Fizzy Thoughts

I've moved (again)

2009-08-29T00:35:00.001-07:00

My blog, that is. I'm tired of moving houses.

Hello wordpress, goodbye blogger.

And if there's any chance at all you are reading this, you will need to update your feed reader. Or a link. Or something.

You see, I took the self-hosting plunge. I kept my name, but I broke my feed.

Sorry for the inconvenience.

But come visit me over at the new (albeit a little buggy) www.fizzythoughts.com!

The Earth Hums in B Flat

2009-08-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Earth Hums in B Flat
Mari Strachan
June 2009
339 pages

Publishers Weekly

Twelve-year-old Gwenni Morgan bears witness as her family crumbles under the weight of its secrets in Strachan's lyrical debut. In a small Welsh village swirling with secrets and gossip, few are willing to tell the truth about who they are. Gwenni soars above the local intrigue in her dreams-each night as she drifts off to sleep she flies away from her family and over the nearby fields and farms-and hopes someday to fly during the day as well. Though most, including her mother, see Gwenni's unending curiosity as a nuisance, local schoolteacher Elin Evans nurtures Gwenni's dreams of a different life. When Elin's husband, Ifan, disappears, town tongues wag, and when his body is found, Gwenni's mother mourns him more than seems proper. Strachan ramps up the tension, as Gwenni is caught between loyalties and learns some damning family secrets. The author's light touch keeps the story unfamiliar and surprising, while Gwenni's über-precocious narration revels in a love for language and reveals an unspoiled innocence about the world. It's small, quiet and nicely done.

I adored Gwenni. She is so precocious, and imaginative, despite her bitch of a mother. Sorry, but it’s true. Mrs. Morgan is all about Mrs. Morgan. And she clearly plays favorites…Gwenni’s older sister Bethan can do no wrong, and Gwenni can do no right. However, Gwenni doesn’t let that get her down. I especially like how she is always imagining the Toby jugs on the shelf as little people looking down on her family.

Gwenni fancies herself a detective, and after the death of Ifan Evans, she is determined to find out who killed him. Gwenni’s efforts often embarrass her mother, who is all about appearances. Eventually, Gwenni abandons her search after family secrets emerge…both for the Evans family and the Morgans.

Chris at book-a-rama wrote a knock-out review of this one. And I’ll just leave you with her review, since if I keep typing I’ll probably just end up repeating what she said. And that wouldn’t be very cool.

Housekeeping

2009-08-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

This post unintentionally inspired a guessing game, because I chose a picture that was too small. For those of you who are still curious, the book was Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson. And the winner is Word Lily. Yay!!!!!

I started the book a couple of weeks ago. By page 18 I realized I didn’t have the patience to work my way through the dense (although lyrical) prose. So off it goes to a new reader.

Congrats to Word Lily…please send me your address?

A little more housekeeping (ha, ha)…

A belatedly huge thank you to whoever nominated me for BBAW awards. I received nominations for Best Community Builder (not really sure why, on that one), Most Humorous/Funny Blog, Best Literary Fiction Blog, and Most Eclectic Taste. Thank you, thank you, thank you…the nominations warmed the cockles of my heart. And made my day.

So as a way to say thanks and I love you too, I’m going to give away my copy of one of my favoritist books of the year. I raved about it yesterday, and would love for one of you to read it. All you have to do to get your name in the running is tell me what your favorite book (so far) of the year is.

Also. Have you seen this?!? And have I told you that I’m planning a trip to Croatia next May/June? Wah!!

The Calligrapher’s Daughter

2009-08-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Calligrapher’s Daughter
Eugenia Kim
2009
375 pages of pure awesomeness

From the website:
In early-twentieth-century Korea, Najin Han, the privileged daughter of a calligrapher, longs to choose her own destiny. Smart and headstrong, she is encouraged by her mother—but her stern father is determined to maintain tradition, especially as the Japanese steadily gain control of his beloved country. When he seeks to marry Najin into an aristocratic family, her mother defies generations of obedient wives and instead sends her to serve in the king’s court as a companion to a young princess. But the king is soon assassinated, and the centuries-old dynastic culture comes to its end.

In the shadow of the dying monarchy, Najin begins a journey through increasing oppression that will forever change her world. As she desperately seeks to continue her education, will the unexpected love she finds along the way be enough to sustain her through the violence and subjugation her country continues to face? Spanning thirty years, The Calligrapher’s Daughter is a richly drawn novel in the tradition of Lisa See and Amy Tan about a country torn between ancient customs and modern possibilities, a family ultimately united by love, and a woman who never gives up her search for freedom.

Why I loved this book:
For me, this is historical fiction at its best. The Calligrapher’s Daughter is full of historical and cultural details, and the author does a fantastic job of bringing both Korea and her characters to life. This is a passage from late in the book, during WWII. It shows both the effects of the war, and offers a brief glimpse of traditional ways:

”I wrapped my skirt in sand-colored apron and squatted, tilling with a bamboo hand-hoe. When the home inspectors began collecting metal goods, garden tools were among the first items to go. I was grateful for the childhood years spent outside with Byungjo, watching his able hands fashion tools from bamboo, sticks and hemp rope, Mother and I planted cabbage, cucumber and squash. The warm wind smelled green and soft, but the earth was still frozen in places where the winter clouds had lingered. I broke up those clumps as if beating them into submitting to spring.” - page 335

Admittedly, this may not have been the best excerpt, but there was just something about the detail of the bamboo hoe that struck me. It’s that attention to detail that makes this such an exceptional book.

Another reason I love this book is for the characters, especially Najin. Kim created a strong protagonist in Najin, who we follow from childhood into adulthood. Throughout the story, Najin is often torn between duty and desire. Duty includes her role as the traditional, subservient daughter who is supposed to serve the men in the family. Her desires include education, work and choosing her own husband. As Najin struggles between duty and desire we learn about both traditional Korean culture and the changes the country (and the culture) undergoes in the early 1900s. Kim shows us Korea…its beauty, its struggles and its people.

Last night on Twitter I asked if anyone had any questions about the book. Ali asked, “Calligrapher doesn't seem like a high profile job. Is calligraphy important to the plot?”

This is an excellent question. It’s important to both the plot, and the meaning in the title. Najin’s father is a calligrapher, and was well-known for the scrolls and screens he created. Calligraphy was more than just fancy writing…the brush strokes were considered an art form and calligraphers were held in very high regard. In the book, Najin’s father’s screens are displayed in royal palaces. Furthermore, the Joseon Dynasty of Korea and Confucianism emphasized the ideal of the scholar gentleman, and Najin’s father epitomizes this ideal through both his actions and his calligraphy. He is a member of the privileged yangban class…he does not work, rather he studies and creates. He is also resistant to change, mostly because it is being forced upon him by the Japanese invaders. So the calligraphy in the title is representative of the old ways, and also the social class that the family belonged to. And Najin’s little brother also becomes a calligrapher, so calligraphy reappears later in the story and again has some importance to the plot.

To continue on about the title, in Korean culture it was rude to call someone by their given name. You could be the daughter of the woman from Nah-jing, or the calligrapher’s daughter, but not just Najin. Actually, Najin wasn’t even her real name:

“I learned I had no name on the same day I learned fear.” - first sentence

Najin, with her ambitions, represents, to some extent, the changes Korea faces. Her lack of a name plays into this throughout the novel. However, Najin also has a keen understanding of tradition. She may rail against it at times, but she still strives to be a dutiful daughter, the calligrapher’s daughter. As you can see, this is a deceptively simple title. And as you read the book, you realize that there are many meanings and layers to both the title and the person.

I’m really hoping people fall in love with this book like I have. It’s a great story, and creates an incredible sense of place. It’s also the perfect example of what historical fiction can be…a story so good you don’t realize you’re reading about history. :-) So even if you’re resistant to the genre of historical fiction I’d urge you to try this one.

The Favorites

2009-08-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Favorites
Mary Yukari Waters
June 2009
279 pages

This was a really different book for me to read, and not something I normally would have stuck with.

Publisher Comments:

In her exquisite first novel, Waters explores the complex relationships among three generations of women bound by a painful family history and a culture in which custom dictates behavior. Fourteen-year-old Sarah Rexford, half-Japanese and half-American, feels like an outsider when she visits her family in Japan. She quickly learns that in traditional Kyoto, personal boundaries are firmly drawn and actions are not always what they appear. Sarah learns of a family secret — an interfamily adoption arranged in the throes of World War II. Her grandmother gave up one of her daughters to the matriarch of the family, and the two families have coexisted quietly, living on the same lane. While this arrangement is never discussed, it looms over the two households. In this carefully articulated world, where every gesture and look has meaning, Sarah must learn the rules by which her mother, aunts, and grandmother live. Delicately balancing drama and restraint, Waters captures these women — their deep passions and tumultuous histories — in this tender and moving novel about the power and beauty of mother-daughter relationships.

The story is actually told in three parts. The first part is when Sarah returns to Japan when she is 14. On that initial visit, Sarah learns that her grandmother’s sister-in-law adopted her grandmother’s second daughter when she was a baby. Because they live across the lane, the families see each other on a daily basis. But her grandmother and her aunt rarely talk to each other, for fear of hurting or disrespecting her aunt’s adoptive mother. The second part of the story takes place four years later, when Sarah again returns to Japan. And the final part is Sarah’s third visit, after she finishes college. In all three parts of the story, the focus is on the women, and the complex relationship between the two families…things that can and can’t be said and/or done, for fear of stepping over some never stated but definitely there boundary. There are some complex family dynamics happening in this book.

Despite the intimate look into a family’s secrets and past, this book could be very formal at times. Which is why I initially struggled with it. I know this is indicative of Japanese culture, and I’ll confess I’ve always struggled with an interest in that, too. Throughout the book, there is an emphasis on tone and voice. Also, all of the adult women are referred to by their married names, although not in conversation. Here is an example of what I’m trying to explain:

”Granny-san,” said Mrs. Rexford, returning to a tone of affectionate familiarity that her daughter nonetheless suspected was an “outside” voice, “sit down here on my cushion. Ne, please.” She smoothed the cotton fabric in a deferential gesture of invitation. Mrs. Asaki accepted, ducking her head in a pleased quarter-bow, and Mrs. Rexford went away to help her mother with tea. “Sarah,” she called back over her shoulder, switching once again to a disciplinary tone, “clear those dirty dishes off the table. Quickly.” –page 26-27

In the end, I’m glad I stuck with this one. It provides an intriguing glimpse of Japanese culture, as well as a look at how an intra-family adoption played out.

Weekly Geeks: Why oh why?

2009-08-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

This week’s Geeky question is:

I think just about every reader has a least one book that they've been meaning to read for awhile (months or even years) but, for one reason or another, they just haven't gotten around to it. Maybe it's a book a friend recommended last year, or a title you've flirted with in a bookstore on more than one occasion, or maybe it's a book that's sitting right there on your bookshelf, patiently waiting for you to pick it up -- but the thought is always there, in the back of your mind: Why haven't I read this yet?

This week, tell us about a book (or books) you have been meaning to read. What is it? How long have you wanted to read it? And, why haven't you read it yet?

My bookshelves are filled with books I’ve been meaning to read. But for this question, I think I’ll focus on three well-known classics that I’ve managed to put off for awhile now.

These three novels are all sitting on my bookshelf. Anna Karenina has been sitting there the longest, a gift from a co-worker that I’ve always felt like I should read. I’ve even started it. It’s just so daunting.

Lolita has only been a resident of the bookshelf for the past few months. It’s one of those books that is referred to so often that I almost feel like I’ve already read it. Same goes for Dracula. I bought both books because I wanted to experience the full story, rather than just guess at the rest of the story every time I see mention of either of the books.

I do plan to read Lolita next month, in honor of Banned Books Week. And Dracula seems appropriate for October. But who knows when I’ll get around to finishing Anna Karenina.

Anyone up for a read-along?

Desperately seeking new reader

2009-08-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Me: Single novel, looking for one interested reader. Published in 2004, 224 pages. Interested in trains, wordy prose, and not a lot of dialogue. Some people call me a modern classic.

You: Interested in reading me. Leave a comment and maybe you’ll get lucky.

The Rest of Her Life

2009-08-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Rest of Her Life
Laura Moriarty
August 2007
320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Moriarty's follow-up to book-group favorite The Center of Everything again explores a tense, fragile mother-daughter relationship, this time finding sharper edges where personal history and parenting meet. Now a junior high school English teacher married to a college professor, Leigh has spent much of her adult life trying to distance herself from her dysfunctional childhood. Raising their two children in a small, safe Kansas town not far from where Leigh and her troubled sister, Pam, were raised by their single mother, Leigh finds her good fortune still somewhat empty. Daughter Kara, 18 and a high school senior, is distant; sensitive younger son Justin is unpopular; Leigh can't seem to reach either—Kara in particular sees Leigh (rightly) as self-absorbed. When Kara accidentally hits and kills another high school girl with the family's car, Leigh is forced to confront her troubled relationship with her daughter, her resentment toward her husband (who understands Kara better) and her long-buried angst about her own neglectful mother. The intriguing supporting characters are limited by not-very-likable Leigh's POV, but Moriarty effectively conveys Leigh's longing for escape and wariness of reckoning.

It’s true that Leigh is not-very-likable. In fact, she’s down-right annoying, even after her best friend calls her on her self-centeredness. I often wanted to reach into the pages and wring her neck. Leigh has tried to leave behind her unhappy childhood, but she has overcompensated by being stand-offish, even with her own daughter. The tragedy is that Leigh doesn’t see that her attitude has alienated almost everyone around her.

The book is so skewed towards Leigh’s perspective that at times I forgot it wasn’t being told from the first person point of view. So while we learn all about Leigh, it’s hard to get to know the other characters, particularly Kara. I often felt myself wondering what was going through her head. While the Kara’s accident is the catalyst for everything that happens in the book, Kara spends most of her time in her room, a place the story (and Leigh) doesn’t often venture.

Despite my vexation (hah…I love that word…it’s so old-fashioned) with Leigh, I still flew through this book. Despite the topic, it’s an engaging read.

I read The Center of Everything at the end of 2007…I think I liked that one better though, because the main character was in high school during the 80’s, and all of the familiar cultural references were entertaining. Also, this one has that increasingly familiar back-of-a-woman’s-head cover. It seems like everywhere I look lately there’s a book with that choice of cover art. What’s up with that?

A Prayer for Owen Meany

2009-08-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

A Prayer for Owen Meany
John Irving
1989
543 pages

I’ve already talked about my thoughts when I posted about Chapter 7. This book was an experience…that’s the best way to describe it. I’ve been curious about Owen Meany for quite awhile, and I am glad I read the book. But as previously mentioned, it’s way too heavy on the symbolism for me. As Care so aptly put it, it’s “symbolism on crack.”

I found the editorial reviews for this one fairly entertaining. While the Library Journal review isn’t exactly doing back flips, it’s not a bad summary:

Diminutive Owen Meany, the social outcast with the high, pinched voice, has an enormous influence on his friend Johnny Wheelwright--not least because the only baseball Owen ever hits causes the death of Johnny's mother. But as Johnny claims, "Owen gave me more than he ever took from me. . . . What did he ever say that wasn't right?" Spookily prescient, convinced that he is an instrument of God, Owen intimidates child and adult alike. Why Johnny "is a Christian because of Owen Meany" is the novel's central mystery but not its only one: Who, for instance, was Johnny's father? Untangling these knots, the adult Johnny pauses to consider his religious convictions and distaste of American politics in passages that are neither especially persuasive nor effectively integrated into the book. And though Owen is a compelling presence, his power over others is not entirely convincing. Still, readers will be drawn in by the story of the boys' friendship and by the desire to see some resolution to Johnny's mysteries.

However, Publishers Weekly went all out:

Irving's storytelling skills have gone seriously astray in this contrived, preachy, tedious tale of the eponymous Owen Meany, a latter-day prophet and Christ-like figure who dies a martyr after having inspired true Christian belief in the narrator, Johnny Wheelwright. The boys grow up close friends in a small New Hampshire town, where Owen’s loutish parents own a quarry and where the fatherless Johnny, whose beloved mother never reveals the secret of his paternity, becomes an orphan at age 11 when a foul ball hit by Owen in a Little League game strikes his mother on the head, killing her instantly. The tragedy notwithstanding, Owen and Johnny cleave to a friendship sealed when Owen uses desperate means to keep Johnny from going to Vietnam, and brought to its apotheosis when Johnny is present at the death Owen has seen prefigured in a vision. Despite the overworked theme of a boy's best friend causing his mother's injury or death (one thinks immediately of Robertson Davies and Nancy Willard), the plot might have been workable had not Irving made Owen a caricature: Owen is, all his life, so tiny he can be lifted with one hand; he is “mortally cute,” and he has a “cartoon voice” because he must shout through his nose, which Irving conveys by printing all of Owen’s dialogue in capital letters; an irritating device that immediately sets the reader’s teeth on edge. Then too, the author’s portentously dramatic foreshadowing, which has worked well in his previous books, is here sadly overdone and excessively melodramatic. On the plus side, Irving is convincing in his appraisal of the tragedy of Vietnam and in his religious philosophizing, in which he distinguishes the true elements of faith. But that is not enough to save the meandering narrative. Owen is not the only one to hit a foul ball in this novel, which is too “mortally cute” for its own good.

Ouch. Although I will confess to agreeing with a lot of that review.

At the end of my copy there is an afterword by John Irving in which he compliments himself on the first sentence in Owen Meany:

“I may one day write a better first sentence to a novel than that of A Prayer for Owen Meany, but I doubt it. I have a feeling for first sentences, and I’ve written some pretty good ones.”

And okay, I admit the first sentence of Owen Meany was intriguing:

“I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice – not because of his voice, or even because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother’s death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany.”

But is it really necessary to brag on yourself like that? I know…your books are held in very high regard and are even taught in English classes and courses. But good grief, can you sound any more pompous?

Because I’d been curious about Owen Meany for quite awhile, I’m glad I read the book. And thanks to Care for organizing our read-along…without it I’m sure I never would have finished

Some of our group discussions can be found at Care's Online Book Club, Regular Rumination and Casual Dread.

The Well and the Mine

2009-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Well and the Mine
Gin Phillips
January 2008
251 pages

Another Southern novel. Another story told from multiple points of view. Another debut novel. You’d think I was stuck in a rut. Yet, this is a very different book than both Mudbound and The Help.

Set in Alabama during the Great Depression, this is the story of the Moores. Albert and Leta are struggling to raise their three children, Virgie, Tess and Jack. Alfred works both the coal mines and the farm he bought to be free of company housing and company store. When Tess sees an unrecognizable woman toss a baby down the family well, the family is at first skeptical. When they later draw the baby out of the well, the family struggles with both guilt and the search for resolution (who was the child, how could someone do that, why their well…).

The story is told from the point of view of all five family members. Although the voices are not as distinct as they are in Mudbound (I know I keep mentioning this book, but it’s because the author did such a fantastic job of creating such distinct voices for all of her narrators), it is still interesting to see the different family member’s takes on their life. Albert is concerned with providing for his family and raising his children to be good and free of hate. Leta is uber-practical, constantly working to keep the house clean, her family fed, and the animals tended to. Virgie is the child who cares for everyone, while Tess is a bit more curious and fanciful. Jack, the youngest, is a bit removed from the present story and tends to add in details of the future.

For awhile, I was a bit annoyed by how perfect everyone seemed. Later, a few quirks turned up, but still, this is the family everyone in town turns to for help in grim times. The baby in the well adds a bit of mystery to the story, but what I found so fascinating was the day to day life. Albert and Leta worked extremely hard, pretty much all the time, just to survive and provide food, clothing and shelter for their family, as well as those less fortunate. I think I found it so fascinating because this is how I imagine life was for my paternal grandparents when they were growing up in Mississippi in the 1910s and 1920s.

Here are two of my favorite passages from the book:

"She said worms could crawl up into the bottoms of your feet and make a home there.
I could see those little worms setting up house in my heels or big toes, carving out little living rooms in my feet, building nice warm fires and bringing in tiny mattresses and kitchen tables no bigger than freckles.
Mama said that was not how they did it at all." Tess, page 59

"There was something perfect about a spoon of thick heavy beans and a bite of sweet onion. That mix of hot and cold, soft and crisp. Leta was a great cook, good as any woman I'd ever known, but the real mystery was how she knew what should fit together, what mix of foods made the right mouthful. Beans and onion. Squash and tomato. It was the different tastes together, the ones that it didn't make no sense at all to stick on the same fork, that your tongue really remembered." Albert, page 159

The Weight of Silence

2009-08-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Weight of Silence
Heather Gudenkauf
August 2009
384 pages

Publisher Comments:
It happens one August morning. As dawn's light drenches the humid Iowa air, two families awaken to find their little girls have gone missing.

Seven-year-old Calli Clark is sweet, gentle, a dreamer who suffers from selective mutism brought on by tragedy as a toddler. Calli's mother, Antonia, tried to do the best she could within the confines of marriage to a mostly absent, often angry husband. Though she denies that her husband could be involved in the possible abductions, she fears her decision to stay has cost more than her daughter's voice.

