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| A small portion of my parents' books |
Below are the first lines of the books I finished reading in March. Six books, including three (!) for kids/young adults, and two re-reads. March was a very busy and tense month, with petition signing to get candidates on the ballot squished into a shorter time frame, and yet at the same time prolonged into an entire month. Yinz please make all that activity worthwhile by voting in the primary election.
Book 1
The First Chapter: One home is forsaken in hopes of finding another
It was not Miss Penelope Lumley’s first journey on a train, but it was the first one she had taken alone.
As you may know, traveling alone is quite a different kettle of fish from traveling with companions.
Book 2
Four young girls busily prepared for their big day.
Book 3
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
Book 4
The First Chapter: A fit of pique encounters a bit of pluck.
“But the workmen swore the repairs to the house would be finished by now!” The blushing pink circles that typically adorned the cheeks of Lady Constance Ashton were now as scarlet as two ripe nectarines.
Book 5
After the thing was all over, when peril had ceased to loom and happy endings had been distributed in heaping handfuls and we were driving home with our hats on the side of our heads, having shaken the dust of Steeple Bumpleigh from our tyres, I confessed to Jeeves that there had been moments during the recent proceedings when Bertram Wooster, though no weakling, had come very near to despair.
Book 6
I still remember the awe I felt the first time I walked into the Alameda County Superior Courthouse, in Oakland, California, as an employee.
The titles and authors revealed:
Book 1
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book 1: The Mysterious Howling, by Maryrose Wood. Illustrated by Jon Klassen.
This is really only half a book. Many of the mysteries were not resolved, which will force me to read the next book. Which is not a bad thing, as I liked the characters and the moderately snarky writing style. It’s like a mild Lemony Snicket of the famous A Series of Unfortunate Events, although I have only read snippets of Snicket so I can’t really give a good comparison. The Incorrigible children behave somewhat like wolves, and yet are much better behaved than many of the adults. It was wonderful to read children’s literature.
Book 2
The Color of Compromise: The Truth about the American Church’s Complicity in Racism, by Jemar Tisby. © 2019. 250 pages.
Second reading (first time was in 2019). This time it is suggested reading for the church anti-racism group.
Book 3
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. Published 1813.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that this book’s opening line is one of the most famous in English literature.
Readers view this book either as a much-beloved classic exploring early 19th century English upper middle class society, or as a useless tome about a bunch of people who need to get real jobs and do something useful. The book raises lots of questions. Is Elizabeth Bennet a feminist hero, ahead of her time for wanting to marry for love and not just to secure her economic future? Hard to tell – she ends up getting both love and economic security. And when asked when was the first time she knew she loved Darcy, she says it was when she saw his mansion. What’s not to love about a man with a mansion? But still, I think Jane Austen wrote Lizzy Bennet as a bold character who wants it all and is willing to talk back defiantly to the authorities of her circle.
More on the Common Household’s reading of P&P at this link.
Book 4
The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book 2: The Hidden Gallery, by Maryrose Wood. Illustrated by Jon Klassen.
The plucky governess Penelope Lumley and her charges, the wolf-children of Lord Ashton, continue their adventures, leaving the countryside to spend some time in London. Most mysteries of the first in the series are still not resolved, and new mysteries have been revealed. We can guess at the answer for some of the unknowns. And this book introduces a friend or possibly a love interest for our heroine.
Book 5
Joy in the Morning, by P.G. Wodehouse. Published 1946. 229 pages.
This book is the Anti-Pride-and-Prejudice. Bertie Wooster does not want to get married and goes through contortions to avoid it. It’s the usual Jeeves & Wooster caper. Very funny.
Book 6
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, by Kamala Harris, adapted for young readers by Ruby Shamir. Published 2019. Young Readers Edition. 260 pages.
This is one of those memoirs written by a person planning to run for higher office, except I read the kids’ version. I especially enjoyed the parts about how Kamala Harris’ mother inspired her. My mother has inspired me.
2 comments:
In light of your long and busy month of advocacy, I'm pleased to see you allowed yourself the pleasure of Jeeves & Wooster. Those books are a balm, especially when the world gets so serious. I hope your candidates won. Mine here did, which made lots of people very happy.
So glad to hear your candidates won! We haven't had our primary yet, but we did get our candidates on the ballot, which is a win of sorts.
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