Finished reading this morning:

THE HERETIC'S DAUGHTER by Kathleen Kent, 2008.
This is a story of the witchcraft trials at Salem, MA in 1692, as told by Sarah Carrier, the 11 year old daughter of convicted witch Martha Carrier. Very well researched, with lots of detail about life and customs in colonial New England, hardships, sicknesses, superstititions, religious persecution, Indian raids, etc. Interesting bits on readying fields for planting, how they harvested crops, use of scarecrows, treating a sick cow, making clothes, etc. Her descriptions of the horrors of prison for the accused witches is really eye-opening; what those people went through, it's hard to imagine how any survived it. Even after being cleared by the governor, many could not leave prison because they couldn't pay their debt to the jailer. It's an extremely dark and intense narrative, more about the Carrier family than any single member--Kent brings out the divisions within the family over inheritance, personalities, old grudges, secrets, and the whole idea that Martha was even accused of witchery by her own brother-in-law is appalling. Kent's characters were real people. It's disturbing and frightening that mass hysteria caused a whole population to be in the peril she describes so well. My only complaint of the book is that it did not truly focus on any one character throughout as it should have. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the Salem trials, though.

Watched "The Muppet Christmas Carol" last night with my family; rented it on DVD from Blockbuster. My daughter had watched it recently while in college, was laughing about it, and got us thinking it would be fun to watch for the holidays. And it was fun: the storyline was pretty much on track, Michael Caine was fine as Scrooge; the rest of it was Muppets everywhere, singing, dancing, etc. Kermit was Bob Cratchit, Miss Piggy played Mrs. Cratchit, and Fozzie Bear played Fozziewig. It was quite comical in places. Having just recently had our annual viewing of George C. Scott's 1984 TV film version of "A Christmas Carol" (my absolute favorite version), it was interesting to see this one again. I had actually seen it in 1992, when I took my young daughter to see it in a theater. It can be fun to see something like this again after so many years, as sometimes you get a different perspective. Enjoyable, silly, good family time.

Finished reading on 12/20/08:

THE HANDMAID AND THE CARPENTER by Elizabeth Berg, 2006.
Berg's story focuses on the parents of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Spare language, good details and setting, interesting characterizations. Appropriate reading during Christmas season; a short novel, but thoughtful. It would be a good choice for a book discussion.

Finished reading on 12/18/09:

LADY MACBETH by Susan Fraser King, 2008.
Historical novel of Macbeth and his wife, set in Scotland during the time period 1030-1058. Author uses known facts about the couple to shape the story; this not told in the way of Shakespeare's play, but includes some of the same elements in the narrative: belief in magic, violence and murder, political unrest, prophecies, etc.

A worthwhile read.