One, Two, Three, Four

Posted on 04/25/2013 by chick

Four books from the Darkover series, in no particular order:

Rediscovery by Marion Zimmer Bradley and Mercedes Lackey
Grade: C-

A starship full of opera-loving Terrans (yes, opera lovers, a whole shipload of them) lands on a newly discovered planet. Only it’s already populated with humans. It turns out that a whole starship full of Gaelic speakers (yes, Gaelic speakers, a whole shipload of them) had landed on that planet thousands of years ago and had become one of the so-called “Lost Colonies.” The Darkovan people still speak strange languages, but it’s OK, because they and several of the opera lovers are telepaths, so they can all magically understand one another. Yay! The opera-loving telepaths fit right in. One really bad guy tries to mess everything up. The relationship between the Darkovans and the newcomers is strained by some unfortunate events, but there is no going back now. The Terrans are there to stay.

Why did I give Rediscovery such a low grade? It has some of the worst writing I’ve ever seen, with bad exposition, horrible dialogue, and pathetic, heavy-handed attempts to connect the story (as a prequel) to other Darkover books. Plus there are some big inconsistencies that keep it from fitting in with the rest of the series properly. Somehow I managed to enjoy it (maybe I was just happy to be reading about one of my favorite fictional worlds again?). Still, I wouldn’t recommend Rediscovery, even for fans of the series, because I don’t think it adds anything critical to the story of Darkover (i.e., very little happens that you can’t glean from works that come later in the timeline).

The Winds of Darkover by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Grade: B

Deep in the mountains, bandits attack Storn castle and take it over. The Storns will do almost anything to retake their castle, including breaking the most important law of Darkovan society, but they will have to travel far to find help. The ending of this story is related to, but not as memorable or exciting as, the story in The Heritage of Hastur.

My mother’s copy of this book was in very sorry shape, but I found a hidden copy on my own shelves (I hadn’t even known it was there!). Sadly, it disintegrated as I read it. But at least now I don’t have to feel bad about not keeping it. To the recycling bin it goes!

Star of Danger by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Grade: A-

Two teenage boys, one Terran and one Darkovan, are lost in the wilds of Darkover. They will have to overcome their differences and work together to find their way back to civilization. This is a fun adventure story suitable for teens. I remember loving this book when I was younger, and I still love it now. I will keep this one in my library.

The Heritage of Hastur by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Grade: A-

The Heritage of Hastur tells the story of two important members of the Darkovan aristocracy: Lew Alton and Regis Hastur. It takes place well after the events of Rediscovery, during a time called “Against the Terrans: The Second Age.” Lew’s narrative is told in the first person; it alternates and intertwines with Regis’s, told in the third person. Both characters find themselves drawn into a plot to gain higher status in the Terran Empire by using dangerous, ancient psionic technologies. The writing is not remarkable, but the story is. Kudos to MZB for pulling all the threads of this very complex tale together. This one is also a keeper.

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Regarding the Book About the Fountain

Posted on 04/24/2013 by chick

Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise
Grade: B+

Dry Creek Middle School’s drinking fountain has sprung a leak, so the principal decides to buy a new one. He contacts Florence Waters of Flowing Waters Fountains, Etc. about buying a typical drinking fountain, but Florence is not a typical businessperson. This creative, world-traveling fountain-designer loves to write letters. She initiates correspondence with Sam N.’s fifth-grade class, and through these letters, as well as various other notes, faxes, drawings, transcripts, newspaper clippings, and photos, the stories of Dry Creek and its singular drinking fountain are revealed.

Amazon had tried to sell this book to me on several occasions, so I was interested enough to pick up a copy when I saw it at the library’s used book sale. I’m glad I didn’t pay full price for it, because while it’s a fun story with a very attractive presentation, it provided barely an hour’s worth of entertainment for me. I enjoyed it, but I think it falls into the same category as the Bruce Coville book I read a few years ago: entertaining, but not great. We each will only meet with a certain number of great books in our lives. But we still need other good books to read while we’re waiting for the great ones, and this is that kind of book. Recommended for children in the 8-12 range, but not so much for adults.

