This year’s reading started off with a bang! I got through ten books and that is a current record for me. It has been a long time since I’ve read that many in a month. This is encouraging since my goal is to read 100 books this year. Who knows? I might surpass that goal. My original goal was to read a book a week but I knew I could read more than that with the great selection of books that are coming out and what novels I have on my shelf at home.
I am also making a point to read books that I would normally not pick up. Two of the books are young adults’ books. I must confess, I didn’t enjoy them as much as I thought I would. The story-telling just wasn’t to my taste and I struggled to stay focused. Having said that, I’m not giving up the genre. My daughter has a few on her shelf that I want to give a go at.
Today I’m sharing the books I read this month. Two of them where audio books I listened to through YouTube. Three of the books I’ve read before and I’ve read them more than four times! There will be four books reviews in total. My review for, The Garden of Spite and The Signs of the Gallows will be posted next week.
Last but not least, Robert Frost’s Selected Poems, which I adore. If you want to practice writing poetry, read Frost and other poets. Reading Poetry teaches language, ideas and meaning. Writing poetry allows us to explore the world that reaches beyond the limitations of our senses. There is a whole other world out there that poetry gives us. One can say that about reading it as well. The subject of poetry is an endless delight of wonders. -Stephanie Hopkins
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Coming up tomorrow at Layered Pages: Image of the Month and Poetry!
The pleasure in the simple designs. Collage Art by Stephanie Hopkins
“Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others.” ~Albert Camus
I’ve previously discussed a little about how to break the barrier of feeling stuck on an art piece you are wanting to create. Today, I’m examining a simple way to find confidence in your art.
In one way, building confidence in your art is taking the opportunity to explore different techniques. Collage is my main go-to way of creating. There are various types of collage and one of my favorites is, “Analog Collage.”
The process is taking cutouts from various sources and put them together to build a new whole. This type of collage ranges from simple to intricate designs. Often times, one’s vision for the collage changes as the image unfolds.
If you’ve never created this form of medium, I recommend starting with an uncomplicated collage. Magazine images are a great place to find images. Enjoy the journey!
I’m deeply sadden to hear of Author Sharon Kay Penman’s passing. She will always be among my favorite Historical Fiction writers. I had the pleasure meeting her once-briefly-and wish I had the opportunity to know her more. There were so many things I would have liked to ask her. Her stories are also among the first of many books I’ve read in the genre. Penman breathed life into historical figures through her stories. Her stories have touched many readers and she will always be remembered as among the great writers of our time. May God fold her in His loving arms and give her eternal comfort. -Stephanie Hopkins
“I should like to freeze in time all those I do love, keep them somehow safe from the ravages of the passing years…”Rather like flowers pressed between the pages of a book!”
― Sharon Kay Penman, The Sunne in Splendour
Penman’s Bio:
Penman received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin, she majored in history, and also received a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Rutgers University School of Law, and later worked as a tax lawyer.
The Sunne in Splendour, a novel about Richard III of England is one of the most popular books on the Historical Novel Society’s list of best historical novels. In 1996, following the success of When Christ and His Saints Slept (which dealt with the Anarchy and the early career of King Henry II of England), Penman ventured into the historical whodunnit with four mysteries set in the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine during the reign of Richard I. The mysteries did not enjoy the same success as her “straight” historical novels, to which she returned in 2002, with Time and Chance, again covering the life of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II. In 2008, she published Devil’s Brood, which was to be the final book in her trilogy about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine. She soon realized that there was still more of the Angevins’ story to tell and the result was Lionheart, followed by The King’s Ransom. Henry and Eleanor’s celebrated and controversial son, Richard the Lionheart is the major character in both books, although Eleanor, John, and Richard’s favorite sister, Joanna, also get to spend time on center stage. She has just finished The Land Beyond the Sea, set in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the late 12th century. It will be published in the U.S. by G.P. Putnam’s and in the U.K. and Down Under by Macmillan and co; the publication date is early March, 2020.