Petra Gregory is Calli's best friend and voice. But neither Petra nor Calli has been heard from since their disappearance was discovered. Desperate to find his child, Martin Gregory is forced to confront a side of himself he did not know existed beneath his intellectual demeanor.

Now these families are tied by the question of what happened to their children. And the answer is trapped in the silence of family secrets.

The author does a fantastic job of building the tension in this book. For the first half of the book there is the question of who took the children. The second half of the book is more about resolution and both families finding answers to their questions, as well as justice. And because there is a slight twist to the story, I don’t want to discuss any of the details of the story. But I will say I was compelled to keep reading because of the need to know what happens, and also because of the characters.

What is especially touching is the friendship between the two girls. Calli is selectively mute (and that’s another great question that kept me reading), and Petra acts as her voice. The girls are so close that Petra seems to instinctively know what Calli wants and needs. How this plays out later is wonderful to read.

Some people probably won’t want to read this because of the disappearance factor. I remember this issue coming up with Precious. And while the two books are nothing alike (other than having strong characterization and being great reads), I will say the disappearance of the girls plays a much larger role in this book. So while I always hate to warn people off of books, I would say that moms who worry about the abduction of their daughters and who don’t like to read things like that should probably not dive right into this one. And I wouldn’t normally bring this up, but I remember how some people were reluctant to read Precious for this very reason.

This is a very impressive debut novel…I hope Gudenkauf keeps up the good work. :-)

Behold…

2009-08-17T07:22:00.001-07:00

First, I have winners to announce. The winner of The Housekeeper and the Professor is:

Amy

And the winner of The World in Half is:

Diane

Yay!! If you two would be so kind as to email me with your address, I’ll mail you your book.

Also, Care pointed out that in my post I transposed The Housekeeper and the Professor. Ack…blonde moment! I’ll fix it one of these days. Maybe.

Also, also…you guys are funny. Thanks for the giggles with the Twinkie rhymes. Especially since I just about forgot I had put that in the post and I was initially confused as to why Jill was talking about a binkie.

Also, also, also…lookie, lookie:

New bookcases! I am so excited. Especially since I put them together all by myself. I just want to sit in front of them all day long and stare. And did you notice? There’s still an empty shelf! And that other bottom shelf is books I need to get rid of, so really, I have TWO empty shelves. Plus, the old bookcase now has room:

Three shelves!! Maybe I should go to the bookstore?

And, since I’m trying to cram as much stuff as I can into one post and this is going to also count as my TBR post for Lisa, here is the other shelf of books in the house:

This is actually a hutch that belonged to Hamburger’s grandparents that I think is ugly (note the plant futilely trying to hide the curly-cued wood). So while the bottom cabinet provides storage, I use the top shelf to display things that make me happy.

Not all of these shelves are TBR shelves, although most of them are. In the new bookcases, the top two shelves of each are books to be read. The third almost-full shelf is travel books. In the old bookcase, the bottom two shelves are reference books, so those don’t count either.

I still have two little piles of books that I need to recover from elsewhere in the house and shelve with their friends. But I no longer have them stashed away in closets in drawers. My books are so happy to be standing upright and together!

The World in Half

2009-08-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

The World in Half
Cristina Henriquez
April 2009
320 pages

Book description:
Miraflores has never known her father, and until now, she’s never thought that he wanted to know her. She’s long been aware that her mother had an affair with him while she was stationed with her then husband in Panama, and she’s always assumed that her pregnant mother came back to the United States alone with his consent. But when Miraflores returns to the Chicago suburb where she grew up, to care for her mother at a time of illness, she discovers that her mother and father had a greater love than she ever thought possible, and that her father had wanted her more than she could have imagined.

In secret, Miraflores plots a trip to Panama, in search of the man whose love she hopes can heal her mother—and whose presence she believes can help her find the pieces of her own identity that she thought were irretrievably lost. What she finds is unexpected, exhilarating, and holds the power to change the course of her life completely.

In gorgeous, shimmering prose, Cristina Henríquez delivers a triumphant and heartbreaking first novel: the story of a young woman reconciling an existence between two cultures and confronting a life of hardship with an endless capacity to learn, love, and forgive.

Dawn has written a beautiful review of this book. Go read it. I’ll wait.

Nice, huh? Think I can top that? Pfft…I’m not even going to try. This book really is all that. The only itty, bitty complaint that I had was that I didn’t get much of a feel for Panama, other than the canal and the crazy bus system. But that’s okay. The book is really focused on Miraflores and her exploration of her parents’ lives and her acceptance of her own life.

Dawn sent me her ARC of The World in Half (along with a bag of Twinkies…don’t think I’ve forgotten!). If you would like to be the next person to read this (keeping in mind that it is an ARC and also, that Twinkies are not included), leave the secret code word in the comments (anything that rhymes with Twinkie). I’ll pick a winner tomorrow.

The Housekeeper and the Professor

2009-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Housekeeper and the Professor
Yoko Ogawa
February 2009
192 pages

Ali very kindly brought me this book when she was visiting the Central Coast. It’s one I’d seen around and the premise sounded intriguing.

From Publishers Weekly:
Ogawa weaves a poignant tale of beauty, heart and sorrow in her exquisite new novel. Narrated by the Housekeeper, the characters are known only as the Professor and Root, the Housekeeper’s 10-year-old son, nicknamed by the Professor because the shape of his hair and head remind the Professor of the square root symbol. A brilliant mathematician, the Professor was seriously injured in a car accident and his short-term memory only lasts for 80 minutes. He can remember his theorems and favorite baseball players, but the Housekeeper must reintroduce herself every morning, sometimes several times a day. The Professor, who adores Root, is able to connect with the child through baseball, and the Housekeeper learns how to work with him through the memory lapses until they can come together on common ground, at least for 80 minutes. In this gorgeous tale, Ogawa lifts the window shade to allow readers to observe the characters for a short while, then closes the shade.

I don’t even like math, and I liked this book. The author weaves in interesting mathematical concepts, such as amicable numbers. And then she relates it to the characters. While I don’t necessary remember anything that I learned, I did find it fascinating at the time. Ogawa personalizes math, and uses it as a bridge between two disparate people.

The story itself is haunting. The Professor is such a lonely character, and the Housekeeper and Root end up becoming a sort of family for him, and vice versa. It is clear they all care for each other, despite the limitations placed upon them by 80 minutes of memory.

Anyways…I can’t thank Ali enough for sharing this little gem with me. And I want to pass on the book love, so leave a comment letting me know if you’re interested in this book. I’ll pick a winner tomorrow.

Better late than never

2009-08-14T21:20:00.000-07:00

Brad (aka Brad'll Do It, which if you're a SlowTrav follower makes perfect sense) is the winner of Small Town Odds. Hopefully he checks in soon...'cause I need your address Brad!

More giveaways to come, because I need to off-load some books on you all!

Entertaining email of the week

2009-08-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

It’s been awhile since I had fun at a spammers expense. This is one of the emails I received this week:

NB: Please you can contact me through my personal email address: novellfrancesuk3
Here writes Lady Novell Frances, suffering from cancerous ailment. I am married to Sir David Novell an Englishman who is dead. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of 2 Million Great Britain Pounds Sterling which were derived from his vast estates and investment in capital market with his bank here in UK.
Recently, my Doctor told me that I have limited days to live due to the cancerous problems I am suffering from. I have decided to donate this fund to you and want you to use this gift which comes from my husbands effort to fund the upkeep of widows, widowers, orphans, destitute, the down-trodden, physically challenged children, barren-women and persons who prove to be genuinely handicapped financially.
I took this decision because I do not have any child and my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons. I do not want my husband's hard earned money to be misused or invested into ill perceived ventures hence the reason for taking this bold decision.
As soon as I receive your reply I shall give you the contact of the Bank in UK. I will also issue you a Letter of Authority that will empower you as the original beneficiary of this fund. My happiness is that I lived a life worthy of emulation. Please assure me that you will act just as I have stated herein.
Hope to hear from you soon.
You can contact me through my personal email address: novellfrances04
Madam Novell Frances

Let’s start with the name. I have to confess that I got all excited when I saw the first name was Novell. Except wait, apparently that’s the last name. Oh, well. I was thinking they actually knew I loved books and they personalized the email just for me.

Next, are they lumping me in with widows, widowers, orphans, destitute, the down-trodden, physically challenged children, barren-women and persons who prove to be genuinely handicapped financially? I’m confused.

Third, David Novell doesn’t have a Wikipedia page. I’m really bummed about this, because the last time I wrote one of these posts Lisa discovered the guy actually did die from polonium poisoning. Can you believe that?? So not finding David Novell on Wikipedia was a serious let-down.

And what’s with the two different email addresses? Also, are you a lady, or a madam. Personally, I’d avoid Madam, unless you really did want me to think you are, as Merriam-Webster puts it, the head of a house of prostitution.

Really Frances, you can do much better.

Oh, and Gmail…how could you possibly let this one slip through the spam filter? I think I’m more disappointed in you than I am in the spammer!

The Help

2009-08-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Help
Kathryn Stockett
February 2009
464 pages

Mudbound put me in the mood for more Southern fiction. Lucky me, I just happened to have The Help sitting on my bookshelf screaming for attention. All I knew was it was set in the South and people seem to like it. Good enough for me.

Set in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960’s, The Help is the story of three women. Aibileen and Minny are black maids/nannies. Underpaid and at the mercy of their white employers, these women have no recourse because it’s the South and it’s the 1960’s…segregation, Jim Crow laws and all that nastiness. Skeeter Phelan, on the other hand, is a member of the white privileged class. Skeeter increasingly finds herself questioning the racist actions and comments of her bridge partners and fellow Junior Leaguers. Because Skeeter wants to be a writer, she comes up with the idea of collecting the maids’ stories and featuring them in a book. This isn’t so easy, though. First, no one wants to talk to her. Then, everyone wants to talk to her and there is the threat of discovery.

While Mudbound is more about subtle racism (although, yes, there are some brutally racist comments and scenes), I think The Help shows more overt actions. We see how the maids are treated…there is some good, and there is a lotta bad. We see how attitudes and actions dictate a woman’s acceptance into white society. We see how force and fear can rule a person’s life. And we see how much courage it takes to stand up to institutionalized racism, even when your stand is in the form of a book illustrating how black maids were treated.

Although quite different from Mudbound, I found this book to be equally fascinating and well-written. Mudbound has a bit more diversity in characters (and slightly stronger characterization…but then it is entirely in first person point of view), whereas I found myself pulling more for the three main characters in The Help. If you are at all interested in reading about life in the segregated South, I’d recommend both of them.

Oryx and Crake

2009-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood
2003
374 pages

Oryx and Crake is a dystopian novel that imagines a future where humans have taken gene splicing and genetic engineering (and other science-y stuff) to the extreme. This novel can be considered a warning about what can happen when humans mess with nature and think they can create perfection.

When the novel opens, our protagonist, who is currently calling himself the Snowman, is living in a world where he is alone, except for the Crakers. The Crakers are a small group of people that are not quite the same as him. They are human, but not quite.

Throughout the book, the Snowman reflects on his life and his lifelong friendship with Crake, a brilliant scientist. As the novel progresses we learn about the series of events that led to the Snowman’s current situation. Actually, we don’t learn. We can infer, since Atwood never explicitly explains the entire situation. From the beginning, we know it’s Crake’s doing, but we don’t know the why or the how. Eventually, the how becomes clear…the why, however, is only hinted at. Additionally, we continue to learn more about the Crakers, and why they might be the way they are.

Just as important to both the Snowman and the Crakers is Oryx, a mysterious woman with a small but vital role. Before he was the Snowman, the Snowman was Jimmy. And Jimmy loved Oryx. The Crakers, however, have apparently deified her. Oryx’s story (but only the part that Jimmy knows) is also divulged through the course of the book.

I loved how the story unfolded. I expected this to be my book for this week, but I ended up staying up last night to finish it. Because I just had to know what happened! I also appreciate the tone of the book. While the company names and the new animals (pig + baboon = pigoon) seem almost ridiculous and far-fetched, it’s not improbable that we’re heading in the direction that Atwood imagines.

Totally off topic, this sentence at the end of the book struck me because of the audio book I’m currently listening to:

“Crake used to say that Homo sapiens sapiens was not hard-wired to individuate other people in numbers above two hundred, the size of the primal tribe and Jimmy would reduce that number to two.” -page 343

In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell talks at length about how 150-200 people seems to be the ideal size for a group, whether it be an army unit or a Hutterite community. I had never heard of this theory (although, evidently Atwood has), so it was odd to see it pop up in two books that I’m currently reading. Just another one of those weird literary coincidences.

Atwood’s sequel to Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood, is due out next month (9/22, to be exact). I can’t wait.

Small Town Odds

2009-08-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Small Town Odds
Jason Headley
October 2004
320 pages

Eric Mercer screwed up in high school. Sure he was a smart kid, an unwitting football star, and a likeable guy, but a night of drunkenness results in an unplanned pregnancy. As a result, Eric gives up his dreams of college and stays behind to be a father.

Six years later Eric is still screwing up. He helps out at the local mortuary, bartends at the American Legion, and spends his spare time engaging in drunken brawls. Despite all that, he’s still a likeable guy.

Small Town Odds tells of one week in Eric’s not-quite-what-he-expected life. The return of his former girlfriend forces him to take a look back and come to terms with where he is and where he is going. Despite a bit of a slow start, the book (and Eric) grew on me.

I realize I didn’t say much about this one, but if you’re interested in reading it, let me know in the comments. I’ll draw a name from the interested parties tomorrow and send that person my copy.

How we read

2009-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Rochelle and I both love to read. But we are totally different readers. I’m not talking about the types of books we read, because we read many of the same books. Kafka on the Shore and Run are favorites for both of us. But after I read Owen Meany I had a mini-epiphany. Owen is Rochelle’s type of book. She reads for deeper meaning. Me, I read for story.

Okay, and so Rochelle has yet to actually read Owen, but since she now has my copy and I’m posting about her, I’m predicting it won’t be long. And I’d be willing to bet she loves it. Because while I was standing in her cubicle ranting about all of the symbolism she was practically bouncing in her chair with excitement. (And yes, we work together…I don’t randomly show up at her work to talk about books.)

See, Rochelle likes to think about symbolism and what the author was getting at and all sorts of other things that drive me a little batty when I’m reading. I want to be entertained. I want to read a story that is so engrossing it transports me into the scene. I want to imagine I’m there with the characters, seeing what they’re seeing, feeling what they’re feeling. But I don’t necessarily want to analyze those feelings.

I also tend to sit down and plow through a book. This year I’ve been reading about 12 books each month. Rochelle reads about 2. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. :-D Far from it…Rochelle tends to remember scenes and details that I forget after a few days. And she ponders the book. I just want to dive into whatever book grabs my attention next.

Do I have a point? Not really. This was just something I’ve been thinking about all weekend, after we talked about it on Friday. Because Rochelle is pretty much the only person I know that I can talk books with that I see on a regular basis. Yes, I know a few other readers, but she’s the one I connect with over books. Despite our different reading styles, we still love to hear each other’s thoughts about the books we’re reading. Does that make us complimentary readers?

So what kind of a reader are you? Are you like Rochelle, or are you like me? Or are you a completely different type of reader?

PS: Rochelle has a blog, but she very rarely posts. Don’t you think she needs to work on that?

Game On! Diet

2009-08-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Game On! Diet
Krista Vernoff and Az Ferguson
June 2009
320 pages

If you’ve been reading my Game On! posts, you probably have a good idea what the book is about. And really, the only major beef I have with the book is that the D word is on the cover. Because I don’t look at this as a diet. It’s a way to live your life healthier…how you eat is just one component.

My favorite part of the book is the humor. Let me list the chapters, and you’ll get an idea of both the content and the humor:

1: How to Play the Game (Or, I’m really too lazy to read this whole book, plus I’m so out of shape turning pages kinda hurts.)
2: Why Should I Play the Game (Or, I like myself just the way I am. Except for the love handles. And the self-loathing.)
3: Teaming Up (Or, why should I give a crap what anyone else does?)
4: Playing By Yourself (Which varies slightly from playing with yourself.)
5: Picking a Prize (Or, okay, I’m skinny, whatever, but what do I WIN???)
6: The Honor System (Or, no French Fries REALLY don’t count as a vegetable.)
7: The Weigh-In (Or, you’re kidding, right? You want me to buy a scale? SERIOUSLY???)
8: Food (Or, why French Fries don’t count as a vegetable)
9: Exercise (Or, I never knew I had a muscle there.)
10: Water (Or, are you trying to drown me?)
11: Sleep (Or, Shhhhzzzz…)
12: Transformation (Or, habits? That’s, like, nun’s clothes, right?)
13: Healthy Habits Instructions (Or, how the hell am I supposed to do THAT???)
14: Alcohol, Coffee, and Diet Soda (Or, what do you mean I can’t drink all my calories?)
15: The Day Off, The Meal Off, and the 100 Calories of Whatever You Want (Or, holy nectar of the gods, this French toast is good!)
16: Troubleshooting (Or, WTF am I doing wrong?!)
17: Post Game Wrap-Up (Or, I am liking this new ass of mine)
18: Pep Talk (or, GAME ON!)

Do you get the gist? You eat healthy, exercise, drink a boat load of water, get lots of sleep, avoid alcohol, coffee and diet soda like the plague, and you do it with a group of people so you’re motivated to stay on track and kick butt. (Did I mention my team won? Oh, I did in yesterday’s post? Sorry.) Really, I doubt I would have stuck with it so strictly had I not been accountable to my teammates (go Team Ding Dong!). And after 4 weeks, most everything became a habit. Since I really needed to start eating healthier, this challenge provided me the perfect opportunity to pick up some tips and good habits.

The authors have challenged each other (a few times), and Krista does a great job of anticipating questions, problems and complaints (the water chapter is a great example of this). Also, her candor about her own weight and eating habits was appreciated. While it feels weird to recommend a “diet” book, if you’re looking for a way to instill some healthy habits in your life, I’d definitely suggest you give this a try.

(belated) Game On! Challenge final update

2009-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

We finished our Game On! Challenge two weeks ago, so I’m way late with this post. First, vacation interfered with my blogging plans. Then, vacation-recovery interfered.

When I last blogged about Game On!, the snack cakes were three weeks into the challenge, and other than a standstill on the weight-loss front, life was going good. I ended Game On! at the same time I started my vacation (a week at a family reunion with no control over the meals that would be cooked), so I was a little nervous about ruining all my good work. However, I’m happy to report that I was able to make smart choices (a few bites of dessert as opposed to a whole dessert, no snacking, still drinking (almost) 3 liters of water) and when I returned, I found I’d lost 2 more pounds.

So now that it’s all over and I’m back to my daily routine, what did I learn or change?

1) I’m definitely eating healthier. All whole grains, lean protein and more veggies. I’m still avoiding sugar, caffeine, artificial sweeteners and processed foods. I even have Hamburger cooking healthier, although he hasn’t abandoned diet soda and raisins. I had 1/2 of a diet soda on vacation, and discovered I had lost my taste for it. The only thing I drink these days is water. Glug, glug, glug.

2) My healthy habit was to start wearing sunscreen every day. I continue to apply it to my face every morning. Since I broke out in hives on my chest, that is now a sunscreen-free area.

3) The habit I chose to give up was Starbucks. 6 weeks later, I have yet to set foot in one.

4) This is not to say I’ve turned into the food police. I’m not going to beat myself up if I choose pizza for dinner, or if we decide to go out. But I am happy with the smarter decisions I’m making.

5) The exercise habit is still sticking, too. Tuesday through Friday I walk on my lunch break and afternoon break. Saturday through Monday it’s either an hour walk outside or 40 minutes on the treadmill. Any longer than that on a treadmill, and I go stir crazy.

The Game On! Challenge was just the kick in the butt I needed to get out of the unhealthy rut I was in. I know there are other changes I could make, but for now I’m happy with the changes (including the 12 pounds lost) I’ve made.

Oh yeah, and Team Ding Dong won. Bonus.

A huge thank you to Dawn for inviting me to participate in the challenge and putting together our fun prize packs, as well as to Book Club Girl for providing us all with copies of the Game On! Diet book. Also, thanks to all my fellow snack cakes for the support and camaraderie…I couldn’t have done it without y’all! Stay tuned…tomorrow I’ll post my review of the book.

BBAW meme

2009-08-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

I don’t think I’ve mentioned BBAW lately (okay, so there was yesterday on Twitter). But here on the blog, it’s time for a little reminder that the event of the year is fast approaching. The BBAW site has a little meme designed to answer some questions about BBAW:

If you were a part of BBAW last year, please answer these simple questions on your blog:

1) What was the highlight (something that happened, a post, an activity, etc.) of BBAW for you last year?

As usual, I’m going to put my own spin on things. I was just re-reading my BBAW posts from last year, and I found this post, which is a meme about how blogging has changed your life. Because BBAW is a celebration of book bloggers, this was a fun post to re-visit, because it reminded me of a few things I love about our community.

