So as you all know I started a book club last year. Because you know me and books…
Every month we read a book and I do a little post on the book we read and discussed. What can I say, I just love books.
There is no theme, other than with each month, a different member gets to pick a book, whichever one they want. This time was my turn and I picked:
Until the Day Breaks (California Rising #1) by Paula Scott
I was first introduced to this book when the author came into the museum I was working at as she needed to discuss something with the curator. We started talking about the book and California and Western history as I absolutely love it.
I read it and the sequel, and enjoyed both of them. So of course, when a few months passed and it was my turn again-I picked it.
So the book takes place in 1846. California “belongs” to Mexico, but not really being more independent. The United States looms closer and closer, Manifest Destiny gobbling up more states. Rachel Tyler grew up in Massachusetts, is Protestant, and raised by her grandparents. She is a sweet woman and engaged to minister hopeful, Stephen. (As soon as his mother dies and releases her control over him)
Well that all changes when her father, Joshua Tyler, awakens their long silence. After Rachel’s mother died, he took off to California to make his fortune and has, in some nefarious ways. He married a wealthy Californio’s niece, Sarita, a girl only a year or so older than his daughter and has brokered a deal matching his daughter with Sarita’s cousin, Roman Vasquez.
This match will work for for Joshua Tyler-as if California remains in Mexico’s control he will have protection in the match. If the United States take over, Tyler can secure the Vasquez land and money through his daughter.
Rachel is hurt over the broken engagement with Stephen and in even more dismay over her upcoming marriage to Roman. Roman is a lusty, passionate, and angry man. Rachel is afraid of that passion, especially as she starts to find herself falling in love with him.
Roman has returned from fighting in the American Intervention with Mexico, known as the Mexican American War by the United States; injured, angry, and finding California completely different then what he left. His family thought he was killed, his fiancé married Joshua Tyler, his family fortune and land is dwindling through his uncle’s gambling, and now he has to marry this Yankee?
But as Roman gets to know Rachel she touches him in a way no one has in a long time. Her kindness, sweetness, and relationship with Christ starts to affect him. But can he really overcome his lust, passion, and anger?
To complicate things further-Sarita is a witch who is angry that Tohic, the god she worships, lied to her about Roman’s death. Even though she is married and Roman is engaged-she will sacrifice anything and do everything to get what she wants.
And as California looks more and more like war is coming-all are uncertain what that means and what exactly to do?
Then to everyone’s surprise Rachel’s ex-fiance shows up! And he brings his friend and ship Captain Dominic Mason.
This is a power firecracker of a novel. It is enjoyable and a real page turner. Every one of us ladies finished long before book club was scheduled to meet.
So while we discussed our book, I thought that in the flavor of Daring Chloe, we should meet in my California town’s historical Saloon that existed in the same time this book is set in. It really was a lot of fun. Here’s a couple of snaps I took. I meant to get a pic of the book in the restaurant,but forgot-maybe I’ll stop by and do it again.
Day 5) E is for Elephant: Choose a book with a Elephant on the cover
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
So I choose Around the World in 80 Days as my “elephant” choice. You may feel as if this has barely any elephant, but I just choose this book cover because I really liked it. This is the cover my copy has.
This book was one of my favorites as a kid and my gateway drug into Jules Verne. I used to read The Great Illustrated Classic version of this again and again until I read the real version.
Or 10th, 50th, 100th….
This idea of traveling the globe in a relatively short amount of time was very new and modern. It only came about because of three technological breakthroughs: the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in America (1869), the linking of the Indian railways across the sub-continent (1870), and the opening of the Suez Canal (1869). This marked the end of the age of exploration as global tourism became the new age. The world had grown much smaller.
In fact after this book was published it inspired quite a few people to try this journey around the world themselves.
In 1889, newspaperwoman Nellie Bly undertook to travel around the world in 80 days. She managed to do the journey within 72 days, meeting Verne in Amiens. Her book Around the World in Seventy-Two Days, became a best seller.
In 1903, James Willis Sayre, a Seattle theatre critic and arts promoter, set the world record for circling the earth using public transport, 54 days, 9 hours, and 42 minutes.
In 1908, Harry Bensley, on a wager, set out to circumnavigate the world on foot wearing an iron mask. The journey was abandoned, incomplete, at the outbreak of World War I in 1914.
In 1984, Nicholas Coleridge emulated Fogg’s trip, taking 78 days. He wrote a book entitled Around the World in 78 Days.
Since 1993, the Jules Verne Trophy is given to the boat that sails around the world without stopping and with no outside assistance, in the shortest time.
In 2009, twelve celebrities performed a relay version of the journey for the BBC Children In Need charity appeal.
In fact it is one of my dreams to recreate the trip in the book.
So Phileas Fogg is a wealthy Londoner who keeps to himself most of the time. There is not a lot known about him or his private life other than he is focused, exact, and methodical.
“Phileas Fogg was, indeed exactitude personified…He was so exact he was never in a hurry, was always ready, and economical alike of his steps and his motions. He never took one step too many, and always went to his destination by the shortest cut; he made no superfluous gestures, and was never seen to be moved or agitated.” pg. 6.
He also is very good-looking.
“He appeared to be a man about forty years of age, with fine, handsome features, and a tall, well-shaped figure. His hair and whiskers were light, his forehead compact and unwrinkled, his face rather pale and his teeth magnificent.” pg. 6
The book begins with a young french man, Passepartout, coming into the service of Fogg. He left his last employer as when he tried to talk to him about his drinking as he was rudely treated.
In fact Fogg is described as in many ways being like a machine, so down to the minute he is.
“Everything was regulated and foreseen that was to be done from half-past eleven AM till midnight, the hour at which the methodical gentleman retired.” pg. 8
That evening Phileas is at his men’s club when they are discussing a bank robbery that has recently occurred. The men began discussing where the thief could flee to, some saying the world is too small while others too big. Phileas says that the world has become small and that one could travel the world in 80 days.
From London to Suez via Mont Cenis and Brindisi, by rail and steamboats……………7 days
From Suez to Bombay, by steamer……………………………………………………………………..13 days
From Bombay to Calcutta, by rail………………………………………………………………………..3 days
From Calcutta to Hong Kong, by steamer……………………………………………………………13 days
From Hong Kong to Yokohama (Japan), by steamer……………………………………………..6 days
From Yokohama to San Francisco by steamer…………………………………………………….22 days
From San Francisco to New York, by rail……………………………………………………………..7 days
From New York to London, by steamer & rail……………………………………………………….9 days
The men talk about with one exclaiming that Phileas is crazy, unforeseen circumstances would toss things out of whack. Phileas insists that he could do it in 80 days and bets £20,000 (that would be £2,040,000.00 or $4,080,000.00 today.)
