Little Known Novella

I was browsing the library shelves for Raymond Chandler - before I knew that he was in the murder-mystery section - and came across this by a fave author of mine - Willa Cather - and it caught my fancy.

I have never read a Willa Cather novel I did not like, and even though this is in some ways just a long short story, I really like this one too.

One reviewer made a comment about the change in focus in her novels being related to "getting away from the prairie," but I don't think that line of thought is quite accurate.  Women and men might face different issues in the prairie than they face in the cities, but the key is how they handle the issues they face.

This story rather dramatically shows how two women and one man face the trials of life in very different ways - but in the end, they all seem to have found peace.

A good, fast read for those who also love Ms. Cather - or even those who have never met her!

Number 18 on the way to 52 books a year!

I was reading an article in the AARP magazine - which, by the way, has a great interview with Bob Dylan in it - and there was a feature about "the book that influenced you."  

The author Michael Connelly - whom I have not read but have heard of - said that it was the first paragraph in Chapter 13 of Raymond Chandler's The Little Sister, a murder mystery.

I am familiar with Raymond Chandler because of the films that were made of some of his books.  And Humphrey Bogart always played Phillip Marlowe, the ace detective, so my curiosity was piqued!

I thought the screen writers had given Bogey all his great lines, but it turns out that Chandler's Phillip Marlowe series is full of great lines!!

I am not a real murder mystery fan, but I did enjoy this.  It was a lot like watching a Bogey movie.  The dialogue was great, and the story moved right along.  The prose was fluid and not overblown.  I felt like I was in the Los Angeles of almost 70 years ago.

I'd give it a thumbs up!

Nothing a little Maisie Dobbs can't fix!

It's been a few years since I was introduced to the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear, but it's mostly been a good relationship.  After the first 4 or 5, I thought she was getting stagnant and the stories were not very compelling anymore.  And actually she wrote a non-Maisie novel that I enjoyed, but not everyone liked it.

But her newest is a nice change of pace - and she seems to have her story-telling back in stride!

A Dangerous Place occurs in Gibraltor in 1934 - the Spanish Civil War.  There's a backstory that comes about with some letters and newspaper accounts, and then the story really gets going.

It was vintage Jacqueline Winspear - and I am delighted to see it.

Hopefully the trend will continue!!

Now on to number 18 in my "Read 52 Books This Year" campaign!!

At least, a keeper!

I was starting to think that I'd never find a book by a fave author that was as good as the ones that were my faves!!  S.E. Hinton and Natalie Babbitt were disappointing.

But Rodman Philbrick, author of Freak the Mighty - another middle school fave of mine - and my students - did not disappoint with The Fire Pony.

It is a YA novel - but even elementary school kids would enjoy it.  The mark of a good book for me is the ability of the story to grab different audiences at different levels.

It's a story about horses - lots of authentic detail.  But it's also about abandonment, the foster care system, addictions, and love and loss - all elements that can combine for some rich, detailed story-telling.

And there's a horse race in it - no spoilers here, but you'll be cheering!!

Number 16 on my list of 52 books to read in 2015.

I'm thinking I need to up the ante here - I will be at 52 by mid-year I think!!

There's a new Toni Morrison out April 21st.  And a new Maisie Dobbs that's available now.  I was ready to give up on her - the first 3 or 4 in the series were great, and then the quality seemed to go downhill. But the reviewer claims she's getting back up where she belongs - so I will give her a chance.

And let you know!

Thumbs down!!

I thought that since The Outsiders was so good, this one would at least be okay!!

WRONG!!

Not sure what S.E. Hinton was doing when she wrote this, but thinking clearly was not on the agenda!!

Such a garbled plotline - if you can call it that.  And "cured" vampires? One dimensional characters??  Situations that strain credulity?

I'm not even going to put it in my little library - it's going in the trash!!

(Not even sure why I'm bothering to review it.  But I am going to count it on my 52 books a year list!!)

"In the leafy treetops!"

When I was Primary age, the three older classes for girls were Larks, Bluebirds, and Seagulls.  There were lots of requirements for moving on from one level to another, but one of them - to graduate from Primary - was to complete this sampler.

My brother Lyn and the boy next door - Freddy Vergine - built tree houses on our property and other property near us.  Often they discarded one and went on to another one.  One summer, Alice and I jumped - or should I say climbed - at the opportunity to take over a tree house up in a eucalyptus tree across the street from us. 

We went up daily and shouted down at the "little kids" or ate warm oranges off the trees in the orchard below or read books or - in my case - worked on my sampler.

It looks pretty nice in this photo, but up close you can see the uneven stitches.  But I was only 10, so cut me some slack!!

And it's a lovely memory!

