November 2002 Archives

the life of A. A. Milne (Alan) takes you from his Little Lord Fauntleroy days as a child through his life as a writer. The early sections are the best, telling of adventures with beloved brother Ken and mathmatical aptitude. This made me want to explore his oevure further. Besides Winnie the Pooh, he wrote plays and novels. Soon after finding a wide audience for his children's books, he tired of writing them. Bless him for continuing on in his own way.

Born in 1882, book written in 1939

Whirlwind tour of MFK's life from the 20's thru the 40's, trans-Atlantic journeys on ocean liners, sea changes, gathering strengh and independence from travelling alone and knowing what to eat and drink along the way. Mouth-watering descriptions of meals in Dijon and Lausanne, true 8 course gorgings complete with bottles of wine and brandy.

Thoroughly entertaining travelogue of a Brit's walking journey around Baja. Miraculously, he alternated between dying of thirst and drinking alcohol heavily. Cheesed it up at the end by proclaiming he would drink no more as a New Years Resolution. I'm reading Erle Stanley Gardner's account of wandering the wilderness next to see how much MacKintosh ripped off.

(I read this over a year ago, just wanted to add comments because I still remember part of this work)

Some stories fade quickly from my memory because they have nothing which lodges them in my mind. Mr. Biswas is an exception. Scenes that stick in my mind: him building his house, sheltering from the huge rains, moving his family in away from the crowded extended family house. Working in the newspaper, helping his son study to be accepted as an engineer. His column "Deserving Destitutes" in the Trinidad newspaper. Making sure his son drank milk, which was a luxury.

Should be placed in Extended Entry field like:

auth=author

pub=publication date

isbn=isbn or asin number

viauth=

Ploughshares interview with seemingly forgotten writer Richard Yates, who died in 1992.

Adam Sandler and Emily Watson? Paradigm shift and voila! beautiful movie.

Quite humorous, which in this case means "made me smile several times." I don't see how this could be a kids book, as it requires much knowledge to appreciate the finer points of Handler's humor. It became a little tedious toward the end and I must confess to reading hurriedly.

Powered through these three books in one sitting. Best take-away line:

"They were as unwanted as a swarm of wasps at a bat mitzvah."