Book Bounty

Joy of joys, I received new books for Christmas presents. As I tried to explain to my husband (who was giving me strange looks all the while, though by now—we’ll be married 18 years tomorrow—he should be used to it), it isn’t just what is inside them, it’s the paper, the covers, the colors, the smell, the whole physical experience of books…of being surrounded by books…

Ahem. Anyway, the first book I received was Bernard Meehan’s beautifully illustrated work on The Book of Kells. Now I can indulge my passion for illuminated medieval manuscripts at will.

Next, I received a facsimile copy of the 1862 edition of Catherine Winkworth’s Lyra Germanica, which contains her English translations of German hymns. Especially nice about this volume is the old-timey typeface with the Ss that look like Fs (which generally puts me in more of a Revolutionary than Victorian mood, but good nonetheless). I think this book will definitely help keep me inspired to learn/write about that fascinating Victorian lady.

Finally, I received the slow-cooker cookbook Fix-It and Forget-It 5-Ingredient Favorites, by Phyllis Pellman Good, so that even on those nights when Princess Two has ballet class and my son has Lutheran Pioneers, and my husband has a meeting, we can still eat!

The above are all mine (all mine!), but to just mention the library: I finished reading the two Maureen Ash Templar Knight mysteries The Alehouse Murders and Murder for Christ’s Mass. Though I did make it all the way to the end of both books, I don’t think I’ll be seeking out any more of Ash’s titles. The mysteries were interesting, and the historical setting (13th-century England) one of my favorites, but in the end the writing was too plodding and tedious. So, I am moving forward to the 15th century for Margaret Frazer’s The Reeve’s Tale.

Muffins with Mom

This morning, our elementary school held the first day of its annual book fair. To get us all there bright and early, 45 minutes before school began, they offered the incentive of muffins and coffee.

The basement library was packed with people and display cases, but two of my kids did their preview shopping yesterday, and already knew what they wanted. Number Three is always good for an impulse buy, so her only difficulty was in narrowing selections to stay within Mom’s budget.

What did we buy?

Number One (age 12): The 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones by Rick Riordan and Coke or Pepsi 3 by Mickey and Cheryl Gill

Number Two (age 9): Calvin and Hobbes, Revenge of the Babysat by Bill Watterson and Bad Kitty Gets a Bath by Nick Bruel

Number Three (age 5): Two Littlest Pet Shop readers and a two-sided nonfiction book on kittens and puppies

No deep thoughts, no literature greats here (though I happen to adore Calvin and Hobbes); but hey, they’re reading. Further good news: I didn’t hear one whine for the piddly doo-dads near the register (pencils, erasers, posters), and I still get the chance to sneak in my own picks at the library or during read-aloud time.

Library bounty

Yesterday was my bi-weekly visit to the local public library—the one that officially belongs to our village (though physically located in another), the one I can use for interlibrary loan. What did I bring home?

Daniel Deronda, by George Eliot

I had forgotten I wanted to read this after watching the PBS Masterpiece Theater version a couple months ago. How I love those Victorians. You can’t get a sentence like this anymore: “She who raised these questions in Daniel Deronda’s mind was occupied in gambling: not in the open air under a southern sky, tossing coppers on a ruined wall, with rags about her limbs; but in one of those splendid resorts which the enlightenment of ages has prepared for the same species of pleasure at a heavy cost of gilt mouldings, dark-toned colour and chubby nudities, all correspondingly heavy—forming a suitable condenser for human breath belonging, in great part, to the highest fashion, and not easily procurable to be breathed in elsewhere in the like proportion, at least by persons of little fashion.”

Robert Louis Stevenson: Four Complete Novels, including Treasure Island

If I get a chance, I’d like to peek into The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as well.

For Princess Two I picked up the latest in Mo Willem’s Pigeon saga, Pigeon Wants a Puppy, which was enjoyed family-wide. Princess Two and I also read together the picture book Turtle’s Penguin Day, by Valeri Gorbachev. Twice in a row (she’s in a penguin phase). Fortunately, the book had short and sweet text, and giggle-inducing art; so I didn’t mind.

In the interest of honesty, I now have to admit that I returned unread Sara Gruen’s Water for Elephants. I got to skimming through it, and it just didn’t appeal to me that day (or the next). It has been some years since I decided I don’t have to finish every book I pick up. Life is too short, and there are too many other books out there.

The candy

Almost forgot this one—another book I grabbed from the library, as I was walking out the door of the children’s room, is Twice Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris. Not just because I’m a huge fan of marigolds, but because a couple of years ago I read and really enjoyed Ferris’s Once Upon a Marigold (I picked it up at a Scholastic book fair, probably because I’m a huge fan of marigolds). The first book is a lighthearted, clever, and charming fantasy; a quick read that had me smiling. A hidden gem—I hope the sequel is just as fun.

What to read?

I’m on the brink of finishing Crossing to Paradise by Kevin Crossley-Holland, so naturally on my weekly trip to the public library today, I had to stock up on future reading materials. Just like most people would never want to run out of food staples like milk or bread, so I get nervous when I’m approaching the last sliver of pages in a good book. I want to know where my next meal is coming from.

Truth be told, I have shelves full or at least stacks of books in every room in my house (OK, not the bathrooms). I am not going to starve. There are dozens of these books I have never even read. Many more that I would gladly read again and again. But going to the library is like walking into the grocery store when you’re hungry. And then you see the bakery case.

So what goodies did I bring home? After watching those crafty, power-hungry, and masterful monarchs in the David Starkey DVD series, Monarchy, I decided to continue feeding my Anglophilia. I checked out Philippa Gregory’s The Other Boleyn Girl and David Starkey’s Six Wives, about the queens of Henry VIII. Then, for good measure, I hopped onto the computer and requested History Play: The Lives and Afterlife of Christopher Marlowe, by Rodney Bolt, and The World of Christopher Marlowe, by David Riggs, through interlibrary loan.

Let the feast begin!