Book Review: The Wit and Wisdom of Downton Abbey

What an excellent gift book for fans of Downton Abbey! Compiled by the scriptwriter's niece, Jessica Fellowes, The Wit and Wisdom of Downton Abbey provides many smiles of remembrance. Who can forget some of the zingers lobbed by the fiesty Dowager Countess? The deft dialogue between her and Isobel? Or the peppery retorts of Mrs. Patmore?

Here are my top ten favorite Downton Abbey lines from this compilation:

Robert: "We all have chapters we would rather keep unpublished."

Violet: "I haven't been into the kitchens here for at least, oh, twenty years at least."
Isobel: "Have you brought your passport?"

Violet: "I'm a woman, Mary. I can be as contrary as I choose."

Carlisle: "I'm leaving in the morning, Lady Grantham. I doubt we'll meet again."
Violet: "Do you promise?"

Mrs. Patmore: "Daisy? What's happened? I said you could go for a drink of water, not a trip up the Nile."

Daisy: "I was only trying to help."
Mrs. Patmore: "Oh, like Judas was only 'trying to help' I s'pose, when he brought the Roman soldiers to the gardens!"

Daisy: "I think I've let misself down."
Mrs. Patmore: "It can't be a new sensation."

Mrs. Patmore: "You couldn't be harder on those potatoes if you wanted them to confess to spying."

Isobel: "How you hate to be wrong!"
Violet: "I wouldn't know. I'm not familiar with the sensation."

Edith: "You think yourself so superior, don't you?"
Mary: "Why not? I am."

And if you'd like a full immersion, watch this Slate video of the best burns from the Dowager Countess:

Book Review: The Golden Tresses of the Dead

I love Allan Bradley's allusive titles for his Flavia DeLuce detective series. Moreover, nothing can beat listening to a Flavia story narrated with a British accent. What a fun audio experience! In this tenth installment, The Golden Tresses of the Dead, twelve-year-old super-sleuth Flavia investigates the appearance of a severed finger in her sister Ophelia's wedding cake. Together with her partner, Dogger, Flavia cracks her first detective case in an official capacity. They are hired by a Mrs. Prill to uncover the whereabouts of some missing letters. Sadly, Mrs. Prill turns up dead, and the plot thickens. Although it was a rather roundabout journey to connect the letters and the digit, I enjoyed the tale. I might even suggest the series to my own twelve-year-old (who aspires to become a chemical engineer like his older brother), now that he must read 5 books for every nine-week term of middle school. He's not doing too badly (read four of the Percy Jackson books before the end of August).

Book Review: When the Heart Waits

My blogging/book club friend, Catherine, recommended this book by the outstanding author, Sue Monk Kidd (author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair). When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life's Sacred Questions is a great book to read if you are in any kind of figurative waiting room. I feel like I'm in a waiting room, wondering what I should do about my futile writing efforts. Attempting to distance myself from it, I even applied for a part-time instructional aide position, but received no call for an interview (probably my twelve years out of the workforce goes against me). I am waiting to figure out what I'm supposed to do with my life and who I'm supposed to be.

Here are a few nuggets I gleaned from this book:

"Lots of times we need questions more than answers. Questions such as these: Is there more to me than the roles I live out? Can I open up to my identity apart from them, to the knowledge that I'm more than the personas I create?"

The author credits Martin Marty with the metaphor of the "white-out," and she writes: "There are white-outs in waiting as well, times when, for whatever reason, hope vanishes and we're disoriented, unable to discern the shapes of God on the horizon, unable to trust that there's anything beyond our pain."

She writes of the mutual questions shared with her mentor, Beatrice: "What is this life of ours all about? Why are we here? What kind of being are we? ... What would it mean for us to really love? How am I experiencing God at this moment in my life? What darkness in me needs to be confronted and transformed? A fellow questioner helps us learn to live our questions instead of suppressing them."

I could stand more patience in sitting with my questions. In fact, I need more patience all around. Patience with my children, my husband, my life, and my lack of direction. I want to wait well. Perhaps this book has given me some ammunition for approaching that desire.

Book Review: The Outcasts of Time

I wanted to like this book so much more than I did. After sticking with it when it was waxing tedious and dull, I didn't even end up making the book club discussion because of a high school parent meeting. I wonder if anyone else in the group enjoyed it more.

