Earlier in 2019, I shared books that I had been reading so far along with stacks that had been gathered in from hither and yon.
Then I mistakenly thought I would add the rest of my 2019 reading in a short post at the end of December. Ah,nope.
As I rounded up books to add to my list, I kept finding more that I had not remembered. I have no order in this list, so they just keep coming. On the bright side, I read more than I initially thought since I feel like I watched a ton of tv this year while recovering from injury, sicknesses and parenting. Ha!
The sad part is I have a ridiculous number of books that I started and haven't finished so according to my own rules, I can't share them yet. Since this post has taken days upon days to finish, I can see the value in posting my finished reads several times a year like I did once upon a time. Here we go!
The Warden's Niece by Gillian Avery
This is one of the first stories I've read where the children are treated as though they were born persons with a mind that is capable of thinking and growing.
The main character, Maria is captivated by some mysterious engravings and portraits found on the property of a Lord's manor she visits with her tutor and neighboring boys. Their play and their studies intertwine to lead them into adventures and experiences that both furthers Maria's understanding of the Lord's family history and makes her hesitant to bring shame to her Uncle's house.
The story brings both humor and interest as the children interact with each other and the expectations of grown-ups. I think Maria is a delightful and intelligent character for girls to emulate. Gillian Avery wrote other stories for children which I hope to read and also wrote several books about children's literature which I have waiting for me on my shelf. And I can't help but wonder if Maria as a character shares much of her curious and intelligent personality from her creator.
The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
I have determined to read all of the Narnia series in order however long it takes me. And while I knew that this story is considered a prequel to the rest of the stories, I really didn't know what to expect. It reads so easily and I was carried along in the adventures of Digory and Polly. But it wasn't until the last quarter of the book that I found myself noting selections to copy down in my notebook as both profound and humorous commentary on life. The introduction of Aslan and the creation of Narnia is poetry and never did you wish more but to know such a character as Aslan for yourself. I'm now ready to go into the series with new eyes and see what I have missed in previous readings.
I decided to read this short novel and see what the story was actually about. My experience with Bambi was only from a Disney book I had as a child. So I curled up on our couch one weekend morning and finished the story the next day. I found it to be a compelling story of what it means to grow up. Bambi as a fawn can only imagine his life with his mother. But that is not the life he has been born to lead. His encounters with the other forest animals, the family of deer he is part of and of course, Man are so full of meaning and maturing. I found some of the descriptions of the animals' sounds and actions to be very raw and strange at times, but it made them seem so much more real to me as animals and not characters in a story. I'm glad to have finally read the story that Felix Salten wrote. It's not what I was expecting from the Disney Bambi culture. It's more soul-stirring and less saccharine than that.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
I read this classic novel for the first time because it was assigned reading for my son Seth's Grade 11 year with Ambleside Online. I wanted to know what the real story was like, not the popular culture versions. It was a slow start for me to comprehend the plot of the novel and by the time it is the Monster's turn to tell his story, I was very interested. Looking for home and belonging is not a theme I would have thought I would find in this novel written as a ghost story. I found several passages that I took time to copy into my notebook which stirred my imagination. I can see myself rereading this novel now that I know the layers of the stories and characters used to convey the main part of the book.
The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
In the early chapters of this story, I encountered a few annoying parts which included unhelpful admonitions against the main character Marie being a girl with feminine curiosity and her own repeated notions of attaching motive and certainty where there may have been none. Aside from those parts, I thought the story showed bravery and loyalty to others as a central theme. The descriptions were inviting and sorting out the puzzles of people and events was interesting. Overall, I liked this story and it was easy to sit down and finish it.
The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston
Tolly is a new arrival at an old house who experiences the strange but welcoming world where his imagination is given free reign to find the secrets and stories of his family home. The author has captured the imagination of a child where play, wishes and fears all come together to create a special time. This is a sweet story combining stories of the past and present to show continuity with the house and estate grounds over several generations of inhabitants. There are several more books to this series.
This is the third book I have read by Helene Hanff and I am a big fan. Although I thought this might be more about what Helene Hanff read throughout her lifetime influenced by writer Arthur Quiller-Couch, I still enjoyed reading about her writing career. I was thrilled when I found this copy at a local used bookstore because my local library system did not have this title.
I know nothing about NYC, although I have been there a couple of times throughout my childhood, so I did do some mapwork and reading up on some of the people and places she mentions in this travel log of a book. Her adventures and capers are written with her typical style of wit and information and I loved reading this book borrowed from the library.
Letter From New York by Helene Hanff
Yes, my third Hanff book I'm posting about!
