BUTTER SAFE THAN SORRY by Tamar Myers
Amish themes make me nostalgic for our time in Kentucky. I welcome writing that incites nostalgia.
The story is full of word play, while the storyline itself is a little zany. This was the last title in a series of 18 and if I'm not mistaken, meant to be read in a particular order. Most of the characters were spoken of in familiar tones with little time spent re-introducing them. Many 'incidents' were referred to as if everyone had already heard the gossip (or read the previous books)
I love interactive books, though I have yet to try the butter based recipes included between chapters. I am looking forward to trying at least a few of them and probably, every single one.
Myers offers some other genres that I may check into. To me, the most interesting writing by Tamar was what I read of her own, personal bio. Perhaps it's that PK/MK bias, but I like her.
After I finished the last page, one element keeps coming back to me: the protagonist's unwitting ability to mimic the mating calls of various nearby farm animals with her singing or other cacophonous. emanations.
I remembered that smirky device again recently at a baseball game, where the high pitched calling from a lady in the stands put me on alert for a sudden convergence of amorous ganders in our midst.
THE DARK by Lemony Snicket
It's Lemony Snicket. For children. What else needs to be said? I wish it had more pages. I wish it were a new chapter book to read aloud to The Big Kids... perhaps we will re-visit Unfortunate Events as a read aloud selection... just as soon as we finish Moby Dick... (what was I thinking?!) Still- it's Lemony Snicket- we'll take what we can get.
SUPERNATURAL WAR (an eBook) by Bill Myers
Unlike most titles I've read by Myers, this book is an account of real events in the author's life. It was easy to see how these events, amongst others, have informed much of his fiction that deals with super natural elements. I am still processing what I read and mulling over the thoughts and questions that have arisen since I finished the last sentence. Though the era of 'The Jesus People' was a little before my time, and though I've never attended any of the 'spin-off' groups that resulted from the original cluster of 'Jesus Freaks' (at least, not to my knowledge) the spiritual atmosphere in which this account is described is familiar to me in some distinct ways. Maybe I'll attempt to dissect those in the future... for now, I've got some pondering to do.