Tuesday Intro: They Were Sisters

Lucy, reading Vera's letter at breakfast, smiled. Vera would come when Charlotte came and they would all be together. Once more, like old times, they would all be together. She must break it tactfully to William. Across the dazzle struck from the cloth and the silver by the sunshine of the September morning, she looked at him. Should she tell him now or later?

They Were Sisters
by Dorothy Whipple

My current read was selected for me by the Classics Club spin and I couldn't be happier. Dorothy Whipple, sometimes referred to as the "Jane Austen of the 20th Century", became an instant favorite in 2009 when I read Someone at a Distance. I am enjoying this 1943 novel immensely.

Summary from Persephone Books:

This, the fourth Dorothy Whipple novel we have republished, is, like the others, apparently gentle but has a very strong theme, in this case domestic violence. Three sisters marry very different men and the choices they make determine whether they will flourish, be tamed or be repressed. Lucy's husband is her beloved companion; Vera's husband bores her and she turns elsewhere; and Charlotte's husband is a bully who turns a high-spirited naive young girl into a deeply unhappy woman.

What do you think of the opening? Would you keep reading?

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

Weekly Update: 'Tis the Season

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... at least at this nearby inn/restaurant where we celebrated our 29th anniversary last Monday. Seeing their gorgeous tree reminded me of all the decorating and shopping I have yet to do. This will be the week!

Reading//

I finished Christmas at High Rising by Angela Thirkell - delightful stories with characters from her Barsetshire series, but not quite as much Christmas as I was expecting.

They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple (for the Classics Club Spin) is my current read, and it is wonderful so far!

Listening//

I'm still working on Finding Florida by T.D. Allman and can certainly understand why this book is controversial. What a wild and colorful history that state has had!

Today's Daily Deal (12/7) at audible.com is Everything I Never Told You written by Celeste Ng and narrated by Cassandra Campbell. It's just $3.95 and I couldn't resist. I'll probably need a break from the 21 hour Florida history soon.


On the blog//
Weekend Cooking: Review of Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen  by Laurie Colwin
The Classics Club: 50 Questions
Tuesday Intro: Finding Florida

In the kitchen//
Are you looking for a simple, delicious soup? Try this Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup from Gimme Some Oven... it doesn't get much easier and everyone here loved it. I'll definitely make it again over the holidays when all the girls are home.

Watching//
College basketball. Now if my Orangemen could just come up with a win...

The Red Tent  will be on Lifetime tonight and tomorrow, and my DVR is ready. I loved Anita Diamant's book... have you read it?

Later today//
We'll bring in the Christmas tree and put up the lights, but will wait on the ornaments until everyone is home. There's also a family gathering to celebrate my father's 79th birthday later this afternoon. But right now, I'm going to pour another cup of coffee, catch up on some blogs, and read the newspaper.

What are you up to today?

This post will link to It's Monday, What are You Reading?  hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin

"... an unstuffed turkey is like a jigsaw puzzle of the American flag with a piece missing right in the middle."  

- from "Stuffing: A Confession" in Home Cooking  by Laurie Colwin 

Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen
by Laurie Colwin
Open Road Media, 2014
(originally published, 1988)
193 pages
source: publisher via NetGalley for review consideration


For two weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, I am obsessed with the meal... to brine or not to brine, twice baked or mashed, how many sides, will four pies suffice, etc. Never mind the logistics of fitting everyone around the table or what time dinner should be served.

As I fussed with recipes, shopping, and planning, Laurie Colwin was like an old friend whose quiet presence reassured me it would all turn out just fine. During this time, I was too preoccupied to read much, but her short essays were the perfect diversion. I made time to read a few every evening.

 By 21st century standards, the essays in Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen  certainly feel dated, but Colwin's warmth and personality shine through, so I didn't mind one bit.

And that's really the point, anyway. We no longer discuss whether stuffing belongs inside the bird, but our feelings behind the stuffing are timeless. Doesn't every family take pride in their  special stuffing recipe?

Colwin, a prolific writer of both fiction and nonfiction, died suddenly in 1992 when she was only 48 years old. Last month Open Road Media released her work in ebook format, making it possible for a new generation of digital readers to discover her talent.

