Freddy Goes to Florida

Altogether, Walter R. Brooks published 26 Freddy the Pig books. I'd never read this one before I picked it up on a momentary whim while waiting for my kids in the children's section at our public library last week.

Recently I had re-read Freddy the Detective, and while it was at least interesting, and amusing in spots, it didn't rekindle any warm childhood memories or feel particularly fulfilling. Not a disappointment, exactly, but not what I had hoped for.

Freddy Goes to Florida, on the other hand, felt more like the genuine article. The first in the entire Freddy series, it was originally published in 1927 under what must be a contender for Worst Title of All Time ("To and Away"). In it, Freddy is only a bit player among the many animals involved; in fact, here his name has a comma. (Having to remind the reader about which animal is which, they keep referring to him as "Freddy, the pig.") On the whole, this book was a satisfying read. Lots of adventures--crocodiles, bad guys, buried treasure--kind of like a road trip movie, only with richly-drawn humanized animal characters.

Ellen Tebbits

I have been a huge fan of Beverly Cleary for about 25 years. And before that, I knew of her stuff because of the one book of hers we owned at home growing up, which was Ellen Tebbits.

I must have read that book at least half a dozen times, just because it was there. It wasn't until much later, when I began to improve as a writer, that I really came to appreciate Ms. Cleary's amazing talent.

I've read most of her books to the twins--everything in the Henry Huggins series, everything in the Ramona series, everything in the Ralph S. Mouse series, and a couple of her other books as well (including her book Otis Spofford, which also features Ellen Tebbits in a supporting role). But this book never found its way to our shelf until last week when Charlotte brought it home from school.

And so I re-read it today. Wonderful, again. (Coincidentally, Charlotte brought home this edition, which has the Alan Tiegreen illustration on the cover, but the same drawings inside as the 1951 original that we had when I was a kid.)

Currently Reading

Even-handed historical narratives about the inventors that helped shape the American present.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, about as many of the names associated with certain inventions are gifted with more talent for marketing than inventing, and so have made themselves into household names.  Some were more interested in inventing than anything, and barely stopped to apply for patents, or left it to their assistants. And others stuck doggedly at their work against all odds until they were favored by dumb luck.

About this last group, especially: you wonder how many hundreds of would-be inventors kept going against all odds but never got there, or were beaten to it. Quite a few, probably, that we'll never hear of.

Citizen Welles

One day I was in the mood for a biography so I picked this one up at random at the Public Library. Turned out to be more interesting and educational than I expected.

And I guess that's partly because Orson Welles turned out to be more interesting than I expected. I've been a fan of Citizen Kane since forever, and of course I knew of the War of the Worlds radio show, but didn't really know much about the guy beyond that. Didn't know anything, for example, about his stage career, which was actually where he got started and began to build a name for himself before the Mercury Theatre radio shows.

The book is very much about Welles as a person, rather than being about The Movie Star or The Radio Star, and gives an interesting look into his personality and his approach to his work. (One of the biggest personal upsets of his professional life, for example, came when he was playing on a Broadway stage and someone from the back of the audience called out, "Louder!" Ever the confident perfectionist, Welles was mortified.)

The easy access of the Internet makes reading a book like this all the more fun. It's easy to find downloadable .mp3 files of many of the radio shows, and there's even some footage of the "Voodoo Macbeth" on YouTube.

Overall, a fun and worthwhile read, even if you're not a Welles fan.

The Longest Trip Home

Okay - you can't click to look inside from here. You'll have to go to amazon to do that.

This is a memoir covering his entire life - growing up Catholic in the midwest, going off to college & jobs, getting married with a family of his own, and then returning home again when his dad gets sick. It was funny and sad and all very believable.

Give it a try!

Twilight

Well, I did it. I finished the entire book of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight. Boy, she sure must have had a good laugh while writing it and while taking all her profits to the bank. Here's a summary of the first 390 pages:

His perfect face. His lips. His eyes. Too beautiful to be real. I have no control. He is a vampire but I am in love with him.

The last 100 pages did have a little action. I can see how the book might attract pre-teens. But don't waste your time....

girls in trucks

this is not the sort of fiction i normally read or gravitate to. i guess they call it 'chick lit' but that sound pejorative, doesnt' it? anyway, i went to duke young writer's camp w/ the author way back when. it's not a great book per se but it's a good read and a good debut. check it.