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Colors

Posted on 04/20/2013 by chick

Marshall says,

Gray is my favorite color. And yellow. Gray and yellow. And orange. All the colors make me happy.

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Sixth?

Posted on 04/19/2013 by chick

Can it really be my sixth blog anniversary?

It can and it is.

I wish I had something profound to say.

I wish I had something to say.

I don’t.

So I’m going to borrow from the words of the great Edward Gorey.

“Hippity wippity, Oxiborick; Flappity flippity, Saragashum; Thip, thap, thoo.”

I think that says it all. Don’t you?

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Darkover Revisited

Posted on 04/19/2013 by chick

I have decided to continue rereading the Darkover novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley, partly for the fun of revisiting a favorite series, but also as part of the ongoing GLP. I started the ball rolling by asking my mom if I could borrow her copies of the books. I knew she’d probably have all the ones I didn’t. My mother did not forget my request, and she had two bags of books waiting for me when I went to visit her last Thursday.

I did not realize how many Darkover books there were. And it never occurred to me what terrible shape my mother’s copies would be in. After being read by everyone in the family and then sitting for decades in a smoke-filled house, they are warped, smoke-stained, and in some cases, falling apart. Not that any softcovers from the ’70s and ’80s are likely to be in perfect condition, but my, some of these are really bad! Their condition is such that I’ll probably recycle (rather than donate) the ones I’m not going to keep.

In any event, I am doing both myself and my mother a favor. I had managed to collect a number of Darkover books myself. We both need to lighten the loads on our bookshelves. My mom does not want her books back, so I can toss them as I please. I will only keep those I intend to read again someday, and I’m sure that number will be relatively small. Some of the books (particularly the fan fiction anthologies) I don’t plan to read at all.

Here is a list of Darkover books that I cobbled together from various sources. The number after the dash is the book’s approximate position in the Darkover timeline. The titles with links are ones I read when I first decided to revisit Darkover (or the ones I have read since writing this post, added as updates).

  1. The Planet Savers (1962 as a novel)–16
  2. The Sword of Aldones (1962)
  3. The Bloody Sun (1964)–14
  4. Star of Danger (1965)–12
  5. The Winds of Darkover (1970)–13
  6. The World Wreckers (1971)–17
  7. Darkover Landfall (1972)–01
  8. The Spell Sword (1974)–08
  9. The Heritage of Hastur (1975)–15
  10. The Shattered Chain (1976)–07
  11. The Forbidden Tower (1977)–09
  12. Stormqueen! (1978)–02
  13. The Keeper’s Price (anthology, 1980)
  14. Two to Conquer (1980)–04
  15. Sharra’s Exile (1981)–18
  16. Sword of Chaos (anthology, 1982)
  17. Hawkmistress! (1982)–03
  18. Thendara House (1983)–10
  19. City of Sorcery (1984)–11
  20. Free Amazons of Darkover (anthology, 1985)
  21. The Other Side of the Mirror (anthology, 1987)
  22. Red Sun of Darkover (anthology, 1987)
  23. Four Moons of Darkover (anthology, 1988)
  24. The Heirs of Hammerfell (1989)–05
  25. Domains of Darkover (anthology, 1990)
  26. Renunciates of Darkover (anthology, 1991)
  27. Leroni of Darkover (anthology, 1991)
  28. Rediscovery (with Mercedes Lackey, 1993)–06
  29. Towers of Darkover (anthology, 1993)
  30. Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover (anthology, 1993)
  31. Snows of Darkover (anthology, 1994)
  32. Exile’s Song (with Adrienne Martine-Barnes, 1996)–19
  33. The Shadow Matrix (with Adrienne Martine-Barnes, 1998)–20
  34. Traitor’s Sun (with Adrienne Martine-Barnes, 1999)–21
  35. The Fall of Neskaya (with Deborah J. Ross, 2001)
  36. Zandru’s Forge (with Deborah J. Ross, 2003)
  37. A Flame in Hali (with Deborah J. Ross, 2004)
  38. The Alton Gift (by Deborah J. Ross, 2007)
  39. The Hastur Lord (by Deborah J. Ross, 2010)
  40. The Children of Kings (by Deborah J. Ross, 2013)
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Lost in Translation

Posted on 04/15/2013 by chick

I was curious about different translations of Heidi, so I decided to acquire a few more copies of the book and compare them. Below are the first two paragraphs from each of the four different translations that I looked at.

