I remember Mama

It was one of the final days before I left St Louis to move to Charleston, mere weeks after graduating St Louis University School of Nursing, and mere months after the sudden death of my father.  Friends were sending me off, doing what my friends tend to do well:  fill a space with life, laughter, good food, music, and a helluva lot of love.

She was still heart-broken, and I was heart-torn-- how  could I leave her, so newly widowed, and so fragile physically? How could I start off anew, as I had intended to do in those days before my father's heart gave out? I told her I would stay; she told me I must go. She said it was the life I'd been planning, that we'd talked about, in those months before I finished nursing school.  It was the life that gave my father a lot of pleasure, thinking of his daughter heading back to that city by the sea. The two of them had talked about it, when I wasn't around, which only made me slightly twitchy to think about. He had dreams of joining me in practice after I became a Nurse Practitioner, hanging out a shingle that said DOD (though instead of the "Dear Old Dad" nickname it stood for in our family, it would be "Daughter or Dad").

I listened, and remembered; all the talking and plans, the futures he, she, and I had anticipated. It hurt to leave; it was the death of a dream to stay.   I looked at the face of  my mother, a curious combination of strength and vulnerability, alone for the first time in her life. My heart cried, but I listened to what she said, told me what she wished. "We'll both be starting new lives. It will be fine. And there are telephones, " she said. She paused, and with a twinkle in her eye, added, "and airplanes."

Tomorrow she would have been 93. In the  photo I look at, found in a box tucked away, the tangible memory of our conversation,  I am roughly the age of my son, she is roughly the age I'll be in a few days. When I look now, I see the echoes of the face I see in the mirror each day, in both her image, and mine of 33 years ago. There are no planes for visiting now, or telephones, but the journey to remembering is never far.

Iron Hearted Violet by Kelly Barnhill

What happens when the princess in the story is unbelievably  homely, an old god is bent on destruction and the world is about to fall apart?

I picked this up to read before Kelly Barnhill's new book comes out. There's much hype and anticipation based on her earlier works (this one included) so I thought I'd take a test drive.

I liked it. Really. The main narrators were quite good, and the story well plotted and thought out. I liked the interweaving of some stuff from our mythology and folk tales, and a whole new world to explore.

It's geared for a younger crowd, but that shouldn't stop the child-at-hearts from reading it. And, it's got dragons. And heroes. And loyalty. And books. And did I say, it has dragons?

Tags: fantasy, i-liked-it, kids-of-most-ages, read, thank-you-charleston-county-library, will-look-for-more-by-this-author, ya-lit

The Girl You Left Behind by JoJo Moyes

Another story-within-a -story type book, interweaving two tales, which I tend to like, particularly if both narratives are interesting, which happily was the case here. In one, a woman in occupied France WWI era, finds herself struggling to keep her home and family safe, while her beloved husband is away fighting. She has her memories, and a portrait of her he painted from their days in Paris. All threatens to come apart when a German Kommandant discovers both Sophie and her portrait. In the other thread, Sophie's portrait is in modern day Paris, in the home and in the heart of Liv Halston, whose husband gave her the painting on their honeymoon. Now widowed, Liv finds herself in a court battle over who owns Sophie's portrait and if it is the spoils of warn or a true gift of love. I honestly have to say that as I read, I kept wondering how the author would untangle the mess that both women seemed to have gotten into, while keeping the promise of a happy ending in sight. I saw one possible out, but surprisingly enough, Moyes came up with a different one.

This is the second Jojo Moyes book I have read. I found the details and characters compelling, and the descriptions of life intricate enough that I could easily visualize the events of the book. My copy of the bok also included a prequel novella, called "Honeymoon in Paris", which for me, was really only interesting for the backstory of Sophie and her Edouard, rather thank Liv and her husband. And it was yet another book involving art that made me wish I could see the brush-strokes and actual painting involved in the story.

Tags: a-favorite-author, currently-reading, taught-me-something, will-look-for-more-by-this-author

Dr Who: Silhouette by Justin Richards

This is my maiden voyage with a novel based on Dr Who. The show is a big hit in my family, where three generations all consider themselves Whovians. I was curious to see how the characters translated to book format, knowing that usually, I am one of those "liked the book better than the movie" types. While the story, itself, was fine, it didn't thrill me with the same sort of delight that a well written Dr Who script does. I found the portrayals of the five "regular" characters rather flat, and, at times, had trouble remembering this was supposed to be the Capaldi Doctor, and not some ambiguous time traveller. There were a few moments when Strax seemed like Strax, and Jenny showed spunk, but for the most part, I wasn't wowed. Perhaps the fault is mine, though, as I expected the book to paint a picture in my mind that would match up to what I see on the telly each Saturday night.

