New and Old Favorites by Nancy L. Eady

I have a lot of “favorite” books. My husband swears he can tell my state of mind by the books I am reading. In his opinion, if I am cuddling up with some of my “old” favorites, then I am suffering from insecurity over something. I’m not sure that is always true, but I do have many books I like to re-read. My oldest favorites, as I mentioned in a post in October 2018, are Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. I also love to periodically revisit Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and To Serve Them All My Days by R. F. Delderfield.

In the mystery realm, I have mentioned before that I am a Nero Wolfe fan. The series was started by Rex Stout, then continued after a couple of decades by Robert Goldsborough. Nero Wolfe is not a cozy series, but many of my mystery favorites are. Donna Andrews’ Meg Langslow series is that rare series which have scenes that make me laugh out loud. Other favorites include the Haunting Danielle series by Bobbi Holmes, Debra Goldstein’s Sarah Blair Mystery series, Allison Brook’s Haunted Library series, Carol Perry’s Witch City series and her Haunted Haven series. A new favorite is Julie Mulhern’s Country Club Mystery series. I discovered it sometime in January after E.B. Davis mentioned it in one of her posts and have read all thirteen books twice already. In the interest of fair disclosure, Allison Brooks, who is Marilyn Levinson, Debra Goldstein and Carol Perry are my blog mates; the only reason the rest of my blog mate’s series haven’t made the list is that I just haven’t made it to their books yet. If I didn’t insist on re-reading an entire series when a new book comes out, I might squeeze some more books in, but so far, I haven’t wavered.

In the “guilty pleasures” category, another favorite is a paranormal romance series called the “Leveling Up” series by K. F. Breene, where a 40 year old divorcee discovers that she is the heir to a magical house, the acceptance of which gives her an enormous fund of magic of her own, and enormous problems that go along with it. This series also has a large streak of humor running through it.

I could keep going; I have many favorites I like to re-read. The thread that ties them all together is the element of immersion. When I read these books, I lose myself and become totally submerged in the events I am reading about. Most of the time, there are characters in the book that I would love to be friends with if they existed in real life. Sometimes, there is an element of escapism; for example, in both the Haunting Danielle and the Country Club Murder series, neither heroine worries about where next month’s rent comes from. It’s nice to be submerged in a world where the main character, at least, doesn’t have to worry about where their next paycheck or meal is coming from. And the writing in my favorites is always good writing. Don’t ask me to define what good writing is; I know it when I see it and feel it resonate within me. “Good writing” isn’t simply a matter of style, either, as vastly different styles still constitute “good writing.” My “good writing” favorites have gotten me through many of life’s toils and troubles.

“They” often say when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I think I’ll amend that to say when the going gets tough, the survivors start reading. It fits me, anyhow.

Do you have a definition of "good writing"? What are your favorite books to escape to when you need a break from regular life? 

Bibliophilic Friday: A Review of Fer-de-lance by Nancy L. Eady

        I grew up as a Navy junior. (My sister insists that there are Army brats and Navy juniors.) Until I was 16, the year my parents divorced in that great naval metropolis of Montgomery, Alabama, we moved every two to three years. When you move with the Navy, the amount they will move for free is restricted by weight. Since books weigh a great deal, and we already had a lot of them, book space was at a premium. Since all three of us girls were big readers, libraries were very important to us.

          When you move frequently, you find permanence in factors beyond geography. One of the fixtures of life that comforted me was the sure knowledge that wherever we moved, there would be a library with some Nero Wolfe books. The Nero Wolfe series was written by Rex Stout. When I became an adult, I resolved to own at least one copy of each book in the series. I’m not looking to own first editions or anything; the shabbiest, dog-eared paper back counts. But over the years the collection grew very slowly until the Nero Wolfe books started coming out on Kindle. I’m still not sure I have every book, but I’ve got a decent start, anyhow.

