Cynthia J.'s Comments

Would You Buy This or Not (May 8, 2009) by Ron Hall

May 8, 2009 | comments: 37

Cynthia J. May 8, 2009, 9:58am EDT

I'm jealous of the the YakTrax (ice grippers) I paid almost $20 for a pair at the Fleet store this past winter. They are life savers on ice. Literally. Excellent choice, Ron.

The Lovely Bones by Marianne Combs

Nov 14, 2008 | comments: 9

Cynthia J. Nov 14, 2008, 6:33pm EST

I have read it, some time ago now. I remember the story and as I recall I felt it was a bit gimmicky. There are so many books written recently that I am left with empty or annoyed feelings at the end, that the plots are unnecessary or plodding or contrived or just plain (to use a childhood word) "stupid". I think that's what I thought of Lovely Bones.

Was the author trying to mimic Toni Morrison's "Beloved" which is so beautifully written I could forgive the disbelief I felt when the child comes back from the dead...was that real or imagined? I have to say though, I've not tried another Morrison book either.

I hated the way Cold Mountain ended...it felt like a cop-out to me, the man dying before having to deal with a real relationship.

Right now I am reading Skinner's Drift by a South African writer that I fear I will have the same feelings about the ending, but it isn't too gimmicky in concept/style, so I may forgive the author.

It's Friday late afternoon...my mind is a bit mushy anyway.

In Memory of Carol Bly by Bruce Henricksen

Sep 19, 2008 | comments: 10

Cynthia J. Sep 19, 2008, 12:48pm EDT

Thank you. I wish I could have been there. I hope it was well attended.

Food Safety? Food Choices? by Cynthia J.

May 1, 2007 | comments: 3

Cynthia J. Aug 16, 2008, 10:29pm EDT

More and more cheeses and meats are becoming available locally here in northern MN...but, I like you, feel that wine and olive oil (and I add coffee) are exceptions. The closest olive oil I get is from California...but Minnesota has wine...you know, "where the grapes can suffer" as one winery puts it.

August 2008 - What are you reading? by Marianne Combs

Aug 1, 2008 | comments: 18

Cynthia J. Aug 1, 2008, 5:37pm EDT

Well, since I live in God's cool country up north, I sit in the early morning on my screen porch and read while eating breakfast...this week it's my favorite indulgence in romance with Eloisa James' newest book about 18th century women: "Duchess by Night." (The last book "An Affair Before Christmas" was full of details about what the hair styles of the day -- including the wigs -- did to women's hair. This book she promised me would be full of further details of life of the times...)

Then I have to get serious and read (finally) "3 Cups of Tea" for our August bookclub meeting.

Did I tell you I'm trying to read "Out Stealing Horses" in Norwegian ("Ut og Stjæle Hesten")? I think I've managed the first two pages several times. (smile)

Paintings and Prose Poems, Jenkins style by Cynthia J.

May 18, 2007 | comments: 3

Cynthia J. Jul 7, 2008, 5:48pm EDT

I don't know enough about Tennyson to answer, perhaps someone else will?

Planning a Trip for Minimum Fuel Use by Ron Hall

Jun 21, 2008 | comments: 34

Cynthia J. Jun 21, 2008, 10:20pm EDT

I have to correct my comment, I didn't take 6/34 from Grand Island to Colorado, but wish I had. In the past I did take that route home but forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me for the next time I head west. I'll be glad for your report.

Planning a Trip for Minimum Fuel Use by Ron Hall

Jun 21, 2008 | comments: 34

Cynthia J. Jun 21, 2008, 9:59pm EDT

Ron, I just came back from Colorado taking the route to and from the same as the one you mapped out. I haven't figured out my time yet, but I averaged 38+ mpg and with a tail wind coming east I got over 40 mpg in my 2005 Pontiac Vibe going 55-60 mph. I loved being off the freeway and away from the semis. (I was told the worst day to travel I80 is Wednesday when the cross country trucks are halfway to the coasts, but the brief time I spent on the freeway on Saturdays weren't pleasant.)

