Well into the new year I am now reflecting on past accomplishments of last year. While I could ruminate on aspects of my writing life I will instead gloss over the fact I did not attain my goal of securing an agent or getting another manuscript accepted by a publisher. I did, however, get several articles published in Sandpoint Magazine, a regional publication that emphasizes Sandpoint and the amazing surrounding area. You can check it out here.
Instead, I will gladly share my reading accomplishments (much more impressive). For the past few years I have set a reading goal of 101 books. I have managed to meet and surpass that number and thought, “Why not go for 200 books?”
I managed 191. Close. So close.
Goodreads puts together a dandy graphic summary and here are a couple of highlights:
That is a lot of books!I wonder why October was busier?There were some really good reads last year.
As a voracious reader bookmarks are essential to keeping order as I travel through books.
Dogearing pages is simply not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Civilized readers do not crisp back page corners. Unless it’s the latest Costco flyer.
I’m on the fence about notes and highlighting. That’s a different topic and post.
Concerning bookmarks…
Yes, most of them relate in some manner to Shakespeare–good eye
I have a brace of bookmarks ready for use spread through the house. Some are genuine bookmarks with various designs while others range from a ubiquitous fluorescent sticky note to a variety of postcards to my current favorite: Smokey the Bear.
Scored Smokey (and his twin at the Forest Dept booth at this year’s fair
There is something satisfying about firmly wedging a bookmark into my current read. It’s a decisive action signifying a promise to return. <Ooh, a feel the need to work this out as a PB story>
And sometimes the return is immediate; other times it takes it takes a bit longer. Like my Oxford Book of American Poetry. It has plenty of tiny bookmarks indicating favorite poems waiting to be reread. Other standby reads include Psalms, which I savor before going to bed. Like faithful sentinels these bookmards remain on duty, assuring they will easily guide me back to where I last left off.
The library recently displayed a collection of ephemera; those bits found in books that are donated. Photographs, receipts, tracts, love notes, clippings, leaves, as well as actual bookmarks. As I process donations, I collect these bits of personage, and save them, wondering about the stories behind them. Over the past year enough ephemera was collected to fill three poster boards. I wonder if people viewing the display recognize their lost bits, if they are saddened if they inadvertently gave away something cherished with that copy of Tom Clancy’s latest adventure novel.
Well, on to a new book. Smokey is already waiting for me.
P.S. As I opened my latest read these two bookmarks were waiting for me. Serendipity.
August has traditionally signified the end of summer for me since returning to school was just around a calendar flip away.
However, retirement means I will be still in bed (probably) when the school bus rumbles past our house. And I will most likely be reading since that has become part of my routine due to still waking up at 5 am (dratted body clock) after so many years of doing so and not wanting to start my day quite that early.
All that reading as certainly impacted my accumulative reading states. To date my Goodreads Reading Challenge total is now at 116, nicely surpassing my 101 goal. I’m wondering if I can hit 200 this year. Hmm…
Five star reads of August:
The Last Escape by ECR Lorac
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Aptly named, The Last Escape is the last mystery readers will sleuth along with Inspector Macdonald. After 40 (!) mysteries to solve it appears the unflappable CID man will retire to Lunesdale on the farm he purchased a few stories back (Crook o’ the Lune). Once again Lorac begins the novel with a smidgen of backstory which leads into the principal players and when a crime is committed Macdonald is on the scene. These books have been all interlibrary loan derived and I have found each one does well as a standalone. I have many more cases to solve with the Scottish inspector and look forward to the next book that comes my way.
Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen
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A grown up fairytale complete with one simple fairytale embedded in the plot makes this an unusual book and entertaining tale.
I was embarrassed to realize as I got into the story I had read it before—that “Gee, this is a lot like another book I’ve read” feeling. This either means I’m reading too many books or I read the book too fast or the story didn’t resonate at the time.
This time the story did resonate as it was a fun lounging-in-the-summer-hammock read.
Just Like Beverly by Vicki Conrad
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An excellent picture book biography of beloved children’s book author Beverly Cleary. Focusing on her as a child who lived books and wanted stories about children just like her provides a better understanding of how her stories have a timeless appeal. Illustrations and text are complementary and the additional material adds to the overall appeal.
I’m looking forward to the cooler days of fall and I am anticipating some really good reads coming up as my TBR list is quite plump.
A baker’s dozen read through July. Most were pretty good, a couple not so good, and a couple were really good reads.
Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
This was my 100th read of the year!
An unexpected debut in that the author in all likelihood didn’t expect a book, a bestselling book at that, would be a result from her making the snap decision to rescue a leveret, a baby hare, seemingly abandoned in the February snows of the UK countryside.