The bet is on, with Phileas planning on being back by December 21st, at 8:45 pm.
Phileas immediately sets off on the trip; packing what is needed and planning on purchasing whatever else he needs along the way. The only one coming with him is his new valet, Passepartout.
As soon as he departs his bet is thrown all over the newspapers. People betting on whether or not he will make it back in time.
Unfortunately for Fogg, his mysterious “foggy” history causes him to become suspect number one as to the bank robbers.
Not good
Detective Fix is set out after him, to bring him back as soon as possible. This will not work well for Fogg as even the slightest delay will cause serious misfortune.
Fix manages to luck into finding Fogg when Passepartout asks him for aid to see the consulate. Like today how they aren’t always required to stamp your passport in certain ports; Fogg of course is insisting as he needs proof he travelled to those destinations.
Left London, Wednesday, October 2nd, at 8:45 pm
Reached Paris, Thursday, October 3rd, at 7:20 am
Left Paris, Thursday, at 8:40 am
Reached Turin by Mont Cenis, Friday October 4th, at 6:35 am
Left Turin, Friday, at 7:20 am
Arrived at Brindisi, Saturday October 5th, at 4 pm
Sailed on the Mongolia, Saturday, at 5 pm
Reached Suez, Wednesday, October 9th, at 11 am
Total of hours spent, 158 1/2; or in days, six days and a half.
As Phileas only cares about the bet, he never takes the time to look at the places he is passing through, instead staying in his room.
So Fix is trying to get more information as to whether or not Phileas is the robber. He cozies up to Passepartout, asking him lots of questions about Phileas. But with every answer, he becomes more satisfied that it must be him.
Fix also makes a key observation, Passepartout has forgotten to reset his watch to the time of the place they are in, instead having it still in London time.
As Fix is out to get his man, he too is caught up in this race around the world.
When they reach Bombay, Passepartout is set with the charge to purchase new shirts and such for the two of them. Unfortunately, Passepartout doesn’t always pay as close attention to where he is going, distracted by the architecture, and trips, stepping on a sacred floor without removing his shoes.
When Passepartout tells Phileas what happened, as he lost his purchases, Fix overhears them and comes up with the perfect “fix” to get his man.
Yes you may have noticed that I have made two puns about the names of the characters.
Couldn’t resist
Yes, one thing I like about Verne, is that his names always mean something. It can be something that obscures the situation, is a puzzle, or causes confusion. This works great for Phileas’ character as not much is known about him, he is too obscure or a puzzle. And in an essence he lives in a “fog”, not connecting with others but keeping to himself, his books, and his routine.
With Detective Fix, he is trying to remedy or fix the situation in catching the bank robbers and returning the money. He also creates a “fix” for Fogg as his constant interference causes issues for the adventurer. In fact you could even say he is trying to “fix” the situation, as he wants to bring Phileas back to London, ensuring that he loses the bet. Fascinating, huh.
Wow
So as Fogg and Passepartout continue on their way they meet Sir Francis, returning to his corps. He too finds Fogg odd as he has never met anyone so efficient or a “product of exact sciences”. He warns Fogg that their might be trouble with Passepartout having broken the law. It was an incredible offense.
Not good
As they are continuing through India on the train, it suddenly stops in Kholby, It turns out that the railroad is unfinished and they will have to find their own way to Allahabad. Sir Francis is in a lather, but Fogg calms him down and convinces him that he has extra days. Sir Francis joins their group as he sets out to find transportation for them and plans to continue on with them.
He finds, of course the reason why this book fills the E category, an elephant. There is only one problem, elephants are expensive and becoming scarce in India. Fogg needs it to when and offers £20 to rent it, £40, £1200, £1500, and ends on £2000 to buy it (That would be £204,000.00 or $408,000.00 today)
They then hire a guide and head out.
Everything goes smoothly until the elephant starts getting agitated. The guide investigates and sees a procession of Brahmins, or priests, coming towards them. He warns them to hide. They observe the group and see a beautiful women being lead behind the corpse of her husband, a prince.
They are doing a Suttee ritual, where the widow is burned alive as she has no other option in her life. She would have no food, her hair shaved off, treated poorly and considered unclean. Most of the time it was voluntary, as there was no other way, although a few would be killed unwillingly. Such as in this case. The guide reveals that this women did not wish to be sacrificed, so they drugged her with hemp and opium. They are taking her to the Pagoda of Pillaji where the ceremony will take place at dawn.
Not good
Now here we see one of the most interesting parts of the book:
“Mr. Fogg stopped him[the guide], and, turning to Sir Francis Cromarty, said, ‘Suppose we save this woman.’
‘Save the woman, Mr. Fogg!’
‘I have yet twelve hours to spare; I can devote them to that.”
This is so interesting because the whole book we are told Fogg is friendless because he is so exact, he is never emotionless, he is a clock, a machine; not human at all.
But here we see him willing to take time out of his bet and put his life on the line for this girl. I mean he has been forgoing everything to see in the countries he is passing through, the only thing he has his mind on is time how much spent and how much left; but here he sees this women and hears her story and it all goes out the window. Everything, for her.
How romantic
So while it is honorable of Fogg to do this, his idea will not be easy. If they fail, they will have horrible tortures awaiting them. They decide to continue their plan, waiting until night to strike. While they are waiting, the guide tells them about the woman, Aouda. She was the daughter of a wealthy Bombay merchant and received an English education. When she was orphaned, she was married against her will to the old rajah Bundelcund. She escaped, but was retaken and forced by the Rajah’s relatives to complete the ceremony.
Then we have a thrilling and suspenseful part of them trying to free her. They creep, watch, and are barely able to save her; taking off as they are being chased by the guards.
As they board the train, Fogg pays the guide, but also gifts him the elephant for his service and loyalty in saving Aouda. He offers Aouda passage to Hong Kong as India will never be safe for her again.
When they reach Calcutta it is the 25th of October as he surmised. He has lost his two extra days, but does not regret it.