2) What is one new blog you discovered during BBAW last year?

You expect me to remember that? I’m lucky I remember where I met Hamburger. Honestly, I’m a little afraid of this year’s BBAW because I know it’s going to explode my Reader.

3) What tips would you share to help others get the most out of their BBAW experience?

Don’t try to do everything or visit everyone. It’s like the Read-a-thon…all things in moderation. ;-) Seriously, I know it’s tempting to check out every new blog, but if you try to do this, your head will be spinning and your Reader will never forgive you. And then you’ll start to wonder how you’re going to find the time to visit all of your new friends and leave meaningful comments. Trust me on this.

Registration for BBAW can be found here, so what are you waiting for? Go.

Mudbound

2009-08-06T19:04:00.001-07:00

Mudbound
Hillary Jordan
2008
339 pages

Publisher Comments:

In Jordan's prize-winning debut, prejudice takes many forms, both subtle and brutal. It is 1946, and city-bred Laura McAllan is trying to raise her children on her husband's Mississippi Delta farm-a place she finds foreign and frightening. In the midst of the family's struggles, two young men return from the war to work the land. Jamie McAllan, Laura's brother-in-law, is everything her husband is not-charming, handsome, and haunted by his memories of combat. Ronsel Jackson, eldest son of the black sharecroppers who live on the McAllan farm, has come home with the shine of a war hero. But no matter his bravery in defense of his country, he is still considered less than a man in the Jim Crow South. It is the unlikely friendship of these brothers-in-arms that drives this powerful novel to its inexorable conclusion.

I flat out loved this book. Each chapter is told from a different point of view. We hear from Laura, her husband Henry, Henry’s brother Jamie, Ronsel, and his parents, Hap and Florence. Noticeably absent is the despicable Pappy. Thank god. Jordan does such a fantastic job of giving each narrator a distinct voice and personality that the despicable Pappy might have been too much to bear.

Mudbound explores the pervasive racism that was so prevalent in the segregated South. Hap and Florence are tenant farmers on the McAllan’s land (because they own their own mule, they only have to turn over 1/3 of their crop, as opposed to the sharecroppers who have to turn over 1/2 of their crop). Their eldest son Ronsel fought in WWII as part of a tank battalion (I think that’s right…my memory for military terms is crappier than my normal memory). After returning home from a more liberal Europe, Ronsel struggles to comply with the Jim Crow laws.

What makes this book so interesting (besides the superb characterization) is being able to read from Ronsel’s perspective, and then switch gears and get an intimate look about how others feel about the same situation. I particularly enjoyed Laura, who would probably deny any blatant racism, but whose actions still reflect the racist culture that she was raised in. Jordan provides an excellent snapshot of life in Mississippi both before and after WWII.

This will definitely be a favorite read for this year.

Good guessing, Julie!

2009-08-05T18:30:00.001-07:00

When I left for vacation, I posted a picture of the pile of books I hauled to Oregon with me (it’s a good thing Honda’s have big trunks). I also challenged people to guess which books I would read before I got back on 8/2. I actually got home very late on 8/1, but since I didn’t finish any books on 8/2, it still works.

While in Oregon I read:
The Professor and the Housekeeper
Mudbound
The World in Half
Small Town Odds

I also came very, very close to finishing A Prayer for Owen Meany. But I didn’t quite make it on that one.

So Julie, over at Booking Mama, who guessed Mudbound, Four Seasons in Rome, The Promised World, The Professor and the Housekeeper and The World in Half actually came closest to guessing what I read. Care was close, too, but since she thought I’d read 8 books total (hah!) she ended up being a bit of an overachiever on this one. ;-)

Congratulations to Julie, who gets her choice of a book from that original pile. What’ll it be Julie? You have your choice of:

Winterton Blues
Mudbound
Small Town Odds
The Island of Eternal Love
The Mother Tongue
Four Seasons in Rome
The Promised World
1776
A Voyage Long and Strange
The Professor and the Housekeeper
The World in Half

Owen Meany discussion

2009-08-03T17:39:00.001-07:00

A group of us are reading and discussing A Prayer for Owen Meany…see Care’s post for all of the details. Despite a rocky start, I haven’t given up and I’m almost through with the book. I won’t go so far as to say it’s going to be a favorite, but I can certainly understand why others might feel that way. Honestly, it’s got way too much symbolism and foreshadowing and Deep Meaning going on for me to truly love it. I like my books a bit simpler, thank you very much.

So today I’m responsible for leading the discussion about Chapter 7, The Dream. Owen’s dream is hinted at throughout the book, but we still don’t know the details of it. However, in Chapter 7, Owen’s life takes a turn that seems to ensure he is on track with his dream, and his perceived destiny.

I actually found part of Chapter 7 funny. The scene with Dr. Dolder’s VW Beetle was a bit unexpected, and quite amusing. This was actually the first time I was engrossed in the book. How about you? What did you think of the scene? Were you surprised by Owen’s actions? Did it seem in keeping with his character?

Speaking of Owen’s character, he’s very accepting of his fate. On page 326, he states:

”THE THIRD THING I KNOW IS THAT I AM GOD’S INSTRUMENT; I HAVE FAITH THAT GOD WILL LET ME KNOW WHY I’M SUPPOSED TO DO, AND WHEN I’M SUPPOSED TO DO IT.”

Johnny, on the other hand, struggles with Owen’s fatalism. What is your stance on fate? Do you think we determine or our fate, or is it predetermined? And, what do you think of Owen’s decision? Would you be an Owen? Or a Johnny?

Chapter 7 also features a lot of grown-up Johnny, with his rants on Reagan and US politics (and girl-barbers…did any one else find that odd?). At one point, Johnny seems angry with the reader for not remembering Melvin Laird, or Gen. Creighton Abrams or Gen. William Westmoreland. What do you make of Johnny’s rants? Personally, I find myself skimming some of them.

A Prayer for Owen Meany has been challenged, due to it’s opinions on the Vietnam War, and religion. When I first heard that, I was surprised, because I find the book to be very religious. However, (and I’ll confess I’m on chapter 9, and that is factoring into this question) there are some parts that I suppose could be considered blasphemous (if that is even the right word). Not that I’m advocating book banning, but it did make me think about parts of the book that are surprising or even shocking, such as Hester the Molester. Are there any parts that have surprised you, or made you uncomfortable?

And finally, one last personal comment. I don’t think I’ll ever look at all caps again without hearing Owen’s voice in my head…which I’m visualizing (or whatever the auditory equivalent of that word is) as an odd combination of a drill sergeant sounding like he’s being strangled.

Bitter Sweets

2009-08-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

Bitter Sweets
Roopa Farooki
September 2008
355 pages

Publisher’s Comments:
Henna Rub is a precocious teenager whose wheeler-dealer father never misses a business opportunity and whose sumptuous Calcutta marriage to wealthy romantic Ricky-Rashid Karim is achieved by an audacious network of lies. Ricky will learn the truth about his seductive bride, but the way is already paved for a future of double lives and deception--family traits that will filter naturally through the generations, forming an instinctive and unspoken tradition. Even as a child, their daughter Shona, herself conceived on a lie and born in a liar's house, finds telling fibs as easy as ABC. But years later, living above a sweatshop in South London's Tooting Bec, it is Shona who is forced to discover unspeakable truths about her loved ones and come to terms with what superficially holds her family together--and also keeps them apart--across geographical, emotional and cultural distance. Roopa Farooki has crafted an intelligent, engrossing and emotionally powerful Indian family saga that will stay with you long after you've read the last page.

This is way more than just Henna, Ricky and Shona’s stories. In fact, Henna drops out early on and doesn’t fully return until later in the book. Primarily, this book is about Shona…the lies that built her family, and the lies that tear her family apart.

As a young bride, Shona moves to London. Over the years, her and her beloved husband build a successful business and Shona returns to school to get a Master’s degree. However, this couple that started out so in love gradually drift apart as they grow into separate interests and separate lives. As the marriage starts to unravel, their twin sons grow up and discover their own interests and loves.

I loved all of the different stories in this book, how the author focused on different members of the family at different times, yet still managed to keep them all tied together. She also does a good job of stringing the reader along…I didn’t want to put this one down because I wanted to know what was about to happen…to everyone! Although some might argue that the end might have been a bit too neatly tied up, it still worked for me. Besides, there’s still a little bit of wondering going on at the end.

Kinky Gazpacho

2009-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Kinky Gazpacho
Lori Tharps
March 2008
224 pages

Publisher Comments:

Magazine writer and editor Lori Tharps was born and raised in the comfortable but mostly White suburbs of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she was often the only person of color in her school and neighborhood. At an early age, Lori decided that her destiny would be discovered in Spain. She didn't know anyone from Spain, had never visited the country, and hardly spoke the language. Still, she never faltered in her plans to escape to the Iberian Peninsula.

Arriving in the country as an optimistic college student, however, Lori soon discovers Spain's particular attitude toward Blackness. She is chased down the street by the local schoolchildren and pointed at incessantly in public, and her innocent dreams of a place where race doesn't matter are shattered. The story would end there, except Lori meets and marries a Spaniard, and that's when her true Spanish adventure really begins.

Against the ancient backdrops of Cádiz and Andalucía, Lori starts the intricate yet amusing journey of rekindling her love affair with Spain and becoming a part of her new Spanish family. From a grandmother who spies on her to a grandfather who warmly welcomes her to town with a slew of racist jokes, the close-knit clan isn't exactly waiting with open arms. Kinky Gazpacho tells the story of the redeeming power of love and finding self in the most unexpected places.

At its heart, this is a love story. It is a memoir, a travel essay, and a glimpse into the past and present of Spain. As humorous and entertaining as such favorite travel stories as Under the Tuscan Sun, this book also unveils a unique and untold history of Spain's enduring connection to West Africa. Kinky Gazpacho celebrates the mysticism of travel and the joys of watching two distinct cultures connect and come together.

I would say this book is more about Tharps’ own quest for love and finding herself, and less of a travel memoir. Her reflections of her experiences in Spain focus more on what it is like to be Black in Spain, than on living or traveling in the country. So in the one sense it is a highly personal account. However, if you are looking for a book that gives you a sense of place, this isn’t it. I was actually disappointed when Tharps got to Spain and seemed to spend her time wanting/not wanting men. I wanted more travel!I think it’s misleading that I found it in the travel memoir section…I think it would be better suited to multi-cultural education.

And if I look at the book in that light, than I like it. Tharps is very candid about her experiences growing up in white suburbs, and not quite fitting in. When she went to college she tried to reinvent herself by embracing Black culture, but she didn’t find instant acceptance there, either. Spain was also a struggle, as she struggled to figure out why she was both an object of attraction and scorn. It isn’t until she is married and a journalist that Tharps uncovers Spain’s history with slavery, and therefore gains a better understanding of the people and the country that have become intertwined in her life.

So while this certainly wasn’t the book I originally thought it would be, it still ended up being an interesting and educational read.

The Last Beach Bungalow

2009-07-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Last Beach Bungalow
Jennie Nash
February 2008
288 pages

Synopsis (from barnesandnoble.com):

After five cancer-free years, April Newton should be celebrating, but instead she's restless. She feels her husband slipping away, and though the spectacular, stylish house he's building for her should be a fresh start, April finds herself wanting something more. As their move-in date approaches, she becomes obsessed with winning the right to buy the last bungalow in Redondo Beach, convinced that the quirky, lived-in little house represents comfort, completeness-everything she is missing in her life. And though her quest for the bungalow will take some surprising twists, it may put back together the pieces of her heart.

Like Care, I read this one after I read The Only True Genius in the Family, and while enjoyable, it didn’t quite impress me as much. I think I need to take a break between books by the same author, otherwise I usually end up a little disappointed.

Also, like Care, I didn’t fall in love with April, probably because we have nothing in common and I thought she was just floating along, complaining about her unhappiness, but not really taking steps to confront or fix anything. But the bungalow. Oh, the bungalow. I definitely fell in love with that, and it’s owner. The bungalow scenes and stories were actually my favorite parts of the book.

I think part of the reason why I wasn’t as excited with this one, compared to True Genius, is that the families are a bit similar. There is a loving husband and a wife who is vaguely dissatisfied/unhappy. In both stories the husbands are supportive, but remain in the background while the wife muddles through her emotions and unhappiness largely on her own. And then she comes to a measure of understanding and resolution by the end. Don’t get me wrong, both books are well written and enjoyable reads, but I think I did them a disservice by reading them back-to-back.

Into the Beautiful North

2009-07-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Into the Beautiful North
Luis Alberto Urrea
May 2009
352 pages

The Hummingbird’s Daughter is a book that I’ve never read, but that I’ve picked up countless times at the bookstore. Something about the title, or maybe the cover, tempts me. But I never went so far as to actually buy the book. Then, when I was at the LA Times Festival of Books, I attended a panel featuring (among others) Luis Alberto Urrea. And he started off by reading a passage from his latest book, Into the Beautiful North. I was hooked. And I loved the panel…along with Thrity Umrigar and Gina Nahai, Urrea spoke about sense of place. They discussed language and culture and how to give readers a sense of the place they are writing about. Without ever reading a word he’d written, I became a fan. As soon as the panel was over, I rushed out to buy the book.

And okay, then the book sat in the TBR pile for awhile. But not too long! Only about a month, which is actually pretty good, considering how much competition it had.

This book surprised me. I didn’t expect it to be so funny, or so casual in tone. And even though Urrea spoke about how he uses language to convey culture, I somehow didn’t expect how much language he would use, or how much culture he really could convey. In that sense, this book is like Oscar Wao, only better. Because while I didn’t understand every word, I certainly understood the tone and the intent. And I know some people don’t like this, but I would argue that there is so much Spanglish and humor that it is fairly easy to understand a great deal of the Spanish. And without it, this book wouldn’t be as good as it is. Besides, if you get totally stumped, there’s always Google and urbandictionary. :-)

Into the Beautiful North is the story of Nayeli and her friends, and their journey from Mexico to the US in search of men. Not men for themselves, but men for their village. Nayeli has come to the realization that all of the men in her town have left for the US…and they never came home. Inspired by the film The Magnificent Seven, Nayeli decides that it’s time to follow them north and find seven men who will return with her to help protect and revitalize the town. Additionally, Nayeli is determined to find her own father, who left years ago and never returned. As Nayeli journeys north, she finds help in the unlikeliest of places, and amongst the unlikeliest of characters.

Along with the language, the genius in this book is in its characters. They are all quirky, unique and lovable. While I occasionally found myself shaking my head at their actions, I was still rooting for them all the way. Atomiko!

And someday, I’m going to read The Hummingbird’s Daughter.

Powell’s has a wonderful interview with Urrea, in which he talks about all sorts of things, including Into the Beautiful North. He’s also on Twitter, with his lovely wife Cindy, and I have to say, they are the nicest couple. Because you can actually chat with them…and it’s like talking to your neighbors (only better, because my neighbors spend all their time staring at our house and freaking me out). I always appreciate people who are approachable and unpretentious, so at the risk of sounding too fan girly, I’ll just end by saying Urrea is the bomb. Both in real life and in print.

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

2009-07-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
Dinaw Mengestu
2007
228 pages

Publisher Comments:

Seventeen years ago, Sepha Stephanos fled the Ethiopian Revolution after witnessing soldiers beat his father to the point of certain death, selling off his parents' jewelry to pay for passage to the United States. Now he finds himself running a grocery store in a poor African-American neighborhood in Washington, D.C. His only companions are two fellow African immigrants who share his feelings of frustration with and bitter nostalgia for their home continent. He realizes that his life has turned out completely different and far more isolated from the one he had imagined for himself years ago.

Soon Sepha's neighborhood begins to change. Hope comes in the form of new neighbors— Judith and Naomi, a white woman and her biracial daughter — who become his friends and remind him of what having a family is like for the first time in years. But when the neighborhood's newfound calm is disturbed by a series of racial incidents, Sepha may lose everything all over again.

Told in a haunting and powerful first-person narration that casts the streets of Washington, D.C., and Addis Ababa through Sepha's eyes, The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears is a deeply affecting and unforgettable debut novel about what it means to lose a family and a country — and what it takes to create a new home.

If you read all of the critics’ comments, this sounds like a (haunting, lyrical or other adjective of your choice) novel. Unfortunately, it fell a bit flat for me…both he writing and the story. But then, I had just finished The Angel’s Game, and that’s a tough act to follow.

Also, I disagree with the publisher’s comment “But when the neighborhood's newfound calm is disturbed by a series of racial incidents, Sepha may lose everything all over again.” Gentrification is changing the neighborhood and pushing out people who have lived in the poor neighborhood for years. And yes, you could argue that it ends up being the whites pushing out the blacks, but the novel doesn’t present like that. It’s more about the haves v. the have-nots.

The novel also jumps back and forth to tell the story of Judith’s arrival in the neighborhood, her growing relationship with Stephanos, and her departure. While not too bad, it is a bit jarring at times to try and figure out where the narrator has taken us. And the end certainly came as no surprise.

I guess I wasn’t in the mood for subtle. I was expecting more of an immigrant tale, while I got a novel about the meaning of hope and community and home.

The Cellist of Sarajevo

2009-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Cellist of Sarajevo
Steven Galloway
2008
231 pages

For such a small little book, this one sure packs a whammy. It takes place during the early 1990’s, during the Siege of Sarajevo, and shows us the impact the siege has on the lives of four different individuals.

The Cellist: The Cellist has vowed to play Albinoni’s Adagio every day for 22 days, in remembrance of 22 people killed by a mortar attack while waiting in line for bread. (Note: this character is based on Vedran Smailovic, who is not at all happy about this book.)
Arrow: a sniper in the army, Arrow is tasked with taking out the sniper who will likely target the Cellist. Used to the unique freedom of picking her own targets, this assignment is difficult for Arrow, who may soon find herself losing this small bit of control she counts on.
Dragan: an older man who was able to send his wife and son to safety before the city was locked down, Dragan struggles with his journey to work every day. As he walks the streets and crosses the bridges, he is always aware that he may be shot down by the snipers in the hills. The constant vigilance is beginning to affect him, however. Dragan is almost to the point of being incapacitated by the sound of gunfire.

Kenan: Every four days Kenan must traverse the city to fill up water bottles for his family. Like Dragan, he is hyper-vigilant about snipers. But for Kenan the focus is on the two additional, inconvenient water bottles that he carries to fill for his ungrateful elderly neighbor. Kenan is constantly wondering if lugging those two extra bottles around is worth it.

The Cellist begins the story, and while everyone is aware of him, he is usually in the background. The book really focuses on Arrow, Dragan and Kenan. The stories take place over the course of a month, and alternate between the three characters. By the end of the novel, each has come to an important resolution. Despite the huge toll the siege has had on their lives, they each manage to wrestle back control...although not control in the sense of being in charge, more like they are determined not to let the siege turn them into people they are not. They all manage to transcend the war and emerge victorious in their own way.

The Angel’s Game

2009-07-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Angel’s Game
Carlos Ruiz Zafon
2009
531 pages
translated by Lucia Graves

He’s back, and he’s done it again. If you’ve read Shadow of the Wind (and if you haven’t, do so now), The Angel’s Game is just as gothically wonderful. Set in Barcelona, the novel is so dark and creepy I’m convinced Barcelona is a city of smoke and fog and dark corners and eternal night.

The Angel’s Game is the story of David Martin, a young writer who gets caught up in a literary mystery that features himself. Sound a bit confusing? Well, it is. And it’s plot is best discovered by unraveling it yourself, not reading about it beforehand. Zafon is a master at creating complicated tales that weave together books, writing, tortured souls, doomed romances and dark secrets. And while you may think you know where the story is headed, there’s always a mysterious twist to keep you on your toes. And scratching your head. And I know, tortured souls and doomed romances and dark secrets just sounds so trite. But believe me, it’s not. I’d compare his books to The 13th Tale, only more. More gothic and more convoluted and even more bookish.

Zafon writes books for people who love books. Okay, maybe not for us, but they definitely appeal to us. Like Shadow of the Wind, The Angel’s Game features The Cemetery of Forgotten Books and Sempere and Sons Bookshop. Yay! I’m sure I’m not alone in saying I fell in love with The Cemetery in Shadow. Who wouldn’t want to visit a place that is the repository of forgotten books? Yes, it’s deliciously creepy…but think of all those lonely books needing a good home. *sigh*

Anyways. While this book does feature a few familiar places, and is technically a prequel to Shadow, you do not have to read Shadow first. They are both very capable of standing alone. And bonus, they have the same translator, who does such an amazing job it’s hard to believe it’s a translation. Both books are beautifully written, and incredibly readable.

There are a few small quibbles I have about a few murky happenings and characters, but I’m willing to forgive. Because this book was so much fun to read. And yes, it got a bit slow for awhile, but all was forgiven when I got to page 441 and had a holy crap! moment. Followed shortly thereafter by a few more holy crap moments! And then the end! OMG, the end!!!

And now I’m pouting because it’s read and I have no more Zafon.

I’ve got hiiiiiiiiigh hopes….

