Just finished up a couple of reads of the old chestnut, "Ethan Frome" by Edith Wharton (1911). It was a reread for me (from a long time ago), and this time I really loved it. What great writing and how well it portrays the cold and isolation in the village where most people live.

In fact, it was so good that when I finished my first read, I turned around and gave the first part a second read right away as I wanted to see all the foreshadowing at the start.

Fantastic read, and I'm looking forward to analyzing the story on a deeper level. Really recommend with this without any hesitation. I'm sad that it's a frequently used text for HS/JHS English lit as I think they are a bit young to recognize its brilliance and then grow up thinking Wharton is awful just because of their youthful experience.

On another note, my NF is also somewhat of a bleak read: John Hersey's Hiroshima (1945), a beautifully written book that explores how the atomic bomb that the U.S. sent to Japan affected six particular ordinary lives. Riveting.

Also leaving for tropical climes and the beach in a few days, so contemplating which books to take... Choices, choices!

The Book of Life, the third book in the "All Souls" trilogy by Deborah Harkness arrived today, and despite my best-laid plans I've only just started re-reading the first one, A Discovery of Witches (it's still wonderful). Off I go to read.

I just requested The Book of Life from the library. I'm way down the list, though.

Also pre-ordered the new books by Deborah Crombie and Charles Todd and included the new James Lee Burke, which I will have to wait for as it combines with the others for free shipping.

I've finished "Lucia on Holiday" a book by Guy Fraser-Sampson using the E. F. Benson characters. The second of a trilogy.
I didn't enjoy it as much as the first one. He brought in real period people and a convoluted sub-plot which the book didn't need and was rather out of the Benson style.
Not "good old summertime" here, with massive storms and five tornadoes ripping roofs off houses in nearby suburbs. I read the book while staying huddled in my warm bed!

Liz, I agree that "Ethan Frome" is brilliant. It remains one of my all-time favorites.

Liz and Mary I think I would have to describe Ethan Frome as a 'powerful' books rather than 'enjoyable' . . . the subject matter is so stark and bleak I can't say I felt uplifted or happy once I had finished it. Are there still people in the 'backwoods' of New England like the ones Wharton describes?
Just wondering as I am always interested in what makes folk tick.

I'm reading Murder on Washington Square, an early volume of the New York City Victorian midwife series by Victoria Thompson. It is one that I haven't been able to get from the library until now, and this is a well-used paperback. I assume it is a donation, for which I am very grateful.

I'm another lover of Ethan Frome. I read that a few weeks ago, along with several other of Wharton's as part of my 'I really must read some classics' self improvement plan. Stark and bleak are good words for EF, but left me feeling the way I do after listening to a great piece of music well-played. I didn't want to move a muscle for a while, just savor the feeling.

After reading Wharton I then decided I should tackle Henry James and persevered with The Portrait of a Lady. I did rejoice when I finally finished it. Hard reading for me, learned many new words, and I did enjoy the story, but was glad when it was finished. I felt I deserved a medal.

Now I'm reading Volume I of a bio of Eleanor Roosevelt. I wonder how Wharton would have portrayed her in a novel?

Vee, to answer your question, I should say yes. When I was in Maine, some years ago, I found parts of the state very poor and rural, especially as one gets away from the coast and goes upstate, toward Canada. And the winters are, of course, beyond bleak, especially out in the countryside.

Another little gem of a read by E. Wharton that I liked is "Summer."

I have not long finished Alice Hoffman's latest "The Museum of Extraordinary Things" it was wonderful, it has been compared to "Night Circus" this novel was not for me!!

So far this month I have got through three books Running Wild by Peggy Fortnum, a memoir by the children's book illustrator. She describes growing up in what was a rural area (Harrow) north of London and spending an unsettling year in N France, as a 10 year old, trying to learn the language.
As the Sun Shines a slim collection of work by Henry Williamson (now better known as the writer of 'Tarka the Otter').
This yellowing book published in 1947, must have come from my late Mother's collection and is printed on 'war-time' paper. Williamson seems to have been an angry man who had seen much WWI suffering in the trenches then moved away to the Devon countryside to write about rural life and 'nature'.
The Playmaker by Thomas Keneally is probably well-known to all the Aussies here and, although quite a detailed read, I found very rewarding.
Set during the time of the arrival of the 'First Fleet' to New South Wales, it follows the few weeks in which a play was 'put on' by the convicts/lags to celebrate the King's birthday. Ralph Clark, a young marine officer is given the job of producer and we follow the progress of rehearsals along with learning much about conditions in the early penal Colony, the previous lives of the various convicts and what had brought them to the far ends of the Earth and the several moral dilemmas that all the real and imaginary characters faced.
It was a refreshing change, for a 'historical' novel, not to have interjections from the author taking a modern 'moral' slant on the degradation of the prisons and soldiers, the harsh conditions or the treatment of the indigenous population.
His characters were real people all living and getting along as best they could in an alien environment.
And the work was The Recruiting Officer by George Farquar, chosen as it was the only copy of a play anyone had brought with them.