By rescuing the leveret Dalton made a commitment to keeping it wild and not a pet, knowing that raising a hare in captivity is rarely successful. Hares haven’t been domesticated like rabbits, which Dalton acknowledged and respected. She changed her entire way of life to accommodate the leveret’s needs.
It’s a truly engaging story of how a wild animal can be nurtured by a human without becoming a Disney movie. Dalton writes with honesty and a poet’s eye as she describes her symbiotic life raising hare. She reflects on how it awakened her appreciation of nature, to take in the moment instead of pursuing her goals with blinders to the beauty surrounding her.
As for the hare? It lived an unusual life, benefitting from human companionship without obligation while keeping to its natural tendencies to raise a family and stretch its legs out about the countryside. Highly recommend for those who seek out positive reads involving nature.
The Cost of a Hostage by Iona Whishaw #12
Can’t Wait For the Next One
This twelfth entry of Lane Winslow and her adventures is a treat. The author places our plucky former SOE agent in Mexico with her inspector husband Frederick Darling. Kidnappings, bandits, nefarious war criminals are the main plot—meanwhile, in Nelson BC, Ames and Terrell man the police station, with the help of newly appointed April, and are caught up in their own crime situations of kidnapping and drug running. Both plots are well-paced. But what really stands out in this entry is the characterization,. Whishaw continues to develop and provide fully developed characters, each with their own distinctive personality.
It’s always difficult finishing one of these Lane Winslow books because it means having to wait at least another year for the next one.
I’m trying to par down my TBR list and yet so many tempting titles are out there! Anyone else have difficulty passing up a possible good read?
National Poetry Month is still among us for a few more days and I would be remiss not to mention Shakespeare and his sonnets. There–duly mentioned.
I am sorely tempted to give a brief lesson about the sonnet, something I miss teaching from my AP English Lit days. BUT (which is an indication of the turn in the sonnet mood or message known as the volta–see what I did there? Yes, I did squeeze in a brief lesson), I shall refrain and instead spotlight that other aspect of Shakespeare.
No–not him being a playwright. Did you know he started out writing sonnets and not plays? That he considered himself more poet that playwright and that he inserted many a sonnet into many of his plays? There are four sonnets in Romeo and Juliet alone. The prologue that introduces the play is a sonnet (watch for the volta–hint, hint “which” works as well as “but”):
Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudgeParenthesis break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life
From forth the fatal loins of these two foes A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life; Whose misadventured piteous overthrows Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife. The fearful passage of their death-marked love, And the continuance of their parents’ rage, Which, but their children’s end, nought could remove, Is now the two hours’ traffic of our stage; The which if you with patient ears attend, What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.
There I am talking about sonnets again. Well, it is National Poetry Month. And being such a famous, well-known poet it is difficult not to have spent at least a bit of time about how the Bard rocked sonnets.
Sonnets. Plays. He did write them supremely well. We still read them, watch them, recite them, discuss them and you know what? Just watch a master recite the master discussing April–very appropriate, wouldn’t you say?
The cat is a nice touch.
Here I meant to talk about the other aspect of Shakespeare, and sonnets distracted me. A worthy distraction, true that. Yet, (another word that works as a volta, since I am changing the direction of this focus), beyond the perfect prose and poetry Shakespeare is so admired for there is a darker, mmm, not quite the right word–ribald, yes, Shakespeare has a definite ribald side to him: his insults!
Throughout his plays his characters lob the cheekiest insults at one another. Keeping in mind the majority of those attending Shakespeare’s plays were of the down-to-earth crowd, known as “groundlings” because they pay a penny to watch the performance and stood for the entire time, often shouting out their commentary to the stage actors. Stands to reason then why Shakespeare inserted earthy lines into his plays. He knew how to play to the crowd.
Here are some examples. They start at mild and run the course from G to PG13.
“Neighbors, you are tedious. ” —Much Ado About Nothing, Act 3, Scene 5
“[You] peevish baggage.” —Pericles, Act 4, Scene 6
“[H]e has not so much brain as earwax.” —Troilus and Cressida, Act 5, Scene 1
“You are not worth another word; else I’d call you knave.” —All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 2, Scene 3
“Out of my sight! Thou dost infect mine eyes.” —Richard III, Act 1, Scene 2
Or you can create your own insults with this link. This is a classroom activity we used to do during our Shakespeare unit in English. It would culminate in an insult-off between a student and myself with the object of hurling such a created invective that the other person would cry–actually it usually ended up with everyone laughing.
So, a tribute to Shakespeare’s prowess with prose and poetry and a solid nod to his poison pen when it came to hurling insults.
In an effort to match the energy and joy of the season I’m springing into action in terms of my writing.
Book Signing If you live in or around Spokane Valley, Washington you can catch me at the Barnes and Noble store on Saturday, April 19th from 11 am to 3 pm.
