Diana Gabaldon update

Those who read my last missive on Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series will know that I made some reference to being disgruntled if Lord John Grey showed up suddenly on their remote farm in the Carolinas.

Well... he did, as I know those of you in the know, know. Could you feel me grind my teeth then plunge bravely onward 1000 miles away in Maine as I read it in front of a fire with the ocean crashing outside?

I got over it.

Better, I hope, late than never

Here, at last, is the summary of last month's short story extravaganza. Let me know of any errors or deletions you might notice. I probably won't do anything about it, but what the heck, let me know anyway.

"Dark Riders," submitted by Dena
This was a popular entry, and much excitement was generated by the disclosure that this selection was written by Dena's sister, Tiffani. We can't wait to get our hands on her upcoming novel!

"The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson, submitted by Michelle
Well written and creepy.

"A&P," by John Updike, submitted, surprisingly, by Emilia
Able to set aside her disdain for the work of Updike, Emilia shared this story of adolescent angst and bravado. Evocative and nostalgic.

"Pretending the Bed is a Raft," by Nanci Kincaid, submitted by Joan
As this is my submission I can't really be impartial, but it did seem to be well received. This is simply my favorite short story ever.

"Marigolds," by Eugenia W. Collier, submitted by Beth
Sad and sweetly moving.

"Birth of a Superhero," submitted by Toni
Funny.

"The Private Life of Genghis Khan," by Douglas Adams, submitted by Heather
Beyond funny.

"The Rose of Tralee," by Will Crider, submitted by Lynnette

"The Wildcat," by Catherine Boyd, submitted by Katey
I was not the only one to love this story. There is definitely something here that spoke to the readers.

"Hair," by Jesse Stuart, submitted by Dee
Another story with a personal connection to one of the Broads, the author is from Dee's neck of the woods. She reports that Stuart borrows freely from the stories of local families, and not in an entirely complimentary way. The sort of stories that are entertaining as long as you're not the subject.

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier

Most famous for her novel Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier writes about women and their role in societies that keep them in pretty--and sometimes not so pretty--boxes. In Falling Angels, Chevalier gives us the story of the wives and daughters in two families in turn-of-the-20th-century London as Queen Victoria dies and the Victorian era dies with her. The story is told from several points of view as the daughters, Maude Coleman and Lavinia Waterhouse, grow up in an age when the old status quo of rigid etiquette for everything from "at homes" to dealing with servants to mourning clothes was all laid out in a book so that everyone knew the rules. The graying area between social classes, changing gender roles, conflicts of sexual and gender politics, questions of education, the fight for votes for women--all of these are played out between the two households, often near their adjoining plots in the nearby cemetery. This was the most recent book club pick for the South Park Book Club and encouraged hours of intense discussion, as well as the emptying of a few bottles of wine! The best thing about the book is the look it gives us--those of us who have grown up with certain rights and privileges and take them for granted--of how women from a not-so-distant generation lived.
Tiffani (honorary member from Dayton)

Diana Gabaldon

Let us all prostrate ourselves at the feet of this wonderful woman. I have just finished the first 3 books of the Outlander series. The library is currently holding out on me for the next 2. They were, "Outlander", "Dragonfly In Amber" and "Voyager". They are gigantic. I loved every second of the approximately 2500 pages read so far. My only complaint, and it is a small one as it will deter me not one bit from voraciously reading all the remaining books in the series, is that I thought it stretched the imagination some that they keep meeting the same characters everywhere they go. Let's face it, the world was a lot bigger in the 1700's and Clair and Jamie get around more than most people. So it is a leeeetle silly that they keep bumping into folks in Jamaica and France and Scotland. (If Lord Grey shows up in America I am going to be put out.) But other than that I am caught hook, line and sinker. I can hardly wait to go on vacation and gorge on more.