Suggested By My Sister: Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh

Source:  www.jenniferhaigh.com

Jennifer Haigh
Source:  www.jenniferhaigh.com

This book was suggested to me by my sister, Beth.  She really liked it, and thought I would too.  She was right.

As the wife of an underground coal miner, I really related to the characters in this book.  I know all too well the days of washing coal filled overalls, cleaning coal blackened bathtubs, and packing a HUGE lunch for your husband "just in case".  I know the prayers said every day and night for his safety.

The characters in Baker Towers are believable because they are flawed, like we all are.  The author hasn't tried to make them perfect just so we'll like them.  She allows us to peak in at the less than perfect life of an ordinary family living in a coal mining town from the 40' to the 60's.  She does this by adding the not so pretty details of day to day life.

I would recommend this book to anyone, but especially those who like historical fiction.


Here's a few pictures of real mining towns of the past.

Martin, Kentucky in Floyd County abt.1940
Source:  www.coaleducation.org

Weeksbury, Kentucky in Floyd County in 1930
Source:  www.coaleducation.org

Wheelwright, Kentucky in Floyd County in 1946
Source:  www.coaleducation.org

I found a cool YouTube video with pictures of miners, and I also found a great Johnny Cash song about coal mining.  Enjoy!!

I will always end any post about coal mining with a picture of my own coal miner.

My Coal Miner
Source:  My Photo

I Don't Care How Old It Is! I Want To Blog About It.

I know that a lot of the books I will talk about on my blog are old news to some, but they will be new to many (including myself sometimes).  Also, I am new to blogging and there are books I've read and loved in the past that I want to blog about.  Occasionally, I look over my book lists, notes, and summaries, and when a book from the past jumps out at me I want to blog about it.

Sara Nelson's book, So Many Books, So Little Time is one of those books.  A few years ago when I worked at the library, a lot of my time was spent straightening and putting away books.  I loved it!  I mean I was basically spending hours a day looking at books, and when I came across this book I checked it out.

 I love lists.  I love to make lists and read lists.  That may be weird, but it's true.  I have lists about everything...books, chores, household projects, movies, vacations I want to take, and I NEVER go to the grocery store without my list.

So Many Books, So Little Time: A Year of Passionate Reading by Sara Nelson is basically a reading list in book form, and maybe that's why I liked it.

Source:  www.goodreads.com

From my journal 4/2/09...
"In this book, Sara Nelson decides to spend a year reading at least one book a week and writing about what she read.  She soon discovers that even though she has a rather extensive list and all kinds of books at her fingertips, it's not always easy to find a book.  She learns that you don't always choose a book.  Sometimes the very best books choose you.  She found that not only her moods, but also her everyday life and environment lead her to the books she reads."

Sara Nelson
Source:  www.cencom.org

Sara Nelson is an editor, book reviewer, consultant, columnist, and author.  She was editor in chief at Publisher's Weekly from 2005 to 2009.  She is currently the book editor for Oprah's "O Magazine", and I came across this summer reading list she created on Oprah's website, "If You Liked That Book, You'll Love...: What should you read next? O's book editor Sara Nelson has 12 recommendations based on your literary tastes."  You can check it out by clicking HERE

An Old Fashioned Girl

Back in February of this year, I read An Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott.  Alcott is one of my favorite authors of all time.

Source:  www.goodreads.com

Goodreads summary...

"Polly's friendship with the wealthy Shaws of Boston helps them to build a new life and teaches her the truth about the relationship between happiness and riches."


It's sounds very simple, but it's more than that.  Here's what I wrote in my journal after I finished...
"I just finished An Old Fashioned Girl by LMA.  I'm such a sucker for enduring love.  I like how the book shows how in the end good, simple people are often happier than rich, idle people, though their lives seem harder.  Good will always win out in the end.  It's a perfect illustration of why doing what's right is the most important thing even when it's hard to do, and being true to one's self is the ultimate reward.  I really liked this book and the moral it teaches!"

