The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
by Alexander McCall Smith
I have been reading several books at once lately. Most of them are non fictions that I have to read one chapter at a time and really absorb what the author is saying. I picked up McCall-Smith's book as something light to read between all the others. I'm not sure why I have so many nonfiction books on my reading table. I get bored with them quickly and rarely finish them. What can I say? I'm a fiction kind of gal.
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency was cute and fun. I have heard so many good reviews about it. But it was not what I expected. I thought it would be some group of Miss Marple-like women who stumble onto some mystery that only they can solve while the NYPD is scratching it's collective head. Apparently the reviews I've read are good at giving a favorable impression without giving away any of the details. The story takes place in Africa. (That explains the cover art.) It's mainly about Mma. Ramotswe's life in Gaborone as the first female private detective.
I enjoyed the book. Reading it is effortless, a sign of good writing. The plot moves along at a steady pace. The characters are easily pictured in the mind though I found them a bit caricatured; maybe 2-dimensional is more accurate. It didn't seem like anything deeper than a cute story. It didn't come across as real or give me any reason to use my brain. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I'm just saying.
Perhaps I read too many classics to truly appreciate a simple story read for the pleasure. It just didn't move me the way it obviously has moved so many others. I would recommend it to people who read to relax. And with the release of book #8 in the series, The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, you are guaranteed good reading for at least a couple of months.
March 29, 2007
March 20, 2007
The Beach
Here are some photos of a visit to the Pacific Ocean with Sister PeeWee and her three cuties, her friend Lone Star with her little guy, and my own kiddos. It was a great visit. Not too hot or crowded. 
March 13, 2007
A Bit More Serious
When I started this blog last summer I wanted it to be a place where I could dump out all the thoughts filling up my head and process them in an orderly manner. I have friends and family that I talk with regularly about everyday life but there is so much more going on in my mind that had no outlet. To whom do I turn when I fall in love with a book? Who wants to listen when I get excited about the history that I've learned in the process of teaching my own children. And even when I did try to force my observations and passions on unwilling or unsuspecting standers-by it always came out jumbled. No one could understand me because I didn't make any sense. Not only were my friends and acquaintances unhappy(more like bored) in these encounters but so was I.
Since I have started this blog I have found I can articulate myself with more clarity. I have come to a greater understanding of myself. And others understand me better as well. I have found a friend at church who shares my passion for Victorian literature. She had put this love aside when she had children. But since I have become more comfortable with myself and not afraid of sharing my joys this friend makes a point of talking with me each Sunday to discuss that book she read the previous week. We have become a mutual encouragement to each other in our reading. This was an unanticipated blessing.
I have something else that really must be brought out into the light of day and examined from all angles. Depression. I have struggled with depression for all of my adult life. There. It's out. I have been reluctant to share this struggle up to now. Who wants to hear about a grown woman who can't deal with her own life? Doesn't my audience(all 5 of them) have enough of its own stresses to deal with without sifting through mine too? Yes. But this blog is first and foremost a place where I come to process. And maybe someone out there will appreciate my struggle with something truly debilitating.
Depression has been the disease of the masses for many years now. In some circles it's almost trendy to be on a certain name brand anti-depressant or to brag about one's therapist. It's never been that for me. I am not interested in popping a pill to make me happy with my empty life. What depression has been for me is a little devil that follows me around, waiting to jump on my back and devour my peace. Peace of mind and peace of soul. Sometimes it starts with something real and tangible in life. When two family members died within a week of each other I became depressed. That seems only natural. But what about when I am happy one day and the next I just can't stop crying, for no reason. I tell myself I have nothing to be sad about. "Get over it. Kiss your kids Petunia. Call your best friend and just appreciate how blessed you are."
But it is so much more than just a sadness. It is a pain in the heart. It is the strongest of feelings, both physically and emotionally. It railroads any other thought or feeling that you try to throw at it. It's not born of selfishness, as I've heard many a thoughtless person reason. A person struggling with depression does not want to feel this way. We long to be happy, or, if not that then at least indifferent. We desire to be productive and serve our sphere in life.
For a long time I felt that it was a contradiction to be a christian and depressed. The gospel should fill the heart with so much gratitude and adoration that there is no room for discontent. How can I be dissatisfied with my lot in life when I have been given forgiveness in Christ? Well, it's not a contradiction. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't mean I am humming a happy tune as I gladly perform my many tasks. Sure, I would love to do that, and I often do. It's just that some days, for whatever reason, I can no longer think of anything but the sorrow. When a person has agonizing back pain, no one sticks their nose in the air as they snuff out, "How can you sit there crying when you have been granted salvation? You ought to be happy." My pain is just as real. It stops me in my tracks just as effectively as a strained back.
I suffer from depression. I don't know why. I am not complaining about it right now, though I do sometimes. I am simply working it out as best as I can. I am acknowledging it and figuring out exactly what I think about it. This is my therapy. This is me trying to gain back my peace of mind.