They are to head over to the steamer for Hong Kong when a policeman arrests the men. Passepartout is ashamed and afraid, as it is his fault and he would hate for his master to lose his bet. Fogg has no fear as he is certain that they will be able to board the ship at noon.
Three Indian priests come in with a charge, and Fogg defends his decision to save Aouda. Unfortunately these are not those priests in the forest. Nope, they are the priests from the temple that Passepartout forgot to remove his shoes. Yes Fix has been “fixing” things so that they can’t go further.
What jerks
The judge decrees Passepartout imprisonment for fifteen days and a fine of £300 (£30,600.00 or $61,200.00 today)
And as Passepartout is Fogg manservant, he gets a week imprisonment sand has to pay £50 pounds.
Fogg is a quick thinker and pays bail, £2000.00 for the both of them (£204000.00 today). And they scurry off to the steamer to continue their journey.
Fix is now in a “fix” as the only way that he can get a reward for bringing the robber in is if the robber still has the money. As Fogg has been spending so much (£5000 [£510000.00 today]) already, he is even more determined to stop him. Poor Fogg.
Not good
This is another thing I really like about this book. On one hand there is this grand adventure and race against time as Fogg strives to do what was then considered impossible. With Fix trying to stop him there is such intensity of suspense as you are afraid and unsure they will be able to complete it in time.
Every time I read my heart starts pumping as I become anxious for Fogg. Even though I’ve read it before, it gets me every, single time.
Now Fix decides that in order to catch Fogg, the best thing to do would be befriending Passepartout, who he believes to be dimwitted. Passepartout, unknowingly to Fix, is starting to become suspicious of Fix. His “just happening” to follow them on the same route, being everywhere at the same time is just too coincidental.
Hmm..
Of course he would never dream that Fogg is believed to be a robber and instead thinks Fix is is an agent of the reform club, sent to stop Fogg from completing the bet.
As they cross the boat is hampered by a large storm. They reach Hong Kong twenty hours behind the time needed; and this will make him miss the next boat. But surprisingly Fogg does not blow up or become livid. Instead he is as calm as the fog, amazing those around him.
Of course, Fix sees this as the best thing that could happen, giving him an advantage and chance to arrest him once again.
When they reach Hong Kong, they search for a ship to go out and discover that the Carnatic was being repaired and will be leaving the next day, suiting them perfectly. They use the next sixteen hours before launch to help settle Aouda. As the search for her relatives, they discover that her relative, Jejeeh has left China two years ago for Holland. Fogg invites Aouda to continue with them, turning this merry band into a trio.
Fix decides to approach Passepartout, takes him drinking, and lays everything on the table. He tells him about the robber and the £52,000 stolen. He offers Passepartout £500 to help him keep Fogg there a few days until the warrant for his arrest arrives. Passepartout will hear nothing of it, defending his master and cursing the reform club for sending this agent. Passepartout continues to say no, when Fix gives him more and more wine and opium until he passes out.
While that was occurring, Fogg was taking Aouda shopping to have her outfitted for the journey. He noticed that Passepartout was still out, but did not worry as he should be back in the morning, The next day when there was no sign of him, Fogg began to worry. Fix approaches the two and infiltrates their group, telling them the boat has launched already 12 hours ago and there will be no other setting off for a week.
But Fogg has not given up. He searches the dock until he finds a ship that will take him to his next destination. No one can, but one will take him to where the boat stops in Japan, allowing him to pick it up and head for San Francisco.
Once again we see an interesting development in this man. Instead of his usual contemplation of numbers, how much time is left and dividing it in the miles and dates needed to complete the bet, he is thinking of his valet Passepartout. Where is he? Is he on the ship? Or could he be somewhere else? It appears that Fogg is a robot after all. He has a heart and care for those around him.
After Fix left Passepartout, two waiters carried him to the designated place for patrons to “sleep it off”. When he awoke three hours later he was in such fits for time and made straight way for the boat, collapsing on it. The stewards took him to his room where he slept and did not wake until they were far from China. There he discovers himself without his master and a loss as what to do next as he has no money or plan.
When he reaches Japan he searches for food and a way to make money. He sells his clothes to make a little money, swapping for more Japanese ones. He then joins a acrobatic troupe, as he has experience in such things in his past before becoming a valet. The group is leaving for the United Stares. While he is performing, who should he see in the crowd but his master and Aouda? He quickly joins them and they head out for the next steamer to America.
Their boat had dropped them off in Japan and they searched for Passepartout, discovering that he had taken the boat and was somewhere in the city. They had been searching everywhere, when they decided to stop at the theater and of course came across Passepartout! Such luck!
Aouda shares about their companion Fix, of which Passepartout says nothing yet. But he plans his revenge on the man for the next time they meet.
Fix on the other hand is very disheartened. He was planning on arresting Fogg, but he is no longer on English soil and cannot be taken by the English warrant. Instead he would need to have extradition papers. He knows this will be hard to do, and instead decides to just follow them and arrest them the minute their feet touch English soil.
Passepartout comes across Fix and settles to “fix” him, but Fix convinces him that he is no longer a threat as he wants him to reach England now and will do all he can to ensure it.
When they reach San Francisco, Aouda and Fogg go so that Fogg can get his passport stamped. Passepartout has been listening to stories about the West and asks if he can purchase guns for their protection as there is the possibility that the Native Americans will attack the railroad.
They all end up in the middle of a scuffle with a Colonel Stamp Proctor attacking Fogg, who is saved by Fix. They then have to go purchase new clothing as theirs are ragged from the fight, that they had no clue why it was even started.
They go through California and Nevada pretty quickly, but it is as they are heading into Utah that they are stopped by the buffalo and have to wait until the rail is cleared. And I have personal experiences with such things, the buffalo move real slow when they want to and it can take a loooooong time. For them it took three hours.
While on the train, Passepartout comes acorss a notice of a lecture by the Mormon Elder William Hitch, and he decides to attend as he knows very little about Mormonism. Passepartout does not become a fan of the religion as he thinks it is horrible for one man to have to take care of so many wives. Oh, Passepartout.
Oh well.
They end up having to wait again as snow slows the train. And unfortunately they discover that Col. Proctor is on the same train. Fix, Passepartout, and Aouda are all afraid of what might happen if the two meet as all want him to reach his goal. They decide to band together and try and keep him in the room, so that no trouble is started.
