Graceann's comments

Graceann's comments from the Constant Reader group.

Note: Graceann is no longer a member of this group.

I had a marvelous year for reading (there were a lot of duds, but also several gems, as well). There are books here I'll never forget.

My favorites:

Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey

The Uncommon Reader: A Novella

A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

Norma Shearer: A Biography

The House at Riverton

A Woman of Independent Means

Gilead: A Novel

The Forgotten Garden

Marley & Me: Love and Life with the World's Worst Dog

Santa was very good to me. The Mister and I got a £60.00 gift certificate to Amazon.co.uk, and then, in addition to all the nifty mooches that happened to arrive on Christmas Eve (that was spectacular), there were also some excellent titles under the tree. I got three from my wishlist:

"Timothy's Book: Notes of an English Country Tortoise" by Verlyn Klinkenborg

"Princess Margaret: A Life Unravelled," by Tim Heald, and

"American Eve: Evelyn Nesbit, Stanford White, The Birth of the 'It' Girl and the Crime of the Century" by Paula Uruburu.

Finally, I got "The Loveliest Woman in America" by Bibi Gaston. I hadn't ever heard of it before, but the friend who got it for me sure knows my brain - it's just the kind of non-fiction that sets my fingers to turning pages.

Let me first say that this is not a book that would have crossed my path without CR, and I'm so grateful. I thought it to be moving, profound, challenging, and ultimately fulfilling, like an amazing meal or an extraordinary conversation. I took notes on things I found to be special, and discovered that I was stopping to take notes on something I found on each and every page, so I finally abandoned that effort.


My first impression of Gilead was that, even though the threads were at first difficult to follow, and I was challenged, I was immediately hooked by the underlying simplicity of the theme - nothing in life is too small or insignificant to be beautiful, and remembered.


Some of my over-riding thoughts as I savoured Gilead:

- The universal desire to be remembered. To have someone "know" who you were and what mattered to you.

- Ames is gentle and avuncular - taking pleasures in small, yet mildly beautiful events such as the moon rising at the cemetery, the child and cat trading spots of sunlight in the study, and a game of catch.

- The child's mother "melting into" Trail of the Lonesome Pine (how many books have we "melted into" in just such a way?) and her constantly felt need to improve herself, even though Ames loves her just as she is.

- At the start, the stories are disjointed and seemingly unrelated, much as an elderly person might share their "stories" on a quiet afternoon.

- Unhealed rifts, even among "Men of God."

- "That's the pulpit speaking."

- Story of taking down the burned church in the rain was so beautifully written, with the evocative images of the women working and their hair getting wet and trailing down around their shoulders, and the comment at the end "now old women cut their hair short and color it blue." Even if the rest of the book weren't so amazing, I would remember this sequence as transformative.

- Ames waltzing with a book in one hand so that if he dies he can make a statement as to his taste and recommendation, then discarding the idea as too "theatrical." This amuses me, because I sometimes (morbidly, I admit) wonder what books will be on my nightstand when I leave this World. I remember my mother's books, with her bookmarks in them, the morning after her passing. The sadness I still feel that she didn't get to finish her book of Mike Royko columns is still palpable, almost 19 years later.

- "Children seem to think that every pleasant thing has to be a surprise." This is so incredibly accurate. I know that I was always trying to surprise my parents with things as mundane as cheese and crackers, and later I found that the children in my life wanted to do the same sorts of things for me.

- The idea of "sounding the food alarm" when Ames had a rough spell physically. This is also terribly accurate. I never have more food in the house than when I'm ill. Apparently, the best thing for a near-death experience is a casserole. :-)

- The most loving, evocative image was of Ames' wife sleeping with her head on his knees while she worried about him. She does love him, and they are good for each other. She will have a new and different life after he passes away, but it was clear to me from this sequence (along with "why do you have to be so damned old?") that she does indeed love her husband.

- The sequences with Jack were very interesting and showed Ames' humanity, as he struggles with being a forgiving, gentle, kind person who simply doesn't trust someone who might have an ulterior motive. These sequences were the most challenging for me, frankly, because Jack was a tough character for me to care about. I felt he was sapping Ames' strength, and I wanted Ames to stay around a bit longer for his little boy, and didn't want Jack stealing what time Ames had left. Having said all that, the bestowing of the blessing moved me to tears.

I'm a free-lance proofreader/copy-editor and I'm currently working with an author on a biography of a wonderful actress. He is an author I admire, and he's written two well-received biographies of two other actresses for a small press in the States. The press is so small that the authors are informed that if they want the items proofed, they need to find someone to do it for them.

My "boss" is a fine author and I love his work - since I've started working for him, I've become fond of him as a person, as well. I love his turns of phrase and his research is beyond reproach. He loves me because I catch typos, punctuation errors and the occasional misused word, so that he can concentrate on what he does best, researching a life and telling that life's story.

He'd never make it as a proofreader because catching typos and commas just isn't his thing. I would never make it as a biographer because I find research the most painful and boring aspect of putting together any book. Together, however, we make a fairly good team.

Speaking for myself as a reader, because I proof and copy-edit for my manicure money, I notice typos and editing problems, and they do annoy me. Unfortunately, I can't turn that part of my brain off when I'm reading for enjoyment; sometimes I wish I could.

