WOOFSTOCK - Coming in 10 days to St. Lawrence Market!

via woofstock.ca

Affirmations for Introverts | Psychology Today

• Just because I'm quiet doesn't mean I have nothing to say.
• Staying home is doing something.
• Managing my energy is a favor to myself and everyone around me.
• I like who I like and that's my right.
• There's nothing wrong with saying "no."
• I can love other people and still not be responsible for their good time. (Variation on a theme.)
• Listening to bores is not my job.
• Parties are supposed to be fun. When I stop having fun, it's OK to leave.
• My presence is a gift, not a requirement.
• I know what I need better than anyone else.
• Putting on my dog-and-pony show is optional. (This is a biggie for me. And what a relief!)

What works for you? 

via psychologytoday.com

If you're an introvert like me, the entire piece is worth a read. Click on the link above.

Michael's first prom!

Held at the Arcadian Court, Michael escorted a friend to her grad prom Thursday night.

Extremely Bad Advice: Game of Phones

I sent in this letter to Steve Murray, a humourist at the National Post, after he put out a request for problems that he could solve. My letter and the first part of his answer appear here. Click on the link to read the rest!

May 26, 2011 – 5:16 PM ET

I put up with years of my husband whipping out his BlackBerry and dealing with email or whatever important stuff appeared on it. Parties, anniversary dinners, museum visits with the kids … the damn thing was always there. Now I have a similar (but sexier) device and said husband takes me to task for occasionally playing Angry Birds before bed or checking email during breakfast. What’s a modern gal to do?

STEP ONE Call me old-fashioned, but I think you should probably get a divorce. While I have heard of couples where one uses a BlackBerry and the other an iPhone, they’re usually from some liberal heathen metropolis like New York or some sort of New York-style city. Back in my day -a couple of years ago -that kind of thing was unheard of, and for good reason. You must feel the stares of people in the street, the hushed admonishments behind your backs. You guys are literally not compatible, so I have no idea how you even get through a day, talking about software glitches and apps over the dinner table. I just pray I’m not too late with this advice and you haven’t had kids yet. Will you give them an Android just to split the difference? The mind reels.
 

Read the rest at arts.nationalpost.com

 

British Home Child Day Act - Today at Queen's Park

This Act is being re-introduced at Queen's Park today.  If you are a descendent of a British Home Child and are in the city, drop by the Legislature today (and then to the Duke of York for a reception.)

Good news to all British Home Child descendants and friends!

After two attempts to bring a British Home Child Day Act to fruition in the Legislature of Ontario, I am making one last attempt to accomplish this, before my retirement as the Member of Provincial Parliament for the Riding of Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry. 

With 2010 having been the national "Year of the Home Children", I had hoped that my Private Members' Bill would have been passed before the end of last year. Unfortunately, the official opposition would not cause this to happen, so I'm following another route in order to have an official day for recognition of the British Home Children in Ontario, September 28th.

On Thursday, May 19th, through the kindness of MPP Monte Kwinter, I will have a chance to re-introduce my British Home Child Day bill, and to have it passed through Second and Third Readings. MPP Kwinter gave up his 15th spot in Private Members' business, so that I could re-introduce my bill.

As you may know, my previous bills have either died or stalled in the Justice Committee. This time, I will have the bill co-sponsored, with PC MPP Steve Clark and NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo agreeing to be co-sponsors. I'll be moving Second and Third Reading on that day, and then it will require Royal Assent, a formality from the Lieutenant-Governor's office. The bill will not be referred to the Justice Committee.

Having said the above, I would be honoured to have you as my guest in the Ontario Legislature on Thursday, May 19th. Mine will be the third bill debated on that afternoon, with the first debate beginning around 1:20 pm. The debate for each bill last for about 50 minutes. 

Following the debate, I would like to invite you to the Duke of York, 39 Prince Arthur Avenue, Toronto, for a toast to our Home Child ancestors. 

I would be honoured to welcome you to the Legislature, and I thank all who have supported me in the past. I look forward to the day that we will have an official day in Ontario to recognize our Home Child ancestors who contributed so much to the development of our province, with little or no recognition. This is our opportunity to honour and celebrate their legacy!

Christine Shaver, my Legislative Assistant is taking the lead on this project, and she may be reached at cshaver@liberal.ola.org. In the riding, I have asked my new Constituency Assistant, Alex de Wit to assist with my latest quest. His email is adewit@liberal.ola.org.

Kindest regards,

Jim Brownell, MPP
Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry

Awesome project! Vintage Book Expanding File

via justsomethingimade.com

Check out the easy instructions at the link!