I hope they do.


More Quotes:

"... when the chips are down, the spirit is exhausted and the body hungry, the same old thing is a great consolation. When people who must provide meals are too tired to think of what to cook, those old standbys come to the rescue. They are things a person can cook half asleep."
- from "The Same Old Thing" 

"..this implies that I do not like to eat al fresco. No sane person does, I feel. When it is nice enough for people to eat outside, it is also nice enough for mosquitoes, horse and deer flies, as well as wasps and yellow jackets."
- from How to Avoid Grilling 

"A long time ago it occurred to me that when people are tired and hungry, which in adult life is much of the time, they do not want to be confronted by an intellectually challenging meal; they want to be consoled.
      When life is hard and the day has been long, the ideal dinner is not four perfect courses, each in a lovely pool of sauce whose ambrosial flavors are like nothing ever before tasted, but rather something comforting and savory, easy on the digestion -- something that makes one feel, if even only for a minute, that one is safe."
- from "Nursery Food"

Weekend Cooking, hosted at Beth Fish Reads, is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book (novel, nonfiction) reviews, cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

The Classics Club: 50 Questions

1.  Share a link to your club list.
You can find  my evolving list here.

2.  When did you join The Classics Club? How many titles have you read for the club? (We are SO CHECKING UP ON YOU! Nah. We’re just asking.) 
I joined the club April 15, 2012 and have read 26 classics since then.

3.  What are you currently reading?
Christmas at High Rising by Angela Thirkell

4.  What did you just finish reading and what did you think of it?
I just finished The Hotel by Elizabeth Bowen. It was well-written, but a little too slow for my taste.

5.  What are you reading next? Why?
Up next is They Were Sisters by Dorothy Whipple for the Classics Club spin.

6.  Best book you’ve read so far with the club, and why?
Do I really have to choose just one? Narrowing it down to three is the best I can do..
Stoner by John Williams
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki

7.  Book you most anticipate (or, anticipated) on your club list?
Probably An American Tragedy... it had been on my shelf for 35 years!

8.  Book on your club list you’ve been avoiding, if any? Why?
Crime and Punishment... quite possibly the Russians in general, and you probably know why!

9.  First classic you ever read?
Black Beauty,  I loved that book as a kid!

10.  Toughest classic you ever read?
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (and famously failing my own readalong), but maybe this doesn't count because I never actually finished?

11.  Classic that inspired you? or scared you? made you cry? made you angry?
Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

12.  Longest classic you’ve read? Longest classic left on your club list?
The Count of Monte Cristo is probably the longest classics I've read, and The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope is the longest book left on my list.

13.  Oldest classic you’ve read? Oldest classic left on your club list?
I have no idea what the oldest classic I've read might be, but think Emma by Jane Austen may be the oldest one on my list.

14.  Favorite biography about a classic author you’ve read — or, the biography on a classic author you most want to read, if any?
The best author biography I've ever read is A Tragic Honesty: The Life and Work of Richard Yates by Blake Bailey.

15.  Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? Why?
I think many readers rebel when told they SHOULD read something, at least I did.

16.  Favorite edition of a classic you own, if any?
I love my leather-bound Easton Press edition of Pride and Prejudice.

17.  Favorite movie adaption of a classic?
Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy... no doubt about it :-)

18. Classic which hasn’t been adapted yet (that you know of) which you very much wish would be adapted to film.
There are far too many film adaptations I have yet to see, so I won't suggest more.

19.  Least favorite classic? Why?
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.... so boring!

20.  Name five authors you haven’t read yet whom you cannot wait to read.
Anthony Powell, Elizabeth Taylor, Nancy Mitford, Thomas Mann, George Gissing

21.  Which title by one of the five you’ve listed above most excites you and why?
Buddenbrooks by Thomas Mann... because Bellezza loved it.

22.  Have you read a classic you disliked on first read that you tried again and respected, appreciated, or even ended up loving? (This could be with the club or before it.)
The Old Man and the Sea - I hated it in high school, then couldn't believe it was the same book when I read it a few years ago.

