The Reader

In this brave new world

of lightning fast technology,

Kindle, and downloading
 "e-books"

there is still nothing
like holding the
well-worn covers
of a favorite book
in your hands.

The Reader

Jean-Honore Fragonard

1770

The people up and down the world 
that talk and laugh and cry,
They’re pleasant when you’re young and gay,
 and life is all to try,
But when your heart is tired and dumb,
 your soul has need of ease,
There’s none like the quiet folk 
who wait in libraries–
The counselors who never change,
 the friends who never go,
The old books, the dear books
 that understand and know!

 "Old Books"
Margaret Widdemer

“When I read a book, 
I put in all the imagination I can,
 so that it is almost like writing the book
 as well as reading it - or rather,
 it is like living it.
 It makes reading
 so much more exciting,
 but I don't suppose many people
 try to do it.” 
-Dodie Smith

 I recently found a
nearly sixty year old
hardcover edition
(in very good condition) of
the classic childrens' book,
"Hitty" Her First Hundred Years"
By Rachel Field
at my local thrift store.

I always loved this story!



As much as I like to blog
about my favorite childrens' books,
 I love to read
books for grown ups too!

One of my all time
favorite series of
books are the
mystery novels
written by
James D. Doss,
featuring the
unflappable,
seven foot tall
Ute Indian investigator,
Charlie Moon.

I discovered this

wonderful series of

modern day mysteries

set in the American

Southwest

after I bought

 the novel, 

"Grandmother Spider"

at a used book sale.

After reading this book,

I was hooked!

Author James D. Doss

1939-2012

May He Rest In Peace

One aspect of the

Charlie Moon Mysteries

which truly impresses me

is the author's

  thoughtful consideration in

 the lack of profanity-laced dialogue

and embarrassing sex scenes

in his novels,

which unfortunately,

 is an all too common trend

in books deemed for

"mature readers"

these days.

Fortunately,

 the novels of

James D. Doss

are anything but common!

His stories

are a like a breath of

fresh clean air after

a sudden spring rain.

He was truly a

master of his craft,

and a great

inspiration to me

in my own writing.

Next to James D. Doss,

another favorite author of mine

in the world of contemporary

murder mysteries is

none other than the

Queen of Suspense

Mary Higgins Clark

Author Mary Higgins Clark

I can honestly say,

"No one writes like Mary!"

The first novel I ever read of hers

was a condensed version of

"A Cry In The Night"

back in the early 1980's.

My mother was a

subscriber to Reader's Digest

Condensed Books at 

the time.


"A Cry In The Night"

 a  page-turning,
psychological thriller

about a young New York divorcee
 with two small children, who, after a

whirlwind courtship marries

a famous artist and moves

with him to his remote

family farm in Minnesota,

kept me up reading

long past midnight

that summer.

But sorry folks!

There'll be no

"spoiler alert" here.

However, if you love 

to be held in the grip of

suspense bordering on 

heart pounding terror

at the turn of every page,

read this book!

 Every time

Mary comes out with

a  new book,  time seems

to stand still out here

in the sticks.

Feeding the chickens

and sloppin' the hogs

will just have to wait!

(Just kidding!)

Seriously,

 I cannot put her latest

 book down until

I finish reading it from

 cover to cover! 

 One of Mary's latest novels

By the way,

like James D. Doss novels,

Mary's books are always clean

of profanity-laced dialogues or

overtly descriptive and

embarrassing "love scenes".

I would easily recommend

her exciting mysteries to

my teen-aged niece as

well as someone my age

or older.

Before

Mary Higgins Clark

became one of America's

(and the world's)

best known and loved

mystery writers,

she penned a

wonderful historical novel

about the romance and

marriage of our first

President George Washington

and his wife, Martha.

Like her absorbing tales of

mayhem and mystery,

as a avid reader of

 early American History,

this was another of Mary's books

 I could not put down!

A Few More Of My Favorite Books

and Authors...

It was in my high school days...

(Can it really be thirty some years ago?)

that I first discovered the

genre of classic romantic suspense novels

and the works of English author,

Daphne Du Maurier.

In her classic novel,
"Rebecca"

Daphne Du Maurier
 brings to life

the shy, sweet,

second wife of

wealthy English aristocrat,

Maxim de Winter,

a young woman

who finds herself

haunted by the

malevolent spirit

of Rebecca,

Maxim's first wife,

who died in a

mysterious boating

accident.

Along with the "I"

who narrates this story,

I, the Reader,
 found myself fully immersed

in the daily living at

the huge Cornish

estate called,

Manderley,

a beautiful old house full

of English history and pride

and family heirlooms,

where the public is

allowed to visit

on certain days.

