Lydia, do you think One Thousand White Women is another novel that suffers from 'Dances With Wolves Syndrome'? I am collecting examples of DWWS now that I have a name to go with the manifestation. If you didn't enjoy the first two-thirds, you probably wouldn't like the last third any better. I finished it, but didn't like the ending. I did enjoy the 'what if' aspect of OTWW, but I concur that the writer was sloppy with his 'stereotypes, anachronisms, and sensibilities' and the violence and cruelty were off-putting (the scene of the prostitute having her insides washed out with hot water has stuck with me, unfortunately). As for it being 'a joke', if I remember correctly, it did seem to be somewhat satirical in tone, something that kept me from taking it very seriously. Ha! I've run across readers, too, who think it's history. Woodnymph, my sister-in-law from South Carolina praised Pat Conroy's writing until his last couple of books (written before SIL's death), but she disliked Anne Rivers Siddons. I don't remember exactly why, but it ran along the lines of what she thought of 'the trap' that southern writers often fall into, which she described as "[the writers] giving the readers what they expect." I think she considered it 'lazy writing', so that may correspond with your opinion that Conroy "has lost his touch." Do you think so?

Interesting subject Yvonne, as I have been planning to buy a copy of Jane Eyre for a friend who, somehow had never read it. She claims her class never 'did' it at school, which seems a feeble excuse for never reading it. ;-) Anyway I was looking at the Book Depository site (free delivery to Canada being too good an offer to turn down) and came up with over seven hundred choices . . . If you had never heard of Jane Eyre and looked at even 20 of them, I wonder how many of those covers would give you a clue to what lay inside? May be the ones showing a single female, or the 'artist's impression' of a busty female and a hunky guy. But what about rugged mountains, coastal scenes and ones so 'obscure' they have no 'meaning' at all? Answers on a post card please. Here is a link that might be useful: Will the Real Jane Eyre . . . .

Old Mother West Wind, Grandfather Frog. Boy, did I love those when I was a kid in the 40's and 50's. I pulled out one which was printed in 1915, so my mother enjoyed them as well. None of mine have checkered covers, so they must have been printed for a long time. Goes to show you a good story never goes out of date.

Thanks guys, I will check that out. A little about myself: I am recently widowed, I live in the mid west in a 2 year old patio home. I have two friends in the development who keep me so busy, it's hard to find reading time. My main interest right now is traveling. I have been reading since the first grade teacher stopped reading books to the class. My favorite books are historical novels...not the romances. I just bought......and am re-reading the Outlander series. That's some heavy reading, about 800 pages per book and 6 in the series. I also like The Earth Children Series. I ran out of historical novels years ago and went to books about strong women, Danielle Steele's books for example. I like light reading most of the time. Books like The Little Lady Agency by Hester Brown, her second was Little Lady, Big Apple. I like Fern Michaels, they are such an easy read which helps at my age. I especially like her Sisterhood Series and Hey Goodlooking. Another one I like is Night Swimming by Robin Schwarz. The list goes on and on. If you don't mind I will hang in here for a while. There was another book I was interested in. If I remember right the title was "Under the ____ Tree". It was about a woman who's husband surprised her with a divorce, he gave her nothing except a house in a small town and kicked her out. In spite of feeling so alone, she makes a life for herself in her new environment. I am going to check out Ladder of Years, thanks again.