46. In This House of Brede

By Rumer Godden
Rated 5 Stars
My Keeper Shelf

I have loved this book for years. Something about it makes me pick it up every now and again so that I can slip back into the serene and comforting atmosphere of Brede.

Rumer Godden has woven an intricate story about an odd subject - contemplative nuns! - and, instead of following a strict chronological order - follows the development and growth of many of the nuns. Many of the nuns - and even the non-nuns - struggle with their own personal crises and flaws. Dame Philippa learns to be patient and to overcome the tragedy of her past. Abbess Catherine learns to lead, to reach out to people, and to trust in herself and in providence. Sister Cecily accepts her own beauty - both of body and of soul - and takes responsibility for it rather than turning away from people and hurting them. Mrs. Scallon learns to accept her daughter's decision and in some ways even appreciates it. Penny and Donald put their priorities in order and strengthen their marriage. Dame Agnes learns to be less critical and more loving; she acknowledges the worth of others. Dame Veronica confesses what her pride has compelled her to do and finally tells the truth. Dom Gervase recovers his confidence and can go back into the world. Each character is developed with love; each character is different (although a surprising number of them seem to be extremely well read); each character grows. We feel with them through their tears and smiles, sorrows and joys, despairs and yes, even triumphs - although the triumphs may be on a quieter scale than one finds in most other novels.

Yet, despite these personal crises, the book has an overarching serenity, possibly because all the nuns are devoted to the same end - praising their God - they all have vocations. Godden's writing, rich with detail, unstinting in her choice of words, leads us through the days and seasons and years of the contemplative life, so that we, the readers, also experience the garden in the garth, the moor hens in the dingle, the fresh air and the cries of the seagulls from Brede's tower, as well as the liturgical cycle in the church.

At the end of the novel, I, like Philippa Talbot, am likewise sorry that I must leave This House of Brede. I put it back on my keeper shelf - but I know I can pick it up again and re-enter the enclosure doors, and again recover a measure of peace.

45. The Canoe Boys: The First Epic Scottish Sea Journey by Kayak

By Alistair Dunnett
Rated 5 Stars
Purchased from Amazon

I don't buy all that many books anymore but when something special comes along I make an exception. Besides I knew this was one my library would probably not purchase so I decided to treat myself and buy it and I am so glad I did. It's a real treasure and is exquisitely written. One has to wonder which of them was the better writer. Was he just as good as she was, or was she just as good as he was. Whatever, the ability to write a thrilling sea scene was most definitely a family talent.

FROM BACK OF COVER: "It's too late in the year!" they were advised, but they still did it. By canoe from Bowling to Kyle of Lochalsh with numerous stops along the way, Alastair Dunnett and Seamas Adam spent a heady Autumn in 1934 meandering up the glorious West Coast of Scotland. On their way they sent reports back to the Daily Record informing the readers of their progress and the people they met along the way. Their account makes fascinating reading as they were hailed by onlookers and bystanders wherever they went as 'The Canoe Boys'. Escapades as varied as running the infamous tide-rush of the Dorus Mhor to a balmy harvest working on Calve Island off Mull, quenching their thirst with a mug of drammach (oats and water) are related in superb, lyrical style by Dunnett. This is an adventure story of youthful exuberance and of how life once was lived before the war changed everything for ever."

44. The Host

By Stephanie Meyer
Rated 5 Stars
From: Library

The only book I have really enjoyed this month was The Host and I think that is because the author created such an interesting world and she has always been very original with her first books. The second and third in the Twilight series were not nearly as good as the first. She gets great original ideas but has trouble maintaining the momentum beyond that first book. Thank goodness The Host is a stand alone because if she wrote a sequel to it I would just have to read it and then I would be disappointed. How's that for convoluted reasoning?

"The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed. But Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind. Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves--Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.--From publisher description."

