Wordless Wednesday- September 30

Teaser Tuesday - September 29

Another Teaser Tuesday from The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins:

Men! They are enemies of our innocence and our peace - they drag us away from our parents' love and our sisters' friendship - they take us body and soul to themselves, and fasten our helpless lives to theirs as they chain up a dog to his kennel. And what does the best of them give us in return?

(page 171-172)

Very Victorian, wouldn't you say? Find more teasers at Should Be Reading, hosted by Miz B.

Short Story Monday: "The Necklace" and a new collection

If you're at all interested in short stories, then you won't want to miss this great discussion that occurred over at Farm Lane Books a few days ago. Rob from RobAroundBooks encouraged Jackie (not a fan of short stories in general) to read "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant. He claimed the story would "touch her heart and soul". Jackie willingly obliged (it's only 8 pages long), then offered an excellent dissection of the story containing her reasons for not liking it.

There are naturally spoilers in her analysis, so take a few minutes and read the story here first. I hadn't read it since high school and was glad for the refresher. "The Necklace" is not one of my favorite stories, and Jackie's criticisms certainly have merit.

It was the discussion that really captured my attention, though. Commenters offered thoughts on what a short story is and what it should try to accomplish, as well as several suggestions for future reading. If you've got a few minutes, I encourage you to read though it...it will be time well spent!

In other short story news...

Yesterday while browsing at Barnes & Noble (I had some free time while Twin A was at her SAT prep class), I came across The Virago Book of Ghost Stories. The cover immediately caught my eye but, on closer inspection, I found that it contained tales of the supernatural written by 34 top female authors from Elizabeth Gaskell to Angela Carter. How could I resist?

Since I recently imposed a ban on buying books that I wasn't going to start reading the same day, I did quickly read "Napoleon and the Spectre" by Charlotte Bronte. While it didn't really capture my imagination, it did fulfill my self-imposed condition of purchase. I plan on sharing stories from this collection throughout the month of October. Stay tuned...

Visit John at The Book Mine Set to see who else is talking about short stories today.

TSS: When Writers Speak

Good morning, readers. I'm very excited this weekend... my book club is getting season tickets to the Rosamond Gifford Lecture Series! This is the largest library-related lecture series in the country, it's something we've talked about attending for years, and it is finally becoming a reality! A combination of children getting older and a truly outstanding season line-up has pushed us, at long last, into action. Eight of us have purchased season tickets - six great authors and maybe even six dinners beforehand. I couldn't be happier!

This year's line-up includes:

Khaled Hosseini

Geraldine Brooks

Pete Hamill

Richard Russo

Sara Gruen

Jeffrey Toobin

I've read, or at least own in Geraldine Brooks case, books by all of these authors... except Pete Hamill. If anyone is familiar with Hamill's work, suggestions would be welcomed.

I love hearing writers speak! About ten years ago, I remember being on the edge of my seat the entire time Pat Conroy was on stage. My face actually hurt from smiling and laughing at An Evening David Sedaris last winter. Now, I can't wait to see what a talk by Richard Russo or Khaled Hosseini will bring!

Do you ever go to events like this? A few months ago, I wrote a post (When Writers Read) about authors reading their own work for audiobooks. It sparked a great discussion, and now I'm wondering about writers as speakers. Have you heard many authors speak? Obviously some must be better than others. Who have you enjoyed? Who's funny? Have they simply read from their work, or did they have a prepared talk? Do you ask questions, or hope someone else will ask them for you? How long are you willing to stand in line to get a book signed? I'd love to hear about your experiences!

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple

Someone at a Distance

by Dorothy Whipple

413 pages

first published 1953 by John Murray

2008, Persephone Classic Edition

J.B. Priestly once described Dorothy Whipple as the "Jane Austen of the 20th century". After reading Someone at a Distance, I think this may be a pretty fair comparison. The novel takes a look at a post-WW II upper middle class family in England. Almost all the action revolves around the domestic drama that occurs when a young French woman (Louise Lanier) takes a position as a live-in companion to Old Mrs. North, and gradually insinuates herself into the North family.

