No comments about The Best Bike Rides in the Mid-Atlantic States: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and West Virginia (Best Bike Ride Series).

2 comments about Spenceworth Bride.

1. In 1799 Ramsgil, England, Haslett Ham places his wife Nelwina on the auction block accusing her of thievery. She tries to talk him out of the humiliation that both will suffer, but he just grins at her like she is a worthless waste of his time. All Haslett can think of his ridding himself of this bastard daughter of an aristocrat. Nelwina wishes to be anywhere but in Ramsgil, but an old gypsy warns her to beware what you wish for.

   Chicago based architect Adam Warrick has inherited Spenceworth and has flown to England to try to work the finances. He is taking part in one of the famous marriage auction reenactments and has drawn the role of buying the wife on sale. Adam buys Nelwina who everyone calls Jocelyn Tanner. As they fall in love, he wonders about her sanity and she questions whether he cherishes the Nelwina essence inside Jocelyn's body or the beautiful looking woman even as her American husband arrives to claim his wife.

   SPENCEWORTH BRIDE, the sequel to the award winning SIXPENCE BRIDE, is a charming time travel romance. The story line grips the audience from the moment a displaced Nelwina lands in the twenty-first century. As she struggles to adapt (though perhaps a bit too easily) while a bewildered Adam wonders what is going on, fans gain a wonderful tale. Readers will enjoy Virginia Farmer's latest winner, as Nelwina's tale is an entertaining novel.

   Harriet Klausner




2. When Nelwina desperately wishes to be anywhere but on the auction block as the unwilling participant during an 18th century wife sale she suddenly feels woozy and passes out, only to awaken in the 21st century. Passing through Ramsgil and playing the part of a tourist, Adam Warrick, the new Earl of Spenceworth finds himself the selected "buyer" of Jocelyn Tanner the "wife" up for auction. When he tosses the coin, and the "husband" catches it clumsily causing his purchased "wife" to get knocked unconscious, Adam feels obligated to take her to Spenceworth manor to make sure she doesn't suffer from a concussion.

   Returning to her childhood home should have been a relief. However nothing is as it seems for Nelwina. Wanting to stay at Spenceworth, she dives into her new life as she tries to help restore Spenceworth to its previous grandeur. Adam, dealing with a run down estate that sadly lacks finances has little time for romance, then, when his mother unexpectedly shows up and takes his patient under wing, is grateful to have Jocelyn Tanner to keep her occupied. However, every time Jocelyn insists her name really is Nelwina Honeycutt, Adam chooses to continually rack it up to her head injury. But he has a hard time explaining the fact that knows more about Spenceworth manor and gardens than any other soul. For Nelwina, living two-hundred years in the future wasn't what she had expected, nor acquiring another woman's body. The only problem is, how can she adapt to this life and keep from falling in love with Adam, knowing that the real Jocelyn is trapped in the past? Yet how could she leave the love she always yearned for?

   The long awaited sequel to SixPence Bride, Virginia Farmer weaves the charming tale of Nelwina Honeycutt. Some of the descriptions (for example of the loo) were humorous and I thought clever. With the changing of bodies between Jocelyn Tanner and Nelwina Honeycutt, this time travel is unique. Not only does Nelwina need to deal with learning new technologies totally foreign to her, she must come to terms with another woman's life. So join Adam and Nelwina on their bumpy little ride as they fall in love. Spenceworth Bride is a delightful tale.

No comments about More than Petticoats: Remarkable Virginia Women (More than Petticoats Series).

No comments about Romantic Virginia: More Than 300 Things to Do for Southern Lovers (Romantic South Series).

1 comments about The New West Virginia One-Day Trip Book: More Than 200 Affordable Adventures in the Mountain State.

1. What a nice way to preview a vacation! This guide gives you a variety of things to do while in West Virginia, many of them low to no cost options. Some may be well known but many are fun, interesting things to do only known in the area. I enjoyed browsing through it before my vacation and found it a handy reference during my trip.

1 comments about The Used Book Lover's Guide to the South Atlantic States: Maryland, Washington, Dc, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida (Siegel, David S. Used Book Lover's Guide Series.).

