Okay, here’s my reading list from the month of February. As you can see, I went on a nostalgia kick….
1. The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker (306 p) Teenager Leeann narrates this book about her older sister, who is convinced that the songs that run through people’s heads are the key to their troubles . . . until things fall apart. A really enjoyable book, the author nicely captures the early 1980s and the bonds holding these two sisters together. And, really, Mary Beth might have been on to something about the ear-worm thing….
2. The Keeping Days by Norma Johnston (238 p.)
3. Glory in the Flower by Norma Johnston (198 p) YA. The first two (and the best) books in the “Keeping Days” series–these are classics, centering around Tish Sterling growing up in Queens around 1900, with her opinionated, high-tempered family. I’ve been huge fans of these books since I was about 13 and like to pull them out to reread them every now and again. The first one introduces Tish and her family, her sister Bronwyn’s courtship by two men (or, really, every man that meets her), Tish’s budding friendship with a neighborhood boy that loves books as much as she does, her clashes with her strong-minded mother . . . The second one centers around the high school’s production of “Romeo and Juliet,” and has always pretty much perfectly described the “sensitive, misunderstood” self-centered chaos that even the most generous teenager has to deal with. There are more books to this series but they are ALL out of print these days, and only the first two have triggered the desire for me to hunt down copies for my own library. They’re definitely worth it, though.
4. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (309 p.)
5. Anne of Avonlea by L.M. Montgomery (207 p.)
6. Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery (244 p.)
7. Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery (258 p.)
8. Anne’s House of Dreams by L.M. Montgomery (230 p.)
9. Anne of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (277 p.)
10. Rainbow Valley by L.M. Montgomery (225 p.)
11. Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery (277 p.) YA. It’s been a loooong time since I read through the entire “Anne” series–usually I stop after the original trilogy–but the stars were aligned, and so I read all seven . . . ranging from Anne’s arrival at Green Gables as an imaginative, 11-year old orphan, through her courtship, her marriage, and her motherhood to five equally imaginative children. The final book focuses on her daughter Rilla, growing up during WWI, and makes a great end to the series. Books 5 and 6, which focus more on Anne’s children have never been my favorites, but there’s something about the strength of character that comes through–for everybody–in that final book that redeems them all. Although, really, it’s the first three that are by far the best. The complete collection of “Anne” books can be bought as a group right here.
12. Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence (246 p.) Biography of Jane Austen, and the one which the movie was loosely based on. It’s not the first bio I’ve read, but it was very readable, and very clear. A good book which stresses the various pressures she was under to marry (or not) and to write (or not).
13. Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott (258 p.)
14. Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott (311 p.) Children/YA. The two books focusing on Rose Campbell and her seven bonnie, blond, high-spirited cousins. The first book takes place when Rose is 13 and newly-orphaned, and being brought back to health and sense by her all-wise Uncle Alec. The second is years later, just before she comes into her inheritance, and as she’s being courted by all and sundry. Now, these are sweet, wholesome books (and the first is better than the second). But they are rather TOO sweet. A little too preachy and moralistic as Miss Alcott teaches us all these important lessons about health over vanity and self-sacrifice over selfishness . . . I’ve loved Louisa May Alcott since I was a child, but I find my tolerance for her particular brand of sweetness is much lower than it used to be. I described it as comparable to eating sticky, sweet cinnamon buns–one is delicious, but more than that? As a child, that much sugar cannot be anything but good, but as an adult . . . one (or two) at a time is really enough. Still. I’ve always liked Rose, and I have an inkling that it’s thanks to Uncle Alec that I still mostly eat Oatmeal for breakfast almost every day.
15. Once Upon a Day: A Novel by Lisa Tucker (342 p.) An interesting novel–it starts by telling Dorothea’s story–she’s been raised on an isolated estate in New Mexico with her brother–no television, no computers, and lots and lots of safety restrictions by their father–no knives, no climbing trees, no staying in the sun for more than 20 minutes at a time, no pets because they might bite. You get the idea. When her brother grew up, he left, and then Dorothea’s father got sick . . . so she left to try to find her brother, whose last known address was Missouri. There are a lot of interwoven stories, here–telling the story of Dorothea’s search for her brother, but also telling the story of their (dead?) mother, how she met their father, and what led up to his taking the children to such a remote place, and also Stephen–the widowed cab-driver who helps Dorothea find her brother, and Janet, who had been their mother’s best friend . . . Good book.
16. The Salterton Trilogy: Tempest-Tost by Robertson Davies (242 p.)
17. The Salterton Trilogy: Leaven of Malice by Robertson Davies (220 p.) The first two books of the Salterton Trilogy. The first tells about an amateur theater production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and the second about a prank of an engagement announcement in the local paper of two people who barely know each other . . . and the ensuing chaos when the girl’s father takes it personally and threatens to sue the paper for libel . . . I really love Robertson Davies’ books and find his interesting blend of scholarly writing plus humor plus interesting characters and situations to be fascinating, but in just about all his trilogies, there’s always one book out of each that I don’t particularly care for. Luckily, though, you can get full enjoyment out of the other books on their own . . . And, really, I’ve always rather enjoyed reading about Solly and Veronica’s response to that engagement-announcement predicament.
18. Dream When You’re Feeling Blue: A Novel by Elizabeth Berg (276 p.). Taking place in Chicago during WWII, and following the Heaney sisters as they write letters to their men overseas (one sister’s fiance, one sister’s hopes-to-be-fiance, and then the third sister’s revolving list of penpals). Told from Kitty’s point of view, it follows her growth as a woman throughout the war, leading up to a sacrifice for one of her family members … Good, but sad. (Oh, and the blurb on the back of the book–annoyingly mixes the names of the soldiers the two sisters are writing to, saying that Julian is Louise’s fiance and Michael is Kitty’s boyfriend, when the names are reversed. It’s not quite so bad as the glaring error in the title of the book I got in October, but still . . . don’t people check these things??)