2009-07-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

As you read this I am on the road, headed north to Sunriver, Oregon, for a week spent with Hamburger’s family…his mom, his three aunts, and various siblings, cousins, spouses, significant others, kids and assorted friends.

Each of the 7 days we spend in Sunriver requires nothing more from us than to show up (and sometimes cook for) the obligatory 6pm dinner. Other than that (and a river float, and maybe a ping pong game or two), I plan to spend my time lazily pedaling along bike paths and reading. Like everyone else who reads, I seem to have over packed:

Winterton Blues
Mudbound
Small Town Odds
The Island of Eternal Love
The Mother Tongue
Four Seasons in Rome
a journal
The Game On! Diet, so I can finish the review
The Promised World, because I’m a tour stop in September
1776
A Voyage Long and Strange
The Professor and the Housekeeper
The World in Half

That handsome dude on top of the pile is Valentino Cthulhu, compliments of chartroose, who pretty much picks the best prizes ever. Sexy Valentino is staying home to guard the house, so don’t get any ideas.

Not pictured is my current read, A Prayer for Owen Meany. And A Disobedient Girl, another book I’m reading for an upcoming TLC tour stop. And since I’ll be in Oregon, land of no sales tax, the odds are pretty good I’ll pick up a few more books along the way. Especially since what I packed may not necessarily end up being what I’m in the mood for. And yes, I have the same problem when it comes to packing clothes for a trip…I like to have options!

And since I haven’t had a giveaway in awhile, let’s turn this into a little contest. One with bizarre odds, but hey, you never know. The person (or maybe persons) who can come the closest to guessing which books I will finish by the time I roll back into town (sometime on 8/2) will win their choice of a book from the above pile (Game On! and the journal excepted). Fair warning though, if the winner picks a book I haven’t read, they might have to wait for me to read it!

All Hail the Queen

2009-07-24T06:00:00.001-07:00

The lovely Sheri at A Novel Menagerie graciously awarded me this little gem:

Which means I have to come up with 7 awe-summm things about moi. Egads.

1. I'm a little goofy. Or maybe I'm just weird. Either way, I like me like that.

2. I've corrupted my friend Rochelle. With books. It's one of my proudest accomplishments. Now if I could just get her to blog on a regular basis.

3. I seem to have accumulated so many names that Care is now calling me Jill/Softdrink/FizzyBeverage/FizzyThoughts/Whatzername. Which may not seem something to brag about, but it cracks me up. If you were named after a nursery rhyme character, you'd think nicknames were awesome, too.

4. I love to travel and learn about new places. See? I can be serious, too.

5. My use (and abuse) of parentheses. I heart ( ). They will never need to fear extinction as long as I'm around.

6. Evidently, I've got mad parody skillz. Had I known this 20 years ago, I would've considered giving Weird Al a run for his money.

7. My readers. Which means you're awe-summm, too! Instead of passing this on to 7 people (like I'm supposed to), I challenge you (yes, you) to come up with 7 awesome facts about your own self. Don't be shy...tell me about your awesomeness in the comments.

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop

2009-07-23T18:39:00.000-07:00

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
Lewis Buzbee
2008
225 pages

This book is all kinds of awesome…at least, if you’re a lover of books. However, since I read it back in March (which for my memory is the equivalent of 10 years ago), I’m a little hazy on the details. In short, Buzbee chronicles his life with books. There are chapters on reading as a kid, finding work in bookstores, browsing in bookstores, working as a publisher’s rep, and all sorts of other marvelous stories about books and the joy of reading.

You should read it.

And I should obviously post my reviews in a more timely manner.

The Only True Genius in the Family

2009-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Only True Genius in the Family
Jennie Nash
February 2009
292 pages

Publisher Comments:

From the author of The Last Beach Bungalow: a portrait of a family in all its heartbreaking complexity.

Though she lives in the shadow of her legendary landscape photographer father, and is the mother of a painter whose career is about to take off, Claire has carved out a practical existence as a commercial photographer. Her pictures may not be the stuff of genius, but they have paid for a good life.

But when her father dies, Claire loses faith in the work she has devoted her life to, and worse, begins to feel jealous of her daughter’s success. Then, as she helps prepare a retrospective of her famous father’s photographs, Claire uncovers revelations about him that change everything she believes about herself as a mother, a daughter, and an artist.

I read this last month while I was on vacation in Portland. And I enjoyed it so much I ran back to Powell’s (like I needed an excuse) hoping they had The Last Beach Bungalow. Which they did. But that book will be the subject of another post. Let’s talk TOTGITF.

Claire is human, and that makes her a really likeable and relatable character. She has lived in her father’s shadow, always believing herself to be less than talented. Now that her daughter is on the brink of being a successful painter, Claire is again feeling left behind and left out. While dealing with her father’s death and estate, Claire has a crisis of faith, so to speak. She loses faith in her abilities and is unable to finish her photography shoots.

However, what sets Claire apart from her famous father and her about-to-be famous daughter is her caring and loving nature. Claire feels deeply, and is hurt by her father’s repeated rejections and his love for and mentoring of Bailey, who as a child shows artistic talent. When Claire oversteps into boundaries and (with good intentions, I believe) interferes with Bailey’s art, Bailey’s cutting rejection is equally painful.

I would argue that Claire is the true genius in her family. While she has a loving and supportive husband, he still seems a bit clueless as to depths of Claire’s hurt. Her father and Bailey are both self-centered. Because she cares, it is Claire who seeks to understand both herself and those around her, and I think that makes her the true genius.

Other reviews:
wordlily
Care
Natasha
S. Krishna

The Widow’s Season

2009-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Widow’s Season
Laura Brodie
June 2009
320 pages

From the back cover:

Sarah McConnell’s husband had been dead for three months when she saw him in the grocery store.

What does a woman do when she’s thirty-nine, childless, and completely alone for the first time in her life? Does it mean she’s crazy to think she sees her late husband beside a display of pumpkins? Or is it just what people do, a natural response to grief that will fade in time? That’s what Sarah McConnell’s friends told her, that it was natural, would last a season, and then fade away.

But what if there was another answer? What if he was really there? They never found the body, after all. What if he is still here somehow, and about to walk back into her life?

Sometimes I just don’t understand myself. I mean, I read the back cover. What did I expect??

But by the time I got to the end of the book I was feeling a little pissy about the whole thing. Joanne not-so-recently asked “this one sounds like something I would absolutely love, but I gotta know, does it stay in the whole emotional struggle of the main character territory or does it morph into romancey crap? And was the ending satisfying or saccharine?”

No, it didn’t morph into romancey crap, but there was a fair bit of “is he real or is he a ghost” crap, and “if he is a ghost, why is he there” crap. Although it took a fair amount of time to reach that point. The first half is mostly “is she going to pull herself together and move on with her life, or not.” Then it’s “okay, she’s moving on, although not necessarily in the direction I would’ve gone.” Followed by a few “whoas.” And while the end isn’t saccharine, there was a definite “fuck me, why did I just read this” moment.

Which isn’t to say this isn’t a good book. It is. After all, I read the whole thing. In a day. I thought it was engaging and well-written, and Sarah’s confusion about her life was both understandable and believable. I just don’t like “maybe it’s a ghost” stories. At all. Not because they’re scary, but because I don’t like the mind games. And because I’m not going to believe in a ghost until one walks up to me and says, “Howdy, I’m Caspar.”

Game On! update, week 3

2009-07-20T08:35:00.001-07:00

I’m still plugging way with the Game On! Challenge. Me and all the other snack cakes:

The Ding-Dongs:
Julie from Booking Mama
Jill from Rhapsody in Books (who I blatantly stole this list from, by the way)
Amy from My Friend Amy
Ti from Book Chatter and Other Stuff
(I am also a Ding Dong)

The Twinkies:
Candace from Beth Fish Reads
Jenners from Find Your Next Book Here
Jenn of Jenn’s Bookshelf
Denise from M. Denise C.
Dawn from She is Too Fond of Books

The HoHos:
Kathy from The Brain Lair
Vasilly from 1330V
(other HoHos are blogless)

And here we are at the end of week 3. This week many of us hit the doldrums, so to speak. The scales went up, they went down, they went up, they went down. Problem is, by the end of the week they didn’t quite go down far enough for many of us to get that coveted weigh-in bonus, including me. Oh well, we still feel good. Right??? And none of us have quit!

The official scores for this week aren’t in yet, so I’m not happy dancing. Can the Ding-Dongs hold onto their (substantial) lead? Will the Twinkies slink into first place? Are the Ho-Hos staging a comeback? Oh, the drama in snack cake land.

As we enter into our final week, I have to say I’m already obsessing over NEXT week. Not because I’m planning what I want to eat, but because I’ll be at a family reunion for 7 full days and I won’t have any control over what I can eat. Yes, I can control portions, but not content. Communal cooking is part of the tradition, and it’s pretty frowned upon if you buy your own food. So I think I’m just going to have to suck it up and hope that when I get home I can slip right back into the healthy eating that I’ve actually (gasp!) become quite fond of.

Bound South

2009-07-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Bound South
Susan Rebecca White
February 2009
345 pages

Publisher Comments:

By turns hilarious and poignant, the lives of three vibrant and unique Southern women — a proper Atlanta matron, her rebellious teenage daughter, and their housekeeper's young daughter — intersect in unexpected and extraordinary ways in this richly compelling debut novel of family, friendship, and folly.

Folly. Yeah, I can get behind that description. Quite a bit of this book was over the top for me, including the characters. This was an entertaining read, but I found myself shaking my head at the direction it went. Not that I had a particular direction in mind, it just seemed so determined to contradict the stereotypical white Southern matron character that it went it a bit far.

Louise is the stereotypical white Southern matron. She’s settled into the role society and her parents expected of her. She’s got the perfect house in the perfect neighborhood and two kids, although one is not-so-perfect. Her daughter Caroline is a bit rebellious, and Louise isn’t quite sure what to do with her. Also popping in and out of the story is Missy, the housekeeper’s daughter. Nobody seems to know quite what to do with poor Missy.

As I mentioned, there were things in the story that just didn’t work for me. I felt that Louise ran hot and cold with her daughter. I also felt that time moved too fast for the story. It seemed rushed as we went from Caroline’s rebellious teenage years, through her independence in San Francisco, then on to her marriage and divorce and discovery phase. And keep in mind that she was only one of three main characters. Also, since I’m on the topic of our three alleged main characters, I felt Missy got a bit of the short end of the stick when it came to character development. Although Louise is the primary focus of the novel, I think either too much or too little focus was given two the other two women. Whichever way you look at it, I think it detracts from the overall story. Especially since Louise has a pretty ambitious back-story going on at the same time.

Overall, I think this novel attempted too much. Too many characters with too many stories in too short of a novel.

BBAW is coming, BBAW is coming!

2009-07-17T18:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the magnificent Amy, the 2nd annual Book Blogger Appreciation Week (BBAW) will be taking place in September. What is BBAW, you ask? Well, read on for all the details…

WHO Anyone who blogs about books is invited to participate. In fact, we want everyone who blogs about books and reading to be a part of this week!
WHAT A week where we come together, celebrate the contribution and hard work of book bloggers in promoting a culture of literacy, connecting readers to books and authors, and recognizing the best among us with the Second Annual BBAW Awards. There will be special guest posts, daily blogging themes, and giveaways.
WHEN September 14-18, 2009
WHERE Over at the new Book Blogger Appreciation Week Blog! (Please note that this year there are three separate blogs and feeds—one for the main event, one for giveaways, and one for awards.)
WHY Because books matter. In a world full of options, the people talking about books pour hard work, time, energy, and money into creating a community around the written word. Amy, the founder of Book Blogger Appreciation Week, loves this community of bloggers and wants to shower appreciation on you!

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?
Please help us spread the word about Book Blogger Appreciation Week by posting about it on your blog, twittering about it, and telling everyone you know that it’s time to have a party and celebrate book bloggers! Please register by filling out the registration form! Registering ensures your inclusion in the BBAW 09 Database of Book Bloggers and enters you into the drawing for the BBAW 09 Grand Prize! Come back often as there will be many updates! And follow us on Twitter!

AWARDS
BBAW Award Nominations are now open on the BBAW Awards Blog.

Many, many, many thanks to Amy for all of her hard work and continuing this awesome tradition!!

Girl Overboard

2009-07-16T06:00:00.000-07:00

Girl Overboard
Justina Chen Headley
2008
339 pages

Publisher Comments:
The worst thing about having it all is having to deal with it all-the good, the bad, and the just plain weird. Like seeing more of my dad when he's on the cover of Business Week than I do in person. Like the surgeon whose schedule was too jammed with professional ballplayers to deal with my busted up knee...until he heard who my parents were and miraculously his calendar was wide open. Like the pseudo boyfriend who was more in love with my last name than with me.

Everybody thinks Syrah is the golden girl. After all, her father is Ethan Cheng, billionaire, and she has everything any kid could possibly desire, right down to a waterfront mansion, jet plane, and custom-designed snowboards. But most of what glitters in her life is fool's gold. Her half-siblings hate her, her best friend Adrian's girlfriend is ruining their friendship, and her own so-called boyfriend is after her for her father's name. When her broken heart results in a snowboarding accident that exiles her from the mountains--the one place where she feels free and accepted for who she is, not what she has--Syrah must rehab both her busted-up knee, and her broken heart, and learn that she's worth her weight in real gold.

I think the synopsis is a little misleading. The entire book takes place after the snowboarding accident. When I first read it, it seemed like the accident would occur in the course of the book. Not that that really matters, it just is a little misleading. Because after her accident, Syrah is forced to confront her life…her unhappiness with the relationship she has with her parents, her body, and her best friend. And that is what the book is all about.

This is by the same author as North of Beautiful. And while it’s not a bad read, I prefer North of Beautiful. Probably because I read it first, and as is the case when authors write books dealing with similar themes, the first one always seems more unique.

Running with Scissors

2009-07-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Running with Scissors
Augusten Burroughs
2002
320 pages

I’m not entirely sure what to think about this book. After James Frey, I’ll confess to being a little leery about memoirs, especially ones that are a bit…”My parents sucked! OMG my guardians suck, too! And their house is the most disgusting place in the world! And I’m having sex at an inappropriate age and with inappropriate people! And no one cares!”

Not that I’m doubting that he had a bad childhood, or that sucky things happened to him, but when you’re writing a memoir and everyone calls you Augusten in the memoir but then your reader discovers you didn’t change your name until later on, well, said reader loses a bit of faith. And then when you describe how disgusting the house in which you lived in was, and how casual everyone was about it, and then you have one of those same people freak out when they see dried locust shells (or something like that), well, said reader loses even more faith. And then, come to find out, it seems there was a lawsuit over the book, with allegations from the guardian’s family about defamation of character and other unpleasantness. What the hell am I supposed to believe after that?!?

So, to summarize. Augusten (aka the child formerly known as Christopher) lives with his mother and father. Parents divorce. Mom has issues, and ends up giving custody of Augusten/Christopher to her shrink. Yes, her shrink. A/C goes to live with the shrink and his family in a house of dubious cleanliness. A/C ends up in an unhealthy relationship with a pedophile (who was also the adopted son of aforementioned shrink). Shrink gets weirder and weirder. Mom has episodes of wellness and episodes of not so wellness. A/C is undoubtedly scarred for life.

This book contains sex, dubious medical practices and the eating of dog food. Read at your own risk.

Little Bee

2009-07-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Yes, I’m still working on the backlog of reviews and I’m still working on those questions people asked way back when. Today, I’m going to cross Little Bee off the list.

Little Bee
Chris Cleave
February 2009
271 pages

Publisher Comments:

We don't want to tell you too much about this book!

It is a truly special story and we don't want to spoil it.

Nevertheless, you need to know something, so we will just say this:

It is extremely funny, but the African beach scene is horrific.

The story starts there, but the book doesn't.

And it's what happens afterward that is most important.

Once you have read it, you'll want to tell everyone about it. When you do, please don't tell them what happens either. The magic is in how it unfolds.

This is a powerful book, but they’re right…it would be a shame to give away the story. I would add that it is set in both London and Nigeria. And that Little Bee is the name of the main character and narrator. And I will give you two brief passages from the book:

“Most days I wish I was a British pound coin instead of an African girl.” p. 1

”In your country, if you are not scared enough already, you can go to watch a horror film…Horror in your country is something that you take a dose of to remind yourself that you are not suffering from it.” p. 45

Heather J. asked me three questions: “Did you identify with Andrew or Sarah or neither? What did you think of Little Bee's decision to "think of scars as signs of life"? Did you feel that the book was ultimately depressing or hopeful?” And Eva asked, “Do you think I’d like Little Bee?”

I didn’t really identify with either Andrew or Sarah…I thought they were both selfish. I didn’t care for Sarah’s actions in England, before the trip to Nigeria, and I didn’t like Andrew’s responses to the situation in Nigeria. Sarah does has some redeeming qualities at the end, though. However, without all of their prior decisions, there wouldn’t have been much of a book, so I guess I can’t complain too much.

I did, however, love Little Bee’s resiliency, as evidenced by her statement that scars are signs of life. Rather than focus on the bad, she moves on. And as for Heather’s last question, I’m not sure. I think the actions that the characters take at the end are hopeful, and by that I mean there willingness to take a stand.

Now for Eva and her whopper of a question. I’m always hesitant to say that people will like a book, because there are so many different factors…the story, the writing, the setting, the characters, the tone, the ending. But yes, I do think Eva would like this one, if only because it subtly deals with some big issues, and it alternates between London and Nigeria. Plus, it’s relatively short, so if I’m wrong, it’s not like I just recommended a 500 plus page chunkster. Not that that would stop Eva. :-)

We are the Ding Dongs

2009-07-13T10:44:00.000-07:00

Although it’s too early do be proclaiming any champions, I just had to take a few minutes to ~~gloat~~ revel in the Ding Dongs awesome team score of 838.8 points for week 2. That’s out of a possible 850, in case you were wondering. So I decided the occasion called for a little celebratory Queen, with the lyrics (of course) changed to fit the occasion:

We are the Ding Dongs

We ate our veggies
Meal after meal
We got our exercise
And ate no F.L.A.B.B.y foods
No bad mistakes
We all held true
We’ve had our share of cheese sticks
And we've come through
We are the Ding Dongs - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the Ding Dongs
We are the Ding Dongs
No time for Twinkies
'Cause we are the Ding Dongs - of Game On!
We’ve lost some weight
Our clothes are loose
Game On! made us healthy and happy and everything that goes with that

We thank the Twinkies
And the Ho-Hos
Fellow snack cakes
We consider it a challenge before the whole human race
We ain't gonna lose
We are the Ding Dongs - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the Ding Dongs
We are the Ding Dongs
No time for snacking
'Cause we are the Ding Dongs - of Game On!

Game On! Update

2009-07-13T08:18:00.001-07:00

Here we are at the beginning of week 3 of our Game On! challenge and I was wondering what to blog about, since things are pretty much the same as last week. Same good things, same bad things, except the hives that weren’t hives but an allergic reaction are gone. Which is a Very. Good. Thing. Oh, and I lost two more pounds. Also good.

Luckily, Jill (coolest name ever, by the way) at Rhapsody in Books awarded all of the Game On! ‘ers the Kreative Blogger Award. To accept this award, you are supposed to list seven of your favorite things and nominate seven blogs that deserve this award. Since Jill challenged herself to list 7 things that have nothing to do with food or health, I thought I would follow in her footsteps. As we’ve all discovered in these last two weeks, food plays a huge role in our lives, whether it’s going out with friends for a meal, or going to birthday parties, or even just relaxing at night…with a bowl of ice cream. Trying to explain to people why you suddenly aren’t up for a trip to Starbucks or a slice of birthday cake can be tough. Even making a list of seven favorite things sans food is difficult!

My food-less favorites:

1. Reading
2. Browsing through bookstores
3. Travel and exploring new places
4. Hamburger (who is not a food)
5. Mondays (since I am off work and have the house to myself)
6. Mike Wazowski, my laptop
7. Supportive friends, both real life and via the internet, especially:

The rest of Team Ding-Dong:
Julie at Booking Mama
Jill at Rhapsody in Books
Amy at My Friend Amy
Ti at Book Chatter and Other Stuff

The Twinkies:
Beth at Beth Fish Reads
Jenners at Find Your Next Book Here
Jenn at Jenn’s Bookshelf
Denise at M. Denise C.
Dawn at She is Too Fond of Books

The HoHos:
Kathy at The Brain Lair
Vasilly at 1330V
(and the rest of the blogless Ho-Hos who still send entertaining emails)

Thanks again to Jill for the inspiration for today’s post. And good luck to everyone as we enter week 3!

Short 'n ...

2009-07-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

A long time ago (but not in a galaxy far, far away), I posted my thoughts on Mrs. Dalloway. I summed up my feelings about the book with this word:

"Huh?"

Then Joanne left this comment:

"You should start a new event where you post a popular or classic book and have people reply with the first word they think of in relation to it."

And I thought this was such an excellent idea that I kept the email as a reminder. And now I'm finally getting around to it. It only took four months.

