My September readings (I'm a little late in posting)

September's books were all over the place.  Historical fiction, short stories, biographies, memoirs.  And only one truly awful one in the bunch!

Freud's Mistress by Karen Mack and Jennifer Kaufman (351 pages).  Yes, back to the historical fiction for this girl!  Apparently, it has long been theorized that Freud had an affair with his wife's sister.  There's no concrete evidence to prove it though.  But the authors sure had fun with it!  It's 1895 in Vienna.  Minna Bernays has lost yet another job and must turn to her sister Martha and brother-in-law Sigmund for help.  Martha, once a beautiful woman, is now a shadow of herself.  She's given birth to six children and is addicted to laudanum (which seems to be a popular addiction back in the day!).  But her beauty was all she ever had to offer Sigmund- she doesn't understand his theories and doesn't encourage him.  Minna, on the other hand, is the intellectual sister.  And she and Sigmund discuss his theories, they soon give in to their mutual attraction.  Let's face facts- this is Sigmund Freud we are talking about.  Was there ever a man so focused on sex?  Like, ever?  Sigmund has his own issues- his theories are given absolutely no weight in the medical community and he has a slight cocaine addiction.  You know, because it's medicinal and all.  Minna has her own addictions - gin and Sigmund being first amongst them.  But just as quickly as Sigmund's passion for Minna takes over it, it disappears.  Minna is left heartbroken and confused.  Ironically, it is her sister who comforts her the most.  Minna spends the rest of her life with the Freuds, eventually dying a year after Sigmund.  I know, I know, there's a fictional aspect to the story.  But I found it quite fascinating.  Sigmund's relationship with his wife, with his infatuations, with his cocaine addiction, all of this was interesting to me.  And from what I can tell, probably relatively truthful.

Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean (310 pages).  Found this one on sale at Books-A-Million and decided, what the heck, let's give it a read.  It's marketed as the first-ever authorized sequel to JM Barrie's Peter Pan.  I've read the original.  I've seen most of the movies.  I've seen Mary Martin in the musical (well, it was televised, but still).  So I like Peter Pan.  I did not like this book.  It had the style of JM Barrie, but was missing the magic.  Wendy and the Lost Boys are all grown up.  They begin having crazy dreams and realize that something strange is happening in Neverland.  They steal their children's clothes so they can become children again and go back to Neverland.  Peter is there, and in scarlet.  Because it's the fall and apparently he changes wardrobe with the seasons?!  Peter and the Boys (and girls, as Tootles only has daughters and therefore he and Wendy are the girls in the group) go off on new adventure.  They find the Jolly Roger, empty of pirates but still having pirate lot.  Peter begins wearing Hook's old jacket.  Then they meet a circus owner, Ravello, who travels with them.  From the moment we meet him, there was something I didn't like about Ravello.  But I couldn't put my finger on it.  Then I began to wonder - what if Hook didn't die and was now this strange raveling man Ravello?  Back to the story though.  Peter isn't the same boy anymore.  He's rather mean actually.  He's becoming someone altogether different.  He's becoming Hook - the way he acts and speaks even!  The Boy's adventure finally ends as they reach the top of Neverpeak and find buried treasure.  As they pull item and item out of the chest, the truth is revealed (and I was correct.  Stupid Ravello/Hook).  Honestly, I was happy when I finished.  Not because I'd enjoyed the book, but because it was over.  Disappointing at best.

Many Bloody Returns by Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Kelley Armstrong and others (355 pages).  A collection of stories about vampires and birthdays.  Love!  The stories were easy reads.  The first had Sookie, Eric and Pam making an appearance.  The others were new characters.  Each centered around a day, not necessarily an event or person.  And that day was a birthday, or a rebirth day.  The concept was great- 13 short stories with only two things in common.  Interesting to see how each author took the ideas and ran with them.  The stories were a  lot of fun.

