Kasey Cox
Sigh. It’s Sunday night, and I’ve worked all week. I had a meeting with the accountant on Wednesday night, and I finally got back to my exercise class on Thursday night. I was supposed to take some time off on Thursday afternoon, but I had a meeting with a local author I’m helping. The dishes have been piled up in the sink for several days, and there’s laundry to be done, including extra sheets from the massage room. My sister and I have been playing phone tag for at least a week.
When I check my facebook account, I see some friends talking about John Updike. Updike, arguably one of the best American novelists of the last century, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, died on January 27th of this year. My academic, well-read, bibliophile friends are lamenting his death, as well as how few people are reading Updike these days. I silently beat myself with my own personal “YOU SHOULD BE READING…” cat-o-nine-tails, telling myself I should be as “well-read” as people think I am. The guilt washes over me. For our last book club meeting, I couldn’t bring myself to finish the book. It’s a shame, because I’ve wanted to read “The Other Boelyn Girl” for quite some time. Philippa Gregory is not John Updike, but she’s provided us with several good, solid reads in historical fiction, backed by a ton of research on life in medieval England. I read Updike in college. I usually love historical fiction. So what’s wrong with me? (besides the Seasonal Affective slump that hits most of us in this area from January to April…..)
Thank God for a little fluff, and for friends who understand. When I confessed to my book club that I just couldn’t seem to stay with “The Other Boelyn Girl”, one of the women reassured me that she couldn’t read much of anything when she worked full time. Now that she’s retired, she’s happy to join a book club, and tackle some meatier books: she’s been reading our book of the month in addition to re-visiting many of the classics. Another woman I know – well-educated, intelligent, articulate – saunters into the bookstore regularly, boldly asking for her dose of “smut.” She has three very busy children, teenagers each involved in his own activities, to which she chauffeurs them on a daily basis, while running the household, helping with the family business, and being actively involved in local charities.
When your brain is completely consumed with keeping your life (not to mention the lives of your family, boss, clients, pets, church, favorite charity, etc.) going forward with at least a modicum of balance, it can be difficult to keep track of a list of characters and their heart-wrenching struggles. At this point, some women turn to bodice-rippers. I have discovered my brain comfort food in “cozy mysteries.” Although I do enjoy the forensic science fad that has swept the country over the past few years, watching countless episodes of “CSI” on TV and reading Patricia Cornwell along with half the U.S. population, cozy mysteries don’t go into much detail on science, blood, or sex. A cozy mystery is one that you’d be comfortable having your teenager read. According to this wonderful website I found, www.cozy-mystery.com, “cozy” readers are usually intelligent women (or men!) looking for a fun, engaging read. (Once again, words to soothe my literary ego.)
A cozy mystery draws the reader in with a spunky or eccentric protagonist, usually a woman who is not by profession a police officer or private detective. This amateur sleuth often finds herself accidentally associated with a murder investigation, and, being the intuitive, curious, social person she is, ends up helping to solve the crime. Why the term “cozy”? I’m not sure if it refers to the discreet references to violence or sex, or the fact that most of these stories take place in small towns, or if a cozy is usually murder among friends. As much as the reader might enjoy and identify with this spunky lady, you wouldn’t want her to move into your town, because the next one to turn up dead just might be you! Do you really want Jessica Fletcher or Miss Marple to be your new neighbor?
Hobo says don’t worry about the new neighbors; he and Gypsy are on Neighborhood Watch. He also promises not to write any of those cozy mysteries about a lady who solves crimes with her cats. Search for other clues about the mysteries of small town life at Hobo’s blog, http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com
Showing posts with label Gypsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gypsy. Show all posts
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Hobo's Book Club: a review for kids to read
Kasey Cox
Hi, everyone! I’d like to choose the next book for Hobo’s Book Club, but on this one, I’d like to include the kids. Moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, scout leaders, big brothers, librarians, older sisters, and all other friends of our younger audience, would you please share the review below with the kids in your life? I’d love to see the kids feel more involved in reading their local newspaper! Especially in a rural community, the weekly newspaper is an important way to keep up on sporting events, concerts, fundraisers, support groups, township meetings, job openings, and a lot more. We rely more on our newspaper and local radio stations than people in more metropolitan areas, who often have a daily newspaper and/or a TV station specifically for their city. Since we continue to hear a lot of wonderful feedback from parents and teachers about how much the kids enjoy Hobo, we thought a word or two from Hobo to the kids about a cool book would be just the right place to start. Look for more reviews and notes direct from Hobo to the kids in coming months. And now, here’s ……….. HOBO!