We live in an extraordinary quirky world that often times we forget to pause in our busy lives to notice. During these times many cannot venture outside-another great reason to pick up a book-so we are bringing our explorations to you.
I’m obsessed with history and cultures from all walks of like. A particular favorite of mine-because I read and write stories in the time period-is nineteenth century history in America. Did you know that many of our expressions and slang come from what many considered forgotten or overlooked? Today we are taking a look at a few quirky slang words and phrases from the nineteenth century and perhaps, we will find a few similar to our modern-day slang. But before we do, and without going too much in-depth on this subject, lets’ look at its definition and a minuscule of the development.
Many slang words and phrases were brought to America from other countries and thus been adopted. Subcultures blending and becoming our main culture-if you will. Slang is ingrained in Americans’ and many don’t realize they are using it or where it comes from or how it evolves. Truth be told, it is difficult to say where exactly it all originated from.Often times, the meaning of the words change or the word can be used for different purposes.. For example: In the American Civil War Era, the word, “Dictator,” means: “The nickname of a 13-inch seacoast MORTAR mounted on a railroad flatcar and utilized during the siege of Petersburg. A.k.a the Petersburg Express.” In today’s society, “Dictator,” is commonly known as a country governed by a Dictator. Another example is, “Dresser,” The usage of this word during the American Civil War Era meant: “A volunteer or medical student assigned the task of dressing wounds. Today we associate the word as a piece of furniture that has drawers to hold clothing, house items and etc…
19th Century Family Heirloom
According to Britannica: “Slang, unconventional words or phrases that express either something new or something old in a new way. It is flippant, irreverent, indecorous; it may be indecent or obscene. Its colorful metaphors are generally directed at respectability, and it is this succinct, sometimes witty, frequently impertinent social criticism that gives slang its characteristic flavor. Slang, then, includes not just words but words used in a special way in a certain social context. The origin of the word slang itself is obscure; it first appeared in print around 1800, applied to the speech of disreputable and criminal classes in London. The term, however, was probably used much earlier. The term, however, was probably used much earlier.” Click on the Britannica site to read more about it their interpretation.
19th Century Family Heirloom
19th Century Slang and phrases used in America
Here are a few quirky slang and phrases you probably have never heard of:
Hornswoggling, Honey-fuggling, Give me jesse, Bottom fact, Hang up one’s fiddle, To give up, See the elephant, gallnipper, Go the whole hog: to go all the way, Acknowledge the corn, and I’ll Hang up my fiddle.
Here are a few that you might know:
Humbug, Dad-blame it, You can sass me, You cussed scalawag, How came you so, they’re “Fixin’ to” do it, Carryings-on, Crazy as a loon, Almighty, grit, Bad egg, balderdash, dude (a dandy), and Over yonder.
19th Century Family Heirloom
Meanings of a few:
Grit: guts; courage; toughness.
Hang up one’s fiddle: to give up.
Go the whole hog: to go all the way.
Almighty: huge
Bad egg: a bad person; a good-for-nothing person.
My personal favorites (Southerners Use):
A-hootin’ and a-hollerin’, Bless your heart, Fixin’ to, I reckon, Hold your horses, Well, I declare, Heavens to Betsy, and Hush your mouth, Water under the bridge, Hogwash, Stuff and nonsense.
Mind your own beeswax – started as a retort in the 1700’s. I remember using that phrases often as a child. Ha!
I’ve only scratched the surface of this fascinating and quirky topic and what a subject to explore!One can go down a rabbit hole with this.What are a few quirky slang words and phrases from the nineteenth century that you know? -Stephanie Hopkins
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Life has its ups and downs and it is vital for one to find the simple things in daily tasks to keep moving forward. One of my pleasures in life is journaling. Whether it be art journaling, creating a new DIY journal or just writing an entry, brings me peace.
