Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 3; Henry "Chips" Channon Diaries Vol. 1; Rock*

 

First up, volume 3 of the Emma M. Lion series. This one was a little bigger and had more going on, so that was nice. 

Emma and her cousin Archibald (the most unlikely of duos) have teamed up to try to follow the clues in order to win tickets to the St. Crispian's secret annual performance of Julius Caesar. Emma figures the clues out (naturally, Archibald is about as helpful as a bag of hair) and gets the tickets, but Archibald breaks his leg when Emma and Niall's (the tenant) cat startles him. In a fit of spite, he eats his ticket rather than allowing Emma to choose someone to go with her, which was a damn shame. I was curious who she would have picked. There are so many eligible young men flittering around her!

And she's invited to a soirée at Lady Trewartha's house where she's seated at a table with nine rowdy young men and Young Hawkes, the minister, who call themselves the Reprobates Ten. Emma has a terrific time bantering with the spirited group, although the Duke of Islington seems rather less excited at how much fun she's having. Is that a spark of jealously I see, Islington? Oh my. I can't wait to read Volume 4. 

This brick of a book, oh my gosh. It took me months to read it, but I really did enjoy it. 

Henry "Chips" Channon was an American who was in Paris during World War I and that's when his diary starts: the end of the war. He renounces his American citizen to become British and inserts himself into high society and eventually gets elected to the House of Commons. He roamed with everyone back in the day: the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VIII before abdicating, the Duke and Duchess of York, who later became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, and many others. He married Honor Guinness, a wealthy heiress to the Guinness fortune, and they had a son named Paul. Chips dallied with both men and women as a youngster and apparently when London society found out he'd been keeping a diary many a peer went white with fear as to what he'd said about them. The answer is: probably something very catty and unflattering. But luckily for them, he stipulated that the diaries wouldn't be published in full until long after his death. 

I'm actually really excited for the second volume, which will cover WWII. Since Chips was a fan of Germany and Hitler, I'm interested in what he thought of the whole thing and when he changed his mind and realized that the Third Reich was evil. 

And finally, a really fun one: Rock, an Alternative History. Klosterman writes it as nonfiction. It was pretty funny. What if the Beatles were never really that popular (also, they never broke up and John Lennon never died) but instead Rock began in 1967 with the Velvet Underground, who were the most influential rock band on the planet? 

Well, quite a few things change. Grunge was relegated to a not very influential or popular movement, it was mostly a Northwest Regional phenomenon (Nirvana wasn't even mentioned). The magazine of record was called Velveteen, not Rolling Stone, since the Stones weren't popular and broke up in the mid-'70s. Music became the most important part of American culture and a very powerful union of music critics called NARC exerted their influence over everything. Blockbuster movie scores had to be completely rock (imagine Star Wars with a Kinks song instead of John Williams, if you will), all music played in buildings and outside had to be rock and it wasn't optional--you had to play music. Even in libraries (imagine again if you will, Highway to Hell playing in the New York Public Library. Which, honestly, is probably pretty on point). Rap music was reclassified as an offshoot of Country, so as not to interfere with Rock. I pictured the Wu-Tang Clan on the stage at the Opry and about died laughing. Madonna became the height of Christian Rock in the '80s with her pro-life anthem, Papa Don't Preach. 

Like I said, the book was funny, but it's also kind of interesting to contemplate how one small change could have upended everything we know. Is there an alternate universe out there where Lou Reed was the voice of a generation instead of Paul McCartney and John Lennon? Maybe. 

Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 2

 

I'm really enjoying this series, they're so clever and witty.

Emma meets the Tenant, Niall Pierce, by exchanging notes through a crack in the shared wall in the garret. He is alarmed by her life (we all are, Niall) and also that they have mice and suggests a solution. She agrees and they end up with a shared cat named Tybalt. 

Emma also meets the Duke of Islington at a party her Aunt Eugenia makes her attend, and then later his journal ends up in their kitchen cupboard (this is a common phenomenon in St. Crispian's--items wander. They even have a centralized return location so residents can retrieve their lost possessions). Emma reads it and is enchanted by his outlook on life. She does return the journal to him and admits her indiscretion, and the Duke is Not Pleased. 

