Book Review - The Old Stone House

Someone recently told me that Agatha Christie cited Anna Katharine Green as one of the authors who greatly influenced her writing.  You may or may not know that Agatha Christie is a hero of mine (you’ve probably already figured that out, based on my love of writing and my love of cozy mysteries).  While I have been unable to find confirmation that Christie said this about Green (please email me if you have confirmation), I decided to read some of Green’s works.  Many of them are available in the public domain, so I downloaded a few.

When selecting which Anna Katharine Green book to begin with, I chose The Old Stone House and Other Stories.  As it was a collection of short stories, I felt that this was a good way to introduce myself to the author.  I was somewhat disappointed. 

The story of the "Old Stone House" is the first story in the collection.  It is interesting enough, and the author’s style is pleasant.  The problem with the story is that it is too long.  It would probably qualify as a novella if it were published alone.  Not that I have a problem with novellas.  I actually love them.  The problem with this story is that it felt a little too long.  It dragged a bit as it built its tension. 

The story started off moving quite quickly; then it shifted to a slower pace.  This pace continued to slow more and more.  Suddenly, about two-thirds of the way through the story, the pacing picked back up again. 

While the story was interesting enough, the pacing was off-putting.

The second story in the book “A Memorable Night” was very interesting, although a bit odd.  I liked the story and was quite caught up in it.  I did find that the solution of the story was a bit off.  It was almost like the red herring ended up being the solution, and the solution was the red herring.  It had a disconcerting effect, but was entertaining none the less.

“The Black Cross” was a scary bit of historical fiction.  It did, however, have a nice theme of love (although I am not sure that the Judge was exactly heroic).

Perhaps my favorite story in the book was “A Mysterious Case”.  This story had an unusual plot and solution for its time.  It’s odd that my two favorites so far were this story and “A Memorable Night”.  Both of these stories have Doctors as their protagonists.  Maybe I have a thing for Doctors.  As protagonists.  My husband is a farmer.

The last story “Shall He Wed Her?” started off interesting, but for the life of me, I can’t remember the solution.  I think that this probably bodes poorly for the story in itself.

As a whole, I was disappointed in this collection of stories.  This will not cause me to write the author off just yet, though.  I did find with Marie Belloc Lowndes (who has quickly become on of my favorite authors) that her collection of short stories was not up to snuff with the rest of her novels.  While I made a conscious decision to start with Green’s short stories as an introduction, I now realize that I may have done so in error.  I have decided that, while I can’t recommend this collection (although it is pleasant enough, and free) as a truly great read, I will read one of the author’s longer works before I decide to write this author off completely.

Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to?  The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links:  with WiFi only   or with WiFi and 3G.

Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind,  Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day,  and You Be the Editor.

For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

When we were kids (ages 8 - 11), my cousin, my sister, and I started a our own newspaper (my husband tells me that all kids do this at some point in their lives).  On this Thanksgiving, I would like to share with you a little poem from our holiday edition.  Please remember:  I am a writer, so you should prepare to bask in the genius.

Thanksgiving Poem

Turkey, turkey,

Stuffing, pie.

Eat a bone,

And you will die.

                                                               - Stephanie, Julee, and Christy
                                                                                        - 1979

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to?  The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links:  with WiFi only   or with WiFi and 3G.

Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind,  Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day,  and You Be the Editor.

For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.

A Very Appropriate Book Review

Death in a Turkey Town is the third book in the Chloe Boston mystery series by Melanie Jackson.  Again, I am a Chloe fan.  The series currently contains four books, and I purchased the fourth book (Murder on Parade) immediately upon finishing this one. 

In this book, Chloe is facing unimaginable horrors.  The first is the fact that lardhead Dale Gordon will soon be joining her family.  The second is that she will be the maid of honor at the wedding that will cause this to happen.  Oh, and add to that the fact that she is hosting Thanksgiving Dinner at her house and that her Officer Bill duties could come back into effect at any time, and let’s just say that Chloe has some stressors.

The fact that a murder occurs in Hope Falls (a town which seems to be having quite a hard year, crime-wise) is far less stressful than any of these other facts.

Chloe continues her sleuthing with a bit of ambivalence in this book.  I would typically find this disheartening, but in Chloe, it is understandable and endearing.  The best part is that this ambivalence does not prevent her solution of the case.  Chloe solves the case with style.

The book, like the series, is cute and clever and falls squarely in the genre of cozy mystery (my favorite genre).  As always, I highly recommend this series to anyone who is a cozy mystery fan.  I also feel that anyone who enjoys mysteries (cozy or not) would enjoy these light-hearted mystery novels.