Vee, have you read Colleen McCullough's Morgan's Run? It is fiction about the beginning of England's taking prisoners to Australia. One thing I learned from it (which should have been obvious to me but wasn't) was that it began after the American Revolution when they couldn't dump them in Georgia anymore. Anyway, I liked the book a lot.

After a couple of weeks reading nonfiction, I wanted a palate cleanser so I'm now enjoying Ammie, Come Home by Barbara Michaels. I think I must have read it the first time during the year it was published, 1968, because I remember identifying with Sara, the twenty year old, and thinking Ruth, Sara's aunt, was rather 'an uptight square', being as she's forty-something. Ha! It's fun to read a book that was contemporary when it came out, but has turned into a period piece! However, unlike novels written long after the time they depict, the period details are more likely to be authentic and 'the feel' is just right. This story is one of the trademark ghostly tales of B. Michaels, and I think it's still effective. Eerie stories often age very well. I remember now why Ms. Michaels was so popular

Carolyn, yes I read Morgan's Run some years ago and generally enjoyed it, though I seem to remember finding it rather 'over-long'. Are some authors paid per word?
While tracing various family trees I have discovered one young man, a very distant relative, who was sent to Van Dieman's Land (modern Tasmania). The conditions there make the penal colony of NSW . . . or Georgia look like a holiday camp!

Vee, not very nice of me, but we once had a young seminary student youth pastor at our church who was a self-made success, coming from a family (he told the story) of drunks and fighters. He was from the Georgia hill country, and I remember thinking . . . hmm . . . wonder about his antecedents? Thankfully, he has gone on to be a very successful pastor of a large church in Tennessee.

I am surprising myself by actually liking an 1898 history of Virginia. Of course, it stops with the Reconstruction period, but is filled with fascinating details and factoids. The author does not defend slavery, to my surprise, and seems to come down on the side of fair play. It is indeed surprising how many U.S. presidents and statesmen the state of VA produced! I lived there for over 40 years and have learnt new things of its history I had not known. The style is so quaint that it is almost fun to read. This book had been sitting unread on my shelves for decades.

I've finished re-reading the first two books in Deborah Harkness's "All Souls" trilogy (A Discovery of Witches and Shadow of the Night) and have finally started the final book, The Book of Life, which has me riveted. I'm a third of the way through and so far it's excellent.

I finished The Book of Life last night. It tied up the trilogy beautifully and has left me with a total book hangover.

Kath, have you read this yet? I think it was you who said you'd read the others.

In anticipation of a trip to Britain this fall, I've started A Small Death in the Great Glen by A. D. Scott. This is his first book, and there are others listed on Stop You're Killing Me. I don't know if it is a series or not, but this book has started well.

I've just returned from a lovely holiday sitting on a tropical beach with an umbrella, some books, and a drink. What a great way to spend some down-time with the DH. Bliss.

Anyway, as part of that break, I did some reading (SHOCKER!): Embers - Sandor Marei (1942). What a good tense smouldering (in terms of anticipation of something) story. This was a reread from the TBR shelf, and it was a goodie. Two old friends haven't met for 41 years since an incident happened, and one wants to ask a question:

...But I remain here, and I know everything, and yet there is one thing I do not know. And the time has come for me to have a response. Answer, please."

Very good read.

Then I also finished an interesting (and rather harrowing) read by John Hersey called Hiroshima. Published in 1946, it follows the lives of six ordinary people who happened to be in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb landed. A fascinating read for me as I had a lot of knowledge holes in this area. I also learned that quite a few other countries (UK included) also did atomic/hydrogen/nuclear bomb explosions in more remote areas in later years. Wow. I had no idea.

And for a change in pace, reading an edition of the Penguin Great Food series, this one by Isabella Beeton: The Campaign for Domestic Happiness. It's a collection of articles and recipes from Beeton's larger work (Book of Household Management) and includes such yummy recipes as Lark Pie, Fried Cow-Heel and Veal Cakes (which are "perfect for picnics").