Written for a British audience, Helene Hanff's topics gathered in this book range from apartment life to American holiday traditions and all the bits in between. Once you've read most of her other books, you begin to recognize and look forward to hearing more about the people, pets and places she makes part of her New York life. The stories of her hosting dinner parties in her tiny studio apartment are outrageous as she must store food and dirty dishes in neighboring apartments in order to pull it off. This selection of essays also thankfully found at my local library is delectable and memorable.
A Place to Call Home: Tradition, Style and Memory in the New American House by Gil Schafer III, photography by Eric Piasecki
I have been trying to get this on library loan for months. I saw it once on the shelf in our library and mistakenly thought I could get it next time I was in. Wrong. I didn't know the prominence that Gil Schafer enjoys in the world of architecture so it took a long wait until I could enjoy this collection of house stylings for myself. I also somehow returned the book without taking any inside photos to share here. This is a beautiful and inspiring book even for those of us with less money and house as the inviting cover shows.
The Nature of Home: Creating Timeless Houses by Jeffrey Dungan, photography by William Abranowicz
I looked on the back flyleaf of Gil Schafer's A Place to Call Home mentioned above and found this book showcased. [I think that's how I found out about this book, but I could be mistaken. Apologies if I'm wrong.]
My library had a copy of this beautiful book so within a week, I was relaxing on my couch and admiring these fortunate home owners and the work of their architect Jeff Dungan. It was hard to share just a few pictures as the book is filled with gorgeous rooms and details. Near the end, Dungan shares his own home that he designed for his family. It was the one home that I found least appealing and did not understand the design choices. Totally ironic, I know.
Romancing Opiates: Pharmacological Lies and the Addiction Bureaucracy by Theodore Dalrymple
I was familiar with this author because of the online columns I have read by him over the years. My husband had read this book years ago and occasionally would mention it but it wasn't until an organization in our city opened a safe-injection site without city approval that I was interested in reading this one myself.
Theodore Dalrymple (which is a pen name for Anthony Malcolm Daniels) writes as a medical doctor and psychiatrist from a world that I have no experience with: prisons and hospitals. He makes the case that most drug addiction is a deliberate choice that can be reversed when it is desired above other lifestyles. He believes that the world of therapy and treatment is largely based on purposeful misinformation and that it enables those it presumes to help at great cost. While you may not agree or enjoy his critique, his years of experience and expertise cannot be dismissed casually. I have started reading another title by him: Life At the Bottom: The Worldview That Makes the Underclass.
I had no idea what to expect when I started to read this story and it took several attempts for me to maintain an interest in the story and the main character. However there is a lot of depth to this story that deserves to be fleshed out and I would pick this for a teen or older student book discussion. I have another one of Knowles titles which I was planning to read immediately after this one, but haven't yet.
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
I'm usually the last to read the book that everyone is reading. I found a copy of this best-seller at my local thrift store and thought that I would see what all the buzz was about. Several chapters in and I was reading at a breakneck speed which lasted at least one whole Saturday but probably more. It felt like the story had multiple cliffhangers that kept the pages turning until the gentle descent into the finish. And because the story takes place in a remote place in Australia, I was there on google maps looking up this small continent and the island it writes of. I can see why everyone was recommending it.
I've read Waugh's Brideshead Revisted and thought I would try another one of his novels. This one is the first in a trilogy but I wasn't aware of that until I had checked out the book online. I enjoyed reading it, but have nothing profound to say about it. I have many other Waugh novels to try.
Mice Skating by Annie Silvestro, illustratated by Teagan White
I love the illustration work of Teagan White and we have some of her books on our shelf although I found her once my children were older. This is a super cute story of a mouse who does not want to stay inside cozy by the fire, but wants to explore the world of pond skating. The illustrations are detailed and gorgeous and the story is well written with a fun twist using cheese puns. I'm including some photos from inside the book so you can see the delight this book is. Perfect for a winter read whether you can skate or not.
The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico. Also The Small Miracle by Paul Gallico
The first time I read The Snow Goose, it was the illustrated version pictured above. I was captivated. When I happened upon this Penguin edition below including a second Gallico story that was new to me, I was thrilled. Both stories involving compassion for animals and people are wonderfully told and I highly recommend them for any age. Other Paul Gallico stories I have enjoyed in the past is Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris which sadly I can longer find in our local library system.
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
I pre-read this for my son's Ambleside Online Year 11, Term 2 book selection. The ability to create a character worth examining and cheering on in a short amount of pages is the heart of a well written short story. To only have one day of Ivan Denisovich's experience to draw you in where the Solzhenitsyn magic works.
