Books Finished Since May 1

Victorian London: The Tale of a City 1840-1870, Liza Picard
I couldn't resist the description or peeps inside this book, and it paid me back for its purchase fourfold. This is a wonderful summary of the lives of Victorians of the lower and middle classes. Picard divides the book into chapters about each aspect of the Victorian life, and, most tellingly, she begins with a chapter about smell, as the manured- and horse-urined streets and the stink of the polluted Thames along with the scents of rarely-washed bodies would have been the thing that struck a modern person most about the era. Then she visits the home, the businesses, the hospitals, the taverns, the social gathering places, and tells of the people, from the mudlarks who risked their lives gathering valuables from the river to be able to eat to the homeowners and the professionals. While certainly not an exhaustive study, it is easy to read without being simplistic, helping you to envision the era. Highly recommended!

Since Yesterday, Frederick Lewis Allen
This was a library read, a sequel to Allen's classic about the 1920s, Only Yesterday. Many books written at this time were stodgy and stiff, but Allen writes in a looser style close to the way a modern book might be written, asking you to envision the world of the 1930s. I found this book a little bit less appealing than the 1920s book only because, having read much about the Depression, I knew most of the material. To me the book shines when he talks about the personalities and other events of the day, such as the Lindbergh baby kidnapping. However, if you haven't done much reading about the Depression era, Allen's observations, written immediately after the events, are a fascinating "I was there" text.

A River in the Sky, Elizabeth Peters
Since her original protagonists, the redoubtable Amelia Peabody Emerson and her husband, renown Egyptologist Radcliffe Emerson, are now in their seventies and the younger generation, Walter "Ramses" Emerson and his wife Nefret are parents, Elizabeth Peters is now going back in time to fill in some of the "missing adventures" of the Emerson family. As our story opens, it is 1910, and since Radcliffe Emerson has been banned from Egypt after a contretemps with the Minister of Antiquities, the family is at home in Kent while Ramses works on a dig in Palestine. Then a vague but prophetic stranger arrives at their home.

Like the last few books about the family, the action has shifted to the younger generation, which was inevitable. However, since we know the future of the characters, any suspense which involves the main characters is therefore nonexistent. The different setting (Palestine rather than Egypt) may also put off fans of the Egyptian settings. In addition, Nefret doesn't get much to do in this go-round except worry. A nice additional family chronicle/adventure, but not one of the best.

American History Revised: 200 Startling Facts That Never made It Into the Textbooks, Seymour Morris Jr.
Books like this, which present oddities and hidden facts of history, are compulsive with me; this volume did not disappoint (although I can't claim that I wasn't familiar with all of the "startling facts"). It is divided into ten sections, including forgotten facts, things that almost didn't (or did) happen, presidential trivia, tidbits about sports figures and actors, common folk who were thrust into the limelight, pioneers, philanthropists, financiers, wars and inventions, discoveries and explorers. This is the perfect bedtime book, as in you can read one or two sections at the time. The one problem with this book?: you'll find yourself reading choice bits aloud to anyone who will listen.

Time Out for Happiness, Frank B. Gilbreth Jr.
While almost everyone knows the story of Cheaper by the Dozen, the chronicle of efficiency experts Frank Bunker and Lillian Moller Gilbreth raising their brood of twelve children, and fans may be familiar with the sequel, Belles on Their Toes, this is a less well-known volume written by Frank Jr. concentrating on his parents' early life and their work. I hadn't read it in years and noticed that it was available at the library, since copies are expensive. This is a splendid companion to the other books, beginning with the courtship of Frank and Lillie, then going back to their early lives and continuing with their partnership, and, after Frank's death, Lillie's individual triumphs in the industry despite the opposition to women in the field. A great read about a unique couple, told with Gilbreth's usual humor.

The Revolutionary Paul Revere, Joel J. Miller
Miller writes a folksy account of the life of Paul Revere, still known mainly for his infamous ride (many of the details which are true "poetic license") against the backdrop of the colonial period and the Revolutionary War, so the reader learns not only about the life of Revere, but about the era he lived in. The benchmark in Paul Revere biographies (quoted in this book several times) is Esther Forbes' masterwork, Paul Revere and the World He Lived In, but it is indeed a scholarly work; casual readers and young adults doing research for school may find this volume more approachable. However, Miller's use of modern terms, used to make Revere appear more "human" and less history demigod, was so excessive it began to annoy me, which was a pity since the narrative moved so well.

Garden Secrets for Attracting Birds, Rachael Lanicci
Not that we need to attract any more; our feeders are doing booming business. :-) But this is a lovely book filled with the most popular "backyard birds," and what plants, seeds, and "furnishings" you can add to your yard to attract each one. The bird photos are just stunning, especially those of the adults feeding the babies, and the babies themselves.

Wild Horse Annie and the Last of the Mustangs, David Cruise and Alison Griffiths
If you grew up, like me, loving each horse book written by Marguerite Henry, you'll remember "Annie" Bronn Johnston, the woman who became appalled at the fate of the mustangs of Nevada and fought to keep them from being herded up and sold for slaughter. "Wild Horse Annie's" real name was Velma, a woman whose body was cruelly wracked by polio at a young age, leaving her face misshapen and her body with a host of medical problems. But it didn't stop Velma and her husband Charlie from trying to save the horses, from daring raids on corrals to facing even more frightening varmints: politicians and the Bureau of Land Management. This is Velma's story, more fascinating, adult, and straightforward than Henry's (her friendship, and, sadly, falling out, with Marguerite Henry is included in the narrative). Highly recommended for fans who grew up with Henry's story of Velma and horse/nature lovers.

Inventory, by the writers of the A.V. Club
From the bargain rack, an entertaining book of lists, although there are too many references to rock bands for my liking. How can you not like a book with a list called "6 Keanu Reeves Movies Somehow Not Ruined by Keanu Reeves"?

