Adam Bede

Finished Adam Bede by George Eliot, this summer's pastoral read. Adam is a kind, hard working, god fearing carpenter who is in love with Hetty Sorrel who works in the neighboring buttery. Hetty is uncommonly pretty, young, innocent and vain. She longs for pretty trinkets and fine dresses. Hetty falls in love with the local squire, Arthur Donnithorne, a handsome, kindly, good humored young man, and boyhood friend of Adam. Hetty and Arthur's secret love affair is discovered by Adam, who at first reacts violently, then repents and begs Arthur to renounce Hetty. Arthur does so and leaves the country with his regiment. As time passes Adam and Hetty begin to keep company and decide to marry. When Hetty finally admits to herself that she is pregnant with Arthur's child, she runs away and tries to find him. Enduring much hardship and unhappiness, Hetty has her baby with the help of a kind woman who takes her in. Frightened and unsure what to do, Hetty sneaks away with her baby and leaves it in the woods, hoping someone will find it. The child dies and Hetty is tried for murder. In the midst of all this, Hetty's cousin Dinah, a saintly Methodist preacher, comes to the aid and solace of both Adam and Hetty.

At times Hetty's character reminded me of Hester Prynne, at others Tess Durbeyfield. Hawthorne's novel was published first, in 1850, Eliot's in 1859 and Hardy's in 1891. Hetty wears a red cloak, Tess wears a red woolen cravat and Hester her scarlet A.

The Blind Contessa's New Machine

Finished The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace. I loved this book. Carolina, a young woman in 19th century Italy, is slowly going blind. No one believes her accept her friend Turri. He is an eccentric inventor who devises a typewriting machine so that she can write to people once she is blind. This book is like a fairy tale. Carolina is blind in her waking world, but can see is her dreams. In her dreams she can also fly. This is an intricate tale of romance and the development of secondary senses. I often found myself reminded of Chagall's paintings while reading this book.

The House on Salt Hay Road

Finished The House on Salt Hay Road by Carin Clevidence. Like the last book I read, Rules of Civility, this book is set in 1937-38. Set on Long Island, it's the story of a family weathering the storm of changing times as well as the literal storm of the 1938 Hurricane. The characters are intricately drawn, with very credible foibles. One character is forever haunted by his actions as a child. This reminded me of of Ian McEwan's Atonement. I'd recommend this novel to anyone interested in a serious character study and/or nature.

All the Dogs of My Life

Finished All the Dogs of My Life by Elizabeth von Arnim. Another of von Arnim's memoirs, this one focuses on the fourteen different dogs she owned throughout her lifetime. There is of course great humor here, but confessions of ignorance, guilt and failure as a dog owner abound as well. A charming book that you can pick up and put down often, without losing the thread of the narrative.

Rules of Civility

Finished Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. This book is STUNNING. It has a Jay Gatsby meets Kitty Foyle feel to it. Rarely have I read an author with such a keen sense of character development. To say more would let the book's nuances begin to seep out of my consciousness, and I am loath to do that.

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?