Favorites from the Past

The Power of Myth

by Joseph Campbell
with Bill Moyers

Every Friday, Alyce At Home With Books features this meme inviting us to look back at a favorite book from the past. This week, as I was re-shelving several of my lenten books, I brushed up against this beautifully illustrated version of Joseph Campbell's series he did with Bill Moyers on PBS so many many years ago.  Both hubbie and I were enthralled listening to these discussions.  We immediately bought and read the book.

Campbell was one of those very talented thinkers and writers who had the ability to take very complex subject matter and present in words that were not only understandable, they were interesting.  He draws in his audience and brings us an understanding of the subliminal influences from our anthropological past.  He explains the various story-telling traditions of humankind, makes us aware of life as narrative, and in a series of discussions Moyers and Campbell explore the evolution of life as story from pre-historic times to modernity.

It's been too long since I've read it to write a decent review, but here's the Amazon description:

Among his many gifts, Joseph Campbell's most impressive was the unique ability to take a contemporary situation, such as the murder and funeral of President John F. Kennedy, and help us understand its impact in the context of ancient mythology. Herein lies the power of The Power of Myth, showing how humans are apt to create and live out the themes of mythology. Based on a six-part PBS television series hosted by Bill Moyers, this classic is especially compelling because of its engaging question-and-answer format, creating an easy, conversational approach to complicated and esoteric topics. For example, when discussing the mythology of heroes, Campbell and Moyers smoothly segue from the Sumerian sky goddess Inanna to Star Wars' mercenary-turned-hero, Han Solo. Most impressive is Campbell's encyclopedic knowledge of myths, demonstrated in his ability to recall the details and archetypes of almost any story, from any point and history, and translate it into a lesson for spiritual living in the here and now. --Gail Hudson

The conversations are thought-provoking and beautiful.  They are meant to be read individually and slowly, to be savored and lingered over.  It's taken me almost an hour to type this paragraph because I got lost skimming through the book again.  It's definitely going on the 'read-it-again' pile.  If you're not familiar with Campbell's work, you are missing a treat.  As they used to say in that old commercial: "Try it, you'll like it."

Friday Favorites from the Past

Freedom at Midnight

by Larry Collins

Every Friday, Alyce At Home With Books features this meme inviting us to look back at a favorite book from the past.  This week, my memory got jogged by a discussion over on LibraryThing about Salamon Rushdie's book Midnight's Children.  Someone mentioned that reading Freedom at Midnight vastly helped their enjoyment of Rushdie's book, and that triggered my memory of this excellent work.  I'm going to have to dig it out of that box in the attic and put it back on the re-read shelf.  Here's some blurb:

Fifty years ago, seconds after midnight on 14-15 August 1947, the Union Jack, emblazoned with the Star of India, began its final journey down the flagstaff of Viceroy's House, New Delhi. One fifth of humanity claimed their independence from the greatest empire history has ever seen. But 400 million people were to find that the price of freedom was partition and war, riot and murder....Collins and Lapierre recount the eclipse of the fabled British Raj and examine the roles enacted by, among others, Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Mountbatten, Nehru and Jinnah in its violent transformation into the new India and Pakistan.

(retrieved from Amazon Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:04:26 -0500)

Writing history well enough to make sense to the layman, so that it is interesting and makes us want to re-read and find out more, is truly a gift.  This book offers all that.  I can still remember after all those years, the feeling that I was there, and was able to see and hear and smell what was happening.  A great memory that deserves to be refreshed.

Favorites from the past

A World Lit Only by Fire

by William Manchester

Every Friday, Alyce At Home With Books features this meme inviting us to look back at a favorite book from the past.  Since this week, I'll be doing an Unfinished Friday post, I'm posting this one today while the memory is fresh like the snowflakes falling quietly outside.  It's amazing how the smallest things can trigger our memories.

