Whoa, W-a-a-a-y Behind On My Book Reviews

That's what happens when school starts. The train leaves the station and all I can do is hang on. I have read a few books in the last month, and I will attempt to give a brief synopsis/review of each one. You may have noticed that I like most of the books that I read. I'll let you in on a little secret: If I start a book and really dislike it, I give myself permission to not read any further. I rarely buy books anymore, especially books that I haven't already read, so it is no big deal to just close the stinkin' book and return it to the public library. I LOVE my public library!

The Invention of Air by Steven Johnson is a biography of Joseph Priestly, the eighteenth century scientist who, among other things, discovered a process for carbonating water, founded Unitarianism, counted Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson among his friends, and conducted pioneering experiments in his home laboratory on the nature of the air we breathe. He was hounded as a heretic from his comfortable life in England and settled in the United States in its infancy as a nation. This was a fascinating and fun book to read. Highly recommended. (Steven Johnson also wrote The Ghost Map, a story of the last cholera epidemic to hit London. Also a fine book.)

I have a love-hate relationship with Made From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Wogenrich. On the one hand, she is writing about many of the things that have long been near and dear to my heart: shopping at thrift stores, making your own music, knitting, preserving food, living sustainably, raising chickens … it was like looking into a mirror! (In fact, Mr. Ether declared that she had stolen my identity and I might have to kill her.) On the other hand, here she is, a sniveling 26 year old upstart who has essentially lifted all these things from other people and then has the chutzpa to write a bestseller about it as if she had discovered all of these wonders and was imparting them to us. Harumph. (Here's the super mortifying part. It is a library book and I took it with me on our camping trip. We had a torrential rain storm and the book got wet. I didn't realize how bad it was, returned it to the library, and got a call from a librarian in Monroe, Wisconsin informing me that the book I had returned was wet and moldy! I was so embarrassed! So now I own the book, and I didn't even like it all that much! Oh well.)

Dr. Monkey and I share a common interest in the artist Dahlov Ipcar, author/illustrator of many children's picture books. A few years ago I picked up a copy of A Dark Horn Blowing, a novel she wrote for young adults, and I finally got around to reading it. What a treat! The story is based on several different traditional Scots ballads, as well as Norse folktales. If you like fantasy, this is a great addition to the genre. It reminded me of both Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn and an obscure little book by folklorist Katherine Briggs, called Kate Crackernuts.

Most recently I finished The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Written for the middle grades, it tells the story of one year in the life of an 11 year old Texas girl at the end of the 19th century. Calpurnia is a spunky heroine in the Anne Shirley, Jo March, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm tradition. The only girl in the middle of 6 brothers, she is expected to learn "the science of housewifery" when she really wants to be studying the world around her. She finds an unlikely ally in her grandfather, who educates her in the scientific method, loans her his personal copy of the scandalous new book The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin, and shows her that she can follow her dreams. I loved this book! Not to sound sexist, but I think it would be an excellent choice for a girl in the 9-12 year old range, if you know any. It's really a nice break from fantasy stories, as well as the pre-teen "problem novels" that seem to abound. It falls into the category of what my friend Sminthia calls "sciency fiction." (I am looking forward to reviewing Sminthia's book when it comes out!) Highly recommended.

Next up: A Yellow Watermelon by Ted Dunagan. I'll keep you posted.