WALDEN by Henry David Thoreau

One of the things I wanted to do this Summer was to read some classics. I picked this one up at Barnes & Noble. Then I began reading it, putting it down when a more compelling book found its way into my hands, picked it up again and and so forth all summer. I finally decided to finish it today come hell or high Walden water.

I can see why it may have fascinated people of that era when it was published because it was outside the norm of what people were striving to do which was get out of the woods! To live in a more comfortable and sophisticated world where one could enjoy prosperity and lots of food at the table. To be in society and surround one's self with others of the same feathers.

Yet here was Thoreau who longed to be in solitude and was the happiest there where gossip was something he could do without or walk into town for  it if the need arose in him to suffer its appeal. But only for a short span as if to drink at a well of superficial knowledge then turn around and go back to one's own mind where questions and answers are forever battling within and the Universe is pondered continually. Simplicity was its own reward.

My goal in reading this particular classic was to have in hand an orange marker and highlight things that would tell me of the man who wrote the lines within. What was is character? Who was he inside? What made him tick? What fascinated him and why did he go to the woods?

I did find that I may have understood him more fully and I did find out about all the animals he came to know and the kind of visitors that he liked most who would come to his cabin to exchange minds.

Some books you read again, like A Prayer For Owen Meany, but I wouldn't read this one again. Perhaps a nap would be more satisfying.

The Story of EDGAR SAWTELLE by David Wroblewski

A friend handed me this book and I could not put it down. The author weaves a detailed story about a young boy, his dog and the life he lives in his unspoken world with his mother, father and uncle. This family is from a long line of dog breeders and they raise and train what they call Sawtelle Dogs. This novel takes you into the mind of Edgar and what it is like to live on this farm outside a small town during times when things were simpler but tragedy finds your door anyway.

If you are born with no voice are you heard?

I have to admit that the ending was far from satisfying. It basically stops in on itself and leaves you nowhere. It's the only thing I would change.

But I liked how the author described things in such detail and I learned from it. You could see the opened windows in the house which caught the warm summer breezes blowing the curtains out like a skirt. Feel the sweltering heat in the upper room of the barn where the dogs were kenneled. See the sun rising early in the morning when chores began and coffee was then sipped. Hear the night noises as you lay in a small bed upstairs thinking and trying to make sense of life.

So even though the ending left me hanging as over a cavern with invisible steps to take over it, caught in mid stride, it was still a great read and I think you will enjoy it. You can make up whatever ends soothes you.

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

 

Way to go, Elin! Another great read.

 

Folks you can't go wrong with an Elin Hilderbrand book because she always catches the subtle and not so subtle nuances that make for family functioning or non-functioning. So you are always wondering what is going to happen next.

 

In this book it is about the wedding of the youngest daughter in a family that has felt the loss of the mother who was the glue which held everything together. But can she hold this family together through this wedding even though she is no longer alive? Can the notebook she left behind replace her and get the job done?

 

You will have to pick this book up and see for yourself. I picked it up at my Rite Aid Store as I was getting a milk for my Dad. It was looming on the shelf I walked by to get to the refrigerated case and the book called my name.

 

Thanks for shouting, Elin!!

 

Read you soon.

JACKDAWS by KEN FOLLETT

This book came off of my Father's book shelf. He had at least two of them. We are honing down his doubles in his collection of his favorite authors. Plus the shelves are now more organized by author and hardback, etc.

So I brought this home with me and put it on my pile of "books to read next" and finally got to it.

I will admit that this one started off really slow and I was wondering if I needed to put it back down and start in on another book in my pile that may be more alluring and exciting right off the bat. But I plowed through the pages until the pace picked up. Then about 3/4's of the way through I think I realized that I may have read it already!

Anyway, this story is about the Jackdaws, a group of women who helped to plan and execute the destruction of a certain facility that ended up helping to turn the tide of the war. I won't go into any details because that is up to you to find out as you read. I will say and encourage you to hang in there so that you can get to the meat of the story.

That's it for this one but the book I am reading now will prove to be more interesting, different ... I have never read this author but I think I may like to learn more about her.

But you'll have to wait until I finish reading her book and then I'll tell you a bit about it.

Read on!

Written In My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

Now you know why it has been so long since I have posted about the next book I have read this summer. Diana's book is 814 pages long and every page is worth it! So it took a few days to read it.

I love buying the hard backs so that they can be a presence on my book shelf. That and Harry Potter and maybe two more sequels play a big role on my shelves. They are keepers.

I don't have to tell the Jamie and Claire followers how fantastic these Gabaldon books are and I guess you also know that it will be on TV this August. Yay for all of us!!!! And Diana never disappoints us readers, does she? I like to take my time and soak up every word thus the time lapse since my last 'review'.

If YOU haven't read these books then you must start with the first one in the saga so that you can get the whole shebang effect. If you have been to Stonehenge like I have then you will love the fact that Diana has woven a love story about time travel through stones where soul mates meet from different eras. If two people know how to love one another and be there for each other, no matter what, then Jamie and Claire are IT. I want to be them!!! But maybe not want to go through some of the terrible things.

So here's to Diana ... YOU ROCK !!!



The Road to Gandolfo by Robert Ludlum

 

 

Here's an old paperback (yes ... found at Goodwill) that kept me reading. It doesn't take time to breathe so you are swept away in the movement of the scenes. I think the little bit that Ludlum writes at the beginning of the book explaining how this idea for this story came about is fun to read. We all like to know how authors get their inspiration, don't we?

 

Anyway this  is about a plot to kidnap, of all people, the pope!! How does one do that? Well it takes someone who has been in the military with four voluptuous ex-wives and the time to pull it off and the gumption to raise millions of dollars to finance the escapade.

 

Bring in a twin brother of the pope and the stage is set.

 

I'll leave you to it to read this one and see how the caper is pulled off. It would be a good read at the beach during your summer vacation. 

Divining Women by Kaye Gibbons

 

A friend gave me this book to read. I picked it up one weekend and enjoyed it. It is about a young woman who goes to her aunt's home to help her through the last stages of her pregnancy. It's back in the days when there was no air conditioning to help you struggle through the humid, hot days of summer. Then the winter arrives and one is glad for the respite if only one could get out of bed.

 

But this pregnancy is a difficult one. However the young niece not only helps her aunt physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. After all she is worth being loved even if her husband is heartless. It's time to be strong and stand up for yourself!

 

I wouldn't say that this is a happy book nor a page turner to the point where you just want to stay on the couch with a cup of tea, coffee or a cool coca-cola but it was the next book in line in my pile of three books to read. Sorry I couldn't have been more enthusiastic.