Translation #1

The pretty little Swiss town of Mayenfeld lies at the foot of a mountain range, whose grim rugged peaks tower high above the valley below. Behind the town a footpath winds gently up to the heights. The grass on the lower slopes is poor, but the air is fragrant with the scent of mountain flowers from the rich pasture land higher up.

One sunny June morning, a tall sturdy young woman was climbing up the path. She had a bundle in one hand and held a little girl about five years old by the other. The child’s sunburnt cheeks were flushed, which was not surprising, for though the sun was hot she was wrapped up as though it was mid-winter. It was difficult to see what she was like for she was wearing two frocks, one on top of the other, and had a large red scarf wound round and round her as well. She looked like some shapeless bundle of clothing trudging uphill on a pair of hobnailed boots.

—Puffin Classics, translated by Eileen Hall

Translation #2

From the old and pleasantly situated village of Mayenfeld, a footpath winds through green and shady meadows to the foot of the mountains, which on this side look down from their stern and lofty heights upon the valley below. The land grows gradually wilder as the path ascends, and the climber has not gone far before he begins to inhale the fragrance of the short grass and sturdy mountain-plants, for the way is steep and leads directly up to the summits above.

On a clear sunny morning in June two figures might be seen climbing the narrow mountain path; one a tall strong-looking girl, the other a child whom she was leading by the hand, and whose little cheeks were so aglow with heat that the crimson colour could be seen even through the dark, sunburnt skin. And this was hardly to be wondered at, for in spite of the hot June sun the child was clothed as if to keep off the bitterest frost. She did not look more than five years old, if as much, but what her natural figure was like, it would have been hard to say, for she had on apparently two, if not three dresses, one above the other, and over these a thick red woollen shawl wound round about her, so that the little body presented a shapeless appearance, as, with its small feet shod in thick, nailed mountain-shoes, it slowly and laboriously plodded its way up in the heat. . . .

–Airmont Books, translator unknown

Translation #3

From the pleasant village of Mayenfeld a path leads through green fields, richly covered with trees, to the foot of the mountain, which from this side overhangs the valley with grave and solemn aspect. Where the path begins to grow steeper, begins also the heath with its short grass; and the perfume of sweet mountain plants seems to advance as if welcoming the traveller. From this spot the footpath rises almost perpendicularly to the summit.

Along this steep mountain path a stout, healthy girl was climbing, one clear, sunny morning in June, leading by the hand a child, whose cheeks were so glowing red that she looked as if an inward flame were shining through her sunburned skin. And little wonder, for the child was as much wrapped up on this sunny June morning as if to protect her from bitter frost. The little girl could be scarcely more than five years old; but her natural size could not even be guessed at, for she had on two, if not three, dresses, one over the other, and over all, wound round and round, was a great red woollen shawl; so that the little shapeless figure, with its heavy hobnailed mountain shoes, toiled hot and weary up the steep hillside.

–Childrens’ Classics, translated by Louise Brooks

Translation #4

The little old town of Mayenfeld is charmingly situated. From it a footpath leads through green, well-wooded stretches to the foot of the heights which look down imposingly on the valley. Where the footpath begins to go steeply and abruptly up the Alps, the heath, with its short grass and pungent herbage, at once sends out its soft perfume to meet the wayfarer.

One bright sunny morning in June, a tall, vigorous maiden of the mountain region climbed up the narrow path, leading a little girl by the hand. The youngster’s cheeks were in such a glow that it showed even through her sun-browned skin. Small wonder though! for in spite of the heat, the little one, who was scarcely five years old, was bundled up as if she had to face a bitter frost. Her shape was difficult to distinguish, for she wore two dresses, if not three, and around her shoulders a large red cotton shawl. With her feet encased in heavy hob-nailed boots, this hot and shapeless little person toiled up the mountain.

