Sue

By November 30th, 2009 (her would-be 135th birthday) read at least 4 books by Lucy Maud Montgomery that aren’t part of the Anne series.

Jane of Lantern Hill-I adored this book.  In fact, it might be one of my all-time favorite LMM books, after the first couple Anne books.  The main character was wonderful and her development over the time of the book was fun to watch.  The PE Island descriptions in this book were luscious and the way Jane savored everything about the Island, her home, and her garden made me think I need to be more appreciative of what I have.  Totally glad I read this one.

Along the Shore: Tales by the Sea-I like her short stories.  They vary in quality, and don’t all have happy endings, and these stories all related to the ocean.  I enjoyed “The Life-Book of Uncle Jesse” published in 1909 that told of an old sailor whose wonderful stories were published for the world to read.  I also liked “Four Winds” which was the longest and had more character development.  It was about a young minister who falls in love with a reclusive girl with a mystery and then ends with a twist.  I don’t read short stories all that often so this challenge has been fun to find these nuggets.

Among the Shadows: Tales from the Darker Side-I liked this set of her short stories, although they were somewhat uneven.  This should be expected since they were published in magazines between 1897 and 1935, so her style changed somewhat over the years.  There were ghost stories, murderers, thieves, drunks, and redemption stories.  I really enjoyed “The Deacon’s Painkiller” and “Miss Calista’s Peppermint Bottle” because they were amusing and ended happy.  The first story, “The Closed Door”, was weird and “The House Party at Smoky Island” was a good old-fashioned ghost tale.  All in all, lots of fun.

The Doctor’s Sweetheart and Other Stories-These were love stories that ended well, but were very different in their meandering way to true love.  They were written between 1899 and 1935 and only one, “The Parting of the Ways” doesn’t end with the boy getting the girl.  A theme running through several of the stories was that of a woman who thought she wasn’t in love with her man, but came to see in different ways, that she actually did love him.  Some of the stories carried a theme of random chance that happens to turn out well which I thought was interesting for LMM.  I liked “The Finished Story” and “The Garden of Spices” because they were sentimental and heart-warming and “By Grace of Julius Caesar” because it was funny.

Happy Birthday, Lucy!

I just signed up for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap.  It sounds like a fun idea to be a secret Santa for someone I haven’t met yet.  The FAQ’s said our blog doesn’t have to be only about books, so I qualify.  You might want to join the fun but the deadline is November 12, so decide fast!  Merry Christmas!

Read Your Name Challenge runs 1 Jan-31 Dec 2009:  Using your name or any name you like, read books with first title letters that spell out your name; I’m using SCOTT so I can read some fun books that I want to be sure and get to this year.

• Snakewater Affair, Liz Adair
• Captain’s Blood, William Shatner
• Onion John, John Krumgold (Newbery Award)
• The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith
• The Quilter’s Apprentice, Jennifer Chiaverini

Snakewater Affair, by Liz Adair:  This is the third book in this series that involves a small-town deputy sheriff in Nevada.  He’s an affable guy with a perky wife who has a lot of common sense.  They are LDS and the books are filled with references.  Spider gets involved in solving mysteries in each novel and in this one he gets to travel to Washington and make a little extra money.  They have been barely hanging on since the mines closed and he had to take the law enforcement gig.  They are engaging characters, although sometimes he’s a little slow on the uptake when investigating.  Great writing? No.  Fun, quick stories? Yes.

Star Trek: Captain’s Blood, by William Shatner:  This is the second volume in the Totality trilogy.  I enjoy the Trek novels by Shatner because even though he has well-known Trek co-authors, he has an original voice.  His books stray from Trek canon by having Captain Kirk still alive through a strange regeneration process, but the rest of the books follow canon by intersecting with “real” events that have happened on film or in other books.  This story takes place after “Star Trek: Nemesis” and involves the Romulans and Remans.  It is a story in itself, but sets the stage for the final encounter between humanity and the Peace of the Totality that will destroy the galaxy.  Can’t wait to find out if we survive!

Onion John, John Krumgold: This was a coming-of-age story but also a cautionary tale.  Is it right to help someone so he can become less like himself and more like you?  Can a person be truly happy if he loses his identity to the larger society?  I liked the basic premise but found that the writing style irritated me, so it wasn’t one of my favorites.

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, Alexander McCall Smith: I finally got around to reading this book and I really liked it.  It was a quiet, gentle book with some excitement and mystery thrown in.  The main character is a wise and thoughtful woman and very engaging.  I will be reading more of this series next year as the first volume was very fun.

The Quilter’s Apprentice, by Jennifer Chiaverini: I have been interested in this series and wanted to try it since I’ve started quilting.  The young couple in the book start work for an elderly woman trying to get her estate ready to sell.  They become friends and the owner, Sylvia, begins to teach Sarah how to quilt.  During the process, she tells stories of life during WWII and how she came to leave the estate.  The characters develop during the book and change in interesting ways, and I liked all the discussion of quilt blocks and their history.  I liked the book and will read some more of this series.