Midwife of Venice

Critics are comparing The Midwife of Venice to The Red Tent and The People of the Book. While I find the book fascinating, I don't find it as developed as the other two. But, it sort of taps into many of the main themes in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, which I always enjoyed teaching.

Hannah Levi is renowned for her gift of coaxing reluctant babies from their mothers' using her secret "birthing spoons." When a rich Count begs her to attend his dying wife and save their unborn son, Hannah is torn. A Papal edict forbids Jews from giving medical treatment to Christians, but he offers her a sum of money that will allow her to buy her husband out of slavery. She becomes entangled in the Counts' family rivalry which endangers the life of the child she saved.

As far as historical fiction goes, this book is rather lightweight, but, face it, with the holidays kicking up their happy heels, this is perfect reading for me. The author does an excellent job detailing Jewish laws that result in many inner conflicts that Hannah must resolve.

This book is set for release in February and would make a great book discussion title.

My big excitement over the weekend was visiting my friend Sherri's annual Christmas extravaganza. She starts decorating her house in June! Really. Every inch of her house, including her kids' bedrooms, are filled with cheer...lights, ornaments, pillows, candy, tree skirts and cheer. Now, the tree skirt comment may seem absurd, but, if you stop in the store when Debbie or Matt is working, they will confirm. Sherri has...ohhh...easily 500 tree skirts....and she gives the tour of her lavishly decorated home decked out for Christmas in...you guessed it... a tree skirt!

Sherri has been decorating her house effusively for more years than I can count, and each year she invites friends in for a tour. I can't possibly begin to explain how over the top and happy this all is, so each year I try to take a few friends along. Last weekend, both Debbie and Matt said that I had not even come close to preparing them for the mayhem of color and visual eccentricities. I took a few pictures and if any show off the true spirit of Sherri and her home, I'll post them. If any of you know the lovely Rhonda from Heart-A-Rama, you will be delighted to learn that Sherri is her sister. All the girls in that family are so unique. Sherri has a Goldi Hawn vibe about her. Maybe next year you can come along!

My Cranky Thanksgiving Note

Happy Thanksgiving!

You all know me pretty well - testy, cantankerous, hard-boiled, sardonic, critical - yup, that's me, and more! So, since those are my primary personality traits, I am also guessing that you all don't know how much I value you, and how many times I smile and laugh because of you. You don't know how often a comment you made comes drifting back to me, giving me food for thought, and an opportunity to look at something in a new way. You might not see the awe I hold inside for your talents, or understand the respect I have for your intelligence. You inspire me to be a better person, or at least to aspire to be the kind of person you will keep in your life despite those aforementioned character flaws. I am grateful for your friendship.

Now go eat some turkey.

Dogs and Distractions

On Friday night, I must bravely face the other members of my book discussion group, and tell than that I did not finish A Dog's Purpose. I have read enough reviews of this book to know that my theory holds true: dog on cover = great sadness. I have found an endless string of diversions conveniently drawing me away from turning those pages. I have cleaned cupboards, and rugs, rearranged furniture, planned Thanksgiving dinner, bought and returned some display units from a closing retail store, worked our Heart-A-Rama script to death. This week I will bravely head into the basement, both at home and at the store. to tackle the growing mounds of general junque. Nope. No way will I finish the book by Friday night.

The most compelling distraction has been The Lost City of Z, a book I've been meaning to read for a long time. There's no time like the present, right? Z was (is?) a fabled civilization in the Amazon jungle. In 1925, British explorer Percy Fawcett and his 21 year old son went in search of the legendary city, and never returned. During the first months of their exploration, they sent numerous telegrams home, logging their whereabouts. The final telegram said they would be venturing into the deepest part of the journey,. and would most likely be unable to communicate for about year. They were never heard from again.

The two became fodder for all sorts of speculation, and all types of stories of their expedition surfaced, including several comic books. What happened to them? Were they captured? Did they contract a fever and die? Or, did they discover Z, fall in love with it and decide to stay?

Over the years, numerous expeditions set out to find some trace of the Fawcett party with no success. As a matter of fact, some of the subsequent explorers also vanished. This book details yet another group attempting to research and recreated Fawcett's travels.

That's as far as I am. The contrasts of Africa have always facinated me. The jungle, so lush and beautiful, holds so many secrets. Although we learn more about the continent each year, the densest parts continue to be populated by family groups and tribes far removed from civilisation. Areas swept by warm subtle breezes, exotic fragrances and the melodic animal conversation can also be deadly. I guess all the Tarzan movies I watched as a kid piqued my interest and, since I will never travel to Africa...way too hot and scary...books on the subject are a nice alternative.

*****Hey! A great big wave to our girl, Jordan Ridnour. She spent far too many of her young years battling and beating cancer. She was recently chosen to be a Kid Captain at an Iowa football game and take part in the opening coin toss. Jordan even got to wear a headset which is way cool!

