Beginning ~ with Eleanor Roosevelt's introduction

Beginning

This is a remarkable book.  Written by a young girl -- and the young are not afraid of telling the truth -- it is one of the wisest and most moving commentaries on war and its impact on human beings that I have ever read.  Anne Frank's account of the changes wrought upon eight people hiding out from the Nazzis for two years during the occupation of Holland, living in constant fear and isolation, imprisoned not only by the terrible outward circumstances of war but inwardly by themselves, made me intimately and shockingly aware of war's greatest evil -- the degradation of the human spirit" (p. xiii).

The Diary of a Young Girl ~ by Anne Frank, translated from the Dutch by B. M. Mooyaart-Doubleday, introduction by Eleanor Roosevelt, 1952 (English version), autobiography, 297 pages

Commonly referred to as The Diary of Anne Frank, is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.  The book has become a world classic and a timeless testament to the human spirit.  The edition I'm reading is enriched by many passages originally withheld by her father.  In it Anne is more real, more human, and more vital than ever.  Here she is first and foremost a teenage girl — stubbornly honest, touchingly vulnerable, in love with life.

She imparts her deeply secret world of soul-searching and hungering for affection, rebellious clashes with her mother, romance and newly discovered sexuality, and wry, candid observations of her companions.  Facing hunger, fear of discovery and death, and the petty frustrations of such confined quarters, Anne writes with adult wisdom and views beyond her years.  Her story is that of every teenager, lived out in conditions few teenagers have ever known.

This passport photo shows Anne Frank in May 1942, two months before she and her family went into hiding.  Read more from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Thinking about four short novels

The Grandmothers: Four Short Novels ~ by Doris Lessing, 2003, fiction, 336 pages

1. The Grandmothers ~ Two friends fall in love with each other's teenage sons, and these passions last for years, until the women end them, vowing a respectable old age.
2. Victoria and the Staveneys ~ A young woman gives birth to a child of mixed race and struggles with feelings of estrangement as her daughter gets drawn into a world of white privilege.
3. The Reason for It ~ This story traces the birth, faltering, and decline of an ancient culture, with enlightening modern resonances.
4. A Love Child ~ This one features a World War II soldier who believes he has fathered a love child during a fleeting wartime romance and cannot be convinced otherwise.

I decided to check this book out of our Crown Center library, when it's available.

Very punny!

I was searching my blog for a book I had read years ago when I ran across a fun list of words and phrases.  At the end of the post, I had asked, "Which one is your favorite?"  I looked back through them and chose #83:

Editing is a re-wording activity.

Then I noticed that is NOT what I chose when I originally posted that list in 2015.  That time I had picked #103:

Charles Dickens walks into a bar and orders a martini.  The bartender asks, "Olive or twist?"

HERE is the 2015 list, so now it's your turn.  Which one is YOUR fav?

Two books by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge ~ by Elizabeth Strout, 2008, fiction (Maine), 280 pages

Bestselling author Elizabeth Strout binds together thirteen rich, luminous narratives into a book with the heft of a novel, through the presence of one larger-than-life, unforgettable character:  Olive Kitteridge.

At the edge of the continent, Crosby, Maine, may seem like nowhere, but seen through this brilliant writer's eyes, it's in essence the whole world, and the lives that are lived there are filled with all of the grand human drama — desire, despair, jealousy, hope, and love.

At times stern, at other times patient, at times perceptive, at other times in sad denial, Olive Kitteridge, a retired schoolteacher, deplores the changes in her little town and in the world at large, but she doesn't always recognize the changes in those around her:  a lounge musician haunted by a past romance; a former student who has lost the will to live; Olive's own adult child, who feels tyrannized by her irrational sensitivities; and Henry, who finds his loyalty to his marriage both a blessing and a curse.

As the townspeople grapple with their problems — mild and dire — Olive is brought to a deeper understanding of herself and her life — sometimes painfully, but always with ruthless honesty.  Olive Kitteridge offers profound insights into the human condition — its conflicts, its tragedies and joys, and the endurance it requires.

Olive, Again ~ by Elizabeth Strout, 2019, literary fiction (Maine), 306 pages

Olive struggles to understand not only herself and her own life but the lives of those around her in the town of Crosby, Maine.  Whether with a teenager coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young woman about to give birth during a hilariously inopportune moment, a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, or a lawyer who struggles with an inheritance she does not want to accept, the unforgettable Olive will continue to startle us, to move us, and to inspire us.

From The Wall Street Journal:  "Olive is a brilliant creation not only because of her eternal cantankerousness, but because she's as brutally candid with herself about her shortcomings as she is with others.  Her honesty makes people strangely willing to confide in her, and the raw power of Ms. Strout's writing comes from these unvarnished exchanges, in which characters reveal themselves in all of their sadness and badness and confusion. ... The great, terrible mess of living is spilled out across the pages of this moving book.  Ms. Strout may not have any answers for it, but she isn't afraid of it either."