This week's memory was triggered by a scene in a Louise Penny book I's reading: The Fatal Grace where Inspector Gamage walks into a room lit by oil lamps because a huge blizzard had knocked out the power.  He stopped and said to himself "...a world lit only by fire."  Instantly I remembered this book which I read at least ten years ago.  It was published in 1993, and it's going back on my re-read pile.  I don't remember details, but I do remember I closed it and said 'that was a good book!'  Here's how it's described on the Amazon site:

It speaks to the failure of medieval Europe, writes popular historian William Manchester, that "in the year 1500, after a thousand years of neglect, the roads built by the Romans were still the best on the continent." European powers were so absorbed in destroying each other and in suppressing peasant revolts and religious reform that they never quite got around to realizing the possibilities of contemporary innovations in public health, civil engineering, and other peaceful pursuits. Instead, they waged war in faraway lands, created and lost fortunes, and squandered millions of lives. For all the wastefulness of medieval societies, however, Manchester notes, the era created the foundation for the extraordinary creative explosion of the Renaissance. Drawing on a cast of characters numbering in the hundreds, Manchester does a solid job of reconstructing the medieval world, although some scholars may disagree with his interpretations.

Later, when Thomas Cahill started his Hinges of History series, I found my positive reaction to Manchester laid a great foundation for reading Cahill.  And here, in Maine in the winter, we quite often have short periods of time when the world is truly 'lit only by fire.'  It's magnificent.

Hidden in Plain View Thursdays

Monk's Hood: A Medieval Whodunit

By Ellis Peters

Welcome to the weekly feature where we use Random.org to pick a book from our library shelves (real or virtual) and bring it out into daylight.  To join in, pick a random book from your library and tell us:

• title, author, #of pages, edition, (tags, and collections if LT)
  
• why that book is in your library, (how and when you acquired the book)
• whether you've read it or not
• if so did you like it and why;
• if not, do you plan to read it?

Be sure to leave us a link to your post so we can compare notes.

Can you spot today's book?  Answer at the bottom.


Ellis Peters' Brother Caedfael series is a favorite of mine and my husband.  We got hooked on them over 25 years ago when we found them in a bookstore in HongKong.  We had read one of them, and when we spotted the whole series, we gobbled them up.  This week's random pick is Monk's Hood, no. 5 in the series.

I'm refreshing my memory here from other reader's reviews on LT, but the story involves a rich nobleman who is murdered by poison (Monk's Hood) stolen from Caedfael's own dispensary.  When Caedfael  begins to help investigate, he discovers his first love (from his pre-monastic/pre-crusade days) is the newly widowed spouse of the deceased.  All the usual players are present- the sheriff, the abbot, and several colorful townsfolk.

These mysteries are excellent, almost but not quite cozy, with well developed plots, well researched early forensics, and characters who stay with the series and grow as you read each book in the series.  You can pick up any of them without reading the others, but they are all worth a peek.

They're also great videos to watch on a dark and snowy night...we often check them out from Netflix.  Derek Jacoby does an outstanding portrayal of Caedfael.  Either reading or watching, they're both enjoyable.

Now --did you find the hidden book.  It's the 4th to the left of the center bookend on the very top shelf. here's what it looks like.

Treasures in the Attic

Instead of my weekly Favorites from the Past post, I decided to chat about the  gorgeous autumn day I spent in the attic earlier this week---sorting and cataloging more books into our LT account.  When I climbed the steps, this is what greeted me.

After spending the afternoon digging thru the boxes, (I was actually looking for a specific non-book item for hubby) I can't say it was too much better, but here are some of the treasures I did manage to unearth and catalog. I was going to list many more, but getting the pictures to line up here is NOT working.  So we'll have pics of some, and discussion of others...

A couple of these were really fascinating: (There's no picture of this one) Tales of the Observer,  is a small pamphlet released by Jordan Marsh Co in Boston detailing the insider story of the retail business.  Published in 1950, during the Jordan Marsh heyday,  it gives us a good look at life in the founding of the store and life in the mid 1800s. I know JM merged and became Macy's in the late 1990's, and I'm not even sure that Macy's still exists, but this one is a great little read.  Not sure where it came from, or why we have it, but it's a treasure.

