Books

You are currently browsing the archive for the Books category.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513TSQ5uaAL.jpg

I will always remember two of the best days of motherhood as the days that Katie fell in love with the Little House on the Prairie series of books and with the books of James Herriot.

I remember reading his tales of veterinary medicine in the England country side and wishing with all my heart that I was right there with him while he pulled that calf out or took care of the fussy old lady’s poofy little dog.  I liked the way he mixed in the nitty gritty with the picturesque.  I remember reading about him putting his arm all the way up to his armpit inside a laboring cow to pull the calf’s nose around and I was both completely grossed out and completely fascinated by the whole thing.

I think Katie is having the same experience.

I just walked by her room and she looked up from “All Things Bright and Beautiful” and said “Ooooh Mama, he’s talking about a sheep’s prolapsed uterus!  That’s DISGUSTING!”

And she went right back to reading.

Silver Lining

So one really nice thing came out of this week of house arrest. I realized that I had missed reading aloud with my children.

Since Elena is now a proficient reader in her own right we had kind of slipped out of the habit of reading together before she turned out her light at night. In the past, she would read a page, then I would read a page. After I finished with her I’d often go do the same thing with Katie if JD wasn’t doing it.

It’s probably a good thing that you don’t really know when the exact moment that you are doing something for the last time with your child. It would break your heart. (Except perhaps the diaper change….I wouldn’t have been too broken up about that). But things like the last time you breast feed your baby, the last time your 4 year old climbs in bed with you, the last time they sit in their high chair or wear your favorite pair of footie pajamas.

Most of these things, once they are gone, they are gone forever.

But the reading thing? That we can get back. And so we have. Tonight we started the book Freddie Goes Camping by Walter Brooks.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/91/Freddy_Goes_Camping.png

They are old books that I had never heard of before I read an article listing some of the best children’s books of all time. I lay down with Elena and we hadn’t read 10 words before Katie wormed her way onto the bed and we took turns reading a page. I love the older books for many reasons, but one big one is the fact that they don’t dumb down the language in the books (ie: Junie B Jones).

It was wonderful to have both my girls snuggled up close.

So the week of flu wasn’t a total loss. I guess there really is a silver lining to each cloud.

I had an Aunt named Margie. She lived alone in a little house in the small East Tennessee town of Elizabethton where my mom grew up. She was my mamma’s daddy’s sister so she was actually my great aunt. She had been married for a short time to someone that I don’t think was very nice. The family didn’t talk about it.

She could play the piano like nobody’s business. She played the organ at her church for years and years, but it is the piano that I most remember her playing. She played in the old fashioned way that isn’t around very much anymore, but if you ever attended a small Baptist church about 20 years ago, you’d instantly recognize the style. Hands flying and chords everywhere.

Her house was very quiet. And neat. The beds were always made and there was never any dust anywhere to be found. I don’t think a lot of kids would have loved it there.

But there were books.

She had a whole bookcase full of Reader’s Digest Condensed books. I loved them. I probably discovered them when I was about 10 years old and from then on I was happy to go to Aunt Margie’s house. I would pull one of the fat volumes off the shelf and lose myself in those stories.

Some of my favorites were “PS. Your (sic) Not Listening” by Eleanor Craig. “Halic: The Story of a Gray Seal” by Ewan Clarkson and “The Dwelling Place” by Catherine Cookson. Oh, and I just remembered “A Day No Pigs Would Die” by Robert Peck. That one just about killed me.

I loved them. I would lay and read so long that the back of my legs bore the imprint of the white chenille bedspread that always covered the guest room bed.

JD picked out some books for me to read on our vacation and one of them reminded me of The Dwelling Place, which reminded me of the condensed books,which reminded me of Aunt Margie.

She would have liked this one.

http://nozama.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54ed05fc2883301156f18b0aa970c-800wi

You might, too.

But don’t get the condensed version. This story is too good to miss any of the details.

Not only does my husband write something incredible for me each Valentines Day, he also buys me books every Christmas.  He takes this task very seriously.  For days he researches best seller lists and reviews and comes up with 3 or 4 books that he thinks I will like.  He is always dead on.

Evidently he even knows me better than I know myself.  This year I requested a book I’d read a promising review of.  I hated it.  It was one of those books that I just couldn’t ever quite get into.  I didn’t care about the characters and the story line was just……eh.

The image “https://www.mcleanandeakin.com/shop/shop_images/resized_large/NorthernClemency.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

At first I thought it was the fact that it is set in England and uses language and symbolism and such that is just so very…….well, just so very British, that kept me from really grabbing hold of the story.  I soldiered on to the end but most definitely did not come away satisfied with the use of my time.

JD did much better.

This book

The image “http://www.litlovers.com/images/guide_serena.jpg” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

Oh my.  I can’t even begin to tell you how much I loved this book.  It is good Appalachian fiction with wonderful characters and a fabulous plot.  I was mesmerized by everything about it.

The next one, like the first, was penned by a Brit.  However, this one I found wonderfully readable.  Four different characters tell the story from their point of view.  Each voice provides an essential part of the plot that only comes together in the last few pages.  It was brilliant.

The image “http://www.margotlivesey.com/assets/images/jacket-hofs-main.png” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

Final score:

JD:  2

Sara Jane:  0

Next year, honey, you have my permission to totally ignore any requests that come from me.  You have a gift.  Next time remind me to let you use it.

But perhaps you could order them in time to arrive before Christmas.