More books polished off

Last night I read A Gathering of Days...(etc) - Newbery winner from 1980.

My review: "zzzzzzzz." Written in diary style (anticipatory of the current "diary" trend in authors? Possibly), it chronicles the life of a young girl and her sister being raised by their father in New England. Their mother died; a neighbor woman is teaching the main character how to maintain a home.

I have no problem with that. It's just that the character never really went anywhere. Oh, sure, she had to adjust to when her father brought home a new wife-----there were some trivial feelings of resentment that were eventually overcome. And she gives a homemade quilt to a stranger who's been lurking in the woods, freezing of cold. She learns later he's a runaway slave. Her punishment (by the new wife) is to make a replacement quilt, so she knows just how much work it is, and not something to be given away lightly.

Overall, I thought this was rather BLAH. "Moralistic," and a little preachy. No harm in it, but nowt to it. (That's my best Yorkshire dialect of "nothing" to it. Hooray for James Herriot books, and Wallace and Gromit to teach me these things! hehe).

Tonight I read Because of Winn-Dixie. This did not win the Newbery medal, but it received the silver medal of honor. This book grabbed me much more than last night's! (No, I haven't seen the movie. I like to read books first so I can make snarky comments about "original intent" and "artistic licence" whilst I watch the movie). I lived in the South for a while, so this was rather like sitting back and listening to the natives talk. Kate DiCamillo grabs the north Florida dialect masterfully (she's a native), and the personalities of each of her characters are vivid and entertaining. "Winn-Dixie" is the name of a supermarket in the South; it's also the place where Opal (main character) finds a stray dog and brings it home. The dog's winning ways help her make friends in her new town. Oh, and her father is a preacher - and hoorah, hoorah, Christians/Christianity are presented in a positive light. How rare, and how refreshing.

Too much time online today, must get off. Tomorrow I take a sabbatical from the net. See if I stick to it! :)