Another really interesting volume was one hubby picked up when he began teaching Social Studies and the Soviet Union was breaking up into pieces: The Nationalities Question in the Soviet Union.  Hubs said he used it several times as a reference, but it looks interesting enough to me that I've put it on the TBR mountain.  Why not?  I figure that just about the time I get all the "stans" straight in my mind, somebody will come along and decide to re-divide/re-name at least one of them! At least I have a provenance on this one.

Many of these were what may end up being (when I get them all unpacked) a complete set of National Geographic Special Editions published in 1990 to celebrate that division's 25th anniversary.  As with everything NGS publishes, they are prizes of lavish photos, eloquent phrases, and the stuff of dreams for youngsters.  They are on the shelf in the grand-babe corner of the attic (picture of that next time when we get it more organized).  One can still travel in books as well as on the internet or in a movie theater. And I obviously brought the New England Land of Scenic Splendor downstairs with me to soak up with tomorrow morning's cup of coffee.



All the links will take you to the LT book page in my library. If you interested in more details, click away.

So now....what's your 'Attic'?  A closet? A box under the bed? A shed? An extra room (be still my beating heart!)? We all have a secret stash of books someplace - where is yours?  How big is it? and how often do you add to it?  I'd love to compare notes.  Just call me nosy.

Friday's Favorites from the Past: Do Not Open

Every Friday, Alyce At Home With Books features this meme inviting us to look back at a favorite book from the past.  Every parent who has ever read aloud to a child sooner or later discovers that there is one book that MUST be read every night for what seems like eighty-eleven million years.  When my son made his first trip to the public library in the spring of 1982, we checked out Brinton Turkle's gorgeously illustrated book DO NOT OPEN. We renewed it, and then renewed it, and then my neighbor graciously volunteered to check it out (and renew it) while I scoured used book stores (remember this was pre Amazon and even internet time) trying to find a copy to give him for Christmas.

I finally did find one and it has remained with us over the years.  Last December, when he was visiting with his own daughter, and they were shifting through boxes of books in the attic, I was treated to a glorious crowing as all 6 ft of him came galloping down the attic steps and he raced into the great room holding this aloft yelling "YES YES....we still have it."  Daddy and daughter now both read it often...it went home to Virginia with him, but I still have fond memories of it.  It is now out of print, and I 'm trying to find a decent copy for our library here in town.

The story is about an old lady who lives on the beach with her cat.  She walks every day and collects sea glass bottles, and other flotsam and jetsam and then finds a bottle that says "Do Not Open" one day after a big storm.  Should she open it?  You can imagine the tension and suspense this holds for youngsters. The exciting events that follow make it a wonderful book for the 3-7 age group.  I won't spoil it but there is a wonderful wonderful MONSTER, and I wish I could remember the name of the cat, who ends up being the hero....

If you can find it, grab it. It's a treasure to savor and pass on.

Friday Favorites: The Agony and the Ecstasy

Last week, I was reminded of this wonderful chunkster of an historical biography when we were in Rome, and had to make the agonizing decision to skip seeing the Sistine Chapel again (we had both seen it before-and after the restoration), so we could use our limited time there to take in other sights we hadn't seen. We wanted to see more of Michaelangelo's works --particularly the sculpture, and came away with a renewed sense of awe at the talent, the soul, and the fortitude needed to produce these wonderful works of art. Irving Stone wrote numerous BIG ficitional biographies, and I've read many of them. Historical fiction of any era is one of my favorite genres. Stone's books were a staple of the BOMC that we first joined early in our marriage. I must re-read this one. Now having seen the real stuff again, I can't wait to sink back into Stone's wonderful insights into Michaelangelo's psyche, revisit the on again-off again relations with all of his patrons, and simply watch as he struggles to bring to birth some of the most glorious art man has ever produced. It won't ever be able to replace the glory of actually being here and seeing it, but it will help cement the memories.

