A Library of My Own

Great Expectations - Charles Dickens

2012-02-03T14:08:00.000-08:00

Title: Great Expectations
Author: Charles Dickens
ebook: iBooks app for iPhone
FTC: free on iPhone

I am going to attempt to be better at writing up reviews of some of the classic books I've read -- mainly because I love love classic books. Charles Dickens has become one of my favorite authors. A couple of Decembers ago I read, and loved, A Christmas Carol. I then tried out The Mystery of Edwin Drood - his last book and unfinished. Not my favorite, but then again it was unfinished. I also saw this great mini-series Bleak House which I loved so I thought I'd try another Dickens novel. For some reason Dickens is just a winter author. I also love reading classic books on my iPhone because it's always there, it's free, sometimes rocking Rocket it's easier to read one handed, and iBooks lets me bookmark pages.

The plot in my words:

Pip (Philip Pirrip) is an orphan living with his aunt (who slaps him around) and his gentle uncle Joe. At the beginning of the book, Pip is being interrogated by an escaped convict. He scares him into bringing him some food, drink, and something to take off his shackles.

Later, Pip is hired to periodically visit an eccentric old lady, Miss Havisham, and her adopted daughter Estella. Miss Havisham was jilted at the alter eons ago and was never able to let that go. So she sits in her crumbling mansion, wearing her disintegrating wedding dress, and is raising Estella to despise men. Even though Estella is cruel to Pip, he falls in love with her anyway and spends his youth pinning for her.

**Let me interject here that the only movie adaptation I've seen of this is the 1998 version with Ethan Hawke and Gwenyth Paltrow. It was a long time ago but I still see these characters in their roles, even though the adaptation was changed a lot for the more modern movie.

Anyway. While working for his uncle, Pip is told that he has a mysterious benefactor who is giving him tons of money for his "great expectations." So young Pip moves to London to become great, become educated, and basically just blows his money on nothing.

Then through various stuff, Pip grows as a young man, discovers who his benefactor is, and basically grows up.

My thoughts:

So the plot might be a tad odd but I adore Dickens' writing, his characters, and his humor.

One of my favorite characters is Pip's lawyer's clerk Wemmick. He has this whole other life outside of the office that he never talks about. He invites Pip to visit his home where he takes care of his aging father (who he calls "The Aged Parent" or "The Aged P." which absolutely cracks me up). He's always urging Pip to get "portable property" which is exactly what it sounds like.

I always think Dickens has to have such humor in his stories to break up the actually depressing subject matter sometimes. Orphans, child abuse, the death penalty, a depressing tour of Newgate prison -- I mean this book could be really depressing. BUT, Dickens is just so funny and he definitely has a way with words. So here's some of my bookmarked passages:

On Pip's love for Estella:

But, though she had taken such strong possession of me, though my fancy and my hope were so set upon her, though her influence on my boyish life and character had been all-powerful, I did not, even that romantic morning, invest her with any attributes save those she possessed.

I loved her simply because I found her irresistible. Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be.

On Wemmick's "portable property" advice - talking about a prisoner of Newgate who took care of pigeons:

"A Coiner, a very good workman. The Recorder's report is made today, and he is sure to be executed on Monday. Still you see, as far as it goes, a pair of pigeons are portable property all the same."

Wemmick's advice in lending money to a friend:

"Choose your bridge, Mr. Pip," returned Wemmick, "and take a walk upon your bridge, and pitch your money into the Thames over the centre arch of your bridge, and you know the end of it. Serve a friend with it, and you may know the end of it too, --but it's a less pleasant and profitable end."

On Pip trying to pay bills:

Dinner over, we produced a bundle of pens, a copious supply of ink, and a goodly show of writing and blotting paper. For there was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.

Each of us would then refer to a confused heap of papers at his side, which had been thrown into drawers, worn into holes in pockets, half burnt in lighting candles, stuck for weeks into the looking-glass, and otherwise damaged.

(This scene always reminds me of Bernard doing his taxes and trying to write a children's book in Black Books - which if you've never seen that show you MUST. NOW. WATCH. IT.)

My love of Dickens' descriptions of people:

...but I was looked after by an inflammatory old female, assisted by an animated rag-bag whom she called her niece...

Anyway, Great Expectations is Dickens at his best and I will definitely be checking out more of his books. Have you read any Dickens and what do you think?

The Flight of Gemma Hardy - Margot Livesey

2012-02-02T09:39:00.000-08:00

Title: The Flight of Gemma Hardy
Author: Margot Livesey
Paperback: 443 pages (ARE version)
Publisher: HarperLuxe/HarperCollins
Published date: January 24, 2012
FTC: Received from TLC Book Tours to review

The Flight of Gemma Hardy is already going down as one of my favorite books of this year -- or any year. It's just a beautiful book and is a prime example of why I love reading. You know the feeling when you were young and you got swept away by the stories of say Anne of Green Gables, Pippi Longstocking, or Cinderella? This is exactly the feeling I had even more recently when a few years ago I first read Jane Eyre. And you wish you could go back and read those books for the first time? Well sit down, grab a cup of coffee or tea, and cuddle up with this book.

Back of the book:

When her widower father drowns at sea, Gemma Hardy is taken from her native Iceland to Scotland to live with her kind uncle and his family. But the death of her doting guardian leaves Gemma under the care of her resentful aunt, and it soon becomes clear that she is nothing more than an unwelcome guest at Yew House. When she receives a scholarship to a private school, ten-year-old Gemma believes she’s found the perfect solution and eagerly sets out again to a new home. However, at Claypoole she finds herself treated as an unpaid servant.

To Gemma’s delight, the school goes bankrupt, and she takes a job as an au pair on the Orkney Islands. The remote Blackbird Hall belongs to Mr. Sinclair, a London businessman; his eight-year-old niece is Gemma’s charge. Even before their first meeting, Gemma is, like everyone on the island, intrigued by Mr. Sinclair. Rich (by Gemma’s standards), single, flying in from London when he pleases, Hugh Sinclair fills the house with life. An unlikely couple, the two are drawn to each other, but Gemma’s biggest trial is about to begin: a journey of passion and betrayal, redemption and discovery, that will lead her to a life of which she’s never dreamed.

The Flight of Gemma Hardy—a captivating homage to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre—is a sweeping saga that resurrects the timeless themes of the original but is destined to become a classic all its own.

In the Author's Words:

"I made my heroine a little older than myself because I wanted her to come of age just slightly before the rising tide of feminism—the pill, equal pay, discrimination—broke over both Britain and the States. The Flight of Gemma Hardy is, in my mind, neither my autobiography nor a retelling of Jane Eyre. Rather I am writing back to Charlotte Brontë, recasting Jane's journey to fit my own courageous heroine and the possibilities of her time and place. And like Brontë I am, of course, stealing from my own life."

My thoughts:

Margot Livesey wrote a beautiful letter to the reader at the front of the copy I have. I found the above excerpt again on her website. I thought that was a beautiful tribute for this homage to Jane Eyre.

I straight up loved this book. Gemma Hardy's spans the late 1950's to the mid 1960's which I thought was such a perfect time period to set her more modern story. Her upbringing in Scotland, her au pair position in the Orkneys and her background in Iceland -- talk about armchair traveling. I now just want to pack up and head out and visit all the places from Gemma's story.

Gemma, like Jane Eyre, is such a compelling character. As a girl who loves reading and who's biggest dream is to go to college, I just fell for her plight and her loneliness. The title of the book is perfect. Do you remember when Jane Eyre flees from Rochester? Just like I wanted to reach into the book and slap Jane Eyre and tell her to talk to Rochester - I wanted to reach in and slap Gemma. But at the same time I understand. They both were characters who had to go into their positions with Rochester and for Gemma, Mr. Sinclair, as equals.

It's hard to gush any more about The Flight of Gemma Hardy without big spoilers so I'm having a Jane Eyre/Margot Livesey marathon. HarperCollins was awesome to send this absolutely beautiful paperback edition of Jane Eyre for me to read and review. I've already loved The Flight of Gemma Hardy more as I'm reading Brontë's beautiful story.

I was also beyond excited to realize that I recognized Margot Livesey's name because I have another one of her books on my shelf - The House on Fortune Street. So I'm going to gobble that one up as well.

Margo’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, January 30th: Just Joanna *

Wednesday, February 1st: Book Reviews by Molly *

Thursday, February 2nd: A Library of My Own

Tuesday, February 14th: Much Madness is Divine Sense

Wednesday, February 15th: Into the Hall of Books

Thursday, February 16th: Chaotic Compendiums *

Monday, February 20th: Luxury Reading

Tuesday, February 21st: Coffee and A Book Chick

Tuesday, February 21st: The Whimsical Cottage

Wednesday, February 22nd: A Chick Who Reads

Thursday, February 23rd: Book Nook Club

Tuesday, February 28th: It’s a Crazy, Beautiful Life

Wednesday, February 29th: ooldes of books

Thursday, March 1st: Book Clutter

Monday, March 5th: Book Journey

Tuesday, March 6th: Drey’s Library

Wednesday, March 7th: Book-a-rama

Thursday, March 8th: Unabridged Chick *

* also reading Jane Eyre

Outlander - Diana Gabaldon

2012-01-24T12:58:00.000-08:00

Title: Outlander (Outlander series #1)
Author: Diana Gabaldon
Paperback: 850 pages
Publisher: Dell/Random House
Published date: 1991
FTC: bought at library book sale

Over the years I've heard a lot of buzz about Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series. Sometimes it sounds so appealing: set in the 1700's during Scotland Jacobite Risings (wanting to return the "rightful" king James II to the throne -- it failed). That sounds like something I'd love. Then there's the time travel thing: a WWII nurse gets thrown back in time. Ok, a bit odd but still sounds intriguing. But THEN - it's listed as a romance as well. Hmm. Not as much up my alley. But when I saw it listed #89 on NPR's Top Sci-Fi/Fantasy list I thought, ok. Let's give it a whirl. I needed something light, fun, and absorbing during my Christmas vacation. Little did I know I'd be stuck in a massive 850 page book.

Back of the book:

The year is 1945. Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon -- when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach -- an "outlander" -- in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of Our Lord...1743.

Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire is catapulted into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life...and shatter her heart. For here James Fraser, a gallant young warrior, shows her a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives.

My thoughts:

Honestly, for much of the book I kept just wanting to get to the end. I think I was 400-ish pages into and thinking - really, I have ANOTHER 400 pages to go?? Well, I had already invested so much time that I figured I'd just ride it out.

To be fair though, there were a lot of aspects of the book I enjoyed. I am so intrigued by the setting. I've always loved this part of history where, probably had I lived back then and there I too would be part of the Jacobite movement. Does anyone know of any other books set during this period that they would recommend?

I also enjoyed Claire's medical background and her knowledge and use of herbal remedies. I am currently reading a non-fiction book, The Discovery of Jeanne Baret, which is also about a woman (disguising as a man) who was knowledgeable of herbs and medicines set in 1765. So I loved digging more into this aspect of history.

And to be even more fair, when there was action and adventure in the book, it was a fun absorbing tale. Diana Gabaldon is a good descriptive writer and the story is fun.

My main problems though are 1) the length and 2) the way too many bedroom scenes. While she is great at writing description and setting the scene and making the reader really care about the characters -- it's no great feat when packing it into a huge ol' tome. Seriously. I really don't want to read the rest of the books because I just don't think I can spare the time. Which comes to romps in the hay. (Which there really was one in the book -- which is so unrealistic. Hay is NOT comfortable.) Goodness. I get mentioning their first time or so but I really started skimming the book when every. single. time. they did it was mentioned. In detail. Sheesh.

I also thought that it was highly "coincidental" that Claire's loving husband from 1945 just happens to have an ancestor who looks exactly like him and is the most horrible villain in 1743. Hmm. And the whole end of the book (I'm talking about what happens to Jaime - no spoilers here) is quite disturbing.

So -- to sum it up:

I get the attraction to the book. I do like the characters of Claire and Jamie. I love the Scottish Jacobite setting, and the time travel thing is kind of cool. BUT -- the length and the amount of skimming I ended up having to do is just not worth my time.

That said, I would totally love to see it made into a movie. Staring, say, this guy (I know Jamie is a red-head but whatever...)

Photo taken from Fly High's hilarious post

Have you read this book or more of the series? What are your thoughts?

Also Reviewed by:

Fly High
Literate Housewife
Fyrefly's Book Blog
Monniblog
Historical Tapestry
Age 30+ A Lifetime of Books (on the first three in the series)
Outlandish Dreaming (on visiting Scotland: Loch Ness: Culloden)

Cinder Audiobook Winner!

2012-01-24T08:54:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to announce the winner of the Cinder audiobook by Marissa Meyer. I absolutely adored this sci-fi fairytale. You can check out my review.

The winner is:

Dawn M.!!!

Of the upcoming books in the series, Dawn says she's looking forward to reading Scarlet - the take on the Little Red Riding Hood story. Since I'm loving the show Once Upon a Time, I can't help but picture her like this:

Scored - Lauren McLaughlin

2012-01-23T13:04:00.000-08:00

Title: Scored
Author: Lauren McLaughlin
Hardcover: 226 pages
Publisher: Random House
Published Date: October 2011
FTC: Won from Random House Teens Random Buzzers

Random House has a cool website for teen and YA books called Random Buzzers. If you've never checked it out and like that type of book, head on over. By registering, you can participate in a ton of cool things - contests, chats with authors, cool extras from books. By participating too, you can chock up buzz bucks and use them to get books. Very cool idea. I somehow won a copy of Lauren McLaughlin's dystopian book Scored -- and you know how I love a good dystopian book.

Back of the book:

Forget your family. Forget your friends. You are your score. Score above 90, and you're set for life -- a full college scholarship, the career of your dreams... Score below 75, and you've got a tough life ahead of you, kid.

Imani LeMonde has worked hard, and one month away from high school graduation, she's a 92. Unfortunately, her best friend, Cady, is a 71 and falling fast. And now Diego -- brilliant, iconoclastic, and unscored -- wants Imani for a study partner. The score-positive choice is clear: Think of your future. Stick with your score gang. Ditch these losers. But something about being scored isn't feeling quite right to Imani anymore. ScoreCorp - the giant software company whose intelligent, ever-present cameras watch everybody's every move -- says the score is meant to create upward mobility. But who benefits in ScoreCorp's brave new world? Is any future worth dumping your best friend for? Imani will have to decide fast - because once the final score is in, there's no looking back.

In Scored, Lauren McLaughlin builds an insidiously dystopian world, set in a future that's just a little too close for comfort. What's your score?

My thoughts:

This has to be one of the most realistically possible dystopian books I have read in a long while. While books like The Hunger Games (my review) and Divergent (my review) are exciting and chock full of action - Scored is disturbing in more realistic ways.

In this future, a huge economic decline called the Second Depression closed down many of the more affordable universities and colleges. Only the very wealthy get to go to college. Thus the rise of ScoreCorp. Imani's hometown of Somerton, a marina town on the decline, is a test town for ScoreCorp. Almost everywhere she goes, there are eyeball cameras hanging down and watching everything that happens. Every action is judged and your score is based on that. Even just being friends with someone who's a "lowbie" or an unscored can damage your score -- which is what happens to Imani.

I thought this was a very interesting and inventive story. Taking the SAT and ACT score thing to a whole new level, I could actually believe in the eyeball thing too after being in London where virtually everywhere you go in public is being videotaped by CCTV.

Imani is an awesome character to follow. Her parents struggle to run a bait shop by the marina, she drives her own boat and catches what she can to help out. Her dream is to go to college for marine biology so she can figure out how to help the ecological system of her declining marina. Struggling with the concept that just by associating with her friend Cady, her score has plummeted, she tries to do the right thing by going to the adults for help: her parents who don't understand at all having never been through the score process, her history teacher who is awesome and rebels against the score but he can because he has tenure, and her creepily score-happy principle.

I loved the character of Diego. For a reason I don't want to spoil, he is an unscored - either rich enough to not need a score to get into college or some parents and students just don't want to bother with the score for their own reasons. Diego is very smart and I personally love that he names something (another I don't want to spoil thing) Chaos Foundation - an homage to the Isaac Asimov Foundation Trilogy I'm currently reading. How cool is that?! I also loved that Imani - besides having a really cool unique name, is part African-American. You can sort of tell on the cover. McLaughlin writes the whole setting and characters so well that I can almost picture it as a movie. Very cool.

The only thing that might put people off - especially YA audience - is that while there's great characters and a bit of attraction thing between Imani and Diego, the story is mainly about ScorpCorp and the pros and cons of being scored. In fact Imani and Diego's main interaction is debating about the score - which in the story works but it might not be enough "romance" for the YA audience. For me, it was a fresh change from some of the Team Edward/Jacob/Peeta/Gale thing. It's smart.

If you are interested, you can go to Lauren McLaughlin's website and read the first two chapters.

Also Reviewed by:

Becky's Book Reviews

Freedom from Censorship

2012-01-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

I was going to post a review today (and my belated Foundation Part 2 answers) but then I heard of the SOPA Strike. I know I'm not "striking" by posting this but I wanted to get the word out and if you read about it and agree - you can sign the petition.

I think that the USA is on the cusp of huge decisions right now. With the absolute head spinning advancements in technology that affect us all everyday, our government is trying to keep up with the times. However, there is a fine line between trying to keep up with technology and passing laws and bills that actually infringe upon our Constitutional Rights. Some people may think "No way could the government get away with blatant infringement!"

You only have to look at the Patriot Act (which the American Library Association has been against since it passed*) to see that there ARE blatant un-Constitutional things going on. It's up to us to challenge it and stand against those infringements. In years to come, will our children or children's children be reading in history books about this time period and wondering why we didn't step up and stop the stripping away of our Rights?

SOPA Strike Information

Head over to SopaStrike.com tons of information and check out all the websites that are participating - such as Wikipedia, Boing Boing, and more.

Read more about SOPA and PIPA - censor the Web, stifle jobs and innovation, and still won't prevent piracy

Watch this video:

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

TAKE ACTION!!

Sign the petition

* Check out the ALA's stance on the Patriot Act

Coming Soon

2012-01-13T09:53:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd mention just a few books that have hit my radar recently. I've been pretty bad blogging about recent book acquisitions but there are also other books I just want to throw out. It also keeps me from having tons of scraps of paper laying around. So here we go:

Charles Todd

What hole have I been hiding in that I have not heard of this guy's books before? I first heard of him a couple days ago over a Book Club Girl where she talks about the movie War Horse, WWI and Charles Todd. Todd's books center around WWI and it seems he's got two popular series going: Inspector Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford, a WWI nurse. A Duty to the Dead is the first in the Bess Crawford series I think I'm going to HAVE to check out.

It seems like with War Horse and with the popular (and yes I'll admit I was watching last Sunday yay!!) Downton Abbey series on PBS, WWI history is IN. And if you want more Downton Abbey reading stuff, check out this New York Times article. Fun stuff.

(P.S. - Sad moment for me. My husband will NOT stop making fun of me because I kept calling the show Downtown Abbey. I KNOW the Abbey was called Downton but for some reason the title made me think of Upstairs Downstairs, especially after watching the new one that came out last year. Ok. I know. I've been duly corrected and feel very silly.)