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue, John McWhorter
What made the English language what it is? The usual histories of English cite the invasions of the Angles and the Saxons (from where we get "good old" Anglo-Saxon words), then the Vikings (remnants which can be found in Yorkshire town names and words with "sk"), and finally Norman French. Yet English contains structures not used in any other Germanic-based language, nor in French. Where did this structural style come from? McWhorter's answer: Welsh and Cornish, and perhaps even a smattering of Phoenician. McWhorter definitely believes that the old Celtic word structure inspired some of the unique usage of English, and spends the remainder of the book trying to prove it by example. If you're not really into linguistics, you'll be bored with this book. I found it moderately interesting, but then I'm odd like that. :-)

How the States Got Their Shapes, Mark Stein
I looked at this one off and on, but did not buy it until the History Channel special based on the book aired. Title tells all: how were the boundary lines of each of the states decided upon? Fascinating bits including why Mississippi and Alabama have those "tags" (for access to the Gulf; it was previously part of Florida), why Nebraska has a corner cut from it, and why it, Kansas and the Dakotas are of the same height, why Michigan got the peninsula, and more historical goodies. Heck, I never realized Fall River was once considered to be part of Rhode Island; we gave it back to Massachusetts in exchange for East Providence. Um...not really a fair trade. :-) (J/K! I used to work in East Providence.)

True North: A Memoir, Elliott Merrick
This is an extraordinary book. In 1929, Merrick quit his rat-race advertising job and moved to the wilds of Labrador, where he met and married his wife Kay, a mission nurse. This volume chronicles a winter odyssey that the Merricks took while accompanying a friend running his trapline. They suffer cold and exhaustion, and Merrick both suffers a gunshot wound and a severely cut toe, yet both find beauty, awe and inner peace in the freedom of the wintry world. While Merrick is unflinching in describing their hardships, his prose makes the winter world poetic and majestic, and the men and women who endure and triumph over it like heroes of old who are still down-to-earth. For anyone who's ever wanted to break away from the humdrum. Note: this was written in 1930, and some descriptions of the Native tribes are no longer "PC." However, Merrick is much more admiring of their lifestyle than others of his time.

The Sisters Grimm: The Unusual Suspects, Michael Buckley
Sabrina and Daphne Grimm were two orphans shunted from foster home to foster home until their grandmother came to claim them. Little did they know they were descended from the Grimm brothers, and that they were about to live in Ferryport, a hidden refugee town for all those fairy tale characters: the mayor is Prince Charming, still in love with schoolteacher Snow White, and the sheriff is one of the Three Little Pigs. In this outing, the girls start school, only for Sabrina to be terrorized by bullies and perplexed by perpetually sleepy classmates. Then her teacher is killed. What kind of creature is stalking Ferryport Elementary?

Buckley has created a fun mishmash of fairy tale creatures, fantasy events, and real-life children coping with them. The stories are suspenseful as well as seasoned with a generous dollop of humor. Be warned, however, that the tales do contain violence; these are not Disney fairy tale pastiches.

Favorite in Space

One of my favorite short stories: "The Menace from Earth"

And while I'm posting favorite short stories, my two favorites:

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"

"The Most Dangerous Game"

Books Finished Since April 1

Jesus, Interrupted. Bart Ehrman
I wanted to read something theologically interesting for Easter, so this was one of two volumes I bought. I have not done any reading of the Bible in total for many years, but read my children's Bible from cover-to-cover (this was not a kiddy Bible with BIG COLORED WORDS and cartoony illustrations; it was the text simplified for pre-teens). Erhman, author of Misquoting Jesus, writes intelligently about the problem with conflicting statements in the new testament. Why does one Gospel tell the nativity story differently from the other? Why does one Gospel proclaim Jesus' divinity while the other doesn't? Why do ministers learn these facts in divinity school and not mention them to their congregations? Ehrman documents all the differences, then leaves you to make up your mind about your faith. I enjoyed reading this book, but it is not something I will be keeping. YMMV.

The National Parks: America's Best Idea, Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns
If you watched the PBS documentary, this is basically a print retelling of the event. Coffee-table size, with sturdy paper filled with photos of National Park landscapes as well as the people that shaped the parks: John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt (and Franklin), businessman-turned-National-Parks-director Stephen Mather and his assistant Horace Albright, Edward and Margaret Gehrkes (the epitome of National Park fans), George Melendez Wright, this volume ranges from pioneer discoveries to modern refuges, from train tourists to motoring maniacs, from the tragedy of Hetch Hetchy and the deforestation of the Smokies, John D. Rockefeller Jr. contributions, and more, including insets about modern-day park rangers. And did I mention the breathtaking photos, many of them double-page spreads? Highly recommended if you enjoyed the television presentation.

The Boneshaker, Kate Milford
Where do I start about this book? Well, it's 1914 in the tiny town of Arcane, Missouri, close to a crossroads that was abandoned in the mid-1800s after a bizarre epidemic. Thirteen-year-old Natalie Minks, daughter of the town's bicycle shop owner, her mother the best teller-of-tales in town, is a tomboy who loves nothing better to work with the machinery in her father's shop. And then one day things change: the town doctor departs to check on a mysterious illness nearby, while a traveling medicine show arrives in town. Natalie should be delighted—the show contains all types of neat automata (clockwork items)—but instead she only begins receiving visions of troubling things...

An utter page-turner: a little bit Something Wicked This Way Comes, a little Dr. Lao, a little Jules Verne, maybe even a bit Phantom Tollbooth, with a spunky heroine, a mysterious guitar-playing townsman, an unusual drifter who hits town at the same time as the medicine show, the creepy abandoned village at the crossroads where disaster seems to strike most vehicles passing through, terrifying dark places and mysterious mechanical men (hmmm...maybe even a little bit Wild, Wild West), and Natalie's "boneshaker" bicycle that she must master if things are to right themselves. Plus cool pen-and-ink illustrations throughout. Buy, buy, buy this book, especially if you are at all into fantasy, "steampunk," or folk tales.

Good Book, David Plotz
While Jesus, Interrupted was about the New Testament, this is about the Old: Plotz, a non-practicing Jew, realized that he had not really read the Old Testament, except that which he had to study in order to get his Bar Mitzvah. Based on Plotz's blog, "Blogging the Bible," this is Plotz's commentary on his readings. Biblical scholars and strict observers will probably find Plotz's narrative either irritating or sacrilegious. I had not read the Bible for some years, so the text refreshed all the familiar stories—with a lot more of the violence intact. In general Plotz keeps the tone light, and occasionally this gets wearying, but he reminds us all that the men and women of the Bible were no saints, but complicated human beings.