OGS Annual Conference: My Top Ten

1. A British Home Child Special Interest Group (SIG) was chartered by the executive. I attended the organizational meeting and am excited about this new group as one of my great-grandfathers was a British Home Child.
2. Numerous references to what was referred to by one speaker as "environmental genealogy", that is, what society was like around our ancestors. I plan to try to enhance my research with more of this kind of information.
3. Dave Obee pointed to the Federation of Eastern European History Societies (FEEFHS) maps collection. These will be a great help in researching the history and geography around my paternal ancestors in Russia/Ukraine.
4. The records in parish chests (in England) are being digitized in great numbers and more and more are coming online. The parish chest was typically a heavy wooden lockable chest that contained all the documents central to the running of a Church of England parish. These would include records of baptisms, marriages, deaths; the manorial survey; records of the poor law administration, other ecclesiatical records. These can be very helpful in adding to the information included in your family history.
5. While Attestation Papers for those who served in WWI are available online at Library and Archives Canada, they will also provide complete WWI military files for a fee. I have a great-uncle who served and hope to arrange to get a copy of his file next time I'm in Ottawa.
6. I attended a very interesting talk on emigration of Scots given by Ruth Blair and I am searching for leads on my maternal great-grandmother who came as a single woman in 1899 and married my great-grandfather shortly thereafter. I have not been able to find a passenger listing for her trip to Canada and I got some new resources for that search.
7. At the end of the conference, a big announcement regarding the partnership between the Ontario Genealogical Society and The National Institute for Genealogical Studies was announced.  Details regarding the new benefits accruing to memebers and the two organizations will be announced over the next few months, but free registration in the course Social Media for the Wise Genealogist was offered to all OGS members! Also, OGS branches will be able to make use of the NIGS Live Meeting technology for branch meetings and other activities.
8. Dave Obee's talk More Than Just Names and Dates provided some solid rationale for "environmental genealogy" as mentioned in 2 above. His background as a journalist demonstrated the power of enhancing our genealogical research with context, stories, and an enhanced understanding of the forces that influenced our ancestors lives. He suggested some excellent resources for this kind of research and this has prompted me to seroiusly consider setting up a wiki or some other kind of online presence to capture and communicate my family history.
9. The Market Place at the conference is an excellent source of new information, books, maps, software and other things. I picked up an autographed copy of Brenda Dougall Merriman's Genealogy in Ontario:  Searching the Records (Fourth Edition) and a used copy of The Little Immigrants:  The Orphans Who Came to Canada by Kenneth Bagnall, one of the earlier books (1980) about Home Children.
10. Life Gems Personal Histories was also at the Market Place. Christine Cowley has put together a book and workbook to help capture stories and memories to pass on to the people you love, to ensure that these aren't lost. From her website:

“I am intrigued to think how little most of us talk about ourselves with the people closest to us,” says Cowley. “I finally realized that what people need is a really simple and fun way to do that.”

With busy lives it’s hard to find time to chat or write down family stories, and revelations or deeply felt emotions are often never shared. Some things are just too hard to say. The result is that great stories and sentiments are lost.

"As individuals we are the only ones who can talk about who we are, what we think and why we do or did things a particular way,” says Cowley. “I was always told that my grandmother Eva, who died when my father was a child, had a similar personality to mine. Maybe that was another way for my parents to say, ‘She doesn’t get it from me!’ but given the unconventional life my grandmother chose, I feel proud to have her genes. What I wouldn’t give to have just a few lines she might have written about herself.” 

I picked up a copy of the book/workbook set and look forward to using it myself and possibly with some family members. 

M is for Ma(r)y

As we move into the month of May, my parish choir presents songs to Mary. This has to be one of the most beautiful choral pieces ever written, and was apparently Rachmaninoff's favourite composition. We sang this on Sunday and below is a version sung (by men only) by the Westminster Chorus.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4zGqHSzajc]

 

Monday Reading Round-up (and book giveaway!)

I missed last week's reading roundup, so I will herein confess that I did very little reading while on vacation.  However, I got through two novels and got going on a third.