(I found a nifty restaurant in North Bend NE on US 30 that I highly recommend for breakfast...friendly waittress, lots of locals at big round tables...in an old bank called the Corner Cafe, I think. Don't stop in the 66 cafe in Lyons NE...crabby waittress though okay breakfast. Bob's Drive Inn in LeMars IA has cheap "taverns" --loose meat sandwich -- recommended by Jane and Michael Stern's RoadFood website...I thought it was okay, not as good as the chocolate-mocha malt I had with it. The Kearney NE restaurant you recommended was closed until evening and I was there at noon, so maybe next time.)

May 2008 - What are you reading? by Marianne Combs

May 1, 2008 | comments: 16

Cynthia J. May 2, 2008, 8:44am EDT

It's still cold, wet and windy up here in NE MN...so I'm reading "Dark Star Safari" and "traveling" from Egypt to South Africa with Paul Theroux. And twisting my brain trying to read "Out Stealing Horses" in the original Norwegian (alongside the English version, of course). BTW, Per Petterson has a new novel being published in English by Gray Wolf Press sometime this spring or summer. I can hardly wait, but I don't think I will have "Ut og Stjæler Hester" finished by then at the rate I'm crawling.

And maybe the weather will turn warm soon?

Throw This Poor Dog a Minnesota Reading Bone by Mark J.

Jan 2, 2008 | comments: 21

Cynthia J. Jan 28, 2008, 6:09pm EST

Also consider Holy Cow! Press out of Duluth.

have you ready any good books lately? by DiAnA D.

Jan 18, 2008 | comments: 20

Cynthia J. Jan 18, 2008, 1:11pm EST

My favorite this year was "Out Stealing Horses" by Norwegian author Per Petterson. It's a man's recollection of the summer of 1948 with his father in the woodlands along the Norwegian-Swedish border. Spare and evocative writing. It is on the best New York Times books of 2007 list. I promptly bought an earlier book of his called "Into the Wave" which I liked, but "Out Stealing Horses" is still my favorite.

Would You Buy This or Not? (my favorite LP art) by Ron Hall

Jan 12, 2008 | comments: 51

Cynthia J. Jan 14, 2008, 9:02am EST

When I lived in Leadville CO in the late sixties, the local drug store sold off-beat lps for $1...among others I got wonderful albums by Gordon Lightfoot, Ramsey Lewis, Nina Simone. Yesterday I was moving old albums around and ran across "Grey Life" by Val Stoecklein. I googled him, because he rather disappeared after the one album...but on ebay someone is trying to sell it for $199.99...another one for $3....hmmm.

The cover is black and gray with the singer sitting in a corner with a large picture of a woman's face on one wall. Why I bought it, I don't know. But I played it yesterday and though the music is sad and forlorn about the loss of a relationship, I still like it.

January 2008 - What are you reading? by Marianne Combs

Dec 31, 2007 | comments: 9

Cynthia J. Jan 12, 2008, 9:02am EST

Our bookclub is reading "The Beast in the Garden" by David Baron...with "The True Story of a Predator's Deadly Return to Suburban America" prominantly featured in a red circle on the paperback's cover. The story that begins the book...with suspense and hype...took place in Boulder Colorado in 1991 when a cougar killed a jogger. It's rather corny in approach, because you already know who killed the man before you even open the book. But the author goes on to explore the interface between nature, wildlilfe and suburban America and current attitudes toward wilderness and wildness.

The people who recommended the book said it is an interesting exploration that should generate lots of discussion, but with the caveat that it isn't very well written. I haven't read very far, but so far, I agree with their assessment of the writing.

We just finished reading Sherman Alexie's "Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven" and I found his writing astounding and want to read more of his work. I also re-visited the film based on the stories "Smoke Signals" and was pleased with the way he pulled them all together (he wrote the screen play as well) into a way to come to closure with his father.

With the news of Carol Bly's death, I found a copy of her early short stories on my book shelf. I read "Last of the Gold Star Mothers". The stark contrast of her writing style with Sherman Alexie's really struck me...not in a negative way, but she is so classic in style and structure, and he is more free wheeling.

As to recommending one book you should read...our book club, which spends at least an hour each gathering to decide on the one next book to read, this last meeting decided to wing it by each person picking one book to read, throw it in a hat and we would pick the next month that way. So...I am faced with a similar task: Pick one book I want to read with the bookclub and keep my ideas to myself the rest of the year. So I will be watching the comments for ideas.

Minnesota Author Carol Bly Dies of Ovarian Cancer at 77 by Mark J.

