My Bit of Earth

Of Schwinns and Starships

Would you look what followed us home yesterday?

Such an awesome find!  I was looking at the garage sale ads in the paper Friday afternoon, when I found one for a "Vintage Bike Sale".  A guy from Wichita--Geoffry Benzing, check out his artwork, which I absolutely love, here--apparently collects these old bikes, tinkers with them, then sells them.  We got these two for a song.  And they are so old-school-cool!  Sweet Husband's even came with a bell (which I'm planning to steal at first opportunity).

In other news, we went to see the new Star Trek movie last night.

I'm not a hardcore Trekkie by any means.  I remember watching the original movies with my Dad as a kid.  I love "The Next Generation".  But I never really got into any of the other spin-offs, and I don't go to conventions or speak Klingon or anything like that.

Nonetheless, I was practically squealing out loud with delight many times during the movie.  They did such a great job with the characters.  Kirk was Kirk.  McCoy was McCoy.  Spock was...not quite Leonard Nimoy, but the differences--rather than being annoying--were interesting.  There were several references to the original movies, for example, Spock gives one of my favorite lines ever from "The Undiscovered Country" ("[W]hen you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.") 

But what's really fun is, with the way they started it (it won't be too big a spoiler I don't think, to tell you that time travel and a sort of "alternate destiny" is involved) they're now free to basically re-write the stories of the original characters.  And I can't wait!  

Dewey's Books: Into the Forest

For my fourth "Dewey's Book" I read Into the Forest by Jean Hegland.  

As a quick aside, the further I get into this challenge the more I feel like I would have loved Dewey.  I didn't know her at all when she was alive--I wasn't and still really am not part of the hardcore book blogging community.  But following in her footsteps, reading some of the books she read, seeing what she thought of them, and then comparing her thoughts to my own....it's almost like we're having a conversation.  And it's a conversation I'm very much enjoying.  Last week I went back through her entire blog and added several books to my to be read pile, in addition to the books I'd already picked out for this challenge.

This particular book seems to have been one of Dewey's favorites.  In answering a meme she once said:

Is there a book you absolutely love, but for some reason, people never think it sounds interesting, or maybe they read it and don’t like it at all? 

I really, really liked a book called Into the Forest by Jean Hegland, and it had great reviews, but whenever I tell someone about it, they generally don’t seem interested. 

She summarized the plot as follows:

The story is narrated by Nell, one of two sisters who are left alone in their house in the Northern California redwood forest after society virtually shuts down. Their mother dies of cancer before the loss of electricity, gas, stores, etc. After months of living off whatever they have stored and their garden, their father has an accident with his chainsaw and dies. The sisters have to figure out how to survive in complete isolation while waiting and hoping that things will get back to normal. Of course things never do get back to normal. Their gradual transformation from dependent teenagers to independent women living off the land is fascinating.

This is a book that's a little bit hard to describe for me.  It just....has a soul.  Does that make sense?

And maybe it's because I could see myself so vividly as Nell...the worrier, the planner, the one who reads books to make sense of the world.  

And I loved the way both sisters eventually grew--I get so frustrated with characters that don't!  At first they both continue their passions (for one sister, studying, for the other, ballet), as if the world will be normal and the "lights will just come back on" one day, but they gradually realize that's not going to happen, and the forest is now their world.  It seems like it might be boring, but watching them grow to accept their new lives, and watching their relationship change--well, it just did all the things to me that a good book should!

Thank you Dewey, wherever you are, for introducing me to such wonderful books....

Two Things I Love This Week

Number one: Orangette.  Truly, this girl has me wanting to cook like a whirling dervish.  (Whatever that might be exactly.)  On advice of several other bloggers, I ordered her new book, A Homemade Life, from the library.  It's a wonderful mix of stories and recipes and family and food--I devoured it in one sitting and quickly moved on to both her blog and her monthly column for Bon Appetit.

The latter is where I found her recipe for homemade mayonnaise.  Holy.  Hell.