In February I'm going to have the chance to review Matthew Pearl's new book The Technologists for TLC Book Tours. Do you remember this post where this book is on my wish-list? Yay! A few years ago I reviewed his book The Last Dickens (my review) and will be also reading another book I have on my shelf, The Poe Shadow.

In March I'll be reviewing a couple other books for TLC Book Tours. How cool do these sound?

Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison
Russia, the Bolshevik Revolution, Rasputin's daughter, the Prince Alyosha -- looks awesome.

The Dispatcher by Ryan David Jahn
East Texas, a daughter presumed dead and then a phone call, a police dispatcher and a comparison to No Country for Old Men.

Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay
Aging Russian ballet star puts her antique jewelry up for sale, reminisces about her past and the perhaps secret hidden within her jewels. Ooooo.

This one isn't for TLC Tours but it's on my bookshelf and has been calling to me to read it. Then I saw that TLC is hosting and I thought, perfect timing! I love reading a book and then seeing a lot of different reviews that I can check out.

Veiled in Shadows by Allan Russell
I little while ago I splurged and bought a book that I've been eyeing for a while. I've been a big fan of Allan's blog Publish or Perish. He lives in Melbourne, Australia and he posts the coolest photos of Melbourne and his travels around the area. The book is about WWII and centers around an SS guard and what happens when his love, a half-German heiress disappears. I definitely love WWII novels. I also love love the cover he chose.

Ok. That's it for now! Rocket is rolling around on the floor and keeps eating carpet. How do you stop a baby from eating carpet? Here he is on Christmas opening presents. We gave him another haircut a few days after so he now looks like a little boy.

The Foundation Group Read Part 1

2012-01-09T10:29:00.000-08:00

I am so excited to be participating in Carl's Group Read of Isaac Asimov's The Foundation. In the email he sent with the questions, he mentioned that he will be hosting group reads of the other two books in the trilogy. Yay! I finally get to read this book that I inherited from my dad that has the whole trilogy. Also, it will knock off #8 on NPR's Top 100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy list. This time (unlike when I listened to The Lantern) I didn't charge ahead past the designated stopping point. If you are joining along or just want to see what Carl or others are saying about the first half of the book, head over to Stainless Steel Droppings.

1) For the purpose of satisfying curiosity, is this your first time reading Foundation or have you read it before?

I had tried reading The Foundation a few years ago and got probably close to this point when I stopped. I remember liking how it started out and then getting bogged down in the details.

2) For those who have read it before, how has it held up to your memory/feelings about previous reads?

I really enjoy, as I did now, Part One: The Psychohistorians. Perhaps because I majored in history and love the idea of psychohistorians analyzing and using statistics and mathematics to predict future events. I am also amazed at how Asimov set up the story with Gaal Dornick going to Trantor and how in just a few short pages a whole world is created. I think I still got bogged down at the same place in Part Three: The Mayors with all the political talk and dealings. This time, I read The Foundation out loud to Rocket as I fed him a bottle and for some reason reading it out loud helped me get through it much easier.

3) For those reading Foundation for the first time, what expectations did you have going in and has it met them or surprised you in any way?

For me, I am still amazed that even though this was written in 1951, it does not seem dated at all. That and I feel like some modern writers can learn a lot from writers like Asimov. You don't need to write a 800+ page book to get across the point. Asimov can pack a lot in a small punch. I always think The Foundation sounds like a huge chunkster but it isn't.

4) What are your thoughts about the structure of the novel thus far? (I am referring to the brief glimpses of different parts of the history of the Foundation with big time gaps between events in the novel)

I actually am really loving this part. I feel omniscience this way. By jumping the time gap we are able to see how the pieces fit together much better. I think it takes a little getting used to though because in most novels or books the reader follows a character or protagonist. I guess Hari Seldon could be the main protagonist but he is old and dies in the first part.

5) What are your initial thoughts on the field of psychohistory?

I think it is ingenious. I really think it could be possible.

6) What, if anything, is holding your interest thus far, what are you enjoying about Foundation?

I think the psychohistory part is fascinating and I want to see how Hari Seldon's predictions come about. I also love the similarities between the fall of the Galactic Empire and the period of barbarism that is predicted is so similar to the fall of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages. In my library and information science classes, they are also concerned with a future "dark" age if all of our information is stored on computers and based on a technology to access, what happens if that technology fails? Anyway. I am still looking forward to reading more of The Foundation.

7)What, if anything, are you not enjoying about Foundation?

I was pleasantly surprised that the political talk I found in Part Three: The Mayors, wasn't what I remembered and I was interested in that part of the story as well. Carl had us stop at a pretty good point with the heightened tension as Salvor Hardin is heading towards Anacreaon and possibly his doom. Oooo. I am a bit disappointed that there's no female characters, as yet, but Carl mentioned a few strong female characters in the next two books in the trilogy.

8) You may have covered this in answering the other questions, but if not, what are your thoughts/feelings about the Galactic Empire. Is it a practical thing to have a galaxy spanning government? Can you imagine such a thing and do you think it would work?

I totally find that believable. It seems like throughout history, empires are never quite happy with what they have and are continually trying to expand - which often leads to destruction. It's always harder to control and manage larger populations with different cultures, geographies, religions, etc. The Greeks, the Romans, the Roman Catholics, the Byzantines, the Greek Orthodox, the Russians, the Germans, the list goes on and on. Even our own country, I think, is starting to get too Federally run which only makes it harder to manage. There are benefits as well as drawbacks to having such a large spanning government.

9) What are your thoughts on Hardin's creation of a religious system in which to house scientific ideas and technology while keeping the users of that science and technology in the dark?

I think that it is quite brilliant. I could absolutely see that happening. What is harder to imagine is the priests who believe while working behind the scenes. It's difficult imagining that but I could see it happening at the same time. I almost see that in some of Earth's history. Perhaps this is what the Egyptians and other cultures did - set up their kings as gods and coerce the population into submission using "magic." It's quite fascinating.

----------------
Ok that's it! I'm looking forward to finishing it up and then joining in with Carl's future group reads of the rest of the trilogy.

Silent in the Grave - Deanna Raybourn

2012-01-06T12:49:00.000-08:00

Title: Silent in the Grave (Lady Julia #1)
Author: Deanna Raybourn
Paperback: 511 pages
Publisher: MIRA
Published date: 2007
FTC: won a contest from Historical Tapestry

I won the first two books in Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia series a while back from Historical Tapestry. I thought this would be a good vacation book to read in December so I picked it up. My verdict? Eh. It's a good escape book to read on the beach, in a bubble bath, or at a ski resort lodge. But...it didn't wow me like I was hoping. I normally do a back of the book summary but I'm not liking it as well. So here's

My summery:

The book starts out in London in 1886 like this:

"To say that I met Nicholas Brisbane over my husband's dead body is not entirely accurate. Edward, it should be noted, was still twitching upon the floor."

Lady Julia Grey's husband has always been sickly so his death was not quite unexpected. However, the mysterious Nicholas Brisbane tells Lady Julia that Edward had been threatened and was afraid for his life. For instance, this threat was torn from the pages of Psalms:

"Let the wicked be ashamed and let them be silent in the grave."

At first Lady Julia scoffs at Brisbane's idea that Edward could have been murdered. But after going through Edward's possessions, she decides that Brisbane might be on to something and hires him.

Lady Julia and Brisbane proceed to solve the mystery and some attraction between the two ensues.

My thoughts:

Ok. I'll admit it wasn't bad. I enjoyed the literary quotes at the beginning of each chapter that pertained to the story. Lady Julia was a pretty good heroine and I enjoyed seeing her start to break out of her conservative shell that she had been stuck in during her, let's say, blasé marriage. Brisbane is a pretty cool character too and I enjoyed that he wasn't a Sherlock Holmes knockoff or a "deadly handsome" character. In fact, I really could never quite envision what Lady Julia or Brisbane look like. Not sure why.

The mystery was ok. Some red herrings. I enjoyed the digging into the underbelly of Victorian era London. If sometimes I thought that Lady Julia's family seemed a little too modern for the time period, it still was entertaining and it worked. So what do I know?

My problem is that it just didn't hook me. I kept 500+ pages I kept getting antsy for the story to get going and for it to end. I also have the second book in the series Silent in the Sanctuary and am not sure when I'm going to get around to reading it. I will eventually.

I was pleasantly surprised that while this series had been on my to-read list for a long while, I had only recently realized that it's classified under romance - granted historical fiction and mystery as well - but I was nervous it would be too romancy for me. That wasn't the case.

Have you read it? What were your thoughts? Does the series get better and should I give her other books a chance?

Covers:

The above cover is the small paperback version I have. Here's what looks like a more modern version:

Similar to my copy but with a different top:

This one's kind of different:

Also Reviewed By:

Royal Reviews

Cinder Audiobook Giveaway!

2012-01-04T09:46:00.001-08:00

After posting my review on Marissa Meyer's new book Cinder, I was contacted by Macmillan and asked if I wanted to do an audiobook giveaway. O yes I do!

I had a small problem uploading the audio so The Book Pushers (they have a giveaway too!) were nice enough to share their audio link. Just listen to this:

Cinder Audiobook Clip

What do you think? Awesome, right?

All you have to do is follow these instructions to enter:

1) Enter the form below.
2) You must include the answer to this: What fairy tale character do you think will be your favorite one in the Lunar Chronicle series? (Hint: Check out my review for a preview of what the characters will be in the next books.)

3) USA mailing address only
4) Contest is open through January 20th

Extra entries
+1 If you are a follower
+1each Facebook, Twitter, blog, etc. (please provide link)

Good luck everyone!!

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Cinder - Marissa Meyer

2012-01-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

Title: Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
Author: Marissa Meyer
Paperback: 387 pages (ARE version)
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends/ Macmillan
Published date: January 3, 2012
FTC: received from publisher for review

Yippee skippee! I love books like this. I got the dreaded cold a couple days ago and stayed in bed and tried not to kiss my little baby boy. But the good news was that it gave me time to ~~read~~ devour Cinder in one day. You can read an excerpt here at MacMillan. The book also just came out today so you can go read it all now if you have a copy.

I first heard of Cinder over at Shelf Awareness. Head over there because they devoted a whole Maximum Shelf to it back in November.

Let me just say that Cinderella as cyborg = awesome. I loved her classic fairy tale story mixed with science fiction and fantasy.

Back of the book:

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

In this thrilling debut young adult novel, the first of a quartet, Marissa Meyer introduces readers to an unforgettable heroine and a masterfully crafted new world that’s enthralling.

My thoughts:

I thoroughly had fun with this book. I think the only problem is that I was trying to explain to my husband the plot and he just gave me a blank look. Ok. It IS a lot to pack into a story line.

Cinderella is a cyborg. For those of you who may be confused, Cinder was in an accident when she was little and had to be fitted with a ton of machine and computer parts. Does this make her any less human? Apparently this society believes cyborgs are second class citizens.

There's a plague. There's a Prince. There's the evil step-mother and the step-sisters. There's a ball. There's a cool spin on the glass slipper. There's an evil queen -- from the moon! See. Quite a bit to pack into a book. I'll admit that the evil queen aspect starts getting a little weird, but it works and I'm curious to see how the story progresses with that.

Most people have given this book an amazing review and loved it - I am among those. I did read one review that there was a lack of Asian culture references even though it was set in New Beijing. Honestly, I didn't really think that was the case. I think this would have to be a much bigger chunkster and possibly a non-YA book if it became that detailed.

I'm already looking forward to the subsequent books. It's definitely one that ends with a "What??!! I want to know what happens next!!" I also want to see this as a movie. I love that it's set in New Beijing and I envisioned the Bladerunner movie when I read about hovercraft and cyborgs being second class citizens.

As for the story, I love Cinder's humanity. She wasn't perfect. She got pissed, annoyed, scared, angry -- I love my heroines to be un-perfect. I also loved the side characters. Often we get to read Prince Kai's perspective which I loved. His struggle to basically man-up, grow up, and become a leader all while going through personal tragedy. My other favorite characters were Peony, one of Cinder's step-sisters, and Iko, Cinder's android friend.

Yay! I just read this on Shelf Awareness:

At this point, Szabla has the manuscript for the second book, Scarlet (inspired by Little Red Riding Hood and scheduled for winter 2013), but has not yet seen a draft of the third book,Cress (based on Rapunzel, slated for winter 2014). Winter, the conclusion rooted in Snow White, will be published in winter 2015. "The intertwining starts right away in book two," Szabla said, referring to the way the other fairytale heroines will enter Cinder's story. Meyer is in complete control of her story, she said: "It's airtight."

I love that Meyer is brining other fairy tale characters into the story. I'm curious to see how she pulls it off.

Past chronicles:

On Goodreads I found there was a prequel to Cinder's story, Glitches. Head over to Tor's website for the free short story. How awesome is the artwork? There's a whole post on how the artist, Goni Montes, created the artwork.

Glitches artwork by Goni Montes

Alternate cover:

Also while perusing Goodreads, I came across this alternate cover. While I love the red slipper with the cyborg part showing, this one is super cool too. You can see she cyborg leg and hand:

Audiobook:

Cinder is also available as an audiobook. Listen to a clip here!

Also Reviewed By:

The Book Pushers
Bookshelves of Doom
So Many Books, So Little Time

Books from Blah to Basically Amazing (History of the Lunars)

2012 Sci Fi Experience

2012-01-02T13:11:00.000-08:00

It's that time again! Carl V. over at Stainless Steel Droppings is again hosting the 2012 Science Fiction Experience. I've only joined in once before back in 2009 where I read a whopping 10 books!! You can check out my post and review links here. The last couple of years were absolutely crazy so I am so excited to be joining in again this year. I've been perusing library book sales and putting all my science fiction books together on one huge sagging shelf in preparation.

Here's what Carl says about the experience:

A few years back I decided I would like to invite other readers to spend time together to:

a) Continue their love affair with science fiction
b) Return to science fiction after an absence, or
c) Experience for the first time just how exhilarating science fiction can be.

This event was not to be a challenge. It was not a dare nor was it a contest. It was meant to be an experience, a word I did not choose at random.

I love this idea!

But what made me even more excited is that Carl is doing another book read-a-long with Isaac Asimov's classic book The Foundation. I almost finished reading it a few years ago but for some reason stopped in the middle. So I'm looking forward to reading along with Carl and everyone.

Let me take a moment to snap a photo or two of my pile to read.

Scored and Cinder are two review books I've received recently. I'll be honest and say I've already devoured Cinder. Cinderella story mixed w/ cyborgs = awesome.

I found John Scalzi's Old Man's War and Russo's Ship of Fools at library book sales and I'm looking forward to reading them.

I'm a huge fan of Margaret Atwood so I was excited to win a copy of In Other Worlds over at Teddy Rose's blog So Many Precious Books, So Little Time.

I'm also a huge fan of Connie Willis and am shocked I've never reviewed any of her books on my blog. Doomsday Book, To Say Nothing of the Dog -- man I love her stuff. My brother found a copy of Futures Imperfect which is a collection of short stories. Yippee!

The Mists of Avalon. Ok. I know it's fantasy - not sci fi but I might try and read it this coming month or two. I'm trying to check off some books on NPR's 100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy list.

These are some of my dad's sci-fi books I inherited. I've already dug into The Foundation and have read the first two parts of the book. It really isn't a long book even though the trilogy book makes it look massive. I've always love Dickson's Dorsai story and while for some reason I can't find my copy of The Spirit of Dorsai, I can always start out with one of the books in the Childe Cycle collection.

Speaking of fun classic sci-fi covers, I've been wanting to dig into some Anne McCaffrey books since I heard the sad news that this classic sci-fi author passed away this past year. I have a stack of her books but I thought I'd show you some of the fun covers:

I included Heinlein's The Cat Who Walks Through Walls. I just find old sci-fi covers fun.

Anyway, are you joining in? Do you have classic favorites or are you a newbie sci-fi fan? Do you like YA sci-fi or do you stay away from sci-fi books at all costs? Leave a comment!!

The Informationist - Taylor Stevens

2011-12-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

Title: The Informationist
Author: Taylor Stevens
Paperback: 307 pages
Publisher: Broadway/Crown/Random House
Published date: March 2011
FTC: Received to read and review from Publisher

When I first heard about Taylor Stevens' book The Informationist I was intrigued. My Master's degree is in Information Science so the title was very appealing. This is Stevens' first book featuring heroine Vanessa Michael Munroe who deals in information gathering for her clients. I absolutely enjoyed this book and can't wait to read her next book The Innocent.

Back of the book:

Vanessa "Michael" Munroe deals in information. After escaping a traumatic childhood in lawless central Africa, she is now sought after by corporations, heads of state, and private clients who can afford her unique brand of expertise.

When a Texas oil billionaire hires her to find his daughter who has vanished in Africa, Munroe finds herself back in the darklands she once knew so well, fighting mysterious forces determined to keep the fate of the missing girl a secret. If she has any hope of getting out of the jungle alive, Munroe must finally face up to the demons of the past she's tried for so long to forget.

My thoughts:

I throughly enjoyed The Informationist and will definitely be reading more of Stevens' books. I don't think it was so much the character of Munroe (who goes by the masculine name Michael and who IS really a kick-butt character) but rather the African setting. I can't say that I've traveled anywhere like where she was in Africa but the book was so spot on regarding certain things that it reminded me of when my husband and I traveled through Egypt. Munroe goes through Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea and I was so absorbed that I was getting out Google Earth and seeing where she was and what rivers and cities she was traveling through. Stevens was spot on, I thought, regarding customs, language, and just uniqueness of African life. I would love to learn how she knows so much about Africa (Ah ha! Here's an article about that).

The story and Michael Munroe's character were interesting - but it really was the Africa setting I loved. I've read some reviews where people were disappointed that too much of Munroe's back story was revealed in this first book - but that wasn't my opinion at all. I am much more interested to see where Stevens takes this character and how she evolves through subsequent books. I would also love to see her story adapted into a movie.

I've heard this book and protagonist Munroe compared to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and Lisbeth Salander. I really can't compare since I've never read that series and have only seen the Swedish movie. I'm definitely going to have to pick it up now and see if it compares at all.

For fun:

I thought I'd share just a few random photos from our trip to Egypt back in '08.

Felccua in Aswan

Fast food cart

Felucca guides in Aswan

Cairo traffic

How you cross the street in Cairo

Alternate cover:

Also Reviewed By:

Book Magic
S. Krishna's Books
Number One Novels

Babies love books

2011-12-20T20:16:00.000-08:00

Should I be concerned that Rocket's rolling around now (no crawling but rolling) and he apparently shares my love of books. But that could be a bad thing right now.

I've also been playing with my white balance button on my camera. It takes such such better photos. Here's when I caught Rocket before setting my white balance.

Ouch, right? Here's one of my favorite:

Ok. He's crying now. Stuck in the bookshelf again. Oh joy :)

Personal Wish-List Challenge

2011-12-15T15:20:00.000-08:00

I've been composing my own little wish-list of books that have been coming out by my favorite authors. It seems like just recently there's an onslaught of them. I figured I might as well keep a running tally of them and link them under my Challenges page. What's on your wish-list?

