Battles with Annie & a new Austen book

This is Annie, when she weighed three pounds at six months of age. She was small enough to sleep on the edge of the cat condo, as you can see here. Neither position looks comfortable, does it? But three pound cats do what they want to do, right? I am happy to report a small advance in the antibiotic-giving regime, which, I have to say, smells repulsively sweet. I used to clamp 18 pound Cooky-the-Cat between my knees, so that I had two hands free for the head part. Despite the fact that Annie weighs 11 pounds less than he did, this technique works well on her too, just a little less "big" cat to hold on to.

Am reading two small books, Jane Austen's letters and another book which is a commentary written by people who were publishing books around 1900s or so. The current chapter is a commentary on what one woman calls the chumps in Jane Austen's books. It is amusing, and they do have some interesting things to say about what books people in general like & why. I'll report back the exact titles tomorrow, when I have the books in hand again.

Finishing Persuasion by Austen (and Gas City)

I have to admit that Persuasion by Jane Austen is probably my least favorite, in part because the character of Anne Elliot is so calm, withdrawn, and reserved. She lacks a certain ardent spirit, which most of (many of?) Jane Austen heroines seem to have.

Yet in this book, there's a great deal of insight into character, personality, and yet again the inconstancy of people (in general) who are so quick to say, "they always knew the bad in someone" even when the previous day, they were talking about how great that someone was. That perception in Jane Austen's writing is probably one of her greatest strengths as an author for me. She is compassionate, but wryly understanding of the foibles of human behavior.

Gas City by Loren Estleman : I've read the beginning & the ending of the book. I find much to admire about Estleman's writing & his cleanly written prose. His plotlines are consistently interesting and hard driven, as benefits a book which is very much centered around hard crime.. The strength of Gas City lies in its clear tally of the evil that can lie underneath a corrupt city government and how truly sick at heart people can become. Some of the changes in one man's heart because of the loss of his wife precipitates a lot of changes in this city, and yet, at the ending of Gas City, you're left with an awareness that there is a certain inertia in the city itself that will be very hard to change.

I am looking forward to Frames, which is Estleman's next book out, and which should be out this coming April, if I recall rightly. It is the start of a new series.

Friday the PI day update

Finished The Expeditions by Iagnemma yesterday & really liked the whole experience. He does a really nice job of portraying a realistic experience in a very different culture. It is remarkable how very different people just a century away from us were, and how hard their lives were. I also loved the father-son portrayal in this book. Two different (yet alike) people. I can't say a lot without ruining the experience for you, but I do recommend this book & I think anyone should give it a try.

Also finished Emma by Austen and had the pleasure of sharing the 123 page, fifth sentence & two sentences after meme with Sarah the Maine Bookseller. The excerpt actually captured the essence of Emma fairly well & was about Emma & Mrs. Weston talkig to each other about relationships & of course, if you've read it before or even seen the movie, you already know how so very wrong they both were. Again a very nice capsule picture of people from a very different time than ours, although in Emma, you feel tired of Mr. Woodhouse's constant health complaints, while when you read The Expeditions, you get tired just thinking about all the work people had to do just to survive. Imagine catching your food each day or finding it somehow. Imagine the poor cooking, unless you have a good guide

Yet another contrast to Emma's going picking strawberries at Mr. Knightley's place. Pretty cool set of books to read together.