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Reading Room:  Eclectic Reading Corner...  |
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LakesideQltr
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
Sheila
CA
USA
25 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 14 2004 : 07:03:26 AM
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I'm catching up on some of the chat topics that hadn't automatically drawn me in. I have to add my chip in for "Wish You Well" by Baldacci. I think Wish you Well was propably more what Baldacci had in mind writing before he became a commercial big time success and his success probably allowed him to get his real from the heart work out subsequently due to the name following. Funny how that works sometimes...but I absolutely love all his books. If you like Baldacci at all another writer I recently discovered very similar to him in pace and suspense is Brad Meltzer. (First Counsel and The Millionaires to start) I also love Stephen White) And if you haven't - you have got to read "Ladder of Years" by Anne Tyler.
I have Red Tent = got it for a buck at the thrift store for in the hammock and then my daughter broke the hammock. Just haven't gotten around to it. I'm hearing everywhere from folks who read about Alice Hoffman books will have to try to find some.
Yesterday I closed the cover on "Hank and Chloe" by Jo-Ann Mapson. I seem to be drawn to tuff cookie women who have been wounded and crumbled and yet keep on keeping on. Chloe was that...kind of gritty for some maybe. Set in the southern California hill country where development is rapidly overshadowing the old ranch acreage and with an unlikely pairing of a horse trainer and a mythology and folklore "professor'.
-Sheila
Life is what happens while you're making other plans - John Lennon |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Sep 14 2004 : 09:06:04 AM
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Welcome to the reading corner, Sheila! I had not seen your other posts, but it sounds by your name as if you are a quilter. So am I. As well as an avid reader, and I thank you for the wonderful suggestions.
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Sep 15 2004 : 12:37:32 PM
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Finished "Secret life of Bees" this morning. I LOVED it. I wish it didn't end. I will miss the gals in the pink house!!
I am reading "The Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch" right now. Pretty good..sort of Fanny Flaggish.
It got cold here last night....I love to sit in "my chair" with thick socks on and a cup of tea (my favorite lately is Celestial seasoning's Vanilla Madagazcar Red...yum!) and read until I can't stay awake any longer. Of course I am sorry in the morning. Today I had another chapter to read so I got up early and finished it before the kids got up.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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frannie
True Blue Farmgirl
2246 Posts
fran
bonham
texas
USA
2246 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2004 : 12:11:38 AM
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glad i checked this site out, cant wait to check out some of the books. i am reading a small book right now called"plain and simple" by sue bender. it is a pretty easy read , a true story about a modern women who goes and lives in the amish community. it has alot of info in it and also a few pearls of wisdom "follow a path that has heart"
i read too much nonfiction, and i try to read fiction, i think it gives you something that nonfiction cant. i agree on barbara kingsolver. |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2004 : 05:11:35 AM
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I have PLain an dSimple plus several other books on the Amish life. Growing up in the midwest, I was exposed to a lot of Amish communities. It's a great read.
farmgirl@heart
Longaberger Lover and all things antique |
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LakesideQltr
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
Sheila
CA
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2004 : 12:27:22 PM
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Plain and Simple is one of my "lifetime" all-time favorite books. I hate to tell you even how many times I've re-read it and I'm not one to re-read many books. When I lived in IL I was awestruck by the Amish communities in central IL and northern IN. Sue Bender's book caused me to do some further investigating of the Amish and much of what I learned deeply challenged me in my outlook on life and transformed me too. I was for the longest time challenged by rigidity of their church direction as to things as minute as where and how you store your dinnerware, utensils, food and the SAME-ness required of each individual and household. Some time later I was one of a number of women in my own church to give time to a family in our church while an expectant mom was totally confined to bedrest during the duration of her pregnancy. I had gone to "babysit" and make a meal - pulling squash, etc from their garden's bumber crop. When I asked Mom-to-be what she would most like she asked for fried zucchinni! :) In the midst of preparing there was something I needed I couldn't find in her kitchen and her other children were too young to be helpful and I didn't want to disturb Mom-to-be while napping. The thought struck me that perhaps that was the very reason for the rigidity of the Amish folk and probably the very reason the church would even dictate such a seemingly small detail. How convenient to be able to walk into another woman's kitchen/pantry in time of need and be able to function productively and efficiently as if in your own!
