Read in 2013 - 22: Dear Teacher

"Dear Teacher" by Jack Sheffield is the third book in the "Teacher" series - and the last one that was left for me to read (I started with books # 4, 5 and 6, because my mother-in-law, who bought the entire series, split them up between the two of us this way, and then we swapped).

But the latest one, book # 7, "School's Out", has recently been published, and I hope to get it when I'll be visiting with my family in Yorkshire the week after next.

"Dear Teacher" covers the school year of 1979/1980, and there is the by now familiar mixture of dramatic and humorous happenings. As from the first book on, Jack's love interest Beth Henderson plays an important role, especially towards the end of the book. I was almost a bit sad that I already knew the outcome, because I have read the second half of the series already, but it didn't really take away from the pleasure of reading. Instead, I decided to see it more as a "ah! now I know how it all came about!" moment.

With my own Yorkshire holiday being so close, I especially appreciated the description of places and landscapes in and around the fictional North Yorkshire village of Ragley-on-the-Forest, such as this one:

I felt that familiar tingle of wonderment as I surveyed this great county. It was my kindgodm of cathedrals, moorlands and mills, my home of beer and brass bands, Ridings and rugby, my land of coastlines and cricket. Beyond the market town of Skipton we drove on towards limestone hills and clear rivers. The purple bulk of the Pennines filled the far distance and memories of forgotten looms, cotton and cloths flickered across my mind.

Remember the time when there was NOT constantly something on TV? The time before breakfast TV, for instance? (I don't watch it myself, but I know many people do.) In once scene in the book, Jack is reading the paper while having a meal at the pub. The landlady asks what he is reading:

"It's about breakfast television."
"How d'you mean, breakfast television?"
"Well... it's television at breakfast time."
"That'll never catch on, Mr. Sheffield."
"You're probably right, Sheila."

It is such little bits of almost-forgotten times that, for me (as much as for many other readers, I guess) makes up large part of the charm of this series.

Do you know what a Jean Allen suit was? I had to look it up; Jean Allen was a London-based fashion house that emerged in the 1950s and lasted until the early 1980s, when the high street boom took over and meant the end to many of the smaller fashion labels. In this book, one of the ladies in Jack Sheffield's life is described as

slim and attractive with her long warm brown hair loose round her shoulders. She looked stunning in her chic little Jean Allen suit that was soft to the touch. The jacket was a flowing black bolero and the skirt was panelled in emerald and she drew admiring glances from everyone around her.

There is not much information about Jean Allen on the internet, but I found this picture apparently showing some of the late 1970s suits:

Robin Hood's Bay is another of the places described so well by the author. I've been there about ten years ago and remember it as uniquely picturesque. Jack, who has a picknick down by the sea,

...felt like a child again as we took off our trainers and socks and paddled in the cooling sea water. Gentle wavelets caressed our feet and pebbles rolled with smooth erosion between our toes. Around us, sunlight played upon the natural beauty of the landscape and the blue-black waves stretched out to meet the awesome sky. In this vast amphitheatre of silence we walked together by the ede of the sea. I felt as though the driftwood of my life had been cast upon this lonely shore but I couldn't recall being happier.

For more about the author and the series, you can visit his website.
Yes, I am sad that I have now read all six books, but I am glad that the 7th is already out!

My July

This month started as good as the last one ended! At the end of June, in this post I showed you that the cherries on the tree in front of my house were almost ready for picking, and on Sunday, RJ helped me pick a bowl full which we enjoyed together for dessert.

When he came into the kitchen for breakfast on Sunday, he so liked the view of how the cherries grow right up to the window pane that he wanted to take a picture of it. And therefore, I proudly present my guest photographer RJ :-) 

You can tell this side of the house is facing North and does not get as much sun as the East-looking part, where the branches of the tree are chock full of sweet, juicy, dark red cherries. Yesterday during my lunch break, I took the ladder out and picked a small bowl full for my parents, trading them (the cherries, not my parents!) in for a bowl of freshly picked raspberries from the allotment.

Looking at older entries, almost exactly a year ago I wrote about cherries, too; you can find that post here.

July can't get more delicious than that, can it? Well, it did yesterday, when for lunch at my parents' I had new spuds with curd cheese and salad, and my Mum's home-made strawberry cake for dessert.

Earlier on Sunday morning, before breakfast, I went out for a run. I was amazed to see how quickly the rye (or barley? I never can tell the two apart!) has been growing - it has taken on its beautiful golden colour already on some fields. (No, I don't take my camera with me when I'm running; this picture was taken with my mobile.) 