Charles Frazier - Nightwoods I loved loved Thirteen Moons but thought Cold Mountain was ok. I want to this one out and see how it is.

David Liss - The Twelfth Enchantment My husband and I listened to the audio version of Whiskey Rebels and I loved his writing and the characters. I keep collecting his books - I have two on my shelf I need to read, but The Twelfth Enchantment sounds a bit different than his normal fare and I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Ann Pachett - State of Wonder

I thought Bel Canto was pretty darn good (if not a bit purposefully heart wrenching), Run (my review) was pretty good too, and I recently found a used copy of Truth & Beauty I've been wanting to dig into. I've heard that State of Wonder is pretty good too. Must check it out.

Thomas Mullen - The Revisionists

One of my favorite books I've read in recent memory is Thomas Mullen's book The Many Deaths of the Firefly Brothers. A.W.E.S.O.M.E. Read it now. Read my review. Then read Leafing Through Life's review. She agrees that it is awesome. And how cool does his new book sound about time travel? May need to actually buy this one. I know!

Matthew Pearl - The Technologists

I've read and reviewed his book The Last Dickens and recently found a copy of The Poe Shadow. This one, about post Civil War and MIT --- sounds fascinating to me.

Candice Millard - Destiny of the Republic: A tale of medicine, madness, and the murder of an American President

Years ago I read and fell in love with her book River of Doubt about Teddy Roosevelt's trip down the Amazon River. O yeah. So cool. So when I heard she finally came out with a new book, I knew I had to read it. It's gotten amazing good reviews. It's about the attempted assassination of President Garfield - a Civil War hero and how Alexander Graham Bell (yes THE telephone guy) tried to help save his life. Oooo.

Alice Hoffman - The Dovekeepers

I'll admit I first heard of Hoffman when I saw the movie Practical Magic. I read the book (my review) and then fell in love with her after reading The River King (my review). I have a stack of her books on my shelf waiting to be read. But The Dovekeepers is a bit of a departure from her norm and I've heard it is AMAZING. Must buy.

Interred With Their Bones - Jennifer Lee Carrell

2011-12-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

Title: Interred With Their Bones
Author: Jennifer Lee Carrell
Paperback: 416 pages
Publisher: Plume/Penguin
Published date: 2007
FTC: won in a contest from Reading Group Choices

A few years ago I won a cool bundle of books from Reading Group Choices - a very very cool site for book lovers. Back in 2009 I read this book and thought it was a fun Shakespearean mystery but never reviewed it for some reason. While watching the preview for the movie Anonymous, a movie centered around one of the theories of who wrote the famous plays, I was reminded of this book. So I thought I'd re-read it and finally get a review written.

My synopsis:

Present day: Kate Stanley is a highly educated Shakespearean scholar and was offered the dream job of directing a production of Hamlet at the Globe in London. During rehearsal, her old mentor Rosalind Howard gives her a box and a mysterious message. The next day Rosalind is dead and someone has tried to burn the Globe to the ground.

Following Rosalind's message to keep the gift safe and "follow where it leads", Kate sets of in an adventure around the world, following cryptic messages, uncovering hidden truths about Shakespeare and his plays, while leaving a trail of dead bodies in her wake.

My thoughts:

If you are interested in Shakespeare or find the whole conspiracy theories surrounding Shakespeare's plays, then you'd probably enjoy this well-written romp.

I'll be honest that when I first read this book a few years ago, I didn't know as much about all the different theories surrounding Shakespeare. I knew there were probably some missing plays, there were some debate if all the plays were written by Shakespeare, and that not much was known about him - even what he really looked like.

So instead of a traditional review, I'll post some links and photos of interesting things I learned.

First Folio: the collection of Shakespeare's works compiled AFTER his death. If you find one of these you will be very rich...there were originally about 750 and now only 228. So you could theoretically be very very lucky.

Cardenio - a possible lost play, possibly by Shakespeare and probably based on Don Quixote. Which reminds me I should read Don Quixote at some point.

Shakespeare's portrait - what did he really look like?

Shakespeare's children - there are no direct descendants, the last living died in 1670.

His creepy tombstone with a curse!

The Shakespeare statue at Wilton House (go here for a picture)

Frances Carr - won't tell you much more but here's her portrait:

Frances Carr

Delia Bacon - smart lady who thought Sir Frances Bacon could be part of a Shakespearean collaboration. Here's Sir Frances Bacon:

Sir Frances Bacon

Did you know Bacon developed a cipher? Very interesting.

Edward de Vere - 17th Earl of Oxford -- if you haven't checked out this guy's wiki page, he was such an interesting character.. I could see why some might think he could have been Shakespeare:

Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford

Simon Forman - what a weird interesting historical character.

Folger Shakespeare Library - beware of spending too much time at their gift shop site

And someday I WILL make it to Utah's Shakespeare Festival. Why go to London when I can visit the Globe in the state next door?

Also, check out Jennifer Lee Carrell's website for some more fun Shakespearean links.

So the book was a good little mystery romp but what I really enjoyed was finding out all the interesting tidbits. What do you think -- did Shakespeare write his plays or could it have been someone else?

Different cover art:

I believe this is the UK version:

The Map of Time Winner!

2011-12-13T15:51:00.000-08:00

Wow, I know I'm quite a bit belated in announcing the winner of The Map of Time by Felix J Palma. Without further ado...

Margaret!

Margaret is from Canada, has read The Lord of the Rings but would love to read The Lantern and her favorite cozy up and read drink is a hazelnut creme flavored coffee. Mmmmm...a girl after my own heart.

Enjoy the book Margaret!

A Sound Among the Trees - Susan Meissner

2011-12-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

Title: A Sound Among the Trees
Author: Susan Meissner
Paperback: 324 pages
Publisher: WaterBrook
Published Date: October 2011
FTC: Asked to review through Blogging for Books

I read a review of Susan Meissner's novel A Sound Among the Trees a few months back over at Luxury Reading and it sounded like a pretty good book. I can't remember where I stumbled upon it, but I found out about Blogging for Books which offered this as one of their review books so I signed up. I only request books I want to read and review. Nice little deal.

Back of the book:

As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn't believe that Susannah's ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather that the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.

When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband's home, she is soon led to believe that the house she's just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.

With Adelaide's richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak -- and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.

My thoughts:

I'll admit that I love war novels and since this one centered around the Civil War in America it seemed like a good book. At first I was really disappointed. While great writing, the first few chapters revolved around Adelaide and Marielle. I just wasn't getting interested in their story. I mean yes - Adelaide struggled with an absentee daughter, the death of her granddaughter, and the new marriage of her grand son-in-law. Marielle was going through a new marriage to a widowed man with two children and trying to fit into the home where not only the possibility of Civil War Susannah's ghost but also the memories of her husband's late wife. I'll be honest that I picked it up and put it down quite a bit at first.

BUT

Then it started to get good.

First, Marielle finds the diary of her husband's late wife.

Then she reads Susannah's diary set against backdrop of the Civil War in Virginia.

That is when I couldn't put the book down and pretty much ignored my daily chores to finish it. I loved reading Susannah's account. I love the Civil War setting and how it depicts the often blurry lines between the North and the South. It's fascinating to see the effects of war on families - even a war as old as the Civil War can have long lasting repercussions. I loved the resolution at the end of the book - how just discovering the truth about Susannah affected her family generations down the line.

Note:

This book is sometimes found in Christian book listings. While I am a Christian, I wouldn't classify this as Christian fiction. However, it is a book with a good message and it is a book I could recommend to my mom or grandma.

I also love the cover with the mansion and the Civil War clothing. What do you think?

Book Trailer

Also Reviewed by:

Luxury Reading
Dani's Bookshelf

The Redbreast - Jo Nesbø

2011-12-02T10:07:00.001-08:00

Title: The Redbreast
Author: Jo Nesbø (author's website)
Paperback: 521 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published Date: 2009 (original 2000)
FTC: Received free to review from publisher

Back when I lived in New York, I was invited by Harper Collins to a cool little bar to meet Jo Nesbø. I had heard about him - a pretty famous crime writer from Norway. I knew his books were starting to be translated to English and published in the States. I think Harper did an amazing job with the translation (Don Bartlett) and the covers of the books.

I'd post photos from the event but I'll be honest that I didn't take any. Sometimes I am hugely silly when it comes to famous people. I get all nervous and lose my mind. I will tell you that he was extremely nice, drinks Heineken, and said that it doesn't matter which book you read first but he'd go with The Redbreast.

The Redbreast is the third book in the Harry Hole series but it's the first one published in English. I honestly don't know why it took me so long to read this book or series. A long time ago I got interested in the whole Scandinavia crime writing thing. I had checked out the book Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Hoeg. Unfortunately I only got halfway through by the time I had to return the book but I was hooked. I actually bought a copy later on and have been meaning to read it. Anyway -- maybe it's because I used to live in Alaska and the whole Arctic culture is intriguing. Whatever it is -- I am loving it. Ok. After that incredibly long intro, here we go...

Back of the book:

Detective Harry Hole embarrassed the force, and for his sins he's been reassigned to mundane surveillance tasks. But while monitoring neo-Nazi activities in Oslo, Hole is inadvertently drawn into a mystery with deep roots in Norway's dark past -- when members of the nation's government willingly collaborated with Nazi Germany. More than sixty years later, this black mark won't wash away, and disgraced old soldiers who once survived a brutal Russian winter are being murdered, one by one. Now, with only a stained and guilty conscience to guide him, an angry, alcoholic, error-prone policeman must make his way safely past the traps and mirrors of a twisted criminal mind. For a hideous conspiracy is rapidly taking shape around Hole -- and Norway's darkest hour may still be to come.

My thoughts:

I ended up really liking this book and want to read more of the series. But there are some things you must know going into it.

1) Detective Harry Hole -- Ok. I can't be the only one who sniggered at the chosen name of the detective. Whether it was something lost in translation or is meant to be funny, just go with it and smile.

2) It's a deceiving chunkster. While it looks like a normal paperback, it is on my list as a chunkster at a good 521 pages.

3) It took me a little bit to get into the book. I'll admit that. While the writing is awesome, it took me a little bit to get into the story. But once I did I was hooked.

4) I love WWII stories, so for me this was a fascinating look at Norway's involvement during WWII. Again, this is another story which really rams home the idea that WWII did not just affect that one generation but is still having ramifications on subsequent generations and events. I obviously think that it's more apparent in Europe and places where the fighting happened on their own soil rather than here in the USA. The story has chapters interspersed with a character in WWII and I loved those. It's a great writer who can make me like both the present day story AND the flashback story. Bravo.

5) The "present day" story takes place in 1999 -- which is when Nesbø wrote the story. I find it odd that while 1999 doesn't seem that far in the past to me (that's the year I graduated high school) how much the world has changed.

And more...

I have two more Nesbø books, Nemesis and The Devil's Star, on my shelf to read and I definitely want to get into them.

I've been ogling the newest books in the series - especially The Snowman and The Leopard on Kirkus Reviews.

While I still haven't read the Dragon Tattoo series by Stieg Larsson -- I would assume that if you are a fan of Larsson's works, you'd appreciate Jo Nesbø's series.

I also found some alternate covers for The Redbreast. I prefer my edition above but what are your thoughts?

Also Reviewed by:
Linus's Blanket (She was at the HarperCollins event as well. Awesome blogger.)

About Jo Nesbø:
Random Jottings of a Book and Opera Lover found out she loves Nesbø's books
Bookfinds found an awesome article and photo of Nesbø's bookshelves
Check out Nesbø's author website - very cool

Still here

2011-11-30T10:57:00.001-08:00

Seriously, where has the time gone? Somehow October and November have just flown by. I'll post more in a day or two when I hopefully have a new desk!! Yes, I think the desk I currently have is child size. While it was free (always a good thing) I can't even fit my chair underneath.

What's been going on?? I have been reading more books and totally enjoying curling up on my chair while Rocket plays on his playmat. Technically the RIP VI Challenge ended in October but I am still enjoying my darker books. I even checked out Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and the Woman in Black from the library. Reviews coming up. I'll be picking a winner of The Map of Time and shipping that out.

What else. Rocket turned SIX months a few days ago and I can not believe how the time has flown by. He continues to amaze me and constantly makes me laugh and smile.

We've had some family in town which is always fun and gets us out and about. Here's little Rocket and me on our way to the Hoover Dam. That's Lake Mead in the background.

That's it for now. Thanks for sticking around and I'll be posting more photos, reviews, and giveaways soon!

The Map of Time Giveaway!

2011-10-29T11:34:00.000-07:00

So I'm sitting here this morning, drinking a caramel soy latte (yeah I know but I have to lay off the dairy right now) - and I realized that I have a lovely giveaway for you all!!!

In honor of Carl's cool R.I.P. VI Challenge - I have an extra copy of The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma (check out my review) to give away to one lucky winner.

Like all my personal giveaways, this is open internationally. Yep! I've sent books all over the world this is a nice chunkster. So come on and enter!! The contest is open through November 13th.

Here's the requirements:

1. Enter the form below ONLY.
2. You MUST leave an email address -- if I don't hear back in five days I pick a new winner.
3. You MUST head over to Carl's RIP VI Challenge site and tell me if you are now or ever been a participant, then tell me some of the books from the challenge that you've read or wanted to read.The review site is also a good place to check out people's reviews on a ton of books.
4. You MUST answer this: during the autumn and winter months, while sitting and reading a good book, what is your favorite tasty beverage to curl up with?
5. Good luck!!

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The Map of Time - Felix J. Palma

2011-10-25T20:49:00.000-07:00

Title: The Map of Time
Author: Felix J. Palma
Hardcover: 609 pages
Publisher: Atria Books
Published Date: June 2011
FTC: Received/won from Atria via Shelf Awareness

I was beyond excited when I received a copy of The Map of Time in the mail. The cover is just simply amazing. This is simply one of the many reasons why I love physical books. The end paper is gorgeous as well. Check out the picture I snapped at the end of the post. Anyway. The book deals with classic authors, the Victorian era, Jack the Ripper, time travel...I was sold.

The synopsis from GoodReads:

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma. Set in Victorian London with characters real and imagined, The Map of Time is a page-turner that boasts a triple play of intertwined plots in which a skeptical H.G. Wells is called upon to investigate purported incidents of time travel and to save lives and literary classics, including Dracula and The Time Machine, from being wiped from existence. What happens if we change history?

My thoughts:

The first thing you'll notice is this book is a chunkster. It's beautifully bound but at just over six hundred pages, it can be a bit daunting. The good thing is that it is actually a quick read. I thought the GoodReads synopsis was quite a bit - well if not misleading then a little simplistic for what the book really was about. I don't want to give too much away so I'll try to be as enigmatic as possible and still get across my ideas.

The book is divided into three parts. The narrator is this omniscient person who sees all and sometimes talks to the reader. I usually find this pretty fun and this was no exception. Part One deals with wealthy Andrew Harrington. He is planning on killing himself. The reasons involve Jack the Ripper, a prostitute -- again I don't want to give too much away. Very early on we learn that it's been a year since Jack the Ripper was caught. (What?!)

The story includes a gentlemen in London who claims to have found a way to travel to the year 2000 when the automatons have pretty much razed the world (again ???). He sets up a business called Murray's Time Travel where wealthy travelers can take a day trip to the year 2000 and see a famous battle. Part two deals more with Murray's Time Travel and a wealthy girl named Claire who wants to escape the drudgery of being a woman in the Victorian era.

As you can see. Quite not what I was expecting. I talked a little bit to a fellow blogger who was also reading The Map of Time and wasn't quite sure if she was liking it or not. I said....I totally understand but hang in there until Part Three. O yeah. Totally worth it. While Parts One and Two were well written and entertaining --- it just wasn't turning out to be the book I wanted. That's always dangerous to go into a book with certain expectations. HOWEVER ---- Part Three totally shifted everything into a whole different focus and totally made me end up - if not loving the book then being exactly the kind of book I was wanting to read.

To sum it up:

Parts One and Two are a bit odd. Entertaining but odd. Part Three rocks. I loved that H.G. Wells really is a major player throughout the book. Historical and literary characters such as Bram Stoker, Henry James, Jack the Ripper, and Joseph Merrick (the elephant man). I loved learning new things like the real automata dolls built by Jaquet-Droz (seriously check out the link...weird...).

I didn't like that it took until Part Three for me to really enjoy the book (about five hundred pages). It's not that the rest wasn't entertaining - but I kept eying other books on the shelf. That and every so often I'd think that something was a bit juvenile - for instance when Claire first meets Captain Shackleton (I'm trying not to have any spoilers so that's all I'll say - but if you've read the book then you'd see what I mean).

So there we go. Quite an interesting read and quite the perfect Autumn read for the R.I.P. VI Challenge.

Another cool cover:

As I was persusing the internet, it looks like this may be the first book in a trilogy. This would surprise me because it seemed like a very much stand-alone type of book. Anyone know anything about this?

As promised, here's the gorgeous end covers of the book. Lovely, right?

Head over to the book's website for some cool stuff. I have the wallpaper on my laptop and he has a cool list of Additional Reading for time travel/Victorian stuff - like Jack Finney's books. I love when author's do that.

Also Reviewed by:

Book Chatter
Alive on the Shelves
At Home with Books
Fyrefly's Book Blog

The Lantern - Group Read Week 1

2011-10-14T15:32:00.000-07:00

As part of the R.I.P. VI Challenge, Carl is hosting a few group reads and I decided to join along in reading The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson. I saw that my library had The Lantern available for an eAudio download so I requested it. Unfortunately the request expired yesterday so I had to scurry to ~~read~~ listen to the book a little ahead of the read-a-long schedule. I'm still going to respond to the questions but it might be a little odd since I've finished the book.

Here we go! Watch out for SPOILERS!!!!

1. This may seem like an obvious opening question, but what do you think of The Lantern thus far?

I adored this book. Part 1 started off a little slow but my favorite parts where 2 and 3. This Week only goes over Parts 1 and 2. Overall - the sights, the sounds = Beautiful and Inspiring.

2. The book appears to be following the experiences of two different women, alternating back and forth between their stories. Are you more fond of our main protagonist’s story or of Benedicte’s or are you enjoying them both equally?

I was reading Carl's response over at Stainless Steel Droppings and he mentioned that he was having a hard time following who was talking - Eve or Benedicte - except that once you get into it, the chapter breaks help. I think this is what makes the audio version an awesome pick for this story. Eve and Benedicte are narrated by different ladies and they both have such beautiful voices! I think I may have perfered one over the other if I was reading, but the fact that they did such a wonderful audio job with the story....I love their stories equally. That's is a huge rarity for me.

The other odd note: I think if I was reading the story it would have taken me a bit to realize that Benedicte was female. Anyone have this happen?

Also, the lady who narrates Eve - my gosh she has an awesome voice. I'm not sure which of the two ladies it is (Kristine Ryan or Gerrianne Raphael) but her voice reminds me a lot of this actress so that is what I kind of picture Eve looking like:

That's Eva Green who was born and raised in Paris so great pick for all the beautiful French words and accent in the story!

The short chapters work VERY well in the audio version because it feels like time is passing so quickly while listening and I don't get as distracted as easily. Perfect.