I think the oldest book I own is Lew Wallace's The First Christmas, from 1903. It was my mother's, and I suspect she found it in a rummage sale and paid a nickel for it, then ran away giggling madly. It's a beautiful volume, but I really only treasure it because she did, and I no longer have *her* to treasure.

My most beloved volumes are my Gene Stratton-Porter volumes from early in the last Century. I have no idea if they are first editions or not, and I don't care. I only check that if I'm planning on re-selling a book after reading it, and I won't be parting with these for any amount of money.

Excellent idea. Here is a link to me if anyone is interested:

http://www.bookmooch.com/m/inventory/sil...

I don't usually read the poetry; not that I don't appreciate its artistry, but I'm just not drawn to it as much as others. This one, however, struck so close to home. I see it as an honest offering of sentiment, and don't feel that it has crossed a line into maudlin manipulation. Would I still be crying even if I hadn't lost a "Good Dog" of my own? Probably, but then loss in any reference affects me that way.

I'm a little tardy to the party, but count me in as a big fan of bookmooch. I've had so much fun sending books around, and receiving them in return. I used to use paperbackswap, and might still be using them, but they are not international, and bookmooch is. I'm silentsgirl there, and I'm actually off to add another book to my inventory shortly.

Brilliant post, Yulia. I, too, have chronic depression and though I have been in treatment since diagnosis (22 years ago), it is something that is with me for life, and that's that. I also faced the "you don't look depressed" (along with "you don't look sick") situation, and the best decision I ever made was to take advantage of the opportunity to step away from professional life and do work that I love, for myself. Not everyone is so blessed, and I'm keenly aware of this. I thank my lucky stars every day.

There's never a way of knowing what's going on inside someone's head and heart, sometimes until it's too late. Such is the case for poor David Foster Wallace. In the end, it doesn't matter that he was loved and treasured - he didn't treasure himself.

Cool. When I lived in Wisconsin, I occasionally had a late book, but never was I so moronic (or arrogant) that I sat on one for several MONTHS, and never would I have been so stupid as to ignore a court citation. I love it when people who decide that the rules don't apply to them find out that they are incorrect. It happens oh so rarely, unfortunately.

And before anyone feels a need to complain that the police should be out fighting "real" crime, Grafton is a very small community with no crime to speak of. This *is* their real crime beat.

You've said a mouthful there - my ex-fiance would (and does) say things to people online that would get him punched in the nose if he said them in person. He's not the only one with that sort of "bravery." What about people who *can't* read for whatever reason (they can't hold up a book for whatever reason; they can't SEE, etc.) Are they supposed to be shut out of the world of literature? What nonsense.

As to audiobooks, I'm trying my first one and having trouble concentrating. Before I realize it, my mind is wandering and I've missed some important bit of information. I'm hoping that when I listen to it on an upcoming flight, I'll have an easier time "staying tuned" to the story. The author is a good one and the story is fascinating; it's the manner of imparting it (i.e., audiobook form) that is eluding me.

Could someone please post a link to the discussion - I can never seem to get to them like everyone else can...

I only have one more chapter to read in this book and I will have completed it. I have several comments to make, but I just wanted to say how thrilled I am to have gotten this book to discuss. I don't think it would have crossed my radar otherwise, and that would have been a shame.

I'm at page 110 and it has yet to grow on me. As a matter of fact, I can't wait for it to be over and am glad I don't have the rest of the trilogy. Oh well.

I'm a dedicated bookmoocher and have gotten some great titles that way (I've gotten all the CR discussion books this way). Since I rarely re-read and need to make space for incoming volumes, my books go back to one of three places: bookmooch, amazon or ebay. I love the library, and use it often here, but bookmooch has a better selection (for instance, the library's waiting list for Enchanted April was a mile long - I got it in a week, for free, through bookmooch).

Warmest of welcomes from another Brit (newly-transplanted, but it still counts).

So actual discussion begins on July 1, as opposed to just the reading? I feel so stupid. I'll just have to avoid the discussions until I finish the book (which, at the rate I'm going, because it reads like music sounds, won't be long).

For some reason The Blindfold was not meant to wind up in my hands, alas. I'll have to sit that one out, but I have my copy of Then We Came to the End for the August discussion.

This is the term that Erik Larson himself uses to describe the book, and all the others that he writes (I highly recommend "Isaac's Storm.")

The idea behind intertwining the Fair and the murder story is that they were occurring at the same time and were part of a huge fabric that was Chicago in 1893. I didn't find the Fair all that interesting, myself, but I did learn a lot, and I appreciated the symmetry.

Hawkeye is *beautiful* (and, being a MASH fan, I love the name. :-) I adore kitties and have a special little stripey dude of my own. For many years, he was the only man in my life, and when I first made the acquaintance of the man who would become my husband, one of my criteria was that he get along with kitties, because I'd made a lifetime commitment to this little guy. As it happens, my husband and my little guy are inseparable now (sometimes I think Spike prefers my husband to ME!)

The stars of the 1935 Enchanted April were not "B-List" at the time of the film. They are just unjustly forgotten now, I'm sad to say. Ann Harding is one of my favorite actresses of all time, and though this version of Enchanted April is not up to her talents, I urge you to seek out Life of Vergie Winters to see what the lady could do when she was at the top of her game and given good scripts.