43. The Art of Racing in the Rain

By Garth Stein
Rated 4 Stars
From: Library

"Enzo knows he is different from other dogs: a philosopher with a nearly human soul (and an obsession with opposable thumbs), he has educated himself by watching television extensively, and by listening very closely to the words of his master, Denny Swift, an up-and-coming race car driver. Through Denny, Enzo has gained tremendous insight into the human condition, and he sees that life, like racing, isn't simply about going fast. Using the techniques needed on the race track, one can successfully navigate all of life's ordeals." "On the eve of his death, Enzo takes stock of his life, recalling all that he and his family have been through: the sacrifices Denny has made to succeed professionally; the unexpected loss of Eve, Denny's wife; the three-year battle over their daughter, Zoe, whose maternal grandparents pulled every string to gain custody. In the end, despite what he sees as his own limitations, Enzo comes through heroically to preserve the Swift family, holding in his heart the dream that Denny will become a racing champion with Zoe at his side. Having learned what it takes to be a compassionate and successful person, the wise canine can barely wait until his next lifetime, when he is sure he will return as a man."--BOOK JACKET.

42. A Dangerous Age

Rated: 3 Stars

BOOKLIST BOOK REVIEW:

*Starred Review* Beloved southern fiction writer Gilchrist returns with her first novel since Sarah Conley (1997), and the legion of fans who appreciate her propensity for using recurrent characters will enjoy the reappearance of the extensive Hand family of North Carolina and Oklahoma. The focus is on three cousins, women, who face making greatly important career and personal-marital-choices against the ubiquitous, unavoidable backdrop of the Iraq War and the terrorist conditions prevalent in the post-9/11 world. Gilchrist brings these three characters into full individual realization while simultaneously connecting them to the bigger pattern that is their shared family history and also to the even bigger national event that fractured lives. The novel's opening event, a wedding, which was to gather all the Hands together, is canceled when the bridegroom perishes in the collapse of the World Trade Center only three months before the nuptials were scheduled to take place. The ripple effect of this family tragedy, and the continued impact of the war in Iraq, on the three cousins' lives gives this novel a humanity easily embraced by the reader. Gilchrist's trademark supple prose and droll sense of humor are on full display. Hooper, Brad.

41. Born Fighting

By James Webb
Rated 5 Stars
From Library

This book was recommended by one of the loopies and I am finding it absolutely fascinating reading. I have been into genealogy for a long time and while I am about 4/5ths German, descended from a long line of dull, pious, hardworking German peasants with an occasional shoemaker, tailor or weaver thrown in I also have this fascinating little line on my Mother's side that is part of the Ulster Scots-Irish group that Webb is writing about. It has been hard for me to get a handle on these people other than that they seem to have arrived ticked off at all things English in the early to mid 1700's, came down the Wilderness Trail from Pennslyvania to North Carolina and within a couple of generations became small land owners around Greensboro, N.C. It appears that every time there was a fight going on this contentious group of ancestors was in the thick of it and I found 4 direct ancestors on the list of people who signed the Regulator Petition. I have always wondered since if any of them knew Roger. As these families grew members eventually went west settling all over the South and Southwest. My G-G-Grandparents came to Missouri in the mid 1800's just in time to be on the wrong side of the Civil War They are my only Confederate leaning ancestors.

Anyway this book tell me a lot about why they left Scotland and then Northern Ireland (they left from Londonderry) and what kind of atmosphere they ended up in when they got to N.C. I need to go and thank Jane for recommending it as it's another one of those books I would never have read had not someone pointed me in it's direction.

BOOK JACKET: "More than 27 million Americans today can trace their lineage to the Scots, whose bloodline was stained by centuries of continuous warfare along the border between England and Scotland, and later in the bitter settlements of England's Ulster Plantation in Northern Ireland. Between 250,000 and 400,000 Scots-Irish migrated to America in the eighteenth century, traveling in groups of families and bringing with them not only long experience as rebels and outcasts but also unparalleled skills as frontiersmen and guerrilla fighters. Their cultural identity reflected acute individualism, as well as a dislike of aristocracy and a strong military tradition; and, over time, the Scots-Irish defined the attitudes and values of the military, of working-class America, and even of the peculiarly populist form of American democracy itself."