3. The Lantern is a book filled with descriptions of scents. How are you liking (or disliking) that aspect of the book? How do you feel about the lavish description of scents? How are the short chapters working for you?

I think this has to be my absolute favorite part of the book (aside from the lovely narrators). The scents are amazing! I actually told my husband (and he agrees) that our future plans for our backyard should be Provincial themed. Grapes, lavender, rosemary, citrus fruit, sunflowers, etc. Here's the grape vine we already have growing thanks to our neighbors who replaced it in favor of an olive tree:

I can not wait to do some planning for next year. It's a challenge growing anything in Las Vegas but this book inspired me to want our backyard to smell like this book. Odd thing to say but there it is.

4. How would you describe the atmosphere of Parts 1 and 2 of The Lantern?

I think Part 1 had a slow build - a languor about it. Sleepy summery feel. Definitely not what you'd expect Gothic to be which I always feel is cold and dreary. But it really starts to pick up the creepy Gothic feeling in Part 2. Beautiful writing.

5. Has anything surprised you to this point? Anything stand out?

While I've read that some people had to warm up to Eve...I loved her from the very beginning. She's a reader. A writer. Able to just amuse herself for hours with a good book or just working quietly on the house. I don't find her quick involvement with Dom very surprising at all. I feel that's how I am. You don't find connections with people all that much but when you do - you know it and just jump right in. I also didn't find the seclusion odd. I'm not sure I'd like it forever, but a beautiful house I have ooodles of money to restore and just read and play in the garden....seems like paradise to me! The main creepiness of the story, I feel, has pretty much all to do with Benedicte's story. Pierre! I find him already an insanely horrible character.

Almost forgot to add!!! At the beginning of the book - Dom and Eve seem to be hiding out. It starts the story very ominously and I kept imagining the time period being pre-WWI or pre-WWII. In reality it is present day which almost threw me but then I loved because what is it about the writing that makes it seems so old-timey or instant classic feel to it.

6. What are your feelings about Dom in these first two sections of the story?

I liked Dom. I am surprised that I don't find him odd or creepy. The only bizarre thing is that we don't really know Eve's real name. Her name doesn't come up all that often (as narrator that isn't surprising) but I wonder if I'd just let someone call me some random name that wasn't mine. Perhaps her name is similar??

Bonus question: Did anyone else hear “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” ringing in their ears through the first sections of the book?

Oh definitely! But in a good way! I don't think she stole the idea from Rebecca or it's TOO much like it or not enough like it. I was expecting this comparison and it seems like it was the author's intent to be a bit like Rebecca. I love love Rebecca the book and the movie so it's wonderful that I don't think any less of The Lantern at all. The only problem is that I am not wary of Dom like I'd probably be without Rebecca because I have read and seen Rebecca.

Some Read-a-long People:

Stainless Steel Droppings
Capricious Reader
Estella's Revenge
Check out more at the end of Carl's post

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

2011-10-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

Title: The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles Day 1)
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Audio: narrated by Nick Podehl
Published date: May 2009 (first published March 2007)
Publisher: Brilliance Audio (27 hours, 54 minutes)
FTC: library audio rental

I can't remember where I first heard about Patrick Rothfuss' book The Name of the Wind. Isn't the cover just gorgeous? I know that I definitely saw Carl's post at Stainless Steel Droppings. I thought I read something over at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist but I can't find it. Go over there for some awesome Sci-Fi/Fantasy titles to add to your to-read lists. Anyway, my brother also works part-time at a bookstore so we were discussing this book the other day. I figured, while in the fantasy genre, The Name of the Wind would probably be a good fit for the R.I.P. VI Challenge. So I checked it out at the library as an e-audio rental.

The Synopsis:

Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.

My Thoughts:

I find reviewed audio books SO hard. I have such a different perspective when I listen to a book than when I read it. I had a lot of cleaning in the house to catch up on and family coming in to town so I decided that a 27+ hour audio book would do the trick. You read that right. That's a LOT of audio book. So I'm going to do my break down of what I liked and what I didn't.

The Good:

You can't deny that Patrick Rothfuss can write - or more aptly is a brilliant story-teller. The story starts out in a darkly lit bar reminiscent of olden days when people came in on horse and ordered a mug of cider and some gruel. Anyway. Something is going on. Days being what they are, it isn't safe to be traveling alone...or at all. The modern cover of the book with the wind/storm setting is just perfect. You want to curl up by a fireplace and absorb the story. Kvothe (pronounced Kote) is telling his story to a chronicler who's only job is to write down the story. What a story.

The audio narrator, Nick Podehl, is awesome. He is so good I Googled him to see what else he's done. There's some narrators who lose my attention, are distracting, or I just get lost in their accent or pronunciation. Not so with Mr Podehl. He kept my attention the entire 27+ hours. Very well done.

The uniqueness of the tale. I've read some sci-fi/fantasy stuff and don't let anyone tell you this is like Harry Potter for adults or blah blah blah. This story is good enough to stand on its own and leave it at that.

The Bad:

I'll be honest. The length is intimidating and sometimes unnecessary. Yes it's a great story but seriously - do I want to invest 27+ hours or 662 pages on just the FIRST book of the series? I mean the whole story ends book one after his first year in school. There was a HUGE section of Kvothe living as a street urchin after he lost his parents that I almost lost interest. Perhaps some editing or abridging may be necessary. Also, listening to the audio brings a different perspective and sometimes I'd hear the same phrase a few minutes later. Ok ok I get it.

Kvothe. Ok. He's a great character but since he IS the one narrating his own story he CAN come across as a bit big-headed. There are a few times he uses the "I doubt you'd understand" if you've never (insert his accomplishments here - playing music instrument, been in a dark cave, etc.) which irked me. Don't tell me I'd probably not grasp how amazing it feels to be you. Silly I know but it bothered me.

Kvothe's love interest Denna. She was kind of irritating. Such a player and always on the look out for a wealthy "patron/benefactor" that I couldn't help think she was a bit of a "lady of the night" kind of girl.

Interesting notes:

I had no clue that this book originally was published in 2007 (check wiki page) and had this cover:

Yeah. Kvothe has red hair - so I'll give it that - but while I'd pick up the new version with the cool cover, I'd probably NEVER have picked up this book.

Also, book two just came out called The Wise Man's Fear.

While I'd love to continue the story, at the hardcover's 994 pages, I'm not sure when I'll get around to it. You can read an excerpt over at Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.

I almost forgot to add - Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles are on NPR's Top 100 Sci-Fi/Fantasy so I can say I've read some of this series now.

Did this book fit in with the RIP VI Challenge requirements? I think so! It fit the "dark fantasy" requirements and a perfect Autumn read.

While searching for other reviews, I found this alternate cover. What do you think?

Also reviewed by:

Stainless Steel Droppings
Entomology of a Bookworm
Capricious Reader
Where Trouble Melts Like Lemon Drops
Library Queue
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist (Shawn Speakman video interview w/ Patrick Rothfuss)
Pat's Fantasy Hotlist (Jim Butcher video interview w/ Patrick Rothfuss)

Falling Together - Marisa de los Santos

2011-10-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Title: Falling Together
Author: Marisa de los Santos
Advanced Reader's Edition: 358 pages
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published date: October 4, 2011
FTC: received from publisher

I can truly say that I love Marisa de los Santos' books. I've read Belong to Me (my review) and have been meaning to read her first book Love Walked In. So when I saw that Book Club Girl was doing a live chat on October 5th, I asked to read and review her book. If you've never read her books, I'd strongly suggest picking one up. Isn't the cover gorgeous?

By the way, Falling Together is out as of today so check it out! I saw that Shelf Awareness Maximum is talking about her today as well so head over there to check it out.

Back of the book:

What would you do if an old friend needed you, but it meant turning your new life upside down?

Pen, Will, and Cat met during the first week of their first year of college and struck up a remarkable friendship, one that sustained them and shaped them for years - until it ended abruptly, and they went their separate ways. Now, six years later, Pen is the single mother of a five-year-old girl, living with her older brother in Philadelphia and trying to make peace with the sudden death of her father. Even though she feels deserted by Will and Cat, she has never stopped wanting them back in her life, so when she receives an email from a desperate-sounding Cat asking her to meet her at their upcoming college reunion, Pen goes. What happens there sends past and present colliding and sends Pen and her friends on a journey across the world, a journey that will change everything.

My thoughts:

I could never quite grasp just why I adore Marisa de los Santos' novels. I'm not a huge chick-lit reader. The stories are never insanely crazy unique...but there is something I adore. While reading Shelf Awareness Maximum today and reading an interview with Marisa, I found out that she originally studied, wrote, and published poetry before she wrote novels. That's it!! Her writing is just so beautiful. I picked this book up and seriously read it in two days. Sometimes I would read out loud to my little guy while he was on his play mat and her words just rolled off the page like poetry. I see why now!

The other thing about Falling Together that I loved is that the main characters take a trip to Cebu City, Philippines. Before reading this book, I never knew that Marisa de los Santos was part Filipino and travels there from time to time. She mentioned in the interview that she hopes the book makes people want to go there. O yeah it does. The sounds, fragrances, food!!! Mmmm. Head over to the interview for a recipe for Puto Mayo with Mangoes.

Check out Marisa de los Santos on Facebook, her website, and head over to Book Club Girl on Blog Talk Radio tomorrow for the show at 7 PM EST.

Also Reviewed by:

S. Krishna's Books
Booking Mama

The Road - Cormac McCarthy

2011-09-24T13:58:00.000-07:00

Title: The Road
Author: Cormac McCarthy
Hardcover: 241 pages
Publisher: Knopf
Published Date: September 2006
FTC: bought at library book sale

Cormac McCarthy is one of those authors I've always wanted to check out. Besides The Road, he wrote No Country for Old Men, All the Pretty Horses, and Blood Meridian. It seems as if he writes mainly about the western expansion period in American history. I am absolutely fascinated with that time era - I even took a history of the American West class. However, The Road doesn't deal with the past but the future.

My synopsis:

In the not so distant future, a father and son and traveling by foot along the road trying to get to the coast. The world has burned. Why? Who knows. Does it really matter? What matters is survival and maintaining humanity.

My thoughts:

The first thing I noticed while reading The Road is the brevity of the sentences. I'll admit that it took me a bit to switch gears to get into this kind of writing. For instance, page 14

In the morning they went on. Desolate country. A boardhide nailed to a barndoor. Ratty. Wisp of a tail. Inside the barn three bodies hanging from the rafters, dried and dusty among the wan slats of light.

See what I mean? Some sentences aren't even sentences. They are a word or two. There's no chapters. Just short paragraphs. The father and son talk to each other but there isn't a huge amount of it. They are just the man and the boy - no names.
While it may take a few pages to get into the rhythm of the writing, it definitely works. The writing sucks you in. Time ceases to exist. Since there are no chapters there is a lack of time frame in the book and days or weeks could pass with a single sentence. I found it absolutely absorbing.

The only only problem I had with this book is that I watched the movie a while back so I knew what to expect. I shouldn't have done that. It totally ruined the slow build to the culmination of the story. If you HAVE read the book or don't plan on reading it - watch the movie. From what I remember they did an amazing job adapting the story.

I also found the story making me think a lot about life. I just had a son - he's about 18 weeks old right now and it makes you think. How far would you go to protect your son? If it was life or death situation, could you take the life of your child to protect him/her? So scary. I was fascinated with what happened to the mother of the boy. No spoilers here - but her decision was interesting - I could totally understand and at the same time never fathom what she decided to do.

Side note: I also loved that he made the son - born after whatever happened to the world - to be such a truly good person. While the desperate time brought out the worst in most of humanity, it was wonderful to see this little boy maintain his humanity and compassion.

Does this book fit the RIP Challenge requirements? Absolutely. There was a moment when I was reading the book - completely dark bedroom with just my book light - my husband and son sleeping nearby - and I was terrified.

This book also gets me going on the NPR Top 100 Sci Fi/Fantasy list - totally agree it belongs on the list.

And because I watched the movie first, the father will always be Viggo Mortensen:

Also Reviewed By:

Medieval Bookworm

European Queens Giveaway Winners!

2011-09-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

I have been absolutely horribly belated in picking the winners for the European Queens Giveaway. You can check out my reviews for Reign of Madness and Becoming Marie Antoinette.

Without further ado, the winner of Becoming Marie Antoinette is:

Marie at Boston Bibliophile (great blog, go check her out)

The winner of Reign of Madness is:

Colleen T.

I'll be sending emails out stat and thanks to everyone who entered!! Thank you TLC Book Tours for letting me read, review and give away such awesome books. Stay tuned for more giveaways!

The Arrow Chest - Robert Parry

2011-09-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

Title: The Arrow Chest
Author: Robert Parry
Paperback: 332 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace
Published Date: January 2011

I love that I picked this one up as my first R.I.P. Challenge read. What a wonderful Victorian Gothic story. Take a struggling artist, throw in a muse, and a little Anne Boleyn ghost story and you've got The Arrow Chest. By the way....Anne Boleyn was buried in a chest built for arrows because it fit her small size sans head - thus the title. Spooky, right?

Back of the book:

London, 1876. The painter Amos Roselli is in love with his life-long friend and model, the beautiful Daphne - and she with him - until one day she is discovered by another man, a powerful and wealthy industrialist. What will happen when Daphne realizes she has sacrificed her happiness to a loveless marriage? What will happen when the artist realizes he has lost his most cherished source of inspiration? And how will they negotiate the ever-increasing frequency of strange and bizarre events that seem to be driving them inexorably towards self-destruction. Here, amid the extravagant Neo-Gothic culture of Victorian England, the iconic poem ‘The Lady of Shalott’ blends with mysterious and ghostly glimpses of Tudor history. Romantic, atmospheric and deeply dark.

My thoughts:

This book hooked me right from the start. It has one of the best intros I've read in a long while. It starts with Amos Roselli called in to sketch what is believed to be the bones of Anne Boleyn. Then something ghostly happens. I don't want to tell you much though. It was such an awesome creepy start to kick off the Gothic story. Amos Roselli is then summoned by his friend muse, Daphne, to come visit and paint her wealthy husband.

I have to say that have yet to be disappointed with Robert Parry's writing. His novel Virgin and the Crab (my review) is the best book on Queen Elizabeth I that I have yet to read. I love that Roselli and Daphne are such lovely characters. Being a painter and a woman possibly marrying for money, they could have been annoying and trite but they weren't. My favorite character was the wonderfully loyal young housekeeper of Roselli's, Beth. While I was expecting a slightly more ghost story and a bit more Anne Boleyn creepiness - the subtleness of the similarities between Daphne and Anne Boleyn was by far more impressive. With beautifully written and engaging characters, The Arrow Chest was the perfect Victorian Gothic tale to jump start the Autumn and RIP season.

By the way, I adore Pre-Raphaelites and I thought Roselli was an awesome fictional painter. I was Googling around and found this painting:

From Scandalous Women

This is what I imagine Daphne to look like in the book. Anyone know who painted it or who it is?

*** Robert Parry emailed me after I wrote this review and I'm just going to include what he wrote:

Dear Amanda,

Just to say a big Thank You for your review of The Arrow Chest yesterday - which I thought was just delightful, and I am so pleased you enjoyed reading it. I really like the painting you discovered, by the way. I asked a few art wizards on Facebook if they could identify it and they came up with the Victorian actress Lillie Langtry, painted by Sir Edward John Poynter in 1877. So spot on in terms of timing - the very year in which most of the action in the story takes place. I have a photo album on Facebook of fantasy illustrations for the Arrow Chest, and I am going to add this to it.

With Kind Regards,
Robert

***How cool is that coincidence? Check out the Facebook page for The Arrow Chest - I'm perusing the photos there right now.

Just a side note:

Being a tad bit of a cover snob, I was curious about this unique cover. It honestly is perfectly dark but not my favorite. I do love though that in the inside of the book it says the picture is "Daphne" by Amos Roselli. Ok. That's pretty cool even though someone wrote on this post of mine that it looked like her 1987 prom dress. What do you think?

Also Reviewed By:

Historical Fiction & Q&A
Luxury Reading & Guest Post
Historical Tapestry & Why Robert Parry Loves Pre-Raphelites
So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
Peeking Between the Pages (Robert Parry Guest Post)

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. - Sam Wasson

2011-09-19T08:50:00.000-07:00

Title: Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman
Author: Sam Wasson
Paperback: 231 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published Date: August 30, 2011
FTC: review copy from TLC Book Tours

When I saw TLC Book Tours was touring Sam Wasson's book Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. I was so intrigued. Breakfast at Tiffany's is such an iconic movie. I adore old movies. TCM is my favorite TV channel and I love Audrey Hepburn (although my big brother is even a bigger fan) and we grew up watching her movies. I also grew up listening to my dad's records - one being Henry Mancini - and even today I sing Moon River to my little guy. When my brother visited us in New York, we made a point to see Tiffany's - it was around Christmas so we didn't do breakfast there but we still snagged a photo (see end of review).

Why does this all matter? Because like Sam Wasson's P.S. section at the end of the book, I too find it amazing that almost everyone knows the image of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly - even if they've never seen the movie.

While Breakfast at Tiffany's isn't my favorite Hepburn movie, it is definitely, I think, the most iconic. Why?

I found her character so intriguing that it spawned my interest in the original story by Truman Capote - an author I came to respect after reading In Cold Blood in high school. While living in New York, I found a copy of Breakfast at Tiffany's at a library book sale and snagged it up. You can read my review here.

What amazed me even more is how a story about a call girl could be adapted in the sixties during strict production codes, and how woman today just think the movie is so "romantic." I wanted to know what Capote thought of his story being altered to fit the time period's strict code and how Audrey Hepburn went from sweet Princess Ann in Roman Holiday to an iconic sex symbol.

Coming back to Sam Wasson's book, I found it fascinating. He divides the book into eight chapters and just look at the chapter titles: Thinking It, Wanting It, Seeing It, Touching It, Liking It, Doing It, Loving It, Wanting More. Then he lists the cast of characters such as Hepburn, Blake Edwards (director), and co-stars such as Marilyn Monroe. Did you know Monroe wanted to play the part of Holly Golightly? What a different movie it would have been. There's also a really cool map listing Holly Golightly's New York. How I wish I had this when I lived there. He even includes a photo of Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard sitting at the fountain that was right next door to my work on Park Avenue where I'd sometimes sit and have lunch. So cool.

While sometimes I felt like Sam Wasson's book was a bit like a college thesis expanded, his writing more than made up for it. While non-fiction, he writes with such character that it was never boring or long. I would sit down to read a few pages and then realize that I had read a good twenty pages or so. You could really breeze right through it in a sitting or two. At the end of the book he recognizes that while non-fiction, he didn't want to pepper it with a ton of citations. So he lists some of his sources and notes at the end and even those were chock full of interesting facts.

If you are a fan of Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, old movies, or can just relate to Holly Golightly - a "dreamer of dreams" - then this is the book for you.

