Author

Publisher: Covici Friede, 1937

Genre: Classic Fiction

My Rating: A

Summary:

Four different stories, centered around a young boy named Jody, make up this book. The stories are set on a ranch in Salinas Valley, California during the early twentieth-century. Jody is an only child and the ranch is isolated, so it’s possible to see this book as a sad downer. But – Jody is a good old-fashioned boy and his personality shines through the ups and downs of life on the ranch.

• The first story, The Gift, is about a little a red pony and a red leather saddle that is a rare gift from Jody’s father. Jody’s status among his friends at school increases and he learns the hard lessons of caring for a special animal. Jody’s eyes are also opened to the harshness of life.
• In the second story, The Great Mountains, Jody meets an old man who was born on the ranch long before it was owned by Jody’s father. The man has now come “home” to die. Jody’s father forbids him to stay for more than one night. The old man points out that Mr. Tiflin treats his old horse better than a person.
• The third story, The Promise, is about another horse. This time Jody is the one who takes their mare to another ranch to be bred with their stallion. Then Jody must wait nearly a year for the birth of what will be his horse. Again in this story, Jody must face the harsh realities of life and death.
• The fourth story, The Leader of the People, feature the stories of Jody’s maternal grandfather. The man is not welcomed by Jody’s father as he says the grandfather just keeps telling the same old stories over and over again. The stories are about how the grandfather led a group of people across the plains. Jody loves them as they spark his imagination.

My Thoughts:

The Red Pony was the book selection this month for one of my book clubs. All but one of us loved the book. Our lone dissenter thought the book was too sad and depressing. I thought it was more bittersweet. The writing is so amazing that it was a joy to read.

Steinbeck’s descriptions of people and places captivated me and I found myself highlighting phrase after phrase. Here are a few I liked. The first is a description of Billy, the farmhand:

He was a bandy-legged little man with a walrus mustache, with square hands, puffed and muscled on the palms. His eyes were a contemplative, watery gray and the hair which protruded from under his Stetson hat was spiky and weathered.

And this one describes Jody:

He was only a little boy, ten years old, with hair like dusty yellow grass and with shy polite gray eyes, and with a mouth thar worked when he thought.

And here Steinbeck describes Jody’s behavior after he receives his very own pony:

It became his habit to creep out of bed even before his mother was awake, to slip into his clothes and to go quietly down to the barn to see Gabilan. In the gray quiet morning when the land and the brush and the houses and the trees were silver gray and black like a photograph negative, he stole toward the barn, past the sleeping stones and the sleeping cypress trees.

I read this book slowly over a three week period. It’s hard to express in words how much pleasure this little book gave me. I think it may have been how the author made me see life through the eyes of a child – very plain, quite curious, and with loads of imagination.

The Red Pony was a good book club selection. Our leader dug out numerous facts about Steinbeck that really enhanced our understading and appreciation of the book. Since nearly everyone in the club is around my age, we also spent some time talking about the attitudes of “old-people” today as compared to the second story in this book. A very interesting discussion.

There were some passages, like those above, that I read, re-read and then read aloud to my husband or anyone else hanging about. John Steinbeck was truly a gifted writer. If you aren’t familiar with his work, I’d suggest starting with one of the four stories in The Red Pony. Each story stands alone, although they all feature the little boy Jody and life in the Salinas Valley.

This book count as one of the 50+ I’m reading for the Classics Club.

The first pick was The Glass Castle, published in 2005. This is the author’s memoir outlining her erratic childhood and early adult life.

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” (from the publisher)

The kindest thing I can say about the author’s parents is that they were incredibly unfit to be parents. Because of alcoholism, the father was seldom employed and the mother was so disconnected she didn’t even bother to feed her children. The abject neglect and poverty depicted in this memoir was painful. It was so painful I only made it half-way through the book. In my opinion, what the Walls did to their children was unforgivable. The author saw it differently however. She forgave her parents and seems to see them more favorably than I did.

After that introduction to Jeannette Walls I wasn’t sure I wanted to read her second book, Half-Broke Horses. But, from the first page, I loved this story. Lily was born in a dugout in 1901 and grew to be a plucky young girl who handled whatever life threw at her. Lily experienced so many incredible adventures, especially for a young woman during that time period.

