I've just finished a couple of very light reads. The Peppermint Tea Chronicles by Alexander McCall Smith the latest in his Scotland Street series had at least six sub-stories running through it and, as I never read these in order, the characters have 'developed/moved-on' so I'm not always up-to-date as to the happenings of that somewhat refined area of Edinburgh. No matter it was an enjoyable read.

I picked up from the library D E Stevenson's Sarah Morris Remembers on the strength of RP'ers saying how much they enjoyed her work. Maybe as this was one of the last books she wrote she didn't do herself justice, but I felt the heroine was a very feeble and wet young woman, no doubt a product of her times and a very middle class upbringing. The story did improve once WWII was underway and she got a job in a London store although continuing to wait/slave on her 'menfolk'. One or two 'strange' passages of ghostly noises in the night that were never explained and the end of the story was very sudden . . . as though Ms Stevenson had run out of steam or just got bored with her characters.

About D E Stevenson

Although we rightly deplore the sloppiness, or need, of editors these days, I have come across quite a few instances in books written years ago that needed some good editing too.

As with Vee, I have wondered about unexplained situations which wanted tying up. As the authors are gone now, it is no use writing to them and possibly the book was criticised when it was published by hand written letters of complaint from aggrieved readers.

I finished Moonflower Murders last night. No time to read today, but I think I will re-read A Christmas Carol next. It's been a few years.

I just finished the selection for our January book club: Running with Sherman, about a rescue donkey who's brought back to health by training him for a big burro race that's held once a year in Colorado. Unfortunately the story of the donkey got lost in the stories of all the people who got involved (the author, the vet, the Amish neighbors, the depressed kid who helped train the donkey, the driving team who got them out to Colorado for the race, and so on and so on....). I'm not sure what to try next, but have pulled Charlie Jane Anders' The City in the Middle of the Night off Mt TBR for a start.

I'm looking forward to the delivery of a Connie Willis novella I ordered to arrive in the mail. Willis is a big lover of the Christmas holiday and has written a number of short stories and novellas/novelettes about the holidays, some very funny ("Newsletter" being an example). This one is new to me, Take a Look at the Five and Ten. Merry Christmas to me!

I am re-reading A Christmas Carol. Funny how much of the book I've forgotten. It comes from seeing too many performances of it, I suppose.

Currently reading Grandma Gatewood's Walk by Ben Montgomery and enjoying it. It's a nonfiction book about the first woman to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail on her own. At the time of her "walk," she was the mother of 11 and grandmother of 23. (I think I have that right.) The author refers to her as an old woman, but he's wrong because she was younger than me.

Kathy, isn't it odd how old older women are getting? One of my aunts once remarked that she didn't have much peer pressure anymore.

Oh that's funny, Carolyn! And yes, the definition of old sure is moving.

Carolyn, my nephew who once emphatically declared that everyone over 30 is a geezer just turned 45. Look who’s a geezer now!

Donna

I wince when reading novels from the Thirties which allude to women around fifty as elderly! I think those authors changed their perspective as they grew older! I regard women in their nineties as being elderly but may change my tune in seven years.

I just finished Wishin' and Hopin' by Wally Lamb, an adorable Christmas coming of age story. Set in 1964, the main character, Felix Funicello (third cousin of Annette!), navigates Catholic school, the birds and the bees, the Great Pillsbury Bake-off, Russians, and a Christmas Pageant like no other. It was really cute and very sweet comfort read. Bonus points for being set in Connecticut where I grew up -- places in the book were quite familiar. I could definitely see myself re-reading this next holiday season.

I also started Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief, inspired by Rouan's thread on the book. So far, it's quite engaging.

I have been doing some re-reading lately. I finished The Unknown Ajax by Georgette Heyer and am about a third of the way through The Toll Gate, also by GH.

I think The Unknown Ajax is one of the most clever of her Regency novels.

The scene where the Customs Officer has to be bamboozled is priceless!

Any more description would be a spoiler...Vee (not a Heyer fan) might read it one day...

Another light read for me was Songbird by Marcia Willett. Set in her favourite county of Devon where the sun always shines and people are forever polite. It is a tale of a group of relations living in cottages around a 'big house' and their interaction. Lots of long walks with dogs, endless cups of coffee in friendly cafés, meals in country pubs even weekend BBQ's when it never rains.

M C writes 'well' with no sloppy English but I do take issue with her when she describes, at great lengths, the feelings of her characters, Everyone is so aware of how a look, a glance, the smallest shrug can be interpreted . . .even among the male characters. I don't know about you and your 'menfolk' but from where I am sitting they are some of the least likely to notice anything 'emotional'; let alone deal with it.

