Book 643: The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins

The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson and Those Extraordinary Twins, by Mark Twain

The first story, The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson, is quite good, if rather dated in ideals and speech.  The second story, Those Extraordinary Twins, was written with the throwaway bits from the first story, and it feels like it.  My recommendation:  Stop after the first story.  The second story does tackle the nature/nurture debate, but so do many other books that are worth reading.

Book 642: Stormy Weather

Stormy Weather, by Carl Hiaasen, Knopf, 1995.

This book is good -- if you like Carl Hiaasen's writing.  They tend either to be an acquired taste, or a perfect fit for those with a frenetic, dark, and irreverent sense of humor -- although those two may turn out to be the same thing.

This book takes place during the hurricane "Storm of the Century", and intersects the seemingly normal of society with those on the fringe.  Of course, in typical Hiassen fashion, those lines blur, too.

Book 641: Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer

The Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer, by Joseph Conrad, originally published 1902.

Heart of Darkness is a classic, and justifiably so, but The Secret Sharer is the story that haunted me.  I guess that was the purpose of the story -- to confront oneself and to be haunted.  Where Heart of Darkness is heavy-handed, The Secret Sharer is much lighter, even venturing into humor, and that is what makes it the more effective story.

Book 640: Riverboy

Riverboy, by Billy Clark, originally published 1958, this edition by The Jesse Stuart Foundation, 1997.

The writing for this short story is clunky and choppy, and very repetitive, but the story itself is quite good.

Book 639: Elegy for Iris

Elegy for Iris, by John Bayley, St. Martin's Press, 1999.

This was a hard book to read, but not for the reason I thought it would be.  It wasn't Iris Murdoch Alzheimer's disease that was so hard to read about.  It was John Murdoch's response to it that was hard.  My father died of Alzheimer's disease last June; he had been an aerospace engineer, and had had a sharp, quick sense of humor.  It was very hard to see my father regress into himself, but my interaction with my father wasn't about me.  It wasn't about trying to make my father understand who I was, or to make him give me a smile, or to force him to confront a semblance of reality.  My relationship with my father in his final days was about him.  Although John Murdoch can disguise his selfishness with beautifully crafted language, his relationship with Iris in her final days was all about him.

Book 638: Poirot, the Post War Years

Poirot:  The Post War Years, by Agatha Christie, collection published by HarperCollins, 2005.

I would give the entire book five stars, even though I would give some of the individual stories only four stars, because, when taken as a whole, these four stories tell a fifth story, and that fifth story is worth reading.

Poirot is older -- elderly, in fact -- and long-retired.  Hastings is in South America.  Japp is out of the picture.  Only Miss Lemon remains to make an appearance.  An elderly attorney named Endicott becomes Poirot's foil in this set of stories, sometimes willingly and sometimes less willingly. But Poirot is every bit as sharp as ever. 

Book 637: Something Special

Something Special, by Iris Murdoch, Norton, 2000.

This was a short story that Iris Murdoch didn't write.  The story was put together from her notes after her death, so it probably wasn't in a final form she would have written.  Does this matter?  Maybe

The writing is a bit clunky, and the characters are one-dimensional.  Had Murdoch developed this story, these two issues might have been overcome.  As it stands, the story is a sad one of a young woman who hasn't many prospects in life.

Book 636: The Complete Short Stories

The Complete Short Stories, by Anton Chekhov.

So much of Chekov's writing could be summed up with 'be careful what you wish for', only, of course, why sum up his writing?  Why miss out on the beautifully-rendered heartbreak and achingly gorgeous settings and whip-smart, startling dialogue?

Book 635: Weird But True, The Human Body

Weird But True, The Human Body, National Geographic Kids, 2017.

My nine-year-old son's favorite word is 'weird', and he will read anything that is science-based, so he loved this series. He really enjoyed sharing with me his newly-acquired facts about the human body.

Book 634: Dewey, the Small-Town Library Cat

Dewey, the Small-Town Library Cat, by  Vicki Myron, Grand Central Publishing, 2008.

This book is perfect for anyone who loves books and cats.  Dewey was found as a kitten in the book return, and his life, and the lives of the those in the library, were changed and enriched.