Heart of the Country

Hmm. I am alternating between rereading the Levendeur series and a volume on my shelf long ignored - Heart of the Country, by Greg Matthews.

I have now reached the halfway point of the latter. I don't know - I thought I was fairly open-minded but this book is described as a "gritty narrative"and that is putting it mildly. There is absolutely nothing attractive about the land or people of mid-19th century Kansas in this book. I know the West has been romanticized and whitewashed to the point of nausea, but this is too far the other direction. I have held out on books before, hoping it will get better. Sometimes it never happens (Barcelona, by another Australian, Robert Hughes). Even when the anti-hero gets treated poorly, I just thought, "You are such a jerk, you deserved that!"The story has improved just enough to keep me interested.

Seeing Sarah

I dragged Robert down to see Sarah Vowell. Neither he or I had been to the Orpheum in ages, I know I had not been since it was still a regular movie theater in '70.

It is a beautiful building but still a bit shabbier than I expected. And Sarah, she was a hoot as I expected. Dressed very plainly, black slacks and top. Sorta awkward, a bit self-effacing but a sharp wit.

Several of Butler's English faculty, but no history ones that I could spot. Jim Erickson - seeing him takes me back to the days when I danced on the edge of Wichita's news media.

I never thought I would do this, but I actually bought a copy of Vowell's latest book and stood in line to get it autographed. Oh, why not? :-)

I won't miss this one

A few years ago I missed a chance to hear Barbara Neely speak up at Wichita State. Now I find that Sarah Vowell, will be downtown at the Orpheum on Wednesday. If Robert can't go, I will just go alone!

Feeling virtuous

A few things I weeded out this weekend:

• Billy Graham's Angels
• An RD collection of condensed books
• Brokaw's Greatest Generation all to Mom
• 501 Spanish Verbs to Erin if she wants it.

Of course this does not really match the amount of books that manage to find their way IN through the front door, but I am trying to stave off the need for more shelfspace.

R & I ended up at Barnes and Noble for a spell, and I did not come away with anything from there either.

I have pulled out Heart of the Country - it has sat unread on my shelf for years - maybe deservedly so, but I will find out. In the meantime, I am rereading all of the Catherine LeVendeur books so I can read the last two I have never read.

I want to try my hand at papermaking sometime so my two of my last purchases have included books on the subject -on sale of course. I found a blender stuck in a drawer in the basement which will help to further the cause.

A note- on my last order from bookcloseouts.com the copy of 101 Poems that may save your life had 16 blank pages (only 86 poems not 101!). They graciously sent me a replacement at no charge.

Summer interlude

And so the summer winds down. I still have to configure the fall course with its new text so I can't steal much time to reading for pleasure.

I finished Lee's Last Days. Although he is painted a bit too perfect, I have a new appreciation for this Southern hero. Well, it is just a bit annoying that he wanted his daughters around him and even after his death none of them found a life outside the bosom of the family.

I am impressed with his brief career as a visionary educator. Some of his ideas, like a journalism school, were way ahead of their time.

For pleasure I finished the last part of the Agnes Browne trilogy, - comic but not his narrative is oddly rough. It feels more like a string of anecdotes that do not tie together very well.

Into summer reading

One natural segue in my library, to Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation, is Lee's Last Years. OK, I have a number of Civil War-related volumes. Not by any means comprehensive, but those that suit my fancy and curiosity. When it comes to military tactics and strategy, I am left cold. Politics are a challenge, but the personal human side is what engages me.

Anyway, Lee's Last Years provides a close look at Lee's life after the surrender at Appomattox. Six chapters in it seems to be balanced. Of course, it will be interesting to see how that dreadful period of Reconstruction is addressed.

What I have learned or confirmed so far:

• Lincoln's assassination and the surrender occurred within days of each other.
• Arlington National Cemetery rests on Lee's family property, well, his wife's property. And she never forgave the Yankees for confiscating it and burying their dead there.

Spring reading

It has really been a challenge squeezing in the time to finish a book lately. I am nearly finished Allingham's Pearls before Swine. As I mentioned earlier, I resolved not to start another mystery collection; I will either get them used and trade or check them from the library.

I am amazed at the sophistication of her work, especially compared to Christie's. I could whip through a Christie in a few hours, even a Maigret did not seem to take too long. This book is only about 200 pages and it is meatier, more complex and to me, a whole lot more interesting. Perhaps she was not as popular for those reasons - Christie appealed to a much wider audience. I suppose you could compare her somewhat more to Dorothy Sayers' work.

I should also get back into Sarah Vowell's Assassination Vacation. It is nonfiction on serious subjects the first three assassinations of American presidents, but she is such a hoot.

Just for fun

Before I begin another work of nonfiction, I am relaxing with the last Maigret I will pass on. (I resolved to thin those and the AChristies, and to not begin collecting another series). Honest. I picked up an Allingham at Bookaholic. (I think they are mostly out of print here in the US). I will them read and return to Bookaholic. May just have to pick them at library (IF they carry them).

I have simultaneously begun Tim O'Brien's July, July. OK, he writes much on the Vietnam Era. This deals with the era and people my age - well close, anyway. I first read his Going after Cacciato, one of his earliest but not his best known work. I think I also purchased The Things They Carried as an Audible book. But I am so behind on listening, I don't remember. :-(

Gaining perspectives

I read fiction because it feeds a part of my soul.
It can be an escape, or travel to another world. Or an illumination or recognition of a part of me that I had ignored.

I read nonfiction for different reasons. I am selective because I do not believe that nonfiction is necessarily the truth, and I hate having to make that distinction as it can interfere with the pleasure of learning something new.
And it bothers me that I can not absorb the factual part of everything I read.
Well, I recognize that nonfiction can give me new perspectives, and illuminate the rest of my life and ideas I encounter and re-encounter daily.
Case in point, an 'old' (1982) but singular overview of the Society of Jesus. Being Catholic I know a little about the Jesuits, but like the average person, I probably have more reputation and hearsay in my knowledge than solid information. Barthel's The Jesuits sheds a bit more light on this order of priests. Surprisingly, though when all is said and done, he doesn't really confirm or deny many of the rumors or accusations that create their mystique. He even admits that there is an issue with denial and being unable to confirm because of security reasons.

And, I found it disconcerting that lots of 'facts' and interesting ideas were thrown out with no development or support of them. And, he also mentions several times that his mss was reviewed by a Jesuit. So how objective could he be - really? Sadly, I don't see that Barthel has published much else on the subject.

Anyway, the book has served to raise my sense of awareness about the Counter Reformation and disdain for the early 20th century Popes particularly in regard to Germany. (The author is German.)

And I can appreciate the dilemma of identity crisis. They were founded as a militant missionary order, and the Church currently embraces a more ecumenical stance. What is the Jesuits' current raison d'etre? Will we ever know?

birthday celebration

not my birthday but A's.
I sent her package off to the land of ice and snow. The requisite items are expanding.
Selected new/used books - this year's selection includes D. Parker bio, three Holmes/Russell mysteries (which she has read but needs for her collection) and something different - J Harris's Five Quarters of an Orange.
Plus the annual birthday card featuring the toddler A. (I am learning to scan damaged negatives) AND a selection of specially designed bookmarks. I redid the ones I made a year or two ago, but this time I sealed them with clear packing tape. I included a true geek bookmark - two layers (sticky side together) of duct tape, embellished with the proper tassel. I can just see her rolling her eyes.