1. I started and finished another YA novel, The Mysterious Benedict Society.  It had been highly recommended when it first came out in 2008 and I found a copy in the checkout line at Winners just beore we left for England.  (There is a reason why they keep those lines long.) It involves a group of four children who are selected through an interesting series of tests to helpa Mr. Benedict foil some nasty business that is going down. The children are interesting and the story moves quickly.  It's the first of a series and I hope read the rest.  I left it in the bookshelf at our inn in Folkestone with a handwritten Book Crossing ID in it.
2. I then picked up Vita Sackville-West's The Edwardians which I loved.  The story follows a family of nobles, in which the father has died and the mother is waiting for the son to marry and take over the estate. His sister, eighteen, is also expected to "come out" and behave as women did in those days.  The most interesting part of the book to me was not the plot (although it was good) but the description of how life was changing during that time (1901-1910) in terms of societal morés: the role of women, relationships between nobility and their servants, the advent of the motorcar, the rise of socialism, and feelings about the monarchy.  This is the first writing by Sackville-West that I've read, and I'll be sure to read more.
3. Peter Robinson's The Summer That Never Was came next. The thirteenth Inspector Banks novel, it was as good as I expected.  Robinson is one of my favorite mystery writers and this was no disappointment.  I hope to read the next three in the series as part of my GoodReads challenge this quarter.   

When I got home, I grabbed Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville on my Kindle and breezed through that novella.  I had heard reference to Bartleby in a number of different places and decided it was time to actually read the piece.  The story of a law office and a clerk who, when asked to perform a task, says "I would prefer not to." And the conseqences on the office of this piece of work action!

I didn't really listen to audiobooks while I was away, but it was great on the plane trips there and back. I finished up Under the Net by Iris Murdoch and then listened to Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.  Loved the Murdoch, and as it turned out, had already read the Atkinson, but listened to it anyway as I had forgotten much of the plot.  It's the first of the Jackson Brodie series of mysteries and I definitely plan to listen to more (which, hopeffully will actually be new to me!)

At present, I'm re-reading Fifth Business by Roberston Davies.  I think I must have read it thirty or more years ago, and that I was too young to appreciate it for more than the simple plot.  I am absolutely loving it and will be diving into the other two books in the Deptford trilogy. I'm also listening to Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down which is hilarious and moving, like much of his wonderful fictioin. I'm nearly finished both of these and so will soon by moving on to my to-read pile, which includes:

• Does this Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat by Peter Walsh.  (This *could* solve two problems in one...)
• Tide Road by Valerie Compton.  A freebie from a Goodreads giveaway.
• Giants of Jazz by Studs Terkel. Bought this for Michael a few months ago.
• Yoga for People Who Can't Be Bothered to Do It by Geoff Dyer.
• The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly, another YA novel.

So. The giveaway. 

I would love to pass on my copy of The Edwardians. If you are interested, either leave me a note in the comments or send me an email (janet (at) berkman (dot) ca). I'll draw for the lucky winner and contact you for mailing/delivery info. 

 

Ain't I a Woman? Alice Walker reads Sojourner Truth.

via youtube.com

I'll be back.

I have photos and stories to post from our travels, but I seem to have been struck by some stomach thing.  It started yesterday midday and has really wiped me out. Don't know if it was plane germs, or something I ate.  Should say "we" ate because my dear one also started feeling under the weather this morning.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of Folkestone where we stayed from Wednesday thru Saturday, a lovely seaside town.

<Map source: The Property Purveyor>

The clock tower used to be a church but was destroyed in WW2, as per the plaque.  A memorial on the waterfront says that during WW1, 7 million men marched through the city on their way to war. (Don't forget to click on the small pics to enlarge.)

The Cinderella Outfit Challenge: Grand Prize Winner

via coc.ca

The Canadian Opera Company sponsored this contest and they had 60 entries with thousands of votes. Go to the link to see the other four finalists and read the judges comments. Simply gorgeous! So glad to see the interest in Barbie couture.

No offense to English teachers or anything...

Sone of my best friends are in the biz...

From my twitter feed.  H/T @TheBookMaven

Stanley H. Clark: 1933-2011

I found out about Stan's death via Facebook while we were in England.  He was a high school music teacher extraordinaire.  While I didn't take music classes at Glebe, I played percussion in the Senior Concert Band and piano in the Stage Band. The Stage Band recorded an LP, played paying gigs, including in a flotilla on the Rideau Canal, travelled to Cuba, and was an all-round fabulous place to play great music, hang with friends, and get through those teen years. 

I have reconnected with many high school friends through social networking, and there is a special bond with those who were in the Stage Band. Stan's family have put up a Facebook page where many of his former students have shared their memories. As announced on that page:

Stanley H. Clark
1933-2011
Mus. Bac., M.Mus, ARCT, Conductor - Royal Regiment of Canada (Capt. ret.)
Teacher - North Toronto, Parkdale and Glebe Collegiates
Conductor - National Capital Concert Band

After a lifetime of glorious music and marvelous adventure, Stanley H. Clark - teacher, composer, maestro, father, friend - has shuffled off this mortal coil.