Our posts crossed Annpan!

I last enjoyed a Heyer novel when I was about 16. Recently I picked up a copy at a sale and remarked to a fellow customer "I used to enjoy these books. They were a sort of teenage answer to Jane Austen." She looked at me as though I had compared Dan Brown to Shakespeare.

Vee, I would argue that both Heyer and Dan Brown are more readable! I struggled with both Austen and Shakespeare at school. I came across Heyer books in the school library and got hooked. My husband had read his mother's collection once and said he liked them.

When I was performing in Romeo and Juliet as a drama student to some "delinquent girls" at a penitential hostel, they cracked up with the Elizabethan jokes and at innuendos that we purer minds hadn't noticed!

Annpan, re Shakespeare (and never mind reading it to delinquents of whatever sex . . .for which you should get a medal) tonight on the TV we are being treated to a 'lockdown' version of Upstart Crow which should lighten the strange pre-Christmas air of general foreboding as this mutant strain of C19 rages around parts of England and has caused us to become the pariah of Europe with virtually all travel to 'foreign parts' put on hold.

Vee, I do hope I can get to see that.

I was recalling the episode which parodied a scene in Love, Actually, which I watched for the umpteenth time last night! I know the movie by heart but can never resist watching it again! I can't read comfortably for too long but can watch/listen to the TV.

I am really sorry that things are so bad "back home" and assure you we are not taking our easier situation lightly. Our State has gone into a lockdown to all visitors from New South Wales, some were in mid-air coming here when they were told that they had to go into quarantine on arrival instead of spending Christmas with loved ones as planned. The situation with the borders changes hourly sometimes. Just a few cases spreading and the borders are closed.

I tried to get into a book about a coroner but the main character is a woman with too many personal problems to interest me. I like my chief character strong with a sense of humour. Perhaps this is how I like to see myself?

N/D, N/S, GSOH as the Friends ads say!

Below is the Christmas Special from 2018.

Nice cameo from Kenneth Branagh

Upstart Crow's Christmas Carol?

Finished Grandma Gatewood's Walk. Though this book is not particularly well-written, I'm glad someone decided to document this woman's life and accomplishments. The interest she generated in the Appalachian Trail by walking its full-length three times in her later years (two thru-hikes and one section-by-section) generated a lot of improvements in the trail and the painted blazes that mark it.

Now test-driving a few books picked up at the library. Rejected 3 last night.

Kathy, I would like to know which three books you test-drove and rejected, if you care to divulge them. Sometimes those books, and why you decided to not read them, can be just as interesting to me as the ones that are liked and highly praised.

Freida - LOL, I know what you mean. I often give library books trial runs. I read 20 or 30 or sometimes even 50 pages to decide if I'm interested, and if I am, but not right this minute, I make a note of it on my "For Later Shelf" on the library website. The rejected ones get deleted from that virtual shelf. The three I rejected last night are:

Hippie by Paulo Coelho. I considered it partly because I've come across Coelho's name many times, but have never read anything by him. Somewhere on the web, I read something about this book being about a road trip on "the fabled hippie trail" (which I'd never heard of) across Europe to Nepal. It intrigued me. But before I could even get into the parts of it I might like, I was put off by Coelho's negative statements about the rich, non-hippie previous generation not understanding the enlightened hippies. This may sound odd, but I have become intolerant of intolerance - on both sides of the fence - and I certainly don't want to spend my entertainment hours reading about it.

My Life and Adventures by Castle Freeman, Jr. I liked the idea of this book, and perhaps should have given it more of a chance. It's about a man who was sort of down and out in Mexico when he unexpectedly inherited a small farm in Vermont and moved there. There were a couple of memorable scenes in the early pages of the book - like a description of unsuccessful turkey hunters who get up at an ungodly hour, then fall asleep in the woods while quietly waiting for the turkeys to start moving about. But when the scenes turned to his backstory of shady money deals and pimps and such, I lost interest. I admit, sometimes I give books more of a try, but I was not in that mood last night.

As Time Goes By by Mary Higgins Clark. Somehow, I happened to see that many readers on the goodreads website were praising this book highly. I decided to give it a try. And really, I have nothing negative to say about the sample I read. But the subject matter simply did not appeal to me - about adults seeking out their birth mothers. I'm acquainted with someone in the reverse situation (mother seeking adult child they gave up for adoption) that has become messy and unpleasant. I was not in the mood for the possibility of more of that.

Vee, last night on TV we got the Upstart Crow repeat of the Eighth Night episode which has the parody I mentioned. We get Ghosts so I hope we get their Xmas special. I always enjoyed the Xmas programming and the parodies etc. and of course going to the pantomimes...