Lily survived tornadoes, droughts, floods, the Great Depression, and the most heartbreaking personal tragedy. Half-Broke Horses is Laura Ingalls Wilder for adults. Lily learned to drive a car and fly a plane. And, with her husband, Jim, she ran a vast ranch in Arizona. She raised two children, one of whom is Jeannette’s memorable mother, Rosemary Smith Walls. (from the publisher)

Lily made a wonderful character for this fictional novel based on the author’s grandmother’s life. At several points during the book I wanted to suspend all belief. I found it hard to believe that Lily had actually done all that the author said she did. I can understand how that happened. This is, after all, an oral family history. As each person tells the story it gets changed a little bit each time. But then, if Lily only did half of what’s in this novel, she’s still an amazing person.

If you haven’t read Half-Broke Horses yet, I seriously recommend you give it a try.

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2007

Genre: Mystery

My Rating: B+

Summary (from the author’s website):

Isabel Spellman, the uncompromising—okay, obstinate—twenty-eight year-old San Francisco private eye in Lisa Lutz’s riotous debut novel, THE SPELLMAN FILES has her share of problems. And those problems all happen to be named Spellman.Her parents, Albert and Olivia, co-owners of Spellman Investigations, think nothing of placing their daughter under 24-hour surveillance simply to find out if she has a new boyfriend.

David, her perfect older brother, who escaped the family business by becoming a lawyer, is hypercritical of just about everything Isabel says, wears, or does. Fourteen-year-old sister Rae lives on sugared snacks, considers recreation surveillance her favorite hobby, and believes that life is one endless opportunity for intra-familial blackmail. And good-natured Uncle Ray, a former cop and health food nut, now embraces gambling and drinking; and when he’s not in battle with his niece Rae over the whereabouts of his favorite shirt, must be rescued from “lost weekends.”

My Thoughts:

The reason I wanted to read this book was because I had a chance to meet the author at a panel discussion at the  Santa Rosa Book Fair last Fall. She was so charming and funny and a little sarcastic that she had the audience chuckling a lot.

I had a hunch the author’s personality would come through in her stories. It certainly did. In my opinion she was the main character, Izzy. I could imagine the expressions on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. On top of that, Izzy tells the story in the fiirst person, so it’s even easier to see Lisa Lutz as Izzy Spellman.

The Spellman Files is the first book in the author’s series. It was an excellent introduction to the family of investigators. I enjoyed meeting everyone and learning about Izzy’s background. It was also fun tagging along with Izzy as she followed people and conducted her investigations. There was no big mystery throughout the book. I’m assuming that will come in the next few books. If you’re looking for a fun series set all around San Francisco, check out the Spellman Files.

Author

Publisher: Penguin, 2008

Format: Audiobook, Narrated by Jonathan Davis

My Rating: A

Summary (from the publisher):

The Red Lobster perched in the far corner of a run-down New England mall hasn’t been making its numbers and headquarters has pulled the plug. But manager Manny DeLeon still needs to navigate a tricky last shift with a near-mutinous staff. All the while, he’s wondering how to handle the waitress he’s still in love with, what to do about his pregnant girlfriend, and where to find the present that will make everything better.

My Thoughts:

JoAnn from Lakeside Musing “talked me into” reading this book. She started reading one Stewart O’Nan novel and couldn’t stop herself from reading three more. She highly recommended the author and suggested Last Night at the Lobster was a good place to start. I did exactly what she said. I discovered an audiobook version at the library and set out to see what JoAnn was raving about. (JoAnn’s review of this book is here.)

Stewart O’Nan took me right into the heart of this Red Lobster.  It was it’s last night of operation, which also happened to be the night of an extreme snow storm. He helped me see the restaurant from a variety of angles: the kitchen, the dining room, the back door where the smokers hang out, the storage closet, the outside parking lot and even it’s place next to the shopping mall.

What I liked best in Last Night at the Lobster were the people. The story is told through the eyes of Manny, the restaurant’s manager. I actually felt very sympathetic to him. He cared so much about doing all the right things for the good of the restaurant – even on the very last day. Through Manny I met the crazy kitchen staff as well as the waitresses and busboys. They were quite a contrast to the  rude and demanding customers.