We're going to start with this classic:

Chances are, most of us read this one in high school. So don't be shy, step up and leave a comment. What do you think of when you think of this book? Just remember...ONE word people, that's all you get. How would you sum up Animal Farm in ONE word?

And thanks to The Book Zombie for the inspiration!

North of Beautiful

2009-07-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

North of Beautiful
Justina Chen Headley
February 2009
384 pages

from Publishers Weekly

Laced with metaphors about maps and treasure, Headley's (Girl Overboard) finely crafted novel traces a teen's uncharted quest to find beauty. Two things block Terra's happiness: a port-wine stain on her face and her verbally abusive father, a failed cartographer who views her as ugly and belittles the collages she creates. A car accident brings her together with Jacob, an Asian-born adoptee with unconventional ideas. Besides introducing her to new pursuits like geocaching, a treasure-hunting game using GPS, Jacob ends up traveling with her when they have an opportunity to visit China together with their mothers. The trip, far-reaching on many different levels, gives Terra a chance to rethink the past and re-map her goals. Taking readers to America's Northwest, then to China and back again, the author confidently addresses very large, slippery questions about the meaning of art, travel, love and of course beauty. All of her characters hold secrets; finding them out will be as rewarding as Terra's discoveries of caches.

When I was a teenager my bedroom walls weren’t plastered with posters of teen idols. Instead, I had maps everywhere. My parents subscribed to National Geographic and I loved the issues that came with maps. You’re probably wondering why I mentioned that, since it makes me look like a dork. But Terra, the main character in North of Beautiful, also has a bedroom wallpapered with maps. Okay, so it’s the room she inherited (maps included) from her older brother. But still. Maps. *swoon*

Enough with the maps.

North of Beautiful has a lot going on, despite the fact that it’s an engrossing and quick read. It addresses inner vs. outer beauty, the confidence to be yourself, the meaning of true friendship, verbal abuse, the question of what art is, and all sorts of other things. Yet, while all of these issues are present in the book, the author doesn’t bash you over the head with them (well, except maybe the stand up and be yourself bit). This book is the story of Terra’s journey towards self-acceptance, and it’s fun to go along for the ride.

The Hunger Games

2009-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
September 2008
384 pages

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and don’t worry, I live there sometimes, too), then you know what this one is about. So I’m not going to recap it for you. If you want the recap, just go hang out on Google. You’ll find lots of places to visit.

Instead, I’m going back to the questions. Remember them? You probably thought I was all done. But I’m a slacker, so I still have lots of questions left to answer. For this book, Joanne asked “Overhyped or not? Was it as good as you'd expected? Or did you feel that the book didn't quite live up to it's reputation?” And then Lilly asked “What do you think about the ending? Did you like that it didn't give any closure as to the characters' lives and instead left readers needing to get part two to find out?” Next, Michelle asked "Do you find that having read that particular book you are more or less inclined to continue reading in that genre (YA)?” And finally, Jennie asked “too violent? Or not violent enough to be believable?”

Whew. Lotsa questions on this one. Let’s see if I can answer them all. Coherently.

I really enjoyed the book. Yes, it’s received lots of hype, but it’s still an intriguing concept and contains (I think) a well-developed dystopian society. Yes, it’s slightly reminiscent of The Lottery, but that’s okay. And it also went in a direction I totally wasn’t expecting, so major points for that. It did bog down a bit with the preparations for the game (all the pageantry was a little weird), and with the game itself, but that’s okay, too. So while it wasn’t the best book ever, I’m still glad I read it. I can see reactions to this one being all over the place, so I think it’s worth recommending, if only to hear someone’s thoughts on why or why they didn’t like it.

Because I like series (within reason…I never did read the last Harry Potter), I had no problem with the ending. Frustrating though it might be, I think that was a good place to end. And yes, I can’t wait for Catching Fire.

I’m really loving all of the fresh ideas and edgy stories that YA is coming out with lately. Or that I seem to have become aware of lately. So yes, I do plan to keep reading books in the YA genre, but since I don’t like that “didn’t I just read something similar” feeling, I may not be hunting down dystopian novels any time soon.

Finally, in regards to the violence, can I say “just right?” While I don’t have a problem reading about violence (in context), I honestly wasn’t looking forward to the actual Hunger Game. Because I knew characters that I had gotten attached to were going to die. And yet, there had to be some violence to be believable. There were some weird things within the game that struck me as odd (the dog creatures?), but overall I was okay with how it played out.

So yeah, I got sucked into a new series. But as I said above, I think Collins has created an interesting society…I’m looking forward to seeing where she goes with it.

The Walking People

2009-07-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Walking People
Mary Beth Keane
May 2009
416 pages

I first read about this book at Tara’s Books and Cooks blog. Tara wrote a lovely review that had me looking for the book in my library’s online catalogue. Imagine my surprise when they actually had it! Also, imagine my surprise when they charged me 50 cents for the hold request. Not that I begrudge the library 50 cents, but they could have told me!

Anyways.

The book was worth the 50 cents, although I’m still feeling a bit jarred by the ending. Talk about avoiding confrontation!

Oh. You probably want to know what it’s about before I go off on the ending, huh? Fair enough.

The story starts in Ireland in 1956. (Okay, there’s a prologue set in 2007, but I’m not starting there.) The Cahill family lives in west, west, west Ireland. In other words, they live in the teensy remote village of Ballyroan, a village that has pretty much died. Big Tom and his wife Lily are struggling to support their three grown sons and two younger daughters. It is on the two daughters, Johanna and Greta, that the story centers. Greta appears to be a bit off, although it’s nothing anyone can put their finger on. She is the baby of the family and happy to stay close to home. Intrepid Johanna, on the other hand, is always wondering and wandering, and her inquisitive nature leads her into the tinker’s camp. The tinkerers are gypsies, or the Walking People from which the novel takes its name.

Stuff happens.

Next thing you know, it’s the 1960s and Ballyroan is even deader than it was in the 1950s, if that’s possible. Johanna is still dreaming of escape. When one of the tinkers returns to the village, Johanna targets the young man (Michael) and plots her future. Quicker than you can say brown bread, Michael finds himself in New York with Johanna and Greta.

More stuff happens. And this time we get to read about most of it through the letters that pass back and forth between Ireland and New York. Good stuff.

Then it’s the 1970s and Michael and Greta have settled down into family life.

Then it’s the 1980s and there’s some weird family estrangement that eldest daughter Julia is a bit curious about.

Then it’s 2007 (hey, just like in the prologue, imagine that) and Michael is retiring from over 30 years as a sandhog. There are a few surprises in store. Some happen, some are about to happen.

The end.

Seriously. Just before the big resolution (or whatever), the book ends. This is worse than Edgar Sawtelle in terms of whammo endings, in my opinion. Because we’re talking about people here, not dogs! Oh sure, it doesn’t have the drama of Edgar Sawtelle. This is a quiet novel about family and relationships. There is no underlying Hamlet-ness happening. But I still want the final scene!!!!

Also, remember our conversation about titles? Well, I have a bone to pick with this one. The Walking People play a minor role. Well, except for Michael. He’s got a pretty big role. And yes, you can argue for deeper meaning and recurring themes. But Michael and Greta don’t walk. They stay. And since the book is mostly about them, that would be why I have issues.

But then, I always seem to have issues. Still, it’s a good book. You should read it. If you like stories about Ireland and immigrations and family relationships.

(Don’t) Eat It

2009-07-06T17:36:00.001-07:00

Did you know that I attended the same college as Weird Al Yankovich? Seriously, I did. Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. You know you’re jealous. I’ve even seen the bathroom stall where he supposedly penned his first parody. I know, now you’re even more jealous. So in keeping with the Cal Poly tradition, I thought it appropriate to parody one of Weird Al’s parodies to inspire all of the participants in the Game On! Challenge. Aided by MaDawnNa (even if she is a Twinkie), I had this ready to post last Monday to kick off the challenge. However, a certain someone’s untimely death made us hold off for a bit. We didn’t want to be totally insensitive, even if we did write this BEFORE he died. But now that we’re heading into the 2nd week of our Game On! Challenge, I figure it’s time for a few reminders for all of the players.

(Don’t) Eat It

Are you ready to win so you can gloat?
Say no to Diet Coke, say no to tummy bloat
Get ready to drink enough water to make your eyes float
Play Game On!, and don’t eat it

Three teams are vying for acclaim
Believe it or not, this really is a game
If you don’t earn your points, you'll just have yourself to blame
Don’t eat it, don’t eat it

Don't tell me you can’t do it
Don’t eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Get yourself some celery and eat it
But don’t have any sugar, don’t have any F.L.A.B.B.
Make sure that doughnut isn’t what you grab
Don’t eat it, eat it, don’t eat it, eat it
Don’t eat it, eat it, don’t eat it, eat it, ooh

One of the rules is that we can’t collude
Don’t make the other teams lose by sending them junk food
And yes you can still play even if you’re a dude
Don’t eat it

Better listen to Az, better do what you're told
You don’t wanna be the team that folds
You better exercise or work on a wrestling hold
Don’t eat it

Ding Dings are gonna win ‘cause we
Won’t eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Kick your unhealthy habit, you can beat it
Do a sun salutation, floss your teeth
The winner gets to wear a laurel wreath
But don’t eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it

Don't you make me repeat it
Have some leafy greens, have a whole bunch
It doesn't matter what you had for lunch
Just eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
But don’t eat that, don’t eat that

Go for a walk, go get fit
Don’t eat a big dinner, eat 5 small meals
If you don't like it ask your teammate how she feels
Don’t eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Get yourself an egg (white) and beat it
Add in some spinach, and it’s okay
But don’t add the sausage, it’s not okay
Don’t eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it
Don't you make me repeat it (oh no)
Have a celery stalk, have a whole bunch
It doesn't matter what you had for lunch
You can eat it, eat it, eat it, eat it

Game On! update

2009-07-06T08:07:00.001-07:00

Here we are at the beginning of week 2 of the Game On! challenge, and I feel great! And no, I’m not just saying that to be polite.

To recap, this is what I’m supposed to be doing every day:
*eating 5 small healthy meals – each meal consisting of a carb, a lean protein and a healthy fat…also, veggies with at least two of these meals
*drinking 3 liters of water
*exercising 20 minutes
*getting at least 7 hours of sleep
*staying in contact with teammates and ~~taunting~~ the opposition
*give up an unhealthy habit (Starbucks…and to clarify, it wasn’t the caffeine I needed to give up, it was the latte habit)
*start a new healthy habit (wear sunscreen)

I’m proud to say I got a perfect score for my first week (hah! to the Ho Ho’s and double hah! to the Twinkies), plus I lost 4 pounds. Go me.

Here are some of the benefits to this challenge:
*having fun communicating with your teammates and poking fun at the opposition (there have been some brutal pictures of donuts and cake and chipwiches and beer floating around) (and check out last Monday’s post for info on the teams)
*energy – I don’t know about anyone else, but I have a more constant level of energy throughout the day. Since I usually get 8 hours of sleep, it’s not the sleep rule. I’m guessing this is all about eating better.
*when you stop eating sugar, fruit becomes the best thing ever
*happy skin – you try drinking 3 liters of water/day and not having happy skin. Well, except for the hives, but I’ll get to that.
*happy me – I’m so cheerful it’s disgusting.

Now for a few of the more challenging aspects of the challenge:
*5 meals – if you don’t plan ahead, this is hard! Not so much for the breakfasty, snacky meals, but for dinner. By day 3 I was sick of chicken (we don’t eat fish). And veggies. I love veggies, but not really in the morning. So I felt like I was obligated to eat them by the end of the day. And it wasn’t like I had even been eating lots of chicken and veggies. It was just the thought.
*To fit the exercise in during the work week, I started to walk on my lunch break. And while the temperature wasn’t blistering, it was warm. I faithfully wore sunscreen, but my chest is covered in hives. At first I thought it was sunburn, but it’s definitely hives. My best guess is it’s a combination of the heat and the sunscreen. And while this isn’t a problem anyone else would have, it’s been a bit irritating. Not to mention itchy.
*The need to be in close proximity to a bathroom for most of the day. Because hello? 3 liters of water is a hecka lot of water!

So now it’s on to week 2!

***Another cheesy song to follow later today. I know you all can’t wait.

Brother, I’m Dying

2009-07-05T19:28:00.001-07:00

Brother, I’m Dying
Edwidge Danticat
2007
7 hours and 51 minutes (audio book)
narrated by Robin Miles

I’ve never read any of Danticat’s books (and technically, I still haven’t), but this one surprised me. Not really knowing what to expect, I ended up listening to a powerful family memoir, a tribute to both Danticat’s father and uncle, as well as a story of Haiti and its people.

When Danticat was a young girl, first her father then her mother left seeking a better life in the United States, leaving Edwidge and her younger brother in the care of their paternal uncle, Joseph. It would be eight years before the siblings would be able to join their parents and two younger brothers in New York.

Brother, I’m Dying begins with Danticat learning that her father is dying. On that same day, she also learns she is pregnant. As she tells of her struggles to come to terms with these changes, she also reflects back on her life, her father’s life, and her uncle’s life in Haiti. As she tells their stories, what shines through is her deep love and respect for both men. Danticat interweaves Haitian political history with the individual stories of various family members. Her Uncle Joseph is clearly the hub of the family, a man who willingly cares for various extended family members as if they were his own. Joseph eventually becomes the pastor of his own church in Bellaire, a man who is deeply concerned about his community and who is unwilling to leave despite political tension.

As Danticat chronicles Joseph’s life, she also weaves in the progression of her father’s illness. As he becomes increasingly frail, Joseph’s life also takes a dramatic turn. In 2004, after political trouble in Bellaire threatens his life, he finally flees Haiti. Upon attempting to seek political asylum in the US, he is sent to Krome, a Miami detention center. Shortly thereafter, he dies. Then, not too long after the birth of Danticat’s daughter, her father also passes away.

I’m sure if I was reading it, I would have been bawling by the end, even knowing what was coming, and that both men had lived full lives. But since I was listening to the audio version (while driving!), I fought off the tears. But knowing how deeply Danticat loved and admired both men makes the ending difficult to accept.

The only part of the book that I struggled with was the initial part of Joseph’s final arrival in the US. It’s apparent that Danticat did some heavy research to uncover her uncle’s last hours, and at times the dispassionate recitation of airport and immigration facts is a bit jarring. However, juxtaposed against the final outcome, it becomes pretty powerful.

Robin Miles does an amazing job of narrating this story. She slips in and out of Haitian Creole, French and accented English effortlessly, and the lilting accents of the various Danticats are particularly beautiful.

If you like memoirs and audio books, this is a winning combination.

Let’s talk titles

2009-07-02T21:54:00.001-07:00

Remember when I asked y’all to ask me questions about my unreviewed books? I know, it’s been awhile, and I still have a pile of books and questions to tackle. Good thing it’s a long weekend…I’m hoping to put another dent in the list.

In the meantime, I want to talk about an interesting question that was left on that post by an author.

Jennie Nash is the author of The Last Beach Bungalow and The Only True Genius in the Family. She has written other books as well, but I mention these two because I read them both last month while I was on vacation, and I enjoyed them both. Unfortunately, they are still on the list of books to be reviewed.

So Jennie (and please, excuse the familiarity, but once you leave a comment I consider us to be on a first name basis ;-)) asked this question…

I'm the author of TWO books on your list, and I want to know how TITLE plays a role in helping you chose which one you'll read. I'm trying to title my novel in progress, so this is a burning question :)

Since it’s taken me awhile to get around to answering, this may not be a burning question anymore, but I’ll still take a stab at it.

How important is a title when I’m thinking about what to read? Not very, I’m afraid. I’m a cover gal, myself. I love cover art, and if I’m browsing in a bookstore, that’s what will draw me to a book. And then the blurb is what will ultimately sell it. Which isn’t to say I’ve never read a book because the title made me laugh. Years ago, I bought It’s My F---ing Birthday for that very reason (and please don’t judge me for it). Except that book turned out to be a big disappointment. So I’m not very trusting of titles. Or maybe I should say my taste in titles.

Also (and keep in mind that I still loved the book), I’m getting a little perturbed by the sudden preponderance of long-ass titles. Case in point…The Only True Genius in the Family. Other examples include That Potato Peel Book, T.S. Spivet and The Absolutely True Diary, blah, blah, blah. All of these are awesome books, but you’ll notice I didn’t even bother to type out the entire title. Because I’m lazy like that. Also, I tend to forget or mix up the words. In fact, after reading both of Jennie’s books, I have a hard time not referring to one of them as The Last True Genius in the Family.

So I guess what I’m saying is keep the title short. Don’t restrict yourself to one word, but please, don’t let the title be a novel all by itself.

But that’s just me. Let’s ask some other bloggers. What do you say, folks? Would you like to tell Jennie how influential you feel a title is when it comes to choosing a book?

The Gangster We Are All Looking For

2009-07-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Gangster We Are All Looking For
le thi diem thuy
2003
176 pages

Synopsis:

This acclaimed novel reveals the life of a Vietnamese family in America through the knowing eyes of a child finding her place and voice in a new country.

In 1978 six refugees — a girl, her father, and four "uncles" — are pulled from the sea to begin a new life in San Diego. In the child's imagination, the world is transmuted into an unearthly realm: she sees everything intensely, hears the distress calls of inanimate objects, and waits for her mother to join her. But life loses none of its strangeness when the family is reunited. As the girl grows, her matter-of-fact innocence eddies increasingly around opaque and ghostly traumas: the cataclysm that engulfed her homeland, the memory of a brother who drowned and, most inescapable, her father's hopeless rage.

This is a very short novel that bears some similarities to the author’s life (a drowned sibling, immigration to the US). There are parts of the novel that I liked (mostly the beginning when the young narrator and her father, Ba, and “uncles” struggle to find their way, and the time after her mother arrives). However, the uncles soon disappear from the story and it starts skipping around in time. Ba succumbs to mysterious rages that are difficult to understand. Sure we get glimpses into his mysterious past and the death of his son, but I kept waiting for the shoe to drop and it never did. Aagh! Additionally, what was the meaning of Ba’s increasing anxiety? What was its purpose?? In the end, for me, the language and emotions just weren’t enough to carry this book and it’s underdeveloped story. I’m too literal for books like this.

The Sookie Stackhouse Challenge

2009-07-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

Beth Fish at Beth Fish Reads has come up with the perfect challenge. Although I’ve never heard of Sookie and series, this sounds like too much fun to resist. Besides, everyone is doing it. Which makes me a
.

And I have no problem admitting it.

Let’s discuss details…

The Rules:

1. Between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010, catch up on Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series. No matter if you're starting with book 1 or book 8, you have a year to read all about Sookie. Read Sookie in print, listen to the audio, read an eBook -- format is not an issue.
2. Sign up using Mr. Linky. Put your name in the top box. For the bottom box, please use the URL that links specifically to your blog post about this challenge, not to your blog's home page.
3. After July 4, I'll create a post with another Mr. Linky where you can link your reviews so everyone can read them track your progress.
4. If you don't have a blog and want to join in, sign up in the comments here. Later, let us know about your progress by leaving comments on the review link page.

The Books:

Dead Until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone

If you’d like to join the madness, head on over to Beth’s blog!

Firmin

2009-06-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Firmin
Sam Savage
December 2008
165 pages

Publisher Comments:
I had always imagined that my life story...would have a great first line: something like Nabokov's 'Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins;' or if I could not do lyric, then something sweeping like Tolstoy's 'All happy families are alike, but every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.'... When it comes to openers, though, the best in my view has to be the first line of Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier: 'This is the saddest story I have ever heard.'

So begins the remarkable tale of Firmin the rat. Born in a bookstore in a blighted 1960's Boston neighborhood, Firmin miraculously learns how to read by digesting his nest of books. Alienated from his family and unable to communicate with the humans he loves, Firmin quickly realizes that a literate rat is a lonely rat.

Following a harrowing misunderstanding with his hero, the bookseller, Firmin begins to risk the dangers of Scollay Square, finding solace in the Lovelies of the burlesque cinema. Finally adopted by a down-on-his-luck science fiction writer, the tide begins to turn, but soon they both face homelessness when the wrecking ball of urban renewal arrives.

In a series of misadventures, Firmin is ultimately led deep into his own imaginative soul-a place where Ginger Rogers can hold him tight and tattered books, storied neighborhoods, and down-and-out rats can find people who adore them.

A native of South Carolina, Sam Savage now lives in Madison, Wisconsin. This is his first novel.

Joanne came up with a toughie this time: “This looks awesome, is it? How do you feel about authors who use anthropomorphism to tell a story? Did you ever feel like you were reading about a human rather than a rat? Is there any underlying messages about society?”

First, I love the design of this book. Even Hamburger noticed, and that’s saying a lot. Well, he noticed that the book seemed to have a chunk missing. It’s made to look like a rat nibbled on it. Second, I have no problem with anthropomorphism in literature. Anyone read The Roaches Have No King? Until it was dethroned by Geek Love, it was the weirdest book I’ve ever read. In that one, the cockroaches ate the glue used to bind books and absorbed some of the story. So I’m afraid Firmin has been done, to a certain extent. Yes, the stories are different, but both rats and cockroaches are a tricky subject to humanize. And, to some extent, both stories are commentaries are human nature.

