Favorite reads from the past

I am earnestly clearing some of my all time favorites from the book shelves which have become toooooo overloaded. September 5 is our library's book sale and I am donating so they can raise funds. These are books I have enjoyed so much that I was sure I had to keep them. But wrong! I never look back and reread them because there are so many books to look ahead to and more all the time. I realize I do not need to maintain such an extensive library as I have for myself. No one ever comes and borrows a book here like they used to in CA. Of course in CA during career days I was around more people. In CA I had an army of reading friends and colleagues who swapped, traded, lent, borrowed books. Not here. So this is another awakening from clearing out my aunt's home in PA, just move it along. I'm a life long book lover so this takes lots of talking to myself, to keep moving these along. Especially paperbacks. I loved reading all these book and unless I wrote something in them, or tagged pages, I will not be quoting from them. I am guilty of buying previously read books at sales and less I do that again, I will list these on my blog so I will know that I've already been there! Most of these I will not forget, but since I have done it before, I'm trying prevention.

"Seabiscuit" by Laura Hillenbrand. Read this before I would allow myself to see the movie. Great story about a great KY Derby winner in the old days of horse racing. This edition has excellent photos, references, anthology and a reader's guide in the back by the author. Our friend/neighbor/sometimes adopted daughter in CA is a jockey/trainer all around horse bum gal. But she doesn't read like her dad did and so sending this to her would not be worthwhile.

"Ahab's Wife, or the Star Gazer" by Sena Jeter Naslund I read this in February 2005 after I really retired. I thought I retired in October 2004 but agreed to return in January. That only convinced me if I had not meant it in October I really meant it now. But onto this book! I read a lot when I worked because I had a long commute into and out of Sacramento daily. While we commuters were quite social there were many times that I just cherished the time retreating into a good book. I found after I retired I was not having the same amount of time to read so had to make time daily, usually end of the day to get my words in! This book about the wife left behind on land while Captain Ahab, of Moby Dick fame is off whaling is one of my all time favorites. Her life story including going to sea disguised as a young boy weaves through Kentucky, Nantucket and beyond. In 117chapters, 666 pages and a layout of illustrations reminiscent of old sketches ,unique to this author, the tale takes many turns. Ahead of her time and yet part of it our story teller keeps going. Some chapters are like short letters, extracts of stories. There are wonderful quotes throughout this book. From it's opening lines"Captain Ahab was neither my first husband not my last....." you know you are in for a good story. NY Times proclaimed it one of the year's five best novels in 2000; the novel received many other accolades.

I am wondering if I can really part with this book, with illustrations. I have the pages of this book tagged with so many great lines; page 609, "don't you love reading? How is that so different from writing?"

Page 297, "Beware the treachery of words, Mrs. Sparrow. They mean one thing to one person and the opposite to another. They are like all conventional land born habits. Words seem to be well-woven baskets ready to hold your meaning, but they betray you with rotted corners and splintered stays."

Page 178, "People cross our paths casually, when trumpets should blare. So it was with my first sighting of the Pequod and the man who would become a husband"

Well I could not part with this book; it is back on the shelf where it will stay!


The following are all authored by Laurie King, introdced to me by a friend years back in CA. Laurie is a CA author who created a wonderful mystery series featuring Mary Russell, an apprentice to Sherlock Holmes who becomes his wife. I loved the Sherlock Holmes mysteries as a teenager so it was delightful to discover this fantasy. What if he had married, who would it be? Laurie King also wrote mysteries about Kate Martineli, a San Francisco police detective. I have passed along some of her books and for some reason kept these which are now going to the library sale. They are al delightful mysteries, no bad language and just good reading. Nothing too deep, but enjoyable.

"A Monstrous Regiment of Women" It's 1921 and Mary Russell, Sherlock Holmes apprentice, inherits a considerable amount. She however prowls nightly through London's darker streets in disguise.
"The Beekeeper's Apprentice" According to King Sherlock kept bees on the moor in his spare time. This book uses that theme to introduce Mary. I loved the line Sherlock speaks to Mary, "Guessing is a weakness brought on by indolence and should never be confused with intuition." Doesn't that sound like Sherlock?
"The Moor" Married to Sherlock, Mary abandons her Oxford studies to assist him in an investigation on Dartmoor. Where there have been sightings of a coach carrying a long dead noblewoman, more intriguing than the phantom hound of the Baskervilles.
"O Jerusalem" takes place near the end of 1918 when Sherlock flees England with Mary to British occupied Palestine with help from his brother, Mycroft. Murders seem unrelated to the increasing tensions among the Jews, Muslims, and Christians, but Sherlock is not so sure. Their investigation leads them through bazaars, hovels, monasteries, and into the ever present mortal danger of an adversary. I remember this one had me on the edge of my seat.
"A Letter of Mary" As I recall, this adventure begins when Mary opens a trunk that mysteriously is delivered to her. A letter within leads to many intriguing events.
"The Game" This may be the last Mary Russel mystery I read in April2006. New Years 1924, finds Mary relaxing with Sherlock when Mycroft visits with news that is intriguing. A package arrives from Kimball O'Hara of Rudyard Kipling's fame. O'Hara is then missing and Mary and Sherlock travel to India to search for him.
"With Child" is a Kate Martinelli mystery. Kate is engaged by a 12 year old Jules to search for a homeless boy, Dio.

"the 5 people you meet in heaven" by Mitch Albom. This title is just like that with small letters. I read this in November 2003 on our return trip to CA from MN. I do not understand how and why this book was so acclaimed. It was decent motor home reading but not something that I recommended. I don't know why it has remained on my shelf but it goes to the library now. One review said this is a a sad book narrated by a sad soul; and in this heaven God and his glory are not the center of attention. It's all about you. Perhaps those who need to feel it is all about them made this book popular. One good quote about love on Page 173 strikes me still today, "Lost love is still love, ... It takes a different form....You can't see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory. Memory becomes your partner. You nurture it. You hold it. You dance with it....Life has to end, she said, Love doesn't."

"Belong to Me"by Marisa de los Santos. I read this in June 2008 and wrote then that it was a good summer chic read. I have lent it out to several people but it is time to remove it from my permanent shelf. Nice phrases abound in this novel about Cornelia Brown who leaves city life for a laid back suburb after marrying Teo. The suburb is not all that welcoming though to a newcomer. The characters (local desperate housewives) are interesting and there is a unique twist that I did not see coming.