Chewing on a Good Book

"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few are to be chewed and digested." -Francis Bacon (www.readfaster.com)


Last week I discussed Harper Lee's new book, Go Set a Watchman, with its new characterization of our leading man, Atticus Finch. Do you plan to read the book? Why or why not? Sometimes it's good to read a book simply because we want to see what all of the buzz is about. The book is an easy read and I think you'll get something out of it. Lee's new book might also inspire you to reread her famous first book, To Kill a Mockingbird, so that you can refresh your memory of the events that occurred before the second book.

This week I'm reading another book by Mary Doria Russell, Doc. A few weeks ago I completed her novel, Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Corral. Since my mom loaned me both of the books, I decided to go ahead and read both of them. While Epitaph focuses on several different characters of the Wild West, Doc focuses on the person of Dr. John Henry Holliday, D.D.S., also known as Doc Holliday. We learn a lot about Doc in this book, some of which comes from legend and some from patient research by Russell. At the age of 21, Doc Holliday became ill with tuberculosis. After that time he became known as a sickly frail young man who coughed a lot. By the time he moved to Dodge City in 1878, Doc was a 26-year old dentist who wanted to become a prosperous dentist in a new cattle town in Kansas, but he seemed to make other activities higher on his priority list. For example, he spent much of his time gambling, drinking alcohol, and fighting. At the age of thirty he became famous for his part in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. I guess you could say that the Wild West changed Doc - if he had lived in more law-abiding towns he probably would have been more of a dental surgeon than a gambler, but he was influenced by the environment in which he lived. I haven't finished the book yet so I'm not going to discuss it at length here, but if you enjoy tales of the Wild West, you will like this book. Doc is somewhat different from the other books that I normally choose to read, but I'm enjoying it. I can't say that I'm enjoying it as much as All the Light We Cannot See, Orphan Train, or We'll Always Have Paris, but Russell's language flows smoothly and it's a good ride.

In looking back at my opening quote by Francis Bacon, what books have you read that you think should be chewed and digested? In earlier posts I've discussed the books that I would place in this category. The Bible should be digested, I believe, because it reveals to us how we can have purpose in life. It is the most important written communication that has ever been made available to us. That being said, there are many memoirs and novels that I have also enjoyed chewing on. I feel like my time has not been wasted when I read these books. I'm talking about great novels such as Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Poisonwood Bible, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Edgar Sawtelle, and The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street. These books make more than just a great story. They are rich in symbolism, irony, characterization, and thought-provoking themes. In a word, these novels make us think. There are some memoirs that I've enjoyed chewing on as well. I've enjoyed Haven Kimmel's books, A Girl Named Zippy, and She Got Up Off the Couch. I've enjoyed simple books such as Little Heathens and The Good Good Pig. Most of what I have been reading in the past few years are either novels, historical novels, or memoirs, and most of them have given me plenty to chew on






Here are the next ten books from my card catalog:

1. Pears on a Willow Tree by Leslie Pietrzyk
2. Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
3. A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink
4. The Gift of Asher Lev by Chaim Potok (I highly recommend both of these books by him.)
5. My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
6. Jesus the Teacher by J.M. Price
7. A Whole New Life by Reynolds Price (a local author)
8. Oh, Kentucky! by Betty Layman Receveur
9. Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
10. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

Have a great week, and keep on reading...

Melissa Hill
www,onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com
Amazon bookseller: M.C.H. Seller

HARPER LEE'S NEW NOVEL: What happened to Atticus Finch?

"Jean Louise," she said, I would like to remind you of a few facts of life...You are as innocent as a new-laid egg for all your city living. Henry is not and never will be suitable for you. We Finches do not marry the children of rednecked white trash, which is exactly what Henry's parents were when the were born and were all their lives."

 -Aunt Alexandra giving advice to Jean Louise (Scout) regarding her relationship with Hank in Harper Lee's new novel, Go Set a Watchman (Chapter 3, p. 36)



Good morning to all of you, my amazing readers, who live in California, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio, Washington, and the nation of Turkey. Did I miss some of you? If I did, please leave a comment below so that I can thank you for reading my entries. I'm sure that I don't know the names of many of you. It's a stormy morning here in Durham, NC, but we do need the rain. We live near a creek, and it has been bone-dry for most of the summer. I know that the many animals who live in our woods need rain desperately: turtles, deer, raccoons, foxes, and frogs. I know that some of you live in areas where it has rained constantly this summer, and some of you live in areas of extreme drought. Is there no middle ground? Well, we can't do anything about the weather, so we will just have to deal with it.