I’m sidetracking, as usual. I loved Firmin the character, and it was hard to remember he was a rat. I kept visualizing him as a cute little mouse, but then he would remind me of his hideousness (this happens a lot) and it would be a bit jarring to remember I was reading about a rat. I don’t think I ever felt I was reading about a human, but I definitely envisioned him as a charming, erudite rodent who I could have a conversation with, if we ever met. (Hey, I still watch Sesame Street on occasion, so this is not a big stretch for me. And let’s not forget Bubba.)

And now for the tough part…underlying messages about society. Be more understanding and tolerant, maybe. Look under the surface. That’s me projecting onto Firmin, though. I think the tragedy of urban development is an underlying message. Granted, Scollay Square, which actually existed, was a run-down, has-been part of town. But if you look at the pictures of what it turned into? Ewwwwwww. So there’s an example of the government invoking eminent domain (I might be mixing up my terms there) and ignoring the character and people of a neighborhood. Is modern always better? Firmin also illustrates different aspects of human nature. The two main human characters, the bookstore owner and the writer, are very different, especially when it comes to the images they project versus their true natures. So yeah, now that I think about it, there are quite a few messages in this book. You should read it. :-)

Game On!

2009-06-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Starting today, I'm participating in the Game On Challenge. Along with my fellow Ding-Dongs, and our opposition, the Twinkies and the Ho-Hos (and yes, those are really our team names), I will be spending the next four weeks trying to eat healthier, exercise more, drink an ocean of water (okay, only 3 liters a day...but that's kind of close to an ocean), get 7 plus hours of sleep, give up a bad habit (mine would be all things Starbucks) and start a healthy habit (I'll be trying to remember to wear sunscreen every day). I just gave you the Reader's Digest version...we are actually following a book, The Game On Diet, by Krista Vernoff and Az Ferguson, which will be released tomorrow.

What makes this a true challenge is that we earn points for each of the above activities. We also lose points for certain things (snacking, drinking diet soda). At the end of four weeks, the team with the most points wins. Obviously, there's more at stake here than health. It's about winning, and crushing those Twinkies into the ground!

Okay, kidding on that last part. Although if anyone would like to send a pizza to the chief Twinkie (Dawn), I certainly won't stop you. After all, it's her fault I'm doing this.

For the next four weeks, expect to see lots of chatter on twitter between teams and teammates (we also get points for communication). If you want to follow us, we're using #gameondiet. There might also be a few comments made under #twinkiefail and #dingdongsrule, just to liven things up a bit. :-D I will also write an actual review of the book, at some point, so stay tuned for that.

Here are the contestants:

Team Twinkie

Dawn of She Is Too Fond of Books

Beth of Beth Fish Reads

Denise of M. Denise C.

Jenn of Jenn's Bookshelf

Jenners of Find Your Next Book Here

Team Ding Dong

Ti of Book Chatter and Other Stuff

Jill of Rhapsody in Books

Julie of Booking Mama

Amy of My Friend Amy

and me

Team Ho-Hos

Kathy of The Brain Lair

Kathy also has other team mates, but they aren't bloggers, so I have no links. Oh, except for a last minute addition...Vasilly!

So. We're off. To inspire my fellow Ding-Dongs (and make all those other snack cakes jealous that they don't have a kick-ass song), here's our official theme song (please channel Eddie Veder as you sing this one)... Smells Like Team Spirit

Load up on veggies

Bring your friends

We’re going to win

I portend

Healthy habits

Ding-Dongs assured

Sugar soda

Dirty words

Game on (x 16)

With my teammates its less dangerous

Here we are now

Don’t feed us

I feel healthy and courageous

Here we are now

The Ding-Dongs

A rhapsody

A softdrink

A mama

My friend Amy

This is not what I do best

But Ding-Dongs won’t make me depressed

Our little group has always been

And always will until the end

Game on (x 16)

With my teammates its less dangerous

Here we are now

Don’t feed us

I feel healthy and courageous

Here we are now

The Twinkies

A rhapsody

A softdrink

A mama

My friend Amy

Don’t let us forget

Just what it takes

To stay on track and kick Twinkie butt

If it’s too hard

If we unwind

Don’t let us say, oh nevermind

Game on (x 16)

With my teammates its less dangerous

Here we are now

Don’t feed us

I feel healthy and courageous

Here we are now

The Ding-Dongs

A rhapsody

A softdrink

A mama

My friend Amy

Fragile Eternity

2009-06-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

Fragile Eternity
Melissa Marr
May 2009

389 pages

This is the third book in Melissa Marr’s faerie series, following Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange. While the books don’t exactly knock my socks off, they are compelling enough to make me keep reading. Fragile Eternity actually picks up from Wicked Lovely…Ink Exchange can pretty much be considered a detour. A very dark detour. (Side note: I read that there are 5 books in the series. Books 2 and 4 are stand-alones, so book 5 will pick up where Fragile Eternity leaves off.)

Fragile Eternity is primarily Seth’s story. Remember Seth? He’s Aislinn’s boyfriend, although things have been a little rocky since she’s become a faery queen. Not to mention immortal. Feeling a bit put out (the whole immortality thing, plus the weird Aislinn/Keenan (he’s a faery king) vibe), Seth ends up hanging out with yet another faery queen. And if you haven’t read Wicked Lovely, you’ll be horribly confused. Even more confused than this short synopsis has probably left you.

Let’s move on to a question. Eva wants to know:

Does Fragile Eternity live up to Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange?

Since I’m not a rabid fan, I can only say it’s on par with, if that makes sense. The books have the same dark tone, the same sexy, slightly bad faeries, and will likely leave you with the feeling of “I want more.” Amy, however, argues that the books get better and better…so check out her review to see what a rabid fan (sorry, Amy, but I just had to) has to say.

As for me, I’ll keep reading, but I have the sneaking suspicion the series will end and I’ll be left with that “it’s missing a little something” feeling.

The Lost Legends of New Jersey

2009-06-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Lost Legends of New Jersey
Frederick Reiken
July 2001
336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Elegiac and unsparingly direct, funny and poignant, this second novel by the author of the well-received The Odd Sea is a beautiful story about loss, hope and survival. Between the summer of 1979, when Anthony Rubin is 13, and the winter of 1983, when he is a hockey star in high school, he experiences the breakup of his parents' marriage, loses a close friend, falls in love several times and moves through adolescence with a mixture of yearning and rue. On the one hand, Anthony has grown up fast: his emotionally volatile mother, Jess, has a nervous breakdown because of his father's adultery and leaves the family home in Livingston, N.J., for Florida. Anthony has a sense that good things in his life are already a part of the past. He always sees the present moment at a distance, so he can capture and preserve it in memory. On the other hand, he is slow to mature; afraid of being rebuffed, he is shy with girls. Two astute and kind teenagers intuit his need for mothering. An "older woman," Alex Brody, the senior manager of the hockey team, seduces him so he can lose his virginity, and his next door neighbor, Juliette diMiglio becomes his friend and sex partner. While all the characters are drawn with warmth, Juliette will haunt the reader. Her mother commits suicide; her crude, abusive father is regularly beat up by loan sharks; Juliette herself submits to her boyfriend's sadistic behavior and earns a reputation as a slut. Juliette is trapped in the circumstances of her life; Anthony will rise above them. But it is his grandfather, who at 81 meets his b'shert (a Yiddish word that means your fated spiritual other half), who teaches Anthony that he must wait for love. There are some wonderful, almost dreamlike set pieces in this novel, as when Anthony and friends discover a graveyard for musical instruments in the Meadowlands. If Reiken has a fault, it is endowing his characters with feelings that they immediately interpret into emotional insights. At times the psychologizing seems manipulated; too often characters get a mystical feeling that "something had shifted" inside, lifting them to a new stage of understanding. But these are small cavils in a narrative in which separation and loss are palpable, yet faith in survival is conveyed with a sweet but unsentimental clarity. Reiken's message is in a passage from the kabbala: even in the deepest sadness, one can find "sublime joy."

Well, that pretty much says it all. Although I’m still wondering how this one ended up on my bookshelf. I’m pretty sure I bought it and then forgot about it, but it doesn’t seem like a book I would normally buy. Oh well…at least it was worth it.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria

2009-06-26T06:00:00.000-07:00

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria
Eve Brown-Waite
2009
306 pages

In all of the reviews that I read about this book, it wasn’t until I read Ali’s that it really sunk in that this was a non-fiction book. A few days later, I bought it. And I read it that night.

I love travel memoirs. I know I’ve said that before, but I’m saying it again. I love to travel, and since I’m neither retired nor independently wealthy, I just don’t have the time or the money to feed my compulsion. So I travel vicariously through others by reading about their adventures. 2007 was a big travel memoir year for me (actually, since that was the year I went to Italy, it was a big travel year period). Last year, however, I slacked off on the travel books.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria made me fall in love with the genre all over again. This is the story of Eve who has always believed she would join the Peace Corps, because, well, it’s the right thing to do. With self-deprecating humor, she tells of the application process, how she fell in love with her recruiter, her posting to Ecuador, her return and marriage, and finally, her move overseas with her husband to Uganda. Eve shares her struggles to find purpose in working overseas, as well as her cultural struggles. In the process, the reader learns a small bit about life in Ecuador and Uganda.

The beauty of this book is that it neither glorifies life as a foreign relief/aid worker, nor does it paint it as all bad. Eve is honest with the conditions, and her reactions to them (although I’m sure her sense of humor helped quite a bit).

Joanne (aka Book Zombie) asked me, “Did the descriptions of the Peace Corps experience make you think it is something you would find fulfilling?”

Ummm, to be honest? No. But that’s because I don’t like camping and I’m not afraid to admit it. I think that living here as a child pretty much cured me of any longing to join the Peace Corps.

Oh wait…that doesn’t quite answer the question, does it? But see, it’s a factor. I think I’d be so uncomfortable that I would be miserable, which would pretty much ensure there would be no fulfillment. Plus, yes, Eve’s experiences don’t exactly paint the experience as save-the-world fulfilling. While in Ecuador she searched for quite awhile before finding a post…for a time, it was more like a bare-bones vacation than the Peace Corps. And her descriptions of her and her husband’s experiences in Uganda were a bit grim at times (and I’m not referring to the living conditions, in this case). There were people who took advantage of them and the overseas companies trying to institute change. And there were times when it all seemed like just a drop in the bucket. But I think the overriding message is still it is what you make of it. I don’t think she’s down on the Peace Corps or other relief/aid/change agencies…just upfront about her experiences. It was neither all bad, nor all good.

The Flying Troutmans

2009-06-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Flying Troutmans
Miriam Toews
October 2008
275 pages

Louise recently asked, “I love Miriam Toews and her quirky style - one of my fave books is A Complicated Kindness - and I have been thinking about getting The Troutmans-book, but reading about it on Amazon, it didn't really appeal to me at all. So, I am curious to know if it has got the Toews-flavor?”

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, I was introduced to Miriam Toews. Okay, not really. But a couple of years when I was in Victoria, Canada, I did buy one of her books, A Complicated Kindness. And, like Louise, I loved it. It was quirky and different…a little out there, but then, I like out there.

More recently, I read another one of Toews‘ books, A Boy of Good Breeding. This one ended up being a bit of a disappointment. I thought the mayor was going to start offing people so he could preserve his town’s status as Canada’s smallest town. Because that seemed like such a Toews-like thing to happen. I still haven’t gotten over the disappointment. So going into The Flying Troutmans I was 1 and 1 with her books.

I can happily report I’m now 2 and 1. (2 being the wins column, for those of you who may not live with people who like to watch sporting events.) I’m not sure that it’s equal to A Complicated Kindness, but the characters are original and it sort of reminded me of “Little Miss Sunshine”, which is an awesome movie. (And I’m only making that connection because of the weird characters and a van and a road trip…the ending is in no way similar!)

Anyhoosie, back to the Troutmans. Hattie is living the ex-pat life in Paris when all of a sudden her life turns to shit. To begin with, she gets dumped. Then she learns that her sister Min is in desperate need of either an intervention or a hospital stay, which means that Hattie will have to return to the States to take care of Min’s kids. And Min’s kids are no picnic. Teenage Logan is a budding juvenile delinquent, while his younger sister Thebes is, um, unique? Creative? Protective? Kinda stinky because she hates to bathe? Aha…all of the above! While Min recovers, Hattie comes up with the not-so-swell idea of a road trip to find Logan and Hattie’s dad. To say that hilarity ensues wouldn’t really be true. There’s some angst. Some family bonding. And much weirdness.

So yes, it does have the Toews flavor. It might be a wee bit watered down, but I say go for it! In paperback. Or from the library.

Lipstick Jihad

2009-06-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Lipstick Jihad
Azadeh Moaveni
2005
320 pages

Publisher Comments:

As far back as she can remember, Azadeh Moaveni has felt at odds with her tangled identity as an Iranian-American. In suburban America, Azadeh lived in two worlds. At home, she was the daughter of the Iranian exile community, serving tea, clinging to tradition, and dreaming of Tehran. Outside, she was a California girl who practiced yoga and listened to Madonna. For years, she ignored the tense standoff between her two cultures. But college magnified the clash between Iran and America, and after graduating, she moved to Iran as a journalist. This is the story of her search for identity, between two cultures cleaved apart by a violent history. It is also the story of Iran, a restive land lost in the twilight of its revolution.

Moaveni's homecoming falls in the heady days of the country's reform movement, when young people demonstrated in the streets and shouted for the Islamic regime to end. In these tumultuous times, she struggles to build a life in a dark country, wholly unlike the luminous, saffron and turquoise-tinted Iran of her imagination.

When I asked people to give me their questions on some of the books for which I had outstanding reviews, I wasn’t expecting this one to be so popular.

Eva asked: I've been avoiding Lipstick Jihad because it seems a bit superficial. Am I just being silly?

Much as it pains me to tell Eva she’s being silly, in this case, she is. Because this book was actually more complex than I was expecting. As in I thought it would be more lipstick-y and less jihad-y. Although there is still plenty of lipstick (lots of discussion about appearance and the chador), there is quite a bit of jihad, too. In fact, the political discussions were what made me put the book down for awhile. I’m more into cultural observations. For someone who finds discussions about American politics deadly boring (I know! No lectures please!), the chapters on politics sometimes lost me. So I think this book is actually more complex than you might have been led to believe. Although I should clarify a bit…the first part of the book focuses on Moaveni’s life growing up in the US and her clashes with her mother. It’s not until she moves to Iran that the book gets weightier.

Kim asked: How well do you think the book explained the Iranian Revolution and the context for the author's experience there? Do you feel like you understand the country more now that you've read the book, or did it make the whole history more confusing?

This is hard, because I’ve read other books that discuss the Iranian Revolution (usually fiction, but those generally make me do a little Googling). I don’t think it really clarified anything for me…I’m still as muddled as I’ve always been. But that could be because I don’t retain political information very well. (This coming from someone with a History degree…for shame!) I would argue that I know a bit more than most of my co-workers, but not necessarily any more than anyone else who has read similar books.

Valerie:

I have read "Lipstick Jihad"! I also read the author's sequel, "Honeymoon in Tehran". Did reading Lipstick Jihad make you want to read her sequel (whether you actually have yet or not)?
I am also curious whether reading this book has made you attentive and/or more understanding of the current headlines concerning Iran?

If I do read the sequel, it won’t be anytime soon. I am interested in reading more about Moaveni’s experiences, but I’m not running out to buy Honeymoon in Tehran. The best I can say is…someday. And I’d like to say I’m more aware of the current headlines, but it’s pretty much status quo around here as far as news intake goes.

So, let’s recap. Interesting book. Looks of info and observations. A bit dry in spots. Worth reading if you are interested in other cultures, politics, current affairs and history. If those topics bore you to tears, this might not be the best choice of books for you. And thanks for the questions!

The Lost Hours

2009-06-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Lost Hours
Karen White
April 2009
343 pages

Publisher Comments:
The award-winning author of The Memory of Water delivers a gripping tale of family, fate, and forgiveness.

When Piper Mills was twelve, she helped her grandfather bury a box that belonged to her grandmother in the backyard. For twelve years, it remained untouched.

Now a near fatal riding accident has shattered Piper’s dreams of Olympic glory. After her grandfather’s death, she inherits the house and all its secrets, including a key to a room that doesn’t exist - or does it? And after her grandmother is sent away to a nursing home, she remembers the box buried in the backyard. In it are torn pages from a scrapbook, a charm necklace, and a newspaper article from 1939 about the body of an infant found floating in the Savannah River. The necklace’s charms tell the story of three friends during the 1930s - each charm added during the three months each friend had the necklace and recorded her life in the scrapbook. Piper always dismissed her grandmother as not having had a story to tell. And now, too late, Piper finds she might have been wrong.

Once again, I’m relying on people’s questions to jump start this post.

heatherlo asked: And for The Lost Hours, I personally don't read a lot of mysteries, but I found myself entranced with the mystery aspect of this book. What are your thoughts on the mystery part of the book? Did it keep you guessing and interested in the story, or not?

Personally, I didn’t find the mystery all that mysterious. It definitely added to the story, but I had a pretty good idea of what had happened before all the questions were answered. Sure there are details that are not uncovered until the very end, but I’m certain most readers will have a good grasp of what will be revealed. However, I don’t think the mystery is at the heart of the story. Rather, it’s the characters and the time periods. As we journey back in time, the story deals with race, class and gender roles in the South during the 1920’s and 1930’s. Piper’s grandmother and her friends confront each of these issues in various ways, resulting in tension…and yes, the mystery. As we catch glimpses of their lives the mystery that Piper is investigating unfolds. The synopsis doesn’t go into details about this aspect of the story, but for me, this is its strength.

Joanne, everyone’s favorite Book Zombie, wants to know: This one sounds like an excellent read, but after seeing the mention of shattered Olympic dreams I was turned off. How much does this have to do with the main plot?

And this leads us to the present day setting of the book. The whole shattered dreams thing isn’t a constant presence. However, Piper’s attitude and fears are. These are, of course, a result of the accident. The focus is on Piper accepting her current life and learning to integrate her past with her present. This is hard to explain…Piper isn’t so much boo-hooing her lost past as she is refusing to engage in her present. Piper’s story is more about acceptance and resolution…it’s gentler and also has a hint of romance to it.

So together, there’s a lot going on in this book. But not an overwhelming lot.

On the surface, it’s the genteel South. But underneath, there are many dark layers. And together, the stories of Piper and her grandmother result in a strong novel.

The Onion Girl

2009-06-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Onion Girl
Charles de Lint
August 2002
512 pages

From Publishers Weekly:
Life is truly an act of magic in Canadian author de Lint's triumphant return to Newford, his fictitious North American city, with its fascinating blend of urban faerie and dreamworld adventures. When Jilly Coppercorn becomes a victim of a hit-and-run driver, her happy life as a popular Newford artist comes to a screeching halt. Half of her body, including her painting hand, no longer works properly, and the prospect of a long recovery, despite supportive friends, depresses her. Her dreams - the only escape she enjoys - connect her to friend Sophie's dreamland of Mabon. Another friend, of otherworldly origin, Joe Crazy Dog, calls it manido-aki, a place where magic dwells amid mythic creatures and e-landscapes far away from the World As It Is. Joe also knows that's where Jilly must heal what has broken inside herself to speed recovery of her physical body. Complications ensue when her friends discover that someone broke into the artist's apartment after the accident and destroyed her famous faerie paintings. De Lint introduces yet another intriguing character, the raunchy, wild and furious Raylene, as dark as Jilly is light, who deepens the mystery. Is she Jilly's shadow self, or a connection to a past Jilly would rather forget? This crazy-quilt fantasy moves from the outer to the inner world with amazing ease and should satisfy new and old fans of this prolific and gifted storyteller, whose ability to peel away layers of story could earn him the title "The Onion Man."

Go here to check out my previous thoughts on de Lint. Then, if you feel like it, go read this post to find out why people are asking me questions about The Onion Girl.

Bart’s Bookshelf asked “I've read and enjoyed (but not loved) a couple of De Lints, is this one, the one that might fully convert me to the De Lint cause?”

Hmmm, sorry to dash your hopes, but I don’t think so. But then, I'm not exactly an expert on de Lint. I started with Dreams Underfoot. Have you read that one? It’s a collection of interwoven short stories, and I absolutely loved it. Then I read The Onion Girl, which I found interesting, but a bit long. And finally, I never finished Widdershins, another of his novels. So while I still love de Lint’s work, I think I do better with his short stories.

And Heidenkind wonders, “Okay, Onion Girl--do you need to read de Lint's other books to enjoy that? Because I tried to read it a while ago and I was just totally lost. Then I was talking to someone else about it (who really loved it), and she said I need to read all of de Lint's short stories in order to get it.”

