Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

It had been about five or more years since I had enjoyed this wonderful book, so I gave myself an early Christmas present and enjoyed it the whole month. I read my original paperback version that I have had since about ninth grade. I wish it could talk! There were many times that I paused during this reading and wondered, how did I like this part or understand that part in my early teens? And how did my teachers approach it, since I know it was part of an English class in my past at some point. Which one, I don't recall. But I do remember enjoying it every single time I read it. I love Austen's humor, her insightful understanding of human character, and her satisfying endings!

Austen's books also invite me to dream about the art of conversation and how wonderful it would be to spend hours uncovering a person's character through conversation. The way technology invades my world and the world of my associates dismays me. This book hearkens to a time and way of being that I long for. Quiet, regular walks, formal dinners, lots of talking, and extensive letter-writing  all sound delightful to me!

I admire the characters, too, who are able to learn from their mistakes. In this case, Darcy and Elizabeth are the main learners. It's instructive to watch their thinking and behavior change over time, particularly when they learn of their own pride and prejudices!

Little Britches by Ralph Moody

I first heard this book as a sixth grader. My teacher, Mr. Rude, read it to us daily after lunch. I'll never forget crying with the rest of the class at the end! I also remember begging him to keep reading and not to stop at the end of just one chapter!

I often talked about this book with my children, and am not sure why I never sought it out to read to them! Somehow, Eli remembered this and found a copy through great difficulty, and gave it to me for my birthday several years ago. I read it then, and decided to read it again now. Just for the joy of it. For the reminder about how hard work and honesty and sacrifice lead to fulfillment.

It's also a great reminder about how trials and hard times can build faith, confidence, and character. I love the resilience of Ralph. Because I grew up with horses and ponies, I particularly enjoyed the parts about how Ralph grew to become a great horse person.

One thing that amazed me this time through was this: how did Ralph's mother know how to do all the things she did? His father was exceptional, too, and had great mechanical sense. But much of their gardening, farming, and food preparation was very sophisticated and required special know-how.  Where and how did they learn all of this? If this was "common knowledge" at the time, when and how did they share it? They relied on their neighbors, and I wonder if some of their learning happened with them? I guess this is something a little historical research would reveal...

It's still one of my favorite stories of all time. I think it's because Ralph's father reminds me so much of my own father. Very practical, very knowledgeable, and very mechanical. And not given to much praise! Still, like Ralph, I have always felt very loved.

The Piano Shop on the Left Bank: Discovering a Forgotten Passion in a Paris Atelier by Thad Carhart

This little book is amazing! It opened up a musical world, a piano world, and a Parisian world all at the same time! I probably never would have picked up this book myself...but my friend Sally handed it to me one day and told me she thought I would enjoy it. She was right! She guessed I would appreciate it, even if I wasn't quite what one could call musical. She was right! What I learned about is the marvelous complexity of music, particularly classical piano music. How to play it, how to feel it, how to appreciate it, all came into play. And layered in amongst all that complexity, the author weaves in the history of the piano and its various manufacturers. And this is all told as the author experiences his Parisian neighborhood with its intriguing cast of characters. This is a very enjoyable, engaging read because he's an American who appreciates and describes beautifully his Parisian experiences. It's nonfiction writing at its best, in my opinion. My only frustration was the occasional French quotes that he didn't translate. Many quotes he did; but others, inexplicably, he did not?! And me, with my one quarter of college French, couldn't get it. However, that's a small criticism and my only one...

Cambridge by Susanna Kaysen

I picked this book up off the "new releases" shelves at the Rapid City Public Library. It was a good choice. The narrator in this story, Susanna, grows from about six or eight years of age to about 13. The story chronicles her thinking and fascinating life as a daughter growing up in the fifties, with her father, a Harvard professor, and her mother, a sparkling stay-at-home mother. The family spends years abroad in the English Cambridge, in Italy, and in Greece. Susanna's reactions and thinking capture some of my thinking and feelings at this age very accurately. While Susanna is very different than I was at that age, there are similarities. She feels alien in her family; which I occasionally did. Her careful listening to her parents' disagreements and her interpretations of them felt very familiar to me. She has a nuanced ear for emotions behind the words.
I enjoyed reading about her relationships with her Swedish nanny and her mother, in particular. And it's interesting that she never gives her little sister much credence or even tells us her name. But what was especially intriguing to me was her intense dislike of her mother, and how it angered her that her mother was always right and always knew what she was thinking. She could verify her father's knowledge in the encyclopedia, but her mother's assertions were baffling to her. How did she know those things? It reminded me very strongly of Leonard's frustration with his mother over similar issues. She asserts things with great confidence that "everyone knows" but really aren't true. Like..."50% of football players are homosexuals."
I also enjoyed reading about Susanna's music lessons and her fondness for her teacher. It's just a fascinating age to reconnect with and the author does a very credible job of recreating that thinking.

The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan

Leonard surprised me with this book. He chose it because he remembered that I liked The Joy Luck Club by the same author. I love how Amy Tan opens up the world of Chinese immigrants, especially those in the San Francisco Bay Area, to her readers.
This was an engaging book, from beginning to end. The modern daughter has no idea about her mother's past; this book is the story of her mother's coming of age in China. It reveals a harsh male dominant culture that is hard to read about. The powerlessness of women in that society is described in graphic but tasteful detail. Winnie, the mother, tells her story with lots of questions about her own role and choices in it. It's fascinating to read about how she considers herself both weak and strong. We are invited along her thought process and get to witness incredible patience, courage, fortitude, and love. It's inspiring.
I enjoyed this book because both my sister and I had Chinese friends in high school and college. While reading, I would sometimes think back to some experiences I had with them...this book explained some things for me...It's fascinating to consider how different and how hard the transition to American life would have been for these immigrants. And how baffling their own American-born children would be to them! I imagine this book could be a welcome bridge-builder in those families.

Faithful Place by Tana French

So for my two days in the car coming home from California, I chose this mystery. It certainly held up for the 16-plus hours, but the story was a dark one. Set in Dublin, Detective Francis Mackey returns to his boyhood home and family to solve the mystery of his missing (for 22 years) first love. Colorful characters, violent family members, raw language and painful emotions all make for a lively story. French is a lyrical writer; her descriptions and analogies are beyond compare! And often they make me laugh out loud. The reader's Dublin accent was difficult to understand at times, but certainly added to the authenticity of the story.

One aspect of this story that was educational to me was seeing a dysfunctional family in action. It felt authentic. The cruelty of the parents inspired some of the children to become protectors of the others. Their courage and resourcefulness was bittersweet. And the price they paid for the dysfunction was huge. It also prompted me to wonder about the strength of genetics and environment on the children...

The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny

I didn't read this book; I listened to it on my recent solo road trip to California. I have to say, it got a little long. I usually enjoy Penny's characters and settings, but this one was different. The setting is a monastery and the characters were not as intriguing to me as usual. However, I did enjoy the spiritual references and the explanations of the monastic life. Of course I love Chief Inspector Gamache, and he didn't disappoint! I also enjoyed learning about the history of ancient chants. When I got to California, I spent quite a bit of time at Mont La Salle, a Christian Brothers retreat center. So it was fun to feel like I had a deeper understanding of the place. Another less enjoyable aspect of this story, and one that is unusual for this author, was the gradual and painful undoing of Jean-Guy Beauvoir...