Friday Favorites: Winds of War

This week's walk down memory lane comes courtesy of my daughter. She and I were having a great discussion on the phone last night while she waited in a bar for a friend. She was laughing at my blog post about the Blackberry (which she had read on her BB) and then the chat turned to books. Babygirl is an exceptionally well-read daughter, but tends to read mostly non-fiction, and indicated that she was looking forward to her vacation later this month so she could get some serious reading done. She said was thinking of re-reading Winds of War, and some of Herman Wouk's other work. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Winds of War, and War and Rememberance. Wouk's ability to give us a history lesson at the same time we get romance, and a great view of the social and cultural mores of the era is the strong point of his historical fiction. The books trace the fortunes (or misfortunes) of a military family living in Pearl Harbor when the war breaks out, their moves to DC and to Europe, and give us a personal run-in with Nazi anti-semitism. The history is pretty close to reality, the relationships are intense and well-portrayed and although we may know how the war turned out, we are still on the edge of our seats waiting to see how things turn out for the main players. I confess that I read some of the reviews before I did this post to be sure my memories were not too warped. Several reviewers appear to be dismayed by what they see as Wouk's sexism, and how he portrayed women. My daughter and I had talked about the reality of his portrayal in that this is how life was. I don't think the author was trying to endorse or legitimize a belittling of women, nor was he trying to paint them as ditzy, witless, and unable to do anything serious. He simply writes about the role of women, particularly the wives of military officers during the period, with a clarity and acuity that gives us a true picture of what those families endured, and how they coped with the anxieties and challenges of living through a major global conflict. If you haven't had a good summer read, these are certainly worth digging out (I"ll bet there's a copy at a relative's house) or checking out of your local library. Thanks to Lisa for jogging my memory bank.

Friday Favorites from the Past: The Mitford Series

Time for another Favorite Reads the meme hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books. Sometime during the past week, my blog feeder yielded a review of Home to Holly Hills, by Jan Karon. This book is actually the latest by Karon, but is almost a prequel to her previous books the beloved Fr. Tim, Mitford series. I have read Holly Hills, and the review brought to mind my fondness for the entire series which I read/listened too a couple years ago while I was quite ill. They are not the kind of soupy, gushy Christian feel goods that I normally read, but the gentleness of Tim and Cynthia as they fall in love, raise a foster child, deal with an engaging, delightful, and ever vexing congregation and neighbors in the small poverty-stricken North Carolina mountain town was so calming, validating, and full of warmth, that I fell in love with every character in each book, and could not wait for my husband to get to the library and get the next one as I finished each. I felt like I knew every one of them, and wanted Fr. Tim to come be our pastor. I went to Karon's website today, and note that she has a new book scheduled out but not until Oct 2010. I wonder if it will be something different? And I think I may have to re-read every one of them before then to be ready for whatever comes next. My apologies to the fellow blogger whose excellent review of Home to Holly Hills triggered this memory...I wanted to give you credit by name, but can't trace my steps back right now.

