Clarissa: Letters 1-6

The January letters have been full of introductions to the main characters and we begin to see their traits revealed. Clarissa has spoken for herself as the main letter writer so far. Her virtuous character is well evident. We've met the other characters primarily through Clarissa's viewpoint. I look forward to meeting Lovelace through his own voice. Is he the cad that he is made out to be or can he explain himself?

The conflict is set up in these first few letters, and I already fear for Clarissa. She is clearly a young lady with an independent streak, but she does not appear to be rash. This makes the Harlowe family's suspicions of her perplexing. It is evident that she is not inclined toward Lovelace. Her family should be familiar with her honest and virtuous character, yet they suspect her of untoward behavior. Not only that, but we have reason to believe that the gossip mills have already begun, as Miss Howe indicates through her letters.

The pressure put upon Clarissa to be a paragon of virtue is immense, as pointed out by Miss Howe (in what I perceive to be a snarky tone directed at those "other eyes", but perhaps I'm merely projecting?):

"You see what you draw upon yourself by excelling all your sex. Every individual of it who knows you, or has heard of you, seems to think you answerable to her for your conduct in points so very delicate and concerning. Every eye, in short, is upon you with the expectation of an example."

This scrutiny is, of course, unasked for and again Miss Howe points out that Clarissa is "desirous ... of sliding through life to the end of it unnoted; and ... not wishing to be observed even for [her] silent benevolence; sufficiently happy in the noble consciousness which rewards it: Rather useful than glaring, [is her] motto; though now pushed into blaze ... to [her] regret; and yet blamed at home for the faults of others. How must such a virtue suffer on every hand!"

Is that foreshadowing or what!

Clarissa Group Read: January Links

Here is the Mr. Linky for January's Clarissa Group Read posts. If you've written a post for Letters 1-6 or have comments on your January reading of Clarissa, please leave a link to your post below.

Hope you are all enjoying the book!

TSS: January 2012 in Review

January has turned out to be a very busy month for me, but I've managed to get in some reading in spite of the busyness and a winter head/chest cold. I've also managed to make progress on all three of my commitments: the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge, the TBR Double Dare, and the Clarissa Group Read.

Merely Mystery Reading Challenge

This month I read three mystery novels and one short story for the Merely Mystery challenge. The novels and short story have all been quite different from each other (except for the mystery angle). I've written one "review" which you can link to below. I do plan on writing reviews for the others.

A Morbid Taste for Bones (Brother Cadfael medieval mystery) by Ellis Peters (thoughts)
The Winter Queen (Erast Fandorin Russian mystery) by Boris Akunin
"The Murders in the Rue Morgue" (short story) by Edgar Allan Poe
In the Bleak Midwinter (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne upstate New York mystery) by Julia Spencer-Fleming

TBR Double Dare

So far, so good. All of my January reading has been taken from my TBR collection. There is one title that is probably "gray area," but I consider it a TBR book. I received In the Bleak Midwinter in early January from the publisher. I was told in December that I would be receiving this book. What do you think? Does it count or did I cheat?

Clarissa Group Read

I've read Letters 1-6 of Clarissa by Samuel Richardson. So far I'm really enjoying it and can't wait to read February's letters. I still need to write up my thoughts and I'll be putting the Mr. Linky post up this coming Tuesday, January 31st so participants can link to their thoughts. I'm looking forward to what you all have to say! On a side note, reading older literature like Clarissa and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" gave me an idea for a blog post that I hope to put up soon.

Books Purchased

As you all know, I'm trying to read down my TBR collection and trying not to purchase too many books. I'm keeping a "Books In/Books Out" spreadsheet to help me try to send more books out than I take in. By and large the spreadsheet is keeping me accountable. The books I purchased this month are classics that I want to have in my permanent collection, which is another goal. Two of them are the new Penguin Clothbound Classics. Want to see them?

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Bleak House by Charles Dickens
The Wings of the Dove by Henry James
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

Well, that was my January in book news. How was your January?

P.S. See that lovely little leaf plate in the photo above? I'm not sure I ever posted about it, but I received that courtesy of Bellezza at Dolce Bellezza several years ago. I love it.

An Interlude

Francisco Masriera y Manovens, "A Harem Beauty" 1899

I love themed reading. Themed reading helps me to get a sense of things like an author's collective works, a genre and its sub-genres, or a style of writing. It is informative in a way that dipping in and out of that theme is not.