Our favorite brew pub makes it's own mayo.  A friend and I have been known to go and make a meal of it...with a few fries on the side, just to get some veggies in.  Is it completely awful that I can now recreate that meal at home?

Honestly, the mayo takes about ten minutes to put together, but the results are so worth it.  And if I had a mayonnaise making jar (or, more practically, a stick blender) it wouldn't be any work at all.  I used a bit more lemon than Orangette recommends (let's call it the juice of one whole lemon), and per Alton I will store it in the fridge for up to two weeks--if it lasts that long!

Number two: hank&cheef.  Yes, I'm still eschewing paper tissues when possible.  I really don't even think about it anymore, I've officially made handkerchiefs a habit.  (Except for the other night when a visiting friend asked for a tissue.  Felt less than hospitable pointing him to the bathroom tissue, but handing him one of my handkerchiefs--even a clean one--seemed kinda...eh.  Anyone have a good solution for that?)  At any rate, because allergy season is here and because they were super fun, I ordered a few new handkerchiefs. 

They arrived today.  Completely soft.  Completely cute.  Although they came all the way from Canada, the company uses the most minimal packaging I've ever seen, so that probably evens out a little, right?  Next time maybe I'll just have to order more than three at once--I see some owls in my future!

Historical Fiction Challenge: Power of a Woman

For my third and final book of the Royal Reviews Historical Fiction Challenge, I read Power of a Woman, Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine by Robert Fripp.

Eleanor was (to the best of my knowledge and a quick Google search) the only woman ever to really, truly be Queen of both England and France.  (Several French and English monarchs claimed to be the "real" head of the other country--e.g. Mary Queen of Scots and France called herself Queen of England at times just to goad Elizabeth I of England--but Eleanor was the only woman to actually exercise power as Queen in both countries.)  Basically what happened was that Eleanor--who was the duchess of Aquitaine, and therefore a large, rich French landowner--was married to the French King Louis VII for several years.  They eventually grew apart, and--more importantly--didn't have a son, so they were divorced.  Shortly afterward, she married Henry II of England.  They had several children together, including Kings Richard and John of "Robin Hood" fame.

Given all of that, you would expect the story of her life to be pretty thrilling, and it is...just not as it's told in this book.  It's a little sad really.  The author tried to write this from the point of view of Eleanor, old and dying, dictating her memoirs to a young girl.  Before choosing this book, I read several reviews that raved about how the author (a man) had done a wonderful job of capturing the voice of this medieval woman.  Um, not so much.  It's a little hard to explain, but this wasn't the voice of woman.  It was the voice of a man trying to write a woman--a subtle difference maybe, but one that ruined the whole premise for me.

And, even further, the telling of the story is so dry.  The author's "Eleanor" tells her story as if she's reading a history book about herself.  There's nothing about her personal relationships with her two husbands, no details about the quirks and personalities of her children.  I mean, here you have a woman who was in a position to observe and interact with some of the most fascinating characters in European history, and the author doesn't even try to imagine anything about their day to day lives--no conversations, no odd habits, nothing!  What's the point of writing historical fiction if you're not going to do anything but present the bare facts?  

I wish I knew of a good book about Eleanor to recommend in place of this one, because she really was incredible.  Anyone (cough, cough, Kathy) have any ideas?

Although I'm kind of sad to end on such a sour note (and take down Mr. Darcy here), this marks the end of the Historical Fiction Reading Challenge.  To recap, in addition to this not-so-good book, I re-read two of my very favorites--I, Elizabeth,by Rosalind Miles and Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles, by Margaret George.  Thanks to the ladies at Royal Reviews for hosting!

Dewey's Books: Savage Beauty

For my third "Dewey's Book" I read "Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay" by Nancy Milford.  Dewey's review of this book was cursory,

"Milford spent 30 years writing this biography of the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Millay’s life was notoriously “bohemian,” shocking for the time, but her strongest loyalties were to her writing, her mother and her sisters."

I really chose to read this book because one of my very favorite poems, Recuerdo, is by Millay.  The second verse:

We were very tired, we were very merry— 
    We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry; 
    And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear, 
    From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere; 
    And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold, 
    And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold.

