well beat me over the head with a hickory stick

Finished 1947 Newbery winner, Miss Hickory, (Carolyn Sherwin Bailey) today.

Two words of advice: NEVER READ. I am not sure what bothered me the most: the fact that the main character was a twig doll with an acorn for a head and a huge attitude problem; the fact that the story was boring as hell; or the fact that the main character pisses off a squirrel who then bites her head off.
 
This book was so terrible that I don't want to review it, but I did find this review which both spoke to what I felt and cracked me up.
This is how I felt the whole time I was reading Miss Hickory.

Feels like everything will be an improvement on this book. Today I started 1980 Newbery winner, A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal, 1830-32; A Novel,  Joan W. Blos.

Comments

Kt said…
Is it wrong that after reading that review I really want to find this book? Surely it's got some redeeming quality if it won the Newberry.

I wonder if the tragic plot has some connection to the time it was written, with atrocities of WWII just coming to life. Or does it fall into the Grimm's fairy tale category? Has our culture lost its stomach for dead protagonists and unhappy endings?
February 25, 2012 at 1:13 PM
Monster Librarian said…
No, it's not wrong, I've read many a strange book because someone else hated it. :)

I don't what the plot line was, other than weird. Did you check out the link I posted of that persons review? I thought it said it all.
February 26, 2012 at 1:11 AM
Kt said…
Yeah, I read that entire review. It sounds horrific. What was going on there? That's why I was wondering if it's supposed to be some kind of analogy for, I don't know...Hitler or something.

She's having her last thoughts WHILE her head is being eaten? It's just too unreal to be real.
February 26, 2012 at 4:39 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"howl the eternal yes"

Image
Just read a CNN article this morning about the Aurora Borealis making an appearance. It reminded me of Northern Exposure and Chris the DJ. So, thought I would share a quote as I reminisce about the Aurora Borealis, a.k.a. The Northern Lights, which I saw my first year at the Farm in Massachusetts, which I actually saw on my 23rd birthday!--the best birthday present I ever got!! "There's a dark side to each and every human soul. We wish we were Obi-Wan Kenobi, and for the most part we are, but there's a little Darth Vader in all of us. Thing is, this ain't no either-or proposition. We're talking about dialectics, the good and the bad merging into us. You can run but you can't hide. My experience? Face the darkness. Stare it down. Own it. As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. So give that ol' dark night of the soul a hug. Howl the eternal yes!" ~ Chris, Northern Exposure, "Aurora Borealis (A Fairy Tale for Grown-Ups).” It feel...
Read more

sample retirement acceptance letter

Image
The hardest part of being the Director in a small library is that we don't have an HR person, so on top of everything else we do we also get to do the paperwork for the new hires, and retires. Thank God for the internet or these processes would take a lot longer!  One of my board members pointed out that though I'd been informed of staff retirements, I had to officially accept them with a letter...I am finding that a paper trail is an important thing. So, I found a short and simple letter on one university's HR website (sorry forgot which!?) and honed it to work for us. Attached is my sample of a retirement letter.  Is anyone else out there going through this process too?
Read more

eggnog with lighter fluid and other cherished Christmas memories

Image
I started digging to find my favorite Christmas-esque scenes/lines from movies and I was pleased with what I found. In spirit of my 14's lists, here goes: 1. Charles De Mar: "Ah, come on! It's Christmas Eve! I could be home right now, drinking this *monster* eggnog my brother makes with lighter fluid." ~ Better Off Dead I also love the present opening scene on Christmas day, where his mother is dressed like a reindeer, his father gets an ardvark jacket and the kids get freezer dinners. Pan out to the neighbors Christmas when the French foreign exchange student gets a framed picture of Ricky. I LOVE THIS MOVIE! 2. When Zuzu says to George Bailey, "Look, daddy! Teacher says, every time a bell rings, an Angel gets his wings." George quietly agrees, "Attaboy, Clarence," as "Auld Lang Syne" rings out. That scene makes me cry everytime. (I also love that if George had never been around, Mary became a spinster librarian--see pic) ~ It's a W...
Read more