Very glad that I don't have to eat that stuff now. :-)

Tim - weren't you reading some Beeton not long ago? I have her biography on the TBR pile, although it's further down the list.

Liz, I know the author Sandor Marai from a recent class I took at the College on the history of Eastern Europe. We read his "Portrait of a Marriage" which I thought was excellent. I want to try to find "Embers."

Liz, I was reading a bio about Mrs Beeton a while ago written by Nancy Spain (a descendant) way back in the '40's. Not the version you have got, so no conjecture as to whether or not her husband might have suffered from VD, passed it on to her and possibly caused the death of a couple of infant children. Why do so many modern writers have to take these 'angles' on a life?
Interesting is your mention of lark pie. About half an hour ago I read an article on the sky lark. They were considered a delicacy in Victorian times (especially lark's tongue pie) and up to 40,000 were delivered daily to the London markets. It is illegal to shoot them in the UK but the French and other European countries still shoot them for sport and sometimes eat them. Remember the old French song 'Alouette, gentille alouette, alouette je te plumerai'
I can also remember old-timers who had eaten cow-heal pie . . .yes really!

Finished A Small Death in the Great Glen and have requested the next one from the library. (It is a series.) This was a terrific book.

Well, Carolyn, what makes A Small Death in the Great Glen "terrific" to you? I need more info. :-)

What's your itinerary for your upcoming trip to Britain? Scotland is indicated. Where else?

I am well into another by Frances Fyfield, "Safer Than Houses" the main character in this Is Sarah Fortune, I am really hooked on Fyfield's writing!!

Small Death is a mystery, Frieda, so you probably won't like it! It is set in a small, very traditional village in 1950s Scotland. The main character is an abused wife who gets a part-time job at the local weekly newspaper, mostly typing. She has two young daughters, parents who disowned her when she became pregnant before marriage, and a mother-in-law who cannot be pleased (nor can her husband).

The children are annoying neighbors by ringing doorbells and running away on their way home from school when one scared little boy is caught and not seen again until he ends up in a canal, dead before he was put there and sexually abused, an unheard-of crime in that time and place. The fairly new newspaper editor lost a much young brother in similar circumstances many years before, and he and the typist search for answers as she grows in lots of ways.

As to our trip, my daughter and sister and I are going to London, then by train up to York, on to Edinburgh, and then down to Penzance for a total of three weeks. My sister, who is widowed and with limited travel funds, has only been to London before so she is very excited about the trip. Daughter had enough air miles for a free ticket for her, so we are off the latter part of September and the first of October. We are planning to use some of the local day tours to see some of Scotland. Actually, we are all pretty excited!

Lemonhead, a few years back I read The Short Life and Long Career of Mrs. Beeton by Kathryn Hughes. It was excellent, and corrects much of the mythology about this unfortunate woman, and her equally unfortunate husband.

There are two persistent myths about Mrs. Beeton, which Hughes addresses fairly objectively. The first is that she stole all of her recipes from other cooks (allegedly many from Eliza Acton, for example). The second is that Mr. Beeton was a complete wastrel. The truth is much more complicated. Many of the published recipes (or receipts, as the English prefer) were indeed contributed by others, including some of Beeton's readers. But is this not the case with virtually every published cook book? Not sure I would want to eat something which was not time-tested.

Mrs. Beeton's husband was indeed unlucky in business, though this hardly makes him a monster. Samuel has been treated rather unfairly later biographers. The Hughes book is excellent, though it does deal pretty frankly with some unseemly aspects of Victorian life.

I myself seem to be unable to pick up a book at the moment. I guess I am in a reading drought.

The last book I finished, however, was Joy Kogawa's Obasan, which is considered more or less a classic here in Canada. Loosely based on the author's own childhood experience, it tells the story of the internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. I found it to be really beautiful, though incredibly sad. Kogawa memorably captured the power of the unspoken bond between children and the elderly.

Such a foul day today so I went back to bed after breakfast (the bedroom being the warmest and brightest room in my place) to read Simon Brett's "The Cinderella Killer". It brought back memories of going to the Christmas Pantomimes in England and later with my children in Australia, which kept up the tradition.
The corny dialogue, wonderful transformation scenes and the community song, throwing of sweets into the audience, which apparently is no longer permitted by the Health and Safety Dept. (Boo, Hiss to them!) was a high spot in my Christmas holidays.

Ann, you went back to bed after breakfast?