Stan’s legacy lives on in the lives of children, grandchildren, countless students and fellow musicians who were inspired under his baton.

No regrets, no condolences. This was a life well lived. Please share your stories and memories at www.crgamble.com. In memory of Stan, support of music and arts in our schools would be appreciated. We suggest musicounts.ca or youngawards.ca or an investment of your time.

A celebration and final blow in Stan's honour will be held at Christ Church Cathedral, Ottawa, from 12:00 to 4:00, Saturday April 30th. If you’d like to play, bring a music stand; downbeat at 2 p.m.

I would love to be there.

As a side note:  Our son Michael plays in the stage band (among others) at Lawrence Park CI here in Toronto and with the Jazz.fm Youth Big Band. Whenever I go to a concert or gig of his, I get extremely nostalgic for my own high school days. He has an excellent school music teacher who is also a brass player, and someone who knows how to swing.  It makes me immeasurably happy to see his pleasure in playing jazz, and love that he loves the same music I did at that age (and continue to love.) He is looking to music as a career and I know how inspiring great teachers are.

Monday Miscellany - there's no place like home.

We arrived home from England to a relatively quick hop through the airport, pleasant weather, and a hot Easter meal courtesy of my sister-in-law. Michael had stayed with them while we were away and so when we went to pick him up, we were ushered in to a lovely meal and our beautiful son, niece, and nephew.

I have a lot to blog about the trip, but I may go in reverse chronological order.  We spent our last 24 hours in London, ensconced in the Hilton London Metrople near Paddington Station.  The area is something of a "little Beirut" as my Beiruti husband called it.  Edgeware Road is lined with Middle Eastern restaurants, cafes, cellphone unlockers, groceries, shisha joints, and travel agencies.  The hotel concierge recommended a couple of restaurants and we had a lovely lunch at Al Araz, and I made use of their free wifi to catch up on some email.  

We headed out to Leicster Square to try to score some theatre tickets for the evening, but neither of our two choices (Wicked or The Children's Hour) had anything of interest.  The latter was SRO and the former only had very poor seats at a low discount.  So we wandered around, and ended up walking back to our hotel along Oxford Circle, doing a little window shopping among the absolute throngs of people. We picked up fixings for a light dinner (and by light, I mean grapes, plain yogurt, chocolate covered Hobnobs, and apple cider.  We also had the remainder of a bottle of port that we'd purchased in Hailsham.) We both had books we wanted to finish and had a relatively early start the next morning, so we settled in for a lazy last night in England.

Yesterday morning, we hopped on the Heathrow Express train and after checking our bags, retired to the lounge for coffee and a Canadian paper. The flight was uneventful... I watched my first celebratory movie post-Lent (Owning Mahoney, a true story about a Canadian bank fraudster, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and a blonde Minnie Driver) and listened to my audiobook.

More later.  Off to do laundry, grocery shopping, and get started on our taxes.

In the search for the Voice of God...

...some believe Gregorian chants are preferable to folk music

Charles Lewis  Apr 22, 2011 

Aaron Lynett/National Post

Brother Brian holds his rosary as he, along with Frater Stanislaus (centre) and Frater Herman Joseph (right) rehearse for their choir specializing in Gregorian Chant at the Holy Family Church in Toronto

When Philip Fournier sings a line of Gregorian chant, it hangs like a puff of smoke in the air before it slowly dissipates above the empty pews below.

The sound, listening to it live from a distance of just several inches away in the choir loft at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Toronto, is ancient, elemental. The sound originates in his abdomen — a line of text that flows out like a wave, sung in tones that are dark and rich. The words are in Latin. It is not a song so much as prayer that is sung.

Mr. Fournier, with his ragged sweater and perpetual five o’clock shadow, is part of a small cadre of traditionalists for whom singing Gregorian chant is an attempt to restore what they see as the real music of the Catholic Church — sounds that go back to the time when King David sang psalms in the temple. 

If they had their way, they would storm the parish churches and hurl all the guitars and drums into the street because they believe substituting modern music for ancient music has eroded worship.

Philip Fournier

via life.nationalpost.com

Read the rest at the link above.

