It's been a quiet week in my hometown

Last Thursday, in spite of snow, sleet and ice, I went to the cinecast of "A Prairie Home Companion" at the Roseville Theater. Even though I live five minutes from the Fitzgerald Theater, I had never attended the program so the evening was a new experience for me. I sat with a dear older couple from Fridley, also Prairie Home novices.

Being my father's daughter, I arrived at 6:20 for a 7:00 program but I had my library book (Another Faust by Daniel & Dena Nayeri) so I was content. At 6:45, Garrison's face (not one of the more attractive mugs in creation) came on screen for a spontaneous tour of downtown St. Paul: Rice Park, Candyland (the best caramel corn ever), Mickey's Diner and a few other star locations. It is fun to see your neighborhood through the eyes of someone else and wonder what the rest of the viewing public think of it. Garrison speaks so easily and wittily--even though I live in St. Paul I wanted to go visit right then (well, maybe after the weather cleared up).

The evening's guests included Elvis Costello (wow, is he cool or what?), Robin and Linda Williams, Heather Massey, Jevetta and Jearlyn Steel (they sang a gospel version of Beethoven's Ode to Joy that just about put me over the edge--amazing) and the usual suspects: Sue Scott, Tom Keith, Fred Newman (very handsome) the sound effects guy and Tim Russell. An amazingly talented group of people.

Being a lover of words, I have to say I stand in awe of Garrison Keillor--the other's had scripts but he spoke almost everything from memory or off the cuff. Wow, wow and wow again.

I hope they cinecast the program again--even at $20 a ticket, I'll be there. Ready to laugh, cry and sing along (I so want to be a part of the Hopeful Gospel Quartet), letting wonderful and glorious words wash over me. Perfect.

too cold for living but great for reading

It has been dreadfully cold here in Minnesota. Temperatures have been in the negative numbers--far too cold to be out and about but perfect for reading. I spend part of each evening on my daybed, securely wrapped in my Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer blanket (my little home is never really warm with the thermostat set at 65 degrees so a blanket is necessary), reading. I'm several issues behind on Vanity Fair--I'm reading the November issue now, oops.

I just finished Where the mountain meets the moon by Grace Lin. It is a children's book and absolutely lovely (adults, don't look down your nose at children's books--they are amazing! Try one, please).

Minli is the cherished only child of a couple who work hard but can't seem to make a success of their little farm. Could it be because it is located on Fruitless Mountain? They have little in the way of money, the only money in the house is two brass coins that belong to Minli, but they are devoted to each other. Minli's father is a storyteller and fill the evening hours entertaining her with stories and legends of China--Minli's mother thinks he is filling her head with useless dreams. One day, Minli takes one of her brass coins and buys a magic goldfish, thinking it will add to touch of brightness to their little home. Her mother is upset that Minli spent her money so foolishly on a living being that they will need to feed. Sadly, Minli releases the fish and decides to take their unfortunate situation into her own hands--she will leave home and search for the Man in the Moon who will help her to change their fortune.

While on her journey, Minli meets a dragon who cannot fly, a young boy with a water buffalo, the king of the bright city, a rambunctious set of twins and many others who help her to find her way. Her parents, lost and lonely without their precious child, embark on their own journey of discovery though their journey takes place within the confines of their home.

Each character has a tale to tell, an explanation of why they are what they are or why they live where they live. Each tale adds another layer of interest and beauty to the story. Beautiful, richly colored illustrations add even more to the gorgeous words. Please read this book (and add a comment to tell me what you thought).

shake my sillies, er, sequels out

At this time of year, when every hour of the day is filled with something that must be done, when the world is looking back at the wonders of the year (!) with nostalgia, when the sun is out such a pitiably short time of the day (week, month...), I just need to be reading light and frothy books. Last week, I laughed my way through three of them--what a good week!

Moxy Maxwell does not love practicing the piano (but she does love being in recitals) by Peggy Gifford find the intrepid Moxy making a few plans of her own for her first piano recital. Moxy and her sister Pansy will be playing "Heart and Soul" (other interesting musical selections include "Chopsticks" and, played by Moxy's twin brother Mark, "Flight of the Bumblebee"--I guess the students are either talentless dolts or prodigies). While Moxy cannot be bothered with actually practicing her recital piece, she has been very busy supervising the making of a gold crown and a red-lined black velvet cape for her to wear for the event. As usual, chaos reigns wherever Moxy goes, and the laughs flow thick and fast.

