Hotel Paradise

I was at the library and a title caught my eye.  I had heard of this series several times and I  kept meaning to read them.  The Emma Graham series, written by Martha Grimes, is about a 12 year old girl who solves the mystery of a young girl's death nearly 40 years ago.  This series is different from the usual mystery in that it is an ongoing story throughout all three books.  I just finished Hotel Paradise, so I have yet to see how the rest of the books are, but I think I'm going to love them all as much as I did the first.

The second book in the series.

In Hotel Paradise, Emma Graham is working with her mother at a hotel that they own.  She is kept very busy cooking and serving meals, but she still manages to make time to solve a mystery.  She has a gift for getting adults to tell her stories, which is mainly how she solves the mystery.  She makes many friends along the way and learns more about the mysterious girl's past, including the aunts that wouldn't talk to the girl and the sad story of how this girl was almost rescued from her lonely fate, but instead drowned.

The third book in the series

I really enjoy mysteries that are solved by precocious children who, even though they are quite young, manage to surpass even the police.  One of the first of these was Nancy Drew, who, while not very well written, paved the way for all kinds of mysteries with this theme.

I'm heading to the library today, and I'm definitely going to be checking out the next two Emma Graham books.

Kilmeny of the Orchard

Yesterday, I picked up Kilmeny of the Orchard by L. M. Montgomery, longing for a pleasant read after a rather ghastly book (review to come).  I highly enjoyed it.

Kilmeny of the Orchard is different from any of L.M. Montgomery's other writings in that it is written from a man's point of view.  It is the story of a young man who, just graduated from college, goes to teach at a small country school as a favor to a friend.  This man, Eric, meets a beautiful and mysterious girl name Kilmeny who is mute because of some sad story in her past.  Eric is bewitched by this girl and is determined to help her speak.

This is a very short story, at only 130 pages, and I read it in an afternoon in between various errands.  Despite its shortness, L.M. Montgomery manages to write a spell-binding story that leaves you gripping the book until the end.  It is quite predictable and extremely romantic.  Kilmeny is the exact opposite of the imperfect Anne of Green Gables, but I still enjoyed the book.  And, of course, there is the unfailing happy ending that is included in all Montgomery's books. 

I highly recommend this for a dreary, rainy day.  It's the perfect cozy read for March.

Canterbury Tales

About a month ago I started Canterbury Tales.  I enjoyed it, for the most part.

First, the parts I enjoyed or was interested by:  Reading the original Chanticleer story.  I had read it as a little kid and loved the story of that unfortunate rooster.  It was fun to re-read it in its original form.  I enjoyed the arguments through stories.  I found them quite clever.  Many of the stories were quite engaging.   I learned a lot about medieval English culture while reading this book.  The translator, David Wright, was wonderful.  I was amazed that he actually cut out two of the stories because he said they were just long sermons that would not interest the average reader.  I appreciate taking some liberties for the sake of keeping a story engaging.

Now for the less than excellent parts- The blatant sexism throughout most of the stories aggravated me.  Even the Wife of Bath's tale, which is supposed to be a story in favor of wives having more power, seemed ridiculous through modern eyes.  I had to remind myself frequently that I was reading a book set in the medieval period where the role of women was completely different.  The sermon-like stories were quite drone-y but I read through them and was glad because it helped me to understand medieval Christianity a little better.

Overall, I am very glad that I took the time to read this book.  It was enjoyable, funny at times,  and an interesting glimpse into another time.

On Sherlock Holmes

I became obsessed with watching Sherlock recently.  About halfway through, I decided that I needed to read the actual books, because I almost always read the book first before watching something.  So, I checked out a collection of Sherlock Holmes stories.  I have a new fondness for the obsessive, slightly insane detective and his admirable sidekick, Dr. Watson.  I never guess how a mystery is going to turn out, no matter how hard I try, but that just makes me admire Holmes more.

Each episode of the show is loosely based on one or more short story.  It was so fascinating to read the original and see how the writers of the show changed the stories.

My favorite stories are The Speckled Band and A Study in Scarlet.  The collection I checked out of the library was very nice and included some good stories, but there weren't very many stories, so I'm going to look for a nice fat collection of Sherlock Holmes.

Bookmarks

I made these bookmarks several months ago, inspired by this post.  I absolutely love fun little sewing projects like this that take just a few minutes out of my time and leave me with something so pretty and functional.