They distract him with whist, but then face another problem. The only way to go forward is to cross a bridge, but it is too unsafe. However that can-do American spirit brings the engineer to decide they can make it if they go full speed.
Passepartout is afraid but as they all mock him he aggrees to continue. They manage to just cross in time, barely getting over before the bridge breaks to smithereens.
They run into Colonel Proctor who insults Fogg a second time. Fogg doesn’t want to take the time out to fight as he is on a schedule, but Proctor insists now or never. They are just about to duel when the Sioux attack.
Yes never a dull moment here. Now all those others who go around the word for real in 80 days or less, no matter what they do I’m sure they never had as action packed a journey as this one. This is another thing I love about Verne, you never know what will happen next. Just fantastitic.
This is great
So as the Sioux attack, they switch from fighting each other to their attackers.They all have to fight, Aouda being an excellent markswoman.
You know that is another thing about Verne. Look at Aouda she is an amazing character that no one ever talks about. Highly educated, wanting to be in control of her own life, a world traveler, brave, an excellent markswoman, willing to protect those she loves, and Indian. Pretty fascinating.
Wow
Most of the passengers are injured, ranging from slight cuts to serious wounds. Three are missing, one being Passepartout. Even though this will put him far behind, Fogg decides it is more important to find Passepartout and free him. He leaves Aouda and Fix at the nearest Fort, and is determined to set out after Passepartout. Fogg pays some men to go with him and sets out.
Meanwhile Fix finds himself worrying about Fogg escaping, wondering why he agreed to stay behind with Aouda. The engineer is repairing the train and they are determined to set off. Aouda won’t leave without Fogg and refuses to continue on.
They wait in the fort while the captain comptemplates sending men after Fogg or just waiting as it is most likely Fogg is dead.
Not good
The next morning Fogg returns with the passangers and Passepartout.
Poor Passepartout, he just creates so many problems for his master without meaning to. Leaving the gas on in his room before they left, getting them arrested and having to pay bail, destroying the circus and causing him to pay there, getting drunk and causing worry as he left them behind, and now being captured by the Sioux. It is like he attracts trouble.
Fix proposes a new idea to Fogg. Instead of waiting until night to catch the next train, what of they went on a sledge with sails? They decide to do it. Fogg wants to leave Aouda and Passepartout behind, as he doesn’t want Aouda to travel in such a crude way and Passepartout to be there to protect her. Aouda won’t have any of it as she wants to travel with him.
They go on the sledge and manage to reach their destination in time to pick up a train to New York City.
But when they reach New York they discover that the boat left 45 mins early.
There is nothing else left. The game is up and they lost as they could never make it in time on any other boat. It is the end.
Passepartout feels horrible as he blames himself for the misfortune.
But just as all grows dark, Fogg spies a ship that looked like it was setting out. He tries to convince the captain, and owner, to get him across but he won’t do it. Even when he offers to purchase it, nope. Only when he offers to pay $8000 ($160,000.00 today).
When the Captain wont take him to Liverpool where needs to go, he bribes the crew, locks up the captain, and takes complete control of the boat.
He did buy it.
They run into a storm, and as Fogg will not give up he starts using pieces of it as fuel.
They manage to reach Queenstown and it looks like the completion of the bet is in their grasp. They can make it to London in time to spare. As they head out, Fix asks Fogg if he is Phileas Fogg, when he answers yes, Fix arrests him.
Ugh Fix!!! Why couldn’t you let him win his bet! After all you’ve been through!
Fogg sits in jail for two hours, and is finally released by an ashamed Fix who has discovered that the real bank robber has been arrested.
He boards a train but it is too late. They are five mins behind. Fogg has lost everything!
Fogg is completely distressed. He takes Aouda to his home and prepares his affairs. Passepartout is completely downhearted and blames himself; but Fogg doesn’t.
Fogg stays home all day and that night speaks with Aouda.
“Madam,’ said he [Phileas Fogg], ‘will you pardon me for bringing you to England?’
‘I, Mr. Fogg!’ replied Aouda, checking the pulsations of her heart.
‘Please let me finish,’ returned Mr. Fogg. ‘When I decided to bring you far away from the country which was so unsafe for you, I was rich, and counted on putting a position of my fortune at your disposal; then your existence would have been free and happy. But now I am ruined.” (pg. 201)
Aw how sad. Then this next part is really cool. Aouda is trying to console him; friends and relatives will aid him; but alas Fogg says he has none.
“Mr. Fogg,’ said Aouda, rising and seizing his hand, ‘do you wish at once a kinswoman and friend? Will you have me for your wife?’
Mr. Fogg at this rose in turn. There was an unwonted light in his eyes, and a slight trembling of his lips…’I love you!’ he said simply. ‘Yes, by all that is holiest, I love you, and I am entirely yours!” (pg. 202)
How sweet!
You know, for a novel in 1873 there are some things in here you wouldn’t see in most books. Interracial marriage, Aouda proposing instead of Fogg. Tell me, why don’t people speak of this book more. It is amazing in its plot, the characters, the way he ties everything together. I just love it.
So anyways, they decide to marry tomorrow and Passepartout takes off t speak to a Reverend.
Time for a wedding!
After the real robber was captured, all the people turned themselves back to betting on Fogg and whether or not he would make it back in time. Everyone was trying to find him to see where he was at but none could reach him
As it is the day, all those involved in the bet meet up at the club and wait for Fogg. As they reach three minutes to nine the men are feeling completely secure in that he will not be back in time, but who should walk in the door, but Fogg!
What? How did he do it How could he win the bet when we know he arrived too late because he was placed in jail?
Well, after Aouda and Fogg were engaged, Passepartout left to secure a Reverend. He returns completely nonsensical and tells them they cannot be married the next day. Fogg demands to know why and Passepartout tells him because tomorrow is Sunday.
It turns out that the last storm actually made them arrive one day early. They went around the world in 79 days.
Wow
Fogg determines that he spent £19000 on the trip and decides the profit of £1000 will be divided between Passepartout and Fix. Fogg asks Aouda if she still wants to marry him now that he is rich, of which she says it is up to him. Will he not want her now? Fogg wants her as his wife whether rich or poor.
I love the way Verne ends his book:
“What had he [Philieas Fogg] really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey?
Nothing you say? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men!
Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?” (pg. 210)
How sweet!
