BOOK REVIEW: "The Sunny Side"

The Sunny Side:
Short Stories and Poems for Proper Grown-Ups
By A.A. Milne
Copyright 1921
Harper-Collins Publishing
Short Story Collection
3.5 Bookmarks

I've been getting kind of bored with the "how to parent your kid" books, so I thought I'd try something totally out of the ordinary.  I grabbed this short story collection (by the author of the Winnie the Pooh series) and was quite pleased with it! 

Milne has a lovely, vintage, satirical style that was truly joyful to read (although it did make me feel about 70 years old).  Everything from a tale about "Toby" (a "nice" horse), and "Common" (a decorative dog who goes to war), to some quick and clever poems, to an evening playing cards together as friends, they all have just a touch of whimsy and express the feelings of taking joy from the small things in life.

I enjoyed the story called "The Arrival of Blackman's Warbler", in which the narrator decides to act like he knows more than he does, and then must go to great lengths to avoid being caught in the lie. 

Not to be outdone by the likes of Aesop and Hans Christian Andersen, Milne adds a fable called "The Legend of Hi-You" to his collection.  It is the story of a pig farmer who convinces himself, and eventually others, that one of his pigs is actually a prince who has been cast under an evil spell.  I rather enjoyed the writing on this one, and the twist at the end (although not surprising), was cute.

You wouldn't think that an author would really make much fun of themselves, but Milne manages to do that on quite a few occasions, even remarking at one point on his poetry that "Anyhow it was a lie, as so much good poetry is."

One of the essays was entitled "The Perils of Reviewing".  It is Milne's take on what happens when one is asked to review a book, decides not to read it before reviewing it, and the consequences that follow.  Milne writes, "I reviewed a book the other day.  It is not often I do this, because before one can review a book one has to, or is supposed to, read it, which wastes a good deal of time."  As a fan of other satirical writers, such as Ray Bradbury, Flannery O'Connor, Dave Barry and Gary Larson, I rather enjoyed the tone of this one.  For obvious reasons, this was my favorite essay of the entire collection. 

Unless you're bothered by a slightly old-fashioned style of writing, this collection would be quite an enjoyable one for anyone to spend a lovely afternoon with, especially sitting under a giant oak tree in the Hundred Acre Wood.  It was delightful!

COMMENTARY: "Live"

How easy it is to get wrapped up in life and forget to live.  We wake each day with a To-Do list charging its way into our still-foggy mind.  We shower, we dress, we eat, we gather what we need and head out into the world.  We forget to center ourselves. We forget to read. We forget to write. We forget to dream.  We check three items off the To-Do list, only to add five more. 

We sleep.  We wake.  We work.  We eat.  We drop our child off at school and pick her up.  We do paperwork.  We do homework.  We pay bills.  We file taxes.  We rotate the tires on the car.  We go to the doctor.  We go to the store.  We go go go. 

What happened to time?  I remember as a child feeling that time went by ever so slowly.  It seemed as if the weekend would never arrive.  And now, we merely blink and an entire year has passed…or perhaps three.  There is good here.  And there is bad. There are smiles and there is fun.  And there is stress and sadness and an emptiness that will always be.  And these things just swirl together in a cosmic race to get….somewhere. 

But every once in a while

We stop.

We breathe.

We look around and see the beauty of the world.  We enjoy something delicious.  Like a nap.  Or a memory.  Or a slice of pizza so good it makes us moan.  We soak in a hot tub. We laugh with Sheldon and Leonard.  We dance.  We drink wine.  We talk about things.  We do things.  We feel things. 

We live.



 

BOOK REVIEW: "Menu for Romance"

Menu for Romance
By Kaye Dacus
Copyright 2009
Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Adult Fiction
3 Bookmarks

So I'm a sucker for a good unrequited love story.  This one seemed to have all the makings of a juicy story right up my alley. 

Professional caterer Meredith is secretly in love with her head chef, Major.  Only she doesn't tell him because he's never even hinted that he was interested in letting anyone into his life.  Major has a "problem" mother that he doesn't want anyone to know about so he keeps to himself and doesn't get involved. 

When Meredith decides to try dating someone else so she can move forward with her life, Major realizes what a huge mistake he has made by not telling her that he, too, is in love with her.  But now it's too late.

The author does a great job introducing the characters and getting the reader emotionally involved in the outcome of the story.  The author brings a lot of religion into the story, which isn't usually my favorite thing, but she does it in a tasteful manner that is not overly evangelical.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants a light, quick read.  I loved the John Wayne references and appreciated the fact that there wasn't any gratuitous sex in the book (obviously due to the Christian background of the author).