Reading Room At The Mug Up

I just finished the true crime story, Fighting the Devil, by Jeannie Walker. It is an upsetting story of how her ex-husband, Jerry Sternadel, was poisoned by his new wife and his bookkeeper. The two women stole large amounts of money from Mr. Sternadel. When he confronted them and gave them an opportunity to return the money before he went to the police, they conspired to kill him! They began by adding arsenic to a taco salad and continued on from there. Jerry Sternadel died an excruciating and drawn out death at the hands of these two women.

While Sternadel was not exactly a model husband to Jeannie, she believed that even a dog deserved better, so she set out to see her former husband's murderers brought to justice. Read about this woman's quest to bring the truth to light and the many obstacles in her way, including the justice system itself. I think you will find Jeannie Walker's courage and perseverance inspiring.

Reading Room At The Mug Up

Reading has had to take a backseat to other activities of late, but I did finally manage to finish Thomas Hardy's The Return Of The Native a few days ago. It was a book I would highly recommend.

I found most of the characters to be annoying, each in their own way. Only one was worth his salt and that was Diggory Venn. He was intriguing. He was hardworking , loyal and crafty, too.

Eustacia Vye was a young woman obsessed with the idea of love, but really had no comprehension of what true love is. She was self-centered and conniving.
When she married Clym Yeobright, she went into the marriage knowing full well she was marrying a rather unambitious man who had no intention of giving her her heart's desire which was to move from Egdon Heath to Paris, but she, as so many young women do, thought that after she was married she  would be able to change him.
Due to Clym's health problems their station in life was reduced even further causing Eustacia's dis-satisfaction to grow. It also made her fondness for former suitor, Damon Wildeve, to increase. Wildeve was a womanizing man who was never happy with what he had which included his own wife Thomasin.
One tragedy led to another!  Lives were lost and others were forever changed!

Reading Room At The Mug Up

I am really enjoying Thomas Hardy's The Return Of The Native, but am not progressing at a very fast pace due to various reasons.
Here is a quote that I especially like from Book Third: The Fascination: Was Yeobright's mind well-proportioned? No. A well-proportioned mind is one which shows no particular bias; one of which we may safely say that it will never cause its owner to be confined as a madman, tortured as a heretic, or crucified as a blasphemer. Also, on the other hand, that it will never cause him to be applauded as a prophet, revered as a priest, or exalted as a king. Its usual blessings are happiness and mediocrity.

Reading Room At The Mug Up

I have been so busy that it's hard to find time to read as much as I would like, but I am starting a new book today. I am a fan of Thomas Hardy and have read several of his books, so I am expecting good things from The Return of the Native.

Reading Room At The Mug Up

I just finished The Golden Key by George MacDonald. It was an enchanting tale of Mossy and Tangle and the adventures they went through both together and separately. They were in search of the country whence the shadows fall.
They went through much to find the keyhole that would accomodate the golden key. The keyhole was surrounded by sapphires and was incorporated into a rainbow. They found themselves inside the rainbow and confronted with wondrous beings from all the ages. You really must read it for yourself to find out what happened. The book reminds me of dreams you might have when over-tired. It was interesting and very short. I highly recommend this one and if you have a Kindle, you can get it for FREE!!

Reading Room At The Mug Up

I finished Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury a few days ago. I loved the book from start to finish and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading about life in small town America. Bradbury did an excellent job of viewing the world through the eyes of a kid. I like stories like this mostly because I am still a kid at heart myself. The story takes place in 1928 and reading it makes one realize some of what has become lost in our country. It's wonderful to read, but made me a little sad.

I am now reading The Golden Key, by George MacDonald and am anticipating a fine reading experience. I always enjoy his work.