I'm a huge chant fan, although realize that to encourage congregational participation in the novus ordo mass, we need to sing familiar hymns and (re-)inroduce these more traditional forms slowly. Both of the parishes I have belonged to since I became Catholic moved to Latin mass parts for Advent and Lent, and my current choir uses a lot of renaissance (and some medieval) music during the offertory and communion periods. We are also (apparently) ordering the Parish Book of Chant and this should go a long way to including more chant in the liturgy.

Travel: Sunday

We got to breakfast by about 8:30, meeting the others. We had decided to go in to a small Catholic Church in Hailsham, St. Wilfrid's, for Palm Sunday Mass, so we called Andrew, our cab driver from yesterday and had him pick us up at 10. 

St. Wilfrid's is a small church, the third builton  that site. The present structure was built in 1952 and contains some lovely devotional articles.   The Mass was a usual Palm Sunday/Passion combination with two gospel readings. The congregation was small, but filled the church and the responses were fullsome. The stained glass window above the main entrance is of the martyr St. Margaret Clitherow.

After mass, we walked northwards towards the centre of town and stopped into a Wetherspoons pub (The George Hotel) for lunch. Then we dropped into a Waitrose to pick up a few things and stopped at The Old School House, now Prezzo, for coffee and dessert before calling Andrew to pick us up.

While we were waiting for the cab, I spotted this clever scupture outside Tesco:

Sunday evening was the opening reception for the conference, and then dinner. Zouheir attended the opening session and I retired to read and relax.

Travel: Friday and Saturday

For a variety of reasons, too complex to go in to, our flights were booked under two different reservation codes.  Although we had adjacent seats on our Toronto-to-Heathrow flights at the time of booking, Air Canada changed the equipment to a smaller plane, which ended up separating our seats.  We discovered this late Thursday night as we were checking in online.  Calls to the travel agent and Air Canada couldn't remedy the sitation, particularly as we learned that the flight was 30 seats overbooked.

We couldn't get it dealt with Friday morning at the airport, so once we boarded we did some negotiating with the people around us and managed to finagle better seats, although it meant that I had a middle-of-three seat.  David Suzuki and his extended family were also on the flight and had also been split up.  I was originally seated next to his wife.  He had been upgraded to business, and his family were just in front of Zouheir.  His wife helped me in organizing a trade and by the time we took off, everyone was happy (more or less).

While we were late leaving Toronto, we landed in Heathrow on time and made our way to the London Heathrow Marriott where we spent the night before our trip to Hailsham Saturday morning.  At 11 pm, we ordered a light meal in the lobby bar and some featured drink using spiced rum and citrus. We were still on Toronto time, but forced ourselves to sleep so that we'd awaken early and try to get on UK time.

As we were checking out the next morning, we saw an incredibly attractive, multicultural flight crew from Emirates Airlines.

I really liked the women's uniforms, with the attractive hat and suggestion of a veil. 

We took the hotel shuttle back to Heathrow, the Express train to Paddington Station, the tube to Victoria Station, and then a train to Polegate, the closest station to Herstmonceaux Castle.  We grabbed a taxi driven by a retired advertising guy who used to work in London.  He was very interesting, is used to shuttling students and visitors to the Castle, and talked about the history and geography of the area,  He left us his number after dropping us off at the residence.

After a little rest and recharge, we got a call from the conference organizer, Agnes Herzberg, who suggested we meet for dinner with her, her Joyce Zakos who is helping with the organization, and John Bailar who had already arrived.  There was a wedding going on in the Castle, so we had a light supper and retired for the eveinng after taking a walk in the gardens.

 

Seen Reading

Have you heard about Julie Wilson's (aka Book Madam) Literary Voyeurs project?  She (and a number of helpers) document sightings of books and the people reading them in public. Public transit seems to be a popular source of material, as are bookstores, coffee shops, and restaurants. While it started in Toronto, there are contributors from all over the world. The fomat is what you seen below.

I'm not a formal contributor, but enjoy the "sport".  A couple of sightings from the past week:

• Location:  Toronto:  61A bus southbound on Avenue Road
  Time of Day:  3:30 pm
  Reader:  Young, Asian woman, long dark hair, wearing white polo tee, khaki shorts, running shoes, and carrying a backpack.
  Book: The Gargoyle.  Heavily studded with pink post-it flags, before and after the page she's reading.
  Author:  Andrew Davidson
  Publisher:  Vintage Canada 

The following were a couple. 