Since I have started this blog I have found I can articulate myself with more clarity. I have come to a greater understanding of myself. And others understand me better as well. I have found a friend at church who shares my passion for Victorian literature. She had put this love aside when she had children. But since I have become more comfortable with myself and not afraid of sharing my joys this friend makes a point of talking with me each Sunday to discuss that book she read the previous week. We have become a mutual encouragement to each other in our reading. This was an unanticipated blessing.
I have something else that really must be brought out into the light of day and examined from all angles. Depression. I have struggled with depression for all of my adult life. There. It's out. I have been reluctant to share this struggle up to now. Who wants to hear about a grown woman who can't deal with her own life? Doesn't my audience(all 5 of them) have enough of its own stresses to deal with without sifting through mine too? Yes. But this blog is first and foremost a place where I come to process. And maybe someone out there will appreciate my struggle with something truly debilitating.
Depression has been the disease of the masses for many years now. In some circles it's almost trendy to be on a certain name brand anti-depressant or to brag about one's therapist. It's never been that for me. I am not interested in popping a pill to make me happy with my empty life. What depression has been for me is a little devil that follows me around, waiting to jump on my back and devour my peace. Peace of mind and peace of soul. Sometimes it starts with something real and tangible in life. When two family members died within a week of each other I became depressed. That seems only natural. But what about when I am happy one day and the next I just can't stop crying, for no reason. I tell myself I have nothing to be sad about. "Get over it. Kiss your kids Petunia. Call your best friend and just appreciate how blessed you are."
But it is so much more than just a sadness. It is a pain in the heart. It is the strongest of feelings, both physically and emotionally. It railroads any other thought or feeling that you try to throw at it. It's not born of selfishness, as I've heard many a thoughtless person reason. A person struggling with depression does not want to feel this way. We long to be happy, or, if not that then at least indifferent. We desire to be productive and serve our sphere in life.
For a long time I felt that it was a contradiction to be a christian and depressed. The gospel should fill the heart with so much gratitude and adoration that there is no room for discontent. How can I be dissatisfied with my lot in life when I have been given forgiveness in Christ? Well, it's not a contradiction. Being a follower of Jesus doesn't mean I am humming a happy tune as I gladly perform my many tasks. Sure, I would love to do that, and I often do. It's just that some days, for whatever reason, I can no longer think of anything but the sorrow. When a person has agonizing back pain, no one sticks their nose in the air as they snuff out, "How can you sit there crying when you have been granted salvation? You ought to be happy." My pain is just as real. It stops me in my tracks just as effectively as a strained back.
I suffer from depression. I don't know why. I am not complaining about it right now, though I do sometimes. I am simply working it out as best as I can. I am acknowledging it and figuring out exactly what I think about it. This is my therapy. This is me trying to gain back my peace of mind.
March 07, 2007
Kids driving you crazy?
Need to keep the kids quietly occupied and out of your hair for a spell? Try
this little trick: drop a bowl filled with a million light-colored beads all
over the light-colored linoleum floor. Have children pick up all the beads minus
the crumbs and dirt. Just when the beads are finally all picked up, accidentally
kick the bowl again. My home was quiet for about 45 minutes.
this little trick: drop a bowl filled with a million light-colored beads all
over the light-colored linoleum floor. Have children pick up all the beads minus
the crumbs and dirt. Just when the beads are finally all picked up, accidentally
kick the bowl again. My home was quiet for about 45 minutes.
March 05, 2007
Review: Being Perfect
Being Perfect
by Anna Quindlen
This is the little teaser on the back of this pocket-sized book that I picked up from the library. There is not a lot of text. In fact, more pages are covered with pictures than writing. But the writing is a golden nugget. Quindlen doesn't fill a 200 page book with meaningless info. that needs to be waded through to find the point; she gives the good advice right up front. No muss, no fuss.
I'd say this book is perfect for the young girl just entering Jr. or Sr. high school. It sounds like a letter written by an older and favored cousin or friend; maybe a young teacher. It's a nice little reminder not to get caught up in the perfection game. Instead focus on what you really want and how you can be happy for yourself. Here's my favorite paragraph:
I like Quindlen's style. I like her brevity. Here's my only problem with the book: It costs $13. for a book of advice that every person already knows. I might purchase it for a certain type of girl that I knew would appreciate it and go back to it each time she felt compelled to be a perfectionist. Otherwise it's just a good library selection to me.
by Anna Quindlen
"Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious
and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is really hard, and
really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming
yourself."
This is the little teaser on the back of this pocket-sized book that I picked up from the library. There is not a lot of text. In fact, more pages are covered with pictures than writing. But the writing is a golden nugget. Quindlen doesn't fill a 200 page book with meaningless info. that needs to be waded through to find the point; she gives the good advice right up front. No muss, no fuss.