I can see why you would be totally lost if that was your first attempt at de Lint. As I just mentioned in response to Bart (whose name isn’t really Bart, but whose real name escapes me at the moment), I started with Dreams Underfoot. After that I read The Onion Girl, and I did just fine. I’m sure I missed a few things because I haven’t read ALL of his short stories (and there are a lot of ‘em), but oh, well

If I were to pick up another de Lint book, I’d gravitate to his short stories. While I’m not usually a fan of short stories, there’s just something about his writing (and my reading his writing) that lends itself to that particular format. At least in my opinion. What do the rest of you de Lint fans think?

Adios Bloggiesta

2009-06-21T09:09:00.001-07:00

So I spent a good chunk of Friday evening (4 hours) and the majority of Saturday (I’m guessing a good 10 hours, if not more…and this is thanks to the earthquake that jolted me out of bed at 5:30am) working on my Bloggiesta to-do list. To recap, these were my original tasks, with later additions in dark green:

On fizzy thoughts:
*Reviews:

~~The Onion Girl, Charles de Lint~~
The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Lewis Buzbee
~~First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria, Eve Brown-Waite~~
~~Fragile Eternity, Melissa Marr~~
~~Lipstick Jihad, Azadeh Moaveni~~
~~The Flying Troutmans, Miriam Toews~~
~~Firmin, Sam Savage~~
~~The Gangster We Are All Looking For, le thi diem thuy~~
~~The Lost Legends of New Jersey, Frederick Reiken~~
Bound South, Susan Rebecca White
~~The Lost Hours, Karen White~~
Little Bee, Chris Cleave
The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
The Widow's Season, Laura Brodie
The Only True Genius in the Family, Jennie Nash
The Last Beach Bungalow, Jennie Nash
Bitter Sweets, Roopa Farooki
Into the Beautiful North

*Fix broken links (I did some of this…I fixed everything broken that the link bar led to, so that’s the most important. But I know my blog is riddled with broken links. This will be ongoing.)
*Update/clean-up sidebar
*Add search button (just for Veens)
*Disable push to twitter
*Write Sookie Stackhouse Challenge post will post 7/1
*Write review policy and add to link bar

*Update Google profile pic to match blog

*started using Live Writer in the hope that it resolves the weird formatting blogger likes to impose upon my posts

On Weekly Geeks:

*~~Weekly wrap-up~~ (I actually did this Thursday night, so it doesn’t count)
*Update community list (this is a big need-to-do, but honestly, it’s so tedious I couldn’t bear to start)

On goodreads:
*Enter books read
*Update profile

Other
*submission to Bookworms Carnival

*minor Google Reader cleaning
*ended up installing Google Chrome after Firefox fail, and then struggled to get favicon back…although it finally happened

*occasional twittering

*meta-tags (kind-of)

What I didn’t do:

*any of the challenges
*comment on other people’s blogs (although I did keep the Reader nice and tidy)

Overall, I’m pretty happy with how much I did. And very grateful to Natasha at Maw Books for motivating us all to participate! I wish I would have finished more reviews, although now that I have posts scheduled through 7/1 I have time to work on the rest of the list.

My biggest failure was a lack of commenting, and oh, the irony…because this was the subject of the mini-challenge I hosted. However, I knew from the read-a-thon that commenting can eat up your whole day, so I had pretty much planned to stay away from the blogosphere (with the exception of twitter). I do, however, plan to write a post for later today featuring the mini-challenge participants.

Again, a huge thank you to Natasha at Maw Books for thinking up and hosting this marvelous party. It was definitely the kick in the patootie that I needed to get started on my blog tasks!

Go forth and comment

2009-06-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Bloggiesta!

Are you ready for a mini-challenge? This one is about making connections. One of the wonderful things about blogging is connecting with other bloggers. While other people may look at us askance when we talk about our blogging friends, those in the book blogging community have discovered that our fellow bloggers can truly become “kindred spirits.”

Since reading is such a solitary occupation, blogging offers us an opportunity to reach out to others with similar interests. If you’re not in a book group and want to discuss the ending to that last book you read, blogging can provide that opportunity. If the people around you don’t share your taste in reading, you’re bound to find someone in the blogosphere with similar tastes who will love you forever for your recommendations. Bloggers can tell of the virtual conversations they have had about books, authors, book festivals, genres, childhood reads, libraries, new cars, children and even pregnancy. While we might occasionally digress from our shared love of books and reading, it is these common bonds that draw us together.

It may feel awkward initially to leave a comment on a stranger’s blog. I’m sure we’ve all felt hesitant, had that fleeting thought of “this person’s going to think I’m a total dork.” But oftentimes, you leave a comment and before you know it, they’ve returned the favor, you chat a bit, and voila, you discover that you’ve made a new friend.

Beyond our shared love of books and reading, I would argue that what really makes us a community is our discourse. For new bloggers, it’s necessary to reach out and connect with other bloggers in order to get traffic to your own site. Consider your blog as an extension of yourself. If you want people to talk to you (leave comments on your blog) you have to be willing to engage and talk to others (leave comments on other blogs). Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as “blog it and they will come.” It takes effort, people!

So for this mini-challenge, I (actually, it’s Natasha’s idea, I’m just channeling her for the moment) challenge you to seek out 10 (yes, ten!) new blogs (from the list of bloggers who signed up for the Bloggiesta) and leave a thoughtful comment on their blog. Saying “Just popping in to say hey ‘cause Softdrink told me to” ain’t gonna cut it for this challenge. Find a book review that intrigues you and tell them why. Look for something you have in common and chat about it. Ask them a question about their blog design. You get the idea, right? Be original…be engaging…be yourself!

After you have visited ten (10!) blogs and left the most awesome comments in the history of blogging, come back here and leave a comment on this post telling me you completed your homework. Extra credit for mentioning a few of the blogs you visited (okay, not really on the extra credit part, but I’ll think it’s really cool if you introduce me to some new blogs). Your comment will enter you in one of the sponsored giveaways that will be given out after Bloggiesta is done. So you have from now until 8am Sunday morning (your time) to complete this mini-challenge.

What are you waiting for? Go on…get out of here…go meet new friends!

Bloggiesta To-Do’s

2009-06-19T07:00:00.000-07:00

This is my list of everything I would like to accomplish during Bloggiesta. Yes, I dream big.

On fizzythoughts:

*Reviews:

The Onion Girl, Charles de Lint

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Lewis Buzbee

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria, Eve Brown-Waite

Fragile Eternity, Melissa Marr

Lipstick Jihad, Azadeh Moaveni

The Flying Troutmans, Miriam Toews

Firmin, Sam Savage

The Gangster We Are All Looking For, le thi diem thuy

The Lost Legends of New Jersey, Frederick Reiken

Bound South, Susan Rebecca White

The Lost Hours, Karen White

Little Bee, Chris Cleave

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

The Widow's Season, Laura Brodie

The Only True Genius in the Family, Jennie Nash

The Last Beach Bungalow, Jennie Nash

Bitter Sweets, Roopa Farooki

*Fix broken links

*Update sidebar

*Add search button (just for Veens)

*Disable push to twitter

On Weekly Geeks:

*Weekly wrap-up

*Update community list

On goodreads:

*Enter books read

*Update profile

The God of War

2009-06-18T10:09:00.000-07:00

The God of War
Marisa Silver
April 2008
271 pages

I read this book on my flights to Portland. Since I flew the scenic route (San Luis Obispo to Phoenix, Phoenix to Portland) I had plenty of time to read. And for once, I was surrounded by other readers. It was quite relaxing.

Ares is the God of War. He is also our narrator, a young boy of 12 living with his mother Laurel and his younger brother Malcolm on the edge of the Salton Sea. It’s 1978 and Laurel is somewhat of a hippie, preferring to live in a trailer on the edge of society.

While Laurel refuses to label Malcolm, or even have him diagnosed, it is apparent that he is developmentally disabled, possibly autistic. Ares isn’t really sure what is wrong with his brother, but he is sure that it’s his fault. As a result, he is both protective and resentful of Malcolm. As Laurel struggles to keep herself together, Ares becomes increasingly defiant and is drawn into a friendship with a troubled teenager. His actions lead to some pretty shocking consequences.

The Salton Sea is in the desert in Southern California, and its stark beauty provides the setting for the novel. Like the area, the tone of this novel is bleak. Ares is reflecting back on this period of his childhood, and while there is no apparent joy, neither is their great sadness. Rather, there is the frustration of a budding teenager unsure of his body and his place in his family and the world. This is a coming-of-age story, as Ares fights to establish an identity separate from his family. I’m sure it’s full of all sorts of metaphors and other meanings, too, but I’m going to stop before I go places I know nothing about.

While I found this to be an excellent book, it's not one of those books about which you say “I loved it! You should read it!!” But if you like thoughtful coming-of-age stories focusing on boys, juvenile delinquents, remote locations and people who drop out of society, then this one’s for you. You can read an excerpt here.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

2009-06-17T09:41:00.001-07:00

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Katherine Howe
June 2009
384 pages

Harvard graduate student Connie Goodwin needs to spend her summer doing research for her doctoral dissertation. But when her mother asks her to handle the sale of Connie's grandmother's abandoned home near Salem, she can't refuse. As she is drawn deeper into the mysteries of the family house, Connie discovers an ancient key secreted within a seventeenth-century Bible. The key contains a yellowing fragment of parchment with a name written upon it: Deliverance Dane. This discovery launches Connie on a quest to find out who this woman was, and to unearth a rare colonial artifact of singular power: a physick book, its pages a secret repository for lost knowledge of herbs and other, stranger things. As the pieces of Deliverance's harrowing story begin to fall into place, Connie is haunted by visions of the long-ago witch trials, and begins to fear that she is more tied to Salem's dark past then she could have ever imagined.

For this week’s Weekly Geeks I invited readers to ask questions about any of the books I haven’t yet reviewed. For this book, Joanne asked:

“I am chomping at the bit to read this, please tell me this is amazing and that I will absolutely love it?”

I’m sorry, Jo, but I just can’t. I want to, but I can’t. And it's not that it’s a bad story. It’s entertaining, it’s got hints of woo-woo. I enjoyed it, but I can't gush about it. And I think it's because I’ve read both The Heretic’s Daughter and The Lace Reader and I couldn’t stop making comparisons. For example:

Both Katherine Howe and Kathleen Kent (author of The Heretic’s Daughter) are descendents of people accused of being witches during the Salem Witch Trials. And then they both wrote books about the Salem Witch Trials.
Deliverance Dane has a jail scene sort of reminiscent of the jail scene in The Heretic’s Daughter.
Deliverance Dane and The Lace Reader feature modern day Salem and characters/shops that capitalize on the Salem Witch Trials.

So while the stories are still different (The Heretic’s Daughter is entirely set in the past and is pretty bleak, The Lace Reader is more character-driven), there were still enough occasional similarities that had me thinking “I’ve read this.” If you haven’t read The Heretic’s Daughter or The Lace Reader, I’m thinking you’ll enjoy Deliverance Dane.

Also, as Chris at book-a-rama recently pointed out, Connie is a bit oblivious at times. Especially for a PhD candidate. You might find yourself wanting to shake some sense into her. And I had a hard time with the accents…I thought it was overdone. If the author was trying to illustrate how phoenitic spelling can hinder research, I think the point was made early on with Professor Chilton’s pronunciation of Mercy (mehcy) and Marcy (mehcy). The continued use of the heavy accents for the scenes in the past made the book almost unreadable at times.

If you’d like a second or third opinion, check out these other reviews:
book-a-rama
Caribousmom
Devourer of Books
fyrefly
S. Krishna

What do you think of the recent flurry of books based on witch trials? Are they starting to blur together for you, or do you still look forward to more books on the subject?

Teaser Tuesday

2009-06-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Okay, it's a bit more than two sentences, but I was having a hard time finding two sentences that stood alone. And besides, this short conversation doubles as a synopsis!

"Wait, you're going across illegally to collect vatos to take home?"

"Correct."

"You're collecting men?"

"Seven men."

"And you'll smuggle them out of the Yunaites?"

"Yes."

"Back to Mexico."

"Exactly."

"But you have to sneak."

"Si."

"Because it's illegal to transport illegals."

"Correct."

"Even if they're going south."

"Right."

"Holy Christ, I love this story!"

from Into the Beautiful North, by Luis Alberto Urrea

when Geeks wear sombreros

2009-06-15T11:50:00.000-07:00

Wow. I'm 19 reviews behind. How did that happen?!? Lucky for me, this seems to be a trend and both Weekly Geeks and Natasha are conspiring to get me caught up.

First, Weekly Geeks. This week Becky revisits an oldie but a goodie:

1. In your blog, list any books you’ve read but haven’t reviewed yet. If you’re all caught up on reviews, maybe you could try this with whatever book(s) you hope to finish this week. (Be sure to leave a link to this post either in the comments of this post, or in the Mister Linky below.)

2. Ask your readers to ask you questions about any of the books they want. In your comments, not in their blogs. (Most likely, people who will ask you questions will be people who have read one of the books or know something about it because they want to read it.)

3. Later, take whichever questions you like from your comments and use them in a post about each book. Link to each blogger next to that blogger’s question(s).

4. Visit other Weekly Geeks and ask them some questions!

Okay, so here it is. The list of unreviewed books:

The Onion Girl, Charles de Lint

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Lewis Buzbee

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria, Eve Brown-Waite

Fragile Eternity, Melissa Marr

Lipstick Jihad, Azadeh Moaveni

The Flying Troutmans, Miriam Toews

Firmin, Sam Savage

The Gangster We Are All Looking For, le thi diem thuy

The Lost Legends of New Jersey, Frederick Reiken

Bound South, Susan Rebecca White

The Lost Hours, Karen White

Little Bee, Chris Cleave

The God of War, Marisa Silver

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins

The Widow's Season, Laura Brodie

The Only True Genius in the Family, Jennie Nash

The Last Beach Bungalow, Jennie Nash

Bitter Sweets, Roopa Farooki

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, Katherine Howe

Help me out here people! Ask me any question (or two or three or four) about any of the above books (or two or three or four). Just leave your question(s) in the comments.

On Friday night and/or Saturday, I'll be participating in the Bloggiesta, and I'll use your questions to get me started on the ~~10 bajillion~~ 19 reviews I need to write.

What is the Bloggiesta you ask? Well, besides an excuse to break out the chips and guacamole, it's a chance to get caught up on blog related things. Sombreros are optional.

I'll be working on all those reviews, as well as updating the Weekly Geeks Community page and my own neglected sidebar. At least, that's the plan. I might just hang out and eat chips and guacamole and dream of Mexico.

my loot from Powell's

2009-06-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

Many people were wondering what I bought on my four trips to Powell's. Well, here you go.

Actually, this pile doesn't tell the complete story. I also bought The Hunger Games, The Only True Genius in the Family and The Last Beach Bungalow, all of which I read on my vacation and then sold back before I left. I also read and sold back A Widow's Season, which I found at a Hood River bookstore along with The Island of Eternal Love. In Europe was a Book Bin purchase, the Book Bin being conveniently located across the street from the restaurant in Salem where I met bethany for dinner.

With the exception of Kinky Gazpacho, The Hunger Games and The Only True Genius in the Family, none of the books were on my "books I want" list. I discovered them browsing, particularly in Powell's Red and Green Rooms. The Red Room being the location of the most awesome aisle of travel writing I have ever seen. And the Green Room has sales tables. Who can resist sales tables?

Powell's is a dangerous place. Although if I was better at math I could tell you how much I saved by not paying sales tax, which is 8.25% at my local bookstores. And yes, that's the excuse I keep using to make myself feel better.

do you know where your automobile is?

2009-06-12T20:08:00.000-07:00

When Hamburger left for Mexico and I left for Oregon, Gunther, our beloved surf van, was last seen parked at Hamburger's mom house. Here's a picture of Gunther taken last year:

Imagine my surprise when I drove through Hood River and saw this:

Hamburger and I are now convinced that Gunther sneaks off on his own vacations whenever we go out of town without him.

Bee Eff Eeeeeeeeeee

2009-06-11T16:56:00.000-07:00

I did a lot of different things while I was off gallivanting around Portland and northern Oregon. I had dinner with my college roommate, who I don’t see often enough. I watched dragon boat races on the Willamette River. I walked all over downtown, and Old Town (not that there’s much there, except for lots of empty old buildings and a distressing number of homeless people…I say distressing because this seems like an awfully damp place to be homeless) and Chinatown (ditto on the empty buildings) and the Pearl District (hello, Powell’s). I spent a day looking at gardens, which is normally something I’d never do. But the Chinese Cultural Gardens were gorgeous, and the Rose Gardens were full of roses, and the Japanese Gardens were beautiful (although not very tranquil thanks to the kids running around screaming). I drove down to Salem for a quick peek at the Capitol and dinner with bethany (but not Francesca). I had dim sum with Ali and her two wonderful boys. I read (The God of War, The Hunger Games, A Widow’s Season, The Only True Genius in the Family and The Last Beach Bungalow). I bought so many books I had to buy a duffel bag to get them home (and yes, I promise a post on the books later). I even met Herman.

I also drove to Dufur (say Doo-fer, not Duff-er). I believe I’ve mentioned before that I lived in the middle of nowhere when I was a small drink. The middle of nowhere being outside the teensy town of Dufur, which is just south of The Dalles (side note: the “The” is part of the name. If you think that sounds awkward, get this…the west part of town is West The Dalles.).

Anyways, back to my story. On Saturday I decided to drive along the Columbia Gorge. Why? Because it’s absolutely beautiful and Multnomah Falls was calling my name. Can you see why?

I had decided that I would drive to Hood River and back. But when I got to Hood River it was still early afternoon and Dufur was only another 30-40 minutes east and south. So off I went.

At this point it would be really helpful if you cued the banjo music in your head. You know, to provide kind of a Deliverance soundtrack as you picture me driving through Dufur and out into the boonies in search of where we used to live, in the area known as Friend. After driving miles down a gravel road, past quite a few No Trespassing signs (on driveways, not the road...I'm not that stupid) and old, rusted farm equipment, up a very steep and winding one lane road, across more dusty gravel roads with not a house in sight, I finally came to this:

The street I grew up on. I kid you not. This is where I lived, although the little blue farmhouse has been replaced with a modular home. And this is the view in the other direction:

Actually, that’s the view in all directions. And this is the old town of Friend:

Not much has changed. Friend was dead before we lived there.

After that I drove back to Dufur (on a paved road this time, although there were still few signs of life) and then out to Boyd, on the east side of town. There was more driving through hills and up and down dusty roads. To give you some idea of what’s happening in and around Boyd…

I never did find the old farm that we lived on out here. I also didn’t go in search of the old barn we lived in back by Friend…the barn that had no indoor toilet, but did have an outhouse. Some things just don’t need to be revisited.

Have you met Herman?

2009-06-10T18:52:00.000-07:00

I just returned from Portland, Oregon. Complete details to follow (whether you want them or not), but first I have to finish uploading the pictures. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this charming picture of Herman (actually, I think this might be Herman's littler, friendlier brother). Herman is a 10 foot white sturgeon that lives at the Bonneville Fish Hatchery.

In case you were wondering, the only reason I went to a fish hatchery is because the Bonneville Dam was closed and the hatchery wasn't. I don't typically go out of my way to visit fish while I'm on vacation.

Before you start worrying, I did visit Powell's Books 3 times. Actually 4, if you count the visit to the airport location.

WG 2009-20: Guilty Pleasures

2009-06-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

This week's task was sent in by Maree of Just Add Books, who's been thinking about those things that we do when we're not reading or blogging. She asked...

What's your non-reading guilty pleasure? Trashy TV? Trashier movies? Junk food? Share with the group. :)

First of all, there's my itchy feet:

I love to travel. In fact, I just made plans to fly to Portland THIS WEEKEND. Hamburger decided to take off on a last minute surf trip, and I figure it's better to be alone someplace else. In the past four years I've been to England, Italy, Seattle and Victoria, BC, Savannah, Green Bay (go Packers) and Sunriver, Oregon (actually, this is a regular trip for a family reunion...but it's still a trip). The above picture is me in Naples, Italy...ready to hit the road and see the sites!

Second, I have a little thing for shoes (and clothes):

This is my closet. What you can't see is the additional 2-3 feet of hanging clothes and all of the shoes on the floor. Hamburger got booted to the closet in the spare bedroom. We have a running debate over which is worse...my shoe habit, or his Harley parts habit.

Third, I love pedicures:

The current color is Suzi Says Da! Otherwise known as chocolate-brown. And don't laugh at my baby toes. My mom and I argue that we are more evolved, since baby toes are unnecessary and we're that much closer to not having them than the rest of you. :-)

And finally, our thermostat:

While I don't necessarily like hot weather, I do like my house to be nice and warm. But then, I live in the fog. In fact, my heater is currently on, because June in Morro Bay? Brrrrrrrr.

So there you have it...four of my guilty pleasures. Besides the books, because that's just a given. What are your guilty pleasures?

Free Reader

2009-05-29T18:55:00.000-07:00

As the #BEAtwitty party winds down, it's time to dedicate one last song to all the partying tweeps who didn't make it to BEA.

