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Category: Werne

1948 publication of Candide, back cover
The Folio scheme

The Folio scheme

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There is something about the English language that is so delightful, yet infuriating. In particular, I mean the sometimes opposite definitions we Americans place on a British word. (One example, which I won’t detail completely, involved me complimenting a TV producer’s fanny pack. Well, she and the executive producer were fresh off the plane from England. They enjoyed a fine giggle at my stunned expense.) Here’s another example: Scheme. Scheme is a perfectly fine word in England, and presumably the…

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1961 Mom and Hercules in Vermont
The Rain Train

The Rain Train

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It was close to midnight the other evening when I heard it. A train whistle. In the far-off distance. I love the sound of a train, especially at night. It’s so comforting. I asked my musical brother Dave if he knew exactly what chord the whistle plays. Here’s his reply: I’ve heard a lot of different chords from train whistles, but my favorite (which I’ve heard quite a bit) is a major chord with an added 6th, like F-A-C-D. The add-6 chord…

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Silas Marner
Life-changing books

Life-changing books

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Although I rarely try to theme each month’s book choices, in January it seems each told the story of transformative life changes, whether in war, living on the land, or in the aftermath of death. Book 1: One Man’s Meat by E. B. White Before E. B. White wrote Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little, he wrote a series of columns for Harper’s Magazine. These chatty essays described his new life on a farm in Maine. Up until that point in…

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The Farmer and the Newspaper
Newspaper Day

Newspaper Day

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Farmer Gary loves to read the newspaper. Always has. In fact, he’s declared Wednesday to be Newspaper Day each week, as that’s the day most of the weekly papers arrive in the mail. Each Wednesday, Gary dashes out to check the mailbox, then takes over our breakfast bar with his stack and works his way through the periodicals. Sadly, many of the dailies and almost-dailies he grew up reading are no longer … well, appealing. … but there are still…

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Cameron reads 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
The final books of 2023

The final books of 2023

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As the year 2023 comes to a close in a few hours, my goal of reading at least four books per month has been reached. In fact, the total this year came to 58 books. And in case you’re wondering, I’m right on schedule with the book-by-installment reading of Bleak House. Here’s the rundown: Book 1: When the Snow Is Blue by Marguerite Dorian Must begin with a sincere thank you to grandson Cameron, who read this children’s book along…

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Mick Foley with John and James
Just be Claus

Just be Claus

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Psst! Paula! Come here for a second, will ya? I was new to this job back in 1992 and still not over the fact that Santa Claus was a co-worker. As I stepped toward him, he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Oh, boy!” I thought. “Santa secrets!” Not exactly. The jolly man in the white beard had a serious concern. Step a little closer, but don’t let anyone see what you’re doing. And tell me … do I stink?…

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Box of Delights
A cornucopia of books

A cornucopia of books

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Now that I’ve looked up “cornucopia” to be sure it means what I thought it did (indeed: horn o’ plenty), I must share that the original horn was from a goat. I kid you not! That said, November’s cornucopia of books numbered five volumes. Two autobiographies, two crime mysteries, and a children’s novel. Book 1: A Box of Delights by John Masefield Last month’s reads included The Midnight Folk by John Masefield. Since this second book unfurled the next chapter…

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sunroom construction
Fourteen windows

Fourteen windows

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I’ll say it before anyone else brings it up: Why would a couple of Empty Nesters add on to their home now that there are only two occupants? Actually, I didn’t happen upon the real reason until after we’d “moved in” following a long summer of loud construction. Why? Because the view is glorious! The east side of our house faces the forest, yet our house’s windows on that side just didn’t do the trick. We needed more windows. Lots…

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Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl
Six books of sorrow

Six books of sorrow

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As I finished up each book this month, I’d tell Farmer Gary: Time for a lighter book. But it wasn’t the weight of the volume that needed changing. With horrifying acts of terrorism around the world and crazed gunmen here in the U.S., it was time for an escape. Somehow, though, each new book was also filled with sorrow. Book 1: All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque The title was so familiar, but I’d never before…

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The Watchmaker's Daughter
Time to read more books!

Time to read more books!

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Just when I’m about to declare how fast September flew by, I look at the list of books I read and that first book seems so long ago. Book 1: The Watchmaker’s Daughter by Larry Loftis Corrie ten Boom told of her part in the resistance in the Netherlands during World War II in her memoir The Hiding Place, which was assigned reading in my high school. Half a century later, Gary gave me this volume and I wondered how…

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