The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year

Written by Margaret Renkl 
Illustrated by Billy Renkl

I think Margaret Renkl could be considered a patron saint of nature!  This is a beauty of a book, from the writing, to the topics, to the illustrations—all are wonderful.  Renkl writes with poignancy and grace about the wonders and delights of the natural world while not ignoring the sorrows and challenges plants, animals, and insects face.  Her writings have encouraged me to slow down, be more observant, look more closely at the outdoor world, and be appreciative.  The essays follow the seasons, a few pages for each.  Each essay is accompanied by a beautiful collage.

This is a sampling of Renkl's beautiful use of words.

In writing of the remnants of snakeroot plant flowers, she called them “fluffs of botanical celebration.”   p.xv ¶2

“ I fell in love with the way the peeling bark and bare limbs of the sycamore reveal a ghost tree reaching for the sky....”   p. 30 ¶3

It “might have been snow in the diamond air” of a winter morning.   p. 35 ¶1

“In the avian world, a grub is an engagement ring.”   p.l48 ¶1

Who knew?!  “Just a whiff of it [the wet soil of the drenched garden] will flood you with a feeling of well-being.  The microbes in freshly turned soil stimulate serotonin production, working on the human brain to same way antidepressants do. ”   p. 78 ¶2

“... In a wet world, deadfall and soil erupt into fungi.   Delicate whorls of polypores make a bouquet of fallen pines.  Bright elf cups are scattered across the leaf litter as though a parade has passed by.  Glowing angel wing mushrooms fruit on the hemlock like a bridal veil trailing along the path.   Chicken of the woods make yellow and orange ruffles fit for a square dancer’s skirt.  Oh, their marvelous fungi names!  Firerug inkcap, turkey tail, witch’s hat, stinkhorn, jelly fungus, shaggy scarlet cup!”   p. 162 ¶4

An insight on an aging body:   “The accruing indignities of a body that is no longer predictable makes it hard not to ponder what other burdens might lie ahead.”   p. 190 ¶2

"Autumn light is the loveliest light there is.  Soft, forgiving, it makes all the world a brightened dream.  Dust motes catch fire, drifting down from the trees and rising from the stirred soil, floating over lawns and woodland paths and ordinary roofs and parking lots.  It’s an unchoreographed aerial dance, a celebration of what happens when light marries earth and sky.”   p. 203 ¶1

On growing older:  “Now I understand that every day I’m given is as real as life will ever get.  Now I understand that we are guaranteed nothing, that our days have always been running out.”   p. 204 ¶3

“In light, the horizon extends before us, a tableau of endless possibility, while darkness allows all manner of doubts to burble up....  How much easier it is to give in to gloom, even dejection, when it is the darkness that feels endless.”  
p. 252 ¶2

Enjoy!
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The Tradd Street Series by Karen White

I found the seven books in this series hard to put down and enjoyed them quite a lot.  The wonderful thing about reading a series after it's been in publication for a few years is that there's no wait to borrow the books from the library.  You can read them in quick succession and without interruption, if you choose.  I've tried to write the comments without giving away the ending of each book.  Of course, if you read the comments for each book, you'll have an idea of what else happens in each previous book.

The House on Tradd Street
Realtor Melanie Middleton hates old houses even though her job as a realtor in Charleston, S.C., is to sell homes of all ages.  One of Melanie’s gifts is being able to see the spirits of people who have died.   She has an appointment with an elderly gentleman, Nevin Vanderhorst, which she assumes is to arrange the sale of his 150-year-old home.  While viewing the gardens, she sees the spirit of a woman near a swing.  She visits with Nevin, answers his questions, but they never get to any discussion of the sale of the home before she is ushered out.  Several days later she is asked to visit an attorney’s office early one morning where she learns that she has inherited all of Vanderhorst’s property.  She must live in it one year, improve it, and can sell it after that first year.  There are several mysteries to be solved, several spirits who visit the house, and other living characters including her friend Sophie, a client Chad, two other men, author Jack Trenholm and Marc Longo.  I enjoyed it enough to read the next in the series.

The Girl on Legare Street
A little fantasy, a lot ghost story.  Melanie Middleton’s mom, Ginette, buys back the house on Legare Street where she grew up and Melanie lived for a number of years when she was a child.  Melanie stays there with her mom (estranged mom) while the floors in her Tradd Street house are being refinished.  The house has a protector spirit and an evil spirit.  And there’s a mystery to be solved which requires Melanie and her mom to join forces. There’s a bit of family history involved in this story, too.   And, of course, there’s Jack who Melanie does her best to avoid despite being attracted to him.

Says journalist Rebecca Edgerton, “‘The information you need is always there if you’re willing to be persistent and look hard enough.’”  How I wish that were true in family history!

The Strangers on Montague Street
This continues the story of Melanie Middleton, her parents, and Jack.  Melanie and her mom both see ghosts so it is, I guess, a ghost story.  There’s a bit of a mystery in this book, too, plus Jack’s 12-year-old daughter, Nola/Emmaline, is in this one.  There’s a dollhouse with dolls who get dashed, and Nola’s deceased mom, Bonnie, is part of the story.  Plenty of other characters, too....  Still hoping that Melanie and Jack will get together.  I was a little disappointed that there was some sex in this book but the language was mostly clean.