If I tweet here tomorrow
Will you still remember me?
For I'm off to read a book now,
And maybe go on a Powells shopping spree.
But if I stayed here with you, tweeps,
Things just wouldn't be the same.
Cause it's time to read now,
And this reader you can't tweet to.
No this reader, she won't tweet.
This reader, she's done tweeting.

Good night, it's been great fun,
Though BEA would've been better.
But please accept my thank yous
Although I can't sing.
Even if I stayed here with you, tweeps,
It just wouldn't be the same.
Next year we should meet in New York
Although I will not sing for you.
Cause this blogger's going to BEA.
It'd be more fun at BEA,
If we all went to BEA.
See you at BEA.

***
Thanks Jo...this was actually a last minute addition to the line-up. And I'm sure everyone joins me in thanking you for the shortness of your choice! So, I'll be needing your address too, please!

Thanks to everyone who made a request...I'm sorry I didn't have time to get to them all. :-D

But if you'd like a chance at the mysterious door prize/parting gift/swag (because I still have a handful left), feel free to re-rewrite the last verse of this song. Leave your attempts at songwriting greatness in the comments, and I'll have Simon choose a few winners later this evening.

I'm so twitty

2009-05-29T17:55:00.000-07:00

DJ Fizzy B back again with another song for my tweeps. While I prefer the earlier rendition of Margaritaville, this one goes out to all you fans of West Side Story...

Softdrink:

I feel twitty
Oh so twitty
I feel twitty and unwitty and not okay
And I pity
All the other bloggers not at BEA today

At least I’m not farming
Or darning
It’s alarming how uncharming I feel
But so twitty
That I can hardly believe I’m real
See the book blogger on her computer there?
Who can that book blogger be?
Such a sad blogger
Such a bad blogger
Such a pity party
Such a pitiful me!

I feel like running
From this evening
Feel like running
And hiding my head
For I’m home
And all my books are read

Bloggers:

Have you met Softdrink?
She didn’t go to BEA, the hag
You’ll know her the minute you see her
She’s the one without all the bags of swag

She wishes she’s the press
She wishes she’s in NY
She’s merely a dork
Think of all the books
And all the bags
And the goobledygook
And all of the swag
Getting away from her

Send for Hamburger, oh no
This is not the Softdrink we know
Festival of Books, yes
Book Expo America, no
Book Group Expo, yes
Why didn’t she go???

Softdrink:

I feel twitty
Oh so twitty
How can BEA go on without me
Or Book Zombie
Or even Rhapsody
I feel dizzy
I feel fizzy
I feel fuzzy, somebody give me more wine
It’s not so pretty
When I start to whine

See the book blogger on that computer there
(What computer, where)
Who can that book blogger be
(Which, what, where, whom)
Such a sad blogger
Such a bad blogger
Such a pity party
Such a pitiful me!

Everyone:

I feel like running
From this evening
And hiding my head
For I’m home, all alone
And all my books are read

***
This time you should be thanking Rhapsody for making the show tunes requests...and providing the opening lines! She's also responsible for inspiring this atrocity. Rhapsody, I have a door prize for you, too, so please email me with your address!

It's time to BEAtwittyparty!

2009-05-29T16:55:00.000-07:00

DJ Fizzy B checkin' in, ready to spin some tunes for the #BEAtwittyparty. Let's kick things off with a little revision of Margaritaville…

Hanging on tweetdeck
Hitting refresh
Wishing I was in NY having a ball
Composing my tweets
Eating some sweets
Oh no I'm not jealous, not at all

Tweetin’ away again at #BEAtwittyparty
Sipping on my chocolate malt
Some people claim that BEA’s to blame
But I know, it’s The Book Lady’s fault

I don’t know the reason
I’m not at the 4 Seasons
Nothin’ to show but my last tweet
Gotta keep it under one-forty
So it’s a real shorty
Sure wish I was at a BEA meet ‘n greet

Tweetin’ away again at #BEAtwittyparty
Searchin’ for my best one-four-oh
Somebody give me an @ reply
So I know
Twitter’s not slow

I bought a new book
Ordered pizza so I don’t have to cook
I was ready to spend my night all alone
But there’s tweeps on the net
And it’s a sure bet
This song will make you groan

Tweetin’ away again at #BEAtwittyparty
Sipping on my chocolate malt
But I know it’s my own damn fault
Some people claim that The Book Lady’s to blame
And I know it’s my own damn fault

***
Many thanks to booklineandsinker for offering up Margaritaville as a sacrifice. As promised, I have a very small something for you...I just need you to email me with your address.

Nite at the Movies (take 2)

2009-05-28T08:28:00.001-07:00

So last Friday's movie night didn't work out, but we're going to try again this Friday. Same bat time, same bat station. In other words...

When: this Friday, 5/29/09 at 7 pm Pacific time (after the #BEAtwittyparty festivities)
Where: watch the movie in your own home, comment at twitter - our hashtag for the occasion is #niteatthemovies
Who: everyone is welcome!
What: we'll be watching the 1949 version of Little Women. Why that version? Well, because it's available on iTunes ($2.99 to rent) and I couldn't resist the amazon description:

Erstwhile tomboy June Allyson stars as Alcott's famed heroine Jo, the budding writer in Civil War New England who pines for adventure, independence, and her own career. With Father off to war, it's up to Jo, practical older sister Meg (Janet Leigh), frail sister Beth (Margaret O'Brien), and vain sister Amy (Elizabeth Taylor) to help Marmee (a saintly Mary Astor) keep the home fires warm while dealing with the rigors of adolescence. It's all poured on with a generous amount of syrup, including lavish sets, hoop skirts, and petticoats, but anyone who's ever read Alcott's book will take comfort in its familiar story line. The dialogue is clunky but earnest, but you'd have to have a heart of stone not to get caught up in Jo's plight. And rarely do you get to see such stars go at it with such gusto: Allyson and Peter Lawford (as neighbor and rich boy Laurie) are a match made in B-movie heaven, Taylor is spunky and hilarious in an early comic performance, and Leigh does the matronly thing with aplomb. And nobody, but nobody, cries and suffers like Margaret O'Brien!

A word of warning...it can take over an hour for the movie to download from iTunes, so start your download early!

See you on twitter!

A special song

2009-05-27T13:02:00.000-07:00

Since many of our blogging buddies are leaving for NY soon, and the rest of us are ~~crying in our beers~~ looking forward to #BEAtwittyparty, here's a little song in honor of the occasion. And don't worry, I've got a couple more planned for Friday night's festivities!

Favorite Things

Book bloggers at BEA
Friends who say see ya
Creepy vampires with fangs
These are a few of my least favorite things

Now…friends who don’t flitter
And parties on twitter
Wasting time rewriting cheesy songs to sing
These are a few of my most favorite things

Who cares about tweet-ups
And book blogger meet-ups
I’m staying home, yes me
To join the #BEAtwittyparty

When friends go to BEA
And leave me (those creeps)
When I’m feeling sad
I simply twitter with my tweeps
And then I don’t feel so bad.

Thanks to rhapsodyinbooks for the inspiration (and yes, West Side Story is in the line-up for Friday night...although, could you have picked a longer song?!?).

And if you are going to BEA...have fun!! Really.

Foreign Tongue

2009-05-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Foreign Tongue

Vanina Marsot

April 2009

368 pages

Sick of seeing her ex-boyfriend all around (he has a tendency to pop up in the news and magazines), Anna decides to relocate. To Paris. Thanks to her French father, she is fluent in French; thanks to a year abroad, she has friends in the city; and thanks to her aunt, she has a place to stay. It's a pretty sweet deal. Except she's still miserable over the rat bastard that cheated on her.

Once in Paris, Anna manages to pick up a translating job. The work is a bit mysterious, though. The project is hush-hush...she does not know who the author is, and she only receives one chapter at a time to translate. And to top it off, the work is a bit risque. And not even poetically risque...more like this-is-crap-risque. Except, she kind of gets hooked on the story.

As Anna struggles with the nuances of translation and the puzzle of the author of the aforementioned risque book, she also struggles (again) with her love life. She meets Olivier, a French actor, and deals with issues of trust, commitment and honesty. Is her past affecting her ability to believe in her new boyfriend, or is he really just another rat bastard?

Also, there was the totally unexpected ending. Not so much with the mysterious author, because I did see that one coming, and not with Olivier, but something else came from way out in left field that made me go whoa. This book actually has a lot going on (not in a bad, confusing way) and all of the different story arcs make this more than just a girl-on-the-rebound novel.

Finally, if you have ever yearned to live in Paris, this book will just make that desire even worse. Foreign Tongue does not take you on a tour of the Paris tourist sites. Rather, it is set among the cafes and bookstores and apartments of everyday Parisian life. Added to that are quotes and words and phrases in French. This book made Literate Housewife want to study French. It made me wish I had paid more attention in my high school French classes. It also made me wish for more books like this.

And now, I'll leave you with a few photos from my last (brief) trip to Paris. Not my first choice of photos, but the rest are on a flash drive that is, of all places, at work.

la tour Eiffel

booksellers on the left bank

Notre Dame

more linkies:
interview with Vanina at Literate Housewife
Lisa's review at Books on the Brain
Festival of Books Window on the World panel with Vanina Marsot

The A's have it

2009-05-22T22:11:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to Ali and Anna, the new owners of Reading in the Dark. If you two would be so kind as to email me with your address, I'll send you your copy!

And since we're on an A theme, how about I offer up Angelina's Children next. You want? Since Alice Ferney is French, tell me about a another French author (and no fair using Muriel Barbery...I already know about her). I'll draw a winner from the comments on Monday.

Caspian Rain

2009-05-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Caspian Rain

Gina Nahai

September 2007

298 pages

Last month I saw the author speak (at two different panels) at the Festival of Books and I was intrigued enough to hunt down a copy of Caspian Rain.

Publisher's synopsis:

From the best-selling author of Moonlight on the Avenue of Faith, a stirring, lyrical tale that offers American readers unique insight into the inner workings of Iranian society.

In the decade before the Islamic Revolution, Iran is a country on the brink of explosion. Twelve-year-old Yaas is born into an already divided family: Her father is the son of wealthy Iranian Jews who are integrated into the country's upper-class, mostly Muslim elite; her mother was raised in the slums of South Tehran, one street away from the old Jewish ghetto.

Yaas spends her childhood navigating the many layers of Iranian society. Her task, already difficult because of the disparity in her parents' worldview, becomes all the more critical when her father falls in love with a beautiful woman from a noble Muslim family. As her parents' marriage begins to crumble and the country moves ever closer to revolution, Yaas is plagued by a mysterious and terrifying illness. But despite her ailment, when she learns that her father is about to abandon her and her mother — to immigrate to America with his mistress — Yaas is determined to save herself and her family.

At once a cultural exploration of an as-yet-unfamiliar society and a psychological study of the effects of loss, Caspian Rain takes the reader inside the tragic and fascinating world of a brave young girl struggling against impossible odds.

So. I'm kind of stumped. Sounds great, huh? Thing is, I like the idea of this story, but I wasn't so keen on the actual book. I had a hard time getting into the story, because of the writing style. And I can't really explain why. I was never drawn into it to the extent that I forgot my surroundings. The chapters felt abrupt and the characters never fully engaged me. I did like the hints of magical realism (although I don't think the author would call it that...she made reference in one of the panels to how older cultures are more able to suspend disbelief) and the end pretty much floored me. But overall? Not really my cup of tea.

Now taking requests

2009-05-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

Are you going to the party? The BEAtwittyparty hosted by the lovely Rebecca at The Book Lady's Blog?

Well, since every party needs music, I figure I'll trot out my mad songwriting skillz and pen a song especially for the occasion. I know, I know...you're wondering what you did to deserve such an honor.

Except, you know me...I'm pretty much incapable of creating anything original. So this is where you come in.

Inspire me.

Give me the name of a song you'd like to see ~~parodied~~ ~~butchered~~ rewritten in honor of BEA and our BEAtwittyparty. If I choose your song, I promise you equal billing (in either the fame or the lawsuit) and a small token of my affection.

So...name your tune!

for the life of me I can't think of a title

2009-05-20T18:35:00.000-07:00

Well, well, well, what do we have here...

Here are your random numbers:

And here she thought the first commentator didn't have a chance.

Congratulations to Heather J. (and her Kiddo), who I'm sure will have a blast checking out all of the good stuff inside The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. Tell Kiddo we will all be expecting a full report (single spaced, 1 inch margins, Arial 11 font...oh wait, that's the report I'm currently writing for the state)...just tell Kiddo to enjoy!

As for the rest of you, I have consolation prizes. Specifically, more books. Remember this one? Well, I seem to have two copies, and Powells won't buy either one! But if you are interested in one of the copies, you'll have to work for it this time:

1. Tell me if you prefer hardcover or paperback or if you really don't care (because yes, I have one of each)
2. Tell me about a book by an Irish author that you particualrly enjoyed

Once again, this is open until I feel like it's not. :-D At which time I will draw a couple of winners and then offer up more books. (Yup, the book closet is a little full and it's time to offload some books on y'all. But don't bother clicking on book closet tab to see what's in there...it's horribly out of date.)

Through Black Spruce

2009-05-20T06:00:00.000-07:00

Through Black Spruce
Joseph Boyden

April 2009

368 pages

Me reading this book was a total fluke. I was browsing the shelves at Borders (which honestly, isn't as much fun as browsing the shelves at B&N, but Borders has free parking) when I came across this one. First, the title piqued my interest. Then, the cover. And then the description. Plus, it's set in Canada, and I tend to have pretty good luck with Canada, book-wise.

The story alternates between narrators. Will Bird is a notorious bush pilot. Currently in a coma, he reflects back on the circumstances that have landed him in his current situation. His niece, Annie, visits her uncle in the hospital. In an effort to reengage her uncle in the world of the conscious, she tells him of her search for her missing sister, Suzanne, a search that took her far from their frozen, remote homeland. As Annie journeyed from Toronto, to Montreal and then to New York, she gets caught up in the same shallow world of modeling and drugs that her sister was living in. As Annie describes her search to Will, and Will narrates his past to Annie (not out loud, obviously, 'cause he's unconscious, but he is talking to Annie in his head), the reader comes to understand how they each came to be where they're at. Okay, that was a lame sentence, but I don't know how else to say it. Their two stories eventually intersect, and it's the combination of figuring what exactly happened to Annie and Will (and the missing Suzanne) and the language that makes this story so engaging.

I loved the author's use of language in this book. The Birds are Cree, and the syntax of their English is just different enough from my Californian English to be intriguing. Here are a few excerpts from Chapter 1, which is in Will's voice.

"Me, I preferred the first option, that Mother Nature was one angry slut. She’d try and kill you first chance she got.You’d screwed with her for so long that she was happy to eliminate you. But more than that, the first option allowed me to get angry right away, to blame some other force for all my troubles.The panic came much quicker this way, but it was going to come anyways, right?"

"And so me, I climbed out of my cockpit and onto the wing on that frigid afternoon in my jean jacket and running shoes, walked along the wing, fearful of the bush and the cold and a shitty death all around me. Push bad thoughts away. One thing at a time. First things first. I crawled quick as I could, trying to stand and walk, and I frankensteined my way to the trees and began snapping dry twigs from a dead spruce.

After I made a pile, I reached into my chest pocket, breaking the ice from the material that felt hard as iron now. My fingers had lost all feel. I reached for my cigarettes, struggled to pull one from my pack, and clinked open the lighter. I’d decided that if the lighter worked, I’d enjoy a cigarette as I started a fire. If the lighter didn’t work, I’d freeze to death and searchers would find me with an unlit smoke in my mouth, looking cool as the Marlboro Man. On the fifteenth thumb roll I got the lighter going."

"The snow’s deep here, nieces. I’m tired, but I have to keep walking. I’m so tired, but I’ve got to get up or I’ll freeze to death. Talking to you, it keeps me warm."

The author also peppers his characters' speech with the word ever, which as far as I can tell is a handy catch-all for totally, right on, whoa, as if, and probably many other things. I know "eh" is a Canadian thing, but I've never heard ever used to the extent that all of characters in this book use it.

Anyways...I just loved this book, although I don't know that I'd recommend it to everyone. It's a bit slow...it's beauty is both in the language and the slow discovery of what happened to both Will and Annie.

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet

2009-05-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet

Reif Larsen

May 2009

352 pages

This book is gorgeous. Although the story, while different, ends up being a little disappointing. However, that's easily forgiven, considering all the goodies that accompany the story.

T.S. (short for Tecumsah Sparrow) Spivet is a 12 year old mapmaker. He lives on a remote ranch in Montana with his absent-minded scientist mother, his reticent father and his wanna-be-an-actress older sister. T.S. is obsessed with mapping everything, from corn-shucking to the sewer system of Washington, D.C. And he's good at it. Aided and abetted by his mentor, Dr. Yorn, he even illustrates for the Smithsonian.

When the Smithsonian calls to inform T.S. that he has received a prestigious award, T.S. initially blows them off. Because he is, after all, only 12. And they don't realize that he's only 12. However, after pondering it for a bit, T.S. decides to go for it. So he packs up his most beloved treasures and hits the road. Or more accurately, the railroad.

On his way to Washington, D.C. T.S. has a few odd encounters. He may or may not pass through a wormhole, he discovers some old family history, and something dangerously weird happens in Chicago. Then he arrives in Washington and it gets even weirder. There's a secret society, lots of lies, and not much opportunity for match-making. And then, voila. A pretty anti-climatic ending.

However. The book is full of T.S.'s maps and asides. Almost every page has a drawing (or two or three) in the margin, complete with explanations. It's like illustrated footnotes, only on the side, not at the bottom. And the drawings are really good (and also done by the author). You can get a small taste of them at Nonsuch Book, which is where I first heard of this book.

I've decided that this is a book that needs to be shared, so I'm going to give it away. However, because it is an oversized, somewhat hefty hardback, I'm afraid I'm limiting this one to the US. Sorry. :-( Also, if you hate footnotes, please don't enter, because I can pretty much guarantee this book would drive you batty. However, if you love footnotes, YA, and/or illustrated books (in pencil...there's no color in this one), (and you live in the US), then please, let me know in the comments that you are interested and I will draw a name later this week. And no, I don't know when...just later this week some time...when I feel like it.

Movie Night

2009-05-18T17:29:00.001-07:00

Since there was a bit of interest in the idea of a movie night, we're going to give it a try. The details:

When: this Friday, 5/22/09 at 7 pm Pacific time

Where: watch the movie in your own home, comment at twitter

Who: everyone is welcome!

What: we'll be watching the 1949 version of Little Women. Why that version? Well, because it's available on iTunes ($2.99 to rent) and I couldn't resist the amazon description:

Sounds like there will be plenty of things to tweet about! Hope to see you there!

Weekly Geeks: a literary tour

2009-05-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

For this week's Weekly Geeks we're taking a literary tour of our hometown. Or, in my case, my home county.

I live in Morro Bay, California, a small coastal town of about 10,000 (mostly retired) people. Morro Bay is in San Luis Obispo County, which is smack dab between San Francisco and Los Angeles...it's about a four hour drive each way. There's not a whole lot going on here in SLO County, although we do have a nuclear power plant, a fault line, a state psychiatric hospital and a state prison. Despite all that, it's actually a gorgeous place to live (and visit). See...

And if you dig deep enough, we also have a few literary connections.

Christopher Moore used to live up the coast in Big Sur. While Big Sur isn't in SLO County, he did borrow one of our towns for three of his books. The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove, Practical Demonkeeping and The Stupidest Angel are all set in the fictional town of Pine Cove, which bears a striking resemblance to Cambria, a small town about 20 miles north of Morro Bay. Cambria is also the home of Catherine Ryan Hyde, the Pay It Forward author...but since I haven't read her books, I'll move on.

Another author that uses a fictionalized version of my county is Earlene Fowler. Her Benni Harper quilt-themed mystery series is based in our biggest city, San Luis Obispo. Although she has renamed it San Celina, the town is definitely San Luis Obispo. And the northern ranching part of the county makes an appearance, too. I read the first few books in the series years ago, but then moved away from mysteries and lost track of what the author was up to. Imagine my surprise when I recently saw the cover of her latest book...with a picture of Morro Rock on the cover!

Other than the fact that the town and the sand spit seem to have disappeared, it's pretty recognizable as Morro Bay.

Jay Asher is another local author, and his debut novel 13 Reasons Why has received lots of notice. I have no proof, but I highly suspect a couple of the locations in his book are based on actual spots in San Luis, particularly the movie theater and the coffee shop (oh wait, according to his blog, Linnaea's is the inspiration for Monet's...I knew it!).

And recently I learned that Jack Kerouac lived in San Luis Obispo for awhile. In 1953 he came to SLO to work for the railroad. This article in our local free weekly paper describes how SLO pops up in some of his writings. From the first paragraph of The Dharma Bums:

"Hopping a freight out of Los Angeles at high noon one day in late September 1955 I got on a gondola and lay down with my duffel bag under my head and my knees crossed and contemplated the clouds as we