More Pirates

First Line

This is from my Instagram account; the topic was first lines.  I chose Transparent Things by Nabokov because I'm about to reread it.

Top Ten Tuesday: Under-Rated Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme by The Broke and the Bookish.


Under-Rated Books

The theme for this week's Top Ten Tuesday is "under-rated books".  They define this as "books we enjoyed that have under 2000 ratings on Goodreads."  Here are my ten, not in any order.

1. The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady  by Elizabeth Stuckey-French 
This was a fantastic book, that I gave a 5 star rating.  (You can read my full review here.)  Overall, though it is touted as a "dark comedy" (and rightfully so), it is so much more than that. The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady is the tale of family triumph, and of how things never quite work out how we have them planned, and of how life is good--despite it all, life is good.



2. The Ordeal Of Gilbert Pinfold by Evelyn Waugh
Generally Waugh books have a large following, but strangely enough, this one doesn't.  The Ordeal Of Gilbert Pinfold is a darkly comic novel about a man suffering from break-down who takes a cruise in order to relax.  Instead, he begins hearing voices--all talking about him.




3.A Troubadour's Testament by James Cowan
This is a gentle love story of a 12th century troubadour.  It is nearly magical, written with a graceful style.  I just loved it.




4.  Sonny's House of Spies  by George Ella Lyon
Oh my gosh, you guys, this book!  I can not gush over it enough!  I gave it 5 stars when it read it (review here).  Lyon is a poet, and it shows all the way through this masterfully written book.  The synopsis doesn't make it sound appealing, so I'll skip it here and just say: READ IT!

"It was a sleepy kind of morning, the air like bathwater."

"Like some reversible cloth, Mama's laughter flipped over into sobs."

"We just stood by the shiny gray coffin with its handles like fancy toilet-paper holders and said "Yes" and "No" and "Thank you" and breathed whatever breaths came by: mint, onion, tobacco, whiskey, and bad."

"All the windows had been propped open, but it was one of those afternoons when the air lay on top of you like a big cat, and no waving of cardboard Jesus-at-the-door fans could make it get up and move."


5.  Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
This is a hilarious novel--the movie of the same name is based on it--about a gold-digging showgirl searching for a millionaire.  If you can get a copy with the illustrations, all the better.  (my review here)





6. Standing Alone: An American Woman’s Struggle for the Soul of Islam  by Asra Q. Nomani
Why does this book not have more readers??  Nomani published this in 2006, but it is still timely.  It is her story of coming to terms with her faith as an American woman and single mom.  She explains Islam so well; I came away with an understanding of and sympathy for Muslims.  I highly recommend it!  (my review here)




7. Precious Bane by Mary Webb
This is set during the Napoleonic Wars in England.  Prue has a harelip, and life has not been easy for her.  One man sees her value, but she thinks she's not good enough.  This is a gentle romance, well written and atmospheric.  Now that I've talked about it, I'm going to have to reread it!



8-10. Vita Sackville-West
How is it that Vita doesn't get more love?  She is incredible!  A contemporary and friend of Virginia Woolf, her style is different but still compelling. Her stories are usually simple, with incredible writing.  I recommend all her works, but particularly these:

All Passion Spent
The story of a widowed gentlewoman who has become independent at 70, and finally able to choose her friendships.

The Easter Party
It revolves around a house party, and the one incident that changes lives.  It's not even in print anymore, but is certainly worth reading.

The Edwardians
This also revolves around a life-changing party.

I can't make them sound exciting, but I promise, Vita is fantastic!

Happy Independence Day!

The Classics Club: Excellent Women by Barbara Pym

(about the Classics Club)

.

This is another classic I found while browsing the used bookstore.  I had never heard of Barbara Pym, but Excellent Women looked interesting, so I bought it.  Afterwards, I found that it was considered to be a modern classic, and therefore perfect for the Classics Club.

What caught my interest about this book was that one reviewer mentioned that she was a 20th century Jane Austen.  Austen being my favorite author, I was intrigued.  I have to say, I was not disappointed.  Excellent Women is a social commentary as well as a light comedy, with a gentle style of storytelling.  I was reminded at times of Mansfield Park and other times of Pride and Prejudice, but Excellent Women was never a copy of Austen.  

The "excellent women" are those spinsters over 30 who find themselves involved in all sorts of doing-good, from interfering in marriages to working in church bazaars.  While most of the characters were condescending to the excellent women, Pym shows a great sympathy towards them.  (Could this be that she, too, was an over 30 spinster?)   It is told from the first person point of view of Mildred, one of the excellent women, and this was perfectly done, with Mildred's voice being well-defined.




I thought about the resemblance to Austen, of course.  I also thought about the plight of those excellent women, and pitied them deeply.  The ending brought me up short, and I realized that I had thought all along that it would end (I'm trying not to spoil anything here) with a more fairy-tale ending.  Instead, Pym made the ending quite real.

Well, to be quite honest, the first thing that comes to mind is  how much I needed a cup a tea while reading this.  Mildred makes a lot of tea throughout this book and it always made me crave a cuppa.

I didn't have any deep feelings while reading this book.  It was just an enjoyable read through and through.

"I did not then know to the extent I do now that practically anything may be the business of an unattached woman with no troubles of her own, who takes a kindly interest in those of her friends."

" 'Esther Clovis is certainly a very capable person.' he said doubtfully.  'An excellent woman altogether.'
'You would consider marrying an excellent woman? I asked in amazement. 'But they are not for marrying.' . . . 'They are for being unmarried.' I said, 'and by that I mean a positive rather than negative state.' "

Sunday Salon: June in Review

Musing for this week's Sunday Salon.

In June, I read nine books and listened to four audio books.  That's a low number of audio books for me, but two of them were longish nonfiction, and slowed me down.

Books Read:
The Blackout (1951) by Constance and Gwyneth Little
The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper (2016) by Phaedra Patrick

The Madwoman Upstairs (2016) by Catherine Lowell
Wink Poppy Midnight (2016) by April Genevieve Tucholke
Mystery in White (1937) J. Jefferson Farjeon
The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman (2016) Mamen Sanchez
The Secrets of Wishtide (2016) by Kate Saunders
Britt-Marie Was Here (2014) by Fredrik Backman
Life and Death of Harriett Frean (1922) by May Sinclair

Audio Books:
The Magnificent Century (1951) by Thomas B. Costain
Final Curtain (1947) by Ngaio Marsh
The Three Edwards (1958) by Thomas B. Costain
The Leper of St. Giles (1981) by Ellis Peters

I didn't review The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper, but it was well worth reading.  Maybe not quite 5 stars, but close.  The two I most recommend out of this month are Britt-Marie Was Here (my review) and The Altogether Unexpected Disappearance of Atticus Craftsman (my review).

I also took two trips to the library's annual used book sale--I went on the first day, and on the last day when books were $5/bag.  In addition, I got one book in my OwlCrate and three from the used book store, making a grand total of 32 books for the month. I've been so good over the past few years, trying to keep my book buying to a minimum, but I went wild in June.  Here is my haul, minus My Lady Jane.  Notice the matching set of Alcott books in the back of the top left photo.  They were from the 1950's and looked as if they'd never been opened!

Half-Blood Prince