Book 609: The Cataract of Lodore

The Cataract of Lodore, written by Robert Southey, illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein, Dial Books, 1991.

The illustrations in my version (by Mordicai Gerstein) were delightful, but I really loved the poem.  The poem, however, MUST be read out loud to appreciate it.  My third-grade son, who loves words and rhythm, loved this poem.  I was trying to get him to see how the words mimicked the waterfall, so as the rhythm of the words sped up, I asked him what he thought it was trying to show.  He understood it was the water, flowing slowly at first and then faster and faster, but he said it also sounded like a heartbeat that speeds up during excitement.  I think my son might have understood the poem even better than I did.

Book 608: The Razor's Edge

The Razor's Edge, by W. Somerset Maugham, 1942.

When I was in my 20s, this was my favorite book.  I've re-read it in my 30s, and 40s, and . . . well . . . this year, and it still holds up.  It may not quite be my favorite book -- Till We Have Faces overtook it some time ago, but I still love the writing of this book.  And, every time I read it, I like Elliott a little more, and Isabel a little less.

Book 607: Come, Sit, Stay

Come, Sit, Stay, by Arden Moore, illustrated by Buck Jones, Dog Fancy, 2004.

I bought this book after I had our dog in obedience school, so I wasn't sure how helpful the book would be.  Our dog, a Rhodesian Ridgeback, at ten weeks old, was the youngest and the biggest dog in class.  She also was the star pupil.  She wanted to go first, and would even show the 'slacker' dogs how to follow the command.  She passed her eight-week class with flying colors.  And then, on the way home from her final class, she ate her diploma.  I was glad I had this book then.

This book is easy to follow.  It does teach the basic commands slightly different than the obedience class did, but not so different as to be confusing, and the book even gave a variety of ways to the commands. 

Book 606: The Murder on the LInks

The Murder on the Links, by Agatha Christie, 1923.

There is so much charm, and so many layers, to this book that this is probably my favorite Poirot story.  Also, how could I not be enchanted by a dead body on a golf course?  ;)

Book 605: Who Killed My Daughter?

Who Killed My Daughter?, by Lois Duncan, Delacorte Press, 1992.


Through Facebook, I knew Ms. Duncan in her final years.  I knew she broke her back around Thanksgiving of 2015, and had surgeries but was in unbearable pain -- always.  I knew that her daughter, who would have been my contemporary, was murdered at the age of 18 in 1989.  I knew that her daughter's unsolved murder weighed heavily on her. 

She knew about my young son through the stories I shared.  She even gave me writing advice on the book I was writing, and which I tabled after her death -- until now.  During the last few months of her life, she sent me a signed copy of this book.  I didn't read this book right away, and, after she died, I didn't feel like I could read this book at all -- until last week.

Even after all the conversations she and I had about writing, I didn't know how much ESP affected her.  I knew that the local police department botched the murder case, but I didn't know how badly.  I didn't know how much her youngest daughter's murder tore apart her family -- until I read the book.

When I first heard about Lois' death, I thought "At last she will know who killed her daughter".  As I read this book, that feeling became even stronger.  As much as I enjoy Lois' other books, I can't say I liked this book.  This book was not written to be 'liked'.  It was written to try to solve her daughter's murder case.  It was written to bring closure.  I didn't 'like' this book, but I do feel like I owe it Lois to go back to the book I was writing at the time of her death.  Lois, over the course of her life, inspired many fledgling writings.  Maybe her final advice to me was to see that through this book.

Book 604: I Am The Cat, Don't Forget That

I am the cat, don't forget that, text by Roy Blount, Jr., photographs by Valerie Shaff, Harper Collins, 2004.

I would have thought I could not possibly go wrong with a book featuring both cats and poems, especially in the merry month of . . . er . . . April, so I bought this book.  Alas, I did not exactly go 'wrong', but neither did I go 'right'.  To be sure, the photos were delightful, although some were slightly contrived; and the poems were contrived, although some were slightly delightful.

Book 603: Life Studies/For the Union Dead

Life Studies/For the Union Dead, by Robert Lowell, Noonday Press, 1992.

Most of these poems were very well-written, with breath-taking tempos and cut-glass phrasing.  I almost always appreciated the jarring but oddly appropriate word choice, and the intricacy of the phrasing.  But, with very few exceptions, I felt like I was wallowing in teen angst as I read these.  A few poems turned outward, as in Dropping South: Brazil, and For the Union Dead, but far, far too many turned inward, and reading those poems was quite draining.