Whenever I sit at my desk or reading chair to journal, I’m reminded of the time I was gifted my first diary at a young age. The memory is forever cherished in my heart and with it brings an appreciation for the pastime of writing my thoughts down. When you express your thoughts and feelings on paper, it is an extraordinary record of moments in your life.
My first diary was an Anne Of Green Gables Journal filled with Anne’s saying and little passages of her story written by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Lucy’s beloved story is inspired by notes she wrote as a young girl in rural Canada. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve watched the first adaption growing up. Looking back at what I wrote, I filled that diary with such strong emotions for one so young. Those were certainly captivating times…
Completed Journals
Last year I completed several journals shown above. I really grew in my craft with these journals and making them, I was encouraged to keep writing and create art throughout the troubled year.
The journals shown below are my on-going ones that I write in from time to time. The earliest ones were started in 2014 and 2017. If you’ve never kept a journal before, I want to encourage you to start. You’ll learn, and grow mentally while providing yourself with valuable insight of your surroundings and your inner-self through life’s journey. -Stephanie Hopkins
On-going Journals
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Words are a sequence of letters. They evoke expression, meaning and language. Words build sentences that form into paragraphs that lead you to numerous writing mediums. In short, words are powerful. They are a language that is a part of what defines our world. They bring people together to form a common ground. Often times, they can even divide people. How one chooses to use their words makes all the difference.
Imagine a collector of words and the knowledge they hold in their grasps. I’ve always been fascinated with people who collect them. Are you a collector of words?
I’m really looking forward to reading The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams and sharing my thoughts about it. Thank you, Ballantine Books for a copy. -Stephanie Hopkins
Be sure to check out before the second sleep’s cover crush and thoughts of this book! Her thoughts are really insightful.
Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
Historical Fiction
Pub Date 06 Apr 2021
Description
In this remarkable debut based on actual events, as a team of male scholars compiles the first Oxford English Dictionary, one of their daughters decides to collect the “objectionable” words they omit.
Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the Scriptorium, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Young Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip, and when she learns that the word means “slave girl,” she begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.
As she grows up, Esme realizes that words and meanings relating to women’s and common folks’ experiences often go unrecorded. And so, she begins in earnest to search out words for her own dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words. To do so she must leave the sheltered world of the university and venture out to meet the people whose words will fill those pages.
Set during the height of the women’s suffrage movement and with the Great War looming, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. Inspired by actual events, author Pip Williams has delved into the archives of the Oxford English Dictionary to tell this highly original story. The Dictionary of Lost Words is a delightful, lyrical, and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words and the power of language to shape the world.
The 1906 earthquake in San Francisco has been an interest of mine for quite some time. The earthquake only lasted less than minute but the devastation was complete. The fires that broke out due to the quake were disastrous, leaving half the cities’ residence homeless and thousands, dead. I’m looking forward to seeing how Meissner weaves this unfortunate historic event into her story. Thank you, Berkley and NetGalley for a copy of this powerful story. -Stephanie
The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
Berkley Publishing Group
Historical Fiction | Women’s Fiction
Pub Date 02 Feb 2021
Description
April 18, 1906: A massive earthquake rocks San Francisco just before daybreak, igniting a devouring inferno. Lives are lost, lives are shattered, but some rise from the ashes forever changed.
Sophie Whalen is a young Irish immigrant so desperate to get out of a New York tenement that she answers a mail-order bride ad and agrees to marry a man she knows nothing about. San Francisco widower Martin Hocking proves to be as aloof as he is mesmerizingly handsome. Sophie quickly develops deep affection for Kat, Martin’s silent five-year-old daughter, but Martin’s odd behavior leaves her with the uneasy feeling that something about her newfound situation isn’t right.
Then one early-spring evening, a stranger at the door sets in motion a transforming chain of events. Sophie discovers hidden ties to two other women. The first, pretty and pregnant, is standing on her doorstep. The second is hundreds of miles away in the American Southwest, grieving the loss of everything she once loved.