Secrets at Camp Nokomis, Jacqueline Dembar Greene
This is the first "Rebecca" mystery in the American Girls series, and I must admit that as a juvenile, it's not bad. Rebecca is attending camp sponsored by a charity group, having escaped New York right in the middle of an epidemic of polio which has quarantined her best friend Rose. Rebecca's high hopes of making friends fail after a promising start when she runs afoul of a selfish tentmate; meanwhile she tries to puzzle out her bunkmate, a shy, small girl who disappears at the oddest times.

However, there is a disadvantage in being an adult history buff reading this book: historical problems (to my eyes, at least). 1916, like it or not, was an extremely anti-Semitic time. Did Jewish children really go to the same camps as Catholic/Protestant children? Since numerous hotels/resorts/restaurants, etc. had "no Jews allowed" rules back then, it seems odd. (The book does address another form of prejudice. Perhaps the author didn't want to dump too many ugly truths on kids at once?) The camp Rebecca goes to is one for poor children, who didn't have the arranged crafts, swimming and canoe lessons; they were just there to play, eat healthy food, and get fresh air. Camps of the sort Rebecca attends were for middle-class to wealthy children. In addition, a young female character is found alone with a young male character. In 1916? He'd be forced to marry her when everyone found out! Did girls' camps even have male counselors back then? All the books I have read that take place in that era, like Hildegarde Frey's Camp Fire girls series, show girls' camps as strictly female domains.

Anyway, read to see how Rebecca copes with a bully and discovers a friend, but don't go to this one for historical accuracy.

Missing Grace, Elizabeth McDavid Jones
This is a page-turned, possibly the best Kit mystery yet, very close in feel to a Nancy Drew book. Grace, Kit's lovable basset hound, is a minor celebrity after she saves the Kittredges and their boarders from a chimney fire, but it doesn't keep her from being relegated to the back porch after a persnickety temporary boarder decrees she won't sleep with a dog in the house. But after Grace vanishes after one night on the porch, Kit, helped by her friends Ruthie and Stirling, must hunt her down. In the process, Kit—and the reader—learns more about the business of raising and showing dogs.

Hello, Everybody!: The Dawn of American Radio, Anthony Rudel
What industry was supported by sex rejuvenation promotions, free speech promoters, businesses scrambling for their customers' attention, followers who wanted to be on the cutting edge of technology, and performers (whether involved in show business or sports) looking for new outlets? If you said the internet, you'd be close, but wrong. This engaging book looks at the American radio industry before its Golden Age (when a simple voice reading a bedtime story or the newspaper or a musical number plinked out on a piano over the airwaves was considered miraculous) and the personalities involved in its ascension: Dr. Brinkley, the goat-gland man; soon-to-be-president Herbert Hoover; collegiate crooner Rudy Vallee, the first radio singing superstar; religious rivals Robert Schuler, Aimee Semple McPherson, and Father Coughlin; rising politician Franklin D. Roosevelt; and other colorful characters. It struck me so many times how early radio resembled the rise of the internet, and I'm certain it was the author's intention. If you're an OTR fan who'd like to know what came before the rise of Amos'n'Andy, The Kraft Music Hall, and other radio classics, this book may be just your cup of Postum.

The Riddle of the Paper Daughter, Kathryn Reiss
This, the third in the newest cycle of American Girl mysteries, and the next in the Julie stories, sets a less simplistic mystery than its predecessor. When her Chinese friend Ivy's grandparents donate some clothing to Julie's mom's trendy shop, Gladrags, Julie finds a note in Chinese in the pocket of an old jacket. She and Ivy discover it was a relic of Po-Po's (Ivy's grandmother) journey to America, a "coaching note." That same evening, Julie and Ivy's Chinese dolls are stolen. Why would someone steal them? Was it Ivy's Chinese class teacher? The mysterious ponytailed man who seems to be following the girls around? Or someone else? And can the two friends reunite Po-Po with a fellow shipmate who had become a dear friend? While you're figuring out the mystery, you will learn much about Chinese immigration to the United States and the ordeal that faced them on Angel Island when they arrived. A great mystery as well!

Happy Dog, Billy Rafferty and Jill Cahr
Frankly, I bought this book because it was on the bargain table, and, as a dog owner, wondered if it could tell me anything new about keeping a happy, healthy dog. Most of it is told in a light style which occasionally gets irritating when the author inserts a chirpy comment about "no-nos." (Mind, all of his concerns are very real; I am not making light of what he is commenting on.) Since the author is a professional groomer, as you can expect, a portion of the book is taken in instructions about bathing and grooming. While I am appalled at backyard dogs and dogs that are ignored by their families to the point where a groomer finds wounds and rubbish hidden in your dog's coat, if you spent as much time as Rafferty recommends on caring for the dog, you probably wouldn't have time to go to work, or wouldn't be able to own a dog. Sensibleness is the key here and this all seems overdone.

Farm Fresh Murder, Paige Shelton
Becca Robins lives on a small farm with her dog Hobbit, raising berries and other vegetables for preserves and jams which she sells every weekend at Bailey's Farmer's Market, which is run by her twin sister Allison. One Saturday morning Becca arrives late, only to discover there has been a murder—one of the other sellers has been killed with an axe—and the main suspect is her friend and fellow seller Abner Justen, a cantankerous old coot who, despite his personality, treats Becca like a daughter.

As always happens in cozies, Becca, convinced of Abner's innocence, gets involved in the investigation. There are several suspects, mostly people she works with, including a sexy guy Becca would like to get to know better, and the straitlaced police officer investigating the crime also provides a spark of romance within the investigation. Despite all this, I didn't feel as if the characters were ever fully fleshed. Becca's likable enough, but she never crossed the line to "real person" to me, and her relationships with sexy Ian and sober Sam reminds me eerily of the Maggie/Marcus/Tom triangle in Madelyn Alt's Bewitching series. The ending, in which Becca confronts the murderer, is quite suspenseful and adds to my rating a bit, but I'm not sure if I will read any more of these. Becca's dog is cute, though. :-)

Ooooh, New Julia Grey Book...