Here's the photo my brother took of me at Tiffany's:

Sam’s Tour Dates

Tuesday, August 30th: Wandering Thoughts of a Scientific Housewife
Thursday, September 1st: Reviews from the Heart
Tuesday, September 6th: Reading Lark
Wednesday, September 7th: A Cozy Reader’s Corner
Thursday, September 8th: Books Like Breathing
Monday, September 12th: Elle Lit.
Tuesday, September 13th: Amused By Books
Wednesday, September 14th: Iwriteinbooks’s blog
Thursday, September 15th: Alison’s Book Marks
Monday, September 19th: A Library of My Own
Tuesday, September 20th: The Road to Here
Wednesday, September 21st: Sophisticated Dorkiness
Friday, September 23rd: My Bookshelf

Visit Sam at his website, samwasson.com, follow him on Twitter, and friend him on Facebook.

RIP VI Challenge

2011-09-02T10:48:00.000-07:00

O yeah. It's that time again. How cool is Carl V. at Stainless Steel Droppings? He's been hosting the R.I.P. Challenge for SIX years!! What would we all do if he decided to take a year off? I shudder at the thought!

This will be the fourth time I've joined up. Here's my posts on RIP III, RIP IV, and RIP V. I have to say this is my all-time favorite challenge. Besides the advent of college football (WAR EAGLE!!!), September marks RIP season and I just adore the feeling of reading gothic and dark literature. Especially now that we live in Vegas again and it still feels like full-blown summer outside. I can not wait for the cooler weather.

What is the R.I.P. Challenge? From Carl's site:

The purpose of the R.I.P. Challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as:

Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

The emphasis is never on the word challenge, instead it is about coming together as a community and embracing the autumnal mood, whether the weather is cooperative where you live or not.
There are two simple goals for the R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril VI Challenge:

1. Have fun reading.
2. Share that fun with others.

As I do each and every year, there are multiple levels of participation (Perils) that allow you to be a part of R.I.P. VI without adding the burden of another commitment to your already busy lives. There is even a one book only option for those who feel that this sort of reading is not their cup of tea (or who have many other commitments) but want to participate all the same.

R.I.P. VI officially runs from September 1st through October 31st.

I usually sign up for Peril the First - which is read Four books. You know me though, I can't just pick four. A few weeks ago I was rummaging around my bookshelves for picks for the challenge. I think my husband thought I was nuts but was smart enough not to ask what his crazy wife was doing. Here's my stack:

I also have an alternate stack:

I ALSO have some books I've requested from the library. And right now I'm listening to the audio version of The Name of the Wind:

I just finished reading The Arrow Chest this morning. I'll have a review up soon. Such a perfect Gothic tale to start the challenge:

I also love listening to new music and I found Christina Perri's music to be so lovely. Little Man is loving it too. Here's a great moody music video to start the reading season. Enjoy!

Almost forgot!! Here is the review site - check out who else has signed up and what they are reading!

Carl V is also doing a group read of a few books. I might join in on The Lantern if I get the book in time.

What I've Read:

The Map of Time - Felix J. Palma
The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss
The Arrow Chest - Robert Parry
The Road - Cormac McCarthy
The Redbreast - Jo Nesbø

30 Days of Lists

2011-09-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

Pic from 30daysoflists.com

So I was perusing some of my favorite blogs and I came across Click. The Good News' post on a cool thing called 30 Days of Lists. Check out her posts here and here.

Anyways, so I decided to check it out and sign up.

I feel a little scattered right now. I just had a baby, we just moved (again), I feel like the house is a wreck because we moved in when I was pregnant....anyway....

I love love lists. I always have notebooks, scraps of paper, etc just jotting down lists and thoughts.

While picking up some groceries at Target, I came across this awesome Moleskine notebook on clearance for under 2 bucks. Awesome, right?

My Book of Lists

So today's to-do is: Goals for This Month

I have so many goals. And not just for this month. I have a lot of fixing up on my blog - finish the blog roll list, update my review list so all the links are for this blog and not my old one, transfer reviews to GoodReads, LibraryThing, etc.

I have personal goals. Our house is a mess so I am working room to room to clean and organize. Can you guess that I am making a cleaning list? Things that need cleaning daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

I am going to stop using Flickr and start using Google to manage my blog photos. I also need to print out some more photos of Little Rocket to send to family.

I've been working out a bit but I want to get on a schedule and a plan to get back into running and maybe eventually be able to run for causes again. Since my dad passed from Leukemia, it's been on my heart to join a Team in Training.

I need to manage my clothes. I seriously lack in the wardrobe department. That and a ton of my clothes don't fit well anymore or I just lack a lot of basics. My jewelry is also a big jumbled mess from the move, so I want to re-organize all that.

These are just some of the on-going list of things I want to accomplish. What do you think? Do you have goals you want to accomplish this month? Do you love lists?

A First-Rate Madness - Nassir Ghaemi

2011-08-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

Title: A First-Rate Madness: Uncovering the Link Between Leadership and Mental Illness
Author: Nassir Ghaemi
Hardcover: 340 pages
Publisher: The Penguin Press
Published Date: August 4, 2011
FTC: received for TLC book tour

Let me start by saying that this was a fabulously interesting read. I have not read a book where I flopped so much from "I totally agree" to "ummm really?" Go read this now. I need to discuss!!

The synopsis:

An investigation into the surprisingly deep correlation between mental illness and successful leadership, as seen through some of history’s greatest politicians, generals, and business people.

My thoughts:

The above synopsis was much much longer so I shortened it to the first paragraph. Please head over to TLC book tours to read the whole synopsis should you want. Basically this book comes down to the idea that mental illnesses, such as manic depression, bi-polar disorder, and others may in fact have some benefits for leaders during times of crisis.

The best way for me to break this all down is how he did with his chapter headings. Part One-Four goes over the four ways mental illnesses can be beneficial: they provide CREATIVITY, REALISM, EMPATHY, and RESILIENCE. I capitalized those because I totally agree with Dr Ghaemi.

[ I remember taking an anthropology class in college and finding out there are traits that, on the surface seem debilitating, but in reality are meant for specific purposes. For instance, color blindness may seem like a debilitating trait, but they are wonderful for seeing through jungle settings - i.e. camouflage isn't effective on them. The military used to (or still does) hire them for that purpose. Same goes for blue eyes - they are better equipped for seeing images on a monochromatic setting - such as a large swath of ice/snow and sky. Ok. Moving on.]

Here's the basic first four chapter examples:

Creativity - General Sherman (Civil War), Ted Turner (TV mogul)
Realism - Winston Churchill (WWII), Abraham Lincoln (Civil War)
Empathy - Mahatma Gandhi (India Independence), Martin Luther King, Jr (American Civil Rights)
Resilience - Franklin Roosevelt (Great Depression/WW2), John F. Kennedy (Cuban Missile Crisis)

I loved loved reading these chapters. Perhaps it's because of my history major background, but I adored this perspective. In the Epilogue, Dr Ghaemi states, "The general approach I take in this book might be called psychological history..." I think that's a fabulous statement. Looking at the above leaders and their psychological well-being (or not), I found this book to be intensely interesting.

However, my history teachers also told me to never take a history book as fact: see who's writing, find out if they have an agenda, what their perspective is, and always be aware of stats (ok that last part came from my statistics class - finding out that stats can always be manipulated.)

Which isn't saying that Dr Ghaemi has any nefarious plans with this book. In fact, a lot of the times when I went I thought "well, I totally don't agree with that" - he usually followed up in a page or two a rebuttal to my thoughts. For instance, stating that Dr King was depressed and thought about death a lot proved mental illness - well, I sort of laughed because, well of course...death threats...he was assassinated!! But in the Epilogue Dr Ghaemi states, "King was not depressed because he 'had' the illness of depression, this colleague remarked: he was depressed because of the extreme stress of living with the danger of death daily. This may be, or it could be that he had the disease of depression, or both. This problem can't be easily dismissed: it is a profound dilemma that has exasperated philosophers for at least three centuries..." (pg 269).

My eye-brow raising happened again with the chapter on JFK. Do you all realize how much drugs the man was on - for health problems AND drug abuse? Very interesting. But then it didn't fit into Dr Ghaemi's neat explanation...which came to the interesting chapter on TREATMENT. This chapter focused on how dangers leaders can become when treated with or abusing drugs - i.e. early JFK and Hitler. O yeah. The Hitler section is fascinating.

The only weak link I really find with this book is the last section - MENTAL HEALTH. While I totally see how mental illness can (sometimes in certain circumstances) have benefits for leaders in power. I can also see how sometimes it is dangerous for leaders in power to have mental illness (especially when abusing drugs at the same time). What I don't completely follow is his explanation that mentally healthy leaders can be a bad choice during times of crisis - i.e. Tony Blair and George W. Bush. I think this can be a dangerous ground to tread - not because the said leaders are alive and still very controversial - but because there are such a plethora of leaders. Are ALL mentally sane leaders horrible during times of crisis? Are ALL mentally ill leaders perfect during crisis times? God forbid, what would have happened if after 9/11 we got a Hitler-esque mentally ill leader rather than a Bush? I think I'd rather compare JFK's Vietnam involvement with Bush's invasions rather than compare it to the Cuba Missile Crisis. And what if Bay of Pigs' JFK had his finger on the trigger during the Cuban Missile Crisis? You'll have to read the book to see what I mean.

Which comes to my conclusion: what a fabulous thought-provoking awesome book this is. Please pick this up and read it and then comment so that I can discuss this book. I am making my husband read it so that I can blab about it with someone. It makes me think of what is mental health? What is mental illness? Why do we have such a stigma attached to the term mentally ill? Should we call it something else? Why don't I like thinking I'm a homoclite? Again, you'll have to read the book.

About Dr. Nassir Ghaemi

Dr. Nassir Ghaemi is a professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and the director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. He trained in psychiatry at, and also serves on the faculty of, Harvard University’s Medical School, and has degrees in history, philosophy and public health.

Visit Dr. Ghaemi at his website. Read his blog Mood Swings and Free Associations.

Nassir’s Tour Stops

Tuesday, August 23rd: Justice Jennifer
Wednesday, August 24th: Amusing Reviews
Thursday, August 25th: A Library of My Own
Friday, August 26th: Chunky Monkey
Monday, August 29th: What Would the Founders Think?
Tuesday, August 30th: Lit Endeavors
Wednesday, September 7th: A Bookish Affair
Thursday, September 8th: The Left Coaster
Tuesday, September 13th: Deep Muck Big Rake
Thursday, September 15th: Everyone Needs Therapy
Tuesday, September 20th: Cogitamus and LitBrit
Friday, September 23rd: Whiskey Fire
Wednesday, September 28th: The Abraham Lincoln Blog
Date TBD: They Gave Us a Republic

Also reviewed:

NYTimes
NY Observer
NPR
Psychology Today

Watch Dr Ghaemi on The Colbert Report

The Colbert Report
Get More: Colbert Report Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,Video Archive

Little Rocket - 3 months old

2011-08-23T12:10:00.000-07:00

Three months ago, little Rocket came into our world. Here he is this morning:

By the way, we didn't get another dog - we are pet sitting :)

Or we go on walks. My husband took this picture which I'm told, took a lot of patience in setting up:

Mailbox Monday - August 22nd

2011-08-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to this week’s edition of Mailbox Monday. This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Staci at Life in the Thumb.

Make sure to visit Staci’s blog today and add your link … you’ll also find links to other readers’ mailboxes there.

To see the schedule of this meme’s host, please visit the dedicated blog.

Here is what I found in my mailbox this week:

Before Versailles by Karleen Koen - I won from Enchanted by Josephine. Isn't it a beautiful book?

Red-Robed Priestess by Elizabeth Cunningham - Unsolicited review copy but sounds pretty interesting!

These aren't mailbox books but are new additions anyway.

From the clubhouse freebie shelf in my neighborhood:

On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving your infant the gift of night-time sleep - Even though my little guy sleeps very well through the night, I can't guarantee that when he starts teething.

Little Bee by Chris Cleave - I've heard wonderful things about this book.

From the library book sale:

Island Beneath the Sea by Isabel Allende - Isn't this such a score? I adore Isabel Allende and am trying to collect all her books.

Lord of the Rings books - I read the first one way way back in high school or earlier and wasn't impressed. I figured I need to re-read and for two bucks...

Also library book sale:

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green - I've heard people gushing about how awesome John Green is so I thought why not.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Ok I actually got this one at Sam's Club. I've been wanting to read it, we picked it for our book club, and I never ever find it used.

Chronic City by Jonathan Lethem - This one sounded good and something my husband would like too.

The Vine of Desire by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - The second book after Sister of My Heart. I read these two books in college (for fun) and was blown away. If you haven't read these books - do now.

And from friends and family:

Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office - A friend loaned me this book because she said it is awesome.

Diaper Diaries - My mother in law in me this one. I looks cute :)

That's all for this week. Oh, and let's not forget a little man photo:

Cowboys & Aliens Graphic Novel

2011-08-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

Title: Cowboys & Aliens
Authors: Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, Fred Van Lente, Andrew Foley, Dennis Calero, Luciano Lima, Luciano Kars, J Wilson, Silvio Spotti, Andy ELder
Paperback: 100 pages
Publisher: It - imprint of HarperCollins
Published Date: June 2011
FTC: I requested it from HC

When I first heard about the movie Cowboys & Aliens, I was super ecstatic. I mean come on! Cowboys....aliens....Daniel Craig. What more could you want!

Now I still haven't seen the movie. I know I know. It's been a tad bit harder than I was expecting having a little man who needs constant watching and not having family in town. I WILL see it though.

So when I was perusing the web and found out that Cowboys & Aliens was originally a graphic novel and that Harper Collins signed them to publish it, well, I immediately contacted HC to see if I could review the book.

When the book came in the mail the first though was - my gosh it's gorgeous. The cover and pages are so well done - I immediately set aside everything I was doing to read it (right after I snapped a photo and sent it to my husband bragging about my new read).

Awesome, right? The pages are all in color and so beautiful. My favorite ones are from these pages:

What surprised me was the message - obvious in the graphic novel but I wonder about the movie. The similarity between the aliens wanting to take over and dominate earth because of the alien's superior weapons....hmmm....ring any bells from the history of the Americas?

I wanted to take a ton of pictures of the book but I didn't want to get into trouble. I just want to entice you to pick up this novel. While I'm not a huge connoisseur of graphic novels, I thought this one was absolutely beautifully done and quite interesting.

That said...anyone want to babysit while I check this out at the theater? :)

While perusing the internet, I found the animated graphic novel of Cowboys & Aliens. Awesome!!

I had to go outside of my normal bloggy reads to find some reviews. Here we go.

Also Reviewed by:
SciFi Chick
Murphy's Library
Lady Ozma's Journey
Yahoo! News: Interview w/ Fred Van Lente

Fun movie mentions:
Book Chatter
Enchanted Serenity of Period Films
Megan Frampton (finally saw Daniel Craig in chaps)

European Queens Giveaway!!

2011-08-17T10:06:00.000-07:00

I've been remiss in posting a couple of extremely cool giveaways. The publishers are being awesome and letting me give away one copy of Becoming Marie Antoinette (my review) and one copy of Reign of Madness (my review).

Please fill out the form below enter the giveaway for Becoming Marie Antoinette and Reign of Madness. You can enter for one or both. For extra entries, post a comment on my reviews, Facebook/blog/Tweet about this giveaway, and/or be a follower of my blog. The contest is open through August 31st. US/Canada entries only please.

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Las Vegas Book Club

2011-08-16T13:54:00.000-07:00

My friend and I are starting a book club here in Las Vegas. I am currently trying to recruit some friends. Do you have a book club? Do you have any tips or pointers?

We are thinking of having our first book be The Help. I've heard you really can't go wrong - and the movie is coming out so great timing!

Now I just need to come up with a snazzy name for our book club...

The Times 100 Best English Language Novels (1923-present)

2011-08-16T13:46:00.000-07:00

You know how I love a good challenge...and lists. So when I checked out Amanda's new blog Book Chaos and saw she is doing The Times 100 Best English Language Novels from 1923-present - I thought I'd join in. After all, 100 is a lot more reasonable than 1001, right?

Read: 17
Reviewed: 6

A - B

The Adventures of Augie March (1953), by Saul Bellow
All the King's Men (1946), by Robert Penn Warren
American Pastoral (1997), by Philip Roth
An American Tragedy (1925), by Theodore Dreiser
Animal Farm (1946), by George Orwell
Appointment in Samarra (1934), by John O'Hara
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret (1970), by Judy Blume
The Assistant (1957), by Bernard Malamud
At Swim-Two-Birds (1938), by Flann O'Brien
Atonement (2002), by Ian McEwan
Beloved (1987), by Toni Morrison
The Berlin Stories (1946), by Christopher Isherwood
The Big Sleep (1939), by Raymond Chandler
The Blind Assassin (2000), by Margaret Atwood
Blood Meridian (1986), by Cormac McCarthy
Brideshead Revisited (1946), by Evelyn Waugh
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927), by Thornton Wilder

C - D

Call It Sleep (1935), by Henry Roth
Catch-22 (1961), by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye (1951), by J.D. Salinger
A Clockwork Orange (1963), by Anthony Burgess
The Confessions of Nat Turner (1967), by William Styron
The Corrections (2001), by Jonathan Franzen
The Crying of Lot 49 (1966), by Thomas Pynchon
A Dance to the Music of Time (1951), by Anthony Powell
The Day of the Locust (1939), by Nathanael West
Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927), by Willa Cather
A Death in the Family (1958), by James Agee
The Death of the Heart (1958), by Elizabeth Bowen
Deliverance (1970), by James Dickey
Dog Soldiers (1974), by Robert Stone

F - G

Falconer (1977), by John Cheever
The French Lieutenant's Woman (1969), by John Fowles
The Golden Notebook (1962), by Doris Lessing
Go Tell it on the Mountain (1953), by James Baldwin
Gone With the Wind (1936), by Margaret Mitchell
The Grapes of Wrath (1939), by John Steinbeck
Gravity's Rainbow (1973), by Thomas Pynchon
The Great Gatsby (1925), by F. Scott Fitzgerald

H - I

A Handful of Dust (1934), by Evelyn Waugh
The Heart is A Lonely Hunter (1940), by Carson McCullers
The Heart of the Matter (1948), by Graham Greene
Herzog (1964), by Saul Bellow
Housekeeping (1981), by Marilynne Robinson
A House for Mr. Biswas (1962), by V.S. Naipaul
I, Claudius (1934), by Robert Graves
Infinite Jest (1996), by David Foster Wallace
Invisible Man (1952), by Ralph Ellison

L - N

Light in August (1932), by William Faulkner
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (1950), by C.S. Lewis
Lolita (1955), by Vladimir Nabokov
Lord of the Flies (1955), by William Golding
The Lord of the Rings (1954), by J.R.R. Tolkien
Loving (1945), by Henry Green
Lucky Jim (1954), by Kingsley Amis
The Man Who Loved Children (1940), by Christina Stead
Midnight's Children (1981), by Salman Rushdie
Money (1984), by Martin Amis
The Moviegoer (1961), by Walker Percy
Mrs. Dalloway (1925), by Virginia Woolf
Naked Lunch (1959), by William Burroughs
Native Son (1940), by Richard Wright
Neuromancer (1984), by William Gibson
Never Let Me Go (2005), by Kazuo Ishiguro
1984 (1948), by George Orwell