Yes, I just love that book. It is so amazingly good and well written. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good story and plot. You should definitely check it out.
Today’s Christmas Carol is a favorite of mine, We Three Kings of Orient. This carol was written in 1857 by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. I really love the refrain as I find it to be so beautiful. Star of wonder star of light; I love singing that.
I couldn’t find the version I really like, so I settled on the one by Hugh Jackman, David Hobson and Peter Cousen.
But there is another book(s) that I used to read over and over, Sherlock Holmes short stories.
As I have mentioned before, I grew up reading the Great Illustrated Classics series and that introduced me to the character Sherlock Holmes. After I read one children’s’ collection, I read every short story there was about him written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
I even read stories based on him, like the Sherlock Holmes Solo Mysteries, (which was like Choose Your Own Adventure), and I was a giant fan of Basil of Baker Street.
So yeah, I was obsessed.
I thought Sherlock Holmes was so cool and wanted to be like him.
The only thing I didn’t read were the Sherlock Holmes novels, I guess because my library didn’t have those available in children’s form. I actually didn’t read those until I was an adult.
Oh well.
I remember one day we were traveling somewhere and were listening to Sherlock Holmes on tape; and I was the only one in the car who had read the ones being read before hearing them on cassette. It was weird as a child to think I knew something my parents didn’t.
So there are a lot of stories to choose from and of course I don’t have the time to talk bout them all. In fact out of all the stories I remember the most, they are from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, so I choose that collection over any other.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
So I will only pick three stories: A Scandal in Bohemia, The Man With the Twisted Lip, and The Adventure of the Copper Beeches.
***Spoilers***
A Scandal in Bohemia
So many have probably read this story, seen the Sherlock version (which I hated), or heard of it.
I know this
A Bohemian Prince comes to Sherlock, first in disguise but of course Sherlock sees through that, to ask for his help. He is to be married, but before the engagement had sent letters and a photograph with the beautiful Irene Adler. He has tried to get it back through begging, payment, bribery, theft, etc; but nothing has netted it.
Sherlock does some reconnaissance on her and ends up being the witness at her wedding!
This strange turn of events doesn’t prepare Sherlock for how things will turn out for him.
Sherlock continues on his plan, dressing up as a minister and having Watson create a fuss about fire in order to determine the secret hiding place of the photo. He sees it as she goes to protect it; and thinks the case is finished, preparing to return the next morning before she leaves.
On the way home he is greeted by a young boy, one he does not know but that isn’t very odd, after all he is a known figure. People are always addressing him.
The next day the three men set out to retrieve the painting, and find Irene gone.
She left a note explaining that she thought there was something suspicious about the “minister”, dressed up as a boy to research him, and figured out the plan of Sherlock Holmes. Instead of allowing him to do his plan, she bests him by leaving that night instead of the next day.
Not good
She leaves the picture behind, as married she no longer needs it; forever going down in history as the one who bested the greatest detective, and becoming the woman. The only one that ever beat him.
The Man With the Twisted Lip
A wife is worried about her missing husband and calls upon Sherlock Holmes to help her. One day her husband was at work and she was walking down the street running an errand when she just happened to look up at a building and sees her husband!
What’s going on?
He’s in a room above an opium den! And he is so scared!
She rushes up there as quick as she can but no husband, only a disgusting, deformed, dirty man.
What
She calls the police and as they investigate they discover his clothes in the river, blood in the room, but no body. They believe him to have killed her husband but they can’t figure out what happened to the body. For now he sits in a jail cell, with nothing being able to get him to talk or bath.
Sherlock is puzzled and looks into the history of the man, but there is little to be found. All he can find out is that he moved there and makes good money to care for his family.
Hmmm….
Sherlock believes the husband has been killed, but then a letter turns up in his handwriting with his signet ring. Sherlock is stuck…
Until he goes to the bathroom and solves the case by looking at a bar of soap.
He goes to the jail where they are holding the man and force him to clean up, revealing that he is the husband.
It turned out that he used to be a reporter and went undercover to write a story about beggars. He was a great actor and did so well at doing nothing, he ended up making more money that way than being the reporter.
He continued this lifestyle, hoping to never be found out and was surprised to find his wife; reacting quickly and not thinking of his actions. Sherlock makes him stop the begging as it is against the law, and another case solved.
I’m on FIRE!
Ever since I read that story every time I see people beg, this story comes back to me. He made more money begging than working? It just shocked me and makes me wonder if people today are like that guy in the story.
The Adventures of the Copper Beeches
Violet Hunter goes to Sherlock Holmes for advice about whether or not she should take a position as a governess They are willing to pay her £120, but she has to get her hair cut short. It seems odd as her previous position only paid £48.
Nothing else seems amiss so Violet takes the job, Sherlock telling her to telegram him if they need anything.
After a fortnight (14 days), Sherlock gets a telegram. Things have gotten weirder since she started working at the house. They have her sit in the window wearing an electric blue dress and have her back to the window. After doing this for a while she hides a mirror in her handkerchief and sees a man staring up at her through the window.
The child she is supposed to care for is a psychopath
There is a mastiff that is always hungry and let out at night, keeping Violet from being able to leave in the evening.
She also comes upon a drawer with her her hair in it!
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But it turns out to not be her hair but someone elses.
What?
And then there is the mysterious wing that they can’t go in.
Never a good sign.
One day she sneaks in and she a shadow…
It freaks her out so she hurriedly leaves and gets away as soon as she can to post the telegram.
Sherlock arrives with Watson in tow and the two investigate. It appears that the family has been hiding someone away. As Sherlock studies everything, he comes to the conclusion that the family’s daughter is the one they are hiding. They chose Violet because she could pass for the daughter and used her to get rid of the daughter’s fiancé.
They look in the room, but the daughter is missing. The father, Mr. Rucastle, gets angry at them and sets the dog out after him. The dog has been starved more than usual and kills Mr. Rucastle.
Afterwards, they find the daughter, Alice, and her fiancé. It turns out that when Alice came of age she came into money from her mother’s will. The father was trying to get the money, but when the daughter wouldn’t give it she became sick with brain fever.
As thought earlier, he hired Violet to pretend to be Alice and get rid of him. After this experience all go their separate ways, with Violet later becoming a principal of a girls’ school.
I liked this one because it was really creepy. The child is horrid, and the rest so mysterious.