Hi! Hobo here! The book I want to tell you about is Fat Cat by Margaret Read MacDonald. I picked this book for my friend Gypsy, because she is a fat cat. Just like the cat in this book, Gypsy has a little head on top of a round, fat body. I like the drawings in this book. They are fun and have a lot of colors. The fat cat is dark orange. He wants more food. He eats and eats, but he wants more. He eats anyone who tells him he is fat! He gets bigger and bigger. At the end, he eats his friend, the mouse. She has a way to cut a hole out of his big tummy, and everyone who was inside gets out! Then she sews nice patches over the hole. Now the cat is flat, not fat, and he gives Mouse a part of whatever he eats. This story is like many other old stories called folk tales.
What I liked about this book: The funny fat cat gets bigger and bigger. The pictures are so cool!! There is something fun to look at on every page. The little mouse is cute. I like the song the fat cat keeps saying, “I may be fat, but I’m still a hungry cat.” This book is easy to read, by myself, or with my family. Kevin read it and now he tells Gypsy, “YOU are a fat cat!” Gypsy has not eaten Kevin. Yet.
What I did not like: I was a little afraid when the mouse cut a hole in the cat’s tummy. But, the mouse made it okay for everyone. He fixed the hole with nice fabric. I think the cat looked even better at the end, but not better than me. I am the prettiest orange cat I know.
I would love for you to write to me about the book you like best, or tell me what you think of my book. Tell me about your pets: do you know any fat cats? How about dogs? Or hedgehogs? What do you like to eat when you are hungry? Do you like to draw? I like to hear about you! Write me at: Hobo, 87 Main St, downstairs, Wellsboro, PA 16901 or email me at frommyshelf@epix.net Thanks!
Hi, everyone! I’d like to choose the next book for Hobo’s Book Club, but on this one, I’d like to include the kids. Moms, dads, grandparents, teachers, scout leaders, big brothers, librarians, older sisters, and all other friends of our younger audience, would you please share the review below with the kids in your life? I’d love to see the kids feel more involved in reading their local newspaper! Especially in a rural community, the weekly newspaper is an important way to keep up on sporting events, concerts, fundraisers, support groups, township meetings, job openings, and a lot more. We rely more on our newspaper and local radio stations than people in more metropolitan areas, who often have a daily newspaper and/or a TV station specifically for their city. Since we continue to hear a lot of wonderful feedback from parents and teachers about how much the kids enjoy Hobo, we thought a word or two from Hobo to the kids about a cool book would be just the right place to start. Look for more reviews and notes direct from Hobo to the kids in coming months. And now, here’s ……….. HOBO!
Hi! Hobo here! The book I want to tell you about is Fat Cat by Margaret Read MacDonald. I picked this book for my friend Gypsy, because she is a fat cat. Just like the cat in this book, Gypsy has a little head on top of a round, fat body. I like the drawings in this book. They are fun and have a lot of colors. The fat cat is dark orange. He wants more food. He eats and eats, but he wants more. He eats anyone who tells him he is fat! He gets bigger and bigger. At the end, he eats his friend, the mouse. She has a way to cut a hole out of his big tummy, and everyone who was inside gets out! Then she sews nice patches over the hole. Now the cat is flat, not fat, and he gives Mouse a part of whatever he eats. This story is like many other old stories called folk tales.
What I liked about this book: The funny fat cat gets bigger and bigger. The pictures are so cool!! There is something fun to look at on every page. The little mouse is cute. I like the song the fat cat keeps saying, “I may be fat, but I’m still a hungry cat.” This book is easy to read, by myself, or with my family. Kevin read it and now he tells Gypsy, “YOU are a fat cat!” Gypsy has not eaten Kevin. Yet.
What I did not like: I was a little afraid when the mouse cut a hole in the cat’s tummy. But, the mouse made it okay for everyone. He fixed the hole with nice fabric. I think the cat looked even better at the end, but not better than me. I am the prettiest orange cat I know.
I would love for you to write to me about the book you like best, or tell me what you think of my book. Tell me about your pets: do you know any fat cats? How about dogs? Or hedgehogs? What do you like to eat when you are hungry? Do you like to draw? I like to hear about you! Write me at: Hobo, 87 Main St, downstairs, Wellsboro, PA 16901 or email me at frommyshelf@epix.net Thanks!
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