Back at the awful school she used to attend, the shared copy of "Jane Eyre" the students passed around has been confiscated by the formidable headmistress, Mrs. Wade. Emma's friend from school, Mary, has hired a con artist named Jack to pose as her cousin and chaperone so she can move about society freely and Jack offers to help Emma get the books back. They pose as a married couple and meet with Mrs. Wade. Jack distracts her and breaks into the desk and gets the books back, but now Emma owes Jack a Favor. Which sounds ominous. 

It was a lot of fun and for someone who considers herself a bit of a shy, retiring person, Emma has a *lot* of male acquaintances who are clearly interested in a more romantic relationship with her. I can't wait to see how it goes. 

Dragonfly in Amber

 

I think this is only the second time I've read this one, since it's not one of my favorites (while John Grey 🦊© is introduced he's just a child and only in one short scene). It was better this time around though, I enjoyed it. 

I'm about to spoil it, so be warned.

The book starts in 1968 in Scotland. Claire Randall and her daughter, Brianna, visit Roger Wakefield while on holiday in Scotland and Claire tells them both the story of how she fell through the stones and landed in 1743 and met and married Jamie Fraser. They traveled to France to see if they could stop the Jacobite uprising, but they fail and end up coming back to Scotland to fight with Prince Charlie's army. At Culloden, Jamie takes Claire back to the stones and tells her to go back to her time and to Frank. She's pregnant with their second child (their first, Faith, was stillborn earlier in the story) and he wants them to be safe. Claire doesn't want to go but in the end she does and Jamie returns to Culloden to die with the other men from Lallybroch. 

Brianna refuses to believe that Frank Randall was not her real father, but Roger believes Claire's story. She tells him about Geillis Duncan and how she believes he is her descendant. Since Geillis came through the stones in 1968, she wanted Roger to be able to make the decision on whether or not to try to contact her and warn her about what will happen. They do try, but it's too late - they arrive in time to see Geillis vanish through the stones. And then the book ends with Roger telling Claire that he doesn't think Jamie died at Culloden.  

Making of American Girl

 

I still have the very first American Girl catalog I ever received in the mail when I was a kid, back when it was still Pleasant Rowland's company and not Mattel. 

I was of an age where I was considered "too old" to be playing with dolls, but I didn't care. I grew up loving "Little House on the Prairie" and reading those books over and over again. I loved stories about the "olden days". Partner the gorgeous dolls with all the amazing accessories plus the historical factor? I was obsessed. 

Unfortunately, my parents couldn't afford them. My parents did buy us the books, so we had Kirsten, Samantha, and Molly's stories to read over and over, just not the dolls themselves. I was in my early twenties when I finally got my American Girl: Kit, who grew up during the Great Depression. And I still have her 😀 I went to Chicago with a group of girlfriends in 2010, and I drug them to the American Girl story on Michigan Ave. I had a splendid time. The other women? Probably not. 

American Girl is very different now than it was when I was a pre-teen. Pleasant sold the company to Mattel, who has done away with the historical dolls and all of their wonderful accessories (for the most part). I thoroughly enjoyed seeing how the company was brought to life and all of the research and work that went into creating the original dolls. I thought they were expensive until I read about how much effort went into them, now I realize they were actually kind of a bargain. This was a beautiful book that reminded me that there's always room in your life for imagination and whimsy, no matter how old you are. 

Summerall: On and Off the Air; Outlander

 

As promised, I was able to borrow a copy of Pat Summerall's autobiography, "On and Off the Air". The nights of drunken debauchery were not as exciting as I'd hoped, but that was okay, his life story was interesting. 

Pat was born with a club foot and his right leg twisted backwards. A doctor was able to correct it, and thought he would be okay to walk once he got older but probably not ever run or play sports. Pat defied the odds, playing all kinds of sports as a kid and a teenager, he loved all of it. 

He ended up playing football for a few teams, including the New York Giants when they had both Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi as assistant coaches. When he retired from football he took up broadcasting and was paired with Tom Brookshier. The two of them were great friends as well as drinking buddies until CBS split them up and put Pat with Coach Madden. Eventually his family and friends held an intervention and convinced Pat to go to the Betty Ford clinic for his alcoholism. Pat went and never drank again. 