Return to Tradd Street
The continuing story of Melanie and Jack, and the Tradd Street house Melanie inherited from the Nevin Vanderhorst in the first book.   Melanie is pregnant and planning to raise the baby alone but doesn’t seem to have a clue about pregnancy and delivery.  She refused Jack’s marriage proposal because she thinks he’s doing it for the sake or responsibility, not the sake of the baby.  The remains of a newborn is found in the foundation of the house (that is being restored), and then she hears the cries of a baby and a female ghost who tells her, “Mine.”  Always a mystery, always a ghost or a few, and always Jack.

Melanie’s mom, Ginette, on marriage:  “If you wait until everything’s perfect, until all your differences have been settled and all the stars have aligned just right, then you miss your chance at happiness.  That’s what real and enduring love is.  It’s being able to see past the disagreements so what’s left is the knowledge that you’ll never be complete without the other person.      p. 208 ¶3

The Guests on South Battery
Melanie returns to work as a realtor after maternity leave and is met with a young woman, Jayne Smith, who inherited one of the old homes in the area.  Jayne has no idea why Button Pinckney, Melanie’s mother Ginette’s childhood friend, would choose her to inherit the home.  Jayne wants nothing to do with it.  Like Melanie, she doesn’t like old homes.  In fact, she doesn’t to go inside the house.  Melanie recognizes soon that there are ghosts, one of which does not want her or Jayne or Ginette there.  A ghost story, a mystery, a romance....

The Christmas Spirits on Tradd Street
Melanie and Jack have toddler twins, Sarah and JJ, but they also have a cistern in the backyard that is being excavated by Melanie’s best friend, Sophie, and her students.  And, of course, there are spirits and  mysteries to be solved.   There’s a woman named Eliza, who appears to have committed suicide by hanging, a Revolutionary War soldier, and two Vanderhorst men.  And, of course, there’s the challenge of trust between self-reliant Melanie and Jack.  There’s also Marc Longo who is intent on having whatever he wants.  Lots of  twists and turns in this one.

The Attic on Queen Street
This time there’s a frozen Charlotte in a tiny casket, buttons from charm strings, and a heart-shaped pillow.  As the book opens, Jack and Melanie are separated but when Marc Longo’s film crew descends on the house, Jack moves back in (sleeping in the guest room) to keep watch over the house to prevent Marc from snooping for the treasures he believes are still there.  Ghosts include a young girl from Civil War times and Adrienne, the sister of a woman Melanie knew in college, among others not named.  Adrienne’s murder has been unsolved for 20 or more years.  Other living characters include Jack and Melanie’s children Nola, and twins JJ and Sarah; Jayne, Melanie’s sister; Melanie’s and Jack’s parents; Thomas Riley the detective; Rebecca, Melanie’s distance cousin; Suzy Dorf, the reporter; and various others.  I thought it was a satisfying ending for the series.  It was ghost story, mystery, family history, and romance all rolled into one.

Enjoy!
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The Perfectionist's Guide to Losing Control: A Path to Peace and Power

by Katherine Morgan Schafler

I read parts of this book and learned some things about perfectionists however, when the profanity appeared, my esteem for the author decreased immensely.  I suppose I’m old school:  I expect professionals to write and speak and act like professionals and adhere to a higher standard.  Yes, I learned some things about perfectionists and perfectionism by browsing through the book, but it didn’t hold my interest enough to read every page. 

One thing I did appreciate was the author's stance that perfectionism is a not a flaw [as most people I know think] or a mental illness to be dealt with but a “fundamental component of who [a person is] (p. xv).”

She also suggested that there are different kinds of perfectionists/perfectionism.  Not all is being perfect and doing everything perfectly.  Sometimes it's about the motivation to keep getting better.

Quotes
  “Ambition is not a universal trait.  Some people are not interested in continually pushing themselves towards their highest potential or chasing an ideal.  They may not ever even think about it....
  “Perfectionists have trouble relating to people who don’t hold a strong impulse towards perfectionism, and vice versa.
  "Unlike perfectionists, some people can enjoy daydreaming about ideals without experiencing attendant pressure to work towards actualizing them.  Feeling their potential press upon them from the inside out daily and acutely is not their experience, as it is for perfectionists.  They don’t encounter a chronic restlessness to achieve, excel, and advance....
  “Some people like to work as little as possible, watch some TV, enjoy their hobbies, chill by themselves or with others, and do the same thing again tomorrow.  Perfectionists wonder if those people might be depressed in some way:  ‘If you just applied yourself more, you could turn this hobby into a real business.  Don’t you want to turn off the TV?  If you woke up one hour earlier, you could clear your inbox, learn French in a year, have a garage cleaned out by spring.  Are you okay?  Do you need to talk?’
  “Similarly, non-perfectionists look to perfectionists with some degree of confusion and judgment-laced concern:  “Why do you always have to be taking on another challenge?  Can’t you just sit still?  Can’t you just relax?  Are you okay?  Do you need to talk’?
  “Neither is better or worse; they’re different.” 

pp. 30-31  

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About this Blog

I started this blog because someone kept asking me for book recommendations and whether I had read this book or that book, and books by this author or that author.  It made sense to make my book list available on a blog, available at any time, day or night.  And here it is in its infancy.

I am here, beginning this blog on January 10, 2024.  However, some of the posts will be dated to earlier years, months, or days, just for clarity's sake. 

Also, to begin with, most of the posts will be annual lists of books I've read (or have stopped reading), sometimes with quotes from the books and/or comments about the books with my own opinions.  (No offense intended if you don't agree with what I've written.)  Eventually I hope to do individual posts of some of the books I've loved or been really impressed with and possibly to do individual posts for current books.

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