Racing right along on the trail to 52 books a year!!

I read the Flavia de Luce novels a few years ago, and happened on one that didn't really catch my fancy, so I left them alone.  I think I've already explained this.  So now I'm back into them - but I think this is the last one - at least until another one comes out in print - and actually I should have read this one before I read The Chimney Sweeps Come to Dust.  But reading them out of order isn't fatal - I enjoyed them both.

There's a lot of espionage in this one and lots of British/WW II history too.  If you get into this series, you will enjoy this one.

 

Since I'd read Tuck Everlasting multiple times over the years - it's core-lit - I thought I'd love another book by the same author.  

Wrong.  This one is kind of mystical like Tuck, but not nearly so compelling and poetic.

But it's pretty short.  And might be a good read aloud choice for elementary kids.

So it's almost mid-March - and I'm on book number 15!!

Great film!!

I call this a "must see!"  Not your average feel-good sports movie - there is some true growth and understanding going on - and it's based on a true story!!

One of the runners in the story is a reporter for the LA Times and he wrote a follow-up article last week.

I love "connections!"

Just finished number 12 of my "Read 52 Books a Year" quest!  I read the first few Flavia de Luce novels and quite loved them.  Then it felt like they'd gotten a little tedious and I left them alone for awhile.

I was at loose ends looking for something to read, though, and happened upon them - I think I'm getting them out of order but went ahead.

So now I'll have to fill in a few blanks.

A good way to fill an afternoon!

This one was a bit slow at first, but the humor and the mystery keeps you going.

Book number 11 checked off!

I'm not sure how I originally was introduced to Jhumpa Lahiri, but I have enjoyed every book of hers that I have read - which would be 2 novels and 2 collections of short stories.

She is Indian but was raised in London.  She must have traveled to India often, however, because she is able to evoke the many complex aspects of the country.  This is part of the appeal of her novels and stories - it is very easy to be transported to another world.

This story is complex and covers a large span of years.  Perhaps one of the draws for me was the fact that the main character was my age - and he had struggled with many of the same social and political issues that bombarded us in our young adult years.

The story is told in flashback and intersecting story lines - always an ingredient that can keep me glued to the story line.

If you aren't sure if you would like her or not, try one of the short story collections first.

I'm thinking you will like her style of writing.

Ahead of schedule!

Apparently some folks are making it a goal to read one book a week.  A noble goal - I suspect I exceed that goal every year, since I'm known for reading when I ought to be doing other things.

So I wrote down all the books I've read this year - which is pretty easy for me to do also, since I've either blogged that I read it or it's in my Kindle library!!

And with finishing Back When We Were Grownups I have read 10 books in 2015 - since there have only been 8 weeks in the year so far, I am ahead of the game.

The novel - another one by fave author Anne Tyler - was slow starting, but by the time I finished, I was enjoying it.  The main character had lots of qualities I could identify with.  And she was the caretaker of assorted children, stepchildren, and grandchildren.  She also took care of her almost 100 year old father-in-law - and his 100th birthday party was the culminating event in the story.

Some Anne Tyler books are better than others.  But this one was an enjoyable read.

 

Three-hole golf course!

Grandma and Grandpa Stevens lived in Inglewood.  Their house seemed large and elegant to me, but I'm pretty sure it was small and tract-like.  But it had a large front porch - I have always dreamed of a large front porch!!

In the "rumpus room" - now called family rooms or dens - was a built in bar!  Grandpa was not a member of the church and he drank. We loved playing bartender and serving up 7-Up in shot glasses!  And Grandma taught us how to play cards!

Grandpa had a 3 hole golf course in the back yard - and he'd show us how to go around it 3 times to play 9 holes of golf.

Also Grandma always had Quaker Puffed Rice - and I loved it - still do!!

She had vestiges of her Southern prejudices though - she was from Kentucky - and when her black cleaning lady came, she'd have her stand in the kitchen and she'd stand in the dining room to give her instructions.

I spent time with her - and certainly wish I'd asked for more stories from her past!

The Shop

"The Shop" was where my dad went to work every day. And it was always called "The Shop."  It was a machine shop, and it was not until many years later that I realized that "shop" meant a store of some kind to most people.

But not us!!  "The Shop" also included "The Pots" as in in "The boys are going with Dad to "The Shop" to clean "The Pots!!"  (If you haven't figured it out, "The Pots" were the toilets that were dispersed throughout the whole complex of industrial shop spaces where "The Shop" was!)

The boys got paid for this work, and over the years, we girls lobbied for the chance to make this good money the boys seemed to make.  My dad would never even consider letting us do the work.  In the years since, I've seen some other bathrooms in industrial facilities, and I'm pretty sure I wouldn't let my daughters - or sons for that matter - work in them - or even use them maybe!!