There is an online version of An Old Fashioned Girl available to read.  View it by clicking HERE

In doing some research for this blog I came across a movie version that was made in 1949.  Starring Gloria Jean.  Gloria Jean was a famous singer/actor in the 40's and 50's.

Source:  www.letmewatchthis.ch

Gloria Jean
Source:  www.allstarpics.com

Although I couldn't find a clip of "An Old Fashioned Girl", I did find a clip of Gloria Jean as Anne Stuart in the movie "Copacabana".  You'll find it below.

Welcome Back Guest Blogger--Beth Whitney-Lanier

From Anne Rice To Sookie Stackhouse

By Beth Whitney-Lanier

Originally, I was going to blog about "Tender Is The Night" by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which I'm in the process of trying to finish.  When my husband, Joseph, is home from the barge I don't read as much as I normally do.  So, this month I thought I'd talk about a book I read over a year ago.  I think it was last week that Amy blogged about reading books she wouldn't normally read.  "Dead Until Dark" by Charlaine Harris would probably fall into that category for her.  I've always enjoyed reading vampire novels. The first vampire novel I read was "Interview With The Vampire" by Anne Rice when I was a teenager.

Charlaine Harris has brought the vampire story to rural America and that alone makes part of these books humorous.  It's almost like a soap opera with the drama that comes along with vampires.  The books, which are also called The Sookie Stackhouse Novels, have also been made into a TV series.   I'm sure most of you have heard of "True Blood" that airs on HBO.  I actually own the first season on DVD. 

Source:  http://www.givememyremote.com/

Sookie Stackhouse is the main character throughout all 11 novels.  She is a small town cocktail waitress that tends to have bad luck around vampires.  You see, in the Bon Temps, Louisiana of Charlaine Harris's world, vampires have "come out of the coffin" and are living among us.  True Blood is actually the name of the synthetic blood that Japanese scientists invented for human use.  Unfortunately, it also enabled vampires to live among us without having to kill and feed off humans.   However, not all vampires drink True Blood.

Sookie and Bill
Source:  http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/

The first night I laid down to read "Dead Until Dark", the first book of the series, I read half of the book.  The second  night I finished it.  The third day I was at Wal-Mart looking for "Living Dead In Dallas" and so on and so forth. I would recommend "Dead Until Dark" and all the other novels to anyone looking for a fun and fast read.  You won't be able to just read one!

My Dad, The Gardener, Buys Books

This past Sunday night we stopped  by my Dad's house on the way home from church...

My Dad is an incredible gardener, and his garden this year is out of this world.  He grows corn, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, potatoes, okra, broccoli, cabbage, green onions, bell peppers, hot and sweet banana peppers, rubarb, squash, zuchini, pumpkins, cantelope, watermelon, blue berries, he has apple trees, turnips, and I'm sure there's more that I'm forgetting.  When we went over there Sunday he sent us home with a load of fresh veggies.

Source:  My Photo

He gave us cabbage which I'm  planning to cook with some polish sausage, corn on the cob, potatoes for stewing, bell peppers that I plan to freeze and add to soups and sauces all year, zucchini for yummy zucchini bread, squash for frying and grilling, cherry tomatoes that I'm going to saute in some olive oil with garlic just until they burst, and beautiful green tomatoes that I will definitely turn into fried green tomatoes.  He also gave us one habenero which my husband might try to eat, but I won't touch.  I don't like hot stuff.  He also gave us some banana peppers that I like to eat with sandwiches or put on homemade pizza.  I love garden season!

He also loves antiques and anything old, including books.  While we were there he showed me some of his latest finds, some of which he got because they were old.  Others he got because he thought they looked interesting, and he knows my sister and I love to read.

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

My favorite from this group is The Slim Princess.  I think the cover is beautiful and there are some cool illustrations inside.  I also thought Death of A Stranger looked interesting so I borrowed it.  Although, I didn't get a picture of it, he also had an old two volume Anna Karenina that was beautiful.  I don't know how it escaped me.

I didn't bring my phone into my Dad's, and when he started showing me the books I started using my daughter's Ipod touch (which she never leaves the house without) to take photos.  My husband said, "I guess these will end up in the blog."