Friday Favorites from the Past : Brother Caedfael Chronicles

Time for another Favorite Reads the meme started by Alyce at At Home with Books. The Brother Caedfael series, by Ellis Peters is certainly a memory worth re-visiting. I read the first one, shown here just as it first came out (mid-to late '70s), and couldn't wait to get the next. We managed to pick up the entire set at a bookstore in Hong Kong in the '80's....I'm thrilled they were paperbacks, because they weighed enough in my luggage on the way back to our then home in Japan. They now have pride of place on their own shelf in my library: we find them delightful re-reads, as well as great short video features on DVD, and I always suggest them to visiting guests who might want 'a little something' to read before bedtime. Set in the late middle ages, (the first begins in 1137), the stories depict life in Middle England, at the abbey of Shrewsbury (we even had to detour there on a drive around the UK a few years ago just to see the town.) Caedfael, Welsh by birth, comes to the monastic life at a mature age, after a life of crusading in the Middle East. Consequently, his world view and his ability to accept people as they are, even if they're different, makes him a likeable and believable character, as well as a brilliant crime solver. Often, he is even able to prevent 'crimes' by his willingness to listen and the sage advice he gives. He brought with him a knowledge of healing, and so was appointed to be infirmarian, and thus the master herb gardener for the Abbey. This job allows him more freedom of movement through the surrounding town and farmlands. He is friends with the sheriff--the chief law enforcement officer of the town--and well regarded by just about everyone. In each chronicle (there are 20 volumes in the series published between '77 and '94) there is always someone who is jealous of Caedfael's abilities, and who tries to trip him up. His quiet, deductive, intuitive sleuthing is sure to please most readers. While Peters often divulges the culprit during the story, it is always interesting to see how Caedfael reaches his conclusions. Without doing spoilers, there's even some romance in manyof the episodes, with Caedfael playing the role of fairy godfather. Well worth a try if you like good mysteries, good writing, and pleasant endings.

Favorites from the Past :Ragtime

This week Peter at KyusiReader also brought back memories with his post on Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow, another book I firmly enjoyed. Be sure to see his thoughts -and he's even got links to the music from the show based on the book. Thanks Peter for the memories.

Friday Favorites from the Past : Clan of the Cave Bears

Oh I remember being almost repulsed when I first came across this book. My neighbor (the same one who introduced me to Confederacy of Dunces) was positively raving about this one, and I thought she was positively raving mad! I could not imagine how reading about cavemen could possibly be the least bit interesting. I was wrong! It's been years since I read this gigantic chunk of fictionalized anthropology and fell in love with a little girl named Ayla and cheered, cried, and sighed my way through her adventures living in the world of Neanderthals. Jean Auel's research into Stone age tool making, living skills, societal culture and norms is world renowned and exquisitely easy to read. If you haven't read Clan of the Cave Bears, don't pass it up. I still see copies at book sales all the time, so it's readily available. To make it even more fun, this was the first of 5 books in the "Earth's Children" series. So look for Valley of the Horses, (a fascinating account of how man might have tamed these beautiful animals), Mammoth Hunters (this one I had to suspend some belief on but I think the science is still accepted - I'm not the expert tho), Plains of Passage, and Shelters of Stone. Each one can be read on its own, but read in succession, they're really fun. Enjoy your weekend. I think I'm going to spend the 4th quietly re-reading the U.S. Constitution.

Friday Favorites from the past: Chesapeake

Time for another Favorite Reads the meme started by Alyce at At Home with Books. We decided this week to take advantage of good health and slashed prices and signed up to take a cruise through the Mediterranean in late August. As I was browsing through my travel bookshelf, I came upon a collection by James Michener, who was always a favorite. We own over 20 of his books, a mere sip of the 133 he wrote in his lifetime. I think my favorite is Chesapeake. I grew up on the Bay, and found this a fascinating historical and environmental study of one of the most important water resources in the nation. (Can you say crab? shrimp? oysters, bluefish?) Going back to the time of native Americans living on the islands and near the marshes, he then traces the various colonies formed in the Tidewater and proceeds through the years up to 1976. As with everything Michener does, it is well researched, and historically factual. He uses the technique of introducing fictional families in a time period and then following them and their descendants through the years. It's been eons since I read the book, but I still remember the impact it had on me learning about what we now call an eco-system, and the various ethnic groups that contributed to the richness of my home state, Maryland. I wish he'd written one about Maine. I suspect it would still be a good read and have put it on my "let's read it again" pile. I highly recommend his work...there is a timelessness about it, and a richness that makes learning history not only easy, but enjoyable.