O - R

On the Road (1957), by Jack Kerouac
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1962), by Ken Kesey
The Painted Bird (1965), by Jerzy Kosinski
Pale Fire (1962), by Vladimir Nabokov
A Passage to India (1924), by E.M. Forster
Play It As It Lays (1970), by Joan Didion
Portnoy's Complaint (1969), by Philip Roth
Possession (1990), by A.S. Byatt
The Power and the Glory (1939), by Graham Greene
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961), by Muriel Spark
Rabbit, Run (1960), by John Updike
Ragtime (1975), by E.L. Doctorow
The Recognitions (1955), by William Gaddis
Red Harvest (1929), by Dashiell Hammett
Revolutionary Road (1961), by Richard Yates

S - T

The Sheltering Sky (1949), by Paul Bowles
Slaughterhouse Five (1969), by Kurt Vonnegut
Snow Crash (1992), by Neal Stephenson
The Sot-Weed Factor (1960), by John Barth
The Sound and the Fury (1929), by William Faulkner
The Sportswriter (1986), by Richard Ford
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1964), by John le Carre
The Sun Also Rises (1926), by Ernest Hemingway
Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), by Zora Neale Hurston
Things Fall Apart (1959), by Chinua Achebe
To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), by Harper Lee
To the Lighthouse (1927), by Virginia Woolf
Tropic of Cancer (1934), by Henry Miller

U - W

Ubik (1969), by Philip K. Dick
Under the Net (1954), by Iris Murdoch
Under the Volcano (1947), by Malcolm Lowry
Watchmen (1986), by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons
White Noise (1985), by Don DeLillo
White Teeth (2000), by Zadie Smith
Wide Sargasso Sea (1966), by Jean Rhys

Graphic Novels

Berlin: City of Stones (2000), by Jason Lutes
Blankets (2003), by Craig Thompson
Bone (2004), by Jeff Smith
The Boulevard of Broken Dreams (2002), by Kim Deitch
The Dark Knight Returns (1986), by Frank Miller
David Boring (2000), by Daniel Clowes
Ed the Happy Clown (1989), by Chester Brown
Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth (2000), by Chris Ware
Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories (2003), by Gilbert Hernandez
Watchmen (1986), by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

Reign of Madness - Lynn Cullen

2011-08-15T09:23:00.000-07:00

Title: Reign of Madness
Author: Lynn Cullen
Hardcover: 448 pages (ARC paperback version)
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Published Date: August 4, 2011
FTC: received for TLC tours

I've always been quite curious about Spanish history. As a history major, I learned a lot about British history but other countries - not so much. So when I heard about Lynn Cullen's novel about Juana of Castile (sometimes named Joanna or Juana de loca - the mad) I was intrigued. She was the daughter of Isabel and Ferdinand...sound familiar? They were THE Isabel and Ferdinand who helped Christopher Columbus get to America - well he always thought it was China and India. I found this to be a beautiful and fascinating novel.

They synopsis:

Juana of Castile, third child of the Spanish monarchs Isabel and Fernando, grows up with no hope of inheriting her parents’ crowns, but as a princess knows her duty: to further her family’s ambitions through marriage. Yet stories of courtly love, and of her parents’ own legendary romance, surround her. When she weds the Duke of Burgundy, a young man so beautiful that he is known as Philippe the Handsome, she dares to hope that she might have both love and crowns. He is caring, charming, and attracted to her-seemingly a perfect husband.
But what begins like a fairy tale ends quite differently.

When Queen Isabel dies, the crowns of Spain unexpectedly pass down to Juana, leaving her husband and her father hungering for the throne. Rumors fly that the young Queen has gone mad, driven insane by possessiveness. Who is to be believed? The King, beloved by his subjects? Or the Queen, unseen and unknown by her people?

One of the greatest cautionary tales in Spanish history comes to life as Lynn Cullen explores the controversial reign of Juana of Castile-also known as Juana the Mad. Sweeping, page-turning, and wholly entertaining, Reign of Madness is historical fiction at its richly satisfying best.

My thoughts:

What an amazingly interesting story about Juana's life. As usual, I always have to see what these characters really looked like. Here's the most famous image of Juana:

Juana de Castile

I think her upbringing was amazing. Unlike Marie Antoinette (I can't help comparing because I just read her story), Juana was superbly educated and extremely smart (check her wiki page). Early in the book she is witness to Christopher Columbus (Cristóbal Colón in Spanish) as he presents his early finds from what will be the Americas - Native Americans or Indios, gold, food, and animals. Juana also meets Colon's son - Diego who will be her friend and more in the following years. Here's Diego:

Diego Colon

But of course, Juana must marry for her family and country so she gets bundled off to the cold and dreary Flemish countryside to marry Philip the Handsome. Ok. So I am pretty disappointed in Philip the Handsome's photo. Serious? Was this considered "handsome" in the day?

Philip the Handsome

He looks like what his character really was - a petulant boy who always gets what he wants. Much to Lynn Cullen's credit, I really felt for all the characters - especially Philip the Handsome. I feel like there was a lot of mis-trust and lack of respect on Juana's part - which in part helped turn Philip into a cruel husband. Still, until almost the end, Philip remained almost likeable, if not spoiled.

What I loved:

Juana was an amazingly beautiful and educated person, but she was often too trusting. I loved Lynn Cullen's portrayal of her relationship with her mother, Isabel. Very early in the book, Juana learns of her father's infidelity which pretty much taints her future relationship with her mother, father, and her husband. She's also influenced by how strong of a woman and ruler her mother is - and how that's affected her mother and father's marriage. Here's Isabel (how gorgeous is she?):

Isabel of Castile

I loved the side characters - her main lady in waiting is Beatriz, who is this amazingly brilliant woman who is more interested in education than getting married. Interestingly enough, Isabel's sister - Catalina - becomes very famous herself as Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine. Here's a young Catherine:

Catherine of Aragon

I adored the relationship between Juana and Diego. I love when historical fiction takes something that is very plausible and works it all out. I was fascinated with how Juana becomes known as "loco" and you'll just have to read the book to see why that is. This was a wonderfully written tale of Juana de Castile. I'll never be able to call her Juana de loca again. If you like historical fiction, forget the Tudors and check out Reign of Madness.

Lynn Cullen also wrote a previous book I'm really interested in reading. It's called The Creation of Eve and is about the historical character Sofonisba Anguissola, a woman artist working with Michelangelo.

Lynn Cullen’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, July 25th: In the Hammock
Tuesday, July 26th: Rundpinne
Wednesday, July 27th: Unabridged Chick
Thursday, July 28th: Debbie’s Book Bag
Monday, August 1st: The Broke and the Bookish
Wednesday, August 3rd: Books Like Breathing
Thursday, August 4th: Peeking Between the Pages
Monday, August 8th: 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews
Tuesday, August 9th: Broken Teepee
Wednesday, August 10th: Raging Bibliomania
Thursday, August 11th: Cafe of Dreams
Friday, August 12th: A Fair Substitute for Heaven
Monday, August 15th: A Library of My Own
Tuesday, July 16th: Life in Review
Wednesday, August 17th: Simply Stacie
Thursday, August 18th: Book Addiction
Monday, August 22nd: One Book Shy of a Full Shelf
Wednesday, August 24th: Starting Fresh

Check out Lynn Cullen on Facebook and her beautiful website

NPR's Top 100 Science Fiction

2011-08-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

NPR came out with their Top 100 Science Fiction and Fantasy books. As you know, I love lists and I actually really love sci-fi. It's been getting some attention by fellow bloggers such as Drey's Library and Alive on the Shelves. I love Carl's posts over at Stainless Steel Droppings. Wouldn't this list be a great starting point for the Sci-Fi Challenge he hosts? I actually like the much longer list - way more to choose from.

What do you think of this list? Anything you are shocked to see on here or disappointed to not find? I always find it odd that whole series are listed - for instance ALL the Dune Chronicles or A Song of Ice and Fire Series. I think you could almost make that a list in of itself - best Sci-Fi series.

**Going through the list, I realized that you all may NOT have realized I'm a sci-fi fan! I've never reviewed a Connie Willis book (my gosh I own so many) and I've only reviewed ONE Neil Gaiman. Apparently I have a lot of catching up to do.

Anyway, I'm going to link this list to my challenges pages. I'll bold the ones I've read and link any reviews I have.

Read: 19
Read some of the series: 7

1. The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, - J.R.R. Tolkien (Read Hobbit and Lord of the Rings)

2. The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams

3. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card

4. The Dune Chronicles - Frank Herbert (Dune - Book 1)

5. A Song Of Ice And Fire Series - George R. R. Martin

6. 1984 - George Orwell

7. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

8. The Foundation Trilogy - Isaac Asimov (Foundation)

9. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley

10. American Gods - Neil Gaiman

11. The Princess Bride - William Goldman

12. The Wheel Of Time Series - Robert Jordan (Books 1-8)

13. Animal Farm - George Orwell

14. Neuromancer - William Gibson

15. Watchmen - Alan Moore

16. I, Robot - Isaac Asimov

17. Stranger In A Strange Land - Robert Heinlein

18. The Kingkiller Chronicles - Patrick Rothfuss (The Name of the Wind)

19. Slaughterhouse-Five - Kurt Vonnegut

20. Frankenstein - Mary Shelley

22. Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick

23. The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood

24. The Dark Tower Series - Stephen King

25. 2001: A Space Odyssey - Arthur C. Clarke

26. The Stand - Stephen King

27. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson

28. The Martian Chronicles - Ray Bradbury

29. Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut

30. The Sandman Series - Neil Gaiman (Book 1)

31. A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess

32. Starship Troopers - Robert Heinlein

32. Watership Down - Richard Adams

33. Dragonflight - Anne McCaffrey

34. The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress - Robert Heinlein

35. A Canticle For Leibowitz - Walter M. Miller

36. The Time Machine - H.G. Wells

37. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - Jules Verne

38. Flowers For Algernon - Daniel Keys

39. The War Of The Worlds - H.G. Wells

40. The Chronicles Of Amber - Roger Zelazny

41. The Belgariad - David Eddings

42. The Mists Of Avalon - Marion Zimmer Bradley

43. The Mistborn Series - Brandon Sanderson

44. Ringworld - Larry Niven

45. The Left Hand Of Darkness - Ursula K. LeGuin

46. The Silmarillion - J.R.R. Tolkien

47. The Once And Future King - T.H. White

48. Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman

49. Childhood's End - Arthur C. Clarke

50. Contact - Carl Sagan

51. The Hyperion Cantos - Dan Simmons

52. Stardust - Neil Gaiman

53. Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson

54. World War Z - Max Brooks

55. The Last Unicorn - Peter S. Beagle

56. The Forever War - Joe Haldeman

57. Small Gods - Terry Pratchett

58. The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever - Stephen R. Donaldson

59. The Vorkosigan Saga - Lois McMaster Bujold

60. Going Postal - Terry Pratchett

61. The Mote In God's Eye - Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

62. The Sword Of Truth - Terry Goodkind

63. The Road - Cormac McCarthy

64. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke

65. I Am Legend - Richard Matheson

66. The Riftwar Saga - Raymond E. Feist

67. The Shannara Trilogy - Terry Brooks

68. The Conan The Barbarian Series - R.E. Howard

69. The Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb

70. The Time Traveler's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger

71. The Way Of Kings - Brandon Sanderson

72. A Journey To The Center Of The Earth - Jules Verne

73. The Legend Of Drizzt Series - R.A. Salvatore

74. Old Man's War - John Scalzi

75. The Diamond Age - Neil Stephenson

76. Rendezvous With Rama - Arthur C. Clarke

77. The Kushiel's Legacy Series - Jacqueline Carey

78. The Dispossessed - Ursula K. LeGuin

79. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Ray Bradbury

80. Wicked - Gregory Maguire

81. The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series - Steven Erikson

82. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde

83. The Culture Series - Iain M. Banks

84. The Crystal Cave - Mary Stewart

85. Anathem - Neal Stephenson

86. The Codex Alera Series - Jim Butcher

87. The Book Of The New Sun - Gene Wolfe

88. The Thrawn Trilogy - Timothy Zahn

89. The Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldan (Outlander, Book One)

90. The Elric Saga - Michael Moorcock

91. The Illustrated Man - Ray Bradbury

92. Sunshine - Robin McKinley

93. A Fire Upon The Deep - Vernor Vinge

94. The Caves Of Steel - Isaac Asimov

95. The Mars Trilogy - Kim Stanley Robinson

96. Lucifer's Hammer - Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle

97. Doomsday Book - Connie Willis

98. Perdido Street Station - China Mieville

99. The Xanth Series - Piers Anthony

100. The Space Trilogy - C.S. Lewis

Vegas Summer

2011-08-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

Sitting with friends at a golf course, drinking ice tea - taken last weekend.

Becoming Marie Antoinette - Juliet Grey

2011-08-10T08:04:00.000-07:00

Title: Becoming Marie Antoinette (Book 1)
Author: Juliet Grey
Paperback: 444 pages (ARE version)
Publisher: Ballantine/Random House
Published Date: August 9, 2011
FTC: received for TLC Book Tours

When I saw that TLC Book Tours was hosting Juliet Grey's new novel Becoming Marie Antoinette, I quickly asked if I could join. I am completely fascinated with the French Revolution and Marie Antoinette's role. I've read some books revolving around the Revolution but this is my first book about Marie Antoinette. I always thought she was misunderstood. What do they always say? Truth is stranger (and sometimes a lot more interesting) that fiction? Book one in a trilogy of Marie Antoinette's life, it spans her childhood in Vienna to her marriage to the dauphin of France, Louis XVI. The book ends with King Louis XV's death which will propel the young couple into the life of King and Queen of France.

This is historical fiction at it's finest. The book starts out with ten-year old Marie Antonia growing up in her Vienna palace surrounded by beloved sisters and brothers (click here for amazing 360 degree photos of the palace rooms). While I knew Marie Antoinette wasn't French, I had no clue about her illustrious upbringing as the daughter of Empress Maria Theresa - she was one of sixteen children! Can you imagine this being your mother?

Ahem. Yeah. At the beginning of the book we learn her family, The Hapsburg Dynasty's motto: Others wage ware; you, happy Austria, marry. I loved Antonia's close relationship with her sister Charlotte (Maria Carolina):

Can you imagine growing up with your sister, only to have her married off to be Queen of Naples and Sicily and never seeing her again?

Marie Antonia and her siblings purpose was to provide peace for Europe. Coming out of a couple of wars, Austria needed peace and allies. Marie Antonia's learned her purpose: to marry dauphin of France to ensure her country would not be overrun by the Russians or the Prussians. Talk about the weight of the world on your shoulders!

What I adored about this novel is how sympathetic Marie Antonia is and how much she strives to be what her mother wants her to be. Amazingly, Marie Antonia's education is pretty neglected so as soon as her impending marriage is decided, her life's purpose is to become a suitable match for the dauphin of France.

Her appearance must be altered to make a young girl appear to be a woman capable of being a wife and mother. Marie Antonia gets braces (how crazy is that?), a personal hairstylist, dance lessons, and training how to do the Versailles glide (walking that looks like you're gliding on air). She must learn geography, French, court customs, the list goes on and on.

I loved looking up the images of Marie Antoinette. Did you know she had two portraits painted so the King of France could see her image and approve her match? The first portrait made her appear too young and the Empress immediately requested another one made. Here's the first one:

Here's the one they approved:

I was absolutely amazed by Juliet Grey's ability to weave a ton of fact into a lovely novel about a girl forced to marry a boy she'd never seen. Her sympathy and affection for both Marie Antonia and her husband, the young dauphin, is quite clear and beautifully rendered. Don't expect this book to be a quick or light read. It's chock full of historical detail (which I love) and takes it time to build up (she finally meets the dauphin about 200 pages into the book).

Juliet Grey will be coming out with the second book- Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow - next summer. I can not wait.

PS - Passages to the Past is hosting a live chat with Juliet Grey tonight - August 10th 7-8 PM EST.

Juliet Grey’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, August 1st: Diary of an Eccentric
Wednesday, August 3rd: Well Read Wife
Thursday, August 4th: Broken Teepee
Monday, August 8th: Coffee and a Book Chick
Tuesday, August 9th: The Maiden’s Court
Wednesday, August 10th: A Library of My Own
Thursday, August 11th: Stiletto Storytime
Monday, August 15th: In the Hammock
Tuesday, August 16th: Peeking Between the Pages
Wednesday, August 17th: Laura’s Reviews
Thursday, August 18th: Unabridged Chick
Monday, August 22nd: The Broke and the Bookish
Tuesday, August 23rd: Stephanie’s Written Word
Wednesday, August 24th: 2 Kids and Tired Book Reviews
Monday, August 29th: Book Reviews by Molly
Wednesday, August 31st: So Many Precious Books, So Little Time
Date TBD: Historical Tapestry

Also Reviewed by:

Devourer of Books
Historical Fiction
Fyrefly's Book Blog
Historical Fiction
Endless Reading
Scandalous Women (Guest Post by Juliet Grey)
Pittsburgh, PA Examiner (Interview w/ Juliet Grey)

Little Rocket - Almost 11 weeks

2011-08-05T16:52:00.000-07:00

Finally little Rocket is down for a nap without me holding him. I guess it's the perfect time to post a few photos of my new little addition. Monday will be 11 weeks since he came into this world and I couldn't be happier. He is such a wonderful baby, sleeps amazingly well through the night, and is giving me the cutest little smiles now. I even caught a few laughs the last couple of days! Without further ado, here's me and Rocket last Sunday:

How cute and chunky is he? I'm trying to do the whole breastfeeding thing and apparently it's working - very well. He is super healthy and chunky. When he was seven weeks he weighed 14 pounds 3 ounces.

You might have noticed I now have short hair! I've been debating cutting it for a while and when I saw Color Me Katie's post about donating to Locks of Love - I decided to do that as well. Here I am with longer hair and Rocket's first official bath:

I have pretty straight hair, as you can tell. My husband has very curly hair. So little man's hair is very curly when wet. To cut down on the cradle cap, I brush it after his bath. I can't help messing with it...thus the curly mohawk here:

I love having short hair right now. I feel very Doctor Girlfriend.

He's learned to suck his thumb (since about week 2). This is Rocket at 8 1/2 weeks:

He's so adorable when he sleeps:

And he's awake now, so blogging time is over. I will share more later - and take more photos NOT on the iPhone - hate the whole geo-tagging thing.

Currently Reading - Aug 4, 2011

2011-08-04T10:37:00.000-07:00

Currently reading and loving book one in Juliet Grey's new trilogy - Becoming Marie Antoinette - which comes out August 9th.

By the way, after seeing some of BookBath's cool photo posts, I am trying out Instagram photos - how fun!

The Ghost of Greenwich Village Giveaway Winner!

2011-08-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

I think it's about time I picked a winner for Lorna Graham's novel The Ghost of Greenwich Village.

Using a random sequence generator, the winner is:

Joan G.

I'll be emailing you for your contact info so the publisher can send it out to you. Cheers!

