November Recap

Shoofly pie - yum yum.

Here are my stats for November:

Books read: 11

Books bought: 7

Still reading: Shoofly Pie by Tim Downs

Books deserted:  Elizabeth the Queen by Sally Bidell Smith which for me contains way too much information about Her Majesty most of which I am not interested in...

Number of book fairs attended: 1

Number of authors met at book fair: at least 20 including Bobby Ann Mason and Wendell Berry

Number of authors who left comments on this blog: 2 - Karina Lickorish Quinn (Shrinking Violet) and William Kuhn (Mrs. Queen Takes the Train)

Number of memes: 1 (My Day in Books)

FYI: Shoofly pie is a molasses pie that is similar to what we here in the South call chess pie. Shoofly is traditionally a Pennsylvania Dutch dessert and unlike the chess pie has a crumb topping. As the story goes, the molasses attracts flies which must be 'shooed' away. 

Queen/Bee

Image by
 Deborah Wetschensky

With a renewed interest in the Queen, I have started reading Elizabeth the Queen, The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith. It was a gift and I intended to read it in September when I was reading about Great Britain and celebrating the Diamond Jubilee.

This queenly biography weighs in at 537 pages not including the acknowledgements, notes, and index. I am more interested in The Queen's approach to her duties, her self-discipline, and her sense of style than I am in any gossip about her children and grandchildren and their spouses. Maybe I will just skip those chapters.

It is dangerous to read too much about someone I admire as I don't want to know anything that will disappoint me. I enjoy my little dream world.

Another book I just picked up at the library is Shoofly Pie by Tim Downs. I can't remember now where I read about his mystery series featuring the Bug Man, forensic entomologist Dr. Nicolas Polchak. This first in the series takes place in rural North Carolina and looks like it will be a fun, if gooshy, read. The opening sequence was quite thrilling and featured smashing automobiles, a semi truck carrying hives, and some very angry bees.

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn

William Kuhn
Author of Mrs. Queen Takes the Train
(Photo sources: Harper Collins; Gregory Gaymont)

It might be that you have done nothing in the way of reading to celebrate The Queen's Diamond Jubilee this year. Here is your chance to remedy that and to accompany Elizabeth II as she takes a little fictional trip from London to Edinburgh.

In his novel Mrs. Queen Takes the Train, author William Kuhn has created a monarch who is feeling a bit blue and has taken to reflecting on her life -- a life that has been shored up by routine and royal duty. In a rare moment when she is not surrounded by members of her staff, she leaves Buckingham Palace and heads off to Paxton & Whitfield on Jermyn Street to buy cheese. 

What follows is the fun and I won't spoil a minute of it by telling you of her adventures. Suffice it to say, it turns out that Mrs. Queen is not made of the stuff of Windsor  Castle - stone. She is like many of us of a certain age: frustrated with technology but willing to fight the fight; listens to an internal nanny, her conscience, that lets her know what is the next right thing to do; and, has experienced a annus horribilis - or two.

Also, she misses her mother.

But the novel is not only about The Queen. It also looks at The Downstairs of Buckingham Palace. It takes quite a few members of staff to dress, accompany, transport, protect, schedule, advise, serve, and ease the way of The Queen. They each have their own ambitions and resentments, heartbreaks and fears which they put aside in their desire to attend to Her Majesty.

This is the perfect book to tuck into with a cup of tea and a digestive biscuit, preferably chocolate. So throw on your silk headscarf and hop on board as Mrs. Queen Takes the Train.

The Royal Purse

The Queen and her Royal Purse

The contents of The Queen's handbag have long been speculated upon and discussed. I for one think Her Majesty's affinity for carrying a Royal Purse is endearing and is such a lady-like thing to do. Where would we women be without our pocketbooks?

Now The Queen's secret is out. According to the delightful novel I am reading, Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn, this is what she carries with her: 

A starched handkerchief. A lipstick. A pair of white kid gloves. A fountain pen. A small box of wooden safety matches. A compact mirror. A laminated miniature calendar from the Racing Post listing the year's Bank Holidays. A small bottle of perfume. And a rabbit's foot.

I think that is just about perfect, Mr. Kuhn. I especially like the inclusion of the safety matches. One never knows when one might need to light an imperial fire.

If I were Keeper of the Royal Purse, I would be tempted to drop a mint or two into The Queen's bag. I am sure her mouth gets dry at all the celebrations and openings she attends. I would definitely add a purse hook to insure her bag never, ever touches the floor at those stately dinners. And of course, a doggie treat or two, for one never knows when a canine guest might scamper into the room.

