List #48: A Few of the Best Books I Read in 2014

Henrietta's War (Rec. #344) and Henrietta See It Through, Joyce Dennys

First lines: "My dear Robert, it was good to get your letter and hear that you are in a 'perfectly safe place,' though I wonder how much of that is true and how much intended to allay the alarms of your friend. And why, when I and everyone else know that you are in France, must I address my letters to Berkshire?"

Last lines: "When last I saw the Canadian, he had a pretty girl on each side of him and was singing 'Auld Lang Syne.'"

Loaded Words, Marjorie Garber

First lines: "Few words are more loaded than loaded. From 'charged, burdened, laden' (loaded carts, loaded hearts, loaded fruit trees, loaded guns) to 'weighted, especially with lead' (loaded dice) to slang usages from 'drunk' to 'drugged' to 'extremely wealthy,' loaded tells a story of abundance, excess, danger, and desire."

Last lines: "What comes after the humanities --- for humanists and for scholarship in general --- will be unexpected, unforeseen, transformative. If we could predict it with certainty, we would not be looking far enough ahead."

The Adventures of Sally, P.G. Wodehouse

First lines: "Sally looked contentedly down the long table. She felt happy at last."

Last lines: "Come on, it's a lovely night, let's walk to the village and revel at the inn. We're going to be millionaires before we know where we are, so we can afford it."