Yep babe!  You were right.

Ten Books I Thought I'd Never Read: Pregnant By The Playboy Tycoon by Anne Oliver

Well, I can check the romance genre off the list, and I'm glad to say that it wasn't nearly as bad as I was expecting it to be.  If I'm being honest, this was a fun book to read.  It was a light, fast read, and it only took a couple hours.  Of course this wasn't the first romance novel I've read, so I knew what to expect even though it's been years since the last one.  This book is pretty much what you'd think--lots of build up to some very racy adult scenes in the last few chapters of the book.  If you like romance novels, I'd recommend this one.  As for myself, even though this wasn't a bad book by any means, romance novels are not something I intend to read on a regular basis--fun every now and then, but not all the time.  In the end I'm glad I read, Pregnant By The Playboy Tycoon by Anne Oliver.  It was something totally different and really fun.

Source:  http://www.librarything.com/

Anne Oliver was born in Adelaide, South Australia
Visit her website:  http://www.anneoliver.com/
Source:  http://www.eharlequin.com/

In preparing for this blog I did a little research on Harlequin.  According to Wikipedia, Harlequin Enterprises LTD is a Toronto, Ontario based company and a leading publisher of series romance and women's fiction.  It was founded in 1949, and they have 1200 authors worldwide.  Their first product was Nancy Bruff's, The Manatee.

Harlequin has a really great website.  If you like romance novels and have never visited it, you can do so by clicking HERE.  You can purchase physical books and ebooks.  There are free online reads  and opportunities for free books.  There is an online community where you can read blogs and participate in forums.  There are also submission guidelines.

I'll end this post with one of the earliest romance novels, Samuel Richardson's, Pamela written in 1740.  I haven't read it, but I'm officially adding it to the list!

Source:  http://www.goodreads.com/

From Goodreads...
"One of the most spectacular successes of the flourishing literary marketplace of eighteenth-century London, Pamela also marked a defining moment in the emergence of the modern novel. In the words of one contemporary, it divided the world "into two different Parties, Pamelists and Antipamelists," even eclipsing the sensational factional politics of the day. Preached for its morality, and denounced as pornography in disguise, it vividly describes a young servant's long resistance to the attempts of her predatory master to seduce her. Written in the voice of its low-born heroine, Pamela is not only a work of pioneering psychological complexity, but also a compelling and provocative study of power and its abuse.
Based on the original text of 1740, from which Richardson later retreated in a series of defensive revisions, this edition makes available the version of Pamela that aroused such widespread controversy on its first appearance."

Look What I Found At A Yard Sale Today

We went by a yard sale today and I found some interesting stuff...

My daughter has been taking piano lessons for about three years now, and she really enjoys it.  We didn't have a piano at first, so she practiced on a keyboard.  Not long after she started her lessons my Dad bought her a piano that he got for a good price at an estate sale.  We were both super excited.  It's an old piano, and it's beautiful.

I found some piano books today at a yard sale.

These books are almost 50 years old.
Source:  My Photo

This one's over 35 years old.
Source:  My Photo

And how much fun (for me mostly!) will it be for her to learn a little Madonna!
I couldn't believe this was an EZ piano book.
Source:  My Photo

This past Christmas she decided she wanted a violin.  I asked her if she wanted to take lessons, and she said no.  She just wanted the violin to play around with, and if she liked it maybe she could take some lessons later.  So we got her a cheap little violin.  She doesn't pick it up all that much.  I found these violin books, and thought maybe they'd give her some direction.

Source:  My Photo

I have a fairly new hobby of collecting vinyl records.  I have lots of 7 inch records that my mom gave to me, and I just recently purchased a 12 inch that I love.  I found some more at the yard sale today for $.50 a piece.

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

Source:  My Photo

I got the six music books and eight records for $9.  Not too bad!

I also started a new audio book today, Edgar Allan Poe The Complete Short Stories.  I've never read anything written by Poe that I can remember.  I listened to several stories while I mowed the yard, and lets just say they are interesting.

Source:  http://www.theaudiobookstore.com/