Books Coming This Summer

If you want to see what books are generating buzz for the summer, check out this link to Entertainment Weekly here.   The list includes the two books I am most looking forward to, both conclusions to trilogies: Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, the conclusion to the Millennium Trilogy, and Mockingjay, the final book in the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.  Larsson's book is out quite soon, May 25.  We'll have to wait most of the summer for Collins's book, though...it will be released on August 24.  It will be a long wait for me, but sometimes the anticipation of a book I know I am going to love is almost as good as the book itself.  Happy Reading!

New D.E. Stevenson Collection

Last week I bid on a lot of 12 D.E. Stevenson books and I won.  They arrived today (Oh Happy Day!) and I have been having a lovely time sorting through them and deciding which to read first.

Let me explain why I am so excited.  For a book lover, there is no greater pleasure than finding a new author that you love, especially if that author was particularly prolific.  I heard about D.E. Stevenson from a blog I follow, Jen Robinson's Book Page, and these books are just the kind of books I like.  D.E. Stevenson is quickly becoming one of my comfort authors... with the likes of Jane Austen, Georgette Heyer, C.S. Lewis, Baroness Orzcy, etc.  Here's the problem:  though Stevenson was popular in her day, the vast majority of her books are currently out of print and in my experience, extremely difficult to find.  The two local libraries I frequent only had five total out of the 40-odd Stevenson books.  Neither of the local used bookstores I tried had any at all.

So, I have several weeks of bliss ahead of me.  Here is a list of the books that were in the lot that I won, so if you see one you want to borrow, let me know.  D.E. Stevenson was known for having characters from one book make appearances in other books, so many are interrelated.  I will group a book together with its sequel or as part of a trilogy as per The World of DES, but even if not listed as part of a group, a book is likely to be related to other books.  Most of them are new to me, but I will note the ones I have already read:

 1. Katherine Wentworth
 2. Katherine's Marriage


 3. Vittoria Cottage
 4. Music in the Hills
 5. Shoulder the Sky (My favorite of the ones I have read.  So happy to have my own copy).

 6. Gerald and Elizabeth (Has a sequel...not part of this lot).

 7. Celia's House (Have read this...rework of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park plot).
 8. Listening Valley (Have read this...sweet, charming story of an insecure girl blossoming into a confident young woman, with the help of an older man who cherishes her).

 9. Young Mrs. Savage
10. Still Glides the Stream (Have read).
11. The House on the Cliff
12. Anna and Her Daughters

If you are a D.E. Stevenson fan and you have an opinion on which book to read first, let me know.  If you have never heard of D.E. Stevenson, and you like sweet, innocent romances which are full of interesting characters and plots, give her a try.  She was related to Robert Louis Stevenson, so good writing runs in the family.

Since I heard of DES, I have been frustrated by the difficulty of finding her books.  I am hoping that some publishing company will decide to reissue her books, like what has happened with Georgette Heyer.

James Herriot

It's happened!  Finally, once again I've found a book that transports me to another time and another place.  Of course I have heard of James Herriot.  I had even tried to read one of his books as a little girl.  I must have been too young to appreciate it, because I certainly don't remember loving it, or even finishing it.

My Grandma Gilliland, a lifelong reader, recently passed away, and one of my aunts told me that in her last few weeks, she went back to these animal stories, and read them over and over.  Her copy of All Creatures Great and Small, is tattered with dog-eared pages.  I have been longing for one of those books that touch the soul, restlessly casting about for just the right read.  When I heard about Grandma's last reading days, I rummaged under my bed until I unearthed the dual copy of All Creatures Great and Small and All Things Bright and Beautiful that I had purchased from the bargain bin at Barnes and Noble several years ago.  If cliches originate with the truth, then that old saying "it made me laugh, it made me cry," could have been first written by a reviewer of this book.  Last night in bed, I was shaking with laughter (silently so as to not awaken Pat), reading about Tristan wrecking not one, but two of his brother Siegfried's cars in a 24-hour period.  Earlier in the day, though, I was fighting back tears when James had to put down an old widower's loyal dog, his last companion on this earth.

The first thing I wanted to be "when I grew up" was a veterinarian.  Reading All Creatures Great and Small was giving me twinges of regret that I never pursued that career.  Then I remembered the best thing about reading.  When I read this book, I am a vet.  When I read Pride and Prejudice, I am Elizabeth Bennet.  I am Beatrice from Much Ado About Nothing.  I am Lucy loving Aslan with my whole heart.  This does not happen to me with every book, but once in a while, if you are very blessed, you open a treasure, one of those books that touches your soul, and you forget you are reading and are whisked away from your own life to Regency England, to a veterinary practice in the British Isles, to Narnia.

New Blog

I just found a new blog that I am really excited about.  It is called "Ms. Yingling Reads" and discusses and reviews books especially aimed at boys.  Because I am the mother of three sons, I am passionate about getting boys to read.  I know that most of the time, my boys would rather be playing the Wii or iPod, and so am always looking for books to tempt them away.  I haven't read much at this blog, but will be perusing it eagerly.

