I've Been Reading . . .

Brrrr . . . it was cold last night and this morning. You can't fool me; winter must be right around the corner! I still had a few blooming plants in large containers on my porch, but the cold finished them off. Unfortunately, that also meant that the soil was frozen solid, so I was unable to dump the plants and dirt into my compost piles. Not to worry, it's bound to get warmer some day this week, and I will take care of it then.

The air was cold and blustery while walking Emma this morning, but you will not hear me complain as I relish the cold, fresh air. I'm an asthmatic and always feel my best when the flowers die and the ground freezes. Bring on the cold and snow :-)

 

This brings me to my first recommendation, Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. I'm not sure where I first learned of this book; perhaps from one of the many blogs that I follow, but let me just say that this is a wondrous debut novel. I would rank it right up there with A Gentleman in Moscow as being an incredibly satisfying reading experience. Of course, having asthma, I related to the narrator, eleven-year old Reuben Land, a serious asthmatic, as he tells the story of his family's journey to find his older brother who had broken out of jail after having been arrested for killing two young men. Besides his older brother, Reuben's family consists of a dad with the seeming ability to perform miracles and his precocious younger sister Swede, the most memorable little literary girl since Scout Finch walked the streets of Maycomb. You will love Swede, this talented wordsmith and writer of epic adventures.

I usually don't read the critics' comments at the beginning of a novel but prefer instead to form my own opinions of a novel. This time, however, I totally concur with the words from the San Francisco Chronicle on the top of the cover .

"Peace like a River serves as a reminder

of why we read fiction to begin with."

If you enjoy the writing of Ivan Doig, you will definitely enjoy the storytelling of Leif Enger.  (By the way, if you are not familiar with Ivan Doig, give his novels a try. I would start with The Whistling Season which is my favorite.)

Another novel which I recently finished and enjoyed is The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter by Hazel Gaynor. She is the author of The Girl Who Came Home, a story of a survivor of the ill-fated Titanic's maiden voyage. The Lighthouse Keeper's Daughter is actually the story of two women who lived one hundred years apart. One, Grace Darling, was a young woman celebrated throughout
England as a heroine after she and her father, the keeper of the Northumberland Light, went out in a fierce, raging storm to rescue survivors of a shipwreck.

I admit that I was drawn to this novel by the cover and having read another novel by this author. Lighthouses are a favorite subject of mine to photograph, and the stories of solitary women who often manned the lights in days gone by always intrigue me.  I think you might enjoy this lighter novel as well.

Note:  I have added a search feature to the right hand column of my blog. You may enter a word or phrase to find a blog post. For example, if you put in "Hibiscus Quilt Finished," it will take you to the post where I gathered the steps for my recently completed hybiscus quilted wallhanging.

Last thing, Tuesday was Voting Day, and so that meant that two of my young cousins did not have school. They, their mom, and I had a Ladies Lunch Day!!! They arrived with their plans for the afternoon all set. First, we had a yummy lunch at the Strawberry Fair restaurant in Norwell. Next, it was on to The Christmas Place in Abington. It's a tad early to think about Christmas, but the girls were afraid that their next half day in December would be a parent conference day, and they would not be able to come for Ladies Lunch. We have been going to the Christmas Place on a Ladies Lunch Day for the past five years. The first time they were ages eight and five. They still enjoy picking out an ornament and other sparkly things, posing beside the "How Tall This Year" Santa yardstick, and posing for a photo with their mom in front of the swinging penguin band. :-)

When we returned to my home, Miss T. decided to have some "Crafting Fun with Auntie Janice," and together we made a kitten themed pillowcase for her.

Well, that is it for now. I am heading upstairs to begin quilting my "Storm at Sea" piece which was begun in a workshop at our last Crosstown Quilters Guild meeting with David Sirota.