For instance, reading the collective works of Louise Erdrich lets me see her growth and change as a writer. Reading mysteries written in different eras helps me understand how these tales have both changed and remained the same over time. Delving into works of magical realism written by authors from a variety of countries allows me to understand how this style is handled in different cultures.

I can develop the bigger picture while looking at specifics when reading by theme.

Themed reading can also burn me out. Too much Erdrich in one gulp can leave me dreading "yet more Erdrich." So, sometimes I need an interlude.

Right now I'm getting a little bit weary of mysteries, even though I love them. So I will be taking a side trip to read something that sounds a bit exotic ... a bit historical ... and quite enchanting. The Palace of Tears by Alev Lytle Croutier caught my eye as I was browsing shelves at a used bookshop in Colorado last Spring. The description reminded me a bit of Silk by Alessandro Baricco (my thoughts on that book here). Croutier was born in Turkey, studied in Istanbul (among other places), and divides her time between San Francisco and Paris. You can read more about the author here.

So I shall take a little interlude for the next bit of time. If you're looking for me, you can find me in The Palace of Tears.

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

Title: A Morbid Taste for Bones (Book One of the Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
Author: Ellis Peters
Year: 1977

Synopsis: "In the remote Welsh mountain village of Gwytherin lies the grave of Saint Winifred. Now, in 1137, the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey had decided to acquire the sacred remains for his Benedictine order. Native Welshman Brother Cadfael is sent on the expedition to translate and finds the rustic villagers of Gwytherin passionately divided by the Benedictine's offer for the saint's relics. Canny, wise, and all too worldly, he isn't surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself held the bow. Brother Cadfael knows a carnal hand did the killing. But he doesn't know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice... where the wages of sin may be scandal or Cadfael's own ruin." (from the back cover)

I tend to read mysteries during the winter season. I'm not sure why that is exactly, but there is something about the early darkness and the cold that makes me want to curl up under my reading lamp with a cup of hot tea and become immersed in the puzzling, unknown, and strange. Perhaps it is the idea of something enigmatic, covert, or cryptic that seems to set so well with me when it is dark and cold. The season just seems to match the atmosphere.

With all that said, A Morbid Taste for Bones is pretty low key as far as mysteries go. There is no gore, nor is the tension terribly high, and what excitement there is comes mainly at the end. I was a bit surprised that the physical historical setting is not a great focus. Instead, Peters chooses to focus on the main character, Brother Cadfael, a Benedictine monk, and the politics and power plays of the Medieval church.

Peters wrote the Brother Cadfael series later in her life. Perhaps this gave her a greater ability to empathize with her older character, because she captured him well. Cadfael has joined the cloister as a "retirement job." He has already lived a very worldly life. This makes him a perceptive, patient, and watchful personality. He understands the ambitions and motivations of others, and this makes him good at solving crime.

Cadfael also has a wry sense of humor. In one scene, he is listening to a younger Brother rant about the ambitions of their Prior and his plans to dig up the bones of a saint and bring them back to the Abbey as relics. While we get the impression that Cadfael does indeed find this activity a bit repulsive, he can not be overtly subversive:

"I don't see why they should want to dig up the poor lady's dust. It seems like charnel-house business to me, not church business. And you think exactly the same," he said firmly, and stared out his elder, eye to eye.

"When I want to hear my echo," said Brother Cadfael, "I will speak first."

I like Brother Cadfael not only for his wry humor, but also for his quiet subversiveness. As I mentioned above, Cadfael is not young and inexperienced. He understands the need to work within a quite intermingled societal and religious structure, but he comprehends all too well the harm that comes from power plays by the ruling bodies, both "prince" and "bishop." His subversiveness flows from his compassion and sense of justice.

"It was a long time since he had exercised some of his more questionable skills, he was glad to be confirmed in believing that he had forgotten none of them, and that every one had a meritorious use in the end."

I am very excited to read more of the Brother Cadfael mysteries! If you are looking for a well paced novel with a very likable main character and a Medieval setting, then you might just like this series too.

Also reviewed by: things mean a lot



I read this for the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge hosted by Literary Feline.

Update: Clarissa Group Read Participants List

I've created a list of all those participating in the year long Clarissa Group Read with me and JoAnn. I hesitated to do this because JoAnn and I want to keep this read as relaxed as possible! Then I thought about all the people I meet through book blogs and how I enjoy visiting new-to-me book bloggers, and so decided to make it easy on myself to hop around and visit you all during the year. Hence THE LIST.