I can also recommend the series to anyone who likes a female protagonist (especially one who is fighting to make her way in a male dominated profession).  There is enough romance that fans of romance may find the books enjoyable as well.

This book does have a few minor typos and errors, which I have not yet submitted to the author.

Please check out my reviews for Moving Violation and The Pumpkin Thief for more on the series.  I expect to have a review of the fourth book in the series (Murder on Parade) available sometime in the next week or two.

Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to?  The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links:  with WiFi only   or with WiFi and 3G.

Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind,  Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day,  and You Be the Editor.

For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.

Review of "The Mystery of Monastery Farm"

The Mystery of Monastery Farm by H. R. Naylor is a public domain mystery novel that was originally published in 1908.  The mystery spoken of in the title is the theft of $150,000 in bank notes from the Bank of England.  The police are called in, but the mystery appears to be unsolvable.

I found this book interesting enough, but I would not have qualified this as a mystery novel.  I recognize that the mystery is at the heart of the novel, but in this case it is simply a MacGuffin that drives one of the main characters to become a better man.  The book reads more like a morality story, as well as a tale about the power of love, than a mystery.

The book also overreaches a bit in its use of the power of guilt over the physical condition.  While I agree that guilt can cause actual physical ailments, it is pushed a bit hard in this book.

The book was entertaining overall, while a bit dry.  I would not, however, recommend it as a mystery.  It is more of a character study or morality tale.  If you are looking for a good mystery, there are plenty of them out there.  This is a pleasant enough story (albeit dry, I can’t say that enough), but it will not really satisfy as a mystery novel.

Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to?  The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links:  with WiFi only   or with WiFi and 3G.

Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind,  Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day,  and You Be the Editor.

For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.

Do You Want Anything From the Store?

When I was growing up, there was a phrase that I heard often.  It was, “Do you need anything from the store?”  My mother said it.  My grandmother said it.  In fact, all of the women in my family have said it for at least three generations.  I know this, because I say it myself.

If anyone was heading to the grocery store, be they family member, friend, or neighbor; they would inevitably ask my mother, “Do you need anything from the store?”  When my mother was going to the store, she would do the same thing.  Ask a neighbor, call her mother, ask a friend.

As a wee lass, this confused me.  Not the neighbor part.  That made sense.  The neighbor is 30 feet away, the grocery store is five miles away.  The confusing part was when it involved my grandmother (or one of my aunts for that matter).  Both lived farther from us than the grocery store.  It would actually be more convenient for them to go to the grocery store themselves, than to come and pick groceries up from our place.

But, if they needed something from the store, my mother would always drive it to their house.  That meant grocery shopping, then coming home and putting the groceries away, and THEN taking the recipient what they needed.  They could have gotten the groceries faster if they’d driven to the store themselves.

It didn’t save money, because the recipient (whether my mother was the giver or the receiver) always gave the giver the price of the item.  It didn’t save gas, because it almost always involved more driving than it would have if both people had gone to the store independently.  It didn’t save time either.   One person was waiting around at home for a loaf of bread, a quart of milk, or a stick of butter.

More often than not, the answer to the question was “No.”  “No” was probably the answer about 90% of the time.  That meant that there wasn’t some startling need for people to pick up other people’s groceries, otherwise, the percentages of “yes” would have been much higher.

So, why bother asking?  I just didn’t get it.

I get it now.

As an adult, I regularly hear myself asking my mother-in-law, “Do you need anything from the store?”  She happens to be one of my only relatives that is within a one-hour driving radius from my house.  I ask her just about every time that I am going to the store.  She does the same with me.  In the four years that we have been doing this, the answer has always been “No.”

I have never really thought much about it.  Until today.  I am going to the grocery store today, and I was on the phone with a friend of mine.  She lives a half an hour away, and works an hour away.  She’s also been having a bit of a tough time lately. 

She’s at work right now, and before I got off the phone with her, I asked her, “Do you need anything from the store?”

The answer, of course, was “no.”

But after I rang off, I started really thinking about it.  Why HAD I asked her that?  It’s not like I would have relished a one hour drive to take her a gallon of milk at work.  It’s not like I don’t have plans tonight, which would have complicated dropping her milk off to her when she gets home from work.  If the answer to that question had been in the affirmative, it would have thrown off a good portion of my day.

But I would have done it.

And I had my answer.  When my mother the members of her inner circle used to ask, “Do you need anything from the store?” they were saying something bigger.  They were saying what I said to my friend today.  They were saying what I say to my mother-in-law regularly.