The premise is intriguing: two men, fighting the plague, receive a supernatural choice to spend their last six days on earth at home with their family or to spend their final six days crossing time (one day followed by a day ninety-nine years hence, then another ninety-nine years again, etc.). They shield their family from the plague and seek salvation doing good in 1447, 1546, 1645, 1744, 1843, and 1942.

Sadly, The Outcasts of Time was boring. It took 60-some pages before introducing the option and the first two days of time travel took about a hundred pages each. I kept wishing the book would jump to more recent history (although none of the time fit any history I've seen). The reader encounters much moralizing on man's inhumanity to man and the destructive possibilities in even the best advancements. Perhaps someone with a hankering to explore British history would enjoy this book. Still, my master's degree focus was on the history of Victorian Britain and the limited pages treating that time were no more compelling to me. Not my favorite book club read.

Book Review: A Prisoner of Birth

I love it when audio books conclude with a brief interview with the author. Jeffrey Archer is such a stellar author that I welcome any comments he has to make about the writing process. He revealed, at the end of A Prisoner of Birth, that this was the seventeenth draft of the book. Moreover, he outlined his writing schedule (two intense months a year of 3 or 4 two-hour stints of writing per day). It is clear: great writing is hard work. It demands effort, even for a master.

Archer has done it again! He has crafted an intricate maze of conflict and resolution. This book was like a game of cat and mouse. At first, I had a hard time following where the story was leading, but by the midway point it was clear. I've never read The Count of Monte Cristo, but in the interview Archer explained his desire to recast the story in a modern light. What a successful venture!

Danny Cartwright is on the top of the world. His girlfriend has just become his fiance. They are celebrating the grand achievement at a pub with her brother, Danny's best friend. But before the night is over, the brother is dead and Danny is charged with his murder. The four responsible men think they can rest easy after Danny's twenty-two-year sentence. They do not expect the intensity of Danny's desire for rectification and revenge.

If you are looking for a riveting read, you cannot miss with a Jeffrey Archer novel. I'm grateful for all his hard work. He presents the reader with masterful storytelling and complex plotting. Many accolades for Archer again.

Book Review: How Not to Die Alone

I enjoyed this debut novel by Richard Roper, How Not to Die Alone. While Eleanor Brown billed it as "perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine," I wouldn't say it was quite to that level. Still, I enjoyed contemplating the main character's dilemma. Moreover, his job was intriguing.

I can't summarize better than the inside blurb:

"Andrew's been feeling stuck. For years he's worked a thankless public health job, searching for the next of kin of those who die alone. Luckily, he goes home to a loving family every night. At least, that's what his co-workers believe.

"Then he meets Peggy. A misunderstanding has left Andrew trapped in his own white lie ... when ... Peggy ... makes Andrew feel truly alive for the first time in decades.... Telling Peggy the truth could mean losing everything. For twenty years, Andrew has worked to keep his heart safe, forgetting one important thing: how to live."

What a horrible job, to go into homes where lonely individuals have passed without the world's notice. Andrew is a decent fellow, attending the funerals when nobody else is there to remember these solitary individuals. It made me wonder if non-profit organizations truly exist to meet the needs of lonely individuals who simply need someone to check on them from time to time or give them the benefit of a bit of conversation. Anyone who has ever grappled with loneliness will relate to this novel and cheer for Andrew to make the connections that make life worth living.

Book Review: On the Wings of Heroes

On the Wings of Heroes has two fabulous aspects to commend it: one, it is written by Richard Peck, author of two of my favorite middle grade books - A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way from Chicago; and two, the audio version is read by Lincoln Hoppe. I love books narrated by Lincoln Hoppe (he narrated other favorites, like Okay for Now and Do Hard Things). Both Peck and Hoppe have a talent for making historical fiction come to life for young readers.

In this book, we meet Davy Bowman, a small-town boy dealing with the throes of World War II. He looks up to two heroes: his dad and his brother. War, from the eyes of a child, includes air raids, rations, and scrap drives. It also includes fear. Davy bides his time wondering if his brother, Bill, will return safely from the war.

This was another quick audio experience. While not quite as colorful and fun as the two aforementioned Peck books, it was still an entertaining read. If you have never encountered a Richard Peck book, start with the other two. These are middle grade books that will greatly appeal to adults, who will readily relate to the time he re-creates. If you live west of Indianapolis, you might enjoy Peck's Here Lies the Librarian, as it takes place in our environs.