Books Finished Since February 1

 Letter Perfect, David Sacks
Another super read if you are a linguistics junkie like myself: a history of the alphabet. One of my great joys as a a kid was reading through the World Book, each volume which began with the history of the letter (or letters) referenced. Since my latest World Book is of 1995 vintage, I had no idea there had been a 1998 discovery of an earlier alphabet than the Phoenician, found that year in Egypt. It's much more than just alphabet history, however; Sacks discusses vowel shifts and how our pronouciation of words has changed ("tea" was once "tay," for instance, and, further back, the letters themselves were pronounced differently), spelling changes, even typefaces, all movie popcorn treats for word lovers. The one distraction: informative, but badly placed sidebars which occur smack in the middle of chapters...they would have been better placed between the chapters. All in all, though, a great read.

 The Tale of Oat Cake Crag, Susan Wittig Albert
The peaceful farm life in the village of Sawrey is broken when one of the newfangled "aeroplanes" begins testing at the edge of Lake Windemere, leading the angry townspeople to call a meeting. And another storm is ready to break: Miss Beatrix Potter feels she cannot keep her secret engagement to attorney Will Heelis confidential much longer.

As always, a laid-back entry in these quaint cottage tales in which the village and countryside animals have as much to do with the plot as the people—Rascal the terrier even gets a moment of heroics in. As a mystery, it's rather weak, but as a gossipy take on early 20th-century village life, what with secret engagements, resentful servants, and tittle-tattling neighbors, there's never a dull moment if a cozy is what you're in the mood for. Oh, to be a fly on the wall when Beatrix's letter arrives...

 In the Beginning, There Was Chaos: For Better or For Worse 2nd Treasury, Lynn Johnston
This is a two-year collection of Johnston's comic strip taking place when Michael was in first and then second grade, and Lizzie became more verbal; John continues his snark and Elly takes continuing education classes and works at a local newspaper. Besides the great fun of the strips, the explanations of which stories are true—many of the Patterson children's situations came from Johnston's own childhood, not her children's—and which were flights of fancy are neat to read. There are several newspaper stories about her work and the strip, some cartoons she did for a local newspaper, and even a color cover that wasn't used on one of her comic collections. Great fun for FBOFW fans!

 A Marked Man, Barbara Hamilton
The Tory Fluckner family, appalled that their daughter is in love with a mere bookseller and avowed member of the Sons of Liberty, are equally saddened and overjoyed when a British officer also vying for their daughter's hand (and the lands in Maine she will inherit) is killed and the suspect is the selfsame rebel Henry Knox. Thus Abigail Adams is pulled into the search for the real murderer before "Harry" can be shipped off for British trial.

Those who had eyebrows raised at Abigail's going far afield in the first mystery by Hamilton will find her on firmer ground, trying to work her sleuthing around housework, raising her children, and tracking the comings and goings of husband John and the rest of the Sons of Liberty. To do so she must ally herself with Lucy Fluckner, the British woman who's become her duenna, and the two British soldiers who helped her previously, Lieutenant Coldstone and Sergeant Muldoon. Hamilton weaves a complicated, page-turning tale around Boston town life and the high passions of two groups, the British quartered in the city and the colonists fomenting for freedom, and in doing so brings both groups vividly to life, not marking the "redcoats" as stereotypical, but just men doing a job. Her descriptions of Boston in February will bring a chill to you even in midsummer!

 Bryant and May on the Loose, Christopher Fowler
So I went from frigid cold and snowy Boston of the 1770s to damp, dank, rainy London of 2010. I figuratively squished through this latest Bryant and May mystery as Fowler transferred the depression surrounding the disbanding of the Peculiar Crimes Unit to the English weather. Arthur Bryant has retreated to his flat, allowing ennui to overtake him. Janice Longbright has found work in a vintage shop. John May has not stopped looking for alternatives for his team, and the rest are struggling to "make do"—until a former team member finds a headless corpse in the disused freezer of an abandoned shop in the King's Cross area. The area is undergoing revitalization for the upcoming Olympics and May persuades the Metropolitan police that the crime must be solved before the area receives a bad name.

And then a passerby is attacked by a weird half-man, half-stag figure, arousing Bryant's dormant interest.

This is another quirky entry in the Peculiar Crimes Unit series, in which the team is reassembled, housed in yet another inadequate building, immersed in headless corpses and tales of Britain's pagan heritage and historical myths, including a mystery going back to World War II. In addition, the team makes an enemy of a violent new criminal. Not the best in the series, but a welcome new entry nonetheless.

 Always Reddy, Marguerite Henry
This is the short, touching and funny story of Shamrock Queen, the hunting companion of Mr. Hoops, City Treasurer in the little community of Bellville. "Reddy," as she's called, is raising what will probably be her final litter, and Hoops picks out one of her puppies for them to train together. And then, calamity! Mrs. Hoops' mother is coming to live with them, and she's allergic to dogs! What will happen to Reddy and her son Snippet now?

Sadly, the Wesley Dennis illustrations are a bit off in this otherwise adorable story, with the Irish setters illustrated in red against a different colored background. Not sure why this was done. It doesn't detract from the story, but it's a bit of a disappointment to those who love Dennis' work.

 The Garden Intrigue, Lauren Willig
Augustus Whittlesby has spent ten years as an English spy, writing such insufferably bad poetry that it is dismissed by the French but coveted by the British, since it contains coded messages. He's weary of the role and wants nothing more than to retire with his ideal woman, the Pink Carnation herself, Jane Woolliston. But Jane seems oblivious to his attentions, and a more annoying problem has arrived, young widow Emma Delagardie, who appears to be his only way into Napoleon's stronghold to discover what he can about a new seagoing weapon that will help the Emperor invade England. (If you've read The Mistaken Wife by Rose Melikan, you will know what this weapon is; the same one features in each book.)