Mailbox Monday - August 1st

2011-08-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Welcome to this week’s edition of Mailbox Monday. This month Mailbox Monday is being hosted by Staci at Life in the Thumb.

Make sure to visit Staci’s blog today and add your link … you’ll also find links to other readers’ mailboxes there.

To see the schedule of this meme’s host, please visit the dedicated blog.

I'm actually on the ball this week and doing a Mailbox Monday ON Monday!! Woohoo!

Here's what actually came in the mail:

I requested Cowboys & Aliens from Harper Collins because I am dying to see the movie and didn't know it was a graphic novel! I soaked it up the day it came and will review it soon!

Domestic Violets from Harper Collins - heard great reviews and my husband is snagging it to read next.

The Graveyard Book - I won this over at Underneath the Juniper Tree: The new face of children's literature - If you haven't checked them out before...go...now...
Then come back and read my review. I love love this book. I actually won a crazy beautiful limited edition copy (pictures posted on my review) but I wanted a copy that I could re-read and then read to my little guy when he is older.

From the library book sale. Yeah, before you judge - I had to return A Moveable Feast (review coming soon) so I just made sure we did the return at a library with a good book sale room. My husband's patience with me is astounding.

Lulu in Marrakech - Diane Johnson
Lucrezia Borgia - Sarah Bradford
Bluebird or, the Invention of Happiness - Sheila Kohler

The 7 Stages of Motherhood - Ann Pleshette Murphy
The Gentleman Poet: A novel of love, danger, and Shakespeare's The Tempest - Kathryn Johnson
My Mother's Lovers - Christopher Hope

That's it for now!! Have you read any of these?? Thoughts??

The Most Beautiful Walk in the World - John Baxter

2011-07-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

Title: The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris
Author: John Baxter
Paperback: 298 pages
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published Date: June 2011
FTC: I asked Harper Perennial to read and review

Short and sweet - go read now, then re-read, then book a flight to Paris and read on the plane.

My goodness I loved this book. Thank you John Baxter.

Back of the book:

In this enchanting memoir, acclaimed author and long- time Paris resident John Baxter remembers his yearlong experience of giving "literary walking tours" through the city. Baxter sets off with unsuspecting tourists in tow on the trail of Paris's legendary artists and writers of the past. Along the way, he tells the history of Paris through a brilliant cast of characters: the favorite café of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce; Pablo Picasso's underground Montmartre haunts; the bustling boulevards of the late-nineteenth-century flÂneurs; the secluded "Little Luxembourg" gardens beloved by Gertrude Stein; the alleys where revolutionaries plotted; and finally Baxter's own favorite walk near his home in Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Paris, by custom and design, is a pedestrian's city—each block a revelation, every neighborhood a new feast for the senses, a place rich with history and romance at every turn. The Most Beautiful Walk in the World is your guide, par excellence, to the true, off-the-beaten-path heart of the City of Lights.

My thoughts:

I had asked Harper to read and review this book because, well look at the cover with the beautiful art nouveau swirls. When I saw that Carl V. also has this on his wish list, I even thought of sending him my copy. Sorry Carl, I'm totally in love with this book and am keeping it. It's so worth $14.99.

I had thought that this would be a list of the most beautiful places in Paris to take a stroll. I was so wrong and it's so much better than that.

John Baxter is an amazing writer. From the get go, he makes you realize that finding the most beautiful walk in Paris is different for everyone because everyone has their own perspective. Is it strolling down St Germain or sitting at a café in the Luxembourg Gardens? Peppered with his own stories, historical anecdotes, and black and white pictures scattered throughout the book -- sigh. THIS is what I wanted my Paris in July read to be all about. Talk about an armchair travel book.

Sit back, pick up this book and just enjoy the ride. There were so many notes I wanted to take - passages to jot down and places I wanted to remember so I could visit whenever I next go to Paris. But I decided to just savor this first read. I'm planning on re-reading this lovely little book and take notes...books I should read, places I want to visit, food (THE FOOD!) and drinks I want to try...it goes on an on.

John Baxter is available for giving literary walking tours - or whatever kind of tour you want. One of the funny personal anecdotes he writes about it giving a trio of ladies from Texas not a literary tour but a culinary tour of Paris. I would love to go on a tour with John Baxter - or just meet him in a café over café creme or a rum St James and just listen to his stories.

He's an obvious fan of Hemingway. John Baxter even wrote a book that I'm dying to read called Immoveable Feast: A Paris Christmas. I actually ran (well drove) to the library and checked out and read A Moveable Feast. I love when books inspire you to read, eat, drink, and learn more about something.

Check out John Baxter's website for more information about his tours and his Paris.

Check out Harper Perennial for more information about John Baxter.

Also Reviewed by:

The Novel World
Starting Fresh

A Lot of Books

2011-07-19T13:07:00.000-07:00

While I don't get an insane amount of books in the mail, I do keep adding to my collection. Every Monday I keep meaning to do a Mailbox Monday post but I have a little guy who keeps taking up all my attention (I'll do a longer post on him in a few):

So here's some of my new additions...

From the mailbox, I received not one, but TWO copies of The Map of Time. That's right...when I review I'll be giving away one of these beautiful copies. Isn't the end paper just gorgeous!?!?

Books I won:

I got the first stack from Bibliophile by the Sea and I won the autographed copy of The Cleveland Creep from Stacy's Books (isn't Gage adorable?).

Netherland
The Heart Specialist
Faith
The Little Women Letters
The Dressmaker

Books from the library book sale. Yeah, I know it's a crazy ton...you should have seen the look on my husband's face. I told him we all have our addictions and to not judge (I mean it could be designer handbags or shoes...)

The Devil's Company by David Liss - My husband and I listened to The Whiskey Rebels and loved it. I'm going to be collecting his books now.

American Rust - On the 1001 Books List so I thought why not.

The Invisible Mountain - I thought I read something good about this one..and it's historical fiction.

The Kingdom of Ohio - Sounded good and I thought I read something about it too.

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver - LOVED Poisonwood Bible so I'm collecting some of her stuff too.

The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - Really enjoyed The House at Riverton (my review) and I have The Distant Hours to review as well.

His Dark Materials Trilogy - I read the first one, The Golden Compass (my review) and have been meaning to read the rest.

The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love by Oscar Hijuelos - How awesome is it that I found a copy of this book right after I read his memoir? Definitely going to read this one soon.

The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell - I have three of his books now and need to get on reading him.

Behind the Mask: The Unknown Thrillers of Louisa May Alcott - I've been wanting to do a LMA challenge for awhile now. It may be a Fall or Winter thing though.

Portrait in Sepia by Isabel Allende - My favorite Allende book so far and I'm collecting her works.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox - Heard some good things I think.

Beside a Burning Sea - Think I heard good things...or it could have been bad. Not sure.

Foreign Tongue - Adding to my Paris in July reads. Woohoo!

The God of Small Things - Think I've heard bad and good things. Thought I'd try it out myself.

Naked by David Sedaris - Collecting his stuff too because I get such a kick out of his writing.

That's it for now! Have you read any of these? Or are they on your TBR list?

Gatsby Movie

2011-07-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

From my post yesterday, I love learning that you either love The Great Gatsby or you hate it. I think there's a lot of people on the hate side. BUT I was so excited to read today that they are making a movie!! OK. Yeah, it's been done before. I absolutely adore the 2000 version with Toby Stephens and Mira Sorvino:

From this website, it looks like Baz Luhrmann is directing with Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby and Carey Mulligan as Daisy (two of my favorite actors as well). What do you think? Even if you did not like the book would you go see this movie?

The Greatness of Great Gatsby

2011-07-14T16:01:00.000-07:00

The other day (yesterday?) I was telling my husband that he should read The Great Gatsby. You know, F. Scott Fitzgerald's amazing classic doomed tale. I was explaining to him about F. Scott, his wife Zelda, and the roaring twenties. For some reason my husband thought it was a Dickens book (don't laugh too much, I've made similar mistakes).

So it was awesome when I came across this article today on the Chicago Sun Times. Wow. You can't abbreviate The Great Gatsby.

I read The Great Gatsby the first time in high school and loved it. I still love it after multiple re-readings. What do you think? Is this classic too adult for the typical high schooler? Or are we cheating the next generation by letting them miss out on amazing classic?

I'm Over at Books Distilled

2011-07-14T12:41:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about blogging is meeting new people. I recently found a great new book blog called Books Distilled. Brooke has a wonderful idea of asking people their 5 Books They Can't Live Without. I'm over there today so go check out my top 5!

French Lessons - Ellen Sussman

2011-07-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Title: French Lessons
Author: Ellen Sussman
Paperback: 236 pages (ARE version)
Publisher: Ballantine/Random House
Published Date: June 2011
FTC: won from Random House Reader's Circle

I was so excited when I won Ellen Sussman's new novel French Lessons from Random House Reader's Circle. Go over there and check out their website - it's pretty good! I thought this would be the perfect book to start out my Paris in July reads. A wonderful blogger, Bree, told me I should start with French Lessons so I jumped right in. She was right...it's the perfect start to a Parisian July. That said, there's many things I did not like about this book and many things I did. So here we go...

Back of the Book:

A single day in Paris changes the lives of three Americans as they each set off to explore the city with a French tutor, learning about language, love, and loss as their lives intersect in surprising ways.

Josie, Riley, and Jeremy have come to the City of Light for different reasons: Josie, a young high school teacher, arrives in hopes of healing a broken heart. Riley, a spirited but lonely expat housewife, struggles to feel connected to her husband and her new country. And Jeremy, the reserved husband of a renowned actress, is accompanying his wife on a film shoot, yet he feels distant from her world.

As they meet with their tutors—Josie with Nico, a sensitive poet; Riley with Philippe, a shameless flirt; and Jeremy with the consummately beautiful Chantal—each succumbs to unexpected passion and unpredictable adventures. Yet as they traverse Paris’s grand boulevards and intimate, winding streets, they uncover surprising secrets about one another—and come to understand long-buried truths about themselves.

My Thoughts:

Let's start off with what I didn't like. Books that have a lot (or any) martial infidelity always make me feel icky. I'm not sure why. It just bothers me. Also be forewarned that's there's a lot of sex. Not making love but S.E.X.

Josie - the first American is grieving over the loss of her, well let's just say it, married lover who recently died and she's pregnant with his child. Ok. So first, her married guy was happily married. What? Second, she got off birth control and they forgot to use a condom. What? Are people stupid? So while I actually kind of liked Josie - I just don't get it. Ew. Moving on.

Riley - the second American is a frustrated housewife with two children who is not in love with her husband, The Victor, anymore. I just didn't relate to her. She was frustrated that she is stuck with oozing breasts and can't go anywhere. Her youngest is over a year old and she's still breast feeding?? If it was bothering her so much, then stop! She also hates Paris and doesn't go anywhere and hates trying to learn the language. Hmm. So what does she do? She sleeps with her tutor. Yeah, because that solves things.

The lessons - mostly pointless. Of the three students, Josie and Jeremy both speak fluently and don't need lessons. Riley just doesn't want to learn. A minor point but it still bothered me.

The men - Josie's married guy and Phillipe, the tutor Riley sleeps with. Wow. If I was going to risk my marriage or someone else's, I think I'd pick different types of guys. They are both very self centered and not attractive to me at all. Just because a guy thought I was attractive, doesn't mean I'd jump in bed with him and do his bidding. These women seem to have no standards at all. This bothered me.

Ok. So that seems like it's a lot and I'd really hate this book. But there were aspects I really enjoyed. I loved the Parisian setting. If you want a short book to sweep you away to Paris for a day or two, grab this one. Just look at a couple of the chapter headings:

Or this one - I loved these art nouveau signs when I was there:

Each chapter starts with a map of the city where the tutor and student spend their day. I loved the sights and sounds of Paris. She did an amazing job. I also love that the whole book takes place in one day and with each account there's this thunder storm that plays a part. Very clever. I wanted to throw the book down in the middle with Riley and Phillipe's story, but then the book redeemed itself with the third story of Jeremy and Chantal. Finally, I thought she had a realistic story. (Oddly enough, how Ellen Sussman came about writing this book (watch the video here), the third story of Jeremy and Chantal, closely resembles her real life account. While working in Paris, Ms. Sussman bought her husband French lessons and his tutor ended up being a real beauty. It was, by far, my favorite story.)

It's during Jeremy's story that it really comes out what this book is about. Chantal tells Jeremy, "But sometimes we have to run away from ourselves in order to find ourselves." (pg 188) Jeremy also asks the question, "What happens to your identity when you take it away from everything familiar?" (pg 189) What do you think?

I really enjoyed the cover to my ARE but here is the one you'll find in the store:

Also Reviewed By:

The Things We Read
TLC Tours

Paris in July - French Kiss

2011-07-11T12:05:00.000-07:00

Bonjour!

I'm currently reading Ellen Sussman's completely adorable novel French Lessons and I am so jealous of people who can speak French. I can not. It reminded me that my friend here majored in French in college and I am dying to go to France with her. She is afraid to fly though, which reminded me of one of my favorite movies, French Kiss.

Have any of you seen this oldie but goodie? Meg Ryan is afraid to fly but heads off to Paris after learning that her fiance has left her for a French "goddess." Apart from the scenery and Kevin Kline's awesome performance (and the fact that Jean Reno is also in it...love love him) is the soundtrack. You can't have a French or Parisian themed anything without music.

Check out Paris in July over at BookBath.

Thoughts Without Cigarettes - Oscar Hijuelos

2011-07-08T09:13:00.000-07:00

Title: Thoughts Without Cigarettes: A Memoir
Author: Oscar Hijuelos
Hardcover: 367 pages
Publisher: Gotham Books/Penguin
Publication Date: June 2011
FTC: free for TLC Book Tours

You may be thinking that I'm a bit crazy reading a memoir about an author I've never read before. Oscar Hijuelos is the first Latino recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his book The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Now, I had heard of this book and the movie based on it The Mambo Kings (haven't seen that either but really want to now). But just read the synopsis and see if you can figure out why I chose to read it - and why I'm so very very glad I did.

From TLC Book Tours:

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Oscar Hijuelos has won multiple awards for his novels that feature locales as exotic as beautiful Havana and subjects as universal as family, dreams, love, and music. For his latest project, he writes from the heart about the people and places that have inspired his internationally bestselling novels. Thoughts Without Cigarettes will detail those developmental years of his life, immigrant life in New York in the 50s and 60s, his relationship with his father, an eye-opening return visit to Cuba later in life, influential time spent in Europe, and much more. A comprehensive look at the development of an unlikely writer, Thoughts Without Cigarettes will offer a guide through Hijuelos’s innermost thoughts and experiences.

About Oscar Hijuelos:

Oscar Hijuelos is the first Latino to have ever been awarded the Pulitzer Prize in fiction, which he won in 1990 for The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. He is also a recipient of the Rome Prize and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guggenheim Foundation, among others. His eight novels have been translated into over twenty-five languages. Hijuelos was born in New York City and spent a very small part of his early years in Cuba. He currently spends part of the year in Durham, North Carolina, where he teaches at Duke University.

My Thoughts:

Amazing. I LOVE this memoir. I would spend my mornings with a cup of coffee (wishing I has some fried plantains, muy delicioso) and sit and read. His retelling of his life is so intimate and chock full of description and detail that I can't wait to read his novels. There's this story of when he was little and he went to Cuba with his mother and brother and wow, I just loved the imagery. There's a part where they are digging a hole to put a smoked pig when an iguana accidentally crawls inside. To get the iguana out, they tie it up under a tree with a fire to smoke it out...but it accidentally smokes out a bunch of tarantulas from the tree instead. I am left with this image of raining tarantulas.

I enjoyed his honesty with his childhood as a child of Cuban parents, a blond Irish looking one at that, who after a severe childhood illness and separation from his family, wasn't comfortable with speaking Spanish and really being Cuban. It was a long life journey that finally took him back to his roots.

I'll have to say a big part of my enjoyment of this novel was simply the New York City setting...how different the city was back then. He lived in Morningside Heights (118th street, now across from Columbia University). He actually goes into the drug scene of the time (although never a big participant) and mentions the obvious resentment of Columbia taking over people's apartments and land (something I saw even today when living there). I have to say I started tabbing the book like mad when Oscar Hijuelos starts going to college and what teachers he managed to snag! He mentions a few handfuls of authors and books he loved and who influenced his writing.

While I'm sure are thousands of people with stories just like Oscar Hijuelos, it is his obvious talent of telling the tale, set in the 60's and 70's of New York that made it a page turner. I'll be honest here and say that I'm not quite finished with the book. I have about seventy pages left but I am so engrossed that I can definitely recommend it. I'll also be reading his novels in the very near future. I actually have a copy of his book Beautiful Maria of My Soul sitting on my shelf. If you like memoirs, books set in New York City, or just plain good writing, pick this one up.

Oscar Hijuelos’ TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Thursday, June 2nd: Lit and Life
Friday, June 3rd: The Brain Lair
Monday, June 6th: Chaotic Compendiums
Wednesday, June 8th: Suko’s Notebook
Thursday, June 9th: Rundpinne
Friday, June 10th: Regular Rumination
Monday, June 13th: Bookstack
Wednesday, June 15th: A Fanatic’s Book Blog
Thursday, June 16th: Life is a Patchwork Quilt
Monday, June 20th: Book Club Classics!
Tuesday, June 21st: Silver and Grace
Thursday, June 23rd: Bonjour, Cass!
Monday, June 27th: Dolce Bellezza
Tuesday, June 28th: In the Next Room
Friday, July 8th: A Library of My Own
Date TBD: Colloquium – reschedule

Down From Cascom Mountain - Ann Joslin Williams

2011-07-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Title: Down from Cascom Mountain
Author: Ann Joslin Williams
Paperback: 324 pages (ARC version)
Publisher: Bloomsbury
FTC: free for TLC Book Tours

Isn't the cover of this book gorgeous? I'll be honest here and say that it's one of the main reasons why I decided to read and review Down from Cascom Mountain for TLC Book Tours. I was born in the Colorado mountains so I will always have an affinity towards that type of landscape. I also thought it was interesting that Ann Joslin Williams' father was a National Book Award winner so I thought she'd probably be an interesting writer. I was not disapointed. Her writing is beautiful and the setting of Cascom Mountain in New Hampshire just gorgeous.

The Back of the Book:

In Down From Cascom Mountain, newlywed Mary Hall brings her husband to settle in the rural New Hampshire of her youth to fix up the house she grew up in and to reconnect to the land that defined her, with all its beauty and danger. But on a mountain day hike, she watches helplessly as her husband falls to his death. As she struggles with her sudden grief, in the days and months that follow, Mary finds new friendships–with Callie and Tobin, teenagers who live and work on the mountain, and with Ben, the gentle fire watchman. All are haunted by their own losses, but they find ways to restore hope in one another, holding firmly as they navigate the rugged terrain of the unknown and the unknowable, and loves lost and found.

My Thoughts:

Right here I'll warn you that this book has such a sad center story - Mary's husband falls off Cascom Mountian and dies just days after the couple arrive. Mary's only been with Michael for nine months but her grief is profound. This is one of those situations and stories that scare me a lot because my husband and I go hiking and what if that happened? So yeah, this story is sad and terrifying for me.