In less than two weeks, I'll be on the plane to England. It will be lovely to see my family in Yorkshire again; I'll be staying with my sister-in-law this time. No doubt I'll be visiting the places I like so much again (such as Fountains Abbey), but I also hope to discover new territories that have been unchartered in my mind's map until now. 

Read in 2013 - 21: Goodnight Dear

A work of non-fiction that touched VERY close to home more than once, "Goodnight Dear" by Darren Humphries is "The Unsentimental Diary of a Bereaved Husband", as the subtitle says.

It really is Darren Humphries diary and covers one whole year, starting with the day he gets a call from his son's school because his wife has not come to pick up the boy, and he arrives home to find her dead in bed.
One reason why I wanted to read this book was that, on Nov. 5th 2009 (it was a Thursday), I came home from work and found my husband dead on the floor in our living room.

Exactly like with Darren Humphries' wife, there had been no warning signs, no known illness or anything; both his wife and my husband have, by all appearances, died very quickly and peacefully enough not to have even had time to feel pain or fear, and in both cases, the cause remains somewhat vague to this day.
It's the way everyone would like to go: with no prolonged painful illness, decaying of body and mind; instead just like that, in the blink of an eye, right out of the middle of a life we are happy with. For those left behind, it's a different story; they need to somehow cope with the effects of the death of someone so close to them, totally out of the blue, and so hard to understand.

The author describes in a highly readable way - he never presses the emotional keys he could easily press and make you cry while reading - what happens that day, the next day, and the day after that, and the weeks and months following his wife's death. He describes his own reactions, how his children deal with having lost their mother, the reactions of his relatives, colleagues, neighbours and friends. There are also the formalities to deal with, legal and financial stuff, some of which is rather complicated; sometimes the people he encounters during these procedures are kind and helpful, while at other times he gets angry and frustrated with them for good reason.

An element of the book I very much liked were the letters people wrote to Darren when learning of his wife's death. Some of these are very touching. And the concept of making the diary last for one year, completing the circle, so to speak, is very good. It covers all aspects of life after such a loss; the children's birthdays, school activities, work, holidays, Christmas and New Year, visiting relatives and so on. 

At the end of the book, I still felt sad for Darren and his children, but I was also optimistic about their future. I do wish them all my best, and I think I will leave a message on his blog.

Read in 2013 - 20: Fast genial

It happens rarely, but it does happen: me reading in German. "Fast genial" by Benedict Wells was recommended to me by my Mum, and as we often have a similar taste in books, I wasn't surprised to find that this one really was a good read.

The author is not yet thirty and wrote his first novel at 19. He was born in Munich and moved to Berlin after finishing school; nowadays, he divides his time between Barcelona and Munich, the back of the book informs me.

"Fast genial" means "almost ingenious" (our "genial" and the English "genial" are not the same). And the title fits:
18-year-old Francis has never known his father. He and his mother, a single mum with problems of depression you can't help feeling sorry for, share a shabby trailer somewhere in New Jersey and the little money they are able to scrape together from various small jobs whenever they are able to work (his Mum because of her problems and Francis because working hours have to fit around school).

When he's had to take his Mum (once again) to a psychiatric clinic, during his many visits there he meets and falls in love with Anne-May, a girl who is there because she has attempted suicide. When his Mum tries to kill herself, Francis finds her just in time - and he also finds her good-bye-letter to him. In that letter, she tells him about his father for the first time: He was a genius, and Francis was born as part of a genetic experiment.

Now Francis wants to find his father; he is convinced that everything, his entire life, will take a turn for the better if he manages to see him and speak to him. Together with his best friend, nerdy Grover, and Anne-May, he sets out on a trip across the U.S. from New Jersey to the West Coast.

Will he find his father? This question and what will happen then are central to the story, but by no means the only important part. The trip itself is equally important, and how the relationships between the three friends develop. 

As the reader, you really want to know what is going to happen next, and you do care about Francis, although not so much about his friends (at least that was how I felt about them). The writing style is modern but not ridiculously so; the characters and the way they talk are credible.

As far as I could find out, none of Benedict Wells' books have yet been published in other languages, which is a shame, because I think that not only readers of German would enjoy this.

What I don't quite get about the book is the choice of cover illustration: it is a painting by David Hockney, "Rainy Night on Bridlington". Now, Bridlington is on the coast up in Yorkshire, a place that does not feature at all in the book, w hich is set entirely in the U.S. But I guess they just wanted to show the melancholy mood or something. I wonder whether the author had any say in it.

A Saturday in the Sun

A bit more than a year ago, I wrote my Post # 300 on this blog, and (quite by coincidence) the first picture of that post was of the same view as this one:

Looking back at the road we have just walked up between the vineyards, the start of "our" walk (= my Mum and I walking from the nearest small town with a train station to the place where my parents have their allotment).