I finished reading Harper Lee's new book, Go Set a Watchman, a few days ago and I've been looking forward to sharing my thoughts here. The first thing that I wanted to know when I began reading the book was how the book got its name. Arielle Landau wrote an article for www.mydailynews.com back in February of this year that helps to explain this. The title comes from Isaiah 21:6 in the Bible, a chapter that is filled with prophecies against Babylon and Edom. In the King James Version, this verse reads, "For this hath the Lord said unto me, Go, set a watchman, let him declare what he seeth." I wonder if it's intentional that Harper Lee didn't put a comma after the first word in her title, "Go," as is seen in the KJV. Do you see any difference in "Go, set" or "Go set?" I definitely read the two differently. Do you think it means something? Wayne Flynt, a Baptist minister and historian, explains that in Isaiah 21, Isaiah is prophesying about the downfall of Babylon. He adds that Lee probably was comparing Monroeville (the setting of the novel) to Babylon since it also was made up of many hypocritical people who were immoral. Flynt further explains that somebody needs to be identified as the watchman who can call people out on their immoral behaviors, out of their messes (www.mydailynews.com, 2/15/15). It seems to me that Jean Louise Finch (Scout, daughter of Atticus) may be the watchman in this book, because she seems to be the only one who questions the racism in her hometown. Go Set a Watchman was published 55 years after To Kill a Mockingbird, This new book was originally written in the mid-1950s, and it was first submitted to be published BEFORE To Kill a Mockingbird. We aren't sure what happened along the way, but some people believe that the manuscript was lost and was not discovered until 2014. To Kill a Mockingbird was published in 1960, a little while after Go Set a Watchman, yet this newly published book seems to be a sequel to the first.

So what's all the buzz about regarding Harper Lee's new book? I've read what some people think about it, and I have my own view. Of course, this is a novel so Lee can write anything she wants. Secondly, we do see a different Atticus. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus is characterized as hero of equal rights, a champion for the Negro community in his town. He fights for the freedom of a Black man who was falsely accused of rape, and he wins. Scout and her brother, Jem, grew up in a home led by their dad, whom they adored, and their Black housemaid, Calpurnia. Scout and Jem adored Atticus and were proud of the stand that he took against racism. Atticus was a hero, for sure, and yet we see a different man in the new book (at least from the perspective of Jean Louise). In the new book Atticus is a more complex man, a man who is on a council that has racist views, and Jean Louise is completely baffled. She is now 26 years old and lives in New York City, and when she returns to Alabama for a 2-week period, she finds that her father has changed. Her boyfriend, Hank, has changed as well. Uncle Jack, Aunt Alexandra, and Hank offer Jean Louise some insight into the views of Atticus, and they all seem to share these beliefs. In Chapter 17, Atticus tries to explain his views to his daughter. At one point he says, "Let's look at this way...you realize that our Negro population is backward, don't you? You will concede that? You realize the full implications of the word "backward,' don't you?" He soon asks Jean Louise if she actually wants Blacks to have complete equal rights as white people. He asks her if she really wants them in her world, in the theaters, churches, and schools. Her response to this is, "They're people, aren't they? We were quite willing to import them when they made money for us" (p.240). So, it seems that Atticus is finding ways to blend in to his community instead of being set apart as one against many. I think he is a different man in this book, a man who is defined by how things really are in the South at the time. He seems to want to just blend in with everyone else, and he isn't ready to share his town equally and fairly with Black people. The new Atticus sort of bursts our bubble about him.

I hope you will read Go Set a Watchman. It's easy reading, so you can read it in just a few days. Get on the bandwagon to see what all of the buzz is about. Even though you will be disappointed in the changes in Atticus, you will enjoy the story. Let me know if you are reading it and what you think.

Here are the next ten books from my card catalog:

1. 2nd Chance by James Patterson
2. I Don't Know How She Does It by Allison Pearson
3. Further Along the Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck, M.D.
4. A Child Called 'It' by Dave Pelzer
5. The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer
6. Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti
7. This Present Darkness by Frank Peretti
8. The Visitation by Frank Peretti
9. I Never Promised You a Hot Tub by Doug Peterson (a creative look at the Beatitudes)
10. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

The storm is finally over...good news for me! Have a great week.