"Born Fighting is the first book to chronicle the full journey of this remarkable cultural group, and the profound, but unrecognized, role it has played in the shaping of America. Written with the storytelling verve that has earned his works such acclaim as "captivating...unforgettable" (the Wall Street Journal on Lost Soldiers), Scots-Irishman James Webb, Vietnam combat veteran and former Secretary of the Navy, traces the history of his people, beginning nearly two thousand years ago at Hadrian's Wall, when the nation of Scotland was formed north of the Wall through armed conflict, in contrast to England's formation to the south through commerce and trade. Webb recounts the Scots' odyssey - their clashes with the English in Scotland and then in Ulster, their retreat from one war-ravaged land to another. Through engrossing chronicles of the challenges the Scots-Irish faced, Webb vividly portrays how they developed the qualities that helped settle the American frontier and define the American character."

"Born Fighting shows that the Scots-Irish were 40 percent of the Revolutionary War army; they included the pioneers Daniel Boone, Lewis and Clark, Davy Crockett, and Sam Houston; they were the writers Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain; and they have given America numerous great military leaders, including Stonewall Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, Audie Murphy, and George S. Patton, as well as most of the soldiers of the Confederacy (only 5 percent of whom owned slaves, and who fought against what they viewed as an invading army). It illustrates how the Scots-Irish redefined American politics, creating the populist movement and giving the country a dozen presidents, including Andrew Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton. And it explores how the Scots-Irish culture of isolation, hard luck, stubbornness, and mistrust of the nation's elite formed and still dominates blue-collar America, the military services, the Bible Belt, and country music. Both a distinguished work of cultural history and a human drama that speaks straight to the heart of contemporary America, Born Fighting reintroduces America to its most powerful, patriotic, and individualistic cultural group - one too often ignored or taken for granted." Book jacket.

40. The Blood of Fowers

by Anita Amirrezvani
Rated 4.7
From Library

Sydney from the histoical favorites group recommended this book and I am very glad she did.

FROM THE BOOK JACKET: "In Persia, in the seventeenth century, a young woman is forced to leave behind the life she knows and move to a new city. Her father's unexpected death has upended everything - her expectation of marriage, her plans for the future - and cast her and her mother upon the mercy of relatives in the fabled city of Isfahan." "Her uncle is a wealthy designer of carpets for the Shah's court, and the young woman is instantly drawn to his workshop. She takes in everything - the dyes, the yarns, the meanings of the thousand ancient patterns - and quickly begins designing carpets herself. This is men's work, but her uncle recognizes both her passion and her talent and allows her secretly to cross that line." "But then a single disastrous, headstrong act threatens her very existence and casts her and her mother into an even more desperate situation. She is forced into an untenable form of marriage, a marriage contract renewable monthly, for a fee, to a wealthy businessman. Caught between forces she can barely comprehend, she knows only that she must act on her own, risking everything, or face a life lived at the whim of others."

39. Three Girls and Their Brother

Rated Four Stars
By Theresa Rebeck
From: Library

I thought at first this was going to end up being one of those Paris Hilton type things but I am glad I stuck with it because it turned out to be a pretty good story.

FROM LIBRARY REVIEW: "The three beautiful, red-headed Heller sisters, granddaughters of a respected literary critic, are inexplicably hailed by The New Yorker in a lavish photo spread as the new "it" girls. And so the rise to fame begins for Daria, Polly, and Amelia as fashion magazines, famous, sleazy actors, and paparazzi relentlessly take notice. Philip, their neglected and marginalized brother, is the lone voice of dissent, as the sisters soon become household names, quit school, and are featured on an eight-foot tall billboard in the middle of Manhattan's Union Square. When Amelia, at 14 the youngest of the sisters, lands a role in an off-Broadway play and breaks away from the sister act, the uneasy sibling rivalry surfaces and forces the three sisters and their brother to decide where their newfound fame will take them. In her funny and well-observed first novel, award-winning Broadway playwright Rebeck (Omnium Gatherum; Mauritius) weighs in on the peculiarity and absurdity of fame in modern America."