Oggie Cooder, Party Animal by Sarah Weeks finds Oggie, the talented charver (he can charve the shape of every state into a piece of American cheese--chew and carve make charve), invited to his neighbor Donnica Perfecto's birthday party. Donnica would rather do anything than have Oggie at her party, but her mother needs Oggie's mother's help to whip her lawn into shape before inspection by the local gardening club as they decide if she is membership-worthy--a happy Oggie means a happy, and helpful, Mrs. Cooder. To discourage Oggie, Donnica makes a list of things he cannot do at the party: wear a red bathing suit, making his funny "prr-rip" noise (it is a result of happiness and excitement and quite unconscious on his part), wear crocheted shoelaces, and so on, over 100 things in all. Oh, he must have the list memorized, too, since she will quiz him. Will Mrs. Perfecto get in the garden club? Will Oggie memorize the list? Will Donnica get the one things she wants for her birthday? Will there be another book about Oggie? Please, say yes to that one.

Then came book number two in the 43 Cemetery Road series: Over my dead body by Kate Klise with illustrations by M. Sarah Klise. I.B. Grumply (Iggy) the 60+ year old author, Seymour Hope the young boy he acquired through his rental agreement and Olive C. Spence the ghost in the cupola have settled into happy home life, writing mystery books together and seeing to Seymour's education. One day, the horrible Dick Tator, leader of the International Movement for the Safety & Protection Of Our Kids & Youth (IMSPOOKY), shows up at the door, threatening to remove Seymour from the home he loves because ghosts do not exist. Tator also cancels Halloween and convinces the public that there are no ghosts...and these people have known, and dealt with, Olive for years. Harumph. More giggles and much delight--such an enjoyable read.

On the more serious side, my in-my-purse book is Half broke horses by Jeannette Walls of The glass castle fame. This is a fictionalized version of her grandmother's life. Chapters are short and they read like memories being shared by the teller. Lily Casey is the oldest daughter of an opinionated and well-read rancher and his frail and fainting wife. Lily is the strong, organized, take charge type. She wants to learn and make something of herself but her parents think education would make her unattractive to marriagable men. At 15, Lily strikes out on her own, working as a teacher and later a maid and attending school during her leisure hours. Life has some hard lessons for Lily but she is indomitable, and very likable. A big thumbs up on this book.

jumping on the bandwagon

Over the last several months, I have placed requests on The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer for hundreds of people. As a matter of principle, I avoid the really popular books like the plague. Then one evening, CW (one of my favorite library customers ever) talked me into listening to the book on CD because of the delightful narrators (which includes Juliet Mills, elder sister of the adored Hayley). I listened to the first disk as I was sewing and knew immediately that this was a book I needed to hold in my hands and read myself. I returned the CDs and, with great determination and devotion, checked the "Lucky U" shelf for a copy of the book. Just before Thanksgiving, a copy was returned and I grabbed it.

I loved this book! I want to be friends with every single character! I want to move to Guernsey and live in a cottage by the sea!

Juliet Ashton is 32 years old and on a book tour through England and Scotland, promoting her book--a collection of newspaper columns she wrote during World War II. She spends her free moments writing letters to her publisher, her best friend and, eventually, many members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. At the end of her tour, she is casting around for a subject for her next book while also working on an article about the effects of reading during the war--she is writing about the Guernsey Literary.... Of course, their letters pique her interest and a trip to the island is arranged where an odd and varied welcoming committee awaits her arrival.

Each character has a distinct voice and personality and each is definitely quirky. Run, do not walk, to your library and check out this book--I guarantee you will enjoy it!

good reading

After a rather lengthy famine in the reading area, I have been enjoying the bounty of new fall releases.

First up, was Derek Landy's third Skulduggery Pleasant book The faceless ones. I had forgotten how funny (sarcastic? biting? witty?) Skulduggery can be and he had ample opportunity to let the sarcasm fly in this book. Skulduggery is a well-dressed, well-spoken, intelligent detective who just happens to be a skeleton. He and his teen-aged sidekick, Valkyrie Cain, are fighting the of forces of evil (often in the guise of the gods and goddesses of Irish mythology) and this time, the results are not in their favor. The long-feared Faceless Ones are threatening to invade our dimension and the only thing standing between them and the invasion of the world as we know it is an idiotic, egotistical teleporter who doesn't want to play by the rules. I must admit I let out a loud gasp and an anguished "oh, no" at the end of this book. How many days must I wait for the sequel? (Even if the next book came out tomorrow, the wait would be too long!)

