Werner’s Comments (group member since Feb 10, 2014)

Werner’s comments from the Easley Library Bookworms group.

The novella Benito Cereno by Herman Melville, published serially in 1855, is currently a common read in another group I'm part of; I'm joining in, and started reading it yesterday. (I'm reading it from the 1969 collection Great Short Works of Herman Melville, edited by Warner Berthoff.) This will be the third longish fiction work by Melville that I've read (I've also read and appreciated his short story "Bartleby the Scrivener"), but he's a writer whose work I've wanted to read more of for some time.

My Goodreads author friend Liane Zane kindly sent me a paperback ARC of her latest supernatural fiction/paranormal romance novel, Helsing: Demon Slayer, which arrived on the same day I finished reading my preceding book; so I was able to start it immediately! It's meant to be the opening book of The Dragon's Paladins, a spin-off series from her earlier trilogy, The Elioud Legacy.

Although I read Francine River's historical novel Redeeming Love in 2023, And the Shofar Blew (which I finished yesterday) was my first experience of her contemporary general fiction. My review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... ; both of her novels that I've read so far earned five stars from me. (This one is likely to be my favorite read of 2025.)

Even though I posted my review of Nobel Laureate Sigrid Undset's great trilogy Kristen Lavransdatter years ago, until tonight I'd never reviewed her equally stellar tetralogy The Master of Hestviken. I've now rectified that omission, and my review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . Both series are set in medieval Norway, and both are major contributions to the world's literature, of the 20th century and of all centuries.

Even though I posted my review of Nobel Laureate Sigrid Undset's great trilogy Kristen Lavransdatter years ago, until tonight I'd never reviewed her equally stellar tetralogy The Master of Hestviken. I've now rectified that omission, and my review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... . Both series are set in medieval Norway, and both are major contributions to the world's literature, of the 20th century and of all centuries.

Another group I'm in is doing a common read of And the Shofar Blew (2003) by Francine Rivers during the month of August, and I'll be taking part. But since I'll be out of town visiting family from Aug. 1-5 (and I don't take my personal reading along with me on vacations, where the object is to spend time interacting with people I don't often see), I went ahead and started on it a bit early, so as to keep up better.

This: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... is the link to my four-star review of Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë, which I wrote for the most part last night (when I was tired and in a bit of a hurry), but added some important information to just now. Though I'd previously read novels by both of her better-known sisters, Anne was a new writer to me. I was glad to make her acquaintance, and don't find her the inferior member of the trio by any means!

Although I've read novels by both Charlotte and Emily Bronte, Anne is the only one of the three sisters whose work (until today) I hadn't sampled. So, to remedy that neglect, today I started reading her first novel, Agnes Grey (1847). The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (which is on my to-read shelf) is generally regarded as the superior of the two; but at present, I want a shorter read, and wanted to "save the best for last." :-)

Earlier today, Barb and I started reading the latest installment of the Barks and Beans Cafe' mystery series by Heather Day Gilbert, Knight Brew, which will bring us up to date with the series. Since I've read nine of them so far, I've mentioned these books frequently on this thread. :-) This particular one is set against the backdrop of a Renaissance Fair taking place in our series setting, Lewisburg, West Virginia.

This month, I'm taking part in another group's common read of Lyrical Ballads (1798) by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, although I've started late. As the first major poetry collection in the Romantic style to be published in England, this book has a landmark significance in British literature, despite its relatively short length. (I'm reading it in the 1969 edition of the Oxford Univ. Press printing, edited by W. J. B. Owen of Canada's McMaster Univ.)

Although the novella Wolf Moon by Ed Gorman is incorporated in its entirety in the anthology that I'm currently reading, A Century of Great Western Stories, the fact that it was originally published by itself in book format seemed to me to entitle it to be counted (and reviewed) as a read in its own right. (The book pictured above was bulked up by the addition of another Gorman story as a bonus; that's apparently what explains the much higher page count.)

With family coming soon for an extended visit, I wanted my current read to be a short one; and I'm also interested in expanding the very scanty amount of contemporary general fiction I've read over the years. (I've tended to be more drawn to older classics.) So I opted for Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum. (It will also fit into a challenge I'm doing in a couple of groups.) Although it's a movie novelization, I've never seen the original film myself.

Barb are I are continuing our reading of the Avenging Angels series by "A. W. Hart" (which is a house pen name used by multiple authors) with Overturned Heart. It's actually the twelfth, and final, series installment, so we're reading it quite a bit out of order. I wanted to find out whether the romantic arcs for our main characters that were begun (or in Sara's case, potential) in the first book really come to fruition. :-)

Although I've read two or three poems by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper (1825-1911), back in the 90s, when I was homeschooling our girls (the only one I actually remember is "Bury Me in a Free Land"), I've never read any of her prose. Her 1892 novel Iola Leroy, or, Shadows Uplifted has been on my to-read shelf for several years, and now I've finally begun reading it, as part of my project of reading more literature by writers of color.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards was another recent reread of a work originally read decades ago, in this case as a freshman college student. My interest in re-engaging with it was prompted by an ongoing discussion in another group; and I think my greater spiritual maturity at 72 and the additional knowledge I've acquired in the years since allowed me to understand it better this second time. My three-star review is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... .

Later this month, I'm expecting to spend a few days in the area of Harrisonburg, Virginia, visiting family. On such trips, I usually spend some time in the public library there (long story!), during which I generally read intermittently in a short story collection, since the format is better suited than a novel or monograph for long hiatuses between spurts of reading on multiple visits, that may be spread over a couple of years. Here at home, I'm already intermittently reading a story anthology, but it's not one that library has.

However, both that library and the BU library here do have an omnibus edition of every Father Brown mystery that G.K. Chesterton ever wrote (albeit in different printings by different publishers, and with different editors). So, I've also begun intermittently reading The Father Brown Omnibus, which has long been on my to-read shelf. That will give me a head start, and let me continue the read for a bit after returning home.

In another group, I'm taking part in this month's common read of The Case of the Late Pig by "Golden Age" British mystery writer Margery Allingham (I started a bit late). It's a reread for me, but my previous read was as a teen, so there's a fair bit I don't remember (though I do recall the identity of the culprit!). This is the eighth novel featuring the author's series sleuth Albert Campion, but the only one (and as far as I can recall, the only sample of her work) that I've read.

Our display for this month is a sampler of our many short story collections, reflecting the fact that May is Short Story Month. That designation, inspired by April's status as National Poetry Month, was created in May 2007 by book blogger (and avid fan of short fiction) Dan Wickett at his Emerging Writers Network website, and the idea spread through the online reading community like wildfire. Since I don't surf the web much, I didn't learn about it until yesterday, just in time to inspire this month's display!

Undercover Colorado Conspiracy by Jodie Bailey, part of Harlequin's Love Inspired (Suspense) imprint, is a book I gave Barb for Christmas last year. Neither the book nor the imprint initially interested me very much; but nevertheless, we decided it was one we could read together, and we started a bit over a week ago. (I'd meant to post about it here earlier, but got sidetracked at the time!)

A book I requested by interlibrary loan arrived yesterday, so I've started reading it today. It's The Hounds of Skaith by Leigh Brackett, the second book in her swords-and-planet SF The Book of Skaith series. The first one, The Ginger Star, earned five stars from me last year; so I'm looking forward to this read, and hope to finish reading the trilogy before the end of this year.