If you are a Pink Carnation fan, you know immediately where the story is going. Augustus and Emma make lively antagonists in their espionage and romantic adventures. Meanwhile, in the modern world, Eloise Kelly has her own decision to make. It's been over six wonderful months since she discovered the Pink Carnation papers and became involved with Colin Selwick. But is this a lasting relationship? And what about this "treasure" Colin's odious cousin Jeremy is apparently hunting for at Selwick Hall?

I remember reading that this series was going to run to six books; it's now at nine and shows no sign of stopping, with each just as good as the last. I've had a guess about whom the chill Miss Woolliston will eventually fall for, and the finale appears to be proving me correct. Or perhaps not. But I'll surely enjoy the ride wherever it goes. :-)

 A Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L'Engle (50th anniversary edition)
Meg Murry is "all wrong": an awkward teen who can't fit in, who worries over her little brother who's called names and her father who has disappeared while doing secret work for the government. But it is her "dumb baby brother" who initiates a friendship with a mysterious elderly lady that takes them and a popular boy from school on an amazing voyage to a frightening place to rescue Dr. Murry.

This is so much more than a fantasy story: it is a book about love, and about conformance, and if conformance can be carried too far. In an earlier age this was seen as a parable against the Soviet Union, but it speaks against any restrictive society. One must be brave enough, yet disciplined enough to overcome it.

I read this for the first time in seventh grade and have loved it ever since: filled with memorable characters like the sagacious but flawed Charles Wallace, the eccentric Mrs. Whatsit, loving Aunt Beast, and the sinister IT. Even in the 1970s, Meg was a unique character in children's literature: a strong, if flawed, young woman in a genre filled with heroic boys. Her appeal comes from her fallibility; that any of us could be Meg. Plus the book challenges the mind with its scientific and sociological concepts wrapped in a nifty fantasy.

This 50th Anniversary edition comes with photos of L'Engle, a copy of her Newbery Award acceptance speech, Madeleine's edits to a facsimile of Chapter 1, and an introduction by her granddaughter. Pure gold.

 A Pictorial Life Story of Misty, Marguerite Henry
As a kid I was as addicted to animal books as I was to animals. One of my most beloved authors was Marguerite Henry, but I had little hope of owning any of her volumes. They were all in hardback back then. So via the library (and the tucked-away bookshelves in Shepard's department store) I read and re-read all I could find, even the obscure ones, like Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin. Later, when college was done and I went to work, the books were finally out in trade paperback, and I bought them two by two every payday. Some I had to collect later via the internet, the ones that never made it to paperback status: White Stallion of Lipizza, Benjamin West, Cinnabar the One O'Clock Fox, etc.

I had forgotten that there were a few gaps to my collection until just recently when a friend who is reading the books mentioned them, and I turned back to my old friend the internet. This brought me one of the most longed-for books, A Pictorial Life Story of Misty. Not the story Henry told in the novel, but the real story of how Henry bought the young filly (after she was weaned) and her life on Henry's little country place, "Mole Meadow," with Friday the Morgan horse and Pixie the cocker spaniel, and later Brighty the donkey and Alex the dachshund, until Henry decided it was time for Misty to return to Chincoteague and have a family of her own, all with color and black and white photos of Henry, the horses and other critters, and Wesley Dennis' beautiful artwork tucked in the margins. I sat reading it with a big grin on my face and as many chuckles as it would have given me way back when, and I finished it with a sense of completion and satisfaction. If you loved Misty in particular or just Henry in general, you will love this book.

 Pagan Christmas, Christian Rätsch and Claudia Müller-Ebeling
If you are looking for a "unique" Christmas book, you wouldn't have to look much further than this volume. Described as "an ethnobotany of Christmas," it traces the background and the use of all the plants we think of as traditional to the holiday—mistletoe, holly, fir trees, poinsettias, etc. However, it chronicles all the plants over the years having been traditionally associated with the holiday, including the white-spotted mushrooms (the fly agaric) so commonly duplicated as ornaments on European trees, yews, and all the fragrant herbs and spices, i.e. rosemary, bay, ginger, anise, etc., most of which trace back to pagan antecedents and some to drug use to obtain "visions." For that reason, I strongly suggest this book is definitely not for children, as there are reference to sexual practices as well. However, as a book for adults I did find it quite entertaining, reading about customs from the past, some which even dated back to near-prehistoric times. And, indeed, many of the images we think of as "Christmassy," the Scandinavian "julebok" and the Julenissen, St. Nicholas' white horse, the smokers of Germany, the colors red and white, hark back to far older solstice and Yule celebrations. As a plus the book is illustrated with not only photos of the plants, but liberally illustrated with Christmas imagery that goes back to early Victorian chromolithographs, of delightfully pagan-based postcards, advertisements, and greeting cards that were sold freely in Christian countries. Just a very neat book, but not for everyone.

Misty Comes Home

As a kid I was as addicted to animal books as I was to animals. The latter were much more pleasant people than the humans I had to deal with, especially at school. I much preferred the company of adults anyway, as long as they weren't discussing politics or [shudder] budgets.

As I made friends with the neighborhood pets (I knew people by their dogs--it wasn't Bill's house, it was Gigi's...Rex the collie's house...not the Ferrantes, but where Buttons lived.) Since I was allergic, I couldn't have my own pets, so I made pets of everyone else's, including those in books. I loved Anne H. White's offbeat critters (Serapina the cat with the telescoping tail, Junket the Airedale, Scholar the Golden Retriever), Jim Kjelgaard's hunting dogs (Big Red and his ilk), the Arctic adventures of Mounty Jim Thorne and his magnificent Silver Chief, even the sad books like Black Beauty and Beautiful Joe. Library books wore out in my hands: The Green Poodles, Runaway Pony Runaway Dog (which I didn't realize until much later was just one of a series of books about Sassy and Tough-Enough), Champion Dog Prince Tom, Lad: A Dog (and everything else by Albert Payson Terhune), Blitz (a fire horse). At home I had what we could afford in cheap Whitman editions, mostly the Lassie books and Albert Miller's three Fury novels in inexpensive Grosset & Dunlap editions. My favorite Bobbsey Twin characters were Snap the dog and Snoop the cat (who didn't appear half enough to suit me). And I mourned a little when the animal stories that appeared in Scholastic's book club editions were still too far beyond our reach: White Ruff and Champ, Gallant Collie and Clarence the TV Dog.