...in October!

Dark Road to Darjeeling

Books Finished Since March 1

Foundation, Mercedes Lackey (re-read)
Mercedes Lackey returns to her Valdemar universe after a five-year absences. While Foundation, set at the time that Herald's Collegium is being built (and being fussed about by older Heralds who think the old way of instructing novices one-on-one is fine), isn't terrible, it does read a bit like a young-adult novel rather than a tale for adults. And there is the usual plot: adolescent, badly treated (in this case, the boy protagonist Mags is a mine slave, so it's more serious than usual), is Chosen and finds happiness, but also finds challenges in the form of evil intentions by outsiders. In this case the "evil" comes late in the novel and is just a setup for the remainder of the trilogy, so nothing really earth-shaking happens. Still, it's another new Valdemar novel, and hopefully something a bit more exciting will occur in the sequels.

Blood and Circuses, Kerry Greenwood
In this sixth book in the Phryne Fisher series, Phryne is asked by carnival friends to find out who is trying to drive Farrell's Circus out of business. Phryne joins the circus as "Fern," a dancer turned trick rider (she learns to trick ride for the mission). In the meantime a hermaphrodite man who belonged to the same circus dies in a boarding house nearby; a former circus performer is accused of his death.

This is a fascinating entry in the Phryne Fisher series, giving you an inside look at a traveling circus in 1928 Australia and a glimpse of the people who work there: clowns who are thought unlucky, unusual people like dwarves and hermaphrodites who are accepted in the circus where they would not be anywhere else. Phryne, who has taken the job because she was bored, learns about loneliness and fear. We're also given a glimpse of Australian gangsters and street crime of the 1920s, including a prostitute who's becoming a drug addict. As is usual with a Phryne Fisher book, all the lads are attracted to her, and she manages to have hot sex with two different men. But it's a cracking good mystery as well.

Murder in the Dark, Kerry Greenwood
In the next to the latest of the Phryne Fisher books, she is invited to "the Last Best Party of 1928" at a home rented by an English brother and sister, a "golden couple" who attract hangers-on who worship them and act as servants to their whims. Phryne's not certain if she'll attend until a series of threats urge her to keep away. Since no one tells the Hon. Miss Fisher what to do, Phryne arrives at the rented estate to rub hands and horns with sycophants, Bright Young Things, and other denizens attending the party. Then a child the siblings have adopted is kidnapped and someone starts sending Phryne a series of riddles.

The story is a vivid portrait of bored wealthy youth and their hangers-on in the 1920s. It was the puzzle, Phryne, and the young man who she befriended that kept me reading, as the siblings and their friends were frankly obnoxious. I couldn't imagine a more horrendous group to spend the New Year with, which, of course, made the ending all the worse (and all the more ironic).

Have You Seen My Country Lately?, Jerry Doyle
As I get older, I start to wonder what has happened to our freedoms: the rise of the "nanny state," kids afraid to go outside and play, not to mentioned threatened at school by other children whose parents seem to make no attempt to control them, more rules and regulations leading to more chaos instead of less, people who would rather sue than take responsibility for their actions. Doyle echoes many of my concerns about the eroding of our rights and the obliviousness of the politicians that are supposed to represent us. I also enjoyed the brief biographical information included.

The Book of Lists: The 90s Edition, David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace
I have all the Book of List volumes, which are fun reading, like popcorn in print. Perfect bathroom books, or bedside reading.

The Mapping of Love and Death, Jacqueline Winspear
In 1914, Michael Clifton intends to purchase valuable California land under which he believes is oil. While he is enroute to the East coast, war breaks out in Europe, and Clifton feels the need to serve the country of his father's birth. Eighteen years later, Clifton's body is unearthed in a trench, and it looks as if he met his death not by wartime action, but by malicious intent. His parents engage private inquiry agent Maisie Dobbs to dig into Michael's past, especially to see if she can find a mysterious nurse who appeared in love letters found with Michael's body.

This is an excellent volume in the Maisie Dobbs series. The title references not only Maisie's search into Michael's life (he was a cartographer), but of the changes happening in her personal life as well. For years Maisie has held herself aloof from most relationships, except those with her mentor Maurice Blanche and her father. Now, between her friend Pen's matchmaking attempts and the appearance of someone from her past, Maisie is faced with re-examination of her future. Time is also forcing her to face another event she has dreaded.

I find Winspear's prose enjoyable, whether telling us of Maisie's inner turmoil as well as walking us through her deductive reasoning, or describing 1930s England and the repercussions left behind by World War I. She has made me feel as if all her characters are family: Maisie, her father, Maurice, Lord and Lady Compton and their son, Maisie's assistant Billy and his family, Andrew Dene, and others introduced in the course of the series. I look forward to following Maisie into the future.

Scent of the Missing: Love & Partnership With a Search and Rescue Dog, Susannah Charleson
This is an enjoyable book about the training of Puzzle, a Golden retriever, for search and rescue, interspersed with the author's memories of her own training in the field (and occasionally personal reasons for her involvement in the work). I enjoyed Charleson's descriptive language; if it gets occasionally flowery, it paints evocative word pictures of search sites, inclement weather, the dogs as they work, the scents and sounds of a disaster area, the tension surrounding a search and the uncertainties of the process, victims and families. As in real life, some of the searches are not resolved, and some end tragically. A particularly absorbing chapter that takes place before Charleson adopted Puzzle concerns her participation in looking for wreckage from the Columbia space shuttle.

While the search and rescue chapters are absorbing, some of the best parts of the book are about Puzzle's relationship with Charleson's family of Pomeranians, each a rescue, including an elderly, blind dog who was allowed to wander away from his deceased owner's home by her children because they didn't want the animal. Puzzle's relationship with "Scuppy" is especially memorable. Recommended for dog lovers as well as those interested in search and rescue work.