—Simon & Brown, translator unknown

I have always been leery of translations, worrying that the author’s style would be lost. I think now, after looking through the different translations, that my concern is justified. These excerpts all tell the same story, but each has a different feel.

Based on these excerpts, which translation of Heidi would you choose?

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A Week of Spring

Posted on 04/14/2013 by chick

Monday: One of the most beautiful spring days ever. When my husband went to pick up Marshall at his bus stop, Livia and I sneaked out in our bare feet, sat upon the sun-warmed rocks, played with sticks, and admired the daffodil buds.

Marshall picked the first dandelion of the season. He asked for a vase, so I found one of my little vases for him. The dandelion looks pretty in the window, doesn’t it?

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After I finished work, Marshall and I went outside. I did some freelance work while Marshall blew bubbles. When Livia got up from her nap, we all went up to the playground area of the yard. I sat in the swing and watched the kids play in the dirt. It always amazes me how it’s the simplest things—a pile of dirt, some shovels, a toy dump truck, and a bucket—that seem to keep them busy the longest.

The kids needed a bath when they were done playing. I bathed them and then they ran around with their hoodie towels on. The towels reminded me of capes, and they made the children look like little superheroes.

After the kids went to bed, I made an Italian rice pie. This is something I had wanted to try since seeing a recipe in the newspaper. I thought a traditional rice pie would be nice to bring to my sister-in-law’s house for Easter. But she informed us that someone else was planning to bring a rice pie and asked us to bring salad instead, which we did <yawn>. Well, just because rice pie is traditional for Easter doesn’t mean you can’t make it after Easter, right? And here’s how it came out.

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You can’t tell from the picture, but this pie was already half-eaten. When the pie was all gone, my husband said, “You’re not allowed to make this again.” (translation: “It was so good that I ate almost all of it and now I will surely get fat, so you must not tempt me like this again.”)

Tuesday: The daffodils popped!

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I went for a walk in the woods and paused to watch a spider trek across a tiny garden of moss and lichen, and to listen to the wind blowing through the branches of a giant pine tree, and to watch a pair of butterflies fluttering by, and to appreciate the cool shade of Council Rock, and to admire veins of quartz in the rocks.

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Wednesday: Long, horrible day, getting reading for my trip to CT for work.

Thursday: I drove to CT and had a relatively easy day at the office, thanks to all my preparations the day before. I was able to leave early, so I didn’t have to fight traffic on the way to my mother’s house. We went out to dinner together. She offered me a basket of kitchen items which she had gotten from my aunt and which my aunt had gotten from a neighbor, who had purchased it at a church fundraiser. I knew I probably didn’t need anything in the basket, but I figured I’d look through it and donate anything I didn’t want.

I looked at the basket when I got home and immediately noticed that there was something unusual about it. There was a box inside that seemed different from the other items, and there was a tag on the basket on which someone had written “and something extra!” The extra something turned out to be two bone china teacups, both which featured roses. It’s a lucky thing that my mother had told me the history of the basket. I called her up and said, “Hey, I know my aunt likes roses. Does she happen to collect teacups?” “Yes,” my mom said. “She does.” So my aunt had given away the basket without even looking inside and consequently had given away the real gift portion of it. And so had my mother. Let that be a lesson to regifters everywhere!

And yes, in case you’re wondering, I sent the teacups back to my aunt.

Friday: Work, work, work.

Saturday: We spent several hours on Saturday at my husband’s aunt’s apartment. She had passed away a few weeks before, and now the time had come to start going through her things. It was a challenge sorting the trash from the treasure. It seems that she kept every box she’d ever had. The sheets on her bed were old and worn, but she had huge trunks filled with linens that looked as though they had never been used. She even had a big bag full of lids from plastic contains. But there were gems, too, hidden among all that worthless stuff. There was this carnival glass set, which we kept, of course.

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And we think her curio cabinets will look nice in our house once we clean them up. Here is a picture of one of them.