One of my most beloved authors was Marguerite Henry, but I had little hope of owning any of her volumes. They were all in hardback back then, costly volumes around $5, back in the day when 29 cents for a Whitman book was the norm, and 60 cents for a paperback of National Velvet or My Friend Flicka was a splurge. (My copy of Green Grass of Wyoming, which I received for a good report card, was 75 cents, which utterly horrified my father. With only one parent working and in a factory, yet, 75 cents was a good deal of money.) So via the library (and the tucked-away bookshelves in Shepard's department store) I read and re-read all I could find, even the obscure ones, like Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin. Later, when college was done and I went to work, the books were finally out in trade paperback, and I bought them two by two every payday. Some I had to collect later via the internet, the ones that never made it to paperback status: White Stallion of Lipizza, Benjamin West, Cinnabar the One O'Clock Fox, etc.

I had forgotten that there were a few gaps to my collection until just recently when a friend who is reading the books mentioned them, and I turned back to my old friend the internet. This brought me the funny short book Always Reddy, the story of an Irish setter, and one of the most longed-for books, A Pictorial Life Story of Misty. Not the story Henry told in the novel, but the real story of how Henry bought the young filly (after she was weaned) and her life on Henry's little country place, "Mole Meadow," with Friday the Morgan horse and Pixie the cocker spaniel, and later Brighty the donkey and Alex the dachshund, until Henry decided it was time for Misty to return to Chincoteague and have a family of her own, all with color and black and white photos of Henry, the horses and other critters, and Wesley Dennis' beautiful artwork tucked in the margins. I sat reading it with a big grin on my face and as many chuckles as it would have given me way back when, and I finished it with a sense of completion and satisfaction.

Books Finished Since January 1

 A Book of Feasts and Seasons, Joanna Bogle
I had never heard of Ms. Bogle until I happened to record a few programs of hers off the EWTN (Catholic) network, a simple series called Feasts and Seasons in which she chats about the liturgical year and makes easy recipes associated with each season. (And I'm really unhappy that I missed the programs concerning the first and second Sunday of Advent!) This is a book having to do with the feasts within the liturgical year, and the mainly British-themed (Bogle is a Catholic Briton) traditions and food that goes with them, told in a matter-of-fact style with a dry humor I enjoyed. I found this book fascinating, but then I'm an Anglophile. Catholics should also find it of interest.

 Santa Claus: Last of the Wild Men, Phyllis Siefker
How did a dour, austere bishop from Turkey evolve into a jolly, fur-trimmed chubby fellow driving a team of reindeer? Most histories of Santa Claus cite a softening of notions of discipline, concepts of various artists over time, and other evolutionary changes. However, Siefker has written an intriguing study that offers us instead Santa's evolution from an older religious symbol, the pagan Wild Man of the forest, who has been embodied in St. Nicholas' European companions (Belsnickel, Pelznichol, Smutchli, etc.) as well as in other iconoclastic figures such as Robin Hood, the Harlequin, and Puck. She digs deeply into pagan traditions and, whether you agree with her theory that the pagan Wild Man became intertwined with the Christian gift giver or not, gives examples of some fascinating ancient traditions revolving around old pagan beliefs, some traditions which lasted well into the 20th century. My big complaint is that most of the illustrations supporting Ms. Siefker's theory are badly printed (some are no more than two-tone outlines that look like badly photocopies illustrations). For instance, a picture of an ancient wagon supposedly dug up from an archaeological site is so bad it could be a 19th century farm wagon. Still, the text is readable and thought-provoking.

 A Secret Gift, Ted Gup
In 1933, at the height of the Depression, the mysterious "B. Virdot," via a newspaper ad, offered the citizens of the hard-hit city of Canton, OH. the sum of $10 for letters telling about their circumstances. Back in the 1930s, charity was anathema to most people, so it was telling that "B. Virdot" received so many letters that he instead sent $5 to twice the amount of people. The incident might have been forgotten had not Ted Gup inherited a suitcase with his late grandfather's papers, and discovered that his relative had been the mysterious "B. Virdot." Using the carefully saved letters and followup correspondence, Gup tracked down each of the families that received money and discovered what that small but welcome gift did for each of them. It's also the story of Gup's grandfather, Sam Stone, an immigrant who knew what losing it all meant.

I enjoyed this book as a portrait of what the everyday Joe went through during the Depression, and also the gradual revelation of what made Sam Stone the man he was and perhaps why he felt he had to give the money away. The text is a tad padded, and Gup's "big reveal" isn't as dramatic as the lead in would have you believe, but those are minor quibbles. The main story is the one of the beneficiaries of "B. Virdot" and how they survived.

 Murder on the Flying Scotsman, Carola Dunn
Daisy Dalrymple is heading northward on the Flying Scotsman to another historical home in order to write an article for "Town and Country" magazine when she discovers an old friend, 11-year-old runaway Belinda Fletcher, daughter of Scotland Yard inspector Alec Fletcher, who has investigated several murder cases Daisy has stumbled upon—and someone she is becoming very fond of. Daisy takes on care of Belinda until her father can be contacted, and the pair encounter the family of a dying wealthy landowner heading into Scotland for a last meeting with them. The large, mostly ungrateful family includes the man's twin brother, his heir, who has scandalized the family by planning to leave his fortune to "a foreigner"!—a young Indian doctor. But the trip turns deadly when the old man is murdered, and Belinda was a witness to one of the clues.

