Murder in the Desert

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?

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!?

Prairie Girl

I was born in Nebraska, and lived there until I was 21 years old. It’s always annoyed me to hear Coloradans complain about how ugly the drive on I-80 is through Nebraska. I’ve always thought two things: first, yeah, and I-76 in Colorado is so darn beautiful (picture my eyes rolling); and second, you are driving along an interstate highway which is almost never pretty.

I grew up in a medium-sized town of 10,000 people in the middle of Nebraska farmland. While I didn’t live on a farm, it is hard to not have farming be part of your life if you live in Nebraska, whether you live in Omaha or Wilber, NE. You hear farm reports on TV and radio, there are farm implement stores everywhere, if you drive on a blue highway, you are liable to get stuck behind a tractor, and weather reports are the main topic of conversation (“will it rain,” “will it ever stop raining,” “think it will stay dry long enough to get the corn in?”

Willa Cather’s Nebraska is beautiful. Her lyrical descriptions made me think about the loveliness of rolling fields of corn and wheat, and how pretty the trees are alongside the Platte River, which runs through most of the state.

For example: “July came on with that breathless, brilliant heat which makes the plains of Kansas and Nebraska the best corn country in the world. It seemed as if we could hear the corn growing in the night; under the stars one caught a faint crackling in the dewy, heavy-odoured cornfields where the feathered stalks stood so juicy and green.”

Or, “There were none of the signs of spring for which I used to watch in Virginia, …. There was only spring itself; the throb of it, the light restlessness, the vital essence of it everywhere: in the sky, in the swift clouds, in the pale sunshine, and in the warm, high wind – rising suddenly, sinking suddenly, impulsive and playful like a big puppy that pawed you and then lay down to be petted. If I had been tossed down blindfold on that red prairie, I should have known that it was spring.”

Wow.

Cather’s characters were alive and interesting. How could you help but not love Jim, so innocent and naive, and his grandmother and grandfather, so wise and so loving. Wouldn’t you want to be part of the evening gatherings at the Harling’s home, where they sang and played games? All of these folks were honest, down-to-earth Nebraska farmers, maybe not worldly, but good and kind.

And then there was, of course, Antonia. I don’t think there is a character in any other book that I love more than Antonia. I loved her as a child, having to take on so much responsibility because her parents really didn’t or wouldn’t. I loved her as a hard-working farm girl after her father died. I even continued to love her as she spread her wings a bit after coming to work in town. Who wouldn’t have wanted to dance a bit after such a difficult life?

But I think I liked her best in the last book, Cuzak’s Boys. She had so clearly found peace in her world, which would probably drive us insane. She had molded all of those children into wonderful people. And she loved her simple husband and her difficult and simple life. And throughout all of those years, she had loved Jim Burden in a way that wasn’t jealous or resentful. And furthermore, he loved her back. What a fine and beautiful friendship.

A couple of things made me sad. I was sad that it seems that Jim never married. I didn’t really get the impression from Cather that he didn’t marry because he was pining for Antonia. I think he was just so intent on his intellectual life that he didn’t find a life companion. Perhaps he was happy that way, but he so loved being around family that I couldn’t help but feel sad for him.

The other thing that made me sad was when Jim and his grandparents moved to town, and Otto and Jake didn’t go with them. Jim tells us, “Months afterward we got a card from Otto, saying that Jake had been down with mountain fever, but now they were both working in the Yankee Girl Mine, and were doing well. I wrote to them at that address, but my letter was returned to me, ‘Unclaimed.’ After that we never heard from them.”

One other thing: Cather tells us that Mr. Harling was a grain merchant and cattle-buyer. She says, “He controlled a line of grain elevators in the little towns along the railroad to the west of us, and was away from home a great deal.” I’m sure my sisters will agree that she could be talking about the stretch of Highway 30 between Grand Island and Columbus.

I can't help myself. I give it a 10 out of 10.

Dressed Up

Just about the time that I’m thinking I’m a mess, I read about Mrs. Lincoln, and recognize that next to her, I’m Dr. Phil. Wow. That woman was one hot mess. Undoubtedly today she would be treated with antidepressants and/or medication for bipolar disorder. I recognize that she did have a lot awful things happen to her in her lifetime. I can’t imagine losing one child, much less three and a husband.

I enjoyed Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker very much. I’m glad that I saw the movie Lincoln before reading this book, because it gave me some context. Actually, however, the book made me understand some things about the movie as well. If you saw the movie, you will recall that Elizabeth Keckley was with Mrs. Lincoln most of the time. I remember wondering why this black woman appeared to be Mrs. Lincoln’s BFF. Now I understand it a bit better.

This wasn’t primarily the story of Mary Todd Lincoln, however. This was the story of Elizabeth Keckley, a strong, intelligent, talented woman who happened to be a former slave. It was interesting to me to see the Civil War though her eyes. It was also interesting to see how the slaves and former slaves looked at Abraham Lincoln. He was, not surprisingly, their rescuer and hero.

As usual when I read a historical novel, I had Wikipedia at my ready. While the book clearly has Keckley writing her memoirs at least in part to set the world straight about Mary Todd Lincoln, that might not necessarily be true. It is true, however, that the Lincolns never forgave Keckley for writing the memoir. And I must admit, I was somewhat uncomfortable knowing that she wrote what she did. It does seem to me that someone in a place of trust like a companion or ladies maid has an obligation to not write a tell-all at the end of it all.

How did you feel about her writing this memoir?

Chiaverini’s book gave me a fairly clear perspective about the life of a slave. I can’t imagine how it felt to be someone’s property, and to be at your master’s beck and call in every way. Keckley didn’t seem to hold a lot of bitterness, and loved her resulting son very much.