Yes, I will be signing my picture book Someday We Will.
It’s been an amazing five years since it was published in 2020–right when COVID locked down schools, libraries, and bookstores, which kind of kiboshed that whirlwind in person book tour originally hoped for.
Celebrating Five Years!
Since then Barnes and Noble and my local library have provided lovely support. This will be my third signing with Barnes and Noble and I’ve done a few storytime sessions with the library.
And thanks for your support! Readers of this blog have purchased Someday We Will through online sources. I still offer the deal of sending you a personalized bookplate. Just provide some details: where and when you bought the book, your address, and the message and I will send out a bookplate to you.
Projects The winter months kept me inside writing new stories and revising others. I also discovered a knack for collage and began illustrating some of my picture book manuscripts. Here are a couple of samples:
I also decided to create a separate page that highlighted completed manuscripts–a menu, so to speak–in case agents, editors, or publishers decide to stop by for a visit. Feel free to browse at my new page link: Project Pitches.
Of course not all my time is spent writing. Spring is here which means I’m outside more than inside. Yardwork, walking, biking, reading, and just plain sitting in the sun dozing in the sunshine. Winter is way too long and I am so enraptured the days are longer and warmer AND sunnier!
A combination of sayings involving those with P and Q.
Packed in like sardines:closely situated; crowded. Around the 19th century this phrase came into use, no doubt due to the crowded conditions found in city dwellings and public transportation. Spike Mulligan in his poem “Sardines” played with the idea: A baby sardine Saw her first submarine: She was scared and watched through a peephole.
“Oh come, come, come,” Said the sardine’s mum. “It’s only a tin full of people.”
image: Tudor
Par for the course: considered average. A golf derivative since “par” indicates the number of strokes expected for a certain hole. The term applied to other aspects around the 1920s with the added connotation of being slightly derogative, as in “Paul brought store bought muffins–which is par for the course. Other meanings attached to the phrase are “up to par” meaning to meet the standard and “below or sub par” expressing not meeting the standard. If Paul had stopped at that chic little bakery on the corner and brought in croissants he no doubt would have earned the accolade of “above par.”
Pay through the nose: being charged an exorbitant fee. The origin of this phrase is not readily found, although it appears to have been around since the 17th century. Some sources attribute it to the punishment of having one’s nose slit if late with tax payment. Thankfully today we can pay late fees without fear of such extremes, although some late fees do hurt.
Piece of cake: easily done. This is from the old tradition known as the cakewalk, in which whoever performed the most intricate dance steps upon the promenade received a cake as a prize. By the twentieth century the phrase became slang for something easily accomplished. For instance, after receiving so much ribbing from his co-workers about the sub par meeting treats, Paul decided to check out the new bakery near his apartment. It was a piece of cake to bring in a box of freshly baked cookies.
Pie in the sky: a false promise for a better life. This is a lyric taken from a song titled “The Preacher and the Slave (1911)” in which there is the promise of living in comfort, eating pie in the Glory Land. Joe Hill of the International Workers of the World or the Wobblies considered fair wages to be the “pie” in his version of the song. However, boxing champ Muhammad Ali is quoted in 1978 as saying, “You don’t want no pie in the sky when you die, you want something here on the ground while you’re still around.”
image: Gospel Coalition
Pride and joy: a prized aspect. Sir Walter Scott is attributed for this saying in his 1813 poem, “Rokeby.” In the poem he states children as a “mother’s pride, a father’s joy.” Today the term applies to anything from an accomplishment to a possession that evokes pride and joy. Back to Paul. That little bakery he began frequenting? He discovered their muffins were their pride and joy and he set up a running order for a baker’s dozen every Thursday.
Pull the wool over one’s eyes: to deceive someone. This saying does not involve sheep. Instead it involves wigs, the ones British judges and barristers wore (and wear). Apparently it refers to a clever barrister’s ability of momentarily blinding a judge with their argument, essentially slipping their wig (which were made from wool?) over their eyes. More figurative than literal. Today the reference applies to anyone who has been fooled by a person, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
Put one’s money where one’s mouth is: show intention with actions, not just by words. Thought to have started around 1930, around the time of WWII, being used in many English-speaking countries. In the 1970s the British government applied turned the phrase into an ad campaign to convince in the NSBAD (National Savings Bank Accounts Department. Another less polite associative phrase is “Put up or shut up.”
image: Peter Perlegas art
Put words into someone’s mouth: to credit someone saying something when they didn’t. This one is found in the Old Testament in 2 Samuel 14:3: “So Joab put the words in her mouth.” Paul again. “I did not say I made the muffins. I said I made a run to the bakery to get the muffins. Honestly, quit putting words in my mouth.”