Like the previous mysteries, this is a chipper, quick moving, good-natured classic mystery story. Repercussions from the First World War are mentioned, but this is not an introspective mystery like the Maisie Dobbs stories, or Anne Perry's Great War puzzlers. Characters have an Agatha Christie type manner, and while the plots aren't as clever or convoluted as Christie, or the characters as complicated, it's a thumping good period intrigue. It's also nice to see a child who isn't angsty about the idea of her father remarrying!

 The Greatest Show in the Galaxy: The Discerning Fan's Guide to Doctor Who, Marc Schuster and Tom Powers
Essay collections about themes and concepts in Doctor Who vary in quality; this one is quite good, with essays ranging from the Doctor's relationships with his own kind and with his companions to larger themes such as the future of humanity as portrayed in the series and the concept of faith. Other parts deal with the series as spectacle, the various personalities of the Doctors and how they become a coherent whole, and the concept of death. There are eight essays in all, and all are worthwhile for any Doctor Who fan looking for more info about the series than simply a cast list and pictures of monsters.

 Elegy for Eddie, Jacqueline Winspear
Everyone in the costermonger community knows Eddie Pettit, a slightly "slow" man (today we would say he was autistic) who was born in a stable and has an uncanny way with horses. So when Eddie dies under unexpected circumstances at a paper-mill, the costermongers hire Maisie Dobbs, whose father was once one of their number, to look into Eddie's death. They fear the killer was a young man who "had it in" for Eddie and want him brought to justice.

Once again Winspear is allowing Maisie to progress with the times. Her previous World War I-consequence investigations have given way to those which touch upon the tenuous times of the 1930s, with Adolf Hitler coming into power and the fears of perceptive politicians and those alert enough to read the signs of approaching trouble. Innocent Eddie, his last weeks troubled by a new friendship, had gotten himself involved in something much bigger than horses and the costermongers, and Maisie will need all her wits to follow the threads of the mystery.

In addition, she is still reluctant to commit to her relationship to James Compton, and, when one of her employees is attacked, must come to terms with her tendency to meddle in people's lives for her own comfort. This was a page-turner from the prologue, where we learn of Eddie's origins, and, although the three-page wrap-up of world events in chapter one is a bit awkward in getting us up to speed, the rest progresses at a quick clip, not allowing Maisie's self-doubts to slow down the continuing riddle of Eddie's death. Winspear's chronicles of Maisie continue to please. Once I started reading I could not put it down, except to get a night's sleep.

 A Pocketful of History, Jim Noles
A neat book telling the stories behind each of the images on the reverse side of the state quarters (and also the US possessions) that were released for ten years starting in 1999. Some icons were obvious—the Massachusetts Minuteman, Hawaii's King Kamehameha, Abraham Lincoln gracing Illinois—but who is that horseman on Delaware—hint: it's not Paul Revere, but another Revolutionary War hero—why are diamonds gracing Arkansas and a buffalo centered on Kansas? Virginia's quarter will teach you about those other ships: not the Nina, Pinta and the Santa Maria or the Mayflower and the Speedwell, but the Susan Constant, the Discovery, and the Godspeed. You'll learn about Connecticut's Charter Oak, Nevada's mustangs (and the famous "Wild Horse Annie"), and more. A great bedside book for an easy and enlightening state per night.

 The Fleet Street Murders, Charles Finch
Amateur sleuth Charles Lennox attempts to juggle running for Parliament in a village close to Durham while still investigating the murders of two journalists, one venial and taken to bribes, the other a god-fearing man. What links their deaths? If that wasn't enough to worry about, his best friend and his wife endure a grevious loss, which leads his fiancée to have second thoughts about being married soon.

I didn't like this quite so much as September Society, as I found the bits where Lenox is getting the constituents of the village to like him a bit tedious, although it is intriguing to see how the Parliamentary procedure worked back then (imagine representing people you know nothing about!). Again faithful butler Graham proves himself a veritable Bunter in getting people to like his employer due to his affable personality, and again a book set in an earlier time proves politics hasn't changed much, as an aspect of this story owes much to tales of bygone Chicago elections.

 House M.D., The Official Guide, Ian Jackman
This is an enjoyable look behind the scenes at the series House, MD. Chapters take you though the inception of an idea through filming an episode, while interstice chapters examine each of the lead characters and what makes them tick, and also discusses with each of the actors the thoughts they put into the motivations behind their characters. No really surprising insights, but still of interest, and Hugh Laurie's introduction is a "hoot."

One oddity to this book is a persistent printing error when anything is italicized: all the ligatures (ff, ffi, fi), etc. are absent—there's just a blank space in the word! This tells me that the italic font they used to print the book didn't have ligature characters. Very unprofessional of the publisher not to notice it.

Books Finished Since December 1

As always in December, I have a good deal of reading of magazines I don't ordinarily purchase during the remainder of the year, looking for Christmas spirit, and this year was a bumper crop. "Our State" (North Carolina oriented), "Cottage Christmas," and some other decorating magazines came up on the radar, but the old standbys were a joy: the British edition of "Country Living," "Early American Homes" annual Christmas issue and also the December issue, "Victorian Homes," and "Victoria" were just some of the pleasant reads. However, I made time for some books as well!

 At Christmas the Heart Goes Home, Marjorie Holmes
You can’t read Christmas compilations which provide short reflections and memories without running into excerpts from this book by Marjorie Holmes, who was in her time a bestselling inspirational author. This book itself is a compilation album of the best from Holmes’ columns from women’s magazines, and it’s a sit-by-the-Christmas-tree with a cat and cocoa type book, with short pieces about Holmes’ home life at Christmas alternating with her thoughts on faith. If you enjoy magazines such as “Guideposts” and their “Ideals” yearly publications and the ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul” books, this is certain to please. Also a good gift book for those inspirational readers.