Manny was fighting a losing battle. He wanted to end the night on a high note with the restaurant looking good, but things were stacked against him. Some of the employees abandoned him, one in a very cruel way. The snow storm kept customers away, making his numbers look even worse. In spite of all that, Manny continued to do the right – the thing he believed a good restaurant manager should and would do.

Stewart O’Nan was spot-on in his assessment of people who work in the service industry. He has obviously been around enough restaurants to understand all the people involved, including the customers. His dialogue was very realistic.

JoAnn, you were right about Stewart O’Nan and this book. I can’t wait to start my next one.

The narrator for this audiobook was Jonathan Davis. He did a superb job with all the accents in this dialogue-heavy novel. I’ve added him to my list of narrators to watch for.

Check your local library and/or your local bookstore for a copy of this book. Last Night at the Lobster is also available at Amazon. (I am an Amazon Associate.)

Author

Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2001

Genre: Mystery

Format: Audio, read by Barbara Rosenblat

Summary from publisher:

After facing down hijackers on a flight to the Middle East and saving the lives of the passengers on board, a young American woman steps off the plane in Damascus in a blaze of celebrity and disappears. The CIA believes Amanda Pym was kidnapped, possibly murdered.

Masquerading as Amanda Pym’s worried aunt, Mrs. Pollifax begins her determined search, slipping through Damascus’s crooked streets and crowded souks . . . and trekking deep into the desert. Yet she is shadowed by deadly enemies, whose sinister agenda threatens not only Mrs. P. but the fragile stability of the entire Middle East. Only a miracle–or a brilliant counterplot– can forestall a disaster that will send shock waves around the world.

My Thoughts:

Most of my friends have read (and raved) about the Mrs. Pollifax series of mysteries. For some reason, I never got around to them. And then I saw this audiobook at the library and decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. Now I see what everyone was talking about.

It’s not deep literature or even a tough mystery, but it sure was a fun way to spend an afternoon. Although Mrs. Pollifax is traveling in an unsafe part of the world, and dealing with some dangerous people, the story never frightened me. Mrs. Pollifax and her sidekick always seemed in control, and clever enough to get themselves out of sticky situations.

Actually, I thought Mrs. Pollifax a very clever character. She is, as they say, a “woman of a certain age” and she uses that to her advantage. She has enough life experience to draw on and it helps her think on her feet. And, she certainly knows how to tell the good guys from the bad ones. In addition, Mrs. Pollifax is the kind of person that others feel comfortable talking with. She’s a great character and I will definitely spend more time with her in the future.

If you are able to find a copy, I suggest listening to the audio version of this book. At the very end there was an excellent interview with the author, Dorothy Gulman. For me, it was an excellent introduction to the series, even though Mrs. Pollifax Unfeiled was the fourteenth (and last) book in the series.

Have you read any of Mrs. Pollifax’s adventures?

In The Fifth Witness, we find that Mickey has been helping clients with foreclosures. He’s been somewhat successful, and business is brisk in this economy. His first foreclosure client has even organized a group of other people who’ve been through foreclosures. The group protested several times in front of her mortgage bank. The bank wasn’t happy and they issued a restraining order against her. And then, the mortgage banker is killed. Of course, Mickey’s client is accused of murder.

As in all of Connelly’s books there are plenty of surprises. For me, the definition of “fifth witness” was a surprise, one that was interesting. I also did not see the ending in advance. I won’t spoil it for you. I’ll just say it was not what I expected. I felt like Connelly was making a subtle announcement about future Mickey Haller books.

While The Fifth Witness was very good, i liked Lincoln Lawyer better. It was a lot edgier – more like what you’d expect on the streets of Los Angeles.

I read this book via an audiobook. It was narrated by Peter Giles. I would have preferred Matthew McConnaghey’s voice in my ears, but Giles did a convincing job. I’m linking this post to Sound Bytes at Jen’s Devourer of Books. It’s a weekly spotlight on audiobooks. Click the button to go visit.