So those are just three out of the many wonderful Sherlock Holmes stories. If you haven’t read them, you should get started immediately. They are sure to wow you at every turn. And if you have read them already, they are always worth another read; no matter how many times you do it!
It was first published in 1883, and has stayed a popular carol since. Many attributed it to Martin Luther as being the writer, but that was discredited a long time ago. We don’t know who read it, but I’m sure Arthur Coan Doyle heard it so I thought it would be the perfect pairing with this book.
I love this song, as like the book reviewed, it was a big part of my childhood. It was probably the first Christmas Carol I ever learned and is one I sing every year.
The artist I choose was Bing Crosby, I just can’t get enough of him.
Day 1) A is for Apocalyptical: Choose a book with an apocalyptic theme
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Fahrenheit 451 is one of my absolute favorite books. I first was introduced to it at the age of 10, when I came across my parents watching the German film. I didn’t quite understand it, so my mom gave me the book to read. Since then I read it at least once a year.
Or 10th, 50th, 100th….
Every time I read this book it shocks me with how accurate it is in portraying the culture of today. I was amazed at that age, but this most recent time when I read the book, it really struck me with exactly how spot on it is.
The book was published in 1953, and is set in a Dystopian future. No year is given, although it is done after 1960. In this future reading is outlawed
Books are an illegal substance,
and the firemen’s job is to burn the offensive material.
AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I don’t know about you all, but a world without books sounds like a catastrophic end of the world to me. After all:
Guy Montag has always lived life the way culture dictates; has a good paying job, married, no kids as they are bothersome and their are already too many, multiple wall screens to stream TV, etc.
Sound familiar?
But then one night everything changes. He meets the daughter of his new next door neighbor, Clarisse, who doesn’t like firemen.
“And you must be-…the fireman.’ Her voice trailed off.
‘How oddly you say that.’
‘I’d- I’d have known it with my eyes shut,’ she said, slowly.
‘What- the smell of kerosene? My wife always complains,’ he laughed. ‘You never wash it off completely.’
‘No you don’t,’ she said, in awe.” [pg. 4]
She starts talking about all kinds of things, like how firemen at one time didn’t burn things but helped stop fires. She even questions whether he ever reads the books he burns.
Clarisse is completely counter to the culture of the day and a throwback to the past.
For instance, she doesn’t like this obsession with everything has to be in a hurry, driving all is blur with no one taking the time to look, examine, or have have patience. In fact her uncle was jailed for driving 40 mi/hrs, as it was far too “slow”.
Clarisse also likes to go out for walks and and look at the sky, stars, or moon. Something else everyone finds as weird or odd.
This reminds me so much of our culture today. Everything needs to be instant-instant news, fast food, all TV shows, etc. No patience, no waiting. My niece and I were watching a show on Netflix, and she asked me why they would have these moments where they pause, go to black, and then do a review of what we already seen. I actually had to explain that they used to show these episodes on TV, and there would be commercials in-between. Because you might get people who just tuned in and didn’t see the beginning, and were unable to see the beginning (unless they purchased it on VHS or DVD, they would repeat it for them. And then I had to explain that streaming is something new, prior to it you had to wait a week for the next episode; and when the season ended you had to wait 6 months to a year for the next season.
Now here is a child who has grown up on the world of streaming and the internet and never, ever experienced having to wait for something.
Just like in this.
Anyways, when Montag returns home he finds his wife, Mildred, almost dead, having sucked down a lot of pills. He calls the hospital and they don’t even bother sending an ambulance. So many people these days are trying to kill themselves and end their life with pills, they have a machine like a black snake to pump the stomach.
The next day, Mildred doesn’t remember anything about what happened that night, and all she cares about is her “family” a TV show she follows.
There are all kinds of people suffering in the world or “real issues” that need to be talked about, but are all glossed over by entertainment. All people care about is the TV screens, wanting this giant Wall to Wall circuit. And the shows they watch have no real themes or content to them. Just mindless chatter.
When I reread this, it made me think of the reality shows we have that are just the same thing again and again, no real changes or real content. Keeping Up with the Kardashians for example. Or the endless dating shows looking for love like Flav O Flav, My Fair Brady, etc. Or The X Factor, The Voice, American Idol, etc, And people care more about these shows then real things.
We are strange people.
Then Montag runs into Clarisse. She talks to him, really talks just about anything and everything. Because she isn’t “normal” they force her to o to a psychiatrist.
“They want to know what I do with all my time. I tell them that sometimes I just sit and think.” [pg. 20]
In fact that is something she and her family like to do, just sit around and talk no devices, go out and walk just talking. In this world conversation is dead, no one really talks anymore. Sound familiar?
“He laughed.
She glanced quickly over. ‘Why are you laughing?’
‘I don’t know.’ He started to laugh again and stopped. ‘Why?’
‘You laugh when I haven’t been funny and you answer right off. You never stop to think what I’ve asked you.” [pg. 6]
It gets him thinking, and thinking is dangerous in a dystopian world.
“He felt his body divide itself into a hotness and a coldness, a softness and a hardness, a trembling and a not trembling, the two halves grinding upon the other.” [pg. 21]
Clarrise is a great character because she represents a type of person that is fading out. The one who is still holding on to the values of the past. A type of person who wants to think for herself instead of being spoonfeed an idea from the Internet, government, or teachers.
“I’m antisocial, they say. I don’t mix. It’s so strange. I’m very social indeed. It all depends on what you mean by social, doesn’t it? Social to me means talking to you about things like this…But I don’t think it is social to get a bunch of people together and then not let them talk, do you?…We never ask questions…they just run the answers at you, bing, bing, bing…It’s a lot of funnels and a lot of water poured down the spout and out the bottom, and them telling us it’s wine when it’s not.” [pg. 27]
The other thing I love about Clarrise os that she is so easily relatable, at least to me she is. She is disconnected to her generation because she doesn’t have the same values as they do she is more old fashioned, and because of that she is an 80 year old in a 17 year old’s body. I know exactly how that feels. I love reading, creating things by hand, having things until they wear out, not getting the newest stuff. That’s how I been my whole life which makes it hard to find others who value the same thing. I mean I read Emily Post.
“You sound so old.’
‘Sometimes I’m ancient.” [pg. 27]
Clarrise hates this world of blandness and nothingness.
“People don’t talk about anything.’
‘Oh, they must!’