 The Atheist's Guide to Christmas, edited by Robin Harvie and Stephanie Meyers
I always like to hear the other side of the story, so I thought this book would be a good addition to my Christmas library. I had already read the book The Trouble With Christmas and thought this book might be along those lines. Most of the book was pleasant or interesting. Most of the atheists writing enjoy the secular aspects of the holiday, don’t mind it being called “Christimas,” and just don’t want to be prosletized to concerning religious – or lack of thereof – beliefs. Since I dislike being prosletized, I was quite in agreement with them. Some of the humorous essays weren’t, but that’s always the risk in an anthology, and indeed “one man’s meat…” is a truism. The one essay I really didn’t like wasn’t really about belief or opposing viewpoints, but was a whiny “my birthday’s on Christmas and I only ever got one set of presents and it’s not fair” screed. Oh, please. Christmas and birthdays aren’t about gifts. Grow up, please.

 I Am Half-Sick of Shadows, Alan Bradley
It’s finally happened: due to Colonel de Luce’s lack of funds and the necessary repairs needed on the family estate “Buckshaw” has led him to rent the home out to a movie crew, one of which is famous actress Phyllis Wyvern. Even precocious Flavia, youngest daughter forever tormented by her sisters and a devotee of chemistry (especially poisons), is charmed by Miss Wyvern (although Flavia is soon to spot that Miss Wyvern has her disagreeable side) and is surprised when the actress actually seems to like her. But when the acting company puts on a benefit show at Buckshaw, a body and a snowstorm toss the de Luces, the townsfolk, and the movie company into close quarters and closer suspicions.

This fourth in the Flavia de Luce series has a Christie-ish plot complication, and of course our precocious heroine becomes involved in the murder investigation. But, proving that brilliant deductions or not, Flavia is still a little girl, she is also plotting to catch Father Christmas coming down the chimney, and her two projects eventually intersect, leading to an exciting conclusion. A rather dark Christmas romp, but with some additional revelations about Harriet, Flavia’s late mother, and her relationship with her sisters.

 Santa, Jeremy Seal
James and I listened to an intriguing abridgement of this book on BBC Radio 4X last Christmas, intriguing enough for me to hunt down a copy. Seal investigates the reality and the myth of St. Nicholas, from his shadowed origins to the miraculous “blood” which comes fro his tomb and the theft of his body and its transport to Bari in Italy in medieval times. Seal travels to each of the places in the St. Nicholas legend, leading to some picturesque visits to Turkey and small towns around the Mediterranean, and then to Amsterdam and Belgium. It’s an interesting narrative except for Seal’s insistence on writing Nicholas’ story as if the deceased saint was somehow directing his fame from beyond the grave. Seal sets this against the search of his own children for “the real Santa Claus,” for which the family finally takes a trip to Finland. Unusual and offbeat, but worth looking up if you have an interest in the “ancestry” of Santa.

 Pearl Harbor Christmas: A World At War, December 1941, Stanley Weintraub
Weintraub appears to be making a latter-day career about writing about Christmas in the United States during various historical eras (both World Wars, the Civil War, the Revolutionary War). His newest effort concerns the Christmas of 1941, as the United States was still reeling from the events of December 7, and Washington, DC, was in hubbub about a visit from Winston Churchill (during which Churchill addressed Congress and gave his famous “Let the children have their night of fun and laughter” speech). In the meantime, General Douglas MacArthur is doing little to defend his patch of the Pacific Ocean—some interesting neglect brought to light!—and Adolph Hitler is collecting warm winter clothing for the troops he refuses to pull out of Russia. The result is a bit plodding, but there are some intriguing tidbits about Churchill and MacArthur.

 Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas, Susan Waggoner
Waggoner's nostalgic books ( Christmas Memories: Gifts, Activities, Fads, and Fancies, 1920s-1960s, It's a Wonderful Christmas: The Best of the Holidays 1940-1965, etc.) have been delightful exercises in nostalgia about the sights, sounds, tastes, and the toys of Christmas from 1920 through the 1960s. In this volume she guides the reader not only through the different styles of decorating between the 1920s and the 1960s, but she also presents little craft projects for each decade that will help your decorating ring true--cards, ornaments, room decorations, gift crafts--With full-color illustrations and directions throughout. The person who will appreciate this most will be the one who enjoys vintage crafts, but fans of vintage Christmas will probably enjoy it as well.

This Year's Dozen Favorite Books

(And four runners-up, since these things are always hard.)

In no particular order:

 A City So Grand, Stephen Puleo (Nonfiction; a history of Boston from 1850-1900)

 The Technologists, Matthew Pearl (Fiction; mystery thriller set in post-Civil War Boston)

 Service and Style, Jan Whitaker (Nonfiction; a history of United States department stores)

 Into That Silent Sea, Francis French and Colin Burgess (Nonfiction, history of the early U.S. and Russian space programs)

 The Wilder Life, Wendy McClure (Nonfiction; a woman's search for self through the "Little House" books)

 Our Glorious Century, Reader’s Digest Books (Nonfiction; coffee-table, lavishly illustrated book about the 20th century)

 The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin (Nonfiction; one woman's search for the definition and origin of happiness)

 The Shanghai Moon, S. J. Rozan (Fiction; mystery about a missing valuable necklace which disappeared during World War II)

 The Vertigo Years, Philipp Blom (Nonfiction; Europe between 1900-1914)

 The Ninth Daughter, Barbara Hamilton (Fiction; historical mystery involving Abigail Adams)

 The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, Edmund Morris (Nonfiction; first in Morris' three-book biography)

 Walking English, David Crystal (Nonfiction; Crystal's odyssey across Great Britain in search of the English language)

Honorable mentions:

 A Renegade History of the United States, Thaddeus Russell (Nonfiction; history from a different perspective)

 Robert A. Heinlein, volume 1, William H. Patterson Jr (Nonfiction; first part of Heinlein bio)

 Inside the Apple: A Streetwise History of New York City, Michelle Nevius and James Nevius (Nonfiction; a street-by-street travelogue/history of NYC)

 A Bitter Truth, Charles Todd (Fiction; #3 in the Bess Crawford series set during WWI)

Seven Books to Read Every Christmas

Please note most of these are out of print. If you're interested, hit bookfinder.com, Amazon Marketplace, or e-Bay. And, why yes, some of them are children's books. Some of the best books ever are children's books, and you don't need to be a child to read them.

