"Here Burns My Candle" by Liz Curtis Higgs

"When the flame began to lick the edges, Elisabeth let his unsigned letter slip from her hands into the grate and watched Donald's sins turn to ash."

Lady Elisabeth Kerr wasn't born with the typical resolve of a young society-dweller to climb the proverbial ladder of titles. A Highlander by birth and a silent follower of the auld ways, she is misplaced in the city of Edinburgh among her husband's family. Despite conflict, she remains deeply and, seemingly, mutually entranced with her husband - someone with his own secrets to keep. Her mother-in-law, the dowager Lady Marjory, and her sister-in-law by way of her husband's brother, Mrs. Janet Kerr, dwell within the same household offering bracing personalities and passive disapproval. However, the pulsing vibration of coins beneath the dowager lady's floorboards beat into a grasping story of their own.

"Here Burns My Candle" holds a very special place in my heart for a number of reasons. However, the main point relevant to this review would be that it marked a newly ignited flame for audiobooks. I listened to Liz Curtis Higgs' voice on a long car trip to visit my parents and then on my (short) commute to and from work for several weeks after.

As a historical novel, "Here Burns My Candle" soars above others. I, purposely, do not have an extensive collection of Christian fiction, as it is not something I typically gravitate towards due to themes or their sometimes repetitive nature. "Here Burns My Candle" does not push an over-ambitious sermon into the reader's experience - pulling from the story. Instead, the religious elements of the book are woven into the fabric of what's presented, more as a plot point than an agenda, despite the out-rightly Biblical roots drawn from the story of Ruth and Naomi.

Through reading several reviews, I've gathered there has been some displeasure with Higgs' use of Gaelic terms. As I listened to the audiobook, I cannot comment on this as an issue with readability, but, for it's part in my experience, I felt these terms helped me to further immerse myself into the impeccably researched culture and atmosphere of Edinburgh in 1745.

"Here Burns My Candle" jumps to the top of my historical fiction list with a 5/5. If you enjoy the concept of 18th Century Scotland, this is a book for you. Every detail was studied down to its marrow for purest accuracy, and it's something I proudly display on my shelf. Now there is only to read the second half of the story: Mine Is The Night, which has been available since March of this year and has become a New York Times Best-Seller. Be looking forward to a review for this next chapter in the lives of Elisabeth and Marjory soon on Sugar Spun Pages.

"The Pleasure of My Company" by Steve Martin

As the back of the book out-rightly says, "Daniel Pecan Cambridge, 30, 35, 38, or 27, depending on how he feels that day, is a young man whose life is rich and full, provided he never leaves his Santa Monica apartment." Told in Steve Martin's unmistakable humor, "The Pleasure of my Company" follows the (rather tame) adventures of Daniel Pecan Cambridge - aptly named due to his family's heritage in the nut industry. He is a young(ish) man with grandiose ideas and concepts floating throughout his head regarding just about everything around him (including his actual personage).

His greatest fears include curbs, misaligned scooped out driveways, and gas station attendants wearing blue hats. He's that kid in class who had to have his pencils lined up in just the right way and ate his lunch in a particular, unshakable order. He's a pleasant, albeit strange, man with a monthly allowance and a huge ability for numbers and counting. His romantic interests overwhelm him easily, but, overall, he wants to do the right thing.

"The Pleasure of My Company" proved an interesting read. When it starts, you're listening to Steve Martin. At least for me, I saw Martin, himself, walking through the aisles of Cambridge's beloved Rite Aid (which, truly, has all you'd ever need!), and that image persisted until the last page. During the starting chapters, while you're getting to know Daniel, Martin's humor flies freely in a successful attempt to establish the protagonist as merely "odd" and not "off-putting". It begins to subside slightly towards the middle and end, which is a bit sad, since he is so funny and you begin to look forward to his almost ceaseless quips. Still, the novella keeps its (mostly) jovial and light tones, and, by the end, provides a nice, warm feeling along side of the expected life lessons.

The ending of the book is, sadly, a bit clipped after the careful, extensive observations provided in the first half or so. Still, all the ends are tied and you're not left feeling as if you've been slighted your proper goodbyes to the characters you've come to enjoy.

This is, truly, a character-driven story. In fact, I'm hard-pressed to think of another book I've read in recent history packed with more character development. By the end of the novel, there is a genuine sense of going on a long journey with Daniel Cambridge, despite his decided inability to comfortably confront a curb.

I give "The Pleasure of My Company" by Steve Martin a happy 4/5 stars.
It's a lovely book, and I would (and have) recommend it to a friend. I hope you'll check it out if it seems like something you'd like on your shelf.

Sugar Spun Pages

When the balloon's rope snapped taut against its groundings, I looked down to the (rather large) specks that comprised my classmates and teachers and thought "it's pretty cool to be a nerd." On my third year of winning the summer reading award, something I shared with two twin sisters, who happened to be my friends and in my year, I felt such pride while stepping into our prize - a tethered balloon ride in the great lawn of our school. It's something I had done twice before at that point, but it hadn't lost its thrill. It's nice when something healthy you've done pays off. What's healthier than feeding your mind?

I've always taken my reading very seriously. From back in my days of jotting down how many pages and minutes - to the second and paragraph - I fell on during those muggy summer months until now, as I sit in my grown-up apartment after a full day of work waiting for my husband to complete his day's commute.

My grandmother has to be the one who taught it to me. She drinks in pages like sweet water and churns through veritable tomes in hours. She has strong opinions on what she reads, and she's not afraid to voice them. I always enjoyed sitting in her room while she read or listening to the recently added facts she can pull from her knowledge base.

I was fortunate enough to marry into a book-loving family. Or, at the very least, I was blessed to be accepted so readily by a book-loving mother-in-law. She blesses me with many borrowed adventures into her personal library, and we have similar enough interests to express thoughts over what we've read and enjoyed (or, sometimes, even better, what we didn't like in the least).

I wanted to start a blog for reviews and book reading alike for several reasons. The most obvious reason being a deep love of crisp, vanillin-scented pages. But I, also, want a place to voice my experience with the books I read, and, even more so, a place to encourage hunger for new concepts and stories.

There are so many brilliant book reviewers out there - people whose lives are totally dedicated to reading and creating strong impressions on what has flowed through the page. I don't hope to claim to be counted among them. But, if you're reading this, I hope you find something worthwhile. I'd like to take a journey with you.

xoxo
B