The walk itself takes between 1 1/2 and 2 hours, depending on how hot it is, how fast we walk and how many little breaks we take. You've seen it already in previous posts, and therefore I'll only show you a few pictures of the walk this time:

The plan had been to arrive at the allotment in the early afternoon, and we were there at 2.00 pm. My Dad had already arrived in the morning (by car), and he had freshly brewed coffee ready for us and the table was set. 

This was the first time I saw his greenhouse. Most of what's inside is tomatoes, but he also has peppers and some basil.

My Mum had arranged for friends to join us later in the afternoon, and we prepared the table for five. As soon as our friend (only one of them could make it) arrived, she made the lovely old-fashioned elderflower pancakes I've showed you here.

It was also the first time I saw the new rose arch; my sister and I bought it as a Christmas present for my Mum, and my Dad put it up for her recently to replace the old one that was crumbling to bits. To bring the old one down and set the new one up, a lot of the climbing rose had to be cut, but it'll grow back nicely, I'm sure!

After the feast of elderflower pancakes, I went for another walk - much shorter this time, I was away for less than an hour. I had not been to this beautiful lookout in years, even though it is not far from the allotment:

The vantage point marks the spot where the ancient castle of Steinheim (literally "stone home") once stood. A plaque on one of the stones informs visitors that the castle was first built around the year 800 and destroyed in 1250; at the same time, the line of aristocrats ruling this part of the kingdom of Wuerttemberg died out. Only in 1973, during the reallocation and consolidation of agricultural land holdings, were the remnants of stone walls rediscovered, and it was decided to turn the place into this mini park above what today is the village of Steinheim. (I'm sure they'd like me to call it town, but it is a village, and there's nothing wrong with calling it that.)
A steep path with stone steps leads from the top down into the valley, but it is so overgrown you can only find it if you know that it is there.
 

On my way back to the allotment, I took this picture showing the deep ravine that is called Otterbachtal ("otter's creek valley"). Down in the ravine, it is always quiet, shady and green and rather cool, even on the hottest summer days. High above it, a bussard was circling.

Back with my parents, we stayed on for a light evening meal. When we felt the first slight touch of evening chill, we packed up and left, but not before my Mum cut one of the beautiful roses for each of us to take home; mine now floats in a wide glass and looks so perfect, a beautiful reminder of a wonderful day:

This hot air balloon was floating just above us while we were getting ready to leave:

And have a look at the cherries outside my kitchen window - how much they have grown since you last saw them!

They'll soon be ready for picking, and you bet I'll be picking as many as I can :-)

Read in 2013 - 19: Darkness Falls Over Joppy Hill

There is no nicer way to put it: This was the worst book I've read in quite a long time, in terms of writing style, ortography, grammar, and with a rather foreseeable plot, too.

Why did I read it, then? For one thing, it was short enough (56 pages, according to the product info on Amazon) not to waste too much of my time. Also, I really did want to give the story and its characters a chance to grow on me, and thought that maybe at some point the author would surprise me with a good idea, with an unexpected turn of events. It was not to be.

To outline the plot: Orphaned girl grows up with hard-working aunt who sends her to stay with old friend in the country for summer holiday. Girl meets local boy and hears rumours about old friend's house. Old friend and her family are behaving strangely, and big old house harbours a dark secret.

It could have been a gripping story, but didn't quite get there. From Amazon's author page about Latasha Rose, we learn that it is called "young adult horror" - something I normally do not read. It is entirely my fault, of course, because I simply downloaded it while it was for free, without checking the product information first. 

To give you an example of what I mean, here is a quote from early on in the book:

My mother and I were inseparable; I could talk to her about anything, she anything she could for me anything.

Or this:

She hesitated but then responded, "I told Mia it wasn't a good ideal for you to come hear, but she never listen me."

The author does not see such errors as a problem; in fact, on her Amazon page, she says "I don't care about misspelled words and other grammatical errors, those things can be fixed". 
Well, sadly, they weren't fixed before the book was published, and although she doesn't care, this reader certainly does. I know I am a bit finnicky when it comes to correct spelling etc., but if the story itself is good and the characters are credible enough, some errors do not take away too much from the overall reading experience. In this case, though, they were dominant, and that on top of it not being a very original story in the first place made this hardly worth reading. 
I am sorry for Latasha Rose having put as much effort into this as she states on her page. Just a little more effort to get words and grammar right would have helped.