1. 
   It could have been a great guide. However, the most obvious problem with this books was that it was printed seven or eight years ago. I was using this guide to locate used bookstores in the Washington DC area and only about half of the bookstores listed still exist today. Especially in today's era when so many stores have gone online, an update would have been welcome. Still with stores that currently exist, it is a useful guide for determining what kind of books a certain store sells, pricing, and recomendations.

3 comments about Green Shingles: At the Edge of Chesapeake Bay.

1. I liked this book. Because of its cover, first. Because of its writing, second. And because of its humor. Mr. Svenson takes himself seriously--as he should, being a Master of Fine Arts (MFA). But he lets his hair down when he describes what it took for him and his wife (at midlife) to buy their green-shingled house on a bluff overlooking the Bay.
   A lot of money, garnered from relatives. A lot of cleaning up...trash that pleasure boaters continued to throw toward his beach, and a rebuff by the art-league when someone hid an oil painting rather than display it.
   Mr. Svenson's voice is his alone. Put a dictionary close as you read. Stand near the window as he examines the morning's boat traffic going by. Envy him and his wife (why didn't he name her, "Katherine," instead of referring her as K?).
   It's a personal narrative that makes the skipjacks-and-oysters books on the Bay only the beginning. Here, under a green-shingled roof, is life-in-the moment. I thought I knew Chestertown, Centerville, and Rock Hall, the area the author writes about, but I know it much better now, through his eyes.



2. This is an excellent portrayal of life from the bluff of the eastern shore of the Chesapeake. Mr. Svenson's observations are a fascinating read for anyone who loves the bay and the Eastern Shore. The stories of the workmen who were to build his garage and his "2nd Place" in the art show are classics. Be aware Mr. Svenson does come off rather pompous in his reflections. Also, in spite of all the detail Svenson gets into, he still somehow mislabels local towns and there county jurisdictions (Kent County, MD is just not that hard). Hopefully he is finally happy and at peace with himself on the bluff.



3. In middle age, Peter Svenson and his wife, K, have moved to Maryland from the Virginia farm that was the setting of Svenson's acclaimed book, BATTLEFIELD. They decide to make a bold leap, in terms of economics and lifestyle, and buy a house on the windy Tolchester bluff on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. The title, GREEN SHINGLES, is derived from the house's distinctive roof. In graceful prose marked by a distinctive, articulate voice, Svenson by turns examines the natural science, maritime events, and public works that connect with his existence on that bluff, the beach 40 feet below it and, of course, the water.

   If you are turning to this book having just finished BATTLEFIELD, you should know that once again, Svenson does a bang up job of coaxing the history out of a place; he does thorough research and interprets it in compelling terms. This time, he also visits on tugs and a coast guard buoy patrol, profiling the tasks and life aboard the boats in the bay. You will find the pace of this book more languid, and in some instances the author more self absorbed in a curmudgeonly way. He takes time out to relate a homeowner's contractor from hell story and his skirmish with a local art show, the latter a provincial bruising it seems to his MFA trained sensibilities. This is indeed a different book from that first, but in the end, Svenson again delivers a fine, original performance that is a pleasure to read. You put it down convinced he is, after all, right about a lot of things.

1 comments about Watching Nature: A Mid-Atlantic Natural History.

1. This book really made the mid-Atlantic region come to life for me! I wanted to grab a day pack and head out for a day hike. I'm sure that any serious nature lover would really enjoy this book.

No comments about Visit to Small Universe (Masters of Modern Physics).

5 comments about The Voyage Out (Dover Value Editions).

1. Rachel Vinrace, a young woman not quite acquainted with the ways of the world, accompanies her aunt and uncle (the Ambroses) to South America, where she eventually falls in love with a young aspiring writer. Swirling around this tale of doomed love are the many other characters who all influence each other and are themselves influenced. Most of the novel is about Rachel, but Helen Ambrose is equally central to the story, as a comparison to her niece and in her own internal voyage. Chronicling the inner lives of her characters, Woolf, in her first novel, explores the awakening of first love, the influences of men (and the culture they have control over) upon women, the confusions we as human beings have in our daily communications with others. Originally entitled "Melymbrosia", "The Voyage Out" went through many revisions as Woolf claimed language for her own uses and effectively began a new literature (for her time), where the internal life and the interconnectedness of humanity are the central themes.



