nocowardsoul

Months ago I posted a list on Tumblr
https://www.tumblr.com/caddyxjellyby/754276286076272640/preliminary-numbers-on-childrensya-career-novels?source=share

But I have added pages for many more books or series since then. In fact there are 146 books with at least one sequel, 580 standalone books, 1 short story collection about diving, and 1 series of short stories about Kay Collins, Secretary which appeared in the Cherry Ames Girls Annual. You can see that the number of nurse protagonists has more than doubled, but it is no longer the most common job. The most common is ( Read more... )

What I finished this week

Any Which Wall by Laurel Snyder (2009). A pastiche of Edward Eager - two brother-sister pairs in Iowa find a wall that magically transports them to wherever they wish. Pretty much as good as the source material.

Little Women Abroad: The Alcott Sisters' Letters from Europe, 1870-1871, edited by Daniel Shealy. Read it via Archive.org. I made an account there a few months ago and they have so many things! Probably the funniest part is LMA's description of avoiding a pig.

"We went to a ruin one day, and were about to explore the castle, when a sow with her family of twelve charged through the gateway at us so fiercely that we fled in dismay, for pigs are not nice when they attack, as we don't know where to bone ‘em, and I saw a woman one day whose nose had been bitten off by an angry pig. I flew over a hedge; May tried to follow but stuck and lay with her long legs up and her head in a ditch howling for me to save her, as the sow was charging in the rear, and a dog, two cows, and a boy looking on. I pulled her over head first, and we tumbled into the tower, like a routed garrison. It was’nt a nice ruin, but we were bound to see it, having suffered so much. And we did see it in spite of the pigs, who waylaid us on all sides, and squealed in triumph when we left, dusty, torn and tired. The ugly things wander at their own sweet will, and are tall, round-backed, thin wretches who run like race horses and are no respecters of persons."

And there were many sketches by May Alcott that even I hadn't seen before.

What I'm reading now

April Lady by Georgette Heyer because it's almost the only paper book I own that I haven't reread in the past few years.

( Read more... )

I'm not 100% certain about "dedicate a chicken" but I think all the rest is correct.

Can people stop acting like social media is the only thing having an impact on teenagers' mental health?

What I finished this week:

I found out on Friday that I can now use my library card to access the Overdrives of two partner libraries. There are several books I have my eyes on, and the first one I read was Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters by Anne Boyd Rioux (2018). It discusses the book, the initial reaction to it, the various adaptations including some I didn't know existed. Florence Henderson was in a TV musical in 1958. Katharine Hepburn played Jo on radio in addition to on screen. Then the author discusses men who have read LW, whether kids still read it today, and books and movies influenced by it. Some of those are a bit of a stretch – LW sure played a role in popularizing the Four Girl Ensemble, but that doesn't mean every Four Girl Ensemble is based on it.

The one thing that annoyed me is that Rioux lists a number of women who said they loved the book and idolized or loved Jo, or saw her as a role model. But there is no mention of anyone who found Meg, Beth, or Amy more relatable or likable or enviable.

The sequels are mentioned although not in detail.

What I'm reading now:

Bleak House, which I first read back in 2009. There are a few characters I forgot about entirely. Also I didn't realize before that it's set earlier than its publication date. The introduction by Michael Slater says “Dickens sets the action of the novel in the prerailway England of the days shortly before the great Refrom Bill of 1832.” I'm on Chapter 20, where Young Smallweed first appears.

What I finished reading:

Yesterday: A Memoir of a Russian Jewish Family by Miriam Shomer Zunser with an afterword by Emily Wortis Leider, her granddaughter. It begins in Pinsk, Russia with Zunser's grandfather Reb Michel Bercinsky, a lawyer. Due to a false rumor that married men would not be conscripted into the army, he was married at 14 to 12 year old Yentel in 1834. They had 24 kids but only 9 lived to adulthood. Each of those 9 gets a chapter in the book. The author's mother was Dinneh, who "all the days of her long life bitterly resented the meagerness of her youthful education." She married Nochim-Mayer Shaikevitsch, the writer known as Shomer.

Miriam and her husband Charles Zunser are the grandparents of children's novelist Avi, Emily being his twin. That's how I heard of the book - I went down a rabbit hole that started when I saw that someone had made his father, a psychiatrist, a Wikipedia page. There is a family picture with them and their brother in the book.

What I'm reading next:

Cuckoo's Egg by C. J. Cherryh.

What I finished reading

Lord Hornblower, in which C. S. Forester was not playing around. ( Read more... )

I bought TV’s M*A*S*H: The Ultimate Guide Book by Ed Solomonson and Mark O’Neill. I don't remember how it started but I went down a rabbit hole of looking up the show's stuntmen and stuntwomen. In those days stunt people were not listed in a show or a movie's credits, a fact that my grandpa liked to complain about. The book's description mentioned commentary from a stuntman so I bought it. His name is Michael Rodgers and he had lines so he was credited as an actor.

Lots of fun facts and interviews in the book. I knew Tumblr would love and hate Larry Gelbart's (I assume tongue-in-cheek) idea of what happened to the characters. “Hawkeye would have become a right wing conservative. BJ would be on this third marriage. Trapper John and his wife would be celebrating their 40th. Houlihan would be living with a woman partner. Radar would be a taxidermist. Klinger would be a Congressman. Potter would be deceased. So would I.”

What I'm reading now

Doomsday Morning by C. L. Moore, a standalone sci-fi novel from 1957.

[Previously posted on Tumblr]

Chapter 2. Gregory O'Connell dictates his letter to Nathaniel. The priest reads it aloud. Annie O'Connell has never received a letter before. Unlike their parents, Maura and Patrick (and presumably Timothy) can read and write thanks to Father Mahoney. I wonder what he taught them from – Bibles or just writing words himself?

7. Maura and Patrick read the ship company sign.

9. “On two walls, bookcases were filled with leather-bound, gilt-edged tomes.” Laurence reads the motto carved into the mantel.

11. Laurence peeks at Lord Kirkle’s business reports. Mentions buying books.( Read more... )

What I've just finished

The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin, about which I won't say anything because it's for historicalyafen. Wait for August 1.

What I'm reading now

I'm on Chapter 55 of Vanity Fair. Rawdon Crawley has just learned he's the governor of Coventry Island. Becky is a glorious character and I did feel for Amelia when she sent her son to live with his grandfather.

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Wiggin. See above.

Had my first dose of the Moderna last week. Will get the second on the 21st.

Am updating historicalyafen on Tuesday and the next author will be Alcott.