House Unauthorized: Vasculitis, Clinic Duty and Bad Bedside Manner, ed. by Leah Wilson
If you are a fan of House, MD, you may enjoy these essays about the various aspects of the series. Sections include House, the show; House the character; the psychology of Gregory House; and his interactions with the other characters. I have to confess I found the opening essay, where different fictional "concepts" (like "House, Heating and Plumbing Contractor") were supposedly tried out before a hospital setting was decided on, fell a bit flat in the humor department.

However, the majority of the pieces in this volume were of interest. Particularly noted: one comparing House to Hawkeye Pierce, another comparing Sherlock Holmes (the basis for the character) to House, and a fascinating query into why the fact House takes drugs to control debilitating pain is considered bad. There are also two essays about Wilson's role as sidekick, one postulating that Wilson, at least part time, may be a figment of House's imagination, plus another about how Cameron, Chase, and Foreman each reflect a part of House's personality.

WindowsXP Timesaving Techniques for Dummies, 2nd Edition, Woody Leonhard
These are...surprise!...timesaving techniques for WindowsXP! I read through this book, but merely browsed some sections, not really interested in optimizing Internet Explorer, which I only use as a CITGO gateway. Leonhard writes in a light, humorous style to keep your interest in what might be a deadly subject to some. I found his instructions to do a System Restore very helpful (it didn't help the problem, but now I know how to do it). Neat stuff like desktop e-mail shortcuts, using Windows Media Player to rip CDs to mp3s, even a section on using a scanner effectively. And, as always, battling spam and viruses.

Winging It, Jenny Gardiner
Scott and Jenny Gardiner had always wanted a parrot. Four months after the birth of their first child, Scott's brother gives them a wild-caught, terrified and traumatized African grey fledgeling.

This is the story of the Gardiners' life with "Graycie," as the bird was named, who never seemed comfortable in the Gardiners' busy home, eventually full of three children, two cats, and a dog who seemed allergic to almost everything. Despite Graycie's hostile personality, the Gardiners took their responsibility to her seriously and continued to try to bridge the gap between themselves and their reluctant pet. Once the family moves to a home where Graycie has her own space, it seems they may start making progress with her, but even this is interrupted by family emergencies, including a frightening series of seizures affecting their older daughter.

I have been a bird lover since childhood, with a succession of budgies, so this story struck rather close to home. I admired the family's decision not to make Graycie a disposable pet, but felt bad for Graycie as well: while Jenny and Scott never ignored Graycie for stupid things like endless cocktail parties, social climbing, and shopping sprees, it seems there were so many genuine family crises that kept them from being able to bond more with their bird. Indeed, Gardiner spends several pages apologizing for the times attention to Graycie had to take second place to childrens' injury/sickness, her own health problems, and home problems.

Therefore I was a bit ambivalent about my enjoyment of the book in total, but would recommend it to bird lovers, especially to those who might think owning a bird in the parrot species is "easy" and you will immediately have a cute, funny pet like those macaws and cockatoos in films, or they will be decorative and decorous. Like ownership of any pet, or parenting of a child, owning a parrot is a lifetime responsibility.

Wishing for Tomorrow, Hilary McKay
The tendency at the end of a classic book with beloved characters is for the reader to wonder "what happened next." Some folks just daydream about it, some write fanfiction, but there are others with enough reputation to have publishers who will support a sequel effort. Some really don't work out, like Susan Moody's hideous Misselthwaite (Return to the Secret Garden), an adult effort which managed to malign the characters of the original novel. Some are good efforts which fall flat, like Before Green Gables.

This children's sequel to The Little Princess, however, is quite readable, remains fairly close to the characters as originated by Burnett, and keeps up a good pace. McKay doesn't try to imitate the Victorian style under which Burnett wrote, which is both good and bad: the narration often seems simplistic next to Burnett's, lacking her wordcraft skills, and words which sound too modern creep in now and again. She also steers away from the unfortunate Victorian tendency to pigeonhole "well bred people" as those who would not willingly do anything wrong or sink into degradation.

If you were hoping to see more of Sara Crewe, you will be disappointed: she is a sideline character in this story, chiefly appearing in letters to Ermengarde, who continues to struggle against being an average child in a household full of overachievers. Snobby Lavinia comes into her own in the story as well, as we discover the reason for her vindictiveness, which uncovers the hidden bitterness in Miss Minchin's life as well. Lottie has turned into a bit of a brat in the story (one longs to make her sit down and shush), and the new maid who replaces Becky is very outspoken, not acting at all like the typical Victorian servant. However, these are minor problems; as sequels go, it is enjoyable and recommended for anyone who wonders "what happened next."

Books Finished Since February 1

The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bill in Half, Stephanie Nelson
I hadn't been couponing as much as I used to, so I picked up this volume to kick-start myself again. There are some good strategies here, even for people with busy schedules who can't monitor multiple coupon packets/websites/lists for coupons; she divides couponing strategies into three different groups to facilitate a system for each person's lifestyle. There are even recipes to go along with the foods that most often go on sale/have coupons.

The War Against Miss Winter, Kathryn Miller Haines
Aspiring actress Rosalind Winter's luck is all bad: her boyfriend was shipped out after they had a falling-out, if she can't get a role soon she'll be tossed out of her theatrical boarding house, and when she walks into the office of her part-time job (secretarial work for a private detective), she discovers her boss has (ostensibly) committed suicide. She knows there's something suspicious about the death, odd people keep approaching her, and suddenly she's involved in a production by an offbeat playwright.

I was ambivalent about this one: on one hand I enjoyed the 1940s wartime New York City setting, the behind-the-scene theatrical machinations, the life at Rosie's boarding house, her friendship with the deceptively fragile Jayne, and some of the supporting characters, including Jayne's mobster boyfriend and Rosie's unexpected new friend Al. On the other hand, I wavered back and forth about caring about the plot, which mixed one part of Rosie's life with the other, and Rosie's excessive use of 1940s slang gets really wearing after a while. If you are a fan of 40s noir-ish mystery with a wisecracking heroine, you might enjoy this, but I'm debating going on with the series. I hear the slang is slackened in the sequel.