I made about 12, but ended up giving most away as birthday/Christmas/hostess gifts, so I only have two left for myself.  I'm thinking that perhaps I need to make some more…

All you have to do is cut a piece of elastic slightly smaller around than an average book size.  Sew each edge to a piece of felt, then sew whatever decorations (buttons, ribbon, fabric, etc.) onto the top of the felt body.

The two modeled here look pretty similar, but you could do any sort of pattern.  This is a fun way to use up little scraps and get some functional bookmarks that aren't just pieces of ripped paper.

Books About Reading

Just in case you are hankering for some reading about reading, I've compiled a list of books that I have really enjoyed.  Included are more pictures of farm animals.

Kitties in a patch of sunlight.

                           

Books I Have Read

Woe Is I by Patricia T. O'Conner- Okay, this is more a book about writing, but I howled, I tell you, howled, all the way through this book.  If you need a little brush up on grammar, or just are in need of some laughter and entertainment, I highly recommend this book.

Book Lust by Nancy Pearl-  A great book full of book lists.  I like to use this when I'm in a "I can't find anything to read mood.  It's arranged by category: sci fi, fantasy, etc.

Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss- Yet another grammar book; this one is hilarious, too.

How To Read A Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren- This book is all about the art of reading, from speed reading to inspectional reading.  It's definitely a tome, but a well written tome and I enjoyed it.

The Novel 100 by Daniel S. Burt- An in-depth review of the greatest 100 novels.

Honey for a Child's Heart by Gladys Hunt and Barbara Hampton- There is definitely a Christian undertone, but the books recommended are not really Christian.  I love the book recommendations.  Each chapter is a category like Adventure and Suspense or Mystery.

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson-I loved this book.  I checked it out of the library and devoured it.  It is much more autobiographical than any of the books listed above.

A guinea hen

                                                             

On My To-Read List

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster-  Whew!  Yes, that really is the title.

Leave Me Alone, I'm Reading by Maureen Corrigan

Howards End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home by Susan Hill

Anguished English: An Anthology of Assaults Upon Our Language by Richard Lederer and Bill Thompson- Apparently, this is another extremely funny grammar book.

Barn kitty

A Tribute to Elizabeth Enright

Today I have another great children's author.  Elizabeth Enright was truly magnificent.  I think she was one of the most clever authors of children's literature that I have ever read.  I also think that her writing is a great peek into the American 1940s and 50s.  Let's do an overview of some of my favorites of her writing, shall we?

She wrote two books called Gone Away Lake and Return to Gone Away.

They are two stories of a life-long dream of mine.  In this story, Portia and her brother, Foster, go to visit their cousin Julian in the country.  Portia and Julian discover a dried up lake and a row of Victorian lake homes. The meet the lovable sister and brother Mrs. Cheever and Mr. Payton.  They have wonderful adventures exploring the old houses full of old clothes (eek!), furniture, and fantastic cubby-holes.  In the second book, Return to Gone-Away, Portia and her family buy one of the old estates, renovate it, and turn it into their home.

One of the wonderful illustrations from the book.

                                     

The Melendys is another wonderful book set in about 4 siblings in the 40s. Their names are Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver.  Aren't those interesting and pretty names?
There are 4 books written about the children and it is some of the best writing I think I have ever read.
Here's a link from this blog with wonderful quotes from the Melendys.

My copy is a pretty, old one with lovely illustrations, but this is the only one I could find online.

                                     

The Saturdays is about the 4 Melendy children and the clever way they spend their Saturdays.  They agree to pool their money, and each Saturday one of the siblings gets to go on some outing.  Along the way they meet people and have all kinds of adventures.

The Four Story Mistake is the story of the Melendys moving to an old country house.  The house is every child's dream with a huge attic and a huge basement full of treasures.  At their new home, they skate on the frozen brook, make new friends, milk goats, and hold a huge auction to raise money for war bonds.

In Then There Were Five, the children get a new sibling named Mark who lived on a neighboring farm with his dastardly cousin.  They have more adventures like those in The Four Story Mistake.

In Spider Web For Two, Mark, Rush, and Mona have all gone to boarding school.  Randy and Oliver are lonely, and so their father puts together a list of clues leading to a big surprise.  I didn't enjoy this one as well, maybe because the three older ones weren't there.  The four children balanced each other so well and I felt that lack of balance in this book.

Enright wrote many more children's books, but these are the two series that I loved the most.  If you pick up one of her books, be sure to set aside a hefty chunk of time, because you won't want to stop reading once you start.