19. Dragonhaven by Robin McKinley (342 p.) YA book in a somewhat alternate-universe America where dragons are real and endangered but it is just as illegal to help one as to hurt one, Jake, 15 when the book begins, finds a dying dragon, killed by a poacher beside her newborn babies. He takes the one, still-alive dragonet to try to save her life and thus begins the long process of trying to keep her a secret. As always, Robin McKinley is just wonderful.
20. The Places In Between by Rory Stewart (297 p.) The true story of the author’s walk across Afghanistan. I found it interesting and his writing style is engaging, but I wasn’t as entranced as the blurbs on the cover led me to hope that I would be. Still, good book.
21. Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley (306 p.) The second retelling of the story “Beauty and the Beast,” which is interesting just in itself–that she chose to tell the same, basic story twice. I tend to like the first one a little more, but still, this is a lovely little book with a good story and wonderful story-telling.
22. Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn (355 p.) Fantasy book by one of my favorite authors. Cori is a half-blood noble who lives most of her time in her Grandmother’s humble cottage, learning to be an herbalist, but during the summers, she visits at Castle Auburn, admiring the dashing Prince Bryan, and adoring her sister Elisandra, who’s betrothed to him. As Cori gets older, though, she starts seeing signs that Bryan is not perhaps as wonderful as she’d thought him, and she begins to dread her sister’s marrying him…
23. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey (188 p.) The first Pern book, and in terms of writing, it’s not the best, but it lays the foundation for the rest of the series and is therefore a must. To save the world, F’lar and Lessa must convince everyone that the dangerous Thread that falls from space are due to start their cycle of destruction again, despite a long interval of 400 years since the last time. Not only that, but they must figure out how one, understaffed weyr of dragons can do the job that had been handled by five in the past…
24. Dragonquest by Anne McCaffrey (320 p.) Book two, and with the true “voice” of Anne McCaffrey. Taking place 8 years after the first, things have settled into routine, but there are political problems now, as well as practical ones–like, is it possible to visit the Red Star and eliminate Thread at the source?
25. White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey (296 p.) Book three, focusing this time on young Lord Holder Jaxon, rider of Ruth, the sport white dragon. This has always been my favorite of the original “set.” Jaxom is an engaging young fellow, and the tease at the end as he and the other characters discover Landing–the original settlement from when men arrived on Pern thousands of years ago–is delectable.
26. The Renegades of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (384 p.) The next Pern book in the timeline and, while not one of the best, it’s an important transition to the next “phase” of the story. And the last third of it is great.
Tags: Monthly Reading List, Reading by --Deb
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First things first–here’s a current look at my Flutter-Sleeve cardigan. That’s a finished back, a finished front, and the beginning of the second front. It’s moving along nicely.
There are two tricks, though. One, um, have I mentioned that money is tight? And, two, we have to bring Chappy. I am, of course, always delighted to spend time with my boy and show him off. (You may have noticed.) Spending a weekend with him is not exactly a hardship, and we always take him to the island with us. But, um, the actual Festival, I’m sure, doesn’t allow dogs. Which means from 10:00 – 5:00 he’ll … stay in the car? It hardly seems fair, and of course we’ll visit frequently, but still. It’s not exactly ideal, and it does limit the options as to where we can stay, but leaving him home isn’t an option because Dad will be away that weekend, too. (Talk about a rarity.) Luckily, Chappy doesn’t mind the car when it’s staying still. (Oh, yeah. The carsickness. That’s another problem! And that the inn we might be staying at doesn’t have internet access–yikes!)
So, instead, because it’s her birthday, I’m going to talk about my grandmother today. Not the one to whom I owe the family-famous “Grandma Cake.” No, the other one. Mom’s Mom.
Because, you see, Grandma grew up on Martha’s Vineyard. She graduated from high school there, her mother is buried there, and she had enormous ties to the island before she moved to New Jersey and met my Grandfather.
She brought my Mom up every summer of her childhood, to romp around Oak Bluffs with her friends Willie Jones and Jackie Robinson. To be spoiled by her godparents. To go to the beach. To ride the Flying Horses. (That’s Grandma kneeling, and Mom is the itty-bitty tyke on the blanket.) All of which, of course, has made my 
Unfortunately, my grandmother died when I was 9 years old. I distinctly remember the day–June 22nd, the last day of third grade, and I was setting the table for supper when the phone rang. It was grandpa, asking to speak to my Dad–which scared me right off the bat because, why would he ask to speak to Dad first? And I remember the sound of Mom’s scream when Dad passed on the news. It was totally unexpected. She’d been in bed with a cold but–so far as we knew–relatively fine, until her sudden heart attack. She died in my grandfather’s arms and Mom still says that that was the worst day of her life.
Since I was fairly young when we lost her, I don’t have that many stories of my own to tell about Grandma. (Her name was Maude, by the way.) I wasn’t old enough yet to really sit and talk and laugh with her … but I know that Mom got her sense of silliness from her, and passed that on to me. In fact, Mom has also said that she used to get silly with her mom the way that I get silly with her–obviously something she and I would have had in common.
And, um, did I mention her love of Martha’s Vineyard? (grin) Because, you know, if she hadn’t loved it so much herself, and had such ties to it, she wouldn’t have brought Mom there so often when she was little. And then Mom wouldn’t have loved it enough to infuse that into her kids and her grandkids. And then, certainly, I wouldn’t have a 
My mom.
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