Tarzan of the Apes

Finished Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is the first of 26 Tarzan novels written by Burroughs. It is simply the most fantastical and far fetched book I have ever read. And yet, I really liked it.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

Finished The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. This novel is narrated by a dog named Enzo. He chronicles his life with his owner Denny, an amateur race car driver who is very skilled at driving on a wet track. Enzo's life with Denny goes through many changes including marriage, birth of a child, terminal illness and legal battles. Enzo's observations of what happens around him help him to hone his own humanness. His one wish in life is to return to earth in the next life as a man. His story is frankly told with humor and tenderness. A good book for anyone who owns a dog and needs a reminder of what life alone in the house is like.

The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology

Finished The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology by Jack Kornfield. I've been reading this book for a long time, just a small section each morning, as I start my day. It's filled with many marvelous insights and examples of people struggling with life and finding help via Buddhist psychology and meditation. I have managed to work a number of practices into my daily life and feel far better for them. I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to retrain their their response to stress and/or anxiety. This is not a religious book or approach. Its benefits are accessible to everyone.

Jack Kornfield has a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and trained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma and India.

Joy School

Finished Joy School by Elizabeth Berg. It is the second book in her Katie Nash trilogy. I read the first book, Durable Goods last year. Katie is thirteen and at a new school after she and her father move to Missouri for his new military post. Katie experiences love for the first time when she falls for a twenty-three year old gas station attendant who helps her after she falls through the ice while skating on a nearby pond. This is a gorgeously painful first love, which Berg portrays so well it hurts when you read it. Another great coming of age novel. I look forward to reading the sequel next year.

Less Than Angels

Finished Less Than Angels, Barbara Pym's fourth novel, published in 1955. This time spinsters and clergy take a back seat to anthropologists. It's a wonderfully ironic work, where students and professors of anthropology, who spend their days studying the social culture of other societies, constantly find themselves unsure of how to act or respond in their own. Mildred Lathbury of Excellent Women is again mentioned as being married to anthropologist Everard Bone.

Pym is always a delight, "It is often supposed that those who live and work in academic circles are above the petty disputes that vex the rest of us, but it does sometimes seem as if the exalted nature of their work makes it necessary for them to descend occasionally and to refresh themselves, as it were, by squabbling about trivialities." Hence the author as anthropologist.

Red Is for Murder

Finished Red Is for Murder by Phyllis A. Whitney. This is Whitney's first adult suspense novel, published in 1943. It's set in a Chicago department store. Linell Wynn works in the window display department of Cunningham's on State Street. Murder and various mysterious events take place in the store and Linell is caught in the middle of them. Whitney does a good job of concealing the identity of the murderer until the very end.


Whitney was a favorite summer suspense author for me when I was in my late teens and early 20s. I stopped reading her somewhere in the early 90s. The covers of her new books looked too much like Danielle Steel books, which was a huge turn off. I remember her novels being displayed in the romance section of bookstores, but romance was always secondary to the plot. There was a time when Phyllis A. Whitney was the President of The Mystery Writers of America. I plan to read/reread all of her adult suspense fiction in chronological order.

Don't Tell Alfred

Finished Don't Tell Alfred by Nancy Mitford, the third book in a trilogy that includes The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. Twenty years have passed since we last heard from Fanny, the narrator. She is the wife of an Oxford theology don and mother to four sons. Her husband Alfred is unexpectedly appointed as Britain's ambassador to France. Life in her new role is hectic and filled with surprises. As usual there is a varied cast of quirky characters, including Uncle Matthew. This book was hilarious and delightful.

The Beach Club

Finished The Beach Club by Elin Hilderbrand. As a fan on all things Nantucket, I thought it was high time I started reading Hilderbrand. This is her first novel, published in 2000. It spoke to me in particular since it deals with an area of the island that I am very familiar with. It's a wonderful character study and an engrossing read. I look forward to reading all of her novels.

About a Boy

Finished About a Boy by Nick Hornby. After much thought, I've decided that this is a coming of age novel, not for twelve year old Marcus, but for thirty-six year old Will. A funny and satisfying read. I like the way the chapters alternated between Marcus' and Will's perspective. The film adaptation is pretty faithful to the book until three quarters of the way through, then it veers off in a different direction. I think I'd like to read more of Hornby's work.

Anne of Ingleside

Finished Anne of Ingleside, the sixth book in Lucy Maude Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series. Anne with an "e" now has six children: Jem, Walter, Shirley (it was a boy's name back then), Rilla, and because twins seem to be her lot in life, twin girls Diana and Nan. I'm a little surprised that she did not choose Matthew as the name for one of her boys. This makes me a bit sad really.

Anne, Gilbert, Susan and the children now live at Ingleside, a large house adjacent to Rainbow Valley. This book focuses mostly on the adventures of Anne's children with occasional chapters focusing on Anne and Gilbert's marriage. It's a happy book, especially after the sadness of Anne's House of Dreams. What will I do when I run out of Anne books to read?

The Grapes of Wrath

Finished The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It won the Pulitzer Prize in 1940. It's the story of the Joad family and their odyssey from Oklahoma to California in search of work, wages and a new home. The book is harsh, gritty and true. Steinbeck wrote a series of articles about migrant workers who had to leave their homes and farms in the Dust Bowl and look for work in California, to them a land of plenty. Much like Dickens writing about poverty and the resulting living conditions in Victorian England, Steinbeck's seemingly post apocalyptic tale was meant to raise awareness of the dire conditions that the migrant workers experienced, "I want to put a tag of shame on the greedy bastards who are responsible for this." This book was hard to read at first. It's bleakness was troubling, but once I got to know the characters, the story became more and more compelling and difficult to put down.

Around the World in Eighty Days

Finished Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, another fun and exciting adventure book. On a wager of 20,000 pounds, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly hired French valet, Passepartout, embark on a journey to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. They meet with many snags and dangers and participate in various rescues of themselves and others. Fogg's trademark calm in all types of crises is both frustrating and admirable. Passepartout's unexpected valiance is heroic and sometimes hilarious. They travel by train, steamer, elephant and sled. At one point the possibility of utilizing a hot air balloon is briefly mentioned, but never actually takes place. I found this amusing since so many book covers feature a hot air balloon. This concept seems to have been introduced with Mike Todd's 1956 film adaptation of the novel. Interesting that publishers don't always read what they print.

The Help

Finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Every year there are one or two books that stand out as the very best reads. Last year it was The Secret Life of Bees and Mariana. This year, so far, it's The Help. I could not put this book down.

Set in Mississippi in the early 1960s, it's told from the perspective of three different characters and focuses on the lives of black women who work as maids and their interactions with the white women who employ them. I don't want to give away any single bit of this deeply satisfying book. I just want you to read it.

Such a Pretty Fat

Finished Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster. This time Lancaster's memoir is about her efforts to lose weight. Trying to do the same, I thought it would be a useful read and it was. Aside from being hilarious, this book highlights moments when the author realizes that she's capable of so much more than she thought. An encouraging and honest read.

The Adventures of Pinocchio

Finished The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi, originally published in 1883. This book is second only to the Oz books in its wackiness. A bizarre, yet enjoyable read.