They were saying, “Yes, I know that it’s out of my way.  It’ll cost me time.  It’ll cost me money.  It’ll burn my gas.  But I’ll do it.  For you.  I’ll do it for you.”

It was a simple and casual way of saying, on a regular basis, “I love you, and there is no amount of inconvenience that is greater than that love.  If you need it, I will bring it, regardless of distance and time.”

And I am proud to know that I carry on this tradition.

Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to?  The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links:  with WiFi only   or with WiFi and 3G.

Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind,  Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day,  and You Be the Editor.

For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.

Some of My Recent Crocheted Designs

As you may know, I create my own crochet patterns.  I just completed a "Toque Pattern," but I am unable to post it for you today, as my model (my husband, Dobby) was too exhausted last night to be photographed (he has some partial facial paralysis, so it's best to get him when he's fresh).

I thought that you might want to take a look at some of my other recently designed patterns.  

A beaded snood that I created for my mother (please ignore the goofy-looking, double-chinned model, that's me!)

The back of the beaded snood.

A closeup of the bead work (no, I have no idea why I have that look on my face).

A crocheted garter that I made for my cousin Carlie's wedding.

A simple snood that I designed for my mother (she loves snoods, as do I).  The pattern is loosely based on a pattern from the 1920s.

The "Chubby Cubby" stuffed bear.  This is one that I have previously posted a pattern for in this blog.

A crocheted Kindle cover.  I published this one in this blog about a month ago.

Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to?  The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links:  with WiFi only   or with WiFi and 3G.

Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind,  Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day,  and You Be the Editor.

For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.

Banned Books

There has been a lot of discussion in the forums about a book that was recently removed from Amazon.  There are valid points on both sides of the argument, and I don't wish to continue that argument here.  But, it did get me thinking about other books that have been banned.  (In no way is this posting designed or intended to belittle the seriousness of the issues raised regarding the book that was removed from Amazon.)

In 1998, as we were preparing to enter the new millennium, the Radcliffe Publishing Course released a list of what they considered to be the top 100 novels of the 20th Century.  Believe it or not, I have a degree in English, and there is actually a book on the list of which I have NEVER heard.  I wonder if that is a lapse in my professors work, or in my studies (most likely the latter).  Of those 100, forty-six of them have been banned or challenged at some point in the U.S., according to the Office for Intellectual Freedom.  The difference between banning and challenging is that challenging a book is an attempt to remove a book from public view, banning it is the actual removal of said book.

Here is the list of the 46 books from the Radcliffe Top 100 that were banned or challenged (links highlight books available for Kindle):
1. The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
2. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger 
3. The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck 
4. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee 
5. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker 
6. Ulysses, by James Joyce 
7. Beloved, by Toni Morrison 
8. The Lord of the Flies, by William Golding 
9. 1984, by George Orwell 
11. Lolita, by Vladmir Nabokov 
12. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck 
15. Catch-22, by Joseph Heller 
16. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley 
17. Animal Farm, by George Orwell 
18. The Sun Also Rises, by Ernest Hemingway 
19. As I Lay Dying, by William Faulkner 
20. A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway 
23. Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston 
24. Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison 
25. Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison 
26. Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell 
27. Native Son, by Richard Wright 
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey 
29. Slaughterhouse-Five, by Kurt Vonnegut 
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls, by Ernest Hemingway 
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London 
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain, by James Baldwin 
38. All the King's Men, by Robert Penn Warren 
40. The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien 
45. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover, by D.H. Lawrence 
49. A Clockwork Orange, by Anthony Burgess 
50. The Awakening, by Kate Chopin 
53. In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote 
55. The Satanic Verses, by Salman Rushdie 
57. Sophie's Choice, by William Styron 
64. Sons and Lovers, by D.H. Lawrence 
66. Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut 
67. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles 
73. Naked Lunch, by William S. Burroughs 
74. Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh 
75. Women in Love, by D.H. Lawrence 
80. The Naked and the Dead, by Norman Mailer 
84. Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller 
88. An American Tragedy, by Theodore Dreiser 
97. Rabbit, Run, by John Updike 



I will publish the Radcliffe Top 100 list in totality at a later date.

Don’t own a Kindle, but would like to?  The latest generation of Kindle is available at the following links:  with WiFi only   or with WiFi and 3G.

Christy Parker is the author of three blogs:  Ruminations from and Unkempt Mind,  Learn to Crochet - In Minutes a Day,  and You Be the Editor.

For comments, questions, notes or suggestions; Mrs. Parker can be reached in the blog specific forums on the product information pages listed above or via email at unkemptruminations@comcast.net.