Review: Labor Day

What a powerful story! Pure fiction at its best! Several reviewers have been quoted as saying they could not put it down. I couldn't either. This is a book I can hardly wait to talk about with people who have read it, but don't want to spoil for those who are yet to have the fantastic experience of reading it for the first time. The main character Henry, 13 years old, lives with his hamster Jim and his mother Adele who is becoming more and more of a recluse. He visits with his father and step mother and their children once a week, but seems to accept his aloneness (and his mother's withdrawal from life)with a sort of "that's life" attitude. Into this life comes Frank, and once he appears on page 5, you will not be able to put this book down. Your heart will be in your throat, your pulse will race, your breathing will stop. Don't misunderstand, this is not a physic terror story, nor is it bloody or fantasy-like. It is simply a story of three people, each dealing with life issues, and how each reacts to events and circumstances, and interacts with the others over a six day period. Some things they have control over, some they do not. You can see several different possible endings coming, you don't know which one you want, and you don't want it to end badly. I think most people will find the ending acceptable. This is a story of growing up, a story of teen-age angst, a story of trust, a story of betrayal. But most of all it is a story of possibilities, realities, and dreams--life as we all experience it, but life as we hope we never have to. I'm sure his book will be on many book club discussion lists. I can't wait to see it in bookstores and libraries in August. It is going to be one of my "best of the year." So put in your reservations, and mark time on your calendar.

Friday Favorites from the Past: Shogun

Building on the My Favorite Reads theme over At Home with Books, I'm 'borrowing' her logo, and making this a Friday Favorites column every week. This week's showcased book from the past is Shogun by James Clavell. I was living in Japan when I read this, so the rich panapoly of scenery, history, and culture was quite vivid to me. I loved being able to learn more about the history and culture of that exotic country, and remember asking all my Japanese friends about various customs, foods, and locations. It's the story of John Blackthorne, a European sea captain, who ends up in Japan during the era of the Shoguns. I don't remember many details (it's been over 20 years since I read it) but I do remember that it was historically accurate, and that Clavell did a magnificent job bringing that history to a fictional setting. It is a dense read (particularly at the beginning and especially if you're not familiar with Japan) but one that was well worth it. I suspect most Americans over the age of 40 have seen the movie (or was it a mini-series?) starring Richard Chamberlain. We waited anxiously for Armed Forces TV to show it overseas so we could compare the book to the film. I'm partial to the book, but on the other hand, who doesn't like Richard Chamberlain? If you want a good summer read, with rich characters, an exciting plot with lots of action, incredible scenery, and a history lesson on top, go find a copy of this one. I'm going to have to find time to re-read it myself.

From the Past: My Favorite Reads

Gwendolyn B over at A Sea of Books introduced me today to a new feature she got from Alyce of At home with Books. I liked it so much I've decided this is one periodic feature I can handle. I spend a good part of my day in an office/library at home surround by over 1000 books. Often I look up and see one I've read and think "Wow, that was such a great read, I wish I had time to read it again." However, there are also hundreds waiting to be read for the first time. So here, I'll just mention periodically "good reads" from the past. I hope you find them inspiring. This weeks' favorite is R.L. Delderfield's God is an Englishman. I remember reading the entire series (this was the first) several times, enjoying them so much that one year for Christmas I told my husband to scour the used book venues so I could have copies of them all in my personal library. It's now been at least 5 years since I read any of them, but as I remember, the story is set in the Victorian England, as the Industrial Revolution is going strong, the railroads are beginning to change the face of rural England and Adam Swain, the main character sets out to form a dynasty (with the help of his wife Henrietta) in the shipping business by recognizing the advantages of horse drawn wagons in areas where the railroads just aren't available. This sounds dull and boring, but it's not. There are incredible descriptions of all parts of England, well-developed and memorable characters, and several sub-plots running along. I remember being able to sink into this book: there is romance, history, sociological discussion, war stories (from the Crimea, and later in the series, WWI), mystery, villains, and real life disasters. I must find time to stroll through this one again before the year is out.