Book Beginnings: The Wisdom of John Muir

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.  Please remember to include the title of the book and the author.

Leave a link to your post.  If you don't have a blog, but want to participate, please leave a comment with your Book Beginning.



Be patient with me today. I'm in Kalispell, Montana for depositions of a couple of my clients. It's going to be a jam-packed day and then I fly home at the crack of dawn tomorrow. I probably won't get around to visit all your posts until later this weekend. But I will stop by as soon as I can. Thanks for posting!

MY BOOK BEGINNING

This book is invaluable because, among many other things, it reminds us what a talented writer John Muir was.

-- from the Forward to The Wisdom of John Muir: 100 Selections from the Letters, Journals, and Essays of the Great Naturalist by Anne Rowthorn. 

I've read about John Muir, but I've never read his own writing. I am looking forward to learning more.

My copy came through the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.

Review: Doctor Thorne

Frank Gresham must marry money. His father has already sold off part of Gresham Park and the rest is mortgaged to the hilt. His mother wants to keep – and use – the London house. His five sisters need dowries. And no one wants to lose face with their rich De Courcy relatives. So now that Frank is twenty-one, all agree that he must marry money.

All except Frank, that is. He’s in love with Mary Thorne, the bastard niece of a country doctor. Anthony Trollope recounts the trials and tribulations of these unlucky lovers in his 1858 novel, Doctor Thorne, the third book in his Chronicles of Barsetshire.

Like the first two in the series, The Warden and Barchester Towers, Doctor Thorne is lively, witty, occasionally snarky, and thoroughly engrossing. It feels even more contemporary, perhaps because of the racy matter of illegitimacy, or because it gets away from the ecclesiastical themes of the first two in favor of more secular topics.  Side stories dealing with product recognition and election financing feel particularly current.

There are a couple of potboiler parts where the story gets repetitive and the whole thing drags on just a bit too long, but overall Doctor Thorne is a terrific read, either as part of the Chronicles or as a stand-alone.

OTHER REVIEWS

If you would like your review of this or any other Anthony Trollope book listed here, please leave a comment with a link and I will add it.

NOTES

I listened to the audiobook available for instant download at my library, so this was one of my books for the AudioBook Challenge.  There is also a free kindle edition on amazon.

Opening Sentence: The Finkler Question

He should have seen it coming.

-- The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson.

If ever there was an opening sentence with infinite possibility, that is it.  I am now half-way through this Booker winner and enjoying every minute of it.  The audio version is particularly entertaining because the reader, Steven Crossley, is excellent.

This is a story about three friends -- two school buddies, now grown, and their former professor.  It is about friendship, rivalry, marriage, love, mourning, and being Jewish in modern-day London.  It is also about misbehaving middle-aged men, which is my favorite fiction genre.  The only thing missing for me is that none of the characters over drink.  Add a touch of dipsomania and it would be an all-time favorite for me.   

This is one of my Booker choices for the 2012 Battle of the Prizes, British Version. 

Teaser Tuesday: The Things You Would Have Said

 

Dear Mom,

. . . What I have learned so far is that I come from a family of very strong women.  Perhaps I have some of that strength in me.

 -- from one of the letters in The Things You Would Have Said: The Chance to Say What You Always Wanted Them to Know, edited by Jackie Hooper.

This is the book edition of the popular blog by the same name.  It contains letters written by real people to others who have passed out of their lives -- parents, friends, enemies, their childhood selves, etc.  The letters are incredible.

This could be a great idea for Mother's Day, this Sunday.

Teaser Tuesdays is hosted by Should Be Reading, where you can find the official rules for this weekly event. 

Mailbox Monday

Thanks for joining me for Mailbox Monday! MM was created by Marcia at A girl and her books (fka The Printed Page), who graciously hosted it for a long, long time, before turning it into a touring meme (details here).

This month, Mailbox Monday is hosted by Martha's Bookshelf.  Please take the time to visit her wonderfully eclectic blog.

I got one terrific book last week:



The Secrets of Mary Bowser by Lois Leveen.

Publisher's Description:

Based on a remarkable true story, The Secrets of Mary Bowser is an inspiring tale of one daring woman's willingness to sacrifice her own freedom to change the course of history.

All her life, Mary has been a slave to the wealthy Van Lew family of Richmond, Virginia. But when Bet, the willful Van Lew daughter, decides to send Mary to Philadelphia to be educated, she must leave her family to seize her freedom.  

Life in the North brings new friendships, a courtship, and a far different education than Mary ever expected, one that leads her into the heart of the abolition movement. With the nation edging toward war, she defies Virginia law by returning to Richmond to care for her ailing father—and to fight for emancipation. Posing as a slave in the Confederate White House in order to spy on President Jefferson Davis, Mary deceives even those who are closest to her to aid the Union command.

Just when it seems that all her courageous gambles to end slavery will pay off, Mary discovers that everything comes at a cost—even freedom.

This looks really, really good.  It is getting rave reviews already, one from Barbara at Views from the Countryside.  You can find links to other reviews on the author's website. You can see the trailer here.  

Leveen lives here in Portland and has agreed to do an author interview on Rose City Reader. Check back soon to see what Lois has to say about writing, reading, and her debut novel.