Loose Diamonds by Amy Ephron

This book is just what I needed after finishing a long classic novel. It's Amy Ephron's collection of memories of her life. You may know her from her articles in pretigious magazines and her previous books.

Ephron has a delightful sense of humor. She reminds me of a former neighbor who could go in her van to pick up a new chair she had ordered, and come home with a story about the experience that would have the neighborhood in hysterics. Ephron once pulled into a parking space in front of her son's school only to have a Mercedes rear end her - twice. The driver was another mother who had been dating (and dumped by) Ephron's ex-husband. Ephron could only assume she was taking it out on her for divorcing him and setting him loose among the women of the world.

She also writes very movingly about her mother, a woman who kept up appearances even while falling apart. The day Ephron's first child was born is touching even though it turned into a surreal scene in the ICU with Elizabeth Taylor's daughter-in-law screaming in labor across the aisle. The dog (yes, in the ICU) kept barking, the assistant's mobile phone kept ringing, and the mother-to-be sat up and waved merrily in between contractions. It's hilarious.

This short book should cheer up anyone. I read it in one day when we were running errands and I was often in the car waiting for my husband. Lots of fun. I do recommend it.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

It seems like I've been reading Jane Eyre forever but I finally finished it last night. My paperback copy is so old it only cost 60 cents. The print was tiny and the pages were a little brown, but my eyes survived the ordeal and I learned that, with maturity and patience, I really like this book.

The book requires patience because of the writing style of Bronte's era. In the beginning Jane is only 10 years old, yet she thinks and speaks in an adult manner. She says her future is too uncertain for conjecture, for instance. She studies faces of the other orphans and their teachers at Lowood Institute and describes individually each feature, nose, lips, hair, hands, etc. Each feature tells her something about the character of the person she observes, and that does get somewhat tiring at times. Not to worry, though; you can skim and not miss a thing.

Jane is an orphan whose kindly uncle has undertaken to give her a home and raise her. Then he dies and his horrid widow treats Jane wickedly, while brainwashing the little girl into thinking herself evil. Finally, escape comes in the form of being sent to Lowood where the children are underfed, taken outdoors in winter without warm clothing, and strictly monitored 24 hours a day.

As Jane becomes an adult she finds a position as governess to one child in the home of Mr. Edward Rochester on a large estate. I think most people know that she and Rochester fall in love but there is an unsurpassable burden in the way of marriage; he already has a wife - the madwoman in the attic.

Margaret, of BooksPlease, has said that reading this as a youngster she was terrified of the madwoman in the attic. Frankly, I was nervous as to what the woman was capable of. After all, she did set fire to the bedcurtains in Rochester's room one night. From the time Jane arrives at this estate the story gets better and better. There are coincidences that are unbelievable but I think that was common in Bronte's day, and therefore forgivable.

Reading Jane Eyre has convinced me to go back and reread or read for the first time many other classic novels so I'll be reviewing a classic now and then. Hopefully the rest of them will have a bit larger print.

Update on The Magnificent Medills

On September 2nd I reviewed a nonfiction book called The Magnificent Medills, a saga about one of the most important families in newspaper publishing. My only complaint at that time was that my ARC copy didn't have pictures.

Now HarperCollins Publishers has been kind enough to send me the published book, and lo and behold, there are pictures. We can see Joseph Medill, founder of The Chicago Tribune and major player in nominating Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. We have portraits of his two daughters, the "she-devils," as well. Kate was the mother of Col. Robert R. McCormick of the Tribune. Nellie Medill Patterson was a beautiful but difficult person.

One of the best photos is of Joseph with his four grandchildren who carried on his tradition of newspapers and politics. There are many others of which I was most interested in seeing the controversial Cissy Patterson.

With that major quibble taken away, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book by Megan McKinney.

Last Sunny Day for a While

I haven't been posting lately because it's been way too nice to stay indoors. After our rainy summer and floods, we have had seven sunny, warm days in a row! I've been frantically working outdoors to catch up, which has been the name of the game this year. I never have actually finished the yard work at all this year because of all the rain.