 A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
You've probably seen this as a movie or a television special. The story was done as a silent film as far back as the turn of the century. The first animated television Christmas special was about Dickens' Carol, Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol to be specific. And perhaps a Dickens novel is not what you want to tackle; after all, isn't he voluble?

Fear not, Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in seven weeks, as a message to more fortunate Londoners to help the poor. For its brevity, it's full of memorable descriptions and even more memorable characters—who even marginally familiar with English literature doesn't know who Ebenezer Scrooge is? Dickens' descriptions of London at Christmas both good—the lovely Christmas market, the love exuded by the Cratchits—and the bad—the realities of poverty in 19th century England—make vivid pictures that remain in your mind long after you finish reading. An even better reason to read the tale: even the longest film adaptation of the story doesn't contain all the aspects of the novel. Did you know on his travels with the Spirit of Christmas Present Scrooge visited a lighthouse? a coal mining village?

 The Cottage Holiday, Jo Mendel
The Tuckers series of children's books was published in the 1960s by Whitman: father, mother, five rambunctious children, a big shaggy dog and a cat. Most of the novels are typical children's adventures (befriending the new neighbors, spending a summer at the beach or with relatives, participating in sports). But this Christmas story is a little gem.

Seven-year-old Penny is often sick and wonders about her place among her healthier, boisterous siblings (sixth-grader Tina, aspiring cook; twins Terry and Merry; and younger brother Tom). After being ill before Christmas and unable to participate with her siblings in a school Christmas program, she wishes the family might spend the holidays at their cottage at the lake. To her delight her doctor declares her well enough, and the family arrives prepared for nonstop fun for the holiday. Instead, the children are propelled into an adventure involving a marauding cougar and the danger it brings to a stranded woman. The kids play in the snow, find a Christmas tree, bake pies, and do other fun activities that don't involve staring at a screen or manipulating a game controller. But the heart and soul of this book is Penny's search for her own special talent, something that will serve her while she "sits still and takes pills," and it gives the novel a sweet, timeless quality with an ending that will leave tears in your eyes.

 Sleigh Bells for Windy Foot, Frances Frost
This is one of a series of four books about a Vermont farm family, the Clarks, in the late 1940s that vividly brings life on a small family property alive. The Clarks raise much of their own food, as well as supply milk to the local dairy and sugar off in the spring, and their bountifully old-fashioned Christmas is like a greeting card come to life: the children snowshoe in the woods to find natural decorations for the house, eldest Toby rebuilds a sleigh to use behind Windy Foot, his dapple-grey pony, and also helps defend the stock when a bear prowls the neighborhood while waiting for mail-order gifts to arrive, the family goes into town for shopping at a delectable general store and caroling; there is snow, skiing, ample food from the farm, and even an unexpected, special gift for Toby's younger sister. In addition, there's excitement involving a marauding bear and a sports accident. The best part is the family warmth and love which encircles one like a blanket and you're sorry when the final page turns and you have to leave the Clarks on Christmas evening.

 Christmas After All, Kathryn Lasky
As the Depression deepens, Minnie Swift and her family are feeling the pinch more and more. They are closing down rooms in their home to save coal, eating an endless series of almost meatless meals seasoned with quantities of cheese, and noticing with reluctance that their father comes home from work earlier every day and locks himself in the attic with his typewriter.

And then a distant cousin comes to stay with them, Willy Faye, a girl raised in the Dust Bowl and now an orphan. Minnie discovers she's never seen a movie, never heard of Buck Rogers, never eaten a peach. So she figures that Willie Faye will have a lot to learn from her family. She doesn't realize what the family will learn from Willie Faye.

Kathryn Lasky based the characters in this book on her own grandparents and aunts and uncles, and one of the sisters' boyfriends on her father, and her affection for all of them shows. Minnie's family includes a precocious only brother who builds radio sets at the same time he makes childish jokes and a fashion-designer-in-the-making sister who can make stunning, novel outfits from scraps of fabric and old clothing. The story rings with hardship, or the family associates with those dealing with hardship (several chapters take place in a Hooverville), and yet they manage to rise above it.

If there's one problem with the story, it's the slightly fanciful epilog (all the "Dear America" books have one, which chronicles the later lives of the characters). I would have been pleased if the future turned out well, but having it turn out wildly successful for everyone was a bit much. Still, the main tale itself is magic.

 The House Without a Christmas Tree, Gail Rock
Based on the 1970s Christmas special by the same name, this is the story of 10-year-old Addie Mills, a smart, spunky fifth grader in the small town of Clear River, Nebraska, who is being raised by her laconic, introverted father and loving grandmother. Addie has wanted a Christmas tree during the holiday season for years, but her father has always refused on the grounds that it's a waste of money because they have Christmas at a relative's home. It's only when Addie wins a tree in a school contest that the real truths come to the fore.

This is a lovely short novel about an intelligent girl and a father who could have been labeled "mean" or "cruel." Instead, we slowly find out some family secrets. The story also paints a simpler time when kids shopped at drugstores for a beloved teacher's gift, homemade decorations sufficed on a Christmas tree, and the big treat for an afternoon was baking gingerbread men.

(I don't usually push DVDs with my books, but the DVD of this story is well worth finding. Lisa Lucas is perfect as slightly bossy Addie, Mildred Natwick properly motherly as her grandma, but Jason Robards shines as the withdrawn father with a secret heartache.)

 The Homecoming, Earl Hamner Jr.
This short novel formed the basis for a television movie of the same name, which became the pilot film for the long-running Depression-set series The Waltons, about a Virginia backwoods family poor in material goods but rich in love. If you've seen the film, you will still find in the book points of interest, as not only were most of the characters' names changed for the movie, but some of them were slightly softened for 1970s television: for instance, in the book the father character is a bit of a gambler and drinker (although not to his family's detriment!) and the "John-Boy" of the book smokes a cigarette while hunting for a Christmas tree on his own. While the movie is much more rough-hewn than the series was, the book is even more realistic, giving a truer portrait of the harshness of the times.