38. Simply Perfect

By Mary Balough
Rated: 5 Stars
From Library

Claudia Martin, headmistress and owner of Miss Martin's School for Girls, had no use for the ton, and reserved a special disdain for dukes. To Claudia's great consternation, Joseph, the Marquess of Attingsborough, refuses to succumb to her icy disapproval. Instead, he thaws Claudia into accepting his offer for her and two of her recently graduated students to travel with him to London. That trip turns out to be just the beginning of his campaign to win Claudia's affections, but she is certain she can resist the infinitely rakish Joseph. A prim and proper spinster discovers love is never sensible when she engages in a spirited battle of wits and wills with a nobleman with charm to spare. With her signature exquisite sense of characterization and subtle wit, Balogh brings her sweetly sensual, thoroughly romantic Simply quartet to a truly triumphant conclusion.

37. Twisted Creek

By Jodi Thomas
Rated 4.5 Stars
From Jani

Fortune smiles on Allie Daniels and her elderly Nana in the form of an unexpected West Texas inheritance from a mysterious Uncle Jefferson Platt, of whom Allie doesn't recall any talk. Raised by her grandparents, Allie quit college to take care of frail Nana at her grandfather's death, and, at 26, has held a variety of dead-end jobs. She and Nana are enchanted by the West Texas property on Twisted Creek and have soon reopened its rundown bait shop–cum–general store and cafe to serve the Nesters, an eccentric bunch who live lakeside year-round. Half-Navajo undercover ATF agent Luke Morgan is one of them, and he's intent on catching the killer of Uncle Jefferson, who was his own granddad's best friend—and to put some drug traffickers out of business in the process. Morgan tries to resist his feelings for Allie, but Thomas sketches a slow, sweet surrender, keeping the tension building to a rewarding resolution in this unsentimental, homespun romance.

36. The Darcy Connection

By Elizabeth Aston
Rated 4.7 Stars
From: Jani

This was a delightful surprise because I am not over fond of knock off books but this one has all new characters, the daughters of Mr. Collins and Charlotte. As knock off books go (all right - pastiche's if one wants to be fancy) this is one of the better ones I have read.

Amazon Blurb: "..... follows the children of Elizabeth Bennet's friend Mrs. Collins, who married the uninspired vicar Collins, now an uninspired bishop. Their eldest, Charlotte, has grown into rare beauty; Charlotte's sister, and our heroine, is Eliza—Mrs. Darcy's goddaughter. Eliza has ill-advisedly acquired a tendresse for Anthony Diggory, the son of the local squire, which is passionately returned. Sent off to London as companion for Charlotte, however, Eliza opens her eyes both to the possibilities of the larger world and her own place there, thence lessening the desirability of a Yorkshire life and of Anthony. Assisting this process is the handsome but proud banker, Bartholomew Bruton, with whom Eliza first becomes annoyed and then enamored. If she can save Charlotte from a cad and fend off Anthony, among other complications, Eliza may just find happiness. More development of Charlotte and one or two fewer complications would have helped, and some ends are simply too tidy. But the results are still utterly charming, with all the verve, humor and Austenian turns of plot one expects from Aston."

35. Getting Stoned with Savages

By J. Maarten Troost
Rated 4.8 Stars
From Library

Amazon Blurb: Using a format similar to that of his previous work, The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Troost creates another comical and touching travel memoir. Troost and his wife, Sylvia, move from busy Washington, D.C., to Vanuatu, a nation made up of 83 islands in the South Pacific. As Sylvia works for a regional nonprofit, Troost immerses himself in the islands' culture, an odd mix of the islanders' thousand-year-old "kastoms" along with imperialist British and French influences. This really means that Troost gets to live in a nice house while he gets drunk on kava; dodges "a long inferno of magma and a cascade of lava bombs" at the "world's most accessible volcano"; and checks out the "calcified" leftovers from one of Vanuatu's not-so-ancient traditions, cannibalism. At the end of the book, the couple move to Fiji so that Sylvia will have state-of-the-art medical care when she gives birth to their first baby. While modern-day Fiji provides little fodder for Troost's comic sensibilities, the birth of his son enables him to share some deeper thoughts and decide it is "time to stop looking for paradise." A funny travelogue with a sentimental heart, Troost's latest work genuinely captures the search for paradise as well as the need for home.