*****Congratulations go out to Dr. Matt Campbell, HFMMC surgeon and friend, for being named one of Sail's 15 outstanding citizens. Matt recently returned from Ethiopia where he performed numerous mastectomies, gall bladder surgeries, and did some teaching in a village hospital. He is currently putting together a group of local doctors, dentists, and nurses to take to Bolivia in spring. These are the people who deserve our admiration and our thanks. These are the people who never stand up and say "Look at me." They simply see what needs to be done and they do it. I often think that the people who blow their horns the loudest have the least to blow them about. I am happy that we have pockets of people like Matt and his colleagues in Manitowoc, so why don't you all just send him a little note of appreciation?

More congratulations....Our Jacque Miller has passed the bar! Our Jacque Miller is a full fledged attorney! Way to go, Jacque. What's next? (Come on, I know you always have another plan in the works. Spill it!)

Emily Trask just finished starring as Miranda in Shakespear's stormy play, The Tempest. She recently returned to Wisconsin to ply Fred's wife, and a bag lady in the Milwaukee Rep's always stunning version of A Christmas Carol. The plays at the historic Pabst Theatre and tickets are on sale now. Go if you can.

What am I reading? Silly question...A Dog's Purpose, of course!

OOPS!

THE DORK REPORT

Edition 1 volume 1

Many more to come, I am sure!

Your read correctly, it's time for the first Dork Report. I will be the first to admit there were plenty of opportunities to relay such reports in the past, but this incident called for special attention since the egregious occurrence seems to be perpetrated at another's hand. However, I can't lie to you, it was all my fault.

If you are one of the five or six people who read my first Sunday of the month column in the Herald Times Reporter, something in yesterday's offering might have rung a tiny bell. That's because it was my November 2010 column! When I sent it over to Ben, I selected the wrong file. I guess they have come to trust me enough to just print what I send with no editing. Something tells me that might change now.

So, don't go blaming Ben. He's a good guy, and the HTR is painfully understaffed. They do their best, and sometimes fill in the blank spaces with sub-standard work like mine.

I'm not sure when they will run the correct column. I have begun alternating months with Cherilyn Stewart, the Director of the Manitowoc Public Library. It saves time for both of us, but continues to get the word out concerning the local reading scene.

If you're interested, I have included the article that should have run. Ben may save it for January, at which point I hope to convince him that, if he must use my picture with the article, that we find a more current one. I have had two different sets of glasses since that picture was taken, and my current frames are now three years old...so that tells you way too much, correct?

By this time you're all thinking "What a dork," but I beat you to it, didn't I?

Here's the article:

Every morning, upon opening my email, I find a newsletter from the fine folks at Shelf Awareness. For anyone into books, this one-stop source gathers info on up and coming authors and titles, as well as teaser chapters from yet to be published books.

My favorite newsletter feature is a column called “The Book Brahmin”, posing a set of questions to a writer, illustrator, book editor or other individual involved in publishing. The column title references a group of 19th century writers who, taking their name from the highest level in India’s caste system, called themselves the New England Brahmans. These writers, associated with Harvard and Cambridge, included Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Bronson Alcott. Along with their nature loving, politically activists peers, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, the Brahmins ushered in the Transcendental movement Their works continue planting seeds of non-conformity in the minds of high school American literature students

That might all sound dry, and boring, but, really, the column is lively and revealing. Since my drop-in visits to the HTR began about two years ago, people often approach me randomly to talk about what they’re reading. People love to share their thought on books. These discussions invariably end with a flurry of questions about my favorites. That got me thinking about the “Book Brahmin” questions, and so, with the permission of my friend, Marilyn Dahl, Book Review Editor at Shelf Awareness, I decided to put myself in the Brahmin hot seat.

Here goes:

What’s on your nightstand right now? Scattered about my home, you’ll find The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, a whimsical British book about an inept Beefeater and 128 year old tortoise named Mrs. Cook. I’m also working on Sacre Bleu an advance reader copy of Christopher Moore’s offbeat interpretation of what caused Van Gogh’s death. You’ll always find a David Sedaris and a Garrison Keillor lying about, as well as a new addition to the ever -on- hand catalogue, a sturdy 1925 edition of Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints.

Have you ever faked reading a book? Oh goodness, true confession time. Yes, I faked reading The Scarlet Letter...twice! I even wrote an essay or two about this unread novel. Ironic, isn’t it? Such a grand deception about a book warning of the effects of sin and guilt. However, I redeemed myself by reading (and enjoying) just about every Hawthorne short story Hawthorne ever wrote.

Ever bought a book for the cover? In fact, I just bought and read The Family Fang for that reason. I couldn’t resist the family portrait – nerdy dad, Lisa Loeb look-alike mom, and two kids wearing Commedia dell'arte masks. The engaging, and somewhat twisted, story of a family who staged “happenings” in pre-flash mob days balances the good with the bad about growing up surrounded by unchecked creativity.

Is there a book that changed your life? In 9th grade, I read Manchild in the Promised Land by Charles Brown’, chronicling his coming of age amidst poverty and violence in Harlem. It’s the first time I fully understood that not everyone was as fortunate and as happy as I was. That’s a huge discovery.

Favorite line from a book? That’s easy. “Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.” That’s from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. Everyone ought to read that book.

Want to step into the witness stand and be my next Book Brahmin? Email me at bdenor @ lsol.net, and we’ll get started.