What made this book a page turner though was the writing. It's definitely a character driven story and Ann Joslin Williams is a beautiful writer. She made Cascom Mountain come alive and the characters were so realistic. While Mary was the main character, the reader also gets to know some of the local kids. Cascom Mountain has a tourist lodge where the local teens work during the summer. Callie was one of the kids and she's written so well. Tobin, a local teen who seems OCD or borderline autistic, helps Mary as she settles into living without her husband.

The back of my book has a blurb where it states "this assured debut novel wrestles with grief and desire" and I really couldn't describe this book themes better. Mary spends the summer overcoming her grief and finding how Cascom Mountain can heal. For Callie, at sixteen, this is the summer of her sexual awakening. Bsaically it's a wonderful character driven story set on Cascom Mountain one summer. Beautiful.

Ann Joslin William’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, June 13th: Along the Way
Thursday, June 16th: Caribousmom – review
Thursday, June 16th: Caribousmom – author guest post
Monday, June 20th: Nomad Reader
Wednesday, June 22nd: Debbie’s Book Bag
Thursday, June 23rd: A Cozy Reader’s Corner
Monday, June 27th: BookNAround
Wednesday, June 29th: Life in the Thumb
Thursday, June 30th: Colloquium
Friday, July 1st: Rundpinne
Tuesday, July 5th: In the Next Room
Wednesday, July 6th: A Library of My Own
Thursday, July 7th: Simply Stacie

isit Ann Joslin William’s website at www.annjoslinwilliams.com.

Paris in July

2011-07-01T16:46:00.000-07:00

I love that BookBath and Thyme for Tea are hosting Paris in July. I absolutely adore this idea. Here's what it entails:

There will be no rules or targets in terms of how much you need to do or complete in order to be a part of Paris in July - just blog about anything French and you can join in. Some ideas for the month might include:

- Reading a French book - fiction or non-fiction

- Watching a French movie

- Listening to French music

- Cooking French food

- Experiencing French art, architecture or travel (lucky Tamara!)

- Or anything else French inspired you can think of...

So I think I'm going to join in. I have no clue how I'm going to fit in Parisian reads amongst my other reads but hopefully I'll find the time. I'm sure my July will stretch into August and September but really, who cares. I attempted to join in last year and did not read a single thing...but check out my post for some of my photos of when I went to Paris a long time ago.

Here's some of my review copies I hope to read:

1. The Paris Wife - Paula McLain
2. French Lessons - Ellen Sussman
3. The Most Beautiful Walk in the World - John Baxter

Maybe I'll even try watching a French film or try a French dish. Who knows?

The Ghost of Greenwich Village GIVEAWAY!

2011-06-30T11:05:00.000-07:00

I got some great responses to my review of The Ghost of Greenwich Village and am so excited to let you all know that the publishers are letting me give away one copy of Lorna Graham's novel to one lucky US/Canada resident. All you have to do is fill out the form below with your name and email. Should you want to do the extras - like post on Facebook/Twitter, comment on the review, or follow my blog - I'll give you an extra entry for each. The contest is open through July 18th. Good Luck!

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The Ghost of Greenwich Village - Lorna Graham

2011-06-29T02:16:00.000-07:00

Title: The Ghost of Greenwich Village
Author: Lorna Graham
Paperback: 345 pages (ARE version)
Publisher: Random House/Ballantine Books
Published Date: June 28, 2011
FTC: free from TLC Book Tours

When I was asked by TLC Book Tours if I wanted to read and review The Ghost of Greenwich Village, I thought why not? I'm quite the sucker for a good New York City book since I briefly lived there. I am so incredibly glad I did because I loved this tale - almost like a fairy tale. The letter from Random House wrote that it "is the simplest of love stories: Girl meets City, Girl falls for City, Girl and City live happily ever after". What a perfect description.

Back of the book:

For Eve Weldon, moving to Greenwich Village is a dream come true. She’s following in the bohemian footsteps of her mother, who lived there during the early sixties among a lively community of Beat artists and writers. But when Eve arrives, the only scribe she meets is a grumpy ghost named Donald, and the only writing she manages to do is for chirpy segments on a morning news program, Smell the Coffee. The hypercompetitive network environment is a far cry from the genial camaraderie of her mother’s literary scene, and Eve begins to wonder if the world she sought has faded from existence. But as she struggles to balance her new job, demands from Donald to help him complete his life’s work, a budding friendship with a legendary fashion designer, and a search for clues to her mother’s past, Eve begins to realize that community comes in many forms—and that the true magic of the Village is very much alive, though it may reveal itself in surprising ways.

My thoughts:

I'm not quite sure how Lorna Graham managed to pack all that she did in her novel and pull it off exquisitely. Here's why:

Eve - What a wonderful character. Her full name is Eventual Weldon (love that) and she moves to Greenwich Village from Ohio. She HAD to live in Greenwich because she is trying to connect with her mother (who passed away) who had lived in the Village when she was younger. After working for her father and being dependent for much too long, she wants to make it for herself. Eve could have been such a stereotypical and apathetic character but she wasn't. She was honest and refreshing because seriously, NYC is full of people trying to make it on their own. I also enjoyed her fashion side - wearing her mom's vintage clothing. Nice touch.

Donald - The Ghost/Beat Gen writer. This could have come off as just plain weird because really? A ghost? But she really made it work. I loved his character. He was surly but likeable which is what, I think, Eve liked about him too. The whole Beat Generation thing and how Donald was in Eve's life - it all just worked. Bravo.

Matthias Klieg - the fictionary legendary dress designer. You are really just going to have to read the book to find out what a gem this character is.

Literary references - galore! I mean, her past time is walking her dog, Highball, around the neighborhood and finding all the plaques on the apartments noting what famous author lived there. I need to re-read this book just to jot down all the authors and works she mentions. (Check out her website for a literary map.) (Just read that Lorna Graham lives in Greenwich Village - so yeah, I think that is cool. Just had to mention that here somewhere.)

New York City - last but definitely not least. This is the first NYC book I've read that depicted the city how I saw and felt as I lived there. The fact that it is really really tough sometimes - most of the time. That it can be lonely. But it can also be beautiful and magical. That you can meet some of the best people. Let me just give you some quotes:

"Eve and Highball wandered down Bleecker Street, the city seeming to her like a giant clique, impenetrable. She was never going to find a way in. She looked hard at each person she passed, every store merchant, every police officer, every deliveryman. What was the damn secret?" (pg 57)

Yep, I've totally been there. Or this one - since I worked in Midtown I totally got this and cracked up that she nailed it perfectly:

"She disembarked the subway at Thirty-fourth Street, still amazed at how different Midtown was from the Village. In the Village, locals meandered, strolled, ambled at best. Here everyone marched smartly in military precision as if taking orders from some unseen general." (pg 63)

And this one, I've been there too. We grabbed and given away things on the street and we too had a random stranger help move our couch into our apartment:

"For all its expense and toughness, New York could be extraordinarily generous. It coughed up regular goodies on stoops and sidewalks, ranging from books to blenders to dining room sets. She'd come across her love seat on Bank Street and a street person had even helped her carry it home." (pg 80)

There are a lot more quotes I'd love to share but you're just going to have to read it yourself. I loved this New York love story and seeing the City through Eve's eyes and also through the Beat Generation's era when Greenwich Village became more than just a neighborhood.

The book cover:

The copy I have has the above cover which I adore. Also, and this may sound weird, but the cover has a deliciously wonderful texture...kind of waxy and smooth. I noticed that TLC Book Tours has a different cover:

I prefer my cover since I think it conveys the fairy tale/love story feel of the story. The other one looks a bit too bleak for me. Thoughts?

Lorna Graham’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, June 20th: Bewitched Bookworms
Wednesday, June 22nd: Life in Review
Tuesday, June 28th: Knowing the Difference
Wednesday, June 29th: A Library of My Own
Thursday, June 30th: Truth, Beauty, Freedom & Books
Tuesday, July 5th: Well Read Wife
Wednesday, July 6th: Redheaded Book Child
Thursday, July 7th: Bookfoolery and Babble
Monday, July 11th: Amusing Reviews
Tuesday, July 12th: Books Like Breathing
Wednesday, July 13th: Sara’s Organized Chaos
Thursday, July 14th: Book Reviews by Molly
Monday, July 18th: Peeking Between the Pages

Connect with Lorna on her website, www.lornagraham.com, and on Twitter.

Nerd Do Well - Simon Pegg

2011-06-22T09:31:00.000-07:00

Title: Nerd Do Well
Author: Simon Pegg
Paperback: 353 pages (ARC version)
Publisher: Gotham Books
Published Date: June 2011
FTC: free for TLC tour

When I saw that TLC Book Tours was hosting Simon Pegg's book Nerd Do Well, I asked if I could join the tour. I will say here that I love British comedies and I love some of Simon Pegg's movies. We own Shaun of the Dead and absolutely love it. If you've never seen this zombie comedy (zomedy?) go rent it now. I've also seen Hot Fuzz and Run Fatboy Run which were pretty funny too. (If you have no clue who Simon Pegg is or don't feel like reading the synopsis, check out his video below).

Here's the synopsis from TLC Book Tours:

The unique life story of one of the most talented and inventive comedians, star of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Star Trek.

Zombies in North London, death cults in the West Country, the engineering deck of the Enterprise: actor, comedian, writer and self-proclaimed supergeek Simon Pegg has been ploughing some bizarre furrows in recent times. Having landed on the U.S. movie scene in the surprise cult hit Shaun of the Dead, his enduring appeal and rise to movie star with a dedicated following has been mercurial, meteoric, megatronic, but mostly just plain great.

From his childhood (and subsequently adult) obsession with science fiction, his enduring friendship with Nick Frost, and his forays into stand-up comedy which began with his regular Monday morning slot in front of his twelve-year-old classmates, Simon has always had a severe and dangerous case of the funnies.

Whether recounting his experience working as a lifeguard at the city pool, going to Comic-Con for the first time and confessing to Carrie Fisher that he used to kiss her picture every night before he went to sleep, or meeting and working with heroes that include Peter Jackson, Kevin Smith, and Quentin Tarantino, Pegg offers a hilarious look at the journey to becoming an international superstar, dotted with a cast of memorable characters, and you’re rooting for him all the way.

My thoughts:

I think it's always difficult to review someone's memoir. I really don't want to judge their life. Fortunately for Nerd Do Well, I really enjoyed it. I was pretty hesitant picking it up since my husband had already given me his thoughts on the book. The minute I got the book in the mail, my husband snagged it and read it. He said it was "British comedy, British comedy, Star Wars, British comedy, Star Wars, Star Wars, Nick Frost". You can see why I was a bit hesitant. But I honestly thought it was better than that.

I was also a bit nervous that since he was British, even though I lived over there for a few months and love British shows and movies, I worried I wouldn't get a lot of references. I didn't have to worry too much (although there were more 1970s/80s references that I didn't get just because I wasn't old enough back then to watch, say Bionic Man).

What I enjoyed was his memories. Even though his childhood was probably not insanely unique, I enjoyed his stories. I mean, he gives a Mars Bar to his teacher and chaos ensues, he struggles with his fear of the swimming pool, and while these aren't terribly unique I enjoyed his stories. I mean, I loved reading about his childhood self who loved performing comedy and really performing anything even if it meant he looked like an idiot doing it.

Perhaps it's his way of writing which makes it feel like he's talking to you. This would be an awesome audio book if Simon Pegg narrated (I Googled it and he DOES narrate! Yay!). Interspersed within his memoir is a silly little story staring Simon Pegg as the "world's most famous international playboy and adventurer" who has a sidekick robot. I know that sounds weird but it really works and my husband and I both enjoyed that little short story.

Perhaps I liked it because while I don't think I'm a huge nerd (I can't program a computer and I've never been to comic-con), I do enjoy some nerdiness. I loved when he mentioned his cameo in Doctor Who. I love that show. I grew up watching it with my dad and being completely confused about what was going on but loving it anyway. And I loved all the Star Wars and Star Trek references. I think it's hilarious that I grew up watching Star Trek and playing with Ewoks and my husband really didn't. Yeah, he makes fun of me for watching Battlestar Galactica too. What I'm trying to say is that if you appreciate any of these references and think you may be fit somewhere on the nerd radar, you'll enjoy Simon Pegg's memoir too.

For more fun nerdiness stuff, check out Simon Pegg's website
My husband showed me this article: George Lucas Apologizes to Simon Pegg for prequels?
Simon Pegg on NPR

Here's his book trailer:

Simon Pegg’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Friday, June 3rd: GeekDad
Monday, June 6th: We Be Reading
Tuesday, June 7th: Chaotic Compendiums
Wednesday, June 8th: Luxury Reading
Thursday, June 9th: Lit and Life
Friday, June 10th: Nerds in Babeland
Monday, June 13th: The 3 R’s Blog
Tuesday, June 14th: HeGeekSheGeek
Wednesday, June 15th: Life in the Thumb
Thursday, June 16th: Simply Stacie
Friday, June 17th: GeekMom
Monday, June 20th: Book Reviews by Elizabeth A. White
Tuesday, June 21st: Total Fan Girl
Wednesday, June 22nd: A Library of My Own
Thursday, June 23rd: Well Read Wife
Friday, June 24th: Acting Balanced

Anthropology of an American Girl - H.T. Hamann

2011-06-08T08:13:00.000-07:00

Title: Anthropology of an American Girl
Author: Hilary Thayer Hamann
Paperback: 640 pages
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau/Random House
Published Date: June 14, 2011 (original 2003)
Note: My copy is first edition, hardback, 568 pages, Vernacular Press
FTC: Bought at Housingworks Book Sale

When I saw that TLC Book Tours was hosting the book Anthropology of an American Girl, I asked if I could join along. I had found a beautiful first edition at a Housingworks Book Sale back (more on my edition at the end) when I lived in New York and hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. I thought this was the perfect time to read it.

I will say right here that I did not finish it. Yes. I'll be honest and admit that. It's not as if I didn't give myself time to read it. I started it in mid-May and well, I finally gave myself a break and admitted that it's not my kind of tea at page 147.

The synopsis from Goodreads:

Self-published in 2003, Hilary Thayer Hamann’s Anthropology of an American Girl touched a nerve among readers, who identified with the sexual and intellectual awakening of its heroine, a young woman on the brink of adulthood. A moving depiction of the transformative power of first love, Hamann’s first novel follows Eveline Auerbach from her high school years in East Hampton, New York, in the 1970s through her early adulthood in the moneyed, high-pressured Manhattan of the 1980s.
Centering on Evie’s fragile relationship with her family and her thwarted love affair with Harrison Rourke, a professional boxer, the novel is both a love story and an exploration of the difficulty of finding one’s place in the world. As Evie surrenders to the dazzling emotional highs of love and the crippling loneliness of heartbreak, she strives to reconcile her identity with the constraints that all relationships—whether those familial or romantic, uplifting to the spirit or quietly detrimental—inherently place on us. Though she stumbles and strains against social conventions, Evie remains a strong yet sensitive observer of the world around her, often finding beauty and meaning in unexpected places.
Newly edited and revised since its original publication, Anthropology of an American Girl is an extraordinary piece of writing, original in its vision and thrilling in its execution.

My thoughts:

I have a feeling that this book one of those love it or hate it books. Yesterday I checked out some reviews on Goodreads because I was really curious to see what other people thought and yeah, it looks like it's a love or hate it type of book.

One of the deal-breakers for me was the writing. Is it possible that her writing is too good and I just don't get it? Maybe. All I know is for the first 10 or so pages I thought "Oh no." It's so verbose that I couldn't fathom slogging through the next 568 pages. I feel like her beautiful writing and memorable passages were hidden by all the meandering she did. Again, this might be something you love or hate. Here's an example:

We reclined in the sun on a wooden footbridge in back of the nature trail. We hung by our backs from the belly of the earth. We weighed a flawless weight, a liquid and consequent weight, like cylinders half-filled and lying on sides. We were essence and anima, inchoate and divine, complementary and dilute. We were shapes fitting shapes in a universe that was a soft-side maze. (pg 139)

A little wordy? Or beautiful? It's hard to tell. I'd normally love this type of writing if it was pocketed with gems like this. But it's the entire writing style. For instance, just a little further down pages 139 is this:

I opened my eyes. Jack's hand was thrust into the air, bobbing wretchedly to chase the able bird. The minute and mortal reach of his limb depressed me awfully. We did not levitate against the arc of the planet as I'd thought - we were mired in circumstance. There was something about the love that did not transfer well from the mind.

Instead of enjoying the writing I kept rolling my eyes thinking no high schooler I know thinks like this. It's also distracting. There was one point where she was in the school gym and after five pages of rambling it came back to the gym and I was confused because I totally forgot what was going on in the story. Character's names are thrown out and it takes overly long for me to figure out who they are and how they fit in the story.

I might have been able to get around the writing if it had a compelling story. At 147 pages I'm still not sure what that story is. I know it's centered around a girl named Eveline. At the beginning we know she's engaged to be married at it's 1984. Then it goes to 1979 when she's in high school. For the next 125 pages or so all I get out of it is that her best friend's mom dies from cancer which hits her pretty hard, she has a boyfriend named Jack who she loves, a best friend Kate, she gets raped, she has a birthday party, and it's setting up something about a possible affair with a drama teacher. She's a pretty apathetic character. I mean, the whole birthday party scene kind of tells it all when she is not fond of the attention and hides behind Jack's character, I think takes some drugs to feel better, and at the end notes "He (Jack) may have had sex with me, I thought he did, I wasn't sure." (pg 143) I mean, man. I just couldn't relate to Eveline and didn't really want or need to figure out how the story ends.

I don't know if it's just the timing of me reading that story that's not clicking. Possibly had I read this in high school I'd have loved it. I'd be tagging all the beautiful and moving passages instead of the ones I thought were ridiculous. I checked my Google Reader to see if any blogs I follow had reviewed it and I found one. The Five Borough Book Review read it and stated, "I did enjoy this one. Quite a lot. Despite not really liking Eveline, I wanted to know how it all turned out. A worthwhile chunkster." So even though I didn't finish the book, it did make me curious what other people thought.

So have you read this book? Does it sound like something you'd want to read?

My edition:

Even more disappointing is how much I wanted to love this book. From the title (I loved anthropology and should have gone into that field), to the beautiful first edition I have. It's beyond beautiful. The hardcover is beautifully bound with a scrolling E (for Eveline). The pages and type are lovely and it comes with an awesome book mark. It was obviously made and published with thought and love. Please note that I read the first edition and not the paperback one now published by Spiegel & Grau/Random House.

The first edition cover:

Hilary Thayer Hamann’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Monday, June 6th: Book Snob

Wednesday, June 8th: A Library of My Own

Friday, June 10th: Well Read Wife

Monday, June 13th: Teresa’s Reading Corner

Thursday, June 16th: BookNAround

Monday, June 20th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Wednesday, June 22nd: The 3R’s Blog

Monday, June 27th: Books Like Breathing

Thursday, June 30th: The Book Faery Reviews

Wednesday, July 6th: Caribousmom

Friday, July 8th: Peeking Between the Pages