2. This novel is not necessarily the best overall story that I have read in terms of style and content. The plot follows a simplistic, sequential pattern and the supposed climax is not as surprising as it is portrayed to be. Luckily, this is not the reason to read this novel. The Voyage Out is in no way the greatest novel ever written, but the ideas that it represents and the thought that it provokes on topics ranging from imperialism to gender roles in society to love among intellectuals is more than worth the read.
   
   We first meet Rachel aboard her father's ship and from the first conversation we are privey to, it is obvious that she is not an ordinary woman. She in no way realistically approaches her proper place in London Society and of course it is through Woolf's feminist viewpoint that we discover how much more of a human being Rachel can become by not following those patterns. In fact, we are introduced to many women throughout the novel, all ranging in their places from aristocratic wife to single author to inexperienced flirt to old widow and all that is in between. Woolf never truly tells which she prefers, but the reader is given an in depth look into the advantages of each lifestyle.
   
   The men on the other hand are portrayed most basically as heartless, unpitying, logical beings, or in other words, the common man of that time, the common educated man of the time that is. Though each man has his own story, it is only Hewet, the one man who in hindsight acts as a woman, who is able to win the heart of Rachel and in fairness, fall madly in love with also. It is also shown in the end of the novel how there is a certain strength in men, a strength that can be both good and bad. The reader is surprised how some of the men handle disaster while they are dissapointed with how others could be so uncaring.
   
   The character sketches set forth in this book are nothing short of spectacular in everything they represent. I consider myself well read and it is this book that I would say most accurately portrays the idea of falling in love. It is not love at first sight, nor is it a burning passion that cannot be quenched. Instead, it is two ordinary, if not so unonrdianary, people who realize that their lives just might not be the same without each other in it. There are no fireworks, there need be none and as the book is being read, a strange joy begins to creep up inside of one. Then again, all joy is not meant to last forever and I must admit that the lasting impressions is one of depression, not joy. This is not necessarily a bad thing though. Somehow, Woolf is able to show us through a seemingly random cast of 19th century characters that the world today has perhaps not changed as much as we would like to believe and it is that timelessness that makes this novel more than worth the small time it takes to read it



3. I bought this book because I must own all by Woolf, as a matter of need rather than want--or so I feel. Although I'm able to recognize the shortcomings (far less than my own) that inevitably accompany experimental, modernist work, my opinion of her genius is curiously immune to these objective observations. She is like my literary mother, so I was chastised never to have known this novel existed until I began reading it.
   
   As far as form and structure go, I feel Woolf tries too hard to be conventional: she can't ever quite fit into it properly, and you realize why it took her so long to complete the book. As always, however, she is a master of the character, something I didn't realize until the end, where every character is felt so strongly that I almost cried. I know.
   
   However awkward the overall construction may be, and however much it may drag, you feel the beginnings of her future craft. The climax is it, where she finally catches the pace and throws you mercilessly against the ridiculously shallow aspect of everyday life. And the arbitrary but crushing beauty of love. I dreamt about it for days afterward.



4. For me, after having read Mrs. Dalloway, I quite loathed Virginia Woolf and her experimental style, which defied all styles. This novel was not easy to get through, though much more manageable than her later works because it mimics an actual novel style, rather than her signature, stream of conscious. Then again, I have yet to fully realize this first woeful tale.
   
   To be honest, the only reason I bothered with this first venture of Woolf's was by design rather than my choice. A friend and I decided to form our own book club, and her favorite, of course, was Woolf, and thus, I was committed.
   
   Meet Rachel Vinrace, a twenty-four year old young woman, adrift and impressionable, considered very 'unformed' and vague by those around her. Under the care of her aunt and uncle, Ridley and Helen Ambrose, she journeys across the ocean from England to a resort town in South America, and thrust into a world of humanity and emotion, nature and variegated personalities that are at once overwhelming and instructive. Her birth of understanding, both strange and exciting experiences, Rachel begins to conceive and formulate herself through a series of experimental interactions with her relatives, especially Helen, as well as through colorful, if not seemingly stolid characters from the nearby hotel. Unshaped perceptions leave her breathless yet wiser, and barely does she scrape the surface of life, before it and she are extinguished.
   