Next was Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society and the prisoner's dilemma where Reynie, Sticky, Katie and the ever-so-aggravating (in an endearing way) Constance Contraire again aid Mr. Benedict in saving the world as we know it (are you noticing a theme here?). Mr. Benedict's evil twin brother, Mr. Curtain, is once again trying to steal the Whisperer (a mind-controlling computer application) for his own nefarious reasons. Again, the incredibly intelligent, resourceful and contrary (dear Constance, of course) children use all the resources (and when they act as a group, that is a formidable amount of brain power) available to foil his plans. This is the last in a trilogy, though I sense a tiny ray of light that may mean another volume in the future, and the least satisfying of the three volumes. A bit too violent, a bit too long in getting to the point but a necessary read, nonetheless.

In a completely different vein, I am currently reading Born round: the secret history of a full-time eater by Frank Bruni. Bruni is the restaurant critic for the New York Times and has spent a lifetime enjoying food...and regretting the physical effects of his enjoyment. His descriptions of holiday meals with his family (turkey, ham (in case someone does not like turkey), lasagne, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, baked sweet potatoes, 3 kinds of pies, cannolis (in case someone does not feel like eating pie) and on and on) made by jaw drop in awe. Bruni ate it all and struggled with yo-yoing wait throughout his teens and twenties. He was just starting to gain control of his food obsession when he was offered the restaurant critic's column. What to do, what to do.

I just started a new by-the-bed book last night, a birthday present from cherished friend FF, and it has revved by feelings of longing to travel in England into high gear! It is Bill Bryson's Notes from a small island and is off to a delightful start. He starts with a visit to a pub where he innocently asks one of the local for directions to an area landmark. The conversation is off...and I was laughing and laughing, wishing I were there (instead of reading about it while snuggled up in my bed). I can't wait for tonight's installment!

unrelenting gloom

I try to be an eclectic reader, often requesting books after a review piques my interest. The last book I read was so completely, totally and absolutely devoid of any happiness that I am thinking I need to revise my strategy!

The book was small (only 119 pages) with a lovely photograph of a Chinese opera singer's face, made up with the traditional white and red make-up. Physically, it was a beautiful book. But the story....

The moon opera by Bi Feiyu was translated from Chinese and the translator did a lovely job with the poetry and rhythm of the author's writing. Xiao Yanqui is an opera singer, singing the lead female part in a new opera. Though she insists she felt no jealousy, in a moment of anger she disfigured the face of her understudy by throwing hot/boiling water at her. Her career ruined, Xiao Yanqui went on to teach music, marry a man she did not love and have a child for whom she feels little or no affection. Twenty years pass and a wealthy businessman offers to fund a production of The Moon Opera with the stipulation that Xiao Yanqui, now in her 40s and past her prime in looks, sing the lead. Since her voice is still lovely and supple, Xiao Yanqui agrees to sing, taking one of her students as an understudy (doesn't that girl know about Xiao Yanqui's past problems with understudies?). Severe weight loss, an unwise and unprotected affair with the businessman, an abortion all lead to Xiao Yanqui's downfall and her failure in the opera.

By the end of the book, I was as limp as a wet handkerchief. There was not one moment of real happiness or contentment in this book. It was beautifully written and an emotional wasteland. Sad, sad, sad.

a great grandmother

The past week my bedside book has been Richard Peck's A season of gifts, a companion book to A long way from Chicago and A year down yonder. I was delighted to have the chance to spend more time with the larger-than-life Grandma Dowdel (who, in my mind's eye, looks just like my dad's mother--a woman of rustic means).

12-year-old Bob Barnhart and his family (his father is a minister assigned to start a Methodist congregation in town, his mother who will direct the church choir, his 14-year-old sister Phyllis who writes a letter to Elvis every week now that is in the army and 6-year-old Ruth Ann with her one-eyed doll companion Grachel (she couldn't decide on Grace or Rachel as the doll's name)) have moved into the second-t0-the-last house in town--the last house looks haunted and deserted. Bob suffers the usual trying-to-fit-in blues, suffering the tortures of being kidnapped by the local boys (many repeating grades for yet another year in the small town school) and being left trussed (and naked) in the outhouse of the house next door where he is found by the ancient Grandma Dowdel. In her not-quite-legal way, Grandma makes a big impression on the entire Barnhart family, indeed on the entire town.

I laughed, I had a tear in my eye, I enjoyed the richness of Richard Peck's use of the language. I live with the hope that another volume about Grandma Dowdel (who is now well into her 90s) will come out soon. Keep your fingers crossed, please.