Thinking in Pictures, Temple Grandin
Author of Animals in Translation and other animal psychology volumes and a PhD, Grandin is also an autistic person who has managed to learn to cope with the "normal" world. She explains how her thinking differs compared to a non-autistic person, and how it has helped her in her chosen field, designing humane apparatus for slaughterhouses. Grandin's concepts of animal thought are fascinating, but in this book about her, I would have preferred more about her. We get tantalizing glimpses in how she suffered from excessive noise and touch, her difficulty "reading" people and understanding abstract concepts, etc., but never quite hear her story, rather what she suggests would help parents with autistic children and those children themselves.

Silent on the Moor, Deanna Raybourn
When last we met, Heathcliff—oops, Nicholas Brisbane—had gone to Yorkshire to manage an estate, and he had asked Lady Julia Grey's sister Portia to help him with some household problems. Of course headstrong Julia, being a March, and being in love with Heath...I mean Brisbane, decides to accompany her sister. In Yorkshire they find the odd remnants of the family that Brisbane has taken over the estate from: an aristocratic mother, an ethereal older sister, and a practical younger one, not to mention an unusual gypsy woman living on the moor. Julia has come to Yorkshire to find out if her attraction to Brisbane can be resolved, but instead is drawn into old family secrets and hatred. Portia also receives a shocking blow in this third book in the series. The Brontë-ish setting works well with the resolving of the Julia/Brisbane plot, but the publisher should be shot for their new "bodice-ripper" covers. Newcomers to the story should probably start at the beginning of the trilogy to understand the tempestuous March family, and Julia's ongoing relationship to the enigmatic Brisbane.

Vienna Secrets, Frank Tallis
A friend has been reading this series of turn-of-the-20th-century mysteries set in Vienna, involving police detective Oskar Reinhardt and his working relationship/friendship with a young doctor (Max Liebermann) specializing in the new science of psychology, so when this fourth entry in the series presented itself on Amazon Vine, I ordered it, hoping one could pick up on the story without having read the previous three books. The mystery itself initially involves the grisly murder of a Catholic priest, a man killed by decapitation, having had his head yanked forcibly from his body, directly next to a monument of the plague.

Tallis' descriptions of 1903 Vienna bring that venerable city to life. One can see the medieval squares, almost smell and taste the luscious pastries so lovingly described in coffeehouse visits, note the decay in portions of the cities. It is also an excellent portrait of a time where advances in psychiatry go hand-in-hand with virulent anti-Semitism (including a deliberate charge brought against Dr. Leibermann for not allowing a Catholic patient to receive last rites from a priest) in government circles. I think it helps to have read the previous books to discover how Reinhardt and Leibermann became friends, and also to be a fan of police procedurals, which I confess I am not. I enjoyed the mystery, but wasn't fond of the psychiatric musings.

Appetite for America: Fred Harvey Civilizing the West—One City at a Time, Stephen Fried
In 1853 young Englishman Fred Harvey arrived in the United States almost penniless; by the time of his death he had built an empire of eating establishments (and several hotels) that stretched across the Midwest to California. In 1946, ironically as his empire was dying, his "Harvey Houses" were immortalized in the Judy Garland film The Harvey Girls. Harvey elevated railroad eateries, once the nadir of American cooking with slow service and heavily fried and recycled food that required gobbling down during the short station stops, to a European fine dining standard and introduced the "civilizing" element of the Harvey Girl waitress to the West.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Fried uses the westward expansion of the United States and the growth of railroad travel through its golden age as a canvas against which he verbally paints the growth of the Fred Harvey chain in a friendly conversational style that never talks down to its audience. From "bleeding Kansas" to the final victory in World War II, the growth of the Harvey family (both "in triumph and tragedy") and empire takes place against the history of the United States: the Civil War, westward expansion, the development of the National Park system (and Harvey's role in publicizing the Grand Canyon, the Southwest, and Native American crafts), the industrialization of the country, and two world wars.

Fried includes Harvey House recipes and his own experience traveling along the "Harvey route" as a postscript to an already enthralling tale. Highly recommended for history buffs and even those whose previous knowledge of a Harvey House simply consists of knowing the words to "On the Atchinson, Topeka and the Santa Fe."

Time Unincorporated, Volume 1, Lance Parkin
This is a collection of articles that Parkin wrote for various Doctor Who print fanzines over the years, especially in the years between the cancellation of the original series until the revival. Also included is Parkin's overview of the series, year by year. Whether or not you agree with all of Parkin's opinions, this is a fun read for a Who fan, especially one funny essay about the Daleks masquerading as a field report. Especially when he begins talking about the announcements and then buildup to the new series, it brings back the excitement Who fans felt when they first heard the series was coming back. All I remember is when I first saw "Rose," I wanted to shout, like the famous hockey announcer, "Do you believe in miracles?"

Don't Eat This Book, Morgan Spurlock
A follow-on to Spurlock's film, Super Size Me, in which he ate nothing but McDonald's food for an entire month. Between this volume and Fast Food Nation, it's enough to turn you off any of them for the rest of your life. Made me even guilty for the plain junior hamburger and bowl of mandarin oranges I usually get at Wendy's.

Spurlock makes good points about the "healthy" foods that fast food establishments are supposedly putting in their menus that are, with the additives to make them palatable, turn out to be as fattening as the original foods they served. (Check out the books Eat This, Not That and you will learn that sometimes that big bad hamburger has fewer calories and less salt than the "healthy" chicken sandwich some places offer.) He intersperses his experience making the film and eating at McDonald's between chapters on food additives, how some health companies who defend fast food restaurants are actually paid by them, and much other dirt on the fast food industry. While it was nothing I didn't know before, it was—if you'll pardon the pun—food for thought about the additive-and-fat heavy diet we eat these days.

The Tale of Briar Bank, Susan Wittig Albert
How delicious! Miss Beatrix Potter escapes from her stultifying life with her parents at Bolton Gardens for a few days at her farmhouse in the Lake District and is promptly snowed in, which means she can enjoy additional days at her beloved Hill Top Farm with her Sawrey neighbors. In the meantime, a tree has fallen on Hugh Wickstead, a local farmer, killing him, and Lady Longford's barn has burnt down, from what looked like lightning. But the animals of Sawrey know better, for Wickstead's terrier Pickles saw the miscreant...a dragon was the culprit, a dragon guarding the treasure Mr. Wickstead has found!