To be a prisoner in some sense is to not be free to be a person. As a prisoner, Ivan's existence was bound up in being reduced to rely on his skills of cunning and calculation at all times. It is unrelenting. The times his personhood was allowed to shine was in his work as a stonemason and in the items he salvaged and upcycled, most of them forbidden with the harshest of penalties.
The horror of this short novel is the certain knowledge that all of this is true. Real men have lived that one day of Ivan's over and over in an endless succession of years. And for a time, Solzhenitsyn was one of them. How he could recreate those days of prison into a story where hope is kept alive and glimpses of personhood are shared is incredible. It's simultaneously hard to read and hard to stop reading.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
I read this many years ago but couldn't remember anything about it and was due for a reread anyway as part of my pre-reading for my son's schoolwork. One of the themes that struck me about the story's characters was how uncritical they think about what they are told. Between a slavish devotion to work and media, the couple at the center of the story both exhibit mindless obedience to the current ideas promoted around them. One part of the plot about looming then eventual war breaking over the city didn't seemed very well fleshed out to me. I wasn't sure who was behind the war and what was being fought over. Ray Bradbury has other novels that I would like to try.
Ursula Nordstrom was the director of Harper's Department of Books for Boys and Girls from 1940 to 1973 and lived in New York City for all of that time. I like to think that at some point, Ms. Nordstrom and Ms. Hanff were at the same party or social event and spent a few minutes together bonding over their favorite writers and NYC eateries. They make some smart remarks and before they know it, the room has fallen silent and their conversation takes center stage and laughter follows each of their remarks.
But since no online search gives me evidence of their acquaintance or friendship, I will leave it some enterprising grad student to dig up what I currently imagine.
The letters in this book are interesting for their content and their style. Letters flying out from Ursula Nordstrom's typewriter to well known authors with demands, exclamations and well written apologies abound. She adds in colorful moments of interactions with whomever that she recalls alternating with fondness and disdain. I would say that next to the dictionary definition of *snarky* is Ursula Nordstrom's headshot.
I learned so much about different authors, illustrators and their books that I did not know previously. And I spent time looking up different things after reading portions of this book. I've already started rereading it since it took me so long to work through all the letters. A real treat.
* UPDATED to add more books I found I had read in 2019. I don't usually include all the books we read for our lesson work with Ambleside Online, but I've included a few since they are classics and I hadn't read them before. I don't have these listed with Goodreads links yet, but I will try to get that done so they match the rest of the list.
As part of Laura's Year 4, Ambleside Online, we read together two stories by Washington Irving: Rip Van Winkle and The Headless Horsemen. This is one of the versions we had for Rip Van Winkle. I had never read either story. She was pleased because she has since encountered references to both stories in other contexts and she knows what they refer to. The illustrator Arthur Rackham is well known and you likely have seen his work for other children's stories. Washington Irving was a prolific short story teller and writer based out of New York but remembered well for his stories told by his fictitious narrator Diedrich Knickerbocker, which Wikipedia lists also as his pen name.
In my goal to read the books that have won the Newbery Award, I found this little gem of a book.
which nourished my love of nature writing. Miss Hickory is a nut that serves as a plaything for a little girl who moves away. She must survive the long cold New England winter somehow. I don't want to spoil a thing about this lovely story and sweet ending but I enjoyed this quick read so much. The author, Carolyn Sherwin Bailey has several other childrens' stories including one illustrated by Kate Seredy who won Newbery awards for her Hungarian children's stories. Miss Hickory was illustrated by Ruth Chrisman Gannet whose stepdaugher Ruth Stiles Gannet wrote the very recognizable series My Father's Dragon. The elder Ruth provided illustrations for that series as well. Confused yet? :)
There is a sequel entitled The Princess and Curdie which we will read together as well.
I have read through several of Malcolm Gladwell's books, partway or most of the way and while his ideas and research is fascinating, I don't think I'm smart enough to determine when he goes astray and arrives at unwarranted conclusions. I'll keep reading him though, because he stretches me and I like clever people. My husband listens to his podcasts, but I read the books. :)
I found this book as part of a trilogy at our local thrift store and decided to try it since I knew she was popular and other friends had read her. Aside from this reminding me so much of Downtown Abbey, I found myself quite sad for the main character and her somewhat estranged family. The storytelling using flashbacks is not my favorite style of writing and I don't think I can force myself to read the other two books in the series. Modern fiction writing is hard for me to get behind. And since I have so many classics and near classics still unread, I don't feel guilty for not keeping up with the times.
*If I find more books, I may add to this list, but I don't expect anyone to keep checking back. I use these posts for my own records as well.