The Astronaut Wives Club by Lily Koppel (265 pages).  Sometimes I find books just wandering the aisles of Books-A-Million (yes, I have been known to judge a book by its cover).  Other times, I go off of suggestions from fellow readers.  And occasionally, I'll buy a book because of the review in People Magazine.  This was one of those times.  The book was about the wives of the astronauts, starting with the Mercury Seven and ending with the Original Nineteen.  All NASA wanted was for their astronauts to come from picture perfect households.  And these women did their best to show that.  Even knowing that many of the husbands, celebrities and rock stars of space, were running around on them with Cape Cookies (one has the audacity to marry his Cookie and try to bring her around after his wife divorced him for cheating.  He left NASA shortly thereafter).  The wives were fascinating by their own merits.  One was a daredevil pilot herself.  Another, who's husband was permanently grounded after he hot dogged around Earth, went on to become a pretty famous TV personality.  Another became a senator's wife.  It was interesting to read about their own competitions that mimicked what their husbands were going through- to be the first in flight, the first to walk on the moon, etc.  I really enjoyed the book - lots of funny moments as well as some truly poignant ones.  When Apollo 8 orbited the moon over Christmas, they read Genesis over the airwaves.  Can you imagine THAT happening nowadays?

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline (273 pages).  In the late 1800-early 1900's, orphans from the east coast (namely New York City) were put on trains and sent to the mid-west.  There, they faced an unknown future - a life of hard work or a family of loving new parents?  Niamh Power and her family arrive in America from Ireland, hoping for a  new start.  What they found was worse than Ireland, especially when a fire swept through their apartment, killing everyone but Niamh.  The nine year old is put on an orphan train and ends up in Minnesota.  She moves from foster home to foster home before finally settling with the Nielsens, who want her to take their deceased daughter's name.  The newly named Vivian eventually marries and moves to Maine.  There, she meets Molly Ayer, a seventeen year old who is basically an orphan (her father is dead and her mother is in prison).  She's having problems of her own with her foster family.  When Molly starts to work for Vivian, they strike up an unlikely friendship.  As Vivian reveals more and more of her story to Molly, her past finally begins to become a part of her present and her future.  It was a really great story.  And amazing to think of the two hundred thousand children who really did travel on the orphan trains.

Cemetery Girl by David Bell (389 pages).  Four years after 12 year old Caitlin disappeared, the pastor of the crazy church her mother joined convinces her parents, Tom and Abby, that they need a memorial service so they can move on.  A memorial service complete with a grave and headstone.  A few weeks after the service, Tom and Abby have split.  And then they receive a phone call.  Caitlin was found walking down the road, disheveled but healthy.  The next few days are a nightmare- Caitlin refuses to talk about what happened to her, but still seems to be in love with the man who took her.  Then an arrest is made.  At first, the police aren't able to charge him with anything having to do with Caitlin.  So Tom and his brother decide to take matters into their own hands.  Good story, heartbreaking to read about a 16 year old and the Stockholm Syndrome she experienced at the hands of a 53 year old man.  Makes me think about the girls in Ohio, and Elizabeth Smart, and Jaycee Dugard.  The mixed emotions that probably ran through them upon their eventual release.  Hatred, loss of safety, confusion.  And this poor girl in the story was only left with love for her captor.  It was a good story, but definitely a disturbing one.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed (311 pages.  Of very tiny print I might add).  This was to have been a read for my second book club.  Sadly, that book club is now defunct.  But I'd already purchased the book, so decided to give it a read.  I have a friend who hiked the Appalachian Trail a few years back (he's actually also hiked the Pacific Crest Trail).  I kept up with his travels on the website that was set up for AT hikers to use as their online journal.  I found it fascinating.  Something I could never do, but fascinating all the same.  I felt the same way as I read this book.  At 26, Cheryl had reached the end of her rope- father gone from her life, mother dead, siblings scattered, marriage ended in divorce, slight heroin addiction.  She picked up a copy of The Pacific Crest Trail and decided to give the PCT a go.  She traveled alone.  Along the way, she met many fellow hikers.  And she found herself.  Honestly, I wasn't sure I would enjoy the book.  I, personally, have no desire to do any sort of hiking- long distance or 20 feet.  But I found myself wanting to see what she had seen, wanting to challenge myself.  That feeling passed as soon as I finished the book.  Who am I kidding- I am a lounge by the pool kind of girl (which is where I was when I read the book), not a hike 02 miles a day kind of girl.  Doesn't stop me from admiring those girls though!

Only 7 books, but a total of 2254 pages.  Not too shabby!