23.  Which classic character can’t you get out of your head?
Tess from Tess of the d'Urbervilles

24.  Which classic character most reminds you of yourself?
Hmmm...

25.  Which classic character do you most wish you could be like?
I'm okay where I am.

26.  Which classic character reminds you of your best friend?
I have no idea.

27.  If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why?
I'd avoid it.

28. Favorite children’s classic?
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh

29.  Who recommended your first classic?
my mother

30.  Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature. (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.)
my blogging friends :-)

31.  Favorite memory with a classic?
my 4th grade teacher reading Charlotte's Web aloud to the class

32.  Classic author you’ve read the most works by?
Maybe Jane Austen...

33.  Classic author who has the most works on your club list?
Elizabeth Gaskell

34.  Classic author you own the most books by?
Jane Austen

35.  Classic title(s) that didn’t make it to your club list that you wish you’d included? (Or, since many people edit their lists as they go, which titles have you added since initially posting your club list?)
My list is evolving,  so I'm constantly adding titles.

36.  If you could explore one author’s literary career from first publication to last — meaning you have never read this author and want to explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication — who would you explore? Obviously this should be an author you haven’t yet read, since you can’t do this experiment on an author you’re already familiar with. :) Or, which author’s work you are familiar with might it have been fun to approach this way?
I wouldn't attempt this without already "knowing" the author, but it might be a good way to approach Henry James.

37.  How many rereads are on your club list? If none, why? If some, which are you most looking forward to, or did you most enjoy?
I have five rereads on my list, but have not read any of the yet - Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Howards End by E.M. Forster, The Winter of our Discontent by John Steinbeck, Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I'm most looking forward to The Winter of our Discontent.

38.  Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish?
Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

39. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving?
Not yet.

40.  Five things you’re looking forward to next year in classic literature?
- joining the readalong of The Forsyte Saga by John Galswothy
- future Classics Club spins
- beginning a project to read The Rougon-Marquart series by Emile Zola
- other Classics Club events and readalongs
- reading reviews by other club members

41.  Classic you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?
Wild Strawberries by Angela Thirkell... must continue her Barsetshire series

42.  Classic you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?
Can I put off the Russians for another year?

43.  Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club?
The feeling of community, definitely!

44. List five fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent. What makes you love their blogs?
Only five?

45.  Favorite post you’ve read by a fellow clubber?
o @ Behold the Stars wrote a wonderful post about Clarissa

46.  If you’ve ever participated in a readalong on a classic, tell about the experience? If you’ve participated in more than one, what’s the very best experience? the best title you’ve completed? a fond memory? a good friend made?
Classics are always better with friends! I've participated in quite a few readalongs, but two that stand out in my mind are North and South  by Elizabeth Gaskell and Vanity Fair  by William Makepeace Thackery.

47.  If you could appeal for a readalong with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why?
The Way We LiveNow  by Anthony Trollope  - because it's very long, and I think reading it with a group would be a lot of fun

48.  How long have you been reading classic literature?
Forever, really.  I loved classics as a child and that has continued through my adult life. I even owned a Classics group on Yahoo before blogging.

49.  Share up to five posts you’ve written that tell a bit about your reading story. Reviews, journal entries, posts on novels you loved or didn’t love, lists, etc.

The Classics Club: Midpoint Report
Thoughts on Reading An American Tragedy
The Age of Innocence and a Perfect Day
Discovering Angela Thirkell
The Old Man and the Sea, Revisited

50.  Question you wish was on this questionnaire? (Ask and answer it!)
I think you've covered just about everything ;-)

Tuesday Intro: Finding Florida

1

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

You don't need a GOS to search out the meaning of Florida, though it helps. To get started, tap in the following address: 11 Magnolia Avenue, St. Augustine. You'll know you're drawing close to the wellspring of Florida's identity when you reach the intersection of Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Matanzas Avenue. Those names mark a traffic intersection. They also describe an intersection of myth and reality. Generations of Americans have grown up believing Ponce de Leon discovered Florida while searching for eternal youth, but what does "Matanzas" mean? As they drive along Matanzas Boulevard or power-boat along the Matanzas River, few understand that this mellifluous-sounding Spanish name means "slaughter" or "massacre." Thus, in English, St. Augustine's marina-fringed harbor, Matanzas Bay, could be rendered "Slaughter Bay."

