Bibliofreakblog

Read-A-Thon: Update the Third & Nicole’s Feed Me Seymour Mini-Challenge

No, this is not what I’m snacking on.  Though I wish it was!  In fact, if I didn’t know that I had a nice big piece of baklava sitting in my fridge for later, I might run up to Mighty-O Donuts.  In fact, I still might, as it’s only a few blocks away and open until 5 PM.

BUT!  Nicole asked us to post about any food we come across in our reading.  I just finished The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett and they mentioned homemade doughnuts twice.  Good thing it was a novella or I might have caved.

Here’s the passage:

“We stopped, and seeing a party of pleasure-seekers in holiday attire, the thin, anxious mistress of the farmhouse came out with wistful sympathy to hear what news we might have to give.  Mrs. Blackett first spied her at the half-closed door, and asked with such cheerful directness if we were trespassing that, after a few words, she went back to her kitchen and reappeared with a plateful of doughnuts.
     ‘Entertainment for man and beast,’ Announced Mrs. Todd with satisfaction.  ’Why, we’ve perceived there was new doughnuts all along the road, but you’re the first that has treated us.’
     Our new acquaintance flushed with pleasure, but said nothing.
     ‘They’re very nice; you’ve had luck with ‘em,’ pronounced Mrs. Todd.  ’Yes, we’ve observed there was doughnuts all the way along; if one house is frying, all the rest is; ’tis so with a great many things.’
     ‘I don’t suppose you’re goin’ up to the Bowden family reunion?’ asked the hostess as the white horse lifted her head and we were saying good-by [sic].
     ‘Why yes,’ said Mrs. Blackett and Mrs. Todd and I, all together.
     ‘I am connected with the family.  Yes I expect to be there this afternoon.  I’ve been lookin’ forward to it.’ she told us eagerly.
     ‘We shall see you there.  Come and sit with us if it’s convenient,’ said dear Mrs. Blackett, and we drove away.
     ‘I wonder who she was before she was married?’ said Mrs. Todd, who was usually unerring in matters of genealogy.  ’She must have been one of that remote branch that lived down beyond Thomaston.  We can find out this afternoon.  I expect that the families’ll marh together, or be sorted out some way.  I’m willing to own a relation that has such proper ideas of doughnuts.” 

This book takes place in Maine in the 1890’s.  Jewett was trying to capture the traditions and dialect of the people there before they faded all together.  I bought this copy used for 48¢ recently at a used bookstore.  When I opened it up, I noticed that scrawled on the title page in pencil it said, “With much love to my granddaughter who has Maine roots too–Grams”.  This made me so sad to think that someone had sold this to a used bookstore, despite the note from their grandmother and the fact that they probably only got a quarter from it.  :(

So far today I’ve also read the preface of my copy of the Koran, which mostly just chronicled the translations of it in the West over the last millennium.  Then I read the first surra, which was only a few lines (but the next was 40 pages, so I decided to move on to something else).  Anyways, I’d like to quote it because I thought it was so lovely (note that my copy has translated Allah to God–same thing):

I

THE OPENING

In the Name of God, the Mericiful, the Compassionate

Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being,
the All-merciful, the All-compassionate,
     the Master of the Day of Doom.

Thee only we serve; to Thee alone we pray for succour.
      Guide us in the straight path,
the path of those whom Thou hast blessed,
not against those whom Though art wrathful,
     nor of those who are astray.

I can’t believe just how like the Lord’s prayer this is.  I mean, it literally gives Him hallowed names, talks about the end of the earthly days, asks for bread (succor), and to deliver us from evil and lead us down the straight path not into temptation.  It just doesn’t talk about the forgiveness of sins, instead taking on more of the Old Testament style of God, who is portrayed as wrathful.  I knew that there would of course be many similarities but to see that right off the bat is really something, even for this student of Comparative Religion.

That also reminds me of the wonderful prayer that fizzythoughts left me on my last post:

Traditional read-a-thon blessing:

May the bookshelf be there to greet you.
May all the books appeal.
May the fridge be full of tasty snacks;
the words fall soft upon your eyes and until the read-a-thon ends,
may you always hold a book in the palm of your hand.

Now back to the books!