Well, definitely NOT for children, but I’m in the middle of The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale. This is a retelling of what is probably the first and also what generated that oh-so-British of art forms: The country house murder mystery with its own detective. The murder was real; the story was real(and also sliced, diced and covered in great detail in the local and national media); the detective was a real person and known to Charles Dickens. Fascinating stuff.

Whatcha reading lately? Do tell…

I have been reading science fiction or, at least, it seems so. It is a strange story set in DC that appears in serial fashion in my newspaper each morning.

This week’s noteworthy events were that swine flew and Biden walked. Pigs flying is always remarkable. A VP walking is not; except, Biden did it with one foot in his mouth.

Stranger, a long running character in the series, Snarlen Arlen Haggis, in a late-life crisis came out of the closet as a Happy Days Are Here Again Democrat. But the most arresting development, was the reappearance of the long forgotten villain: Hoot Smalley!

I just started ”Web of Evil” by J.A.Jance.

And can I say, it’s nice to be able to get back to trashy fiction after 8 years of being afraid to take my eye off my government.

I’m reading the most recent book in The Sharing Knife saga by Lois Bujold. She can tell a tale better than most.

I’ve been trying to get to At Largely (Larrisa Alexandrovna’s page) and can’t seem to. The feed is working, but I get page not found. Anyone else have this problem?

I have been reading fun stuff lately–the Stephanie Plum mystery series by Janet Evanovich. Also been getting ready for some auditions, so I’ve read some plays. A great one is The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer. It won both the Pulitzer and Tony awards for best play in 1977, and it has some wonderful roles. It’s about people in a hospice and the ones who love them coming to terms with death, so quite heavy at times, but also has some great humor moments for balance.

I just finished Craig Ferguson’s Between the Bridge and the River, and it was excellent and really funny. It’s not a funny-book-by-a-comedian, it’s a comic novel. He has lots of fun with the religious right, too.

Two books:

A FINE BALANCE by Balance by Rohinton Mistry *this was an Oprah favorite. It’s a huge novel about the obscene poverty and caste system dynamics of the second half of 20th century India. A Time review said “Monumental… Few have caught the real sorrow and inexplicable strength of India, the unaccountable crookedness and sweetness, as well as Mistry.” Mistry is an incredible story teller, creator of character and socio-economic historical perspectives on a land that remains mysterious to me. I’d listened to his smaller novel, can’t remember the title, about contemporary Indian family dealing with care giving issues in the face of Parkinson’s Disease and a family’s dysfunctionality. The story was both comical and poignant, as well as a fascinating cross cultural examination for this amateur gerontologist. Had so enjoyed the PBS series earlier this year on the history of India that helped giver perspective on both these novels.

YOU CAN COPE WITH PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHY:365 Tips for Living a Full Life (Demos Health) by my friend Mims Cushing and her neurologist doctor, Norman Latov, co-founder of The Neuropathy Association. Demos had earlier published Dr. Latov’s book on the many types of neuropathies, etc. that was perfect introduction for PNers (those with peripheral neuropathy) and their doctors, most of whom know little if anything about this neurological disorder with some 100 types and 200 causes, including many commonly prescribed medications.) Mimi’s labor of love is a fantastic discussion of how we PNers can do to help ourselves and one another in coping with PN. Her down home, extremely well informed and empathetic writing style is a great blessing to those who struggle so much because the medical community does not understand the conditions and how to treat them. The book is a total delight and there’s lots of references for those who want to pursue specific topics further. One of the special features is testimonies of PNers on their PN journeys and how they’ve learned to cope. I also recommend THE NUMB FOOT BOOK by Alex McLellan, ND and Marc Spitz, DPM for their tremendous explication of treating various neuropathies and dozens of studies of cases and how they have treated them within their disciplines. These three books should be essential reading for anyone with PN or anyone caring for and about PNers.

Blessings to the FDL community

2 mysteries:
Devil’s Bones by Kathy Reichs. If I forget where I put that, I have a book by Stuart Kaminsky, People Who Walk In Darkness: An Inspector Kaminsky novel

Dear Christy,
Here is what I remember about all the Little House books: an orange in their Christmas stockings, and the rope that led them from the house to the barn during the winter storms (yes, I do live in Cleveland).