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It pains me to have taken these items from her place, just as I hated taking some of my grandfather’s things after he died. But I look at my grandfather’s things, which now live quite comfortably among my own, and I’m glad to have reminders of him. I didn’t know my husband’s aunt well, because she was already losing her memory by the time I first met her, but I liked her. And because we have these things in our house, we will remember her often.

Sunday: A day of rest, much needed and much enjoyed.

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It’s Lack That Gives Us Inspiration

Posted on 04/05/2013 by chick

It’s lack that gives us inspiration. It’s not fullness. Not ever having driven, I can write better about automobiles than the people who drive them. I have a distance here. . . . Space travel is another good example. I’m never going to go to Mars but I’ve helped inspire, thank goodness, the people who built the rockets and sent our photographic equipment off to Mars. So it’s always a lack that causes you to write that type of story.

—Ray Bradbury

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Tricks of the Trade

Posted on 04/03/2013 by chick

Dear Marshall,

I recently wrote a post about how difficult your sister can be. Well, she’s not the only one. You don’t always want to do what you’re supposed to do either. It’s normal for a kid your age, but boy, it’s tough sometimes! How do you force a little boy to do something he really doesn’t want to do? Threats and punishments? Yeah, sometimes. But those aren’t much fun, and they can’t be used all the time. For the small, everyday issues, we’ve had to find other ways to motivate you, such as . . .

  • The Sauce Ploy: You don’t care for unfamiliar food. I’ve tried a lot of tricks for getting you to try new foods, but only a few have worked. The Sauce Ploy is one of the most successful. I still remember the first time I used it. I was eating hummus and I offered some to you. You wouldn’t touch it. But when I told you it was “sauce,” suddenly you were willing to try it. And you loved it! You kept coming back for more, dipping your baby carrot in the hummus and then running to the other room to eat it. You were so cute! Since then we’ve gotten you to eat a number of other sauce-like foods and condiments, and I consider the Sauce Ploy to be one of my best tricks.
  • The Arugula Game: Your father gets the credit for this wonderfully simple, yet effective, game. We take out a few pieces of arugula, or any other salad green, and we say, “Marshall, don’t eat that!” You grab the greens with glee and slowly move them toward your mouth. We pretend to be horrified, especially when you start chewing them. We say things like, “Oh, no! Poor arugula! I can’t believe you ate it!” You think this game is the funniest thing ever.
  • Bedtime Armor: Getting you to put on your pajamas at night used to be a chore, so we told you that alligators would bite you while you slept unless you were wearing your Alligator Armor (a.k.a. footie jammies). It might sound like a terrible thing to tell a child, but you were fascinated by alligators and loved anything to do with them. We still use this game almost every night in some variation. Once your armor is on, your dad and I pretend to be alligators. We gently bite your arm and then we act like it tastes awful. Ptooey! You love that. And we have other variations of the game for when you’re bored with alligators. There’s Skunk Armor (to keep the skunks from stinking you up while you sleep) and there’s also Invisibility Armor (which makes you invisible if you put your hands on your head, but only until the invisibility batteries wear out).
  • Alligators in the Potty: For a while you couldn’t be bothered to go to the potty. You’d wait and wait until you were dancing to hold it in. Sometimes you’d wait too long. So we started pretending that there were alligators in the potty that could only be removed by peeing on them. We’d say, “Go pee on the alligators!” And you would!

These games that we invented out of desperation are sometimes the highlights of the day. It surprises me, but it shouldn’t, because I find more and more that happiness is a state of mind. It stands to reason that fun is, too. Approach life with a sense of humor and a willingness to be amused, and you will probably have lots of fun. Remember that, because it’s probably the best trick of all.

Love,

Mom

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More Acquisitions

Posted on 03/30/2013 by chick
  • Of Cabbages and Kings and Many Other Things by Marguerite Hurrey Wolf
  • Walking the Maze by Margaret Shaw
  • Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
  • Heidi by Johanna Spyri (translator unknown)
  • Heidi by Johanna Spyri (translator Louise Brooks)
  • Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones
  • The Boggart and the Monster by Susan Cooper
  • Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
  • Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
  • The Well-Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed by Karen Elizabeth Gordon
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