I didn’t sleep last night. Not a wink. Not sure why, other than one of the challenges (and great pleasures) of retirement is not having a schedule set by anyone but yourself. James is back at college, so there wasn’t a school-aged son to stand at the darkened window and ask repeatedly, “Do you think we’ll get a snow day tomorrow? Just in case – can I stay up late?” It was always such a temptation to let the boys…
Alright, so that’s not a direct quote from one of this month’s books, but it’s close. Six books this month, with so many more calling out to me from literally every room in the house. The year 2021 brought with it my first Folio Society (a British company, now employee-owned) purchases, to add to the 550 volumes we inherited from Dad and Mom. This year also included the delightful discovery of Your Brothers Bookstore, an independent shop in downtown Evansville….
November’s books take us on a river, to the Old West, to a deserted island, to London, and more. Week 1: Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome This delightfully humorous book seems surprisingly modern, considering it was published in 1889. As the title indicates, three young men decide a two-week boat trip up the Thames River is just what they need to get rid of their aches and pains. They pilot their own boat, they camp, they…
Is there a term for a grandma who buys her LEGO-crazed grandson a set that she fully intends to keep, once built? (He will, of course, be welcome to visit it any time he likes.) I sprung the challenge on Cameron during our Thanksgiving get-together on Saturday. His response was almost poetic: Goose! If you buy it, I’ll build it! Within minutes, our Master Builder was hard at work, with his trusty sidekick, Papaw, at the ready. (Farmer Gary has…
From the fictionalized horror of Ray Bradbury to an Agatha Christie crime novel, to the unforgettable history of a Holocaust survivor, this was a month full of unsettling stories. Book 1: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton One word: Bleak. This classic New England tale details a life in which hope is just a waste of time. Revisiting Ethan Frome turned into a match of memories, as both Gary and I read it as high-school class assignments long ago. I remembered…
There’ll never be a Halloween when my brothers and I don’t think of Mom. She loved everything about fall, especially getting spooky in late October. In addition to decorating the house and loading up on apple cider, Mom got a lot of use out of this witch hat: We liked that photo so much, it reappeared as a pillow, which Mom treasured: It’ll be years before I run out of Halloween poems from Mom. She wrote a bunch! All Hallows…
“Hey Cameron, do you have your Halloween costume picked out yet?” Our nine-year-old grandson replied in the affirmative. “What are you going to be?” A doctor. A Plague Doctor. When I asked Cameron what Plague Doctors did, it was clear the appeal was that they wore “really cool masks.” We were lucky enough to have the lad here for part of his fall break earlier this week, so I asked if he’d like to do some research. “Sure, Goose. I…
Upon retirement 27 months ago, I committed to read at least four books per month. That evens out to about one book per week. Sometimes I get behind and other times, ahead. As this month came to a close, it looked like I could squeeze in an extra book (or three). Sept is the French word for the number seven. Septem is the Latin word for the same. Do they still teach about the old Roman calendar in school? Anyway,…
As August’s reading comes to an end, I managed to squeeze in a fifth book. Kinda wish I hadn’t, though. Week 1: The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene If memory serves, this title provided my introduction to Graham Greene back in high school. It was summer and Mom handed me a book from her vast collection. High school was a very long time ago, so this re-read was a comfortable one. I didn’t remember a thing, other than…
Most of July and a third of August are considered the “dog days” of summer. Although none of this month’s books could be called dogs, Betrayal has an unforgettable bite, while Cranford gets those Victorians’ tongues to wagging. Week 1: Betrayal by the Investigative Team of The Boston Globe This is an easy book to put off reading. But that’s part of the problem, isn’t it? After watching the movie Spotlight several times, I knew it was important to read…