The Pontiac station wagon also shows in this photo.  We all fit in this car - not legally the way you need to today - seat belts were a twinkle in someone's eye at that point in time - but when we drove out to visit Grandma and Grandpa Stevens or Grandpa Clayton or Grandma Clayton's grave in Inglewood, this was the car we went in - and we mostly all fit in!

When we stopped at stoplights, we often saw people counting the number of kid's faces they would see.  Once my brother Lyn held up a paper that said "12." 

That story has been told over and over again in our family.  I was there - it did happen!!

In case you thought it was apocryphal!

Unphotographed - but not forgotten!

For some reason, there are no baby pictures of Charles or Mary.  This might be the youngest shot of Charlie.  This is taken in the back of the "little house."  That window no longer exists - but it was a major part of my life growing up in the little house. 

One summer I had severe nose bleeds and had to take a nasty tasting medicine and spend most of the day lying on my back in the room that window was part of.  I could hear all the fun going on outside - and probably snuck out of bed and went to the window to see what was going on.  Or maybe I just yelled out now and then.  It felt like it was all summer, but it just might have been a week - or a day!  Mom only has vague memories of it.  I was under 8 years of age I think.  

The dress I'm wearing is green and white striped - I loved it - and wore it a lot.  There is something about a play dress, rather than shorts or pants.  The dress had a cute little jacket too.  I think my mom made it.  The little toy on the table was red - and I truly remember it.  Charlie looks like a little redneck or something - but I'm sure he was just busy playing all day and not worrying about cleaning up!!  He may have something in his hand - and looking closely I wonder if it's an ice cream cone?  We didn't get those often though.

 

This shot is me, Alice, Charles, and Richard - and this may be the youngest shot of Mary.  The side of the little house is in the background.  Mary was often sick as a child.  She had some health issues and was often in bed in the daytime - at least I remember it that way.  But she looks hale and hearty here!!

I bet this photo was taken on a Monday - because my hair is still curly - and it only got curled for Sunday!

Charlie could usually be found with a toy gun and holster on his hip!!

Bikes and Boys

Unlike now, the Clayton "homestead" was always surrounded by a chain-link fence.  Grandma Mary allowed all the kids in the neighborhood to come in our yard and play - but she didn't really like her kids running around the neighborhood.  She didn't want the neighbors saying that Mom had so many kids she couldn't keep an eye on them all!  

And when I was younger and the "big" house was being built, our yard was a wonderful playground - piles of sand, stacks of lumber, cement foundations that sat for long periods of time - perfect for roller skating!  Trees to climb, oranges to eat - we had a swing set too.

But to ride a bike - or rollerskates - you needed to leave the confines of the yard!  This photo shows two important parts of my childhood memories.  One, Bill is riding his bike out on the street - which was pretty quiet - there were not lots of cars then - and actually there aren't all that many now.  I was older by the time this was taken, but I don't have any other bike photos!  Alice and I shared a bike - maybe that's why I'm not the most proficient cyclist!  We'd take turns riding riding - one of us would sit on the curb and the other would ride up and down the street.  Not the most satisfactory way to spend an afternoon, but it was all we had!

Secondly, the house with the car in the driveway had the Vergine's driveway exactly opposite - so we'd roller skate up and back on these two driveways - it was pretty fun!!

And on another note, I don't have lots of memories of the names of our neighbors, but the house Bill is riding in front of was Naomi Kadar's house - she was a friend of Mary's.

 

Knowing how mechanical my dad was, I'm not surprised by this old photo of Bob and his brother, our Uncle Paul, with their bikes.  I'm pretty sure my dad always kept a bike running for himself!  He worked with my brothers on their bikes I know.  My dad could build just about anything - I don't think I appreciated it much as a child - I just thought all dads could do that!

A little summer crowd!!

You know, we weren't Okies, but sometimes I think we looked pretty close!!  Not sure why I had those pin curls on my forehead.  And dresses were playclothes too.

Davy Crockett was VERY BIG - hence Charlie's shirt and hat and gun belt!!  Also, notice the Saltwater Sandals!!  Not sure what Mary was trying to measure with her hands either.

And can you tell how many of us have cowlicks??

This cinderblock wall still stands.  We played in the area it enclosed all the time.  The walls served many purposes, not the least of which was hiding us from passersby!!

Speaking of passersby, I have two distinct memories about the yard.  One is that I can remember having a measles quarantine sign on our door.  Mom remembers that too.  And I remember a hobo coming to the door asking Mom if he could do some work for a meal.  She told him to go sit on the curb and she'd bring him out a sandwich.  And she did.  She says she doesn't remember that, but she remembers her mom feeding hobos.  I recall it because my mother made us stay in the house while the guy was on the curb - we were consumed with curiousity!!