Yet, instead of being happy

and content in her new life,

the blushing bride "I" is

full of anxiety over her

new role as mistress

of Manderley,

finding herself being

compared (at least she

thinks so in her mind) to

the beautiful, talented,

and dead Rebecca.

An atmosphere of foreboding,

prevails like the proverbial calm 
 before a bad storm

over the grand old estate.
 Almost from the moment
Maxim and his new bride
arrive at Manderley,
the tension in the air

 is intensified,
especially after
the painfully shy
 "I" only moments 
 after her arrival,
not only
must endure meeting
the entire staff
of the estate,

 but by the
formidable presence
of one person,

who seems to stand out

 from among the sea of
curious faces
gathered to greet their
new mistress. 


Once the personal maid
of the late first Mrs.de Winter,
 she, who is now

the housekeeper of the estate,

 is a stern and snobbish woman,
her severe dress of
funeral black,
 contrasting with her
  pale bony face, 
the gauntness of
 which reminds
 the intimidated "I"
of a death skull.

  She, of course,
is none other
 than the
 inimical
Mrs. Danvers.

 The sinister housekeeper
of Manderley estate,
always seems to be
 lurking in the shadowy wings
 secretly watching
Maxim's inexperienced bride's
ungainly attempts
to be the new
mistress of Manderley,

while hating and resenting her
 for taking Rebecca's place.

 But Mrs. Danvers
as the novel's
primary living antagonist,
 is certainly nobody's fool.


With her knowledge
of Rebecca's true nature, 
not to mention being privy 
 to all the secret, 
and sordid details
 of Maxim de Winter's
 marital relationship with 
his late first wife,
not only does she have
her own valid suspicions

about Rebecca's death
being ruled as an
unfortunate accident,
 but remains determine,

along with 

Rebecca's cousin,
 the womanizing drunk
Jack Favell,
 to help
her former mistress

 exact revenge

from her watery grave...

The best-selling novel,

"Rebecca"

was later made into
an Oscar-winning
motion picture
by the legendary
master of suspense,
director Alfred Hitchcock,
and starred Lawrence Olivier,
Joan Fontaine, George Sanders,
and Judith Anderson.

Another of Daphne Du Maurier's novels

that I loved reading 
(and occasionally re-reading)

 is the exciting story of

"Jamaica Inn".

Set along the English coast in 1820,

this is an eerie and harrowing tale of

an innocent young woman

 named Mary Yellen, 
who comes to

live with her Aunt Patience

and Uncle Joss in Cornwall
 after the death

 of her mother.

Her aunt's husband, 

a seven foot tall brute
 and drunkard,

is the keeper of the
infamous Jamaica Inn.

Mary soon learns the dark

secret of the place, which

never hosts any guests,

as well as the source of

her baleful uncle's

livelihood... but once again,
no giveaways!

If you love suspenseful romance,
this book is just for you!

Here's another Mary whose

a favorite author of mine...

Mary Stewart,

who died just last year at

the age of 97,
was another
wonderful writer
of  romantic suspense...

Lady Mary Stewart
1916-2014
 May She Rest In Peace


...most of which center around

an adventurous and brave heroine

 whose determine to solve the often

 perplexing and dangerous mystery

 she has stumbled into,

like the plucky

Nicola Ferris, the heroine
of the classic novel,

"The Moon-Spinners".

While spending her

holiday on the island of Crete,

Nicola discovers an

injured young man and

fellow Brit hiding out in

the hilly countryside, and,

well...read the book!

A  film version based

on Mary Stewart's  novel,
"The Moon-Spinners"
and starring teen-aged

 actress Haley Mills
was made by
Walt Disney Studios
in 1964.

"The Moon-Spinners"

(1964) 

By the way,

this is one of my favorite

Walt Disney movies!

Another favorite 

 Mary Stewart novel

of mine is 
 "Airs Above The Ground"

Set in Austria,
this circus-themed mystery
centers around
the disappearance of
a famous Lipizzaner 
stallion and his groom.

Another favorite
Stewart novel of mine
 is the romantic fantasy,
"Thornyhold"

written in

the late 1980's. 

In this magic tale of romance,
a lonely young woman
named Geillis Ramsay
inherits the house called,
"Thornyhold"
from her late godmother.
She also inavertantly
and, albeit reluctantly,
inherits her cousin's
reputation as a 
"white witch"
with the local
country folk.


Shortly after
coming to occupy the
house left to her,
 Geillis befriends a motherless
young boy, whose
father is preoccupied
with his writing career,
until, of course,
he too has a
chance encounter with
"the new witch"
at Thornyhold...

Yet, another great
book for the incurably
romantic reader!

Mary Stewart Novels

 
I recently read,
"Rose Cottage"
and 
"Stormy Petrel"
by Mary Stewart
which are fortunately
back in print again
after many years.

Take time to read every day!