 The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, Barbara Robinson
This is a deserved Christmas classic about a family of six undisciplined (literally), half-wild children who are growing up with little supervision and who are the terrors of their elementary school. The Herdman children's divorced mother works double shifts at a factory to support them, and they receive little love and much fear from their classmates. Then the whole kit'n'caboodle of them get involved with the local church's Nativity play.

This is a very funny novel, not just from what happens when the kids join the Christmas pageant, but from some pointed commentary from the narrator, an unnamed child whose mother is in charge of producing the pageant. Her quirky descriptions of her friends (including one little girl she describes as "so squeaky-clean that she had dishpan hands by the time she was four years old"), events at home (I particularly love her father's attitude), and the pageant preparations are sharp and funny. This is a feel-good book with a message that is handled humorously and in a non-heavy-handed manner.

Books Finished Since November 1

 Words to Eat By: Five Foods and the Culinary History of the English Language, Ina Lipkowitz
I'd no sooner heard Ms. Lipkowitz talking about this book on "The Splendid Table" with Lynn Rossetto Kasper than I had to find and buy it. Discussed is the etymology of five basic foods: apples (and fruit), leeks, milk (dairy), meat, and bread. Along the way she dispenses vintage recipes, examines the way we change food names to make them seem more glamorous or just even not so bloodthirsty, and investigates the adult bigotry toward milk (and why this differs between northern and southern Europeans). I found it enjoyable and fun, but then etymologies are my "thing." A great read for those interested in word history or basic cooking history.

 New England: Land of Scenic Spendor, National Geographic Society
This is a lovely book for New Englanders or New England lovers, comprising five articles and their illustrations from "National Geographic" magazine: one about the shore, another about the wilderness areas, a third about the cities, plus two more about noteble places. A comfortable travelogue, and the photos are lovely.

 Picturesque Story of Bronner's CHRISTmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Mich.
Just what it says, the development of the world's largest Christmas store, from Wally Bronner's sign painting business to three small stores in downtown Frankenmuth to the large store it is today. Many photos!

 A Red Herring Without Mustard, Alan Bradley
Having accidentally set the gypsy fortuneteller's tent afire, young Flavia de Luce offers the the woman the hospitality of a campsite near her home, Buckshaw, a crumbling estate housing Flavia, her stamp-engrossed ex-military father, her two hostile sisters, and her father's shellshocked former batman. Flavia, a precocious 11-year-old bullied by her sisters and fascinated by chemistry, only means to do a good deed, and is horrified when she discovers Fenella, the gypsy, bludgeoned in her caravan. No sooner has Fenella been hospitalized, with Flavia befriending her granddaughter Porcelain, and a break-in is discovered at Buckshaw, a murder occurs.

Flavia is in usual form in this third book in the series, alternately helped and hindered by Porcelain, however, I didn't enjoy it quite so well as the first two. There is a nice bit of business with something having to do with Flavia's late mother and a funny incident with the police inspector's wife.

 The Dressmaker, Kate Alcott
One of the notable tales from the Titanic disaster is the story of the lifeboat built for fifty which only held twelve, caused, according to later investigation, by lifeboats being lowered prematurely in a panic by an untrained crew, an historical incident which becomes the crux of this fictional story.

Household drudge and aspiring seamstress Tess Collins escapes from France by making a devil's bargain with the imperious Lady Duff Gordon, noted fashion designer, who is traveling to New York with her husband Cosmo. Tess has cause to regret her decision almost at once, as Lady Duff Gordon insults her one minute, praises her the next, but she is so eager for the woman's help to enter the dress designing field that she will put up with almost anything. In the aftermath of the disaster, Tess continues loyally standing up for her employer, even when ugly rumors surface about her having forbidden the sailors in the lifeboat to go back for survivors. She also befriends Sarah "Pinky" Wade, suffragette and rare woman reporter who is trying to get to the truth of the matter, and Jim Bonney, a sailor she previously encountered on Titanic, who was in the same lifeboat as the Duff Gordons and who refuses to be bribed with their money.

There's a good story behind this novel, set against the backdrop of the progressive-era United States, and it did keep my interest, but the text seems more suited for a younger audience than one for adults. The language of 1912 was more formal than today, but you would never know it from the dialog. Modernisms creep in, although, thankfully, there's nothing really egregious. The sentences are short and choppy; the prose rather flat. Alcott tries to bridge the century by addressing problems familiar to 21st century readers: a young woman caring for an aging parent, another young woman enduring emotional abuse from an employer, a young man fighting a system ruled by the "haves," a politician investigating a scandal, but while the characters experience emotional turmoil, it seems superficial, as if they are acting a part rather than truly living it. I also thought period color was sorely lacking: one of the joys of reading historical novels are the details specific to that era, and one doesn't need to describe every gas bracket, flocked wallpaper, and horse-drawn conveyance to do it, either.

In short, it's a nice historical read with some good details about the aftermath of the Titanic (very few novels address the hearings that took place afterward), but not very complex.

 The World of the Trapp Family, William Anderson and David Wade
This is a perfect book for those who wondered "what they really looked like." Although the Trapp family is forever tied to the beloved film and stage musical The Sound of Music, the real family story is much more complex. While this is mainly a photographic memoir of the history of the family, Anderson's brisk text does cover the history of Georg Von Trapp's first marriage, Maria's youth, and finally the history of the family after the marriage of Georg and Maria, and emigration to the United States as a performing singing group, later to settle in Stowe, Vermont, where the Trapp family still owns a lodge. Accompanying them was their friend Father Franz Wasner, who molded them into a choir and performed as their conductor. The busy Trapps, practicing, performing, making crafts, doing farm and religious work, building a place to live, and welcoming guests will make you feel positively slothful. :-)

 Murder on Lexington Avenue, Victoria Thompson
When a prominent businessman is killed, Frank Malloy is assigned to the case. The chief suspect appears to be a young deaf man who was teaching the businessman's daughter, also deaf, sign language, something her father had forbidden her to learn. Frank discovers that the young man works at the school his deaf son Brian attends, which teaches their pupils to use sign language, and the young woman attends a rival school, where only lip reading and speech are taught.