Check your local library and your local bookstore for copies of this book. The Fifth Witness is also available at Amazon. (I am an Amazon Associate.)

Published by Little, Brown, and Company, 2011   /   My Rating: B

Author

Publisher: Viking, 1938

Genre: Classic Fiction

Format: Hardcover

Source: Public library

My Rating: A+

For the last two weeks a group of bloggers, sponsored by the The Classic Circuit, has joined together to honor the writing of John Steinbeck. I’m happy to be a part of that group. Over the years I’ve read and enjoyed most of Steinbeck’s novels. I couldn’t recall reading his short stories so I signed up for this particular collection.

The title, The Long Valley, refers to the Salinas Valley in central California. This is where Steinbeck was born (1902) and raised. In this twelve-story collection the Salinas Valley was a major component in all but one of the stories. Steinbeck featured the people, the geography, the culture and possibly some of the events of this farm and ranching area

I was amazed at how much the landscape and geography of the Salinas Valley permeates the book. Nearly every story includes true-to-life descriptions of the world surrounding the characters. Here’s an example from the story titled “Flight.”

“. . . on the wild coast, the Torres family had their farm, a few sloping acres above a cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing white waters of the ocean. Behind the farm the stone mountains stood up against the sky. The farm buildings huddled like little clinging aphids on the mountain skirts, crouched low to the ground as though the wind might blow them into the sea.

Can’t you just see what the place looked like from his words?  In The Long Valley, Steinbeck also created great characters. Each story reflects a different group of people that I believe Steinbeck must have known from years of living in Salinas Valley. Just from the first few stories, here is a sample of the great characters:

• Elisa Allen is a rancher’s wife with a gift for making things grow. She is especially proud of her showy chrysanthemums. And then a tinker man in a wagon came by . . .
• Mary Teller also has a gift for gardening. She could visualize the perfect garden and then she made it happen.
• There is also lazy Pepe who must flee into the mountains to try to save his life
• Dr. Phillips operates a lab in Monterrey. It’s filled with snakes and rats and other creatures. One day a young woman comes and wants to own one of the snakes.

The stories reflect the time of their writing – the 1930s – the Depression Years. It’s not that the stories are bleak or sad, but they do reflect those lean times. My favorite story is only four pages long and certainly reminded me of how things were for ordinary working people. The story is called “Breakfast.” I don’t know this for fact, but I believe Steinbeck must have had this experience like this. Here’s the first paragraph:

“This thing fills me with pleasure. I don’t know why, I can see it in the smallest detail. I find myself recalling it again and again, each time bringing more detail out of a sunken memory, remembering brings the curious warm pleasure.

Okay, that was a real teaser. The “thing” he’s referring to is breakfast – a very simple, meager one, but told so beautifully that I tasted it, smelled it, and saw the participants. I could hear their happiness, too.

Let me just mention two more stories. “The Murder” is a story of a rancher and his wife. She’s beautiful and a good housekeeper but not much of a companion. All I can say is that someone is murdered. I didn’t see it coming in spite of the  story’s title. It’s an award-winning tale and is well-known. Another popular story is the three-part “Red Pony”. These stories feature the young son of a rancher, the animals and people on the ranch.

I’d love to tell you about every one of these stories but that would spoil it for you. I urge you to find The Long Valley and read just one of these rich stories. It’s a wonderful way to get the flavor of John Steinbeck, especially if he is a new author for you. Of course, I’m betting you can’t read just one.

In addition to reading The Long Valley for the Classic Circuit’s Steinbeck Tour, I also read it for the Classic Bribe. For more information on these programs, press the buttons below.

Come read at the rest of my review over at Quirky Girls Read

In the past few years there’s been a resurgence in these mobile culinary establishments, and not just in Portland. They’re all over the country, but primarily in larger cities. The resurgence is due in part to the economy and in part because of the desire of talented young chefs to prove themselves. An average new restaurant takes time and upwards of $200,000 plus to get started. A food truck takes $20,000 to $30,000.