Annpan, the Christmas panto was the highlight of the holidays for us and almost the only event of the year we did as a 'family'. We would drive up to Birmingham's Alexandra Theatre for the matinee of Aladdin, Dick Whittington, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk. Puss in Boots or what ever was showing that year and laugh at the corny jokes, boo the villain, sing along with the dame in her big bloomers, try and catch the sweets thrown to the audience by Buttons or Wishy Washy. Shout out "He's behind you!" or "Oh! yes you did" "Oh! no you didn't"

Pantos are still 'performed' every year by amateur groups up and down the country and in rural areas, such as ours, possibly the only time children get to see a 'live' performance.

I have finished reading Road to Redemption by Ann Gabhart, a fictional story set in Springfield, KY, in 1833 based on an actual cholera epidemic and the saving and/or burials done by an actual slave that saved the town. The town eventually went together and bought his freedom and the blacksmith shop for him. It was a tearjerker.

Also read The Endless Knot, another Joanne Kilbourn book by Gail Bowen, and am now beginning Takes One to Know One by Susan Isaacs. I have some of her older books but haven't read anything by her for years. This one has begun well.

Kathie T, I've only read one of Paul Coelho's books, and that under duress. I found it to be predictable, irritating, and derivative, and I hope never to read another.

Life is really not too short to read bad books, provided that they are entertaining bad books. But it is far too short to read boring books.

We are all familiar with the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas carol and this book is just a clever take on the original by John Julius Norwich illustrated by Quentin Blake.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

I am re-reading parts of "Phenomenal" by Leigh Henion, which I mentioned on another thread. I am particularly fascinated by the description of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) which I have never seen. The author goes to the Arctic Circle in Sweden and stays in an "Ice Lodge", for adventure. She describes the bizarre sounds made by the Northern Lights, as well as the unearthly colors.

From my neighborhood "Little Free Library" I picked up Barbara Tuchman's "A Distant Mirror". I am dipping into it piecemeal, as it is long and detailed. I am interested that some of her descriptions of the Plague" parallel our own Pandemic.

Vee, that was delightful! Thank you for the link.

I finished The Seagull, a Vera Stanhope book by Ann Cleeves, this afternoon and am ready to start The Art of Violence by S. J. Rozan. Ms. Rozan has written a number of books for which she has been nominated and/or won prizes. I haven't read any besides the Lydia Chan/Bill Smith detective series except Absent Friends which I thought was wonderful.

I’ve managed to pick up a string of so-so and completely forgettable books. I was waiting for an electronic copy of The Evening and the Morning by Ken Follett, and it became available today, so hopefully my luck has turned. :)

Donna

The Lost For Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland

The Lost for Words Bookshop by Stephanie Butland is a compelling, irresistible, and heart-rending novel, perfect for all book lovers.

Loveday Cardew prefers books to people. If you look carefully, you might glimpse the first lines of the novels she loves most tattooed on her skin. But there are some things Loveday will never, ever show you.

Into her hiding place - the bookstore where she works - come a poet, a lover, and three suspicious deliveries.

Someone has found out about her mysterious past. Will Loveday survive her own heartbreaking secrets?

Sounds like fun!

I finished The Art of Violence. I really love this author.

One of my sisters told me she had found Georgette Heyer audiobooks to listen to on you tube so I checked it out. so far I have listened to The Nonesuch, The Reluctant Widow, and The Grand Sophy. I am going to listen to one more before taking a break from them. I think it will be The Quiet Gentleman as it has been a number of years since I read it and I don’t remember a lot of it.

I just finished reading Little Faith by Nickolas Butler. It's a lovely novel full of tough subjects. The main character is a late-middle-aged man who lives a typical small-town Midwestern life. He lost his faith in God when he and his wife lost their son who was still a baby. But he continued attending church, as many people do, out of habit and tradition and family considerations. When his now-adult adopted daughter returns home a single mom, he becomes very involved in his five-year-old grandson's life, only to have contact with the boy cut off by his mother. This is because the grandfather does not share her faith in the teachings of a shyster preacher who claims the young grandson has the gift of healing by the laying on of hands. He pays dearly for this lack of faith. I liked this book very much, even though the end leaves you hanging - not knowing who ends up suffering the toughest consequence for their faith or lack thereof.

Are we all ready for 2021 ?

Until my new eye lens settles, I am not reading very much but I have a load of chocolate for consolation! My family make up personal hampers for me as their Christmas gifts and always include boxes of chocolates, Walkers Biscuits and bottles of Baileys. #and a Lion's Christ-i-mas cake!#

I am reading Lost River by David Fulmer. This is the third of these books I've read. They are set in New Orleans at the beginning of the jazz age when N.O. was a rip-roaring city. They are good books, but I need some space between them.