When the businessman's wife goes into labor, midwife Sarah Brandt is drawn into the case, and she finds, as Malloy does, that the family situation is more convoluted than either can imagine: the girl appears happy her father is dead, her mother has apparently been carrying another man's child, her brother seems unnaturally overprotective of her, and the young man accused of the crime appears besotted with her. Does he love her enough to kill her father to remove the barrier to their marriage? Another solid mystery in the Gaslight series, with some flirting between Malloy and Brandt, and an interesting look at the different philosophies of teaching the deaf, along with the unpleasant reminder of the eugenics movement.

 A Ball, A Dog, and a Monkey, Michael D'Antonio
I found this volume in the splendid bookstore of the Museum of the Air Force; there was so much to choose from and I decided on this, and it did not disappoint. It is the story of Sputnik and the next faltering steps into space, of those who later became famous in both United States and Soviet Union space programs, and of the atmosphere, life, and philosophy of the late 1950s. There's a surprising lot of information in this book that I had not yet encountered in any other book about the space program: a chapter about James Van Allen (as in the Van Allen radiation belt) and his "rockoon" (part rocket and part balloon); the tale of the Reston family's car trip through the Soviet Union; the career of reporter Wickie Stivers, a woman in a man's world; how a sleepy town in Alabama came to the forefront; the story of the animals that went into space, including Gordo the squirrel monkey and Russia's Laika; the development of Cocoa Beach; the government's fears vs. the public's surprising lack of curiosity; and the sometimes unusual personalities involved on both sides. This is a lively, enjoyable collection of engaging behind-the-scenes stories.

 The King's Best Highway, Eric Jaffe
I spent many years of my life riding up and down Post Road in Rhode Island, so I was naturally drawn to this history of what was originally the communications corridor of first the British colonies and later the New England states. There were, as I discovered, actually two routes, the one from Boston to Hartford thence to New York, and the route I was most familiar with, which runs past the airport and down past the Washington County beaches. The first part of the book covers the role the route played in colonial and later Revolutionary politics and life. The last part covers the rise of the automobile and how the old Post Road was almost overwhelmed by the rise of the superhighways. The central chapters take a curious detour into the history of the Northeast Corridor's railways; however, it parallels the influence the railroad had between the day of coaches and the rise of the automobile.

If you grew up near the two Post Roads as I did, you may find this history interesting. However, the book is a bit dry and I don't see it appealing to the general history reader.

 Acceptable Loss, Anne Perry
In what could be said to be the second half of a two-part story featuring Perry's early Victorian police detective William Monk, this novel picks up where Execution Dock left off, with Monk still determined to put an end to the sexual abuse of young boys by procurers who use the youngsters for the amusement of wealthy young men. However, the revelation of the money behind this horrific enterprise has put Monk and his wife Hester at odds with the wife (Hester's former assistant at a refuge for poor women) of their good friend and barrister Oliver Rathbone.

It was good to have a resolution to the mystery originally raised in Execution Dock, but it appears Perry had to run roughshod over at least one character to do so. From a wealthy woman who once defied convention to help Hester, Margaret Rathbone has turned into someone obsessed with her father to the point she will not listen to her sensible friend or adoring husband. One might have been more sympathetic to the emotional dilemma she faced due to Monk's revelations if she didn't spend the entire book acting like a frightful witch to people she implicitly trusted earlier. This inconsistency bothered me, and I therefore did not enjoy the story as much as I might have. At least it didn't end with a frustrating cliffhanger like its predecessor!

 The Mayflower and the Pilgrims' New World, Nathaniel Philbrick
This is stated as a young people's version of Philbrick's Mayflower, but it is a surprisingly adult if abridged text. It is excellent for a basic overview of the origin of the Pilgrims, their settlement on the shore of Eastern Massachusetts, and the long bloody history of what became known as "King Philip's War," with maps and illustrations scattered throughout the text. While the wording has been simplified, you will not feel talked down to if you use this as a simple way to acquaint yourself with the basic facts, and then continue to the original book for additional details if you find yourself so inclined.

 The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell
If this is a typical example of the author's sense of humor, I wasn't impressed. Her snark is not my style. However, I learned more about two of Rhode Island's founders, Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson, from her book than I ever did in twelve years of Rhode Island education, so along with my lack of approbation of her humor I must include appreciation for her history lesson. Unfortunately the book is riddled with modern American political potshots as well, and as a whole I did not enjoy it.

If you are more tolerant of Vowell's prose, then there is much of interest in this book, which addresses the Puritans who settled Massachusetts after the Pilgrims [different group!] settled in Plymouth. The two groups are often confused, with "our Puritan forebears" much different than stereotypically portrayed. The conflict between the philosophies of John Winthrop and Williams/Hutchinson are well described. If you care enough to extract the fact from the snark and frequent political diatribes, you will have some interesting facts. Otherwise, steer clear.

 Just My Type, Simon Garfield
Given that my husband has had to drag me away from font software during much of our relationship, I couldn't help buying this book, and it did not disappoint, beginning with the endpapers of the Periodic Table of Typefaces and opening with a bang!-biff!-pow! in a chapter about the most vilified typeface of all time, the ubiquitous Comic Sans. In short, amusing but informative chapters, Garfield discusses the history of typefaces, how typefaces influence us, stereotype situations, the anatomy of a typeface, how modern typefaces are created and the intents of their creators, how logo fonts become representative of the product or person they advertise, even spotting font anachronisms in films. College Humor's funny videos "Font Conference" and "Font Fight" make a brief appearance as well! For font fans, a fabulous feast!