‘No, not anything. They name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming pools mostly and say how swell! But they all say the same things and nobody says anything different from anyone else.” [pg. 28]
Clarisse opens Montag’s mind up to the way the world is and how it should be, and before he knows it, she and her whole family are gone.
You question in a dystopian world and you are gone.
He asks Captain Beatty if it is true that fireman used to stop fires instead of creating them.
Not good
The rest if the firemen are uneasy, but Captain Beatty knows it is natural for at one pint a fireman to question things. He shows him the history of the firemen and when they were first established.
“Established, 1790, to burn English-influenced books in the Colonies. First Fireman: Benjamin Franklin.
Rules
Answer the alarm quickly.
Start the fire swiftly.
Burn everything.
Report back to the firehouse immediately.
Stand alert for other Alarms.
Before anything else can be done, an alarm sounds and the group heads out. They reach the place and apprehend a women, demanding to know where her contraband is. She won’t tell them but quotes Hugh Latimer.
“Play the man, Master Ridley; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust shall never be put out.”
The fireman don’t understand this, but Hugh Latimer was executed for his protestantism, under the ruling of catholic Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth’s older sister. He was burned alive for his beliefs, which is foreshadowing as to what is to come.
They find the books and are going to burn them like they always do, except this night is different. This woman, Mrs. Blake, stands their silently judging them.
Montag begins burning everything, but instead of just being things, they feel more alive, like killing animals.
They burn everything, ready to decimate the building, but Mrs. Blake won’t leave. She refuses to give up her books. The fireman leave, ready to let her die; but Montag tries to help her. She refuses as she holds in her hand a match.
Not good
Willing to die for her beliefs.
I think that is why I love this book so much, the fact that it truly explains a connection people have not just to the book but to the author’s thoughts and ideas. Destroying a book is more than destroying a physical object, it is trying to kill the person who created it.
“It’s not just the woman that died…Last night I thought about all that kerosene I’ve used in the past ten years. And I thought about books. And for the first time I realized that a man was behind each one of the books. A man had to think them up. A man had to take a long time to put them down on paper. And I’d never even thought that thought before…It took some man a lifetime maybe to put some of his thoughts down, looking around at the world and life and then I come along in two minutes and boom! it’s all over.” [pg. 49]
Montag returns home after the horror with a secret:
“His hands had been infected, and soon it would be his arms. He could feel the poison working up his wrists and into the elbows and his shoulders, and then the jump-over from shoulder blade to shoulder blade like a spark leaping a gap. His hands were ravenous. And his eyes were beginning to feel hunger, as if they must look at something, anything, everything…He balanced in space with the book in his sweating cold fingers.” [pg. 38]
Montag realizes how empty his life is, he married his wife ten years ago, but can’t fathom why. He doesn’t love her and she doesn’t love him. They don’t talk, they spend no time together, and all she does is watch TV or listen to her device with her little seashell headphones that go in her ears practically disappearing from view. Both people are empty, full of nothingness. There is countless walls between them through the TV shows she watches and she is more connected to those fake creations on the screen than her own husband.
All Mildred does is watch TV, yet even that is so empty that you if ask questions what is it even about Mildred doesn’t know. Mildred doesn’t know anything. It’s like she is on drugs, the way her memory and mind is so foggy.
She is like a zombie.
The next day Montag is sick, not physically but mentally, and philosophically. The death of the woman has troubled him dearly and he can’t understand it.
“You weren’t there, you didn’t see,’ he said. There must be something in books, things we can’t imagine, to make a woman stay in a burning house; there must be something there. You don’t stay for nothing.” [pg. 48]
Mildred doesn’t understand it and think that Montag is crazy for taking the death of a stupid radical this way. He should focus on work, on making more money, so they can get more things and TVs and such.
“Let me alone,’ said Mildred. ‘I didn’t do anything.’
‘Let you alone! That’s all very well, but how can I leave myself alone? We need not to be let alone. We need to be really bothered once in a while. How long has it been since you were really bothered? About something important, about something real?” [pg. 49]
Then Beatty shows up as Montag has been missing from work. He figured it out that Montag has been questioning the world they live in. So he gives them the spiel he gives out to bring those on the edge back to reality.
“Once, books appealed to a few people, here, there, everywhere. They could afford to be different. The world was roomy. But then the world got full of eyes and elbows and mouths…Films and radios, magazines, books leveled down to a sort of paste pudding norm…in the twentieth century, speed up your camera. Books cut shorter. Condensations. Digests. Tabloids…Classics cut to fit fifteen-minute radio shows, then cut again to fill a two minute book column, winding up at last as a ten- or twelve line dictionary resume…
Speed up the film, Montag, quick. Click, Pic, Look, Eye, Now, Flick, Here, There, Swift, Pace, Up, Down, In, Out, Why, How, Who, What, Where, Eh? Uh! Bang! Smack! Wallop, Bing, Bong, Boom!…Whirl a man’s mind around so fast under the pumping hands of publishers, exploiters, broadcasters, that the centrifuge flings off all unnecessary, time-wasting thought.
…philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English and spelling gradually gradually neglected, finally almost completely ignored. Life is immediate, the job counts, pleasure lies all about after work. Why learn anything save pressing buttons, pulling switches, fitting nuts and bolts?” [pgs 51-53]
Life today. Now this part here really gets me with how PC you have to be 24/7, the littlest infraction and you are out.
“Now let’s take up the minorities in our civilization, shall we? Bigger the population, the more minorities. Don’t step on the toes of the dog-lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons, Baptists, Unitarians, second-generation Chinese, Swedes, Italians, Germans, Texans, Brooklynites, Irishmen, people from Oregon or Mexico…The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that! All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean.
Authors, full of evil thoughts, lock up your typewriters. They did. Magazines became a nice blend of vanilla tapioca…But the public, knowing what it wanted, spinning happily, let the comic books survive, And the dimensional sex magazines of course.
There you have it, Montag. It didn’t come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick…Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time…
With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word ‘intellectual’, of course became the swear word it deserved to be…
We must all be alike. Not everyone was born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal. Each man in the image of every other; then all are happy, for there are no mountains to make them cower, judge themselves against…”
Horrifying, yet that is the world we live in. You don’ like it, they destroy it; and that is happening now. A book about George Washington’s slave, who liked him because she saved his life from an assassination plot, making him a birthday cake was pulled because it isn’t p.c. Uncle Tom’s Cabin? No longer read because it is portrays African Americans in a bed light when it didn’t, Uncle Tom was an extremely powerful character. People don’t even read the book, but destroy it because it might hurt someone’s feelings.