• Location:  North York.  Doctor's office waiting room
  Time of Day: 12:15 pm
  Reader:  Older woman, grey hair, stylish plastic-frame glasses, bright pink top, black slacks, hose, and flats.
  Book: Barney's Version (paperback).  Almost finished.
  Author:  Mordecai Richler
  Publisher:  Vintage Canada 
• Location:  North York.  Doctor's office waiting room
  Time of Day: 12:15 pm
  Reader:  Older gent, blue plaid long-sleeved shirt, khaki pants, brown belt, white running shoes, brownish-grey hair and wire-framed glasses.
  Book: The Best Laid Plans (a couple of chapters in).
  Author:  Terry Fallis
  Publisher: McClelland and Stewart

I struck up a conversation with the gentleman while his wife was seeing the doctor. He was laughing out loud while reading and I caught his eye. He told me that his brother out in Vancouver had recommended it to him and he was really enjoying it. He asked me about the sequel (The High Road) and I told him that it was just as good as the first one, and by the time he'd finished The Best Laid Plans, he'd be desperate for more!

TTFN.  

The reading pile.

We travel on Friday, so I've been in a mad dash to finish up the library books I have to return before we leave.  Currently on the nightstand (and in my purse, and on the coffee table...)

• Under the Net by Iris Murdoch. I don't have a hope of finishing this library book, so I went looking for it in Indigo last night.  It was marked as £8.99 or $23.95 CDN!  For a paperback!  So I grabbed in for my Kindle at $10US last night.  
• The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.  I picked this up while I was waiting for Michael at a 3 hour rehearsal and had neglected to put a book in my bag.  It was displayed in the check-out line at Winners and I've wanted to read it for some time.  I'm just a couple of dozen pages in, but I think it will only increase my appreciation for Young Adult lit.
• The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. An audiobook, this is set in WWII in the US and London. It's a download from the library and has almost expired, so it's at the top of my list.

Recently completed:

• Double Fault by Lionel Shriver. Just finished this last night. I love Lionel Shriver, and have read most of her books.  This one tells the story of a couple who are both on the tennis circuit and how their rankings affect their marriage. I found it very engaging and, although I don't follow or even really like the sport, the commentary on the world of tennis, competition, and rankings was very interesting. It isn't one of her best books, but recommendable nonetheless.
• An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin. Martin is such a polymath. Comedian, actor, musician, and author. Set in the New York art world, the novel is narrated by an art writer.  He tells the story of the rise and fall of Lacey Yeager, who morphs from a young assistant at Sotheby's to a gallery owner. I learned a lot about the art business while enjoying this novel that is full of intrigue, affairs, and exclusive parties. Highly recommended.
• Becoming George Sand by Rosalind Brackenbury. This novel left me cold, and I had to force myself to finish it.  A writer, who is having an extramarital affair and researching George Sand, starts to identify with her subject. The action (if you can call it that) switches between the present day and the story of Sand and Chopin. Pass it by.
• Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman. A preteen girl suffers while living with her bipolar mother. After her mother's death, she is adopted by a great-aunt who whips her down to Savannah into a world of Southern women, gentility, and eccentricity. This novel has been compared to The Help, but that's an exaggeration. They're both set in the South, but this book is much lighter in tone. It was a fun read.
• Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie. Zouheir put me on to this wonderful novella, originally published in French. Somewhat in the same vein as Reading Lolita in Tehran, two young men being re-educated during the Cultural Revolution in China discover a suitcase with a bunch of (forbidden) french novels by Balzac and others. The audiobook was read by actor B.D. Wong and was very moving. I highly recommend this book.
• Incredible Edibles:  43 Fun Things to Grow in the City by Sonia Day and Barrie Murdock. This is a wonderful little book with great instructions for starting a small city garden (even one just in planters.) The copy I read was from the library, but I ended up buying this book to help me start a garden this year.

This is the selection I'm packing on my travels. They will likely not all get read, but a couple of long flights and time on my own at the castle should provide me with lots of reading time.

• Case Histories by Kate Atkinson.  I chose this because it's set in England and is the first of the Jackson Brodie mysteries. It's on my iPhone.
• The Edwardians by Vita Sackville-West.  Another novel set in England, Sackville-West was born in Kent (where we'll be spending a few days). I haven't read anything by her before and am very much looking forward to this (and possibly visiting Sissinghurst Castle where she lived for a while.
• A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Love Hornby's books, and this has been downloaded onto my iPhone for listening.
• The House at Riverton by Kate Morton. I quite liked Morton's The Forgotten Garden, and this is another one set in the Edwardian period. It's on my Kindle.
• Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville.  It keeps coming up in various things I'm reading, so it's on my Kindle.

Next week I'll hope to post an update on my reading from England!