Reading Room At The Mug Up

I am still enjoying Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. I'm over half way through the book and it just keeps getting better! The main character,a tweleve year old boy named Douglas Spaulding, is learning a lot over summer vacation. He is finding out that life in Green Town, Illinois is more than just time honored rituals that seem to hold time in place forever. It's more than obtaining the right pair of sneakers, making dandelion wine with his grandfather, running along the ravine with his friends or listening to the familar sound of the trolley. It's about change like his best friend moving away. It's about the happiness machine, the green machine, the time machine, etc. He discovered that the happiness machine made no one happy! The green machine while being cool and definately before it's time turned into disaster and the time machine really wasn't a machine at all.

I hope I have convinced you to give this book a try. I promise you won't be disappointed. I can hardly wait to see what happens next. This is Bradbury at his sweetest and best!

Reading Room At The Mug Up

Here is an excerpt from Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. Enjoy the simple beauty of his words. Words used to paint a mind picture. Can you see it in your mind's eye?

Dandelion wine.
The words were summer on the tongue. The wine was summer caught and stoppered. And now that Douglas knew, he really knew he was alive, and moved turning through the world to touch and see it all, it was only right and proper that some of his new knowledge, some of this special vintage day would be sealed away for opening on a January day with snow falling fast and the sun unseen for weeks or months and perhaps some of the miracle by then forgotten and in need of renewal. Since this was going to be a summer of unguessed wonders, he wanted it all salvaged and labeled so that at any time he wished, he might tiptoe down in this dank twilight and reach up with his fingertips.

And there, row upon row, with the soft gleam of flowers opened at morning, with the light of this June sun glowing through a faint skin of dust, would stand the dandelion wine. Peer through it at the wintry day-the snow melted to grass, the trees were reinhabitated with bird, leaf, and blossoms like a continent of butterflies breathing on the wind. And peering through, color sky from iron to blue.

Hold summer in your hand, pour summer in a glass, a tiny glass of course, the smallest tingling sip for children; change the season in your veins by raising glass to lip and tilting summer in.

Reading Room At The Mug Up

It is not often that I give up on a book, but I can no longer continue to slog through The Stand, by Stephen King. It's very long with lots of bad language and I'm really not into stories about government mishaps that cause plagues and havoc. I read about twenty-five percent of the book before calling it quits,so I think I gave it a good shot. I think that I'd be putting my time to better use, if I pick up another book, so this is my next read: Dandelion Wine, by Ray Bradury.

Reading Room At The Mug Up

I finished The Princess and Curdie, by George MacDonald this afternoon. It was a great "children's book" that, in my opinion, is not just for children. It has many lessons for everyone no matter how old. The ending was somewhat odd, which was also pleasing. I like things that are not completely predictable.

I have started The Stand, by Stephen King tonight and am already into it. This is the expanded version. It includes much that had been previously edited out. Things that the author believed added richness to the narrative. I have a hunch I'm going to love it. We'll see.

In the meantime, I highly recommend The Princess and Curdie for ages 10 and above.

Reading Room At The Mug Up

The following is a quote from chapter eight of George MacDonald's, The Princess and Curdie:

Now listen. Since it is always what they DO, whether in their minds or their bodies, that makes men go down to be less than men, that is, beasts, the change always comes first in their hands- and first of all in the inside hands, to which the outside ones are but as the gloves. They do not know it of course; for a beast does not know that he is a beast, and the nearer a man gets to being a beast the less he knows it. To such a person there is in general no insult like the truth. He cannot endure it, not becuase he is growing a beast, but because he is ceasing to be a man.

His observations are even more relevant today!

Reading Room At The Mug Up

George Mac Donald is one of my favorite authors. His work has inspired many great writers such as C. S. Lewis and Madeline L'Engle. He was born in Huntly,Abeerdeenshire, Scotland on December 10, 1824 and died September 18 1905 in Ashtead, Surrey, England. He was a minister, poet and novelist. He was best known for his wonderful fairy tales and fantasy novels. I am currently reading The Princess and Curdie. Here is a quote from the first chapter:"We must accept righteous sacrifices as well as make them." I really like this quote and find that many times I have more trouble accepting the sacrifices of others than making them . Pride? I wonder.