Captain Beatty lets them know they got rid of the girl as she was too crazy and out there.
Life’s better bland, nothing to worry about, pleasant life, no problems, no nothing.
He tells Montag it is okay to check out a book, just one, as there is nothing in there. He’ll read it and burn it afterward.
After Beatty left, Montag is furious, but instead of taking something to make him happy, he has 20 books hidden in the house. He has decided to read them, sharing them with Mildred.
Montag goes to see Professor Faber, a man he ran into before. Faber used to work at a liberal arts college, but they closed it down as it was no longer important. He wants to know how to understand the books, to learn and Faber is the only one he has left.
Faber tells him we need three things in life:
“Number one: Do you know why books such as these are so important? Because they have quality…This book has pores…You’d find life under the glass, streaming past infinite profusion…The good writers touch life often.” [pg. 79]
And the second? Leisure. Now Montag brings up that we have plenty of leisure, but he means actual time set aside to read, not bombarded with all types of things.
“You can’t argue with a four-wall televisor. Why? The televisor is ‘real.’ It is immediate, it has dimension. It tells you what to think and blasts it in. It must be right. It seems so right. It rushes you on so quickly to its own conclusions your mind hasn’t time to protest, ‘What nonsense!’
‘…You can shut [books], say ‘Hold on a moment.’ You play God to it. But who has ever torn himself away from the claw that encloses you when you drop a seed in a TV parlor? It grows you any shape it wishes! It is an environment as real as the world. It becomes and is the truth. Books can be beaten down with reason. But with all my knowledge and skepticism, I have never been able to argue with a one-hundred-piece-symphony orchestra, full color, three dimensions…” [pg. 80]
And thirdly the ability to carry out the actions learned from it.
Montag thinks they can change the world by planting books on all the firemen, to bring them down. But Faber knows it won’t help, it isn’t the fireman that created this rule but the public who wanted people to stop reading.
That’s right, we did when we stopped reading.
Montag is afraid to go out as Beatty might mix him up again. Faber gives him these devices so he can put it in his ear so that he can hear Faber. That night he goes home and sees that Mildred is having a party.
Montag is horrified by these women. One just marries, divorces, marries, divorces, no emotions whatsoever. The other has kids who are in school constantly, and never sees them as she doesn’t care. They discuss politics. voting for people based on how they look and their names, rather than what they actually say or want to do.
Montag reads to them but they don’t understand. They’ve been too distorted with TV and the culture with no substance.
Captain Beatty knows that Montag has been reading and plays with him, using the books he clings to to rebut his arguments. They leave as they have a call, and it turns out that it is Montag’s house
Mildred put in the alarm and she is heartbroken. But what saddens her the most? Losing her TV family
Yes, not her husband, home, etc.
Montag is forced to destroy his own home, and afterwards destroys the firemen. After all, his whole life he has been taught, you have a problem, burn it.
He has now become a fugitive and runs. Not knowing where, but just continuing to run.
After running, he plants the books in other firemen’s houses. Montag stops to see Faber, finds out the Hound (the firemen’s robotic assassin) is after them, and continues to take off. Never knowing where he is to go next, but running.
He runs into the country until the end of the all known. He stops when he reaches an area with men siting near a campfire and TV set. They give him a potion to change his perspiration, but it is’t really necessary. The Hound needs to find someone, as after all this is TV, the people need the answer.
They find some poor sop who looks like Montag and kill him to save face.
These men are former professors , intellectuals, etc; who have been running from the law. Each one has taken in a new life, the life of a book. These books are locked away in an area they can never be taken from. The mind.
Eventually the hope is to one day reenter society and bring the books they have been passing orally to the world.
“Do you really think they will listen then?’
‘If not then we’ll just have to wait…you can’t make people listen. They have to come around in their own time…” [pg. 146]
And what book does Montag choose to be? Ecclesiastes.
Besides this fantastic story, we have the amazing language and the great way it was written. Take the beginning:
“It was a pleasure to burn.
It was a special pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed. With the brass nozzle in his fists, with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his hands were the hands of some amazing conductor playing all the symphonies of blazing and burning to bring down the tatters and charcoal ruins of history. With his symbolic helmut numbered 451 on his stolid head, and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next, he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire that burned the evening sky red and yellow and black. He strode in a swarm of fireflies. He wanted above all, like the old joke to shove a marshmallow on a stick in the furnace, while the flapping pigeon-winged books died on the porch lawn of the house. While the books went up in sparkling whirls and blew away on a wind turned dark with burning.” [pgs. 1-2]
This book is only 158 pages, barely any pages, but there is so much power is in that. Amazing amounts of power. I just love this book.
Remember:
Turn your TV, computer, cell phone, and any other device you have off for a while and pick up a book instead.
So last year I posted a Christmas Carol every day in December and I really enjoyed it. I had so much fun picking out the songs, I decided to bring it back.
So with everything going on in the world, and the way people have been acting: I think we need a little Christmas in our lives. So I choose that song.
We Need a Little Christmas is from the musical Mame based on the novel Aunt Mame. In the story Mame gains guardianship of her nephew and starts to raise him. At this point in the musical, Mame has lost everything in the stock market crash of 1929. With everything practically gone, she decides to have Christmas early as she doesn’t know what will happen.
Of course that isn’t the end of the play as Mame has many more interesting antics. However, this song is great and just the right thing to put us in the mood.
This version is sung by Angela Lansbury, from the first musical cast of Aunt Mame.
So the other day I was at church when someone gave flowers to their spouse for their wedding anniversary. I was telling my friends that I think flowers are nice but they die. And what does that say about how you feel?
I mean they are nice, but they really don’t send the right message. You know what would be better. A book.
Think about it, a book lasts forever (or typically longer than any human will and much longer than flowers). You can take it any where with you. Enjoy it over and over and over again. Yes, books are PERFECT !!!!!!!
Yep:
So as I was telling my friend this, a young boy overheard our conversation and said that if I loved reading books I was boring and was going to live the rest of my life alone.
So I guess instead of being a crazy cat lady, I guess I will be a crazy book lady.
janeaustenrunsmylife 