I was pretty young for those memories - and I think I'm twelve or more in the above photo.

For those not in the know, it's Mary, Barbara, Alice, Charles, and Richard in front of Barbara.

The Daily News

We weren't well-off by any means - at least not when I was a kid.  But we always took a newspaper.  In fact, we took a morning and an afternoon paper!

I remember when the actress Suzanne Ball died of cancer.  It was all over the front page of The Daily News.  I asked my mom about it - I still remember her saying, "She was a brave young woman and she faced death bravely too."  (She had had her leg amputated in an attempt to stop the cancer.)

There were some local papers too - they came once or twice a week.  I always combed through them looking for people's names that I knew.  Lyn was in there when he got his Eagle Scout and when he went on a mission.

My brothers had paper routes too.

My dad read the LA Times in the morning, and then when he got home, he read The Daily News. 

Grandma Mary grumbles often about how the paper has no news in - just advertising.  She often says we might as well not take it.  She says, I just do it for Donna.

I think it's a Clayton thing - I still take the Times too!

Wish I'd asked my dad while he was alive why he was so dedicated to the newspaper!

Stories from Horace Street

My niece Traci said that her boys had gotten interested in Family Search, but that they wanted "stories" and not just facts and info.  She she asked us to share stories.  I told her that I often tell family stories on my blog, and that I would start telling more - and maybe repeating some - I am my father's daughter after all!*

This is a shot of Alice, Joan, and I standing on Andasol actually - we lived on the corner of Horace and Andasol - and the house across the street was owned my the man who drove a Verner's ginger ale truck.  We didn't drink a lot of soda - it was definitely a treat - but we did drink root beer when we had root beer floats and we did drink ginger ale, because the neighbor used to give us a case now and then!

A sad note on this family - I think their name was Andreason - but the father in the family was killed in a car accident - at the hands of a drunk driver.  I was young, but I have never forgotten the sorrow and grief that this drunk driver caused our neighbor - and our neighborhood.

Anyway, the occasion was a trip to Pop's Willow Lake - a recreation area - it may have been a man-made lake - and our dad's company picnic was there.  (My dad used to work for Radioplane, before he started his own machine shop.)

Disneyland wasn't around yet, carnivals occasionally came to town, so a trip to a recreation area was a Treat with a capital T!

My bathing suit was electric blue - I can picture it still.  I think I'm maybe 7 or 8 in this photo - that's the early 50's.  Alice and I had gone down to Ruby's Department Store on Chatsworth to get new bathing suits.  New clothes of any sort mostly came at Easter and Christmas, so this was a Big Deal!!  And I think we look pretty happy.  I'm also wearing Salt Water Sandals - which are very much in vogue these days - and were actually the only kind of sandal you could get back in the day!

Outings were fun because they were rare and infrequent.  It's pretty simplistic to say that kids are indulged these days.  But then when I look back and compare my kids to my grandkids, I could say, well, kids are really indulged these days.  The fact is, fun is fun - and Pops Willow Lake was lots of fun!!

*anyone who ever spent any time with my dad knew that he pretty much told the same stories over and over.  But we all know them, so maybe he was doing it on purpose!!

A long slow read!

I think I put this on my Kindle a couple of years ago.  As I recall, it really did not "grab" me at the time.  

So it sat there.

I enjoy Anne Tyler, and I have enjoyed everyone of her books that I have read. But for some reason, I really could not get into it.

But recently I was out of books to read, so I gave this one another try.  I can't say it grabbed me any more than the first time, but for some reason I plowed on!

It is pretty slow.  And I was not sure of where the author was going with it.  But I did finish it.  The ending wasn't too unsatisfactory - but it wasn't very satisfactory either!!  I will say that she did a pretty good job of capturing the local flavor of North Carolina.  (At least my idea of what the local flavor in a southern state ought to be!!)

And she painted some pretty memorable characters.  She just didn't seem to go anywhere with them.

I then read the interview with the author at the end of of the book.  It was the 2nd novel she wrote but the first one published.   The interviewer asked her if she had re-read it in recent years.  Ms. Tyler replied, "I reread it just so I could answer these questions, and I'm amazed that it was ever printed.  It's a book by someone who doesn't yet have anything to say."

I'm glad she kept writing books - so that when she had something to say, she could say it!!

Hangin' with Grandpa!!

Robbie sent us this shot from our visit last week.  It is really fun to just "hang out" in the household and be part of the daily drill.

Rhoda is a charmer - and certainly fond of her "Anyang" as she calls him!