-Melissa Hill
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

I found this tiny, 2-inch turtle on my front sidewalk a few weeks ago. So, so cute! I took him to the creek area so that he wouldn't have to spend the next year making his way to water.

Coming soon: Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman: A Novel

"The book to read is not the one which thinks for you, but the one which makes you think. No book in the world equals the Bible for that."

 -Harper Lee
 Brainy Quote



What do you think you'll do about Harper Lee's new novel, Go Set a Watchman? Are you planning to read it? This book will be made available this week, and it has been predicted that it will be one of the top five best-selling books upon its release. That alone may lure you to its pages, just so you can see what all of the hubbub is about. I'm guilty as charged, so as soon as the hype dies down a little bit, I plan to read it. I don't want to wait until it comes out in paperback, and the library will be too slow, so I guess I'll just have to bite the bullet on this one and actually buy it at a 50% discount with my member card at Barnes & Noble. I've heard through the media that this book is upsetting many people regarding the change that is seen in the character of Atticus Finch from his role in To Kill the Mockingbird. In this novel, Lee depicts Finch as a man of high morals, a man who cares about injustices committed upon African American people. But in the new book he supposedly shows that he isn't such an exemplary man of high character as seen in his involvement with the KKK. However,I can't really comment on this too much because the book hasn't come out yet, but I will say that Harper Lee has the right to describe her characters in any way that she sees fit. An important fact to remember is that Lee actually wrote Go Set a Watchman BEFORE she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, even though it is just now being published. But irregardless of which book was published first, Lee has the right to show changes in her characters as she sees fit. As humans, we seem to prefer a character who is an epic hero, someone who saves others and is worthy to be admired, but characters can change. Changing a character's personality or other traits is actually a viable element of a good novel - it keeps us interested and we are driven to ask ourselves questions as to WHY the character changes. Also, remember that these two novels were not published in the order that they were written, and let's accept them as the fiction that they are. I believe that Harper Lee (now an elderly woman of 88 who is almost deaf and blind) wants us to read her books as she intended - as works of fiction that depict some of the struggles in the deep South.

Last night I completed a long novel entitled Epitaph: A Novel of the O.K. Coral by Mary Doria Russell.  This book of 577 pages was another book that I borrowed from my parents in Kentucky. I almost gave up on reading it in the early days, because I just couldn't get into it. But I stuck with it and I plan to read the shorter book, Doc, which is also by Russell. I think I enjoyed it because I like to learn new things, it's as simple as that, and I knew very little about life in the Wild West during the late 1800s. I had heard of Tombstone, the O.K. Coral, Wyatt Earp, and Doc Holliday, but that's where my knowledge ended. Even though this book is a novel, I feel like I know more about what actually happened during that time. It may be hard for us to imagine life during this time when great hoards of people were moving to the west to try to get rich quickly. Their journeys were very dangerous, yet they willing to risk everything in order to get some of the gold. 

Towns like Tombstone, Arizona began to spring up to the meet the needs of these people, but they were often very dangerous. Tombstone became known for its gunfights, gambling parlors, whore houses, and saloons. Everyone carried a gun until some laws were passed to restrict the carrying of guns by some people. So you could say it was a wild place, and even the "law" was sometimes corrupt. Just about anyone could be made a deputy for a time, irregardless of his past. In this novel you will meet Wyatt Earp, a man who was known by some to be an honest man, and he lived a very long life. You will also meet Doc Holliday, a dentist, gambler, and gunfighter who had TB and breathing issues for most of his life. You will meet other characters such as Johnny Behan, Josie Marcus, Ike Clanton, Ringo, and Frank Stilwell. The details about this time in history are somewhat obscured by legend, but Russell did a great deal of research before she told this story in her own way. So, if you want to read a good western, you will enjoy this book.

Here are the next ten books from my card catalog, books that I've read since 1984:

1. The Calling of Emily Evans by Janette Oke
2. A Gown of Spanish Lace by Janette Oke
3. John Calvin & Jacopo Sadolito: A Reformation Debate by John C. Olin
4. Surviving Myself by Jennifer O'Neill
5. Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly & Martin Dugard (I enjoyed this one a lot!)
6. Gods of Noonday by Elaine Orr
7. Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen
8. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
9. Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
10. Along Came a Spider by James Patterson

I hope you are having a wonderful day. Let me know if you plan to read the new Harper Lee novel and what you think about all of the hype. Keep the conversations going....

-Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com 

Saw this in the large bookstore in Sandusky, Ohio a few weeks ago. Can you imagine life without books??

The Wild West...did this stuff really happen?

Melissa at the Merry-go-round Museum in Sandusky, Ohio, June 2015.

"It was because of my great interest in the West, and my belief that its development would be assisted by the interest I could awaken in others, that I decided to bring the West to the East through the medium of the Wild West Show." -Buffalo Bill, Brainy Quote

 Today is Tuesday, July 6, 2015, a very hot and humid one here in Durham, North Carolina. The summer is passing by way too quickly for those of us who are teachers, but we are known for making the most of our time away from school. So far I have completed some household projects. I took things to goodwill, traveled to see family in Ohio and Kentucky, and I'm helping to plan my daughter's wedding. I'm singing in the church choir and I'm reading as much as possible. I'm also hiking three miles around the Duke Faculty Club as often as I can. I enjoy the shaded trail that is always full of other exercise enthusiasts. So, I think you could say that I'm accomplishing a lot.

During my recent trip to Kentucky, my mom suggested that I read the two books by Mary Doria Russell, Epitaph and Doc. I didn't think that I would get much out of these westerns, but Mom insisted that I take the books and read them because they are "very good." She added that she didn't want me to sell the books on Amazon, and she wants them back on my next visit. You see, I sell used books as an Amazon Seller (mch seller - look for my bargains!), and I've found that this is a good way to thin out some of the many, many books that I own. Any book that I find is fair game, so I'm glad that mom stated that she wants her two westerns back. So they will go in a separate pile.

It was slow going at first, but I began to read Epitaph and I can honestly say that I'm enjoying it. I don't normally read books in this genre, but I'm enjoying the tales of outlaws, cattle rustling, and domestic woes. The last book that I read was far from this kind of book, My Beloved World, by Sonya Sotomayor. Sotomayor's book is a memoir, not a novel, and its content covers events that really happened to a woman who is currently on the Supreme Court of the U.S. While Epitaph (the book that I'm currently reading) is a novel set in the Wild West and is largely fictional, it does use characters who actually lived during that time period, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, and it does involve events that actually happened during that time period.  I haven't finished the book yet, so I can't discuss all of it, but I can share some thoughts on the first half.

Wyatt Earp (1848-1929)

 Wyatt Earp is primarily known as a lawman as Russell's story unfolds. He is also a gambler and a saloon keeper. He is seen as a fairly trustworthy citizen of Tombstone, Arizona, yet he didn't always do the right thing. In the novel, he is trapped in an unhappy marriage of sorts, so he begins to flirt with Josie, a woman who is "married" to Johnny Behan, a dishonest Irish gambler/politician who is very cruel to his wife. Earp's good friend, John Henry "Doc" Holliday (1851-1887), is another major character in the book. He is a dentist, gambler, and gunfighter. The poor man had a chronic cough due to tuberculosis, and he dealt with this on a daily basis. His main goal is to find a place to live where he can breathe easily and live in peace. He feels that Tombstone may be just the place for him because he is beginning to make a decent living and is making friends.

Doc Holliday

I think that Russell does a great job as a writer of an epic tale. There are many, many characters, and their stories overlap in various ways. Russell's character development is very consistent and precise. She may not tell you everything about a character when she first introduces him/her, but she gives you many glimpses of the character in the way that the character behaves at home, at work, at the gambling table, and in the saloons. She strives to present a story whose details have often been shrouded in myth and legend, and yet we know that a lot of this "stuff" did actually happen. Although I'm not finished with the book, I have a feeling that the climax is going to be the famous gunfight at the O.K. Corral, an event in history that greatly influenced our perception of the Wild West and the somewhat weak justice system of the time. Or, this event might not be covered until Russell's next book, Doc.

Here are the next ten books in my card catalog:

1. A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar
2. Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
3. The Loss of the Ship Essex, Sunk by a Whale by Thomas Nickerson
4. The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble
5. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
6. Pastoral Counseling by Wayne E. Oates
7. Spiritual Writings by Flannery O;Connor
8. Lazy B by Sandra Day O'Connor & H. Alan Day (another memoir of a former Supreme Court Justice)
9. Are You Somebody? by Nuala O'Faolain
10. The Bluebird and the Sparrow by Janette Oke

Have a great day, and let me know what you're reading!

-Melissa Hill, Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com