I'd say this book is perfect for the young girl just entering Jr. or Sr. high school. It sounds like a letter written by an older and favored cousin or friend; maybe a young teacher. It's a nice little reminder not to get caught up in the perfection game. Instead focus on what you really want and how you can be happy for yourself. Here's my favorite paragraph:
"Begin with that most frightening of all things, a clean slate.
And then look, every day, at the choices you are making, and when you ask
yourself why you are making them, find this answer: Because they are what I
want, or wish for. Because they reflect who and what I am."
I like Quindlen's style. I like her brevity. Here's my only problem with the book: It costs $13. for a book of advice that every person already knows. I might purchase it for a certain type of girl that I knew would appreciate it and go back to it each time she felt compelled to be a perfectionist. Otherwise it's just a good library selection to me.
March 04, 2007
100 Book Meme
Look at the list of books below:
* Bold the ones you’ve read (I marked them red)
* Italicize the ones you want to read (I marked them blue)
* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in. (I wouldn't say "not interested." How about not yet on my TBR list?)
* If you are reading this (and haven't participated yet), tag, you’re it! (Thanks Sarala)
1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
* Bold the ones you’ve read (I marked them red)
* Italicize the ones you want to read (I marked them blue)
* Leave blank the ones that you aren’t interested in. (I wouldn't say "not interested." How about not yet on my TBR list?)
* If you are reading this (and haven't participated yet), tag, you’re it! (Thanks Sarala)
1. The DaVinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolstoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According to Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down(Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)
March 02, 2007
Review: A Room with a View
A Room with a View
by E.M. Forster
This is my third visit with Forster and I like his writing more each time. While I liked Howard's End, I felt like I missed the point. I even watched the movie, which just confirmed that I had not missed any of the action but I still felt that I didn't quite know what the main message was. Then I read Where Angels Fear to Tread(I love that title). I got that one. And I realized Forster's love of irony. There are scenes that are meant to be funny mixed in with the tragedy that make your heart break all the more. It's a technique that doesn't work in movies but is laid out perfectly in this book.
A Room with a View is neither enigmatic nor ironic. It is just a pretty, simple love story. Forster addresses the reader halfway through to point out the obvious, to let us know that he has made the ideas transparent on purpose. WE all know who Lucy really loves. It is only Lucy who doesn't know because that's how she wants it to be. We have all had those experiences of lying to ourselves.
Lucy is a girl on the edge of adulthood, discovering a new world around her, with no one there to tell her how to feel about life. She still believes the world is a beautiful and exciting place. Until she witnesses up close the worst that life can be. Suddenly she seeks the familiar, the comfortable. She goes back to that safe place of following someone Else's ideas of the world. But when she finally lets go of these others, she is free to feel on her own. I was Lucy once. We have all been Lucy at some point in our lives. Forster is letting us know that it's a choice to seek beauty. It's a choice to see it. Life is going to be ugly with or without us but it's up to us to find the loveliness that makes life worth living. It is a timely message, at least for me. This book goes back on the shelf to await a thorough reread.
This has been the fourth book I've read for the Winter Classics Challenge. I didn't make my goal of 5 books but that's OK. I'm glad to have given each of these books a chance. I have learned from each author whether I liked the story or not. Thank you Booklogged for offering this challenge.
by E.M. Forster
This is my third visit with Forster and I like his writing more each time. While I liked Howard's End, I felt like I missed the point. I even watched the movie, which just confirmed that I had not missed any of the action but I still felt that I didn't quite know what the main message was. Then I read Where Angels Fear to Tread(I love that title). I got that one. And I realized Forster's love of irony. There are scenes that are meant to be funny mixed in with the tragedy that make your heart break all the more. It's a technique that doesn't work in movies but is laid out perfectly in this book.
A Room with a View is neither enigmatic nor ironic. It is just a pretty, simple love story. Forster addresses the reader halfway through to point out the obvious, to let us know that he has made the ideas transparent on purpose. WE all know who Lucy really loves. It is only Lucy who doesn't know because that's how she wants it to be. We have all had those experiences of lying to ourselves.
Lucy is a girl on the edge of adulthood, discovering a new world around her, with no one there to tell her how to feel about life. She still believes the world is a beautiful and exciting place. Until she witnesses up close the worst that life can be. Suddenly she seeks the familiar, the comfortable. She goes back to that safe place of following someone Else's ideas of the world. But when she finally lets go of these others, she is free to feel on her own. I was Lucy once. We have all been Lucy at some point in our lives. Forster is letting us know that it's a choice to seek beauty. It's a choice to see it. Life is going to be ugly with or without us but it's up to us to find the loveliness that makes life worth living. It is a timely message, at least for me. This book goes back on the shelf to await a thorough reread.
This has been the fourth book I've read for the Winter Classics Challenge. I didn't make my goal of 5 books but that's OK. I'm glad to have given each of these books a chance. I have learned from each author whether I liked the story or not. Thank you Booklogged for offering this challenge.
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