There is a mystery involved in these pages, but the narrative contains more than usual of the whimsical animal interactions that are the special mark of Albert's Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. The Wind in the Willows-type relationships between the animals are cute, but I could have hoped for a little more of the real-life mystery and encounters between the people, especially as the romance between Beatrix and lawyer William Heelis is beginning to grow. Still, Albert writes in such a lovely approximation of Potter's own style, and describes the little animal nooks with such loving detail that it's hard not to want to visit these little cozy places yourself. But, warning...for cozy fans only!

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, Lauren Willig
I remember saying these books were like peanuts. They are not. If you are in the mood for romance mixed with early 19th century swashbuckling in the Napoleonic era, they are chocolate—quite irresistible.

In this latest chapter of the Pink Carnation saga, Penelope Devereaux, the impulsive best friend of Henrietta Selwick Dorrington, having compromised herself at a Christmas party, is now enroute to her husband's new post in India. Pen, who has already found out that life with Lord Frederick Staines isn't that proverbial bowl of cherries, finds herself curious, and perhaps even a little attracted, by Captain Alex Reid, a straight arrow who nevertheless seems to be hiding secrets. Since Pen knows from Henrietta's missives that there's a "flower operative," the Marigold, operating in the area, she suspects it may be Reid. And what is he to make of this headstrong women who he soon realizes made a bad marriage choice? In the meantime, relations are going badly between the Indian nationals, the British, and the French. Could it be that it's Penelope's callous husband who's the spy? Or someone else? Much romance, much recrimination, much betrayal going on behind the scenes.

The modern framing sequence, with Eloise Kelly learning about Colin Selwick's complicated family relationships, seems more intrusive this time than previously, especially since it's taken on the aspect of a soap opera. Even though we know we're only being allowed access to these Pink Carnation tales through Eloise's "discoveries," the intrusions are getting...well, more intrusive.

Just to note we won't be waiting the usual year for the next installment: there's a Christmas-based book due out in October. In the meantime, when is Jane Wooliston going to get her romance? And might it be with the enigmatic "Moonflower"?

Science Fiction Culture, Camille Bacon-Smith
This is the second in Bacon-Smith's ethnographic study of science fiction fans, but while the first (Enterprising Women) concentrated mostly on fanfiction as written by women and communities of women in science fiction, this opens a broader observation of science fiction fandom: early fandom based on books and pulps through the online communities for SF today (or rather in 2000, when the book was published). Chapters touch on gays/bisexuals in fandom, the Goth movement, how an SF book goes from idea to published volume, children growing up in fandom, and more.

I especially enjoyed the chapter about early online access, specifically GEnie, since James and I used to be on GEnie. That was a fun time.

More Carnationy Goodness

If you're a fan of Lauren Willig's Pink Carnation series, you will enjoy this original Christmas novella, the framing sequence of which takes place before Temptation of the Night Jasmine:

Ivy and Intrigue: A Very Selwick Christmas

Books Finished Since January 1

Gwenhwyfar, Mercedes Lackey
In the past, King Arthur's wife has been seen as an empty vessel or even an adulteress, but in recent times, she has been rewritten in film and books as a rather stronger character, even as a warrior. Lackey's Gwen is one of this sort, a young woman who prefers horses and learning the arts of war to embroidery and fashion, or even becoming a wise woman.

It's an intriguing idea which rather falls flat. Gwen chafes against convention and is bored by her sisters' interests. Gwen gets her wish. Gwen trains and finally gets her horses. Gwen becomes an excellent tactician and advisor to her father the king. Gwen meets Lancelin, one of Arthur's knights, and admires his strategies. Gwen then must marry Arthur, who basically treats her as a vessel for his seed. It's that pedestrian. Her bratty little sister Gwyneth, known as "Little Gwen" for always emulating her, lends some conflict to the story, but otherwise it's rather colorless.

The Morning Show Murders, Al Roker and Dick Lochte
Billy Blessing, celebrity chef and host of his own cable show, is also a regular on a network morning show. When the producer of the show, who Billy who has butted heads with once too often, is found dead, poisoned by food from Billy's restaurant, our intrepid hero is naturally the chief suspect. In the meantime, Billy is warned about an assassin nicknamed "Felix the Cat" by a local crime boss.

This is a breezy, fairly complicated mystery that you won't take too seriously, but may enjoy along the way. Roker gives us a peek behind the making of both the Today-like show Billy appears on and cable series, and the wheeling and dealing that goes on in the background, along with the requisite characters: the wisecracking restaurant manager, the female host who's trying to break the glass ceiling, a spurned lover, etc. Although Billy is a chef, food is not a main ingredient in the mystery, so those who love cooking-themed crime novels should look elsewhere.

The Lost Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, adapted by Ken Greenwald from radio scripts by Denis Green and Anthony Boucher
In 1945, a radio series featuring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce was aired as a network offering. Author Greenwald recalled listening, enthralled, to these new adventures, and has adapted the scripts into this collection of "new" Holmes stories. The stories, especially the later ones, are a bit better than the opening few, and Greenwald puts in a good effort, but his occasional use of American phrases and idioms ruins any illusion of recreating a Conan Doyle narrative. The illustrations are delightfully pulpy.

Postcards from Europe, Rick Steves
Just what started Rick Steves on his globetrotting ways? Interspersed between anecdotes of his adventures in Europe, whether on his own or leading a tour, is the story of how 14-year-old Rick reluctantly followed his parents on a European journey and ended up listening rapt while an elderly German gentleman told of being an eyewitness to the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand, the event that lit the blue touch paper of the first World War. We follow Steves as an ambitious young tour guide, almost too eager to get his tourists out of their comfortable rut, and as an 18-year-old bumming his way across the continent with a friend on three dollars a day, and in between we meet small hotel owners, chefs, teachers, and other colorful friends who give you inside views of Venice, the Italian Riviera, Paris, and Rick's favorite place of all, Gimmelwald in Switzerland. A fun read for Steves' fans or for folks who want to experience Europe outside of museums and monuments.