Finding Florida
by T.D. Allman

I started listening to this audiobook because we plan to spend much of the winter in Florida and I want to learn a little more about the state's history. What I'm learning from this book is that many of the lessons taught to local school children may, in fact, by myth. So far, this relatively controversial book has been quite interesting.

Here's the goodreads summary:

Over its long history, Florida has been many things: a native realm protected by geography; a wilderness that ruined Spanish conquistadors; a place to start over; "god's waiting room." With a native population as high as 900,000 (who all died), it became a pestilential backwater with a few thousand inhabitants, but today is our fourth most populous state, with nineteen million. The site of vicious racial violence, including massacres, slavery, and the roll-back of Reconstruction, Florida is now one of our most diverse states, a dynamic multicultural place with an essential role in 21st century America. 

However, the remarkable story of Florida has been distorted and whitewashed. In Finding Florida: The True History of the Sunshine State, journalist T.D. Allman reclaims this remarkable history from the mythologizers, apologists, and boosters. 

Allman traces the discovery, exploration, and settlement of Florida, its transformation from a swamp to a paradise. Palm Beach, Key West, Miami, Tampa, and Orlando boomed, fortunes were won and lost, land was stolen and flipped, and millions arrived. 

The product of a decade of research and writing, Finding Florida is a highly original, stylish, and masterful work, the first modern comprehensive history of this fascinating place.

What do you think of the opening? Would you keep reading?

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the opening paragraph (sometime two) of a book she decided to read based on the opening. Feel free to grab the banner and play along.

Weekly Update: 11/30/14

The last ten days have been a whirlwind of family, fun, and festivities. It all started in Philadelphia last weekend when the entire family gathered to cheer on Daughter #1 as she ran the Philly half marathon. We returned to central New York ready to begin shopping, cooking, and baking Thursday's  Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone managed to arrive Tuesday evening ahead of the big nor'easter. Out table was set for eighteen this year.

Friday was a low key recovery day of reading, football, and the annual leftovers feast - no Black Friday shopping for this crowd. Saturday we cut down our Christmas tree, enjoyed turkey nachos for lunch, and attended our extended family's holiday party. It's so much fun spending time with my cousins and the Yankee Auction/Gift Swap is truly a highlight of the year.

This morning we took Daughter #1 to the train station and ran a few errands. My brother will join us for dinner tonight. I'm trying a new turkey pot pie recipe... fingers crossed.

Books completed//
Believe it or not, I finished two books on Friday:

The Hotel by Elizabeth Bowen - a little too slow for my taste, but very well-written

Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen by Laurie Colwin - a delightful collection of essays and perfect reading for Thanksgiving week

The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters (audiobook)

A little too long, but Juliet Stevenson's narration is excellent

Current reading//

Christmas at High Rising by Angela Thirkell 

...to get me into the holiday spirit.

Current listening//

Finding Florida by T.D. Allman

Thought I should read a little history before spending much of the winter in the Sunshine State.

On the blog//

I was a guest on Stuck in a Book's fifth My Life in Books series last week - find the post here.

Before my break I posted three reviews:
Belzhar  by Meg Wolitzer
Dollbaby  by Laura Lane McNeal
The End of Your Life Book Club  by Will Schwalbe

And a question//
I am not normally a Christmas-themed reader, but am enjoying Christmas at High Rising very much. I'm even considering a reread of A Christmas Carol  in December. Do you have a favorite Christmas book to recommend?

This post will link to It's Monday, What Are You Reading? hosted by Sheila at Book Journey.

My Life in Books

Lakeside Musing may be quiet for Thanksgiving break, but it's a busy week over at Stuck in a Book. Simon has organized another series (his fifth!) of My Life in Books and today I'm paired up with Aarti of Book Lust.

In case you're not familiar with the series, Simon asks bloggers about books that have been important at various stages of their lives, gives them the list of books mentioned the other blogger, and then asks for comments about those choices. Part of the fun is that the pairing remains a mystery until the post is published.

Stop by and say hello... the post is here.