Listening to...

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Just Because...

Perfection...

Books and Reading

The true felicity of a lover of books is the luxurious turning of page by page, the surrender, not meanly abject, but deliberate and cautious, with your wits about you, as you deliver yourself into the keeping of the book.
~Edith Wharton

Books and Reading

We don't want to feel less when we have finished a book; we want to feel that new possibilities of being have been opened to us.
~Madeline L'Engel

Outside the Back Door

Books and Reading...

I read so I can live more than one life in more than one place.
~ Anne Tyler

Books and Reading...

The greatest gift is a passion for reading. It is cheap, it consoles, it distracts, it excites, it gives you knowledge of the world and experience of a wide kind.
~Elizabeth Hardwick

October Book Report

Beautiful October weather, a World Series Championship for the Boston Red Sox, some really good (and some, not so much) reading...

Three Little Words by Susan Mallery
Romance
Series: Fool's Gold #12
Source: Library
Format: Kindle
Rating: 3.5/5

Someone by Alice McDermott
Fiction
Source: Library
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3/5

Something Borrowed, Someone Dead by M.C. Beaton
Mystery
Series: Agatha Raisin #24
Source: Library
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3/5

Bury the Lead by David Rosenfelt
Mystery
Series: Andy Carpenter #3
Source: Library
Format: Kindle
Rating: 3/5

The Southwest Corner by Mildred Walker
Fiction
Source: Library
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5

Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen
Mystery
Series: Her Royal Spyness #7
Source: Library
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3/5

Sudden Death by David Rosenfelt
Mystery
Series: Andy Carpenter #4
Source: Library
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4/5

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Fiction
Source: Library
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 3/5

So many good books on deck for November--Stella Bain by Anita Shreve, The Supreme Macaroni Company by Andriana Trigiani, Knitting Yarns by Ann Hood, to name a few. What are your plans for November reading?

Note: Books read links will take you to my comments on Goodreads.

The Joy of Reading...

Because of the dog's joyfulness, our own is increased. It is no small gift. It is not the least reason why we should honor as well as love the dog of our own life, and the dog down the street, and all the dogs not yet born. What would the world be like without music or rivers or the green and tender grass? What would this world be like without dogs?

~Mary Oliver, Dog Songs

Just Because...

Seen at the library...

Outside the Back Door...

The Southwest Corner

An e-mail conversation about women who stay with us long after a book is finished led to Nan recommending The Southwest Corner and the story of Marcia Elder to me.  I requested it from my library, and when the book arrived I was thrilled with seeing this lovely first edition copy.

Do you remember when your library books looked like this inside the back cover?

And had lovely bookplates inside the front cover?

The illustrations, attributed to Robert Hallock, were wonderful. I found it interesting that in my library's vcatalog, Hallock's illustrations are referred to as "decorations." Here are two illustrations of Marcia Elder, herself, and another that's just lovely and peaceful to look at.

Originally from the East, Mildred Walker moved west and became known as "a prolific writer" who captured the "essence of rural north central Montana."   You may read more about Ms. Walker here.

Mildred Walker

Stitching It Up...

A pumpkin hat for a special boy...

Outside the Back Door...

Stitching It Up...

A Galene Cowl for my daughter...

A Feather & Fan blanket for Stella...

A Reading Wrap for a friend...and Lucy helped!!!

Just Because...

Owls at Allendale Farm...

A Bit of Verse...

Seamus Heaney ~ 1939-2013

When all the others were away at Mass, Sonnet 3 from Clearances (1986)

August Book Report

Beach House No. 9 by Christie Ridgway
Romance (Contemporary)
Source:  My Own Bookshelf
Format:  Kindle
Rating:  2.5/5
Didn't connect with the major characters because there did not seem to be any depth to their stories. Enjoyed the subplot involving our hero's sister and her husband more than the main characters' story.  This was the August selection for the Barnes & Noble (Burlington, MA) Romance Readers.



The Engagements by J. Courtney Sullivan

Fiction
Source:  Library
Format:  Hardcover
Rating:  DNF
I loved Sullivan's Maine, but The Engagements just wasn't doing it for me.  Not sure why--maybe the format of jumping from couple to couple through various years without seeing the continuity? I will say, though, the touchstone among the stories--the story of Frances Gerety, penner of the "A Diamond Is Forever" slogan--was wonderful, and I might have thoroughly enjoyed a book telling her unique story.

The Summer Girls by Mary Alice Monroe
Fiction
Source:  Library
Format:  Hardcover
Rating:  4.5/5
Usually when I finish a Mary Alice Monroe book, Post-Its are flying out from all corners of the book.  Not so with The Summer Girls--not because there was nothing to mark, but because I was so engrossed in the story of the reunion of these three sisters that I just kept reading.  And once again, Monroe reveals through the story about human families, love, and forgiveness a glimpse of the natural world around us, this time introducing us to the fascinating and complex world of the Atlantic bottlenose dolphins.  Wonderful summer reading.

Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen
Mystery
Series:  Her Royal Spyness #5
Source:  Library
Format:  Kindle
Rating:  4/5
The fifth in Bowen's Royal Spyness series finds Georgie heading to Nice to retrieve one of the Queen's snuff boxes.  Things get complicated, of course, and the unraveling of the mystery and murder is helped along by none other than Coco Chanel.  An Inspector Clouseau-like chief inspector adds to the fun and intrigue on the Riviera.

The American Heiress by Dorothy Eden
Romance (Historical)
Source:  Library
Format:  Kindle
Rating:  3.5/5
It is spring of 1915. Spoiled twenty-one-year-old Clemency Jervis and her Fifth Avenue entourage board the Lusitania, bound for England, where Clemency is to marry the dashing Lord Hugo Hazzard of Loburn.  Who survives and what she does is told in The American Heiress, originally published in 1980.  I think I will read more from this author because I found the contrast to the frenetic, fast-paced romances written today most enjoyable.

Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt
Mystery
Series:  Andy Carpenter #1
Source:  Library
Format:  Kindle
Rating:  4/5
I was drawn to this series because of the mention of a golden retriever.  What's not to like about a book that includes a golden?  But then I find our lead character, Andy Carpenter, to be not only a smart aleck but (horrors) also a devout New York Yankees and Giants fan.  How could I ever warm up to this character?  Well, I did and will start down the trail of yet another series....

The Lemon Orchard by Luanne Rice
Fiction
Source:  Library
Format:  Hardcover
Rating:  3/5
Themes of loss, love, and sacrifice are central to the The Lemon Orchard, and Luanne Rice makes you think about an issue about which some may have strong opinions.  A good story and interest in the main characters kept me reading.

The Widow Waltz by Sally Koslow
Fiction
Source:  Library
Format:  Hardcover
Rating:  3/5
Yet another story about a widow who finds that her recently (and suddenly) deceased husband had a whole other life she never knew about.  This version had some good mother-daughter interaction which I found better than the widow's story.  The ribbon-wrapped explanation came too quickly and smoothly to be believable.



I also read some knitting related books in August. I will mark a knitting book (or magazine) "read" when I have gone through it cover to cover, made notes in my knitting notebook, and flagged with Post-Its patterns I may want to try.  I appreciate, too, the great number of knitting books available through the library in both hardcover and Kindle format.

400 Knitting Stitches: A Complete Dictionary of Essential Knit Patterns by Thierry Lamarre
Source:  My Own Bookshelf
Format:  Soft Cover
Excellent selection of stitches enhanced by detailed colored photos. Only drawback is that it is not spiral bound; and because of narrow inner margins which would cut off some text, it cannot be rebound at Staples.

Knit Bright Scarves, Hats, Booties and More by Kristin SpurklandSource:  My Own Bookshelf
Format:  Soft Cover
There are a lot of bright, stripe-y patterns in this book. Color choices aside, all of the patterns are fairly basic--no frills--just what you need to knit up a bunch of mittens and hats for kids (...and adults, too!).

At Knit's End: Meditations for Women Who Knit Too Much by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Source:  Library
Format:  Kindle
Remember years ago when in a Family Circle or Woman's Day magazine you would read that Isabel Homemaker would be receiving $10 for sending in her household hint and that when you read the hint, you recognized it as something you did all the time?  Well, this book reminded me of that.  At Knit's End has lots of thoughts and tidbits about knitting and yarn--all of which knitters have probably thought at one time or another.  Difference is, Pearl-McPhee wrote them down and published a book.

September Bookticipation

Several books scheduled to be released in September have piqued my interest and landed on my library reserve list.

The Wrong Girl by Hank Phillippi Ryan
Following up on last year's The Other Woman, Jane Ryland and Jake Brogan team up again to investigate an adoption agency that may be hiding a terrible secret.  

W Is for Wasted by Sue Grafton
I've been with Kinsey Millhone since "A" and hope to be right there for the final "Z"!

Sister Mother Husband Dog by Delia Ephron
The promise of essays on bakeries, dogs, movies, and Delia's beloved sister Nora had me flagging this book as soon as I heard about it.



After the publishing doldrums of summer, we are heading into the abundance of new releases of fall.  New books from Elizabeth Gilbert, Anita Shreve, Amy Tan, Adriana Trigiani all have me looking forward to chilly days and curling up with a nice cup of tea and long hours of good reading!

Outside the Back Door

Mother's Day petunias still in full bloom...

Marigolds in full bloom...

A happy peppermint portulaca...

Hmm...the herb pot could use a little attention...

Today's "Rhymes with Orange"

...dedicated to Trot & Franky

Falmouth Farmers Market