Brett McCarthy: Work in Progress by Maria Padian

This is the first book by Dad's cousin, Maria Padian. She lives in Maine in the same town as your cousin Matt Stuart. This is a young adult book with the main character the age of 14.

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The book is organized into 45 chapters, each one with a new vocabulary word. The word is listed at the top of each chapter and then described later in the chapter. I found this to be very irritating. I could overlook the chapter being defined by a vocabulary word but I found having the description in the chapter itself (rather than at the top with the chapter title) to be distracting.

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So, I had to force myself to read this book. I decided on reading a chapter a night. Even so, I would have dropped it after a few chapters had it not been written by a Padian. By the time I got to about page 50, I found I was enjoying the book and the characters and I was reading a few chapters each night. Before long, I left my latest mystery book sitting at the bedside table while I read this book! Overall, I really liked it - the story, the characters, how everything was tied up but also very believable. It was a good book and very enjoyable once you really get into it.

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I have a copy (given to me by Marna) so if you want to borrow it, just let me know. :)

Frozen Tracks by Ake Edwardson

This is the 3rd book in the series about Detective Chief Inspector Erik Winter of Gothenburg, Sweden. The first two are titled "Sun and Shadow" and "Never End". I like how the books are written and that though they are mysteries, they concentrate more on the characters. For example - Winter had problems communicating with his father and his thoughts on that: "Everything could have been resolved if only they'd spoken to each other. The only thing that helps is communication with words. That's the only thing that enables us to make progress. Silence begets more silence, and eventually causes a muteness that is like cement."

There are 12 Erik Winter novels but so far, only 3 of them have been translated from Swedish to English. I'm looking forward to the other 9.

Origin by Diana Abu-Jaber

This was an unusual book, somewhat difficult to classify. Though it is a mystery, it is also a character study with much of the action occuring in the main character's past or her imaginings. I really enjoyed the author's writing and it wasn't until I had the book home from the library and started reading it that I realized she is a Portland author - spending time here and in Miami.

Lena Dawson is not a cop or a detective but a fingerprint examiner. She is also an orphan and this plays a major part in this story.

About 3/4 of the way through, the story begins to lag and the book could have used some more editing. The author does bring the book to a satisfying conclusion though and it is well worth reading - but not for everyone.

I'm looking forward to reading more books by this author!

Mister Pip by Lloyd Jones

This book did live up to the praise of its reviews. It was interesting, well-written and thought provoking. Though I would have done a bit more editing, it was well worth reading, just as it is. This book is worth your time - and easily read as it is only 256 pages.

shortcomings by a. tomine

just read this. it's real good. quick read. we actually got to see him talk a little while at wordstock in november.

The Gathering by Anne Enright

This book had some great reviews and was even a Booker prize finalist. Why?? Mostly I just found it boring. I gave it a good 75 pages but after nothing interesting happened and I didn't care for any of the characters, I just skimmed the rest and read the ending. Don't waste your time.

Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra

Wow! What a book! You get quite a feel for Bombay (now called Mumbai) and some of the people that populate the city. The author has quite a way with writing and no matter whether the concentration was on the policeman, the gangster, the film star, beggars, ordinary folk - you felt you had an understanding of them and an appreciation of their lives. You knew them - or wanted to.

The paperback edition is 947 pages and I have to admit I was getting a bit tired of it around page 600 or so. But as I moved onward, I again got engrossed in it and by page 947, I was sorry to see it end! However, I do admit there were some pages where I felt "I really don't want to know any more about this character". However, there were only two small sections that I would have edited out of the book.

My very favorite part of the book was one of the insets (where the author discusses a more minor character) called A House in a Distant City. It's about 30 pages long and you can read it by itself, ignoring the rest of the book, and still have a really good story. If you are not ready to tackle 947 pages, give this inset a try.

legacy of ashes

been reading this lately. pretty comprehensive and cements the notion that everything the cia touches turns in to a collosal goat-f**k. i feared that it would be too dry but author writes real well and keeps things moving. however, it does not instill confidence in our country, our country's leaders, our country's history since WW 2. man oh man. italy, greece, korea, guatamala, iran, indonesia. one massive trainwreck after another. covert ops, briefcases of money, coup's, elections bought, sold, manufactured, controlled thru misinformation, disinformation, propaganda, radio free europe etc. I haven't even gotten to cuba yet.

update:
i've arrived at cuba. boy oh boy