Also, Dave has been cleaning out his shop in preparation for going out of business so we've been driving back and forth to a scrap yard in Scranton with loads of metal. Forty miles each way plus unloading takes a huge chunk out of your afternoon. That also means he hasn't been helping with the yard work of course.

As all good things have to end sometime, the forecast for tomorrow is rain. My plans then are to catch up on blog reading, maybe even have some time to read my current book, and housecleaning.

I'm reading Jane Eyre, a book I had tried to read years ago but couldn't finish. This time I'm enjoying it. Unfortunately, I'm reading an old paperback with tiny print and the pages have browned a little. I could have sworn I had a nice copy but can't find it. Jane, as a child at least, appeals to me. I do chuckle a bit at the stereotypical characters - her aunt and cousins, the owner of Lowood, and the people there - but like the florid style (a child thinking in huge words for instance), it's just typical of the era. I'm interested enough to go on with it to see what happens to Jane.

In other words, I haven't croaked or anything drastic, I've just been super busy. Soon I'll be back to reality and blogging and commenting.

Surprise! I'm Having a Giveaway!

For the first time ever, thanks to Macmillan Audio, I'm having a giveaway and it's an audiobook.

You've seen Jeffrey Archer's Only Time Will Tell reviewed here and on several other blogs. Now you can own a brand new audio version of this book. It is read by Roger Allam.

Since I like things simple, all you have to do is leave a comment with your email address by the end of October. November 1st we'll all find out who won and I will let the winner know.

Good luck!

The Wandering Falcon by Jamil Ahmad

This is a difficult book to review, although I must say from the start that I truly enjoyed it. If you read it, I have a suggestion. Pretend that you are at a library or an outdoor event, in a group gathered around to listen to a great storyteller. There is tea for everyone and perhaps some dates, nuts, and other little snacks. Then the 80 year old Jamil Ahmad begins to tell strange and wonderful stories about the people of the tribal areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

He gives some idea of the harsh landscape and living conditions, but for the most part his stories are about the people he has worked among and understands. Tribal leaders who make their point in meetings through parables, men who treat their animals better than their women, women who nevertheless manage to exert influence on decisions for the tribe, children who know instinctively who to trust.

In short, this isn't a novel as you normally think of it. A child, the Falcon, who is 5 years old in the first story is the thread upon which Ahmad weaves his fictional tales. In another story he is 7, then 13, then a young man. He appears in each tale but sometimes only in a cameo appearance. The stories tell about the customs and unwritten laws by which the tribal people of this wild country govern their entire lives.

I've read a little about the city people of these countries but wanted to know more about the mysterious tribal people. This is Ahmad's first book, but I hope that even at his advanced age he will continue to tell these stories. I highly recommend this book.

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

This is the story of Holly Oak, a house in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the generations of women who lived in the house between the Civil War and present day. A cannonball still stuck in the side of the house is a reminder that it survived the war, but it did so because the family had connections to both sides. Rumors say the house is haunted, that there are Yankee soldiers buried in the cellar, and that one of the women in the family was a spy for the North.

Beginning in this way, with Adelaide, the great-granddaughter of the supposed spy, hosting a wedding reception in her garden, I had high hopes for the book. Adelaide's daughter and her husband Carson had lived in the house. Their two children were born there. Then the wife died and Carson and his kids had stayed at Holly Oak, believing the children shouldn't be moved from the only home they had ever known. Now Carson has married a young woman from Texas and they too will live at Holly Oak.

The bride, Marielle, has had a successful career and is presumably an intelligent woman. But this is where the story begins to fall apart for me because Marielle suddenly turns into a timid, frightened, gullible child/woman.

Holly Oak is full of secrets and rumors that no one has bothered to investigate and set to rest. It's like a soap opera where everyone keeps secrets which cause all kinds of problems. I kept thinking, "What's the big deal? Why don't these characters just come out with it?" This could be such a good story but I'm sorry, it just didn't work for me. Nor was there any sense of place and motivation was lacking for the characters' actions.

This is just my opinion of course and you might love the book. It is coming out Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. If you like family sagas and historical fiction, this may well be the book for you.