China Court & Other Read Aloud Books

Written by Rumer Godden in 1961, China Court: The Hours of a Country House was reviewed by The Book Diva at Viewpoints with this quick summarization:

Rumer Godden spins a complex and delicate tale of family, and time, and love. Past, present, and future weave around each other in layers of story centering on an old family home and the generations who live and hate and love there. I first read this story many years ago, and I still find many of Ms Godden's strong characters and unique turns of phrase vivid in my mind. I would recommend this book without hesitation - a re-readable joy.

Prolific reader, blogger, and all around marvelous personality and strong soul Julie, who writes at Forgotten Classics (and two other blogs!) has recorded this book on audio. I have recently downloaded her readings of China Court from this site: complete-episodes-listing, starting at episode number 23.

When downloading, each episode (a chapter or two) is copied automatically into my iTunes account. For some reason, it is saved to my "music" folder. But when saved onto my iPod, it is easy enough to pick up the first episode in that folder and begin listening to the book either in the car or my favorite easy chair (while knitting, of course).

These audible books in the public domain are easy to record onto a CD, or you could listen to the recorded podcasts/books on your computer, although those venues are not so portable.

Julie has recorded the entire China Court: The Hours of a Country House book (over 14 hours of recording time) in a clear voice, that although is not a professionally trained reading voice, Julie's tempo and lack of regional accent is very easy on the ears. What a gift to hear this read, and at no cost to the listener!

Try Julie's website, Forgotten Classics, and spend some time poking around there. She has a lot to offer.

Another of my podcast favorites, Craft Lit, hosted by Heather Ordover from Arizona, spends some time each week talking about things going on in her life (actually, quite interesting) and then either she or other readers read one or two chapters of a book each week. The past month or so, Heather has been reading The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. As a literature teacher, she has lots to add from her literary background which aids in content understanding.

Here is a listing of books which Heather has read/reviewed since 2008:

Frankenstein; Little Women; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Scarlet Letter (and probably one or two others I have forgotten or missed over the past 18 months)

You can find Heather's recordings at Craft Lit; just look on the left hand side under "Library".

Since April of 2006, Ms. Hardover has recorded many books in the public domain that have been read aloud by faithful followers of her blog. Like Heather says, "If your hands are too busy to pick up a book, at least you can listen to one." She is another amazing woman who has so many stars in her crown, like Julie at Forgotten Classics, it would be a full time job just to shine them.

There is a wealth of goodness at the sites of these two podcasters, and I encourage you to take advantage of them to increase your knowledge of the classics.

Dying Alone, a Memorial Cairn

Dying alone...it is a phenomenon that is not unusual. Perhaps you have not thought of this issue.

One provocative post can be read at the "Elderly Living and Dying Alone. Sadly, too many of us leave this world with no one at our side. "Elder orphans" are discussed in the article:

"the number of Americans between the ages of 70 and 85, without a living spouse, without any biological or stepchildren, and without living siblings or half-siblings, will total more than 2 million people by the year 2030."

One such person who died alone yesterday was Leona Taylor. Although I did not know Leona very well, the facts were that she had no family still living, having had her husband precede her in death ten years ago. She was 92 years old, and had few visitors come see her in the nursing home other than hospital and hospice staff. She must have been a Christian, since she asked that the Bible be read to her in her last days. And Leona liked dogs. Therapy Dog Libby Sweetpea and I visited her in working with the local Hospice & Palliative Care over the past few months, and knew that only health issues occupied her time during our visits. No funeral services were planned.

Thinking about her life and knowing she had few mourners, it seemed some tribute should be made to her long life.

On my morning walk yesterday, I constructed a rock cairn memorial (a place of meditation and reflection according to Rock Cairns). Although it looks a bit crude, it was made with respect as a memory to her life; it is a tangible awareness that someone is thinking of her as she continues her journey into eternal life.

In Memory of Leona Taylor (1916-2009); Rest in Peace

What will you leave behind as your legacy? It is a thought provoking question.

Microwave Baked Potato Fabric Bags

Have you tried a cloth bag for baking potatoes in the microwave?

Potatoes baked in the fabric really are delicious, and have a different texture than the usual baking process from sticking a naked potato in the microwave.

There is no trick to it (other than using the bag); just wash and dry potatoes. Then wrap them in a paper towel. DO NOT PIERCE SKIN! Place potatoes in bag and microwave, as usual, for about five minutes (for one potato) or until done. You can put up to four potatoes in one bag. Remove the potato(es) from the bag and fluff with a fork, applying your favorite slathering of fattening delicious toppings. They taste like those slow roasted stuffed potatoes popular on restaurant menus.

If you want to get one for yourself or as a gift, you can purchase a baked potato bag here at Country Collectibles Microwave Bakers on the internet.

Or make one yourself with directions from Garden Web.

I was lucky and received one from a relative. This is the one she made: Baking potatoes in a bag is a novel idea, and the potatoes are delicious...there must be some magic in the process!