I have to confess though, despite being a fan of Millay, I didn't make it all the way through the book.  It wasn't that the story was uninteresting, it was just that Milford is incredibly thorough--too much so for my liking.  I got a little over half way, and then got impatient and skipped to the last chapter.  

Keeping that in mind, I think Dewey's summary of the book is accurate, but I would add that I was amazed at how sure Millay was of herself.  Writing from such a young age, and being so positive that that's what she just had to do....that kind of sense of purpose is mind-boggling to me.  I think I'd like to find a less tedious biography of Millay and try to get all the way through it. 

On My Nightstand: Don't Let My Books Put You to Sleep

When I saw 5 Minutes for Books' "What's On Your Nightstand?" I thought, "Ohhh, fun!  More book blogging!"  The idea is to, on the fourth Tuesday of every month, post about or take a picture of the books that are currently "on your nightstand".

I thought it might be interesting....  Hm.  Not so sure about that.  I think I forgot just how long books sometimes sit on my nightstand, collecting dust without moving.

Case in point--starting from the bottom:  

• A legal journal that I really need to return to a co-worker. (Has an article about mental health courts which are such a good idea.  I mean, get mentally ill people help instead of sending them to prison?  Who would've thought of it?!)
• Harry, A History, which I finished a few months ago, but have been too lazy to put back on the bookshelf downstairs
• The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, which has been sitting there for months now.  From the first chapter--all I've managed to finish--I think it's going to be a really good book, but I just can't commit to it.  Someday Nice-Friend-That-I-Borrowed-It-From, is going to have to come rescue Edgar and put me out of my guilt. 
• The Cat Who Walks Through Walls--finished by Sweet Husband a few months ago.  Not sure how it ended up on my side, but I think it was so he didn't have to walk it downstairs to the bookshelf.  
• Equus, which I just got from the library today.  I would say it raises the tone of my stack a little except, let's be honest, I just requested it because of Daniel Radcliffe. 

So that's what's on my nightstand.  (I'll try to be more exciting next month!) 

Historical Fiction Challenge: Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles

For my second book of the Royal Reviews Historical Fiction Challenge, I re-read Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George.  If my last read was the Elizabeth book, this one is the Mary book.  

Just to get my biases out in the open, I am fanatical about the Virgin Queen.  If asked, as a teenager I would have called her one of my heroes.  And as such, you'd think I might not like Mary (who, after all, did kinda try to murder and dethrone dear Bess), but George really makes her lovable.  This is not the vapid Mary of "The Other Queen".  

At the same time, without either idolizing or demonizing Elizabeth, by the end of the book it's very clear why history remembers Elizabeth as a royal rockstar and Mary got her head chopped off.  Mary is impetuous and so sure that her good intentions will be enough.  She trusts people to be as honorable as she is, and--only when it will do her absolutely no good--starts to figure out that they're not.  She impulsively marries the wrong man, and then meets the right man at the wrong time, and just...she just never really gets it.

I think everyone has at least one friend that's that kind of girl, right?  Fun and smart and pretty and you love-her-to-death, but just not-so-good at making solid, realistic, long-term plans?

It's tragic, of course, but it does make for fabulous reading.  And although they're both largely the same story set in different time periods, George's The Memoirs of Cleopatra and Helen of Troy are both also worth checking out.  She's also written The Autobiography of Henry VIII, which I didn't like very much, and Mary, Called Magdalene, which I've only read part of, but enjoyed. 

Dewey's Books: How I Live Now

For my second book of the Dewey's books challenge, I read "How I Live Now" by Meg Rosoff.  

The beginning of this book jumps right in, and I spent a little time trying to figure out what time period it was supposed to be set in.  The book never really answers that question, which was a little off-putting at first, but I eventually decided it really didn't matter.

