Category: a good book

A contrary bird is the pelican!

July 31, 2018 a good book the birds and the trees
Having grown up near the California coast, I am most familiar with our seafaring brown pelicans, so it’s always a special thrill to see the white pelicans who are only seasonal visitors. I was lucky enough to espy this fellow paddling on Oakland’s Lake Merritt and to snap a few…

Blackberries from the vine

July 24, 2018 a good book in the kitchen musical notes
I picked eleven pints of blackberries on Saturday morning. Well, maybe twelve — there’s no saying how many disappeared between the vine and the basket (though my purple-stained mouth offered a clue). Craig has a wonderful garden patch where he grows two kinds of blackberries — Navajo and Triple Crown…

The east arm of the Wintu

July 10, 2018 a good book a-roving
Who wouldn’t want to read a book called A Field Guide to Getting Lost? I picked up Rebecca Solnit’s essay collection several years ago in the De Young museum shop, simply because I was intrigued by its title. My favorite part was her introduction, a rambling essay called “Open Door,” and…

A puff of smoke, a swirl of cloak

June 29, 2018 a good book a-roving the eye of the beholder
The train began to move, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his son’s thin face already ablaze with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was like a little bereavement, watching his son glide away from him. The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train…

Façades and derrières

June 19, 2018 a good book a-roving material life
“Where have you been all these weeks? Don’t tell me you’ve been getting into mischief again!” “No, no, I’ve been behaving very decorously,” he assured her. “You have to in Bath — a devilish place!” (Georgette Heyer, Black Sheep) Several times during my visit, I heard the assertion that in Jane Austen’s day…

Out and about in Bath

June 15, 2018 a good book a-roving material life
Another postcard from Bath First of all, I had no idea that Bath was on the River Avon— or any river, for that matter. Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer had sadly misled me on this point! Or, more likely, they thought it so obvious that there was no need to mention…

Georgette Heyer puts me to sleep

June 5, 2018 a good book life lessons the best tools
I’m not sure she would see this as a compliment, but in truth it is no reflection on her writing. Heyer’s novels are one of my guilty pleasures: I have listened to these audiobooks dozens of times. In fact, it’s because I know them so well that they are for me the…