One Word

I don't even want to talk about how sick I am, or my poor little Betty Boop who's been throwing up for two days. Ugh. Bleh. Nuf said.

I would like to recommend a couple of books instead - One Thousand White Women and The Tenderness of Wolves. Both set in the 1860's or thereabouts - one set in the American West, the other set in the Canadian Backwoods. I'm finding myself drawn to stories set in that time period about the American West in particular, homesteading, pioneers, and specifically the meeting of cultures. Simultaneously you have the high culture of Victorian England brought over to America in parts of New York, Chicago, Boston, etc, you have people who literally start with NOTHING and build houses, lives, farms, and you have Native American cultures that are completely different from the other two, yet rich and with their own history and wisdom. I've always been a city girl, and loved stories about the city, set in early to mid 20th century, so this is a departure for me and it's really fun to learn about a whole new setting.

I'll also say, that by way of hook, One Thousand White Women has it all sewn up. The book starts with a historical event, the Cheyenne Indians requesting 1000 white women in exchange for 1000 horses as a way to merge the two "tribes." The US Government said no, but what if they'd said yes... so great!!

That said, if anyone has recommendations for historical fiction or narrative non-fiction in that vein, I'd love to hear them.

And, I'll leave you with one word, and one photo that has made me smile today. It's officially on my wish list. The word? Bassettdoodle.