          The very first Nero Wolfe book, Fer-de-lance, was published in 1934 during the Great Depression. A fer-de-lance is a pit viper from South America with extremely potent venom. To tell you the significance of the snake and its venom would give away key points in the book, so I’ll leave it to your imagination. The book itself is a fun read, introducing many of the key characters in the series, not least of which is the protagonist who tells the story, Archie Goodwin, and his boss, Nero Wolfe. It’s hard to believe that a detective who weighs an eighth of a ton, never leaves his house except in extraordinary circumstances and then only if Archie is driving him, raises orchids on the third floor and has a live-in housekeeper and gourmet cook, can be successful but with Archie to do the leg work for him, Wolfe manages. In fact, he is successful enough to maintain the three-story brownstone in New York City and three full-time staff members, Archie Goodwin, the detective who does Wolfe’s leg work, Fritz Brenner, the housekeeper/gourmet cook, and Theodore Horstmann, the gardener who tends the orchids.  

Fer-de-Lance sets the tone for the rest of the series, which continued to be written by Rex Stout until 1975 with the publication of A Family Affair. Mr. Stout died on October 27, 1975. Fer-de-lance is narrated by Archie Goodwin; as with most books in the series, his delivery is fast paced, just enough tongue-in-cheek to recognize that he is a man of the world and yet serious enough about the taking of human life and bringing the killer to justice to keep you rooting for Wolfe and Archie to be successful. The denouement of Fer-de-lance ends with a stunning act on Nero Wolfe’s part, whether gallant or horrific I will leave for you to decide when you hopefully read the book. 

An English Curmudgeon by Nancy L. Eady

As both a writer and voracious reader, I am a fan of the English language. I love its variety, flexibility and changeability. But every so often words and phrases creep into the language or morph into a form that drives me crazy, akin to Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe’s loathing the use of “contact” as a verb.

Phrases that have infiltrated American English that make me cringe when I hear (or even worse, use) them include “at risk,” “actually,” “reach out to” and “it is what it is.” 

“At risk” is a phrase promoted by the 24-hour news media crowd. “Your child is at risk for measles” sounds exponentially more urgent than “one out of 1000 children catch measles each year.”  (None of the children in the United States should catch measles; they should be vaccinated against them.)  If I am told I am at risk for heart disease, flu or just catching a cold, I am more concerned than if I am told that there is a chance that I could develop or catch the same thing.  What the people using that phrase don't mention is that I am also at risk for winning the lottery, flying to the moon and winning the Nobel Peace Prize - but I'm not holding my breath for any of those things to happen soon, either!  And, if you think about it, everyone who has been born as “at risk” of dying sometime.

“Actually” has become an overused meaningless filler word. Most of the time, I hear “actually” in sentences such as “I actually went to the store and bought groceries.”  Well, yes, I assumed you did “actually” go to the store; I didn't think you sent your evil twin instead. I suppose the argument could be made that “actually” is meant to indicate personal presence as opposed to “virtual” which would indicate that a person viewed or did something by computer, but most of the people who use the word interminably are not trying to be that precise. People use “actually” now much in the way we used to say “ummm...” when we didn't know what to say. Perhaps it’s time to stop “actually” doing things, and simply do them.

I started hearing “reach out” from salespeople in high-tech fields first. Legal research engines, website designers, cable providers and other such businesses’ sales representatives started “reaching out” to me to see if I was interested in any of the various products they were selling. Every time I see the phrase in an email, I have this image of a zombie apocalypse with millions of zombies stumbling towards me with their hands “reaching out.” And let’s not overlook the fact that the six words “I’m reaching out to you to…”  can be deleted from most emails without the content or intent of the email suffering in any form. For example, “I’m reaching out to you to see if you are satisfied with your data plan” means the same thing as “Are you satisfied with your data plan?” 

“It is what it is” is the English equivalent of “c’est la vie,” the spoken equivalent of a shrug. The phrase usually pops up after a minutes long discourse on an existing evil, serious problem, or irritating issue about which nothing can be done. It carries a defeatist message, doesn’t it?  If “it is what it is,” it (whatever “it” is) can’t be fixed. I like to solve problems, not let them defeat me.

I am grateful that “reaching out” and “at risk” manage to stay out of my spoken and written vocabulary. I have caught myself using “actually” and “it is what it is.” And even though I am an avid Nero Wolfe fan, I use “contact” as a verb as well as a noun. Even (or especially!) curmudgeons aren’t perfect.

What phrases or words (profanity doesn’t count; that’s a different issue) make you cringe when you hear or read them?  I’d love to know that I’m not the only English curmudgeon out there!