Crazy Good: The True Story of Dan Patch, the Most Famous Horse in America, Charles Leerhsen
Who was the first equine superstar in American sports? If you said "Seabiscuit," you're wrong. At the turn of the 20th century, harness racing was the bigger horse sport, and it found its poster image in the "person" of Dan Patch, the offspring of a violent but astonishingly fast stallion and a lame mare, himself born with a crooked hind leg that almost caused him to be destroyed. The horse with a crooked leg, driven by an unsavory but talented driver, blossomed into a speed powerhouse who finally broke the 2-minute mile and set a record of 1:55 that was not broken for over thirty years. Leerhsen follows the almost-forgotten, personable horse's story from his birth to his death, and his final sad years where he became pretty much a product endorsement name from everything from feed to gasoline engines to sleds, and also gives us a vivid portrait of harness racing in an era where doping was common and men traded horses like stocks. The narrative occasionally gets bogged down in almost too much detail, but the good definitely outraces any dull spots, with a great use of descriptive language.

Murder on Bank Street, Victoria Thompson
Anyone who has followed Thompson's gaslight series about the adventures of midwife Sarah Brandt and the poor but honest Irish detective, Frank Malloy, knows that a longstanding mystery has been who killed Sarah's husband, Dr. Tom Brandt. Malloy, with growing affection for Sarah, has been tracking down his killer with the help of Sarah's aristocratic father, who disapproved of the match and who has been hiding a secret from Sarah. In this volume, Malloy has narrowed down the suspects and is ready to try to find the solution. Sarah doesn't get much detecting time in this one, but rather reacts as facts come to light and her nursemaid Maeve, a former street girl, gets the lion's share of the detecting duties. But as Maeve gets closer to the answer, will it be one Sarah wants to hear? A very suspenseful ending caps this entry in the series.

Diva Without a Clue, Grace Dent
Frankly, it's the title that's clueless...this was published in England as Diary of a Chav, "chav" being a British insult word for what we might call "trailer trash." Fifteen year old Shiraz Bailey Wood gets a diary instead of an iPod for Christmas, and so begins her year-long saga of her schooldays in what's called a "superchav" school and a puzzling new teacher who tells her she's smart and should study for college when all she wants to do is quit school and work at a shop, her up-and-down relationship with her best friend, her older sister, her prickly mother, the "redneck" neighbors, and the other denizens of her life. It's sharply funny and occasionally sad, and well worth reading.

The Story of English: How the English Language Conquered the World, Philip Gooden
I have hosts of linguistics books, but this is one of the few (if the only) overview of the English language I have from a British viewpoint. There's nothing new here, and nothing covered in depth to suit a linguistics instructor, but it's a nice overview of the development of the language and the different civilizations, from the Celts through the Normans, and the contributions each made to the language. As a plus, it's gloriously illustrated and has interesting pull-outs, whether about the derivation of a word or about a personality, book, or concept.

Star Trek, Alan Dean Foster
This is a workmanlike novelization of the "reboot" film by J.J. Abrams, with a few extra details worked in, such as where that ditch in the middle of Iowa came from (it's a quarry) and who the person was walking down the road when little Jimmy Kirk buzzes by in the car (it's his older brother George, who's running away from home and their stepfather). (Sadly, not much insight about why Mrs. Kirk chose such a jerk as a second husband.) Not many other details that the film didn't cover are included, however, although Foster does try to tone down Scotty's uncharacteristic comic relief role in the film. Oh, and you do find out the whereabouts of a missing character at the end. :-)

Rocket Men, Craig Nelson
As a layman reading this retelling of the Apollo 11 mission, I was enjoying the narrative, despite several typographic gaffes, the worst which is stating that 1948 was the date of the Apollo 8 flight (my favorite was the description of the Huntsville that the German rocket scientists first arrived at being a place of "dairy cows and cotton balls"; the lavatory image that it conjured up was very funny). Sadly, after reading many reviews, I now understand that there are many scientific errors in the narrative. So, please do not read this volume to be enlightened about the scientific process of space travel. Rather, read it as a chronicle of the times, of the excitement behind the lunar missions, the day-to-day life of the astronauts and their families, and Nelson's attempts to illuminate the personalities of Armstrong, Aldrin, and Collins. Indeed, one of the things I liked about this book were the numerous quotes from the normally taciturn Neil Armstrong. So, it's an interesting read (IMHO), but don't go to it for accurate scientific information.

Founding Myths, Ray Raphael
From childhood we have heard many myths about the founding of the United States. As we grow older we learn that many of them, like the nursery tale of George Washington and the cherry tree, are just that, myths. However, many myths still exist—the story of Molly Pitcher, for instance, or the "hard winter" in Valley Forge—and these and others Raphael addresses. One of his main assertions is that we give too much credit to a small group of men, and a few women, known collectively as "the founding fathers" and too little to the ordinary people who actually lived and fought the Revolution: the shopkeepers and farmers, rich and poor, Tories and patriots. While he strikes some of the same notes as James W. Loewen, his narrative is less aggressive and hostile. (And he doesn't mention Gone With the Wind once.)

Incidentally, I was very amused by his chapter on Valley Forge, as he hit all of the points as our tour guide did during our vacation stop there in November 2009.

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag, Alan Bradley
Enfant terrible Flavia de Luce, aged eleven, living with her widower father and two annoying older sisters, plus her father's shell-shocked former batman from the war, in a crumbling estate outside the small English village of Bishop's Lacey, is back! Flavia, a devotee of chemistry and interested in poisons, is introduced more slowly to the mystery in this outing, which finds her helping out with a puppet show being held at the church hall by a BBC children's show host and his female assistant. As quickly as you can say nux vomica, our plucky heroine is swept up in a muddle of the vicar's missing bicycle clip, Mad Meg of the forest, a former Land Girl, a former prisoner of war, a farm couple whose young son tragically hanged himself five years earlier, a field of cannabis, and, worst of all, a visit from martinet Aunt Felicity. The actual mystery is slow to begin, then takes off with a gallop, and we even learn more about Flavia's late mother Harriet. Her metaphors have also been reined in, which suits me just fine. A fun "English cozy" with a unique narrative voice.