A busy month, with our trip to Connecticut to clear out Mom & Dad’s house, but books managed to wave their pages as me, seeking to soothe my sore muscles and aching heart with an escape to wonderland.

A side note: Farmer Gary puts me to shame when it comes to level of voracious reading. While in Connecticut, he kept a pile of newspaper circulars to read when he had a few minutes. We’d canceled Dad‘s newspaper and magazine subscriptions, packed up his books, and the only reading material remaining was these colorful ads, left behind by someone who stopped by to pick up donated furniture.

“Oh, honey – we can get you an actual newspaper to read. This is too sad!”

The upside, though, was Gary saw that Robert’s Food Center had a special on chicken and mashed potatoes – freshly made and ready to eat. My husband developed a serious hankering. He’d been starting his days at 5:30am and was often still dragging boxes to the dumpster at midnight.

“Let’s go!” I made coleslaw as a side dish.

It was just what he needed. That was the first night since we arrived five days prior that Gary slept through the night without awakening to painful leg cramps. Sometimes even a salt-of-the-earth farmer needs an extra bit of NaCl.

Since we arrived home last week, I’ve spent a lot of time reading in order to keep up with my retirement goal of four books per month. It’s been two years since my retirement date of 6/30/19 and during that time both parents passed away. But through it all, to keep my sanity and to honor their book-loving memory, books were always within reach.

Week 1: Father in a Fix by Neil Boyd

This is the third in the “Bless Me, Father” series, about a young curate in the early 1950s, learning how to survive day-to-day life as a Catholic priest in the outskirts of London. His teacher is a seasoned Irish pastor, whose advice and opinions may seem outlandish, but often prove just the point young Father Neil needs.

This was the perfect choice for light, humorous e-reading on the airplane as Gary snoozed beside me, no doubt dreaming of chicken legs and buttery potatoes.

Week 2: Emperor of the Air Stories by Ethan Canin

This volume sat atop a stack of books I moved into our room after Dad shipped us 240 gallons of books a year and a half ago. All right, I confess, the books are in our shelf-filled primary bathroom – equipped with two powerful exhaust fans that immediately banish any hint of humidity produced in one’s daily ablutions. Mostly paperbacks in there, don’t worry.

I’m guessing this was Mom’s book. She kept a close eye on the New York Times‘ book reviews and would surely have wanted to read this award-winning compilation of nine short stories.

Still in the depths of mourning, I must admit the lure of a brief exploration into each situation was appealing. The short-story format allows for the telling of a good tale without the reader having to invest the long-term concentration a full novel requires.

My favorite of the nine? The first, for which the collection is named. An aging science teacher – 69 years old, yet not yet in retirement – grapples with the future of a beloved elm tree. The tree is both ancient and under attack by predatory insects … and an obnoxious neighbor.

Week 3: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

This is such a familiar story, but have I read it before? I don’t think so …

After more than a minute of memory-searching, it occurred to me that Alice in Wonderland was among the favorite records Mom played for us as children as we settled down for a nap. I’ll have to dig around to see if it’s in our inherited collection.

Thanks to Google, I recognize the album cover and now know the book was read by Cyril Ritchard:

The Folio Society version in our collection is absolutely gorgeous, with the reproduced wood-block illustrations from the original printing.

“Off with her head!” is one of many quotes from this 1865 novel that live on all these years later. (Going “down a rabbit hole” is the most recent quote added to popular culture.)

Alice received the sweetie-pie treatment from Disney; don’t cheat yourself out of reading the story of the little girl who stuck up for herself and was even a bit bitchy as she grew (and shrunk) her way through Wonderland.

Week 4: Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll

Tell you what, this girl has some freaky dreams.

This sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published two days after Christmas in 1871. Alice is still a little girl, not yet eight years old, with a bossy big sister and only her cat, Dinah, for company. Lonely, she stares in the mirror over the mantel, and wonders what life is like on the other side.

Alice magically enters the Looking-Glass House through the mirror. This time, the Kings and Queens aren’t playing cards, they’re chess pieces.

Maybe that’s something else I should take up in retirement? Maybe, but only if I can shout “Off with your head!” when I don’t win.

The rest of my parents’ books should arrive during the month of July. Not sure where we’ll put them, but I’ve no doubt we will read them. Thank heavens for retirement!

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