-Sheila
Life is what happens while you're making other plans - John Lennon |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2004 : 5:58:50 PM
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After reading Plain & Simple, I too delved deeper in learning more about the Amish. My ex-husband thought I was nuts, but there is something to be said for the peacefulness of their way of life. i would love to have an adventure such as Sue Bender's.
farmgirl@heart
Longaberger Lover and all things antique |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2004 : 6:07:45 PM
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I have several books on Amish life too, I find them so interesting and industrious! I love Plain and Simple. That would be my sort of adventure too..not anything exotic, just a wonderful trip to an almost back in time way of life. I can't think of an experience I would wish for more.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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Kim
True Blue Farmgirl
146 Posts
Kim
Pflugerville
Texas
USA
146 Posts |
Posted - Sep 16 2004 : 6:20:55 PM
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Has anyone checked MJF wesite and looked into the bed & breakfast she is offering? I'm goal is to save up my moneyand take a long weekend there next year.
farmgirl@heart
Longaberger Lover and all things antique |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2004 : 09:12:40 AM
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Wouldn't that be cool!!! I loved the tents!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Sep 18 2004 : 1:13:01 PM
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We have a number of Amish communities about 40 miles south of here, also some local Mennonite and Quaker groups. I find their livestyle fascinating, have to get Plain and Simple to read. I'm not sure if I could do with the rigidity in their life, but I can appreciate it's purpose. I'm currently reading "Lark Rise to Candleford" and it's my kind of book historical fiction...fascinating to read how people lived in previous times, not all that long ago. Makes me appreciate how my grandparents lived, and what they went through to give us a better life.
Just for fun I checked out alibris.com (bookseller) and typed in "Cecelia" and "Cecilia"...wow! there's lots of books with that name in the title. I'm going to start a collection! You all should do that, see how many books have been written with your name in the title, I bet you'd be surprised.
Cecelia
ce's farm |
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jpbluesky
True Blue Farmgirl
6066 Posts
Jeannie
Florida
USA
6066 Posts |
Posted - Sep 18 2004 : 4:15:40 PM
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My nephew is married to a girl who came from the Amish. Her mother died when she was a child, and she was raised by her father who evenutally moved away from the clan. However, her father was a cabinet builder, and made wonderful furniture.
At my nephew's wedding, a large group of her Amish family attended. They were some of the nicest people I have ever met and I was so fascinated by them. As a child, my parents would take day trips to Arthur, Illinois where a community of Amish live. In fact, my nephew's wife is from that clan.
The interesting thing is that when I learned my nephew's wife is from Amish, I totally could see it. Her hair is long, dark and uncut. She wears no make-up, but has a peaceful quality to her features that does not require it. She quilts and loves to be home and cook, and lead a simple life. It seems to be in her bones. It is the religious background that she has separated from, but many aspects of her personality really fit the profile we think of.
When I was 11 or younger, I was just like today - I loved old things, simple ways, quiet strength and real beauty. And all of you here most obviously share that same sort of appreciation in life.
Words cannot adequately express that feeling, can they?
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2004 : 11:05:28 AM
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Hi Tracy,
Who is the author of Pastries? My library can't find it without this info. I want to read it.
Eileen
songbird |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2004 : 11:07:39 AM
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On a funny note, I asked for " The Mermaids Singing" and ended up with an irish murder mystery dvd . I guess it is a bbc television series. I have to try again this time with the authors name.
Eileen
songbird |
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Clare
True Blue Farmgirl
2173 Posts
NC WA State
USA
2173 Posts |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2004 : 11:14:09 AM
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Thanks Clare. Now I know my library will get it if they do not already have it!
Eileen
songbird |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Sep 23 2004 : 11:33:41 AM
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Rodney and I are currently reading "Return to Spirit Lake" ajourney through a lost landscape by Christine Colasurdo. It is about a family who had a cabin in the forest near Spirit lake before the Mount Saint Helens eruption. It is a heartfelt journey back to find her connection to this deep and spiritual place. She has a profound grasp of the english language and uses it to bring depth of understanding to help us see and feel everything she is experiencing and remembering during this journey back to where the cabin once stood. I have lived here in Washington State all my life and I was here when the mountain erupted. I have been back to see it after a logging road was opened up for the public to journey up and view the devastated landscape but I have not been back in many years. Christines book has opened up my eyes to what is really happening up there and also has pointed out things I never heard or read about involving the fate of those properties once owned by those people. A very good read!
A paragraph to whet your appetite.
