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| Flowers in the rain |
Here is a list of the books I’ve read since last posting titles on October 6, a little over two weeks ago. A lot of this reading was done between midnight and 5 a.m.
140. Nerburn, Kent. NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG (nonfiction)
141. Parsons, Emma. CLICK TO CALM: HEALING THE AGGRESSIVE DOG (nonfiction)
142. Bromfield, Louis. NIGHT IN BOMBAY (fiction)
143. Forman, James. PEOPLE OF THE DREAM
144. Trump, Mary. TOO MUCH AND NEVER ENOUGH: HOW MY FAMILY CREATED THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS MAN (nonfiction)
145. Airgood, Ellen. THE EDUCATION OF IVY BLAKE (fiction – juv.)
146. Brown, Fleda. MORTALITY, WITH FRIENDS: ESSAYS (nonfiction)
147. Stegner, Wallace. ALL THE LITTLE LIVE THINGS (fiction)
The Nerburn book was recommended by a friend and very much worth reading. Parsons has a training method I love, although it only works in predictable situations. I’ve always loved Bromfield’s nonfiction books on farming so thought I’d try a novel: in a word, dated. Forman’s book was a fictionalized biography of Chief Joseph, written specifically for young people, and I’m not sure how to feel about it. I’m not even sure how to feel about the many books written by white people about Chief Joseph. Any ideas?
Mary Trump offered nothing hugely new, in terms of how I see her uncle, but the details of family history and insights into family dynamics could only come from a family member also trained in psychology, and it was a blessedly quick read.
The Education of Ivy Blake was a re-read. I often re-read Ellen Airgood’s books for comfort, and she never disappoints me.
Fleda Brown – wow! I already knew, from Driving with Dvořák, that she is as brilliant an essayist as she is a poet, and sure enough, she hit another one out of the park with Mortality, with Friends. Don't miss it!
Finally, years ago when a friend was completely bowled over by Stegner’s Angle of Repose, I tried but never managed to get into that book. I did, years later, fall in love with Stegner’s memoir, Wolf Willow, so it seemed time to give one of his novels a chance. All the Little Live Things is set in California, with a lot of description of that particular natural world, so I persevered, though the narrator was hard to like. His life had reason for us to be sympathetic to him – and yet. But then came the last sentence: “I shall be richer all my life for this sorrow.” Well, okay then. Yes.
It’s a rainy day today. It’s a good day for books and a good bookstore day. Remember, October 30 is the last day in my 2021 season, so please make time for book shopping in Northport this week or next. Thanks!
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| On a sunnier day |
5 comments:
We have had a flurry of short trips, visits and activities in October, and I’m sorry that I got out of touch with Northport Books! I did link up to your Northport Bookstore News blog about the Traverse City 50-yr-old bookstore, Bookie Joint that cannot stay open any longer - a sad comment of what is ‘the bottom line” to keep a bookstore up and running. I commented in the box there, but it disappeared “in error”. I need to be a member there, and I guess I’m not! Not to worry, I’ll comment here: That I loved your Thank You to people who go to Dog Ear Books, those who buy, and to those who comment and help you to choose books or authors to highlight. Congratulations on 28 years! I hope we can visit you in your 30th year and celebrate with you!
I enjoyed your “….changing” entry from Oct. 12, of Bruce Catton’s story of the history of Michigan and the march of American history, especially regarding Native Americans, of your books about dogs and their problems and training. I hope that those books have helped to understand dear Peasy. He will return to a doggie group in Arizona! I look forward to hearing how he is going back there, now that he’s a year older and in a loving family with you two.
Dawn’s, Elaine’s and BB’s comments are so different and intriguing in how they view time passing, changes, and the future. Thanks, ladies! I look forward to requesting Fleda Brown’s Mortality With Friends, Essays and Wallace Stegner’s book, too, at Greenlight Books, here in Brooklyn (thanks for telling me about that place). Speaking of Olde Age: Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants will delight you in a 91-yr-old’s (or 93, he’s not sure) view of his life as a circus veterinarian in the 1930s.
Blogger Jeanie Furlan said...
We have had a flurry of short trips, visits and activities in October, and I’m sorry that I got out of touch with Northport Books! I did link up to your Northport Bookstore News blog about the Traverse City 50-yr-old bookstore, Bookie Joint that cannot stay open any longer - a sad comment of what is ‘the bottom line” to keep a bookstore up and running. I commented in the box there, but it disappeared “in error”. I need to be a member there, and I guess I’m not! Not to worry, I’ll comment here: That I loved your Thank You to people who go to Dog Ear Books, those who buy, and to those who comment and help you to choose books or authors to highlight. Congratulations on 28 years! I hope we can visit you in your 30th year and celebrate with you!
I enjoyed your “….changing” entry from Oct. 12, of Bruce Catton’s story of the history of Michigan and the march of American history, especially regarding Native Americans, of your books about dogs and their problems and training. I hope that those books have helped to understand dear Peasy. He will return to a doggie group in Arizona! I look forward to hearing how he is going back there, now that he’s a year older and in a loving family with you two.
Dawn’s, Elaine’s and BB’s comments are so different and intriguing in how they view time passing, changes, and the future. Thanks, ladies! I look forward to requesting Fleda Brown’s Mortality With Friends, Essays and Wallace Stegner’s book, too, at Greenlight Books, here in Brooklyn (thanks for telling me about that place). Speaking of Olde Age: Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants will delight you in a 91-yr-old’s (or 93, he’s not sure) view of his life as a circus veterinarian in the 1930s.
Jeanie, I'm not sure why you sent your comment twice. Maybe you thought it didn't come through the first time, and perhaps that's because I didn't see it to hit "publish" right away. Anyway, it is ALWAYS good to hear from you, so I'll call this twice as nice!
Looks like I should address BB as Bob in my replies, for that's who he is.
I did read the Sara Gruen book years ago, shortly after it came out. Hard life, the circus. I have to say I was very upset about the incident with the horses....
Lots going on here, diving into my last official bookstore week of the season. More when I catch up with myself --
Oops! Sorry about the two times! By the way, I have the Bruce Catton book and was happy about learning so much about Michigan’s past. Yes, you are right about Sara Gruen’s book. The circus in the past was a deplorably offensive to all people who were a minority, were different or had special needs. The protagonist was a veterinarian who was desperate for a job in the 30’s and he tried to protect the animals from the circus owners and managers. I was rooting for Rosie the elephant…
I imagine you have a thousand things to take care of before you close for a winter break. Please don’t worry about anything, and I wish you and The Artist a smooth trip to your ghost town in Arizona. And Peasy, of course!
So glad you are reading Bruce Catton. Which one, MICHIGAN or WAITING FOR THE MORNING TRAIN? I highly recommend both!
We now plan a later-than-anticipated departure for the Southwest and will stay here through most of November, it looks like. I won't have the bookstore open, which will mean I can get at other things around home that desperately need doing, but the main reason we're staying on is to take Peasy to a special trainer. We hope to make faster and noire steady progress with professional help. November will also give us time to wage war on autumn olive in our meadow, something I devoted two days to every summer for years but have fallen behind on since 2020. Lots to do!
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