   This is a haunting, romantically tragic tale of something gained and then fleetingly, it is all lost, leaving everything, and everyone in turmoil and yet, continuing on. At first, the story is incoherent, boring, at times scattered and frustrating to read. Characters and events which seemed, at first, to have no purpose, at times appearing to be trivial, begin to take shape and form. All these intricately woven pieces which become the very basis in which Rachel can experience her world, the real world and herself. These descriptions of other British people in a remote exotic port is a contrast to Rachel's own growing sense of awareness and independence.
   
   A few chapters are painfully aware and poignant and wonderful, heady and traumatic in its sharp intuitive vocalization of human emotions and realization of defects in human nature itself. And all against the beautiful backdrop of a South America that I, as a reader, have never experienced. You will ask yourself for the first whole half, What Is The Point? And then, like a train wreck, it's there, hitting you in the face, as Woolf weaves people and experiences, emotions and underlying tones of social mores and scripted human behaviors, all of which presses upon every character like a net, and ensnares the reader. It is layer upon layer and easy to miss the subtle influence and connections that Woolf effortlessly weaves and throws right before your eyes. Call it genius or magic, you will be astounded, or numbed. And if you're careful enough, you'll glimpse what Woolf was trying to say.
   
   I for one am still reeling from the sensory onslaught, her words like water over rocks and I have to admit, I loved this book, and I was utterly perplexed by it. It is, like most rare and profound stories, an emotional voyage, filled with symbols and allusions, and something which leaves THAT something inside you, burrowing and forever embedded in your very thoughts. I want to read it again, mark the pages and remember those eerie descriptions of human frailty and human experiences rendered in such a way to leave me breathless and engrossed. It's safe to say, that I am quite taken and can't wait to read the next Woolf story. So read on, good reader, read on, if you dare.



5. First published in 1915, The Voyage Out is Virginia Woolf's first novel. It begins as Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose embark on a sea voyage for South America. Throughout their voyage and once they reach land there are many characters that float in and out of the text. Indeed, one is not sure who the main characters are until halfway through the novel. Clarissa and Richard Dalloway, the main characters of Woolf's later novel Mrs. Dalloway, even make an appearance.
   
   Once reaching land, Mrs. Ambrose along with her niece, Rachel, explore the environs and make friends with other tourists-notably with two young men, Hewet and Hirst. Here these four friends form several intertwining and interesting relationships that guide us through the rest of the story.
   
   Woolf's style is striking in the almost exclusive use of dialog interspersed with short, vivid descriptions of the characters' inner thoughts. Through this innovative style she is able to communicate, among many other things, a candid and realistic portrayal of the act of falling in love and all emotions that come along with it-heartbreak and loss, desire and contentment, longing and questioning, quiet happiness and quiet despair.
   
   Several interesting details in the novel will strike the modern reader, such as the almost total absence of interaction with the natives. Geographically, the location is supposed to be near the Amazon river system, but Woolf has imagined an Amazon where the natives speak a mix of Spanish and French, the mountains rise majestically out of the sea, and one lights the fire after dinner. While Woolf can easily be criticized for neglecting to research the technical details and for writing only about the upper classes and their manias, to dwell on these issues would be entirely beside the point. E. M. Forster put it best when he described The Voyage Out as "...a strange, tragic, inspired book whose scene is a South America not found on any map and reached by a boat which would not float on any sea, an America whose spiritual boundaries touch Xanadu and Atlantis." ('The Novels of Virginia Woolf', New Criterion, April 1926, 277.)
   
   On a personal note, I'd like to say that my only previous experience with Woolf was reading Mrs. Dalloway for a class in college. Perhaps one must grow into reading Woolf, because I admit I remember almost nothing of this book except that it was boring and depressing. I picked up The Voyage Out expecting much of the same, but how wrong I was! This book is beautiful, one that you will remember long after you read it. I recommend it highly-but not too highly, as making your own discovery of its worth is part of the charm.