Another month comes to a close, a month of Rot.

By this I mean one book in particular was so disturbing, I had to keep putting it down during the month. Finished it a few days ago, thankfully, even though I knew what the ending would bring.

Book 1: Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

I enjoyed this children’s novel as an adult, but would have loved it (and, apparently, the entire series) as a grade schooler.

In short, three non-related baby girls are adopted by a traveling, absent-minded professor. He sends them as gifts to his niece, who keeps her childhood nanny close to help raise the trio. Of course, there are money problems, which lead to solutions that take the children in different directions.

Book 2: Rot by Padraic X. Scanlan

August 7 was our 43rd wedding anniversary. And what did Farmer Gary give me?

Ah, that romantic fella knew I couldn’t resist learning more about my Irish heritage.

It was a tough read, though, as the rot went much deeper than the potato blight. The corruption, greed, and criminal-level complacency presented “famine” with a multi-layered definition.

Book 3: Not My Type by E. Jean Carroll

I had no idea E. Jean Carroll was a graduate of Indiana University (also my alma mater). Fifteen years earlier than me, though.

Boy, can she write! This is the story of her court case against the New York realtor who abused her in a department-store dressing room and later, as a politician, defamed her mightily. Although filled with disturbing descriptions, she lightens the story by treating the main courtroom aisle as a fashion runway, describing the individuals’ choices in dress and hairstyles.

Book 4: The Father Brown Stories by G.K. Chesterton

Short stories are inferior to full-length books, as far as I’m concerned, but sometimes an author makes it worth your while.

Father Brown is admittedly more charming on his television series, but these stories remind me – as do those with Poirot, Holmes, and Sir Peter – to pay attention to everything and the answers will find you.

Book 5: Nightmare Abbey by Thomas Love Peacock

Another book of rot, but this time it’s fiction.

This book drips with satire. Written in 1818, it makes good-humored fun of the writing tropes of the time. The illustrations in this Folio edition have a familiar look, don’t you think?

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