Due to his years of alcohol abuse, Pat ended up needing a liver transplant and lived for another ten years. He sounded like a humble, grateful man at the end and I'm glad he got the chance to turn his life around. 

I've read "Outlander" before but a friend at work who loved the show just started reading the books and after talking with her about them it made me nostalgic to go back and reread them. I took advantage of the long, rainy weekend and tucked in with book one. 

The year is 1945 and Claire Randall, a nurse who served on the battlefields of France during WWII, and her husband, Frank, are vacationing in Scotland before Frank takes up a position at Oxford. They were apart during the war and they're trying to reconnect. While looking at some flowers at Craigh na Dun (a rock formation like Stonehenge), Claire falls through a portal back in time to 1743. 

A band of Scottish Highlanders rescue her from Captain Black Jack Randall, an ancestor of her husband, and take her under their protection. As part of being kept from Black Jack's murderous hands, she ends up marrying Jamie Fraser. At first for convenience, since she's determined to get back to the stones and go to her own time, but she and Jamie fall in love and she decides to stay. 

And yes, I know I have a million library books (not to mention all the ones I own) that I haven't read yet but there's no point fighting it. I've learned over the years 😊

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion Vol. 1

 

So these books seemed to have exploded out of nowhere. After reading the first volume (of 9, I believe), I understand why. It was really good! 

In 1883, Emma Lion, an orphan, returns to the home she's set to inherit when she turns 21 in a few months. She's been living with her very disagreeable and elderly cousin Matilde, who promised to set her three years of wages aside for her but now is refusing to do so because she thinks Emma stole her silver. Her cousin Archibald, Matilde's brother, has been living in Lapis Lazuli House (which is Emma's), taking care of the upkeep and finances. He refuses to give Emma her old rooms and instead sticks her in the garret. He keeps avoiding her and Emma finally makes an appointment with her banker, who tells her Archibald has deliberately blown through her inheritance by buying expensive clothes. 

Boy, with relatives like these, man. Poor Emma. She's a plucky girl, though, and quickly arranges to have a renter come in and rent out part of the house so they have some income. Her aunt Eugenia also wants Emma to be a companion to her daughter, Arabella, who Eugenia is getting ready to introduce to society. 

Brower has written Emma with a lovely, quirky, slightly dark sense of humor and as a result Emma is very relatable and fun. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume. 

Rich People Problems; The Football Game That Changed America

 

I'm so sad the series is over but at least the ending was wonderful. Just perfect *chef's kiss*

The main storyline is about Nick's Ah Ma, Su Yi, has had a heart attack and isn't expected to make it. Nick's cousin Eddie, knowing that Nick is persona non grata, makes a play for Tyersall Park (in your dreams, Eddie). Nick hasn't seen his grandmother since she forbade him from marrying Rachel a few years earlier but Rachel convinces him he should go to Singapore to say goodbye. 

Meanwhile, Astrid's divorce from Michael is getting contentious. He's demanding five billion dollars from her so she can share custody of Cassian. Astrid and Charlie just want to their respective divorces done so they can get married. 

I can't say much more without spoiling it, but it was so good. I really enjoyed it and I can see myself rereading the series at some point. 

This book wasn't exactly what I was expecting. It was more of an academic treatise on the financial and cultural aspects of the Super Bowl. Parts were interesting (like how the Super Bowl halftime show has evolved over the years) but other parts were pretty dry and he did get repetitive at times. 

Ironically enough, I rarely watch the Super Bowl. I think the AFC/NFC Championship games are usually way more entertaining. The Super Bowl always seems to be one sided to me. The commercials are on YouTube weeks before the game or immediately after, so I don't need to see them (I don't particularly care about most of them, anyway). And the halftime show? Meh. Again, I can watch it on YouTube if I'm so inclined. Seeing a performer do a minute of each of their most popular songs doesn't appeal to me. 

The really interesting thing I learned was that the Super Bowl almost didn't survive after the first two. The NFC team (Green Bay) won Super Bowl I and II, and the Colts were heavily favored in Super Bowl III, until the brash young QB for the Jets, Joe Namath, made the bold prediction that the Jets were going to win. The Jets did, and because of that fans in America realized the AFC could be contenders. After 60 Super Bowls, the divisions are pretty evenly split as far as wins. Most people watch now for the entertainment aspect rather than the game itself.