"On those moonless nights, the one world on fire was the night sky itself, an ocean of lights above my sleeping bag. Its silent weightlessness bore down on me, stamping out the nights occasional sounds.......All noise faded, tiny and incidental to the tremendous silence of the crashing Perseid meteorites, Ursa Major, the river of milk from our own galaxy. If I leaned over the diving tower's railing during those dark hours, the same bright ocean glowed back from the water.....Miser of a lake, to hoard each night so many stars!
(edited by eileen)
Eileen
songbird |
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cecelia
True Blue Farmgirl
497 Posts
cecelia
new york
USA
497 Posts |
Posted - Oct 12 2004 : 8:21:38 PM
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I just finished reading "Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albon. It only took me less than an hour to read, and I must recommend it. The book really made me think, which a lot of books don't do anymore. It was on a best seller list (don't remember which one), and I find that those are sometimes overrated. This one is a must read though.
Cecelia
ce's farm
"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 12:11:30 AM
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I just finished reading Big Cherry Holler, by Adriana Trigiani. It is a sequel to Big Stone Gap..which I loved. I will be in the city tomorrow and will have to make a stop at Barnes and Noble!!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 06:32:06 AM
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Jenny I loved both of her books! For all you quilters out there has anyone read Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilt novels? Full of characters we would like to know, history, quilting and quilts! Has anyone read Brett Lott's "Jewel"? This is a woman we would all like to know, her depth of spirit , commitment to her family and knowledge of what is truly important to her own well being were very moving. What about Kaye Gibbons "Charms for the easy life"? Three generations of women, three perspectives about men and midwifery to boot! I too loved The Secret Life of Bees and all of Barara Kingsolver
especially The Bean Trees. "Night Gardening " was a good quick read with a startling ending. I am going to definitely find "Plain & Simple". Some kids dreamt of running away to the circus, I wanted to run away and become Amish! So many books, so little time! Bramble
with a happy heart |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 6:14:14 PM
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Well you guys, I just finished reading The Red Tent as well as Plain and simple. I am now on to The Mermaids Singing and got a call today that our library located a copy of Pastries from another library for me and I can pick it up tomorrow. Funny Story about the mermaids singing. I went to the library and requested a copy to read and when it came it was a dvd of a british murder suspence series from BBC. We watched them and enjoyed them but it was definately not the book I have just begun reading. How will I ever get all my work done with all these great recommendations?
Eileen
songbird |
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LakesideQltr
Farmgirl in Training
25 Posts
Sheila
CA
USA
25 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2004 : 11:39:30 AM
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Gals, Since Bramble mentioned a Kaye Gibbons book (which I WILL look for and read too) - I just finished Kaye Gibbons' newest one, Divining Women. I gave it to my 15 yr old daughter to read next (she's all of a sudden interested in more 'quality' reading material)...I was raving about how rare it is for me to read something that truly makes me grateful to be a woman now in history and despite some still needed improvements, not in some other time. Boy, does it wake me up and shake me up sometimes to think how it used to be! And really not all that long ago...
-Sheila
Life is what happens while you're making other plans - John Lennon |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2004 : 2:46:24 PM
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Sheila-- Thanks for the update , I'll have to see if the library has Divining Women. You are right about appreciating the here and now and never going back to what was in regards to being women then. Young women and girls now have no clue and if they aren't careful( not voting...) there will be some things changing that they aren't going to like in the not so distant future. Family leave, health benefits(look at what medicare is trying to do w/ mammograms and pap tests for women over 60)Last time I looked these women still were vital parts of society and entitled to adequate health screenings like the rest of us. I am happy to be in the present with all my rights and entitlements but there is always room for improvement. Bramble
with a happy heart |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2004 : 8:55:42 PM
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I am reading Plain Truth..has anyone read it? Just happened on it at Barnes and Noble. I am loving it. One of those can't put it down reads. It is about a murder investigation at an Amish farm ...very detailed and good.
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
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sleepless reader
True Blue Farmgirl
1022 Posts
CA
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - Oct 14 2004 : 9:23:24 PM
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Hi again, Jenny! I read "Plain Truth" a few months ago with my book club. We had a lot of interesting discussion about faith and following the "rules" of one's chosen faith. I saw that they just did a tv movie of it too. I ment to watch it, but forgot until days too late. We're reading "Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons" by Lorna Landvik for this month's selection. It's about a group of women who keep a book club going for decades! Fun read.
later,
Sharon |
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Reading Room: Eclectic Reading Corner... |
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Eclectic Reading Corner...
