more L.M.M.

I've frantically been re-reading L.M. Montgomery's novels and short stories for any mention of consumption or TB, so I can include them in an essay I'm writing. Meanwhile my non-LMM pile of books to read grows steadily larger. It includes a Sarah Caudwell (my husband had been reading them with great enjoyment, so I thought I'd give them a go), the newest Gossip Girl, and loads of other books. I've been listening to Mansfield Park on the way to and from work.
No new news until I leave P.E.I., so to speak. Sorry!

I love the library

Here's why I like the Library: you can check stuff out without having to commit to purchase. This works well for very light reads (like Marion Chesney regencies or Meg Cabot books) or books of ephemeral interest. I just requested Carolyn 101: Business lessons from The Apprentice, by Carolyn Kepcher. It's not a book I'd necessarily want to buy - after all, my near-obsession with The Apprentice can't last forever - but certainly I'll want to read it.
Then again - I might buy it, if I enjoy the first reading enough .
I've been working on an essay about L.M. Montgomery, so I've been frantically skimming (in some cases, especially the short stories) or reading the books. Rainbow Valley improved - I hadn't read it for years, because I didn't remember liking it - but I enjoyed it this time around. I don't mind Chronicles of Avonlea or Further Chronicles of Avonlea, but the short story collections edited by Rea Wilmshurst are frustrating. They're organized by subject (tales of achievement, Christmas tales, matrimonial tales), which makes the ending and plotline of each story in the collection drearily inevitable. A chronological arrangement (tales from 1906-1910, for example) would have been less tidy, but more instructive.

back to the Chalet School

A few weeks ago I put aside the last Chalet School book in what had become a months-long re-read of the series. I thought, "now I can get to real books again!" and did so. But last week two things happened:
1) I received an unabridged copy of Lavender Laughs in the Chalet School in the mail and
2) I was sick.
So of course I picked up Lavender. Then I read Mystery at the CS for the first time - I'd been putting it off, because it arrived just as I was trying to wean myself from the Chalet School. And now here I am, re-reading Changes, while all my non-CS books gather dust.
Drat.

Father's Arcane Daughter

Oh, my goodness, I just finished Father's Arcane Daughter. I haven't yet put all my thoughts about it into, you know, words and sentences, but: wow. I'm reluctant to say much about it (such as the identity of the arcane daughter), for fear of ruining someone else's reading experience. I was pleasantly surprised - when I first started reading, I thought, "oh, Winston is one of those extra-aware, extra-intelligent Konigsbutg protagonists." And he was, but that was less jarring in this book than Margaret's precocity in The outcasts of 19 Schuyler Place was.
Perhaps I'll write more about Father's arcane daughter after I've had time to digest it. Yesterday I read In the High Valley by Susan Coolidge. It was just crazy. In the last few chapters, Coolidge decided to pair everyone up, and have them move into the High Valley. People got married off, one character conveniently inherited a fortune, and two characters had serious illnesses at just the right plot points. She even had a little tableau where everyone was grouped around Papa at the end, much like Alcott's tableau around Marmee at the end of Little Women.

I don't listen well

Lately I've been hooked on books on tape. I finished The Hero and the Crown a few days ago, and I can't think of another book to listen to. See, here's the thing: I'm a terrible listener. I can't take in stories that I haven't read before. Even when people rattle off phone numbers to me, I have to think a little bit. So following a plot, for fun, on tape? Forget it.
Also, I'm picky about my books on tape. I won't listen to a book that I didn't enjoy reading, or anything that I consider badly written. So now I'm stuck. Some of my favorite authors, and those who write well, aren't on tape. And I'm not about to listen to Meg Cabot (or someone else whose books I enjoy, but who isn't a great stylist), just because I'm desperate. I struggled through P.S. Longer Letter Later and Snail Mail no More this year already, and that's my quota of irritating books on tape.
Still reading Clover. Man, she's insipid!

Clover and Katy

So yeah, I wound up re-reading Susan Coolidge. Many people say that What Katy did next is their least favorite Katy book. My least favorite is, oddly enough, What Katy did. I skimmed it on this re-read (as opposed to reading the others in the series). Lois Keith does a good job of explaining some of the odd tensions in the book in Take up thy bed and walk, so I won't rehash all of that here. What Katy did deals with disability in odd ways, even for the era (Katy can't leave her room for four years, but Cousin Helen travels with impunity). Worse, though, is the feeling that the book is carefully constructed to teach Katy some hard lessons.
Recently, I posted on a listserv about my dislike of Clover, Katy's sister. It's almost impossible to believe that such a major character could be as poorly characterized as she is; Coolidge does much better by Katy, Elsie and even Dorry. I enjoyed Clover more than I would have expected when I read it over the summer. I just started a re-read, so I'll see how it fares.

back to chick lit

I worked for 13 days straight this week (and last week, natch), so I am both exhausted and punchy. So, chick lit was the way to go last weekend. I read Contents under pressure by Lara M. Zeises - not chick lit per se, just an agreeable book for young teens. I would read other books by this author, but I'm not rushing out to find them. Then I re-read Boy meets girl by Meg Cabot. I like this much better than The boy next door by the same author, though they're similar in plot and tone. I have a fabulous pile of books waiting for me - Jon Stewart's book, Karen Armstrong's The Spiral Staircase, Susan Coolidge's In the High Valley. I doubt I'll tackle anything but Coolidge in the next few days. I'm sooooo tiiired!
Oh - and I watched School Ties and 13 going on 30 yesterday, also the Saturday re-runs of Survivor and The Apprentice. 'Bout all I could do, honestly. Tonight I'm psyched for Desperate Housewives. I think I can relate, and Felicity Huffman's in it!