The fates of these three women intertwine on the eve of the devastating earthquake, thrusting them onto a perilous journey that will test their resiliency and resolve and, ultimately, their belief that love can overcome fear.
From the acclaimed author of The Last Year of the War and As Bright as Heaven comes a gripping novel about the bonds of friendship and mother love, and the power of female solidarity.
Kindle Edition, 305 pagesPublished December 27th 2016 by Kensington
About the story:
Dublin, 1962. Within the gated grounds of the convent of The Sisters of the Holy Redemption lies one of the city’s Magdalen Laundries. Once places of refuge, the laundries have evolved into grim workhouses. Some inmates are “fallen” women—unwed mothers, prostitutes, or petty criminals. Most are ordinary girls whose only sin lies in being too pretty, too independent, or tempting the wrong man. Among them is sixteen-year-old Teagan Tiernan, sent by her family when her beauty provokes a lustful revelation from a young priest.
Teagan soon befriends Nora Craven, a new arrival who thought nothing could be worse than living in a squalid tenement flat. Stripped of their freedom and dignity, the girls are given new names and denied contact with the outside world. The Mother Superior, Sister Anne, who has secrets of her own, inflicts cruel, dehumanizing punishments—but always in the name of love. Finally, Nora and Teagan find an ally in the reclusive Lea, who helps them endure—and plot an escape. But as they will discover, the outside world has dangers too, especially for young women with soiled reputations.
Told with candor, compassion, and vivid historical detail, The Magdalen Girls is a masterfully written novel of life within the era’s notorious institutions—and an inspiring story of friendship, hope, and unyielding courage.
A few of my thoughts:
Recently I discovered that my family has ancestry in Dublin Ireland and this book came to my mind. Strange how the mind works. I requested, “The Magdalen Girls” to review some time ago and to be honest, I’m not sure why I chose it because it wasn’t a subject, I was ready-mentally-to look in-depth. The Catholic Church has an extremely dark history and I don’t believe their theology/doctrine is entirely in line with the Holy Bible.
The story introduces three young girls, Teagan, Nora and Lea. Leading up to the moment Teagan and Nora were cast out of their homes and into the “care” of The Sister of the Holy Redemption.The cruelty of Mother Ann and the Nuns who carries out her orders is a clear reflection of the abuse, neglect, death, exploitation and forced, cruel hard labor that are not the teachings of Christ. These young girls’ situation there and of the others, lay heavily on my mind.
There are two priest that are front and center to Teagan’s “down fall”. Father Mark and Father Matthew. In short, I found Father Matthew not living up to his higher responsibility that God has commanded and instead he seceded the position to a mostly matriarchal attitude that was counterproductive to Christian life. His inability to counsel Father Mark and do right by the situation at hand really reflects my opinion above. They laid full responsibility of Mark’s sin on Teagan. That is not Christ like.
My main focus of this review is Tegan’s downfall because of the bold example the author shows of how the Priests influence its congregation and community. My focus on Teagan’s story- in no way- diminishes the others girls experience in that toxic environment.
I would have liked to have read a better build-up of the girl’s life before they entered, The Sister of the Holy Redemption. Other than that, it was a powerful premise, though a sad one.
Was there redemption in the story for the girls? That is for you to find out by reading the story.
I rated this book three stars and obtained a galley copy from the publishers through NetGalley.
“New year—a new chapter, new verse, or just the same old story? Ultimately, we write it. The choice is ours.” —Alex Morritt
What will you make of the new year?
These are uncertain times we live in due to world wide shut downs, riots, protest, political unrest and the virus. Everyone has stories to tell. Many are the same and many are different. Today is the start of a new year and what we bring to it matters.
