the end of the couch nearest the light (because for my husband, it's usually the less light the better) and the little table there is piled with library books, or piles of Post-Its and tablets of paper and Moleskines and pens. The couch is the piece of furniture we treated ourselves to when we moved. Yes, the plant in the corner is dead. We left it outside and it got too cold.

My computer's parking space is on top of the box cat condo. It's so convenient--and Wavey (named after the character in The Shipping News) can still play in the boxes. The artwork on the walls, in case you're wondering, is by local artist Skye Morrison (who's gaining fans all over North America). And the books on top of the bookcase are my Bookcrossing books. I intend to release them all in the next month or so.

Next year, I'll be moving my scene of the blog--occasionally, anyway--to our library, which we've only recently begun unpacking. You can see the bookcase in the corner doesn't even have books in it yet. It's waiting for my next trip to Ohio, where I'll grab another few boxes of books. And because I feel it needs some explanation, the duct tape thing is the wrapping in which we sent our new (to us) fiberglass bumper for our VW van from Bloomington, Illinois to Boise, Idaho, via train while we were on our honeymoon. Now it's just a carpet remnant that will become the component of a cat tree.

[Wow! Bloomington is just up the road from where I grew up. Small world, eh?]





















And where would a Muse be without an assistant? This is Wavey. Not only does Wavey do a good job of ensuring Jena's laptop stays put, but it looks as though this feline is an expert surfer during the wee hours!

Anyone who's ever had the dubious pleasure of moving will recognize Jena's boxes, and I certainly wish her the best of luck in setting up her library. I know how much fun I had working on mine!

Thanks so much for letting us look at your creative spaces, Jena. (And for being able to "meet" Wavey.) We really appreciate it. Have a blast with all your celebrations!

Whom will we be visiting next Wednesday? All I'm willing to say is that you're going to be saying, "Awwwwwwwww!" Stop by next week to take a peek at another book blogger's creative space!

Wordless Wednesday

Click photo to view full size. More Wordless Wednesday.

What Does Your Least Favorite School Subject Say About You?

Disliking Math Says You Are Expressive

You are an expressive, passionate, and spontaneous person. For you, math is way too cold a subject. You dislike how black and white it is. While some people have extreme passion for math, that would take far more work than you're willing to put in. What you're into changes like the wind, and you could never be forced to choose one thing. You have to be free to follow what you love.

What Does Your Least Favorite School Subject Say About You?

Blogthings: Cheaper Than a Therapist

Mailbox Monday-- Back to Polishing My Halo

I'm serving up a big holiday Thank You along with a virtual plate of cookies and cup of tea to Marcia for hosting my favorite meme. For someone like me who's insatiably curious about books, it's fun to see what arrived in everyone's mailboxes the previous week. If you'd like to join in or just take a look at all the goodies, click on that redhead to the left. She'll take you right to Marcia's blog, The Printed Page, which is the heart of all the Mailbox Monday action!

It's getting very close to Christmas, so I'd better polish my halo while I still have time! Last week I sent 9 books to new Paperback Swap (PBS) foster homes, and I received 3 from various sources. Here's the scoop on those three books:

--The Cluttered Corpse by Mary Jane Maffini (PBS), the second in the Charlotte Adams, personal organizer, mysteries. "When Charlotte Adams agrees to help Emmy Lou Rheinbeck organize her stuffed animal collection, she never imagines she'll find herself fending off pranksters whose shenanigans lead to murder." I read the first in the series a few months ago.

--The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill (from Vida at Overlook Press). After reading my review of the first Simon Serrailler mystery, The Various Haunts of Men, Vida very graciously offered to send me the second book in the series, bless 'er! "Inspector Serrailler, who's still brooding over the unsolved murder of a fellow officer a year earlier, has sought solace amid Italian ruins with his sketchbook, much to the disapproval of his father back in England. Summoned home to the cathedral town of Lafferton, Serrailler finds that murder, family breakups and the abduction of a schoolboy have occurred in his absence. Other worries include the impending death of his handicapped sister, Martha, and a mob attack on the home of the pedophile suspected of kidnapping nine-year-old David Angus. Meanwhile, down-and-out ex-con Andy Gunton finds dubious employment shipping cars for sleazy Lee Carter."

--The Glass Room by Simon Mawer (from Tony at Other Press LLC). I was drawn to this book because of the house it's based upon which was built in Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and contains a room with floor-to-ceiling glass walls overlooking a majestic view. I'm hoping that I'll enjoy the characters and the story as much as I did the description of the house and its setting!

That was my mailbox exploits last week. I hope all your mailboxes yielded just as much (if not more) joy!