When Bec and Jen and I decided to come up with a series of books the Ethereal Readers book club would read instead of voting separately for each book, we wanted to offer a variety. This past year we've read a nonfiction, an historical fiction, a classic, and a Christmas book. We also decided to offer a mystery, since we (really meaning Bec and me) love mysteries. Thus, Damage Control, by J.A. Jance.
Damage Control is the 13th book in a series of 16 books featuring Cochise County Sheriff Joanna Brady as the protagonist. I had never read a book by Ms. Jance. I looked forward to reading this book as this particular series takes place in real-life Cochise County in southern Arizona, specifically in the town of Brisbee. While I’m much more familiar with the area around Phoenix, it still was fun to understand and relate to the climate and topographical issues faced by this fictional sheriff.
Damage Control takes place during the monsoon season, when the rains come as deluges and flooding prevails because of the clay earth. I’ve never actually been here during monsoon season, but I have seen the results of heavy rains, and I could fully understand what the citizens of Cochise County faced.
I thought the storyline was great, though I must admit the fact that the scene that transpired in the prologue wasn’t addressed until almost the end of the book was somewhat disconcerting. In fact, I had completely forgotten about it until it came up again at the end of the book when we learn that the person killed was the boyfriend of the murdered developmentally disabled girl. Whaaaaaaat????
But other than that, I enjoyed the story. Having read about a billion mysteries in my life, I was knew from the get-go that the elderly couple didn’t commit suicide – or at least only did so as a result of some bad action by someone else. The fact that Sheriff Brady figures out what happened when there was somewhere around 40 pages left in the book made me wonder if she was wrong and it was going to be someone else. I began suspecting one of the daughters. I was glad to be wrong.
Simply put, however, what I liked best about the book was Sheriff Brady herself. I found her to be a realistic portrayal of a working mother who was lucky enough to have a stay-at-home husband/baby-dad. I didn’t find her to be particularly Supermom. She was often tired and crabby. She fought with her own mom. (I assume if I read earlier accounts of her life, I will find out what exactly caused the dissention between Brady and her mother.)
The scene depicting the funeral of the murdered sheriff’s deputy was very moving. There must really be very little that is sadder than a funeral for a first-responder.
I’m kind of surprised that this series has never been made into a television movie. It seems perfect.
I think that I’m going to start reading this series from the first book, Desert Heat. I love to watch characters develop throughout a long series of books.
What did you all think? Did you have the murder figured out before Sheriff Brady? Who would star in my made-for-television movie?
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, January 6, 2014
A Christmas Carol
This initial post is from Bec, who, as an English teacher extraordinaire, taught this book a million times. She wears her heart on her sleeve with this one!
Kris asked if I would like to write our initial post because she knows how much I love this book and how many times I taught it. I could write volumes about it, but I promise I won’t!
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is its full title. Dickens wrote it at a time when he was struggling financially. It was immediately popular, although his publisher didn’t think it would be and, consequently, refused to publish it. So Dickens put up the money himself. Good call! Readers of all social classes loved it, and some well-known people were significantly affected by it. An American industrialist was moved to close his factory for Christmas day (which was not a common practice either in the US or England); Robert Louis Stevenson vowed to help the unfortunate by giving of himself as well as his money. Historian Thomas Carlyle “sent out for a turkey and asked two friends to dine.” And, the Queen of Norway sent toys to children in London hospitals in the name of Tiny Tim. Seriously. His novel had that impact on his readers.
But, on to my thoughts. One of the aspects I love about the novel is its length. It is short and tightly woven, a book one can read in a few hours. Dickens establishes his theme, and it is apparent from beginning to end. Scrooge was a good businessman, and that was ok. But, his old partner Marley, his first spirit visitor, sets the moral of the story early on: “Mankind was my business…The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.” Marley tells Scrooge that you can be a businessman without cutting yourself off from all personal connection. And, throughout the novel, Scrooge is shown the results of his isolationist attitude.
I also love the way Dickens portrays each of the three spirits. Christmas Past’s appearance is constantly changing, the way our memories of past events can be colored by later experiences. Christmas Present is big and bold, just as our “present” should be for us. And Christmas Yet to Come is dark and scary. He doesn’t speak or show his face, because the future is unknown. I always enjoyed teaching Dickens because he wasn’t too tricky with his symbolism…he wanted his reader to get it!
Finally, I like that Dickens doesn’t keep the reader hanging as to whether Scrooge is open to transformation. As early as Scrooge’s visit to his past, he feels remorse that he didn’t give a little something to a caroler. By the time the last of the spirits arrives, Scrooge is anxious to get on with it, because he knows time is short. And, when he wakes up on Christmas morning, he doesn’t overthink. He immediately dresses and begins changing his life…and others’.
So….my questions are these: Did you enjoy reading the book? Had you read it or had it been read to you at some earlier point? Which of the spirits resonated the most with you? Having read it, would you be more likely to read something else by Dickens? Or less!?
Kris asked if I would like to write our initial post because she knows how much I love this book and how many times I taught it. I could write volumes about it, but I promise I won’t!
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is its full title. Dickens wrote it at a time when he was struggling financially. It was immediately popular, although his publisher didn’t think it would be and, consequently, refused to publish it. So Dickens put up the money himself. Good call! Readers of all social classes loved it, and some well-known people were significantly affected by it. An American industrialist was moved to close his factory for Christmas day (which was not a common practice either in the US or England); Robert Louis Stevenson vowed to help the unfortunate by giving of himself as well as his money. Historian Thomas Carlyle “sent out for a turkey and asked two friends to dine.” And, the Queen of Norway sent toys to children in London hospitals in the name of Tiny Tim. Seriously. His novel had that impact on his readers.
But, on to my thoughts. One of the aspects I love about the novel is its length. It is short and tightly woven, a book one can read in a few hours. Dickens establishes his theme, and it is apparent from beginning to end. Scrooge was a good businessman, and that was ok. But, his old partner Marley, his first spirit visitor, sets the moral of the story early on: “Mankind was my business…The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business.” Marley tells Scrooge that you can be a businessman without cutting yourself off from all personal connection. And, throughout the novel, Scrooge is shown the results of his isolationist attitude.
I also love the way Dickens portrays each of the three spirits. Christmas Past’s appearance is constantly changing, the way our memories of past events can be colored by later experiences. Christmas Present is big and bold, just as our “present” should be for us. And Christmas Yet to Come is dark and scary. He doesn’t speak or show his face, because the future is unknown. I always enjoyed teaching Dickens because he wasn’t too tricky with his symbolism…he wanted his reader to get it!
Finally, I like that Dickens doesn’t keep the reader hanging as to whether Scrooge is open to transformation. As early as Scrooge’s visit to his past, he feels remorse that he didn’t give a little something to a caroler. By the time the last of the spirits arrives, Scrooge is anxious to get on with it, because he knows time is short. And, when he wakes up on Christmas morning, he doesn’t overthink. He immediately dresses and begins changing his life…and others’.
So….my questions are these: Did you enjoy reading the book? Had you read it or had it been read to you at some earlier point? Which of the spirits resonated the most with you? Having read it, would you be more likely to read something else by Dickens? Or less!?
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