I've simply added a list of participants, that I am aware of, to the Clarissa Group Read Page on my blog. If I missed you and you want to be on this list, please let me know and I'll add you.

The Clarissa Group Read Is Here!!!

I am so excited to begin the group read of Clarissa with all of you who will be reading this hefty tome with me and JoAnn throughout 2012! Some of you are on the other side of the dateline and might have already started reading. I will confess that I "peeked" ahead of time and have already read a few of the letters. I think we are in for a treat!

I have discovered that it is handy to have a dictionary nearby while you read. There are some words completely foreign to me, some words that I thought I knew but really didn't(!), and other words that just needed those nuanced meanings pointed out for a richer reading of the text. For instance, I know that the word "approbation" means "approval," but in the context of Clarissa it often means a formal or official approval and there can be serious consequences without that formal endorsement.

Where to leave links to your Clarissa posts:

JoAnn and I will take turns hosting a place for you to link to your Clarissa posts. Please do not feel obligated to write posts, but I know everyone would love it if you do. I'll be hosting at the end of January. You can find the reading "schedule" and where to link each month on either of the Clarissa pages (here and here).

The conversation about #Clarissa never ends on Twitter:

You can find me on Twitter as @MsTerriB and you can find JoAnn as @lakesidemusing. Use the hashtag #Clarissa to more easily pick up any conversation threads.

Again, don't feel obligated to write if you don't want to. Write and discuss as much or as little as you want. The point really is to read this novel, and any conversation is icing on the cake.

Happy reading!

TSS: Merely Mystery Reading Challenge 2012

I mentioned in a previous post that I would be participating in the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge hosted by Literary Feline at Musings of a Bookish Kitty. I'm trying to be judicious with the challenges I join for a number of reasons. Mainly, I tend to do the reading part of the challenge, but then don't write any blog posts or visit others participating in the challenge. This defeats a great part of the challenge - the social part!

One of the criteria for joining a reading challenge this year is whether or not reading for that challenge will contribute to one of my main reading goals for 2012 - to read down my TBR collection. I've noticed a lot of others have this same goal. (I think we've been enabling each other!) The Merely Mystery Reading Challenge fits this goal and sounds like so much fun. It will also provide reading that contrasts nicely with the year long Clarissa Group Read.

I really appreciate the way Literary Feline has provided a very nice breakdown of the Mystery sub-genres. Sub-genres like: The Whodunit, Locked Room Mystery, Cozy, and others. You really should take a look at these descriptions, even if you're not participating.

Some of the authors and/or series that I'll be pulling from for this challenge are:

• Sherlock Holmes mysteries by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters
• Various P.D. James mysteries
• Inspector Banks mysteries by Peter Robinson
• Various Agatha Christie mysteries
• Various J.A. Jance mysteries
• Anna Pigeon mysteries by Nevada Barr
• Hamish Macbeth mysteries by M.C. Beaton
• Elvis Cole & Joe Pike mysteries by Robert Crais

I'm sure there are more on my shelves, but this is a fair representation of what I'll be reading for this challenge. I do want to dig through my stacks and see if I've got some pre-twentieth century mysteries to read (besides Sherlock Holmes). I've had a craving to read some older literature this year. I'm guessing it has something to do with reading quite a bit of YA (young adult) fiction and contemporary paranormal fiction last year. It's been a while since I've read many classics ... but I'm getting ahead of myself. That is an entirely different post!

Tea & A Book

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough, to suit me." ~ C.S. Lewis

I should have set a copy of Clarissa in this picture to better match Lewis' sentiments! I'm looking forward to my weekend. I think I'll start it tonight ... like this.

The TBR Double Dare

The TBR Double Dare
C.B. James threw out the dare and I'm going to take it on! If you remember from my reading goals and challenges post, I mentioned that a top goal for me is to read from my mountainous to-be-read collection. This dare nicely aligns with that goal.

The dare is simply to "make a resolution to read only the books in your To Be Read stack from January 1, 2012 to April 1."

This is not a book buying ban but is, instead, a dare to only read books from my TBR collection during the stated time period. As of 12:00 am January 1, no newly purchased books and no borrowed books can be read until April 1. Of course, it would be helpful if I didn't buy any books during that time as well, but that is a separate issue!

At least this wasn't a double dog dare or, gasp, the dreaded triple dog dare! Wish me luck.