Teaser Tuesdays - November 10

"Agatha remembered when she was at school, she vowed that when she had her first pay cheque, she would walk into a sweet-shop and buy all the chocolate she wanted. By the time it happened, her desires had focused on a pair of purple high-heeled shoes with bows. She enjoyed having enough money that enabled her to buy what she wanted." (page 85)

The Quiche of Death

by M.C. Beaton

This is the first Agatha Raisin mystery, and a delight to read!

Visit MizB at Should Be Reading for more teasers.

"I Dated Jane Austen" by T.C.Boyle

T.C. Boyle does many things, and he does them well. His short story "Chicxulub" is incredibly powerful. I loved his novel The Tortilla Curtain, and look forward to reading the others I have on my shelf. He also does a fabulous job reading the audio versions of his novels... which is not, by any means, a given for authors. Yesterday, I discovered that he's even dated Jane Austen!

While perusing his collection entitled t.c. boyle stories, "I Dated Jane Austen", found in the "love" section, caught my eye. Written in 1977, it tells of Boyle's date with our beloved Jane. He arrives at the Austen residence (dressed in 70's attire), and is shown into a parlor to meet Reverend Austen.

I could see it coming with the certainty and illogic of an aboriginal courtship rite: a round of polite chit-chat.

The Reverend cleared his throat. "So what do you think of Mrs Radcliffe's new book?"

Soon it's time to head out to the movies.

There really wasn't much room for Cassandra in the Alfa Romeo, but the Reverend and his troop of sons insisted that she come along. She hefted her skirts, wedged herself into the rear compartment and flared her parasol, while Jane pulled a whit cap down over her curls and attempted a joke about Phaetons and the winds of Aeolus. The Reverend stood at the curb and watched my fingers as I helped Jane fasten her seat belt, and then we were off with a crunch of gravel and a billow of exhaust.

The juxtaposition of 70's hip with 18th century manners is quite humorous.

As you might expect, things don't go exactly as planned at the movies. Boyle decides to take the Austen sisters clubbing instead, and you'll never guess who they run into!

As it turn out, you don't have to guess. This story, in it's entirety and complete with illustrations, can be found on the author's website. Click here to read it. It's short and just a lot of fun!

Visit The Book Mine Set for more Short Story Monday posts.

BTT: It's All About Them

Today's question:

Which do you prefer? Biographies written about someone? Or Autobiographies written by the actual person (and/or ghost-writer)?

My answer:

My initial reaction was to reply biographies, definitely.

I read a lot of biography when I was younger, but as I searched for a recent favorite, there were surprisingly few to choose from. To be sure, plenty are on my shelves, but none have made it to this year's "books read" list. I hope to read both Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee and Jane Austen: A Life by Claire Tomalin in 2010.

I have, however, read some great autobiographies and memoirs. Two favorites are Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela and Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. These were both fascinating glimpses into lives that couldn't possibly be more different from my own.

It seems that I've grown to prefer autobiographies and memoirs. Do you have one to recommend?

See more answers to this Booking Through Thursday question here.

Wordless Wednesday- November 4

Teaser Tuesdays - November 3

"Life can be so hard," I said, moved.

"Yes. But if a person hasn't ever experienced true despair, she grows old never knowing how to evaluate where she is in life; never understanding what joy really is. ..."

Kitchen

by Banana Yoshimoto

page 41

To see more teasers, visit Miz B at Should Be Reading.

Virago Book of Ghost Stories: The Wrap- Up

Are you tired of hearing about The Virago Book of Ghost Stories yet? Just a few final thoughts in this wrap-up post and then we move on... I promise.

As I've mentioned before, this volume contains thirty stories, all by women, written over a period of 150 years and arranged chronologically. Rather than read straight through, I picked a couple of stories, and then jumped ahead 40 or 50 years for the next week's selections. This method may have caused me to miss some of the more subtle changes, but still provided a fascinating look at ghost stories over time.

Ghost stories really began to increase in popularity when they appeared in magazines like Dickens' Household Words and All the Year Round. They were not limited to writers specializing in the genre. Many mainstream writers also experimented with the form. Edith Wharton admitted that writing a convincing ghost story was very difficult, saying "It is luckier for a ghost to be vividly imagined than dully 'experienced'; and nobody knows better than a ghost how hard it is to put him or her into words shadowy, yet transparent enough.... If a ghost story sends a cold shiver down one's spine, it has done its job and done it well."

Of the stories I read, only Elizabeth Gaskell's "The Old Nurse's Story" (my post is here) truly sent a shiver down my spine. This was one of the oldest stories in the collection and, to me, represents the classic ghost story. Moving forward in time, the stories seemed to exhibit more realism ("The Villa Lucienne" by Ella D'Arcy - post here), then a focus on supernatural phenomena ("Roaring Tower" by Stella Gibbons or "The Station Road" by Ann Bridge - post here) and finally arrived at a retelling of Cinderella ("Ashputtle" by Angela Carter - post here).

Not only did the focus of the stories change, the language changed. It was interesting to read as it became more contemporary by increments. The sentences got shorter, there was less punctuation, and word choices and usage became more modern. To go directly from Gaskell to Carter would have been to miss the progression.

These stories have been great fun, and were responsible for quite a bit of 'Halloween spirit'. Maybe I'll focus on Edith Wharton and Henry James next year. But for now, does anybody have a recommendation for a good collection of Christmas stories?

Short Story Monday is hosted by The Book Mine Set.

TSS: It was a dark and stormy night ....really!

Last night was Halloween. The wind howled all day, the power flickered all afternoon, and finally just went out. How fitting! The girls liked the eerily atmospheric candlelight, but the feeling faded quickly with the realization that no electricity means no heat and no water. To make matters worse, the cable was out - no internet connection even if your laptop does have battery remaining.

Our area is also being hit hard by H1N1 flu. Friday's Halloween dance was cancelled, the party Twin B was scheduled to attend last night was postponed (the host's sister has the flu), and yesterday morning Twin A fell ill with 'the swine'.

No power, no internet, no parties, no trick-or -treaters, a sick daughter...what's left to do? I turned to Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle. The combination of that book under those conditions produced a reading experience I will remember for years to come! Look for a review later this week.. maybe by then I'll come up with the words to describe it.

Luckily, the efforts of National Grid (combined with a rain delay in Philly) had power restored before the opening pitch of Game 3 of the World Series. Go Yankees!

Today, Twin A is feeling slightly better and I'll be starting a book for the Japanese Literature 3 Challenge. My choices at hand are Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto and After Dark by Haruki Murakami. What will you be reading?