Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Twogether on Tuesday

A pair of tree swallows check out the neighborhood.

I got down to some serious reading this past week. Not in the heavy subjects sense of the word, I mean I took the pastime of reading seriously.
I’ve let it lag these past few years. My eyes bothered me, I spent a great deal of time on the Internet (not like, those two are, like, related or anything) and time sped up and got filled in.
Last week I decided I’d had it with the excuses. I have many books on my to read list and I keep collecting more. The Town is hosting a week-long freecycle event. Books by the boxful are waiting, playful and anxious as a new kitten, to be taken to a new home to be loved and cherished. I’ve been twice already and the event goes until the 30th.

I finished two books I had going and am most of the way through a third. It’s a Zane Grey guns’n’moonshine book as old as I am.
I love it. Wonderful description, zipping story, and dialogue tags few would dare use today like “he ejaculated excitedly.”

For Twofer Tuesday from Zane Grey’s The Arizona Clan, (Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster Canada, 1966. Originally published by Harper & Row, 1958) I offer these two sentences and a bonus in which Dodge Mercer is introduced to the local moonshine, Arizona White Mule:

“A terrific shock, a vitriolic burn, a sudden blindness assailed him simultaneously. A torturing fire seemed to move slowly down inside and to explode. The impact of searing bullets had done less to him.”

As for mine, here’s something from A Fly on the Wall:

“Mrs. Ingetuckle certainly has her own way of expressing herself. What has she got against Norse vegetables?”
“I think she likes the way the words sound. And the image of a Viking eating a salad. She entertains easily.”

For more, or to find out how to participate, please see the Women of Mystery.

15 comments:

Dawn said...

Ahhh - Zane Grey. I remember perching on the arm of my father's chair and reading Zane Grey westerns along with him as a child.

AND Zane Grey came to New Zealand and caught trout in Lake Taupo in the early days.

An author I remember fondly.

Hilary said...

Who couldn't easily fall in love with a character named Mrs. Ingetuckle?

Leah J. Utas said...

Dawn, cool about Zane Grey fishing there. And cool how you read along with your dad.

Hilary, thanks. The name still makes me smile.

Barbara Martin said...

I used to read Zane Grey books when younger.

Your lines made me laugh. Good job.

Thank you for your kind comments.

the Bag Lady said...

Good job, cousin.
Mrs. Ingetuckle sounds interesting, to say the least.
I haven't read Zane Grey for many a year. Thanks for the reminder.

Love the picture of the swallows.

Rupal said...

Freecycle!? That is so cool! I hate buying new books then having no one to give them to when I'm done. I'll have to do more research into this!

Thanks!

Leah J. Utas said...

Barbara, sounds like Zane Grey was more of a hit than I ever realized. Thanks for letting me know you got a laugh.

dfBag Lady, another ZG fan? We're everywhere!
Glad you like her. She's fun to write.
Thanks re: the pic. They were very accommodating.

Leah J. Utas said...

Rupal, we cross-posted. Freecycle is catching on everywhere. This is the second year the Town has put up a huge tent at the transfer station (dump) in town and let people have at it. Folk drop stuff off and other folk come along and take it. Computers, cups, exercise equipment, clothing, even a few toilets. Fascinating spot.
I need to go back. I hear the books calling...

Reb said...

I haven't read Grey in a long time either. I really like the name Ingetuckle and the thought of Vikings eating salads!

Leah J. Utas said...

Good to know Ingetuckle is such a hit.
And I'm glad the salad visual worked.

Nancy said...

I'm back into reading again, also. I haven't read a Zane Grey since I was a child. Nice to find those authors that touch a spot not touched in a while. Enjoy.

Clare2e said...

I'm not sure what Norse vegetables are (deer haunches and edelweiss), but I'm loving your WIP.

I could fuel an entire library of freecycling with my extras.

Leah J. Utas said...

It sure is, Lover of Life. I hadn't read him in a while either. I always loved westerns.

Clare, thanks. Writing it is a blast.
Sigh. I just got two more from the tent.


*My name is Leah, and I am a book rescuer.*

Terrie Farley Moran said...

df Leah,

"She entertains easily"

Just wonderful!

Terrie

Leah J. Utas said...

dfTerrie, thanks. It's good to get feedback.