I guess I hadn’t realized that free blacks weren’t allowed in the military until the war was nearly over. Don’t know why that surprised me, but it did.

How do you feel about Mary Todd Lincoln? Did you find her to be completely narcissistic, completely kooky, or a combination of many things? Did you like Elizabeth Keckley?

I would rate this book a 7 out of 10.

Nellie v. Elizabeth: the race is on

In this day and age where it would take a couple of days at the most to make it around the world, depending largely on airplane connections, the story of these two remarkable women's round-the world journeys in 70-some days was really an eye-opener for me. I had never heard of either Nellie Bly or Elizabeth Bislad, nor had a heard of their journey, so it was with great interest that I followed them around the world in opposite directions. I learned a lot. Having a background in journalism, I knew something about the role that newspapers played i the lives of the people of the United States during the 1800s, especially in the larger cities. That's why there were so many more newspapers then than now. But it still was somewhat astoishing that the New York World could generate the 3excitement that they did with this race. For example the guess-how-many-days contest! I loved that you had these two women, both who grew up in somewhat lower- to- middle class backgrounds, making history in the way they did. I loved that their race engaged people throughout the country, which was much larger (figuratively speaking) then than now. I enjoyed reading about their love of writing and the English language. I was thrilled at Nellie’s reporting background, particularly the story she wrote about life in insane asylums back in those days. How exciting to be able to report that kind of news and make that kind of a difference. Some of the most remarkable things I learned or was reminded of: -The role that trains played in the growth of America. Prior to train travel, it would have been inconceivable to make a trip around the world that quickly. You couldn’t have gotten across country in much less time. -How damned much of the world was part of the British Empire! Holy moley! They all bowed to the king. -Class differences, particularly as they related to ship travel. Wow, if you were in steerage (which my grandparents were), you were truly a second-class citizen. While your wealthier co-passengers were dining on lobster, you were eating gruel. -The whole Asian culture. It was interesting to learn about rickshaws and some of the foods they ate. And how about that whole torture stuff? Grisly business. I’m interested to know if you were rooting for either of the women throughout the book. I was. I couldn’t help but root for Elizabeth. I think it’s because I was mad at Nellie for forgoing her role as a journalist while participating in the race. She should have brought the problem of the people in steerage to the world. But I did like the fact that the newspaper vowed to not “cheat” and to let things play out as they would (even though they sort of did at the end). And I loved the fact that Nellie made the journey carrying only a little bag. I’m interested to know what you learned reading this book, and how it impacted you.

What Should I Read?

In addition to the books that we read as a group, we undoubtedly occasionally pick up a book that we think is worth recommending to our fellow readers. By way of a comment, let us know if you are reading (or have read) a book that you think is worth our consideration. We won't discuss this book, but it is a good chance to become acquainted with different books.

Poor Anne.....

I read The Kingmaker’s Daughter  with my Nook in one hand and my Ipad in my other so that I could have a quick and direct line to Wikipedia. I have never spent so much time looking up the history of people to see if what I was reading was true.

I found The Kingmaker’s Daughter” to be a compelling and very readable book about a relatively unknown character in British history. We have all heard of Richard III, if only from the Shakespeare play, but little is apparently actually known about Anne and her sister Isabel. Because of this, it must have been fun for author Philippa Gregory to fill in the blanks.

I think that Gregory portrayed Anne as a young and impressionable girl who was starved for love and willing to do whatever her father told her to do because she thought it would be best for her country, and because she so wanted him to love her. I never felt as though she had a strong desire to be queen to fulfill her own ambitions, but only to do what was best for her country.

Poor Anne had very little going for her in the way of relationships. In her ever changing world, she was uncertain who to trust and who to fear. And frankly, throughout the book, I wasn’t always certain who was the good guy and who was the bad guy as it seemed to keep changing.

So, then I would again reach for my Ipad and try to find what historians said, and frankly, it seems as though Gregory took a lot of liberty in how she portrayed everyone. I don’t think this is a bad thing at all. As a fiction writer, Gregory undoubtedly went for drama and excitement. I just had to keep reminding myself that what I was reading was not necessarily the truth.

Poor Anne had what seems to be a totally one-sided relationship with her father, a terribly confusing relationship with her sister, and virtually no relationship with her mother (who I found to be despicable).  History supports the idea that her father was an ambitious man who would do anything he could to be in power.

I never quite knew how to feel about Isabel. She too was a pawn in her father’s ambitious plans, and the scene in which she gives birth to the baby at sea is horrifying. She seemed to be the only one (at least prior to marrying Richard) who gave a hoot about Anne, though it often seemed to only be when it was in her best interest. I wonder how the book would have read had Isabel been the narrator. I don’t think she had the same feeling for her father as did Anne. I think Isabel was much more realistic.

By the way, history tells us that Edward the King was actually a very good ruler overall. And while Elizabeth is presented as a fairly vile witch-like character, history doesn’t necessarily support that portrayal. But the number of children is accurate. My, didn’t she just seem to crank them out?

I found Richard to be a very interesting character. In this book, he is portrayed as a decent man who loved Anne. Other portrayals are obviously different (e.g. Shakespeare’s Richard III). I kept waiting for him to become evil. Even his relationship with the princess was presented (at least by Richard to Anne) as necessary in order to save England. Well, Anne bought it anyway. I am interested to know how the rest of you felt about Richard, and whether you bought his love for her (at least in this novel).

It was sad that Anne couldn’t have more children.

I really liked this book. I read all of Gregory’s stories about Henry VIII and all of his wives, and then got a bit burnt out. But I think I want to read the Cousins series. Apparently Gregory deals at least a little bit with the mysterious boys in the tower in the next novel. In my journal, I gave this book an 8.

What did you all think?