Saturday - Main Street

I just took out 'Main Street', by Sinclair Lewis from the local library. I was walking to the 'L/M' author section, to look at a different author, and it sort of jumped out at me on the shelf. I remember having to buy it for a class in high school, but the teacher changed the book, so we didn't actually study it. After looking through the first five pages, I decided it was time to read it.

My DH and I went for breakfast at a small restaurant and chatted about Japanese hiragana, to the dismay (I'm sure) of the waitresses. He even wrote it out on a napkin to prove he has been studying. I can only recognize about ten characters, much less write them legibly. We are both supposed to be studying this. He is definitely kicking my a** ;o)

Now we get to sit on the porch and read some. He rented out 'Eats Shoots and Leaves' and two other non-fiction books.

At the thrift store today we scored a copy of 'Dead Man's Dance' by Robert Ferrigno (for him) and a 1956 copy of Cours moyen de Francais (for me), which is stamped 'Property of the Board of Education.' ;o) I love old books, and especially foreign language books!

Japanese Homes and Architecture

Japanese Homes and their Surroundings is a reprint of an 1895ish monograph of an Englishman in reopened Japan. There are hand-drawn sketches, descriptions of the formation and use of elements of the house and also of the culture. Rating 5/5!

The Japanese House has stunning visuals of many elements of a traditional Japanese house. Illustrations galore! Seeing a real Japanese bath (the kind you sit in, not wash in) and all the trappings is a real experience. Rating 4.5/5!

Haruki Murakami

My DH J has reccommended both of these books. They are on the 'odd' side. For example, in Hard Boiled Wonderland the man is concerned because his shadow is dying... so he goes to find the end of the world. I am set to read them soon, but they definitely require a creative frame of mind ;o)

Vegan cookbooks

My DH is vegan, but he wasn't always vegan.

I had to relearn how to cook, as he made the switch just one year after our marriage! These two books have served us well, giving us both new direction and instruction.

Vegan Planet Pros : Great recipes like Anasazi bean chili and quinoa and Balsamic-glazed Kale and Carrots Cons: So many recipes! Is this a con? Great Feature: Cooking and Soaking times for a wide variety of uncommon legumes. Nutritional information as well.

Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Pros: A lot of the same ingredients show up throughout the book, making it easy to have 'the right things' on hand. Cons: However, some of those ingredients (like capers) may be hard to find in some areas. Great Feature: The recipes are split into parts of the meal -- soup, appetizer, entree, dessert etc. It is easy to pick and choose a menu just by paging from front to back.

Books on Hand

Beekeeper's Apprentice, The
by Laurie P. King - 1994
ISBN 0-7838-1932-3(large print)

I'm close to finishing The Beekeeper's Apprentice, by Laurie King. It was reccommended to me by a friend, and has been quite good! It is the 'further adventures' of Sherlock Holmes, after he retires to the countryside. He randomly takes on a 15-year-old girl as a pupil, who will become his assistant and collaborator throughout the book. One very odd thing, is that a little girl who gets kidnapped has the name of 'Jessica Simpson.' I wonder if that is a coincidence? ;o)

Other Links online to Beekeeper's apprentice:

The Orange Chair blog

Shina-laris' journal

l_aurens of Arabia blog

OTHER READING

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I'm trying to cozy up again to Lucretius' On the Nature of Things and find out why it so intrigued me as a hardcover-bound volume in my childhood library. I'm not sure yet.. maybe I haven't gotten back to the part I remember yet. I thought it was something about cows and how Nature knows that cows have baby cows, and not grass for offspring ;o) Weird, huh?

Other than that -- I resisted borrowing the Complete Sherlock Holmes from the library in order to push the finish of Beekeeper's up a bit. It is due on Valentine's Day and I want it read before then!

BLOG-HOPPING:

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I found this cool list of books other bloggers added onto! I've only read a handful of them. However, it gave me a few to add to my list!

OUR HOUSE:

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Well, we brought in two more boxes of books from the storage today. Soon, we will have all seven bookshelves up again. It will be so nice to be all moved in ;o)

The Mermaid Chair

The Mermaid Chair
by Sue Monk Kidd

They have been reading this book on the radio on 'Radio Reader.' I saw it at the library today, as well as the author's previous book 'The Secret Life of Bees.' I'm wondering if I should look into renting them out later in the month.

Two Pre-1900 books for young adults

Cast Upon the Breakers

Dora Deane

Cast Upon the Breakers
by Horatio Alger

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(at Project Gutenberg)

A young boy in early America finds himself mostly on his own in the world, and without the inheritance that should have rightly been his. However, he uses his wit, honesty and hard work to make his way, even though others are not as scrupulous as he.

Rating: 4/5! It is a period piece, but very good. The reading can be a bit 'simple' at times, but I found it a page-turner in the 'updated tale of fate and morals' sort of way.

Dora Deane
by Mary J. Holmes

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(at Project Gutenberg)

This book has a girl as the protagonist. It is a kind of 'Cinderella' story, typical of its time, in that the girl's goal is marriage and family. She is 'rescued' from a terrible situation with uncaring, unkind relatives by a wealthy man who has lost his wife and child. She goes from rags to riches and keeps her humility. The rest of the story is how she does not have spite for those who treated her badly, and how they meet their ends. Again, good for a period piece, and more tuned to simpler language and somewhat predictable plot.

Rating: 3.5/5! I own a 1900-era copy of this book, lovingly falling apart at the binding. I bought this copy from a one-room antiques shop when I was seventeen. I recently re-read it, finding the second reading almost as good.