Anna, when did you have your eye done and how was it ?? !

I had a cataract removed from my right eye on the 14th December. I went to a private hospital because I needed to get it done quickly as my sight was suddenly deteriorating and the public hospital had a long waiting list. Everything went very well but I have to wait for a few more weeks before I can be tested for a new right lens for my spectacles.

The fees were not too bad and I have had stimulus money from the State and Federal Governments which just about covered the whole bills. Depending on what the operating doctor says, I might go private again. My children are encouraging me to spend their "inheritance" on this!

Ann, you have nice kids. I wish you a quick recovery.

Everyone I know who has had this surgery is very pleased with the results. I wish you the same.

Rosefolly, thank you.

My kids are very supportive and have always told us to spend our money on ourselves as "you have worked hard for it!"

Have just finished The Gate of Angels by Penelope Fitzgerald. Set in and around a fictional Cambridge college where Fred, a very junior Fellow is specialising in early atomic research having studied under Rutherford. The other 'strand' of the story concerns Daisy, a London girl of humble origins, who trains as a nurse and later finds herself in Cambridge where her life and that of the Fred come together.

Fitzgerald manages to paint a word-picture of life in the Edwardian era . . . from the austere all-male world of academia to that lived by Daisy with wonderful descriptions of all the unguents, salves, nostrums, creams etc she was meant to study and understand as a nurse.

Nothing has been added to give a 'modern take' on the setting; something that annoys me mightily!

Annpan, glad that you are at least halfway there with your eyes and hope you are able to have the other op soon.

Here all/most of the private hospitals are working with the NHS as beds are filling up with COVID and many non-urgent ops are being cancelled and treatments put on hold.

Millions of people have been put into the highest tier of 'lockdown' partly due to this new fast-moving strain of the virus and, even us in the relative 'backwoods', are now in the same highest category mostly because we only have two 'main' hospitals in Gloucestershire from where the TV news shows queues of ambulances waiting up to 6 hours to off-load patients.

The next 'batch' of the sick (those who 'mixed' at Christmas) will be on their way in very soon . . .to say nothing of those who insist on celebrating New Year's Eve with forbidden get-togethers and making whoppee.

Anna, did you have laser surgery ? The reason I ask , of course, is because I will probably have this done in the near future. A surgeon locally has developed a robotic laser procedure for cataracts . My husband had both eyes done 1.5 years ago and his sight is amazing.

Just had a fun read of “The Ladies Paradise” by Emile Zola (1883). We’d enjoyed watching the episodic series on PBS so I was curious about the original source material. Not too different really. Now - what next? A big change from nineteenth century French classics: a book of essays about interesting human behavior: “Lost at Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries” by guess who — Jon Ronson.

I've been flitting between books for a couple weeks now: reading a few pages of one, then setting it down and picking up another. I did manage to finish a couple, one of which was a delightful supposed-diary of a 18th century girl on the Grand Tour: The Diary of a Young Lady of Fashion in the Year 1764-1765 by Cleone Knox, by Magdalen King-Hall. I picked it up (you can find an e-book facsimile version on Amazon for just a couple dollars) based on Washington Post book critic Michael Dirda's comment: “Any devotee of the great Georgette Heyer is bound to enjoy “The Diary of a Young Lady of Fashion in the Year 1764-1765” by Cleone Knox. Once regarded as the genuine 18th-century journal of a sassy upper-class Irish miss, it’s actually a jeu d’esprit written in 1924 by the 20-year-old Magdalen King-Hall."

Since finishing the Cleone Knox 'diary,' I've been flipping between a book by Gordon Childe on European prehistory, John Garth's "The Worlds of J.R.R.Tolkien: the places that inspired Middle-Earth" (recommended by the Post's garden columnist), and my Christmas present, David Sibley's What It's Like to Be a Bird.

Yoyobon, no laser was involved. I had the cataract "sucked" by a machine that made singing noises which alerted the surgeon to what was going on, she said. I really left it rather late and the cataract was dense and hard to remove.

The left eye cataract is not as bad. I shall still need spectacles for close work as the right eye is now long-sighted and so clear that the left eye looks like it has a golden filter on it in comparison!

Vee, our hospitals were put on standby "just in case" around March and my D's ankle op was cancelled. She has recently had it done but its Summer when she didn't want to be stuck indoors in a wheelchair! Some friends are very kind and take her out but she can't wait to be able to use the ankle and drive again.