As Dewey summarizes:

The main character, Daisy, is a fifteen year old girl from New York. Her mother died when she was born, and her father’s new, pregnant girlfriend hates Daisy and all she stands for. Poor Daisy is shipped off to spend the summer with some cousins and an aunt she’s never met, somewhere in the countryside in England. Daisy falls in love with her new family, as did I. Little Piper, especially, is so sweet and loving that I wanted to adopt her. The rest of the family is just the opposite of what Daisy has been living with back home: warm, gentle, caring. Their constant offers of tea remind me of my husband’s family. And the way they paid attention to who Daisy really is as a person, which was novel for her, is so endearing.

Unfortunately, war strikes. Daisy’s aunt is in Oslo giving a presentation when it happens, so she’s trapped there. The children (the oldest, I think, is 16) are left on their own. For a while, it’s idyllic, isolated as they are out in the country. But eventually, adults figure out they’re alone, so they’re separated, and then they’re up close and personal with the war.

I agree with Dewey--the thing that so drives this book are the characters.  As Daisy falls in love with her cousins, you do too.  You want to go off and live with them in the English country-side with their lambs and dogs and gardens.  And her cousins are all psychic--which sounds corny, but it isn't--which means they understand her right away.  (What?  You mean everyone doesn't dream of lambs and dogs and gardens and cousins who understand you?)  At first the war almost feels like a joke, but then all of a sudden it gets very real, leading to the climax of the book--which I don't want to spoil by writing about it here.

This was definitely a different book, but I really enjoyed it. 

Lit Flicks Challenge Recap

This month is the end of the Lit Flicks challenge.  

If you will remember, at the beginning I planned to read six books over the course of the challenge.  I ended up skipping two of the book/movie combos I originally chose (I just couldn't get into The Contant Gardner, and I couldn't find M. Butterfly on DVD), but I finished the rest and then some.  Here are the books I read and movies I watched with links to my reviews:  

Brokeback Mountain

The Dark is Rising

About a Boy

What Dreams May Come 

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Twilight

Thanks to Jessica at The Bluestocking Society for encouraging me to read some great books and watch some great movies! 

Historical Fiction Challenge: I, Elizabeth

For my first book of the Royal Reviews Historical Fiction Challenge, I re-read I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles.

This book is an "autobiographical" account of the life of Elizabeth I, Queen of England, and for me, this book is Elizabeth.  

Miles just hits the perfect tone for the character.  A little vain, but fiercely proud.  Incredibly intelligent, but haunted and hunted by her own family.  Susceptible to the love of men, but ultimately willing to sacrifice that love for her love of her country.  It's just everything I ever imagined Elizabeth I to be.

Truly, if you're just going to read one book from this period, this is the one.  (Yes, yes--even better than The Other Boleyn Girl.) 

Dewey's Books: March

For my first book of the Dewey's Books challenge, I decided to read March by Geraldine Brooks.  

March is the story of Mr. March (from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women) during the time he leaves the family and goes to fight in the Civil War.  It paints a much more multi-faceted and less-rosy picture of both Mr. March and Marmee, and is loosely based on the life of Louisa May Alcott's father, Bronson.

Dewey gave this book rave reviews for it's ambiguities.  She said, "I loved how absolutely nothing was black-and-white, cut-and-dried."  That makes me chuckle, because I thought the book was only so-so for the exact same reason--I wanted black-and-white and cut-and-dried.

I loved Little Women, and adored the March family--particularly Marmee.  But, as Brooks points out in her notes afterward, in real life nobody's that perfect.  Everyone has mean thoughts and misgivings and doubts every now and then--they'd be horribly boring if they didn't!  

But--at least in literature--I think I just prefer the fantasy.    

Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

Because I like the idea of having this button to stare at in my sidebar for the next three months, another book blogging challenge (via Stacy who seems to always be in the know about such things).  The full skinny is here, but basically, it's three historical fiction books in three months.  I think I'm going to put "the royal twist" on things by re-reading two of my favorite historical fiction books about Brittish monarchs, and adding one new one.  

