The Color Chartreuse, Etc, by Jane Hallock Combs

The Color Chartreuse, Etc by Jane Hallock Combs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Who doesn't love reading about quirky family members? But then, most of us are related to quirky family members; that, or we are the quirky one, right?

The Color Chartreuse, Etc, by Jane Hallock Combs, is full of quirky family members. Many of the essays here were read on NPR station WKMS in Murray, Kentucky, as well as appearing in several newspapers.

Disclaimer time: I do appear several times in The Color Chartreuse, Etc, as Jane Hallock Combs was my mom. So, maybe I'm a little partial to many, if not most of the essays. I have a feeling, though, that even without that family link, I would laugh at many of these essays.

Why? you ask. Fair question.

Example: Cousins Anna Mae and Ezra, who, during WWII, held off a Nazi invasion with a baseball bat - when they weren't literally tearing their house apart; Greg, who didn't want the tooth fairy tip-toeing into his room to leave money for the tooth under his pillow, and sat in his bedroom doorway with a baseball bat to keep the tooth fairy out; Greg, who after breaking his leg, had a double-legged cast on, and, unable to help Mom at the laundromat, leaned out the Volkswagon's sun-roof, giving a passionate speech to passers-by about being "a poor little boy with a broken leg who just wanted to hep with the laundry!"; and more. There's the time the school bus went to take Mom to school, after her brother told her that the road being taken was the road to heaven...

If you want a good laugh, this is the place. The Color Chartreuse, Etc, by Jane Hallock Combs, has enough laughs to help you through the day.

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The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Most of us have books that we've been meaning to read for a while, and never quite get around to. For me, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis was one of those books.

A family member had mentioned the book - actually, the whole set of Narnia books - for years, to the point that it became a running joke for us. But finally, I decided to give it a go.

The book takes place in an almost magical wardrobe during World War II, when four siblings are sent to stay elsewhere. As the children explore the house, the youngest child, Lucy, discovers a wardrobe that, when one goes deep enough, turns into another reality. When she comes back out, her siblings figure she has imagined it. They soon realize the truth.

Once inside Narnia, the siblings meet many characters and are drawn into a battle of right-vs.-wrong, and are subtly changed in the process.

C.S. Lewis's classic book is a quick read, and definitely worth reading. After finishing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I will be going on to finish the rest of the series, as well as recommending it to others.

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Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers, by Anne Lamott

Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Like many people, I have favorite writers. So when I rediscovered Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers by Anne Lamott where I'd placed it on one of my bookshelves (years ago), I figured it was past time to read it.

Like many of Lamott's other nonfiction books, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers deals with her liberal Christianity, her ways of praying, and her favorite prayers, which, as one can guess, include "Help, Thanks, (and) Wow."

This short book is filled with Anne's quirky humor, how she relates to others, and how she prays for both herself and others.

Is you're a fan of Anne Lamott and are looking for a quick, satisfying read, Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers should fit the bill nicely.

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