"Oh! yes I did"
"Oh! no you didn't"

Repeat this 7-15 times.

followed by

"Where's King Rat/wicked Step-Mother/Uncle Abanaza/?"
"He's behind you!"
"No he's not"
"Yes he is"
repeat this many times until all the children (and many adults) are red of face and sore of throat . . .

The 'Principal Boy', always a girl with long legs, the slap-stick between Widow Twanky and Wishee-Washee, the 'Dame', played by a man with a huge bosom and voluminous bloomers. The English speaking world that doesn't have the Christmas Panto' is missing a cultural education.

Many a pantomime matinee was enjoyed by us kids taken to Birmingham 'Alex'(andre) theatre early in the New Year.

Here is a link that might be useful: Clip from 'Jack and the Beanstalk

Vee, we mostly went to the Brighton Hippodrome but I did take my little sister to the London Palladium to see Tommy Steele and Jimmy Edwards in Cinderella.
The coming of television made a difference to the Panto, as the children were more attentive and sat still, I was told. My little son surprised me by knowing the "Look out, he's behind you" routine at his first panto. He had picked it up from watching it performed on children's programs.
My grandparents said that pre-war, there would be up to seven transformation scenes, which was proudly announced on the billboard, with six Shetland ponies for Cinderella's coach. We were lucky to see three and a pair of ponies post-war!

Ann talking about 'modern' children's attitudes to the tradition of panto. A friend took her small son and when the Evil Genie appeared he cried "Turn it off Mummy, I don't like him."

A pair of ponies followed by a man with a dustpan and brush?

"After the Lord Mayor's Show..." sprung to mind, reading your post. I looked it up and of course Google has it!
I can date my interest in the stage from my first appearance in a local Panto when the comic asked if any little girl would like to come up and sing and I was there like a shot!
Sadly, I found I wasn't that good an actress and my only appearance on a New York stage was when I wandered onto one while my husband was interviewing one of the actors.
I hasten to add that there wasn't a performance at the time!

Carolyn, I like to read a mystery now and then. I just can't keep up with the number you read! I used to enjoy a couple of mysteries a week amongst all the other books that enthralled me. Nowadays, I probably read only a couple a month. A Small Death..., as you describe it, sounds interesting so I'll keep it in mind in case I hanker for a mystery.

Happy anticipation for you, your daughter, and sister! Late September and early October, from my experience, is an excellent time to see Scotland and England. I hope it will be for your trip, too. Enjoy yourselves thoroughly 'cause I know how much you love GB, Carolyn.

Finished Is that a Fish in Your Ear by David Bellos. It's about translation - not the theory of it, although various points of that are mentioned - covering various aspects of the craft. It's useful for giving translators things to think about their profession and others an insight into the craft.

This morning I picked up Touching the Void by Joe Simpson, about his incredible feat of survival after breaking his leg in a fall while mountain-climbing in the Peruvian Andes. It's a short book and I finished it in a couple of hours of rapt reading. I plan to try to find the movie to watch.

Yesterday I finished The Hurricane Sisters, new by Dorothea Benton Frank. It is much of a muchness with her other books, but I really like Charleston and its islands and find her entertaining.

Now I have started Jacqueline Winspear's new stand-alone book, The Care and Management of Lies. I think someone else here wrote about it, but it is set during WWI and has a newly married woman learning to cook and run a farm when her husband goes off to the war. She writes to him of the wonderful meals she prepares for him each night so that he doesn't know how hard things really are, and all his buddies in the trenches salivate as they urge him to read her letters aloud.

Sheri, sorry to have been so long in getting back to you.
I read Gabaldon's latest, and like Carolyn, thought it better than the last couple. Not quite so much extraneous information, and I thought it moved along a lot quicker. I am now eagerly awaiting the TV show of Outlander. It is being shown on pay TV here, so I talked my DH into signing up so we could watch it. Just after it was connected, the producers announced that it will be shown in two series, so it looks like we will have to extend our contract.

I have The Book of Life beside me as I type. I read a few pages and realised I didn't remember the previous one very well, but didn't really want to spend the time to reread. Happily I found a very detailed synopsis on line and am now a few chapters in.

I just finished re-reading E. Wharton's "Ethan Frome" and now am re-reading its companion, also set in new England: "Summer" by the same author.

I finished The Photograph by Penelope Lively, and I liked it. A husband finds an envelope with handwritten instruction on it: "DON'T OPEN-DESTROY." The handwriting is his late wife's. There are very few human beings capable of following those instructions, and he is not one of them. He finds inside a photograph of Kath (the late wife) holding hands with another man. This is not a spoiler, it is on the back cover of the book.

