Staying up past midnight, finishing one of the best books I’ve read all year. And did I mention that it’s historical fiction? Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein probably has a very long wait-list at the library (it took me months to get it), but it’s so worth the wait. British women in World War II–pilots, spies, Nazis, friendship, and some remarkable writing. The story will take your breath away. And though it’s not based on a true story, there were plenty of women like Maddie and Julia that served.
Discovering that editors are currently hard at work, getting Laura Ingalls Wilder’s first book, her never published memoir, ready for publication. Even better: there’s a blog chronicling the work! The South Dakota Historical Society Press is currently working on transcribing Wilder’s handwritten manuscript. They’ve spent time at the museum in Mansfield (still one of my favorite author-related museums). This is good, good stuff, and I’m looking forward to following the blog–and reading the original when it comes out. The rumors I’ve heard about it is that it’s a much harsher look at her early life, which may cause some fans to be up in arms (much like the way folks reacted when L. M. Montgomery’s journals were published and fans discovered that her life wasn’t all sunshine and roses). But from a scholarship perspective, we need these kinds of writings to go hand in hand with the fiction we love.
Realizing that I’m going to have to reread Little Women for work purposes. And bits of Little House. And possibly Five Little Peppers and How they Grew. And who knows what else. Two different fall projects (one on children and work, one of the Civil War in fiction) require such sacrifices. It’s a hard life.
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