Dec 24, 2007 | comments: 6

Cynthia J. Jan 1, 2008, 11:07am EST

I just found a copy of "Backbone" on my shelf...I think it's time to read it. I have to confess, I have other books by Carol, but haven't had the fortitude to give to them. It's time. I see in the StarTrib obituary that there is a film called "Rachel River" based on her short stories. Does anyone know if it available on dvd?

I had met Carol at various times over the years, I am not far from her Sturgeon Lake cabin and we have people in common, but it was only recently at a party that I was to appreciate her wry sense of humor. Gone too soon.

December 2007 - What are you reading? by Marianne Combs

Dec 6, 2007 | comments: 16

Cynthia J. Dec 16, 2007, 11:56am EST

I just finished Per Petterson's "In the Wake" --- a novel he wrote before "Out Stealing Horses." It is another exploration of a man's grief at the loss of his father...in this case his parents and two brothers die in a ferry boat fire on their way to Denmark. He grieves the loss of all of them, but especially his father.

The only other book by Petterson I could track down is about a young girl's loss of her parents during World War II, In Siberia. Amazon has a copy available for $149.99. I hope with Petterson's high profile these days (Out Stealing Horses made it on the NYTimes best 10 novels of 2007) they will reprint it. I am in love with this man's writing. It is clean, clear, sparse and riveting.

Now I am reading for our book club "the Lone Ranger and Tonto Fist Fight in Heaven" by Sherman Alexie. (short stories that were the basis for the movie "Smoke Signals") Another really fine read. Is it true that he wrote the stories when he was only 19? Remarkable!

I have on my bedstand Eloisa James' (Mary Bly) latest romance novel (bodice ripper, you say?) "An Affair Before Christmas" Just for fun. fun. fun.

Would You Buy This or Not? (Kitchen and Cooking finds) by Ron Hall

Dec 15, 2007 | comments: 48

Cynthia J. Dec 15, 2007, 9:24pm EST

Sounds like a good plan. And enjoy in the meantime, yes!

Would You Buy This or Not? (Kitchen and Cooking finds) by Ron Hall

Dec 15, 2007 | comments: 48

Cynthia J. Dec 15, 2007, 7:15pm EST

I love kitchen things, too. I used to be called the Queen of Gadgets. Now I'm collecting vintage porcelain spice jars. I have two from Sweden: Ingerfara (Ginger) and Kardemumma, a set of Hummel jars, three from a flea market in France: Sel, Poivre and Moutarde. I passed up some in Norway...yup, still kicking myself and hoping to get back there soon and still find them.
I love your canning jars...I got one at that French flea market that is small and perfect and wish I had more. I pick up the same canning jars whenever I run into them.

Does this collecting thing qualify as a disease?

Do you include a Christmas letter with your Christmas cards by DiAnA D.

Nov 29, 2007 | comments: 14

Cynthia J. Nov 29, 2007, 4:34pm EST

I wanted to add...I send the letters without cards...

I also just realized that I need to write this year's report soon. the reason I call it an "annual report" rather than a Christmas letter is they sometimes (often) don't get mailed until January or later.

Do you include a Christmas letter with your Christmas cards by DiAnA D.

Nov 29, 2007 | comments: 14

Cynthia J. Nov 29, 2007, 3:50pm EST

I do send an "annual report" with selected stories from my year. I used to make fun of the holiday letter, but now I am annoyed when I receive a card from someone I am not in regular touch with and there is no letter or note. If the card has a printed signature I am REALLY annoyed and wonder why they have wasted the paper and postage.

The thing I love about getting holiday letters on a regular basis is it gives me history and continuity of friends and relatives. My own letters give me my own history and continuity and a timeline. As I get older, I've noticed it isn't easy to remember WHEN something happened.

Perhaps we should have a group to post our holiday letters to gather.com. (smile)

November 2007 - What are you reading? by Marianne Combs

Nov 1, 2007 | comments: 10

Cynthia J. Nov 21, 2007, 5:12pm EST

I just finished reading Robert Reich's "Supercapitalism." Interesting twist on the relationship between corporations and government and what it is doing to our democracy. He spends alot of words giving background and history, one chapter on what citizens need to do to take back Democracy.

I just got a copy of Per Petterson's "In the Wake" which I am eager to begin. After "Out Stealing Horses" which I recommend to anyone who will listen, I couldn't resist another of his novels.