I'm giving this book a 3 out of 5 stars, though, because even though I love the television series, sometimes the writers have an off time, and I moan and groan about how poorly the script was written, not giving the actors a chance to really strut their stuff. This plot-line was no worse than some of those scripts that I thought weak, perhaps even better than one or two. It could just be that my imagination is not trained to translate a story visually from a book to match what I know on the screen. After all, this adapting from a series is a new sort of read for  me. So, just like me giving the writers of episodes I'm not keen on the benefit of the doubt, so I'll give the book series the benefit, too, and a three-star rating. It also strikes me that this would be a good YA type read.

This is something like the 53rd book in the series, so apparently, others have no problem translating from television to text.  As I said, the fault is probably in me. Please don't bash me because our tastes are different. But if writers continue to have Madame Vastra refer to her wife, Jenny, as her maid, make Strax dull, Clara a bit of an imbecile, and the Doctor somehow enigmatic and dull at the same time, I'll cross future books off my wish list.

Many thanks to Blogging for Books and the publisher for sending this copy my way.

Tags: blogging-for-books, color-me-disappointed,great-cover, ok-but-not-great, part-start-of-a-series, read, thought-i-was-gonna-like

In which I get all artsy fartsy again

I hurt my knee, and apparently, in order for an injury to heal, the injured person is supposed to rest. I have learned that "resting" is, for me, a very difficult occupation, and I have repeatedly failed at it, which means that my recuperation is taking longer than I wish.

However, here are some of the things I have done to fill up my time and keep me from doing the things I apparently like to do, that are rough on a knee that is trying to heal. I've got a bunch more, including a menagerie -- foxes, horses, owls, bears, and getting ready to start a rooster.

My friend, antof9, has dubbed my style, which often combines Indian Truck Art with pysanky writing as Pysindi.

Truck art style

Star Gazing

Autumn is Coming

Find the Birdie

Girl's best friend 

Tantric Coconuts by Gregory D Kincaid

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance meets Life of Pi in this quirky spiritual journey across the wild highways and byways of America, they said. "Okay!" I said. "I'm in!" What I hoped for was a quirky boy-meets-girl (if the boy is a stiff-necked small town lawyer taking a road-trip/vacation to fulfill a promise to his grandfather and the girl is a free-spirited, new age, Native American, beginning her career as a spiritual advisor from the back of a converted bookmobile.) The problem is that the plot really didn't progress much further. Instead, the book segued into a primer on spirituality, various methods, means, types, and approaches. Don't get me wrong-- this is good information, but if I wanted to be exploring a spiritual pathway, I'd like to choose my own reading list, rather than be ambushed from the pages of a novel. As an outline/introduction to different spiritual viewpoints, this one is pretty decent, but again, I wanted a story, not a lesson. Mr Kincaid has created some characters that are just oozing with potential, but abandoned them to help enlighten the reader. I really wish he'd stuck to letting Ted, Angel Two Sparrow, and the dogs develop into fully fleshed out characters.

I'm guessing that there are those who this book will find, and it will be just the right time/tool/introduction to help them move into a new phase of life. I'm not particularly enlightened, but for me, a lot of this was like sitting through a review class on a subject I know pretty well. I plugged on through because it was a book sent to me by Library Thing Early Reviewers and the publisher, for which I am entirely grateful. I will pass it along through BookCrossing, hoping it finds the right reader while it travels the world as a BookCrossing book. Rating it 2.5 stars (out of 5), even though it is a decent introduction to spirituality book. It's just not as decent as a novel.

Tags: advanced-reader-copy, color-me-disappointed, early-review-librarything, not-to-my-taste-but-worthwhile, read, read-for-review, thought-i-was-gonna-like

Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore

A Christopher Moore I haven't read! Yahoo!

I enjoyed this book, as I do most Moore novels. He's got the right mix of zaney, bawdy, silly, outrageous, humanity, and mystical to make his books good reads, truly deserving of laughing out loud. Nice to see an early iteration of a character who shows up in several other books as well.

I kept thinking, while reading this, that when I was four, my family went on a cross-country trip. While out in "Indian Country" my parents bought me a book called "Coyote Tales", all about that mischief maker. Somehow, Old Man Coyote is a bit randier in Moore's book than in my memory, though maybe I ought to read the children's book again, and look for hidden meanings. You never know.

Tags: an-author-i-read, a-favorite-author, made-me-laugh-out-loud-for-real