The husband then tries to unravel the story behind the photo. He does it with an academic precision, contacting relatives and friends that were close to Kath. The story is told from the perspective of several characters in alternating chapters. At times this unfolding could have picked a slightly faster pace.

The characters are not likeable people. They are self-absorbed and cold. In fact, feelings do not figure prominently in the story, even though human relationships are at the center of the book.

Her writing is very good.

My book club's July read was Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg. Strangely, I had never read the book or seen the film before. I enjoyed it quite a lot. There are some very memorable characters - Idgie Threadgoode in particular. Fun and interesting. Someone mentioned at our meeting that Fanny Flagg and Rita Mae Brown were formerly domestic partners. I thought that was interesting too.

Kathy, Fried Green Tomatoes... is one of my "go-to" books when I need some cheering up. The movie is quite good too.

I am going through one of my "can't find anything good to read periods", which means I start reading a book but lose interest in it as soon as I put it down after the first reading session. I have started a number of books in this way and my stack of bookmarks looks considerably smaller today than it did at the beginning of the month. I'm hoping M.F.K. Fisher's Map of Another Town will break the spell. I loved A Considerable Town, and hope this earlier book will give me the same pleasure.

I decided not to finish a book after the 20% test (more like 25%, but who's counting?): Danube by Claudio Magris. I have become pretty good at judging which books I will enjoy, but this one was a miss because while it is indubitably full of interesting information, it is also quite soporific.

netla, soporific sums up the book I am reading very well.
Rose Cottage by Mary Stewart. Easy to read and totally undemanding of my few remaining brain cells. The story concerns a young woman returning to the village of her birth to collect some papers and trinkets left in her grandmother's house. I am two-thirds of the way through the book and so far the most exciting thing that has happened to our heroine is that she has been snubbed by the vicar's wife. The whole thing is so wishy-washy.

My local library has been closed temporarily due to an electrical fault. I will be forced to read some of my own books on my TBR shelf! I have been putting them off as more urgent library requests have been awaiting with a short borrowing term.
Now I have no excuses! I don't know which to read first, they are all interesting. Perhaps I should shut my eyes and select one?

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES by Deborah Harkness

I tried to begin this book last year and didn't like the idea of vampires.....however after reading the reviews on her trilogy I gave it another try and am enjoying it.
I'm not a lover of vampire stories at all and have to admit that I skipped the sections describing how he kills the stag .
But the general story line is interesting.

I've also read and really enjoyed the Angelus trilogy ( although the third book is not out yet) by Jon Steele .
THE WATCHERS
ANGEL CITY

Stayed up into the wee hours to finish The Outcast, the first novel of Sadie Jones. Not a perfect book by all means, but still pretty absorbing. I believe it was made into a tv movie in the U.K.

Veer, Rose Cottage is probably the blandest of Mary Stewart's books. When I read it, I thought the "zing" of her earlier books was totally absent. I kept expecting something to happen to add a little interest but it never did. That being said, I didn't dislike the book, but it's not one I would consider a favorite by any means.

Funny about Rose Cottage. I had ordered it from a book club (Doubleday, I think), and when I finished it I thought she just got tired and quit. A couple of months later, I received another copy in the mail with an apology that the first one had been bound with the last few chapters missing. It did make more sense with them, but I agree it was nothing like Ms. Stewart in her prime. (It was her last book.)

Vee, does this post about missing chapters remind you of Tony Hancock and "The missing page" episode or was that one of the shows you weren't allowed to watch?

Annpan, re 'The Missing Page'.

See below. Very dated B&W TV show.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tony Hancock

I am re-reading "Love Among the Butterflies" by Margaret Fontaine. It's a memoir and a travelogue based on the long life of an Edwardian Lady who was anything but sedate. She was a woman of independent means who used her money to roam exotic areas often dangerous for women alone, in that day and age (Corsica, Syria, Turkey). It is quite entertaining, enlivened by color photos of various butterflies and author collected (those ended up in a museum in Norwich, after her death).

Vee, Old and black and white but I can still laugh!
The local library has re-opened so I was able to return "Mr. Campion's Farewell" and request the other two Campion books written by Allingham's husband. I didn't know they existed.
I miss out on a lot of things. I only recently found there was a TV series and was able to borrow it.
A lot of good BBC programs are on pay TV here but I haven't had it installed as I usually have enough to watch on Free to Air most evenings as well as being on the 'net!