My choices will be:

• I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles
  
• Mary Queen of Scotland and the Isles by Margaret George
• Power of a Woman, Memoirs of a Turbulent Life: Eleanor of Aquitaine by Robert Fripp

Dewey's Books Reading Challenge

Thanks to Veens, I recently found out about a book blogging challenge to honor Dewey of The Hidden Side of a Leaf, who died recently.  Although I was mostly a lurker, I loved reading Dewey's book reviews, and I had a great time participating in her 24 hour read-a-thon in October.  She will be missed.

The challenge rules can be found here.  Basically, the idea is to read books that Dewey reviewed.  I decided to choose one from each year:

• 2003--Into the Forest by Jean Hegland (Dewey's review)
• 2004--Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos (Dewey's review)
• 2005--Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks (Dewey's review)
• 2006--March by Geraldine Brooks (Dewey's review)
• 2007--Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford (Dewey's review)
• 2008--How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (Dewey's review)

The challenge will run for all of 2009 with prizes and the like, so it should be fun.

Poll: What's on your holiday playlist?

Although I add a little every year, last night Sweet Husband was expressing distaste for the repetitive nature of my holiday playlist.  I think it's well-varied--a few classics, a few updated classics, a few that are completely new--but, well, I'm always up for adding new.  Any suggestions?

And, so as not to ask for something without giving something in return, here are a few of my favorites:

All That I Want by The Weepies

Kidnap the Sandy Claws from The Nightmare Before Christmas Soundtrack

Snowfall Kind of Love by Ingrid Michaelson

Christmas is Going to the Dogs from the How the Grinch Stole Christmas Soundtrack

Someday at Christmas by Jack Johnson

Somewhere in My Memory from the Home Alone Soundtrack

Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance! by Sufjan Stevens (and several others from the album Songs for Christmas)

Lit Flicks: Twilight

As another book for the Lit Flicks Challenge (see my post here) I read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  (I'm not really keeping track of how many I've done--with this one I just happened to read the book and watch the movie in the same weekend, so.)

I had avoided these books so far because of a few bad reviews I read when they first came out.  (In short: Edward's a stalker, Bella's always cooking dinner, and the writing sucks.)  But at last the number of people (many of whom share my taste in books) gushing about them reached the level where I felt like I had to at least give them a chance.

While I think some of the criticism is probably fair, after reading gulping down this book and the second one in less than 24 hours, much like the books' heroine, I know they might be bad for me but I just don't care!

I got a little impatient with Bella at times, but Edward and his family are fascinating.  (I actually really enjoyed going to Stephenie Meyer's website and reading the partial draft of "Midnight Sun" which is "Twilight" told from Edward's perspective--I really hope she finishes it someday soon.)  And the more I think through the initial places I had trouble with the book, the more silly my issues seem.  As an example, I once caught myself thinking, "Who really falls in love for life in high school?"  (This from a woman who married her high school sweetheart....ahem.)

The movie was actually almost better than the book, mostly I think because there was less of Bella's internal dialog.  (I really don't hate her, I just want her to grow-up.)  I thought Robert What's-his-face (who will always be Cedric Diggory to me) was such a good Edward, and the girl made me like Bella's character more.  Mostly I loved the way they filmed it--the half-tone colors, the music.  It was very "bad-ass vampire" movie, but in a fun way that didn't take itself so seriously that it was over the top.  I hear they've decided they're going to make the second book into a movie now too--can't wait for that--meanwhile I'm off to devour the third and fourth!

Lit Flicks: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

For my fifth book for the Lit Flicks Challenge (see my post here) I read The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne.  (I ended up deciding to sub this out for The Constant Gardener.)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas tells the story of Auschwitz from the perspective of a nine year old German officer's child (Bruno) living near the camp, who befriends a Jewish child (Shmuel) of the same age.  The decision to use Bruno as the narrator was absolutely brilliant.  Because, although you as the reader understand perfectly all the ways that being near the concentration camp is tearing his family apart, Bruno is completely innocent, brushing off his mother's many "medicinal sherries" and asking Shmuel questions like why he's so skinny.

I had read enough spoilers to know what happened in the end, and as I noticed I was running out of pages I started to brace for it.  But when it came, true to the perspective the author had chosen, it was still without complete understanding of the real horror of it all.  Only after the climax, through the characters remaining, did I really feel it.

