I Read: Ellen Tebbits

Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary died recently, and in her honour, I am going to reread a ton of the Cleary classics that I read in childhood. I'm sad that she's passed, even knowing that she hasn't written in quite a long time because it's always sad when a wonderful writer leaves the world. I spent so much time in my childhood reading her novels and I can't imagine that I would be the reader or the writer, that I am without having read her work. 

Ellen Tebbits is one of the almost stand-alone novels Cleary wrote, though there is an appearance by Otis Spofford, the main character of his self-titled novel (that I"ll be reading later.)  I remember the name Ellen Tebbits being amusing as a child, but I don't really remember this book as much as the very much more well-known Henry Huggins or Ramona Quimby.  That's likely because Ellen isn't featured in a series of books the way Henry and Ramona were. It doesn't make this book any less enjoyable, nor does it mean that Ellen isn't just as engaging and inquisitive as a character. 

Cleary's style is clear in nearly everything she writes and Ellen Tebbits is no departure from that. The story is amusing, even as an adult, and would convey a thoughtful message or two to a precocious child. 

#33-2021

I Read: The Empath Experience

The Empath Experience: What to do When you Feel Everything by Sydney Campos

This book had great moments. But the author was very focused on her own experiences and seemed intent on fitting everyone else into the mould that she followed. Not all empaths are outgoing people naturally. Not all empaths self-soothe with alcohol or drugs.

I guess I was overall disappointed that it wasn't very inclusive. The author made a lot of effort to repeatedly say that there were different things that you could identify with as an empath but didn't allow that you might identity outside of the things she herself had experienced.

#32-2021 

I Read: This is the Fire

This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism by Don Lemon

I wasn't sure what to expect from this. I watch Don Lemon on CNN regularly (way more regularly than I ought to really, and way, way more regularly since the pandemic and other issues in the US over the past year.)  But I'm not always completely sure that I enjoy watching. 

The show is smart, intelligent, but sometimes it's over my head. Sometimes it feels like that's intentional - that the point is to make everything seem so intelligent that it has to be true. I was afraid that would be the case with this book as well. 

But I was also excited for the book's release. My mom and I both have been looking forward to it, because Don Lemon speaks so clearly and carefully. It's not that his language isn't passionate about the topic - he definitely is - it's just that it's also always so rational. Logical. Which the world, and especially the US, haven't had a lot of lately. 

I Read: The Julius House

The Julius House by Charlaine Harris

(Fourth in the Aurora Teagarden mysteries)

This one is a little bit different than the other Aurora's to this point. It doesn't start out with a murder. Just a mystery. And that's not even the front and centre story until mid-way through the book. It's a fun little twist on the traditional cozy mystery. 

Most of this book is spent on Roe's new marriage and her finding out things about her new husband that adversely affect her and how she feels about him. But he bought her a house that had been abandoned after the family living in it had disappeared, so she obviously distracts herself by looking into that disappearance, rather than looking into the mystery that is her husband. 

I don't know whether it's a typically Southern response or not, but it seems different than the reaction I'd have. I'd want to know more about the husband before I worried about the strangers who used to live in what was now my house.  Maybe that's still to come. 

#30-2021

I Read: Three Bedrooms, One Corpse

Three Bedrooms, One Corpse by Charlaine Harris

(third in the Aurora Teagarden mysteries)

Continuing my journey through the Aurora Teagarden series. Charlaine Harris rarely disappoints. And while her characters are unique, and sometimes really strange in their perceptions or ideas, that's what makes them interesting. So while Aurora is full of weird foibles and headstrong in unusual ways I can get over it, because it's character-driven, not just strange. 

This is a fun series, and I've gotten over the need to mentally put Candace Cameron Bure into the story because she plays "Roe" in the Hallmark series based on these books. 

I Read: Chain of Iron

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare

(2nd in the Last Hours series)

Well, I'm a bit ridiculous and stayed up way too late to finish this. But it's my birthday, so I get to do whatever I want, and napping seems like a really good option for the rest of the day. After I actually get some sleep, I mean. And given how I'd looked forward to this next installment when I got within 100 pages of being finished, I couldn't just put it down. 

Spoilers below. Beware.

I Read: A Stranger in Town

A Stranger in Town by Kelley Armstrong
(Sixth in the Rockton Series)

The problem with really enjoying the writing of a particular author is that you wait for each and every book to come out, and then you can't help but read it at record speed. Which doesn't mean that you didn't take time to enjoy it, but that you then have to wait for the next book to come out. And I'm fairly sure there isn't another book to come in this particular series. It felt very much like the end but left enough of a thread that there could be more. I have some research to do. 

In the meantime, for anyone who likes mystery, this is a great series. It's a fairly unique concept but you definitely need to read the entire series. The books can stand alone, but you don't really want them to. Armstrong creates great characters and even manages to create characters out of her settings. I aspire to be this kind of writer.

I Read: The Power to Get Things Done

The Power to Get Things Done (Whether You Feel Like it or Not) by Steve Levinson and Chris Cooper

A quick read to grab some brilliant ideas that I can sprinkle into life and teach myself to actually accomplish things that I don't want to do. There are some good suggestions, and plans for how to do that. But I might not be motivated enough to actually implement any of them. 

#26-2021