Spring Break, Etc.

Well, I just wanted to post to assure you that I have not forgotten about my blog.  I just haven't been reading much lately because of this and that going on in my life.  My grandma died and the end of February and I made two trips to my hometown during that time.  After about a week at home, it was time for Spring Break and we went to Colorado.  I thought I would get a lot of reading done in the car, but it did not happen.  I am hoping that life will calm down and get somewhat back to normal.

I did manage to finish another Georgette Heyer novel, The Masqueraders while on vacation and right now I am reading The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl, a book recommended to be by my Aunt I.B. when we were visiting her in Denver.  It is a literary thriller...literary in the sense that several literary icons (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, etc.) are characters in the novel.  So far I am enjoying it.

My Grandma

My Grandma Gilliland passed away this week.  I could never hope to find the words to express how much she meant to me and influenced me in my life.  Below is her obituary.  She was loved and I will miss being called "dolly" and "tweetie."

Grandma Gilliland's Life

(Ina) Lucille Gilliland, beloved mother and grandmother, passed away on February 25, 2010, full of years at 92, a woman who devoted her entire life to her family.  She was born Lucille Parker in Alta Vista, Kansas on October 26, 1917, one of seven children. The Parkers later moved to Lyndon, Kansas where she graduated  from Lyndon High School in 1934 and married Donald Gilliland on August 1, 1936. Donald and Lucille moved to Overbrook, Kansas, where they raised their three girls and four boys on the family farm.

She was preceded in death by her husband Donald, grandson Ryan Gilliland, brothers Earl Parker, George Parker and Ted Parker and sister Ruby Sherwin. After the death of her husband, Lucille took a position as a cook at Santa Fe Trail High School, and finished raising their children on the farm. She retired in 1983 and moved back to Lyndon in 1985. Throughout her life Lucille enjoyed reading, baking, quilting, Scrabble and crossword puzzles, and most especially spending time with her family.

Lucille is survived by her children and their spouses, Darrel (Susan) of Topeka, Delton (Janet) of Lyndon, Frank (Betsy) of Holton, Ina Beth (Jim) Jordan of Littleton, Colorado, Amy (Tom) Feitel of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Susan (Mike) King of Republic, Missouri, and Milton (Becky) of Topeka; 15 grandchildren who all know how blessed they were to have her as a grandmother; 20 great grandchildren; and her sisters, Irene Johnson of Mesa, Arizona and Lorene Michel of Grenada, California.

Katie's Blog

My darlin' cousin Katie has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which is what her mom died of about 15 years ago.  She is going to be blogging about her experience as she undergoes treatment, including chemotherapy, which starts this coming Tuesday.  She is one of my favorite people on the planet, and if you know her you will know exactly why I say that.  She is welcoming anyone to read her blog as she talks about her experience.  If you want to visit her site, go to www.caringbridge.org.  On the home page in the box where it says to enter the website name, enter "kateelasy."  Or, if you prefer, you can click on the link over on the left of my page under the "Blogs I Follow" section.  Katie would love to hear from family and friends.  The support and kind words she has already received have meant a lot.  The picture is of Katie's three boys.

Scholar's Bowl

My son Ian participated in the Central Plains League Scholar's Bowl Tournament yesterday.  Suffice it to say I am one proud mom!  His strongest suit is Math, but I took particular pride in the fact that he answered many literature questions correctly yesterday.  I can't remember everything he got right (they played 16 rounds), but some of the answers he gave in which I feel I can a little credit included "Tuck Everlasting," "Madeleine L'Engle," "foreshadowing," and "alliteration."  Go, Ian!  See, it does pay to read.

Two Awesome Lists

Wow!  If you are looking for something to read, check out these two lists.  The first one is the Top 100 Children's Novels, a list put together by a woman named Betsy Bird.  I think she polled people who follow her blog at School Library Journal.  Even if you are not interested in reading children's books, you have to check out this list to see and appreciate all the work she has gone to to compile this list.  Not only does she have a short summary of each book, but also includes quotes from readers who particularly love each book, videos relating to the books, and (my favorite part of the list) as many images of covers of different editions of each book that she could find.  She is releasing her list a few books at a time, and for the last week or so, I have been eagerly checking out this blog each day to find the new posts.  For the books I have already read on this list, I am feeling nostalgic to re-read them and as for the books I have not read, almost every entry makes me feel like I have missed out on a great treasure, a situation that I must rectify (soon).

If you are a lover of dystopian fiction, especially in the YA category, the other list you must see is Half a Century of English-Language Young Adult Dystopias at a blog called Redecorating Middle-Earth in Early Lovecraft.  The blogger (Amy H. Sturgis) breaks down by decade an extremely comprehensive list of dystopian novels.  I am slowly learning, but I must admit that I was ignorant at the number of books that exist in this genre.  In fact, even though I have always liked books with a creepy/futuristic feel, I didn't realize until recently that this really was considered a genre unto itself.

Thanks to Jen Robinson whose blog led me to both these lists.  I now have so many books in my mental "to-read" pile that I think I will never get through them all.

Which is bliss.