The 13th Day of Christmas by Jason F. Wright

 I wish I could remember how this book came to me. I cannot. I do know that I wouldn't have paid for it, since I have low expectations for Christmas stories. I have read tons that are just disappointing. Still, hope springs eternal. 

The story is unrealistic on a lot of levels, the characters are uneven and too sweet in some cases. Not much to engage the reader here, but I did plow on after the little girl got cancer. I wanted to see if Charlee would make it. She did. The fighting and stress between her parents was never resolved. Her troubled brother warmed up to Marva too, which was somewhat surprising. 

One thing that did give me pause, though, was the devotion of Charlee's friend Marva. She's an older woman in the neighborhood who is lonely and befriends Charlee. It made me think about the gaggle of little girls here in Red Canyon who need a Marva. Maggie isn't answering the call very generously at all. This story really made me wonder if I could be more unselfish and more generous in my relationship with these little girls without much supervision or anything meaningful to do. Yikes. Wake up, Maggie!

H is for Homicide by Sue Grafton

 One of the joys of retirement life is getting to enjoy a long series at my leisure all over again. Because I originally read these back in our Laramie days, probably close to 30 years ago, these are like brand new stories to me! I believe I would have remembered this one--maybe I skipped it?

It's different because Kinsey goes underground, fairly unwillingly, and becomes part of an insurance fraud ring. It was fascinating to learn about life in a gang setting, in LA, in a crummy apartment, surrounded by hispanic gang members and a pitbull. It was pretty depressing in a lot of ways, but I really enjoyed Kinsey's introspection as she acclimated to the various characters in the story. And how she began to understand that the line between law-abiding and fraud can be tempting to cross. She waxes philosophical about the people that surround her, and they are interesting characters.

She's very tuned in to sexual energy, and in this story there's a lot of it. Bibianna, the hapless young woman that Kinsey befriends, attracts men powerfully and Kinsey describes it visually and with the feelings and smells that accompany it. The demented leader, Raymond, suffers from Tourette's syndrome, and his physical tics and jerks are brilliantly described. And his narcissism, and his complete disorientation from reality. What's depressing about the complete picture of this criminal is that in the epilogue, it becomes clear that he may escape justice despite his despicable crimes and behavior. Maybe that's an underlying theme; at the end, I was hoping Kinsey would kill him, but no. I was happily surprised that one of the gang members was actually an undercover cop; he was one of the better ones. That was a cool surprise at the end that I didn't see coming.

I also learned a lot about how auto insurance fraud is undertaken and it stinks. Even in the 80s setting, this was perpetuated without the help of the internet. All the paperwork reminded me of how much crime and law enforcement has changed since then! It was a fun romp, despite the depressing milieu and characters. 

The Diary of an American Au Pair by Marjorie Leet Ford

 I was drawn to this book on one of our trips to the Hope Chest, the Catholic's thrift store near us. I always like to check the used books, and this one, of course, caught my eye! Being a former au pair, and all. The first few pages did not excite me, but I decided I should give it a little more time. Since I needed to have something good to help me recover from my second meniscus tear surgery, this seemed like a good candidate. I'm so glad I did! It turned out to be very unpredictable, very interesting, very cultural--about a culture--British--that I love, and of course, it had fascinating characters. It's not a great book or a great story, but very entertaining and perceptive.

I really liked Melissa's (the au pair) reading about her relationship with the three children in the story. The parents were interesting too, but her relationship with the children showed her in the best light. Her commitment to helping the deaf daughter learn language was educational and reminded me of my linguistics training. The parents were drawn pretty true, I think. The love/hate with the mother can easily happen when you live in such close proximity. I loved the visits to the grandparents in Scotland. Another part I enjoyed was just learning about the way the "old moneyed" British live and vacation and raise their children. 

One theme that interested me was Melissa's determination to eat her way to fatness for her American boyfriend in San Francisco. As that relationship declined, and her relationship with Londoner Simon ascended, it was fascinating to read how her thoughts about food and her body changed. And her body thoughts were often those I could relate to, especially at the end when she went through deprivation before settling on health. I think she described well the power that I feel when I'm being true to my health. 

One very fun sidelight is a parlor game Melissa and the children play. You just answer five questions:

1. You're out walking. You come upon a house. Describe the house.

2. Inside, there's a table. There are three objects on the table. What are the objects?

3. Outside, you see a bear. What do you do with the bear?

4. You find a cup. Describe the cup.

5. What do you do with the cup?

After answering these questions, these are the interpretations:

1. The house is yourself.

2. The three objects on the table are the things you do best.

3. The bear is a problem, and what you do with the bear is what you do with a problem.

4. The cup is your love.

5. What you do with the cup is what you do with your love. 

The way the children and the parents answer and interpret their answers is fun to read, and has some surprising as well as some predictable insights. I did this with Leonard and we had a really fruitful discussion about both of our answers. When I did it myself, what was most fascinating to me was how long, and I'm talking perhaps 20 minutes or more, it took me to decide on a house that I wanted to come upon! I mean, I went through the whole gamut of possibilities! I couldn't commit to one for the longest time. Does this mean I don't know myself? Or that I don't want to commit? Or that we've been looking at so many houses over the past few years that the possibilities are just overwhelming? And I took the walk literally, too, like, do I want to be walking in the woods and come upon a cottage? But what about the sunlight I love? Or is it a house on a hill in a meadow? Or is it a modern, urban condominium? My mind just flooded! Fascinating. Probably I would have a different answer depending on my mood.

My objects were a book, walking shoes, and swim goggles!

Leonard, on the other hand, immediately thought of a narrow Victorian. He didn't even hesitate! He saw a doily on the table, kind of an Irene setting. Aren't we so different?