Snoopy is my favorite dog

Peanuts Treasury ~ by Charles M. Schulz, foreword by Johnny Hart, 1968, cartoons, 256 pages

Charles Schulz (1922-2000) was the creator of Peanuts, the world's most widely read comic strip.  His work appeared in more than two thousand newspapers around the world and was translated into twenty-one languages.  He is one of the most influential cartoonists of all time.  Since Snoopy is my favorite dog, I love the cover showing him dancing and smiled when this book showed up among my boxes of books in storage.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ~ by Rachel Joyce, map by Laura Hartman Mastro, 2012, fiction, 336 pages (451 pages in the large print edition in our Crown Center library)

Meet Harold Fry, recently retired.  He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything he does, even down to how he butters his toast.  Little differentiates one day from the next.  Then one morning the mail arrives, and within the stack of quotidian minutiae is a letter addressed to Harold in a shaky scrawl from a woman he hasn’t seen or heard from in twenty years.  Queenie Hennessy is in hospice and is writing to say goodbye.

 

Harold pens a quick reply and, leaving Maureen to her chores, heads to the corner mailbox.  But then, as happens in the very best works of fiction, Harold has a chance encounter, one that convinces him that he absolutely must deliver his message to Queenie in person.  And thus begins the unlikely pilgrimage at the heart of Rachel Joyce’s remarkable debut.  Harold Fry is determined to walk six hundred miles from Kingsbridge to the hospice in Berwick-upon-Tweed because, he believes, as long as he walks, Queenie Hennessey will live.

 

Still in his yachting shoes and light coat, Harold embarks on his urgent quest across the countryside.  Along the way he meets one fascinating character after another, each of whom unlocks his long-dormant spirit and sense of promise.  Memories of his first dance with Maureen, his wedding day, his joy in fatherhood, come rushing back to him — allowing him to also reconcile the losses and the regrets.  As for Maureen, she finds herself missing Harold for the first time in years.

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon.

Beginning ~ with Mazie's diary entry

Beginning

Mazie's Diary, March 9, 1939

Fannie brought one of her fancy friends down to the theater last night.  First she handed me a beer then she had me shake his hand.

Saint Mazie ~ by Jami Attenberg, 2015, historical fiction (New York), 325 pages

Meet Mazie Phillips — big-hearted and bawdy, she's the truth-telling proprietress of The Venice, the famed New York City movie theater.  It's the Jazz Age, with romance and booze aplenty — even when Prohibition kicks in — and Mazie never turns down a night on the town.  But her high spirits mask a childhood rooted in poverty, and her diary, always close at hand, holds her dearest secrets.

When the Great Depression hits, Mazie's life is on the brink of transformation.  Addicts and bums roam the Bowery, and homelessness is rampant.  If Mazie won't help them, then who?  When she opens the doors of The Venice to those in need, this ticket taking, fun-time girl becomes the beating heart of the Lower East Side.

More than ninety years after Mazie began her diary, it's discovered by a documentarian in search of a good story.  Who was Mazie Phillips, really?  A chorus of voices from the past and present fill in some of the mysterious blanks of her adventurous life.

SaintMazie was inspired by the life of a woman who was profiled in Joseph Mitchell's classic Up in the Old Hotel (1993, 736 pages).  Mazie's rise to "sainthood" — and her irrepressible spirit — is unforgettable.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

Thursday Thoughts

I'm still sorting through boxes of books, so here are a couple of the books to consider today.  I'm reading this one:

Atlantis Rising: The True Story of a Submerged Land-Yesterday and Today ~ by Robert Sullivan, drawings by Glenn Wolff, 1999, 96 pages

Plato was the one who first reported the existence of a vast island with immense mountains, verdant valleys and abundant fruit.  This magnificent Aegean Eden surrounded a capital of fabulous stone buildings, a busy, bustling heaven on earth.

And then, the Cataclysm.  Panic spread across the island as Atlantis's volcano shook off its long dormancy.  The mountain erupted, and the island was overwhelmed, engulfed.  The sea smoothed over, and the continent and its occupants were gone forever.  Or were they?

Sullivan is able to separate historical truth from mere legend and fact from fiction. Delving into the historical record, then into secret files that have long been under lock and key at the famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, he discovers rare transcripts, documents, maps and even photographs.  They are all here in this book.

Amazing Grace ~ by Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch, 1991, children's picture book, 26 pages, 10/10

Grace loves to act out stories. Sometimes she plays the leading part, sometimes she is "a cast of thousands."  When her school decides to perform Peter Pan, Grace is longing to play Peter, but her classmates say that Peter was a boy, and besides, he wasn't black.  But Grace's Ma and Nana tell her she can be anything she wants if she puts her mind to it.