I choose to focus on the positive and the valuable lessons I learned about myself with regards to my faith in God, supportive people, art, books, mindfulness and creating good habits. All of these carry over in my daily life no matter the struggles. Your positive endeavors are what gets you through bits and pieces you cannot control. Or better yet, it is something you control because you refuse to give in to the darkness.
This year at Layered Pages, I will be sharing ideas, thoughts, books, art, motivations, my love of history and many more worthwhile projects. Be inspired, have faith, be positive, seek kindness, and explore. Happy New Year!
I’ve committed 2021 to be a year of catching up-somewhat-on my back list of books that have been patiently waiting on me. Well, maybe not too patiently. The new year brings new reading goals, habits and a fresh start on many things. This week, I have pondered the idea of adding more novellas to my ever-growing pile of books I want to absorb.
There are various opinions about reading novellas. Some say it is a waste of time and leaves you unsatisfied, but I beg to differ. I admire the writer who takes on the task of weaving a story with fewer words. Often times when having read a six-hundred-page novel, I wanted more. So, there you are. It is not, in truth, about the number of pages but what you make of them and allowing your imagination to explore the what-ifs. -Stephanie Hopkins
Our Souls at Night by Kent Haruf
Published May 28th 2015 by Alfred A. Knopf
A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future.
In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf’s inimitable fiction, Addie Moore pays an unexpected visit to a neighbor, Louis Waters. Her husband died years ago, as did his wife, and in such a small town they naturally have known of each other for decades; in fact, Addie was quite fond of Louis’s wife. His daughter lives hours away in Colorado Springs, her son even farther away in Grand Junction, and Addie and Louis have long been living alone in houses now empty of family, the nights so terribly lonely, especially with no one to talk with.
Their brave adventures – their pleasures and their difficulties – are hugely involving and truly resonant, making Our Souls at Night the perfect final installment to this beloved writer’s enduring contribution to American literature
Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih
Published January 1st 1970 by Heinemann (first published 1966)
After years of study in Europe, the young narrator of Season of Migration to the North returns to his village along the Nile in the Sudan. It is the 1960s, and he is eager to make a contribution to the new postcolonial life of his country. Back home, he discovers a stranger among the familiar faces of childhood—the enigmatic Mustafa Sa’eed. Mustafa takes the young man into his confidence, telling him the story of his own years in London, of his brilliant career as an economist, and of the series of fraught and deadly relationships with European women that led to a terrible public reckoning and his return to his native land.
But what is the meaning of Mustafa’s shocking confession? Mustafa disappears without explanation, leaving the young man—whom he has asked to look after his wife—in an unsettled and violent no-man’s-land between Europe and Africa, tradition and innovation, holiness and defilement, and man and woman, from which no one will escape unaltered or unharmed.
Season of Migration to the North is a rich and sensual work of deep honesty and incandescent lyricism. In 2001 it was selected by a panel of Arab writers and critics as the most important Arab novel of the twentieth century.
So You Don’t Get Lost in the Neighborhood by Patrick Modiano, Euan Cameron (Translation)
Published September 15th 2015 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
A haunting novel of suspense from the winner of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Literature
In the stillness of his Paris apartment, Jean Daragane has built a life of total solitude. Then a surprising phone call shatters the silence of an unusually hot September, and the threatening voice on the other end of the line leaves Daragane wary but irresistibly curious. Almost at once, he finds himself entangled with a shady gambler and a beautiful, fragile young woman, who draw Daragane into the mystery of a decades-old murder. The investigation will force him to confront the memory of a trauma he had all but buried.
With So You Don’t Get Lost in the Neighborhood Patrick Modiano adds a new chapter to a body of work whose supreme psychological insight and subtle, atmospheric writing have earned him worldwide renown — including the Nobel Prize in Literature. This masterly novel, now translated into twenty languages, penetrates the deepest enigmas of identity and compels us to ask whether we ever know who we truly are.
The Lifted Veil by George Eliot
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
Layered Pages 