As for me, I carry a small, black shoulder bag. It is a Baggallini that I bought for a trip to Paris and I liked it so much I just continue to use it every day. It has one compartment that holds a fountain pen, a red coin purse, a small bottle of hand sanitizer (in lieu of white kid gloves), a business card holder, a tube of Revlon lip conditioner (I don't wear lipstick), and a pocket tape measure. Another compartment carries my Italian leather money clip, one credit card, my driver's license, and a tin of peppermint Altoid Smalls (for use at all those celebrations and openings I'm required to attend...).

Another zippered pocket holds a travel-size tube of hand lotion, an emery board, and a tiny pocket knife. Finally, there is a zippered pocket to hold my purse hook. (This is how I know The Queen would benefit from having one.)

Long live The Queen and her Royal Purse.

Mrs. Queen Takes the Train

I underestimated myself. I recently committed to reading two more of the books I bought on the Grand Southern Literary Tour by the end of the year. Happily, I finished both before the end of this month: Lanterns and Lances by James Thurber (here) and Every Day by the Sun by Dean Faulkner Wells (here, here, and here). 

Now I have moved on to something completely different: Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn. I adore the cover and the idea behind the novel which has to do with The Queen, yes, that Queen, escaping from Buckingham Palace one rainy Monday afternoon and taking the train to Edinburgh for a visit to the decommissioned royal yacht, Britannia, that is moored nearby at Leith. She has many fond memories of days and nights spent on the yacht and wants to recapture just a bit of those happy feelings. And who can blame her.

Into the mix and on her trail are her lady-in-waiting (Note to Self: find one of these), her dresser, a butler, an equerry, a girl from the royal stables, and a young man who works at the shop that supplies cheese for Her Majesty. 

I have to admit I am always happy to read fictional exploits of The Queen. I so enjoyed Alan Bennet's An Uncommon Reader which concerns what happens when The Queen takes to reading. I love getting even a little look at what goes on behind the walls of those palaces. Even if that only comes from the author's imagination.

While other girls may have yearned to be a princess I always wanted to live in castle and be The Queen.

Reigned all day.

Shrinking Violet

Karina Lickorish Quinn
author of Shrinking Violet

I am only going to say this once:

Hie thee to the Amazon website and purchase, for an amazing 99 cents, the ebook Shrinking Violet by Karina Lickorish Quinn.

It is playful and clever and funny and heartbreaking - all in 128 pages. I won't even begin to summarize the plot but it does have to do with young Violet, her family, their crooked house, a white rabbit, a crocodile, The Duchess, and more oddly assorted characters.

I was enchanted with the wonderfully tender relationship between Violet and her grandfather Julius, a haiku-writing recluse. 

And there is cake.

I am not one to read fantasy or books full of quirky folks (they always seem a bit forced) but in the case of Shrinking Violet I was so enthralled with the language and the images that Quinn uses that I laid aside my prejudice and just simply loved the heck out of her story.

It reminded me of the exuberance of the language that is found in The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. 

I have Simon at Stuck in a Book to thank for recommending this high-spirited tale. It is only available as an ebook on Amazon. I don't have a Kindle but I downloaded it to my Android and read it on the small screen. Adored it.

Post-Thanksgiving Reading

Earlier in November, Simon of Stuck in a Book reviewed his first e-book,  Shrinking Violet written by his friend Karina Lickorish Quinn. He called it "a joyous, eccentric, thoughtful little beauty of a book."

I was so intrigued by his comments - and I believe him when he assures his readers that he wouldn't say it was great if it wasn't - that I ordered it from Amazon for the amazing price of 99 cents. It is only available as a Kindle ebook. I have a Nook Color but I downloaded it on my Android phone and today I am reading it on that small screen which is not preventing me from enjoying it immensely. 

More comments to come when I finish it. It is brief - 128 pages. (I  have no idea how many 'clicks' that is on my phone though.)

I have also started Iced Chiffon, a mystery that takes place in Savannah, Georgia. It is the first book written by Duffy Brown whom I met at the Kentucky Book Fair a few weeks ago. 

It concerns one Reagan Summerside, owner of the consignment shop The Prissy Fox, and her attempts to solve the murder of her ex-husband's girlfriend. Reagan found the body and Hollis, the ex, is now in jail for murder. The only reason she is taking on the job of detective is so that Hollis won't have to go to trial meaning he would have to pay his attorney fees by selling Reagan's Victorian house. Or something like that. I am not sure how he can get his hands on her house, but then it doesn't really matter as it is a pleasant read and I love being in Savannah.