A book for children whose parents are divorced

Missing Rabbit ~ by Roni Schotter, illustrated by Cyd Moore, 2002, children's picture book fiction, 32 pages, 10/10

As Kara divides her time between Papa's house and Mama's house, she is comforted by the presence of her toy.  Rabbit goes everywhere with Kara — to Papa's house, where they eat "oodles of noodles" and play hide-and-seek together, and to Mama's house, where they dance and eat chicken and rice.

But one day, when it's time to leave Papa's house for Mama's, Rabbit asks Kara, "Where do I live?"  Kara doesn't know the answer.  When Rabbit asks to stay with Papa, Kara agrees.  But back at Mama's house she misses Rabbit.  What is the answer to Rabbit's question, and how can Kara keep from missing him?

This story is for very young children whose parents live in different homes.  It gently reminds children that parental love is constant.

Two old books from boxes in my storage unit

Instant Cartoons for Church Newsletters ~ compiled by George W. Knight, 1982, humor, 160 pages, 6/10

These cartoons, which are copyright-free to local churches, were drawn by cartoonists Jo McKeever, Howard Paris, and Howard Stringer.  These three artists contributed to this whole series of books.  The cartoon on the cover with the steam whistle going off has this caption in the book:  "Well, I see my time is up."

Reading Group Journal: Notes in the Margin ~ by Martha Burns and Alice Dillon, 1999, journal, 192 pages

Reading group members show up at meetings with their books highlighted and dog-eared.  Some carry battered spiral notebooks; others dig through their handbags for scribbled notes.  Reading Group Journal offers a handy alternative.

This notebook also provides ample space to record all the practical information needed to participate in a reading group.  An introduction providing tips about how to make the group both pleasurable and productive is followed by inspiring lists of recommended reading and winners of important literary prizes, from the National Book Award to the Booker.

Additional pages provide places to jot down names and addresses, meeting schedules, and information about the next book to read.  Each book read by the group is allotted several pages for note taking and record keeping, with plenty of room for personal reflections and group observations.

And finally, there are fill-in pages for the reader to use in creating a personal a list of books to read, a log of books already read, a record of books lent, a compendium of interesting words, and a selection of memorable quotes.

Monday Musing

Whoops a daisy! ~ by Norah Clegg and Don Hughes, illustrated by Steve Smallman, 1988, children's picture book, 16 pages, 10/10

It begins with a dog  and a cat falling out of a tree.  Yes, we adults know dogs can't climb up onto a tree limb, and a cat is unlikely to simply FALL (though the cat pictured doesn't seem to have any claws at all).  However, "tree" and "Mrs. McGee" do rhyme.  So when the animals fall, she says, "Whoops a daisy."  Other words rhyming with "Mrs. McGee" are tea, ski, and key.  This simple book lets children giggle as Mrs. McGee keeps saying "Whoops a daisy!"

A week of wisdom, love, rainbows, consciousness, and celebration

Words of Wisdom ~ edited by Louis Untermeyer, 1968, sayings, 46 pages, 8/10

These quotes are from the last page of this tiny book and not spoilers:

   It was an unknown Persian philosopher who pointed out the way of wisdom.

... He said:

    He who knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool.

Shun him.

    He who knows not and knows that he knows not, is a child.

Teach him.

    He who knows, and knows not that he knows, is asleep.

Wake him.

    He who knows, and knows that he knows, is wise.

Follow him.

For You with Love ~ by Louis Untermeyer, illustrated by Joan Walsh Anglund, 1961, poem, 20 pages, 8/10

My daughters were in town this past week, so they helped me get a bunch of stuff out of my storage unit, which is mostly full of books.  This lovely little book (a mere 20 pages) may have been the one in which I found a card with this inscription from me "to my favorite Mother!"

Noah and the Very First Rainbow: Did You Know Bible Story ~ by Sunny Griffin, illustrated by Donna Lee, 1994, children, 48 pages, 9/10

This series of books is designed so children can point out the main person or object in each story.

Cosmic Consciousness: A Study on the Evolution of the Human Mind ~ by Richard Maurice Bucke, 1901, evolution, 114 pages

Pictured is the hardback copy, but the one I found in my storage unit this week is a paperback that I bought on August 16, 2001 and read by the next day.  I wrote on the back page:

I read this book 20-30 years ago, and it was much thicker — I still have that copy somewhere, in some box.

To see what I have shared about this book in previous blog posts, click HERE.

Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, whick means "fifth of May" in Spanish, commemorates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.  It is celebrated by Mexicans and Mexican-Americans.  (Sorry, folks, I hope using a cat in this context doesn't offend you.  This illustration just struck me as funny.)

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts The Sunday Salon.

Meaningful May

Click to enlarge calendar

This Meaningful May Calendar from the Action for Happiness folks has daily actions for May 2024 to help us find ways to be part of something bigger.