Quantum leap: an notable advancement; a great improvement. Going with nuclear physics on this one, in which the abrupt transition from one energy state to another is considered a quantum leap (very simplified). That’s literal term. The figurative term refers to the size of the transition, usually an exaggeration, as in “Wow, Paul, two weeks in a row you’ve brought in freshly made muffins. That’s a quantum leap from the days of stale grocery rack cookies.”
image: LanGeek
Quick as a wink: instantly achieved. There are several analogies that are similar, such as “quick as bunny” or “quick as a bee” or “quick as lightning.” As early as 1546 these proverbs or maxims were found in sources. The expression is still in use.
Quid pro quo: something is received in exchange for something given. This one is also known as “tit for tat” which was used by Shakespeare in Henry VI Part 1 when Margaret tells the Earl of Suffolk, “I cry you mercy, ’tis but quid pro quo” (5:3).
Many, oh so many, cliches with P were left on the editing floor. So fill up the comments with the ones that didn’t make the post or check them out in Christine Ammer’s Have a Nice Day: A Dictionary of Clichés.
As usual I set my Goodreads reading goal at 101 books for the year, and as usual I surpassed it. I was hoping to surpass my 2023 record of 171 books read over the year; however, I reached only 161. I think the distraction of traveling to Japan to greet my new grandson is part of the reason. But hey–it was an easy tradeoff to make.
Here are the five star reads from December:
The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz
A surprisingly engaging story of a fourteen year old girl who runs away from the harsh life of keeping house for her father and brother. Set in 1911, young Joan hops a train to the city, changes her name to Janet and her age to eighteen, becoming the hired girl for a Jewish family.
Told by way of diary entries the story reveals more than a young girl’s struggle to make her way in the world. The story discusses with thoughtfulness Janet’s commitment to being Catholic while employed in a Jewish household.
What might have been a slow read becomes unexpectedly inspiring due to Janet’s genuine voice as she learns about her place in the world.
I know, only one five star for December. The others were mainly four stars, meaning they were decent reads, not necessarily exceptional reads.
I am looking forward to 2025’s Reading Challenge, as I have lots of Want to Reads on my list and hope to read at least one book a week this year–wait, that would mean only 52 books for the year (which was my original reading challenge goal when I first took on the Goodreads challenge. I better rethink my strategy. Then again, I could just enjoy reading and not worry about numbers.
September is a lovely month with its gentle fading from summer to fall. There are those halcyon days of summer warmth that lend enough sun to read in the hammock still.
This month seemed to be focused on mysteries, which are my fave when lazy reading. Here are the top picks:
image: Amazon
A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
This is the third installment in which Horowitz portrays himself as a sort of sidekick to the enigmatic detective Hawthorne. This time it’s a bit of locked room mystery as the deed takes place on Alderney, a British channel island.
The conceit of writing himself as a character is still working for the most part, but the wink and nod of the meta fiction ploy is starting to wear thin. Several red herrings along with a few subplots add up to a satisfying read. One question though—if this becomes a TV series who will play Horowitz?
image: Target
The Scottish Ladies’ Detective Agency by Lydia Travers
The trope is not unique, a plucky woman from a wealthy background opens a detective agency and brings in an assistant from a lower class. What differentiates this entry is how well the two women, Maude and Daisy, work together as partners and friends. Daisy, formerly Maude’s maid, takes on her assistant role with aplomb, deferring to Maude as her boss, without being subservient. Her Scottish wit and brogue add a nice sassiness to their interactions.
The book opens with the first case, protecting jewelry from thieves, and leads into several cases. The storyline provides enough twists and red herrings to make it interesting, and even though there were a couple of contrived situations, there is enough charm and engagement to let it pass.
Infusing the story with historical details such as the suffragette movement and the introduction of modern conveniences such as vacuums and automobiles adds interest to the overall setting of Edinburgh in the early 1900s.
I’m discovering there are all sorts of cozy mysteries out there, ranging from teachers to bakers, to knitters even to pets getting in on the action. PBS is quite well-stocked in cozy mysteries, and is currently running Horowitz’s Moonflower Murders, which is the second in the Susan Ryeland series, where she is a book editor solving a murder mystery. Fun stuff. PBS is so involved in cozy mysteries they have developed a cozy mystery bingo card. Great for watching movies or for reading books. Check it out!
Hammock Day isn’t just one day of the year, one special day of summer. As soon as June appears I drag out my hammocks–doesn’t everyone have two? Lounging in the hammock with a book or some tunes is one mainstay of summer. I may not go to the beach. I might abstain from a road trip. I probably won’t go to the local theme park. I will, however, spend as much time as possible in my hammock(s).
There is something so acceptably decadent lying about suspended above ground, be it parked in the shade or soaking up the rays. Hammocks are cool. In more ways than one.
Pam Webb 