When I read the book it was with the expectation that I'd be able to see the movie (which came out last weekend).  Unfortunately, it seems the nearest place I could go see it is Denver, Dallas, or Chicago (not sure which one is closer, but they're all several hundred miles away), so I think I'm going to have to wait for the DVD.  :(

If anyone else gets to see it, please come tell me how it was.  I can't recommend it as an uplifting holiday flick, but from the previews I've seen it looks like it will be well done.

Wednesday Poll: Spooky Stories

I'm feeling all Halloween-y lately--thinking of all my favorite spooky stories and movies.

Like the ghost story that used to scare the bejesus out of me as a child.  It was about a china doll that was actually a vampire and sucked her young owner's blood one night.  The end was truly horrific--the girl's parents never figured out exactly how the girl died, but only found the china doll with a smear of blood across its face.

Or the Poltergeist movies.  Wow.  One night when I was much-too-young, a babysitter let me watch one (I still don't know which--the one with the man that looks like the Quaker Oats box?).  I couldn't sleep in a room with a mirror in it for...well, come to think of it, it still gives me the heebs.

For this week's poll:

What are some of your favorite scary stories and movies?  Why do you think it is that they give you the creeps?

Comment and discuss.

(Photo c/o.)

Congratulations....

....alisonwonderland!  You won the Read-a-Thon mini-challenge.  The quote (randomly selected by Sweet Husband):

"Did the memory erasure device work, Uncle?"
"The what?"
"The memory erasure device. You were testing it when I last saw you."
"Don't know what you're talking about, dear girl."

From The Eyre Affair, the first in the Tuesday Next series by Jasper Fforde.

Thanks to everyone for all the wonderful quotes, and alison I'll be in touch to get you your prize!

Welcome to the "Quote From Your Book" Read-A-Thon Mini-Challenge!

A mini-challenge for my fellow read-a-thon'ers....

Ever since I was a little girl I've collected quotes--from books, from people, from road signs--but some of my favorites are from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books.  From Dumbledore's advice to Harry in the first book ("It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live," a good thing to remember for all avid readers) to Ron's funny jabs at Hermione ("You should write a book--translating mad things girls do so boys can understand them!") there are just some great bits!

So for the mini-challenge, give me a great quote from the book you're reading right now.  Be sure to say what book it's from, and also leave me some way to contact you.  My completely arbitrarily picked favorite will win my spare "Muggles for Harry Potter" pin and a lovely bookmark generously donated by Heather at Errant Dreams (see her pretty etsy store here).  I'm headed off to an Obama rally this afternoon, so I won't choose a winner until I get back--we'll say 8 or 9 tonight--but the challenge officially closes at 3 p.m. central time so I won't consider any quotes left after that. 

Find something good and have fun reading!

Lit Flicks: About a Boy

For my third book/movie for the Lit Flicks Challenge (see my post here) I read About a Boy by Nick Hornby and watch About a Boy.

I almost never say this, but I really liked the movie much better. 

For the first half of the book--basically until Will meets Rachael--the book and the movie are virtually identical.  I almost just gave up on the book in boredom, because, to paraphrase a friend, watching Hugh Grant = so much better.  However, I persevered.

Warning--spoilers ahead.

In the movie, Marcus sings at the school concert to try to make his suicidal mum happy, even though it will be social suicide for him.  Will shows up at the concert at the last minute to play back-up, thereby deflecting Marcus's humiliation onto himself.  At the end, you get the idea that--although the characters are still quirky--they'll all be OK because they've formed this little family.

In the book, the concert scene is replaced by Marcus taking a trip to see his father with Ellie.  They stop midway, and get arrested when Ellie breaks a window.  Everyone--Will, Fiona, Ellie's mom--comes together to go get them, and that's kind of it.  The book ends, not with the idea that they'll all be OK because they've got each other, but rather suggesting that Marcus and Fiona will be alright because they've assimilated and become "normal".

The book might have been more realistic, but it was disappointing.  Just watch Hugh Grant, trust me, you'll like it better.