Books for March, 2005

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Re-read.

Phantom of the Opera by Gaston LeRoux. First time read. jonquil recently mentioned reading and liking this. I did not like it. I wondered whether it was simply that I was dissatisfied with elements of it that were expected in novels of that time. Well, I didn't think so--it's not as if I'm incapable of reading and enjoying novels written before 1960. Or was the problem the translation? Whatever the translation, Christine and Raoul would still be very cardboard characters, I'm afraid. It shows evidence of being written in haste. Characters and plotlines are introduced only to be abandoned. Not impressed. Sorry, Phantom fans.

Perfectly Legal: The Covert Campaign to Rig Our Tax System to Benefit the Super Rich - and Cheat Everybody Else by David Cay Johnston. First time read. This was a loan from minnehaha B, and he was right to warn me that it would be depressing. In fact, this book made me madder than just about any book I've read in the last two or three years. Well written, and the information therein is infuriating.

Cloven Hooves by Megan Lindholm. FIrst time read. Mixed reaction, but mostly envious awe. Brave about writing about sex, and added to my internal wrestling over that subject on the book I'm writing. A keenly observant eye. I thought a lot about how this book, and Wizard of the Pigeons and one of my favorite short stories, ever, "The Silver Lady and the Fortyish Man" all have the same plot: They're all about a person who lives on the margin, who has a sort of magic (not of any use, really, to them) who feels as though he/she doesn't fit in. And this protagonist meets a mysterious other who is even more magical. And the protagonist has a sexual relationship/encounter that makes the hard-won balance fall apart (in WOTP, it's with a third, different character; in CH and SL&FM it's with the mysterious other). The story ends with the protagonist rediscovering and believing again in his/her inner magic and re-integrating.

A Galaxy in a Jar by Laurel Winter. I've read some of these poems before, but this is the time I've read the collection. Note to self: read more poetry. Of course, reading poetry is easy when it's Laurie (the delightful selections here include "Egg Horror Poem" and "Why Goldfish Shouldn't Use Power Tools.") If you've ever had the opportunity to hear her read with the other Lady Poetesses From Hell at various conventions, you understand. If you haven't, you are in for a treat.

Am presently reading Jasper Fforde's The Well of Lost Plots, so that'll be first on next month's list.

Report on Miss Fiona

Bad news at the school conference with Fiona's teacher. She's very bright, is a huge reader, a delight in the classroom for the teacher, etc.

But she is not turning in her homework. And the bits she is turning in are obviously half-assed. She failed to turn in eight assignments, and the teacher showed us a pitiful half page response she turned in on an assignment she was given two weeks to do. We are not pleased because 1) she has been denying she had homework and 2) we would have appreciated hearing about this problem before she had fallen so far behind.

She caught up a bunch of assignments today. The school is closed tomorrow, but her teacher will be there for conferences. So I will drive Fiona to the school tomorrow to turn in her homework, and she will lose a week's allowance, which is the usual fine when she misses the school bus. She is no longer allowed to play computer games. And we will be reviewing her homework planner every night.

Goddammit. She's too bright, and she's been been taking advantage of that to coast like a slacker. Must nip this in the bud.