Ever since that first tour in Portland, I’ve been paying attention to the food trucks I see in various places. And then Candice tipped me off to a new book on the subject. It’s Food Trucks: Dispatches and Recipes From the Best Kitchens on Wheels (Ten Speed Press, 2011)

Author Heather Shouse spent a year traveling the United States researching the topic of mobile food purveyors. She was looking for innovation and high quality food that didn’t require a giant kitchen and a huge staff. The result of her research is this book. (Wouldn’t you have loved a job like that?)

The book is organized by region and by city. Ms. Shouse gave a good overview of each area. She then spent time talking about the best food trucks she found. For each food truck she told the history of the owners and how they came to establish their business. She also talked about the special food prepared and there is often a recipe from the owner. Also included is where you can usually find that food truck, plus their Twitter account and/or website. There are plenty of colorful pictures and drawings throughout.

I spent most of my time in the sections on the West Coast because that’s where I am. But, for those of you in other parts of the country, you should know there are good food trucks in the Midwest, the South, and in the East Coast. I certainly want to check them all out.

The food? You’re going to find dishes from all cuisines. It seems to be an international menu as these bright young chefs ply their skills to create new dishes. The hottest food truck in LA is one that combines Mexican and Korean foods. These new businesses know their food has to be special if they are going to get customers back on a regular basis. And that’s good for those of us who love to try new dishes.

Give Food Trucks by Heather Shouse a try if you’re looking for a new food adventure.

I found my copy at the library. Check also your local bookstore. Food Trucksis available at Amazon. (I am an Amazon Associate.)

This post is linked to Weekend Cooking, a weekly feature at Beth Fish Reads. Click the button below and it will take you there.

Author

Publisher: Originally published in the UK by Collins Crime Club, 1936/ Cover on the left is a copy of the original dust jacket

My Rating: B+

Summary:  Amy Leatheran is a nurse. She’s just finished a job in Baghdad but, before she can return to London, she secures another position. This time it’s at Tell Yarimjah, an archeological dig outside Bagdad. She’s to help care for Louise Leidner, the wife of the chief archeologist.

Louise Leidner has “fancies” which means she’s afraid of unknown things. She’s also been receiving threatening letters. It’s no surprise when she is the one murdered. It is obvious that the murderer is one on the members of the archeological team. The question is: Which one?

The local police begin their investigation but the police captain invites Hercule Poirot to also help out. (He just happens to be traveling through Baghdad.) Poirot in turn calls upon Nurse Amy to be his assistant. Poirot believes nurses are good observers and so make good witnesses. She’s the one who narrates the story.

My Thoughts:  While reading this story I caught Agatha Christie’s fascination with archeology. This was a fairly new world to her. She’d accompanied her new husband, Max Mallowan, to one of the most famous digs in Iraq where he was assistant to the head archeologist. Ms. Christie based her story’s setting on that dig.

Although she was fascinated, she was not a blind observer. She saw all the details and tried to paint a realistic picture of life at the dig and in the area. She told her readers what Baghdad was like by using Nurse Amy. Here is Amy’s opinion of Baghdad, which I think is Agatha’s opinion:

“The dirt and the mess in Baghdad you wouldn’t believe – and not romantic at all like you’d think from the Arabian Nights! Of course, it’s pretty just on the river, but the town itself is just awful – and no proper shops at all.”

Agatha Christie also modeled the murdered victim after a real person on the dig — the wife of the head archeologist. The woman “was a charming, creative. but imperious woman who ruled with an iron hand her husband and all his archeological associates.” (page 123 of Gillian Giles’ Agatha Christie: The Woman and her Mysteries) Because Ms. Christie couldn’t rock the boat against the wife of her husband’s boss, she found another way to get even. I think she had great fun “killing off” the woman – only in print, of course.

Murder In Mesopotamia was a fun story to read. I liked the voice of Amy Leatheran. It was not quite so heavy-handed as some of Ms. Christie’s other narrators. This book won’t fall into my list top Christie reads, but it was still a good mystery.

Here are my challenge statistics: 24 down – 63 to go. I read this book as part of the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge. I’m reading all of her books in publication order. For more information on the challenge, visit Kerrie at Mysteries In Paradise.

Check your local library or your local bookstore for copies of this book. Murder in Mesopotamia is also available at Amazon. (I am an Amazon Associate.)