Read in 2013 - 18: Craving

This is a double première on my blog: not only is it the first time that I was invited to review a work of non-fiction, but my review will also include the author's own comments.
So, without further ado, here is my review of "Craving":

Some time ago, I was approached via my blog by the author of this book, Omar Manejwala, M.D., asking whether I'd like to review it. Now, this post wouldn't be here if I had said no, would it! Please note that I am merely stating my personal opinion of the book here. Yours may differ from it – that's fine, and no matter whether you agree with me or not, I'd like to hear from you. Therefore, please feel free to comment, whether you've read it or not.

„Craving“ is a good, informative read which taught me quite a few things about addiction that I had not known until then.

Most importantly for me, I now understand a lot better how much of addictive behaviour is actually the addict's „fault“, i.e. their conscious, deliberate decision, and how much of it is due to addiction mechanisms and behavioral patterns they can't help at that moment. This was something I have been struggling with for many years, having gained more experience with alcoholism in my immediate proximity than I ever asked for. So, this book helped to reconcile me with some of the things I witnessed in the past, and to view these situations from a different perspective in hindsight. Thank you, Omar! 

Everyone who'll read „Craving“ will, I hope, learn something from it – either for themselves, if they suffer an addiction, or in order to be better able to understand and help an addict in their family or among their friends.

Omar Manejwala writes in a manner that makes you imagine you sit in comfortable surroundings with him, listen to him talking and answering your questions, in a clear manner that makes you really understand what he is on about, without you having studied neurology and psychology – or studied anything at all. Don't get me wrong, he is never condescending, but manages very well to get even rather complex matters across. Sometimes, it is maybe this very wish to make everyone understand that leads him to repeat things. In some chapters (but not throughout the book), I kept reading and thought „he's already said that“ and „yeah, I get the idea“. That does not take away from how useful and fascinating the book is.

Its ten chapters are outlined in the introduction (which, in itself, is a little on the long side). They cover the basic facts of brain science in terms of craving and decision making, the role of bias in preventing us from always making rational choices, what all sorts of different addictions (gambling, food, sex, alcohol, drugs, internet, to name but a few) have in common, how thoughts, actions and experiences can change one's way of thinking (and actually, one's brain itself), why groups can be so helpful in addiction treatment; joy, hope and recovery, and much more. 

There are several pages at the back with useful practical advice for addicts (where to find help) and tips on how to deal with specific cravings, and many exact source notes that facilitate further reading.

To make it easier to use this book as some sort of reference work (although it is not intended as such, I think), a register would have been helpful. 

Something I find a bit confusing is the very frequent mentioning of Twelve Step Programs; the first time this term is used is as early as page 4, but either I have simply overlooked it or there really isn't an explanation/definition of what a Twelve Step Program is anywhere in the book.
Also, I don't really know what a halfway house is; do you? (I guessed the meaning from the context.) 

Again, let me emphasize my opinion that „Craving“ is a book that should not be missed if you are an addict yourself or in close contact with addicts. Very clearly, it says that it is not intended as a substitute for the advice of health care professionals. But it can point you or someone you care about into the right direction and change their (and your) life for the better.

To end with a quote from the book: "Recovery is about 5 percent what you stop doing and 95 percent what you start doing."

Here is Omar's reply:

Hi Meike,

Thanks for your kind words about Craving. I’m delighted you enjoyed it so much, and I hope your readers will appreciate the book as well.  Since everyone craves, I think it’s a very relevant topic.  Over the last 30 years, obesity rates have doubled in the U.S., and although Germany is doing better than we are, over half of Germans are obese or overweight.  Since cravings are at the heart of overeating, I think nearly everyone (not just addicts) can benefit by increasing their understanding of this complicated, pervasive phenomenon and what we know about how to manage it.

I’ve never been invited to respond to a review before, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to share a few thoughts on your take on the book.  I agree with you that a key insight is the understanding that addictive behavior is not the addicts “fault” but certainly is their responsibility.  The parts of the brain involved in decision-making, planning, habits, thoughts, memories, feelings are all affected by cravings. 

You can imagine that writing a book that explains something as complex as cravings is very difficult, because cravings are psychological, genetic, biological, social, and are affected by environment, trauma, cues, stress, upbringing…all of this needs to be covered if readers are to have an accurate, practical understanding of cravings and how to manage them effectively.  I’m glad you appreciated the manner in which Craving clarifies and simplifies these ideas without dumbing them down.  There are enough oversimplified books based on junk science, and I couldn’t in good conscience add another.

I really appreciate that you consider Craving to be a book that “that should not be missed if you are an addict yourself or in close contact with addicts.”  I hope that the affected and afflicted among your readers will check it out and participate in the conversation here on your blog as well as on Twitter and Facebook.

Best,

Omar Manejwala, M.D.

www.CravingBook.com