When circumstances eventually force an extended stay at the home of Avery (Old Mrs. North's son) and Ellen North, the situation deteriorates. Louise, recently dumped by her lover for a woman of higher social status, is in desperate need of a new conquest to bolster her self-esteem.

"To live dangerously became the most exciting of games to Louise. The double life she led, the lies she told, the necessity of deceiving, became almost second nature to her... Also, her inclination to despise people had been fostered by finding them so easy to deceive. They were stupid to be so gullible. If you were clever enough - and she was - you could get away with anything." (page 134)

Ellen North's entire life revolves around her husband Avery, her children Hugh and Anne, her home, and her garden. She is sweet, gentle, and down-to-earth.

"He [Avery] took Ellen for granted and that was, Louise considered, Ellen's own fault. She was altogether too open and simple. A woman needed art and subtlety and Ellen had neither." (page 164)

"The foolish creature [Ellen] didn't seem to realize that it was necessary to fight. The battle was joined and would be over before she knew there was one." (page 202)

Whipple's writing exquisitely shows the pure, raw emotional responses of all parties involved as this domestic drama unfolds... and it is riveting! I'll simply let the author's words complete this review. They could not be more beautiful.

"A family is like a jigsaw puzzle. If a piece is lost, the rest no longer makes a pattern." (page 254)

"These women were old, time had softened them, they had learned something from loss, helplessness, loneliness; they knew almost anything can happen to anybody. They were kinder than when they were young." (page 359)

"Life is like a sea, sometimes you are in the trough of a wave, sometimes on the crest. When you are in the trough, you wait for the crest, and always, trough or crest, a mysterious tide bears you forward to an unseen, but certain shore." (page 413)

Booking Through Thursday - Pass the tissues

Today's Question:

What’s the saddest book you’ve read recently?

(Is any body getting bored with this series of “recent” questions? Because I’m having fun!)

My answer:

I'm a crier. Whether it's books, movies, television, even the odd commercial...if it's sad (or sometimes even if it's happy), I'll shed a tear. So, it's not surprising that there are a number of books could serve to answer this question.

My choice, however, is a book that surprised me in it's ability to cause tears to flow. Ethel & Ernest is a graphic novel by Ernest Briggs, of The Snowman fame. It tells his parent's story from their chance meeting in 1928, through marriage, child-rearing, the war, political squabbles, and on into their golden years. I'm very new to graphic novels (have only read a handful), and was very surprised to have this genre evoke such emotion. You can read my review of Ethel & Ernest here.

Visit today's BTT to see more responses.

The ABC's of Me

Here I am last month at one of the galleries in Santa Fe. It was going use it for a Wordless Wednesday photo, but thought this meme from Molly's blog would be a good post-BBAW introduction.

Available or Married? Married

Best Friend? Sounds corny, but my husband

Cake or Pie? Cake, preferably chocolate!

Drink of Choice? Coffee in the morning; water in the afternoon; wine or tea in the evening

Essential item for everyday use? my laptop

Favorite color? sage green - in a room, it's soothing and relaxing; on me, it makes my hazel eyes look green

Google? Of course...doesn't everyone?

Hometown? moved around a lot when I was younger, but graduated from high school in Canastota, NY

Indulgences? pedicures, books, chocolate

January or February? February - it's shorter, closer to spring, and there's usually a vacation involved!

Kids? Three daughters - 19 and 16 year old twins

Life is incomplete without..... my family

Marriage date? November 30, 1985

Number of siblings? I'm the oldest of six kids. I have 3 sisters (including twins) and 2 brothers.

Oranges or Apples? Apples ...and apple pie, apple crisp, apple bread, apple cider, apple juice

Phobias and Fears? snakes and bats

Quote of the day? Live long, laugh often, love much

Reason to smile? a beautiful sunset over the lake

Season? Fall...the colors, crisp temperatures, sweaters

Tag 3 people? I won't tag anyone, but if you're interested, consider yourself tagged! (Please let me know if you play along)

Unknown fact about me? I left a career in clinical pharmacy fifteen years ago to be home with my daughters...and have never regretted a minute.

Vegetable you hate? Lima beans

Worst habit? impatience, perfectionism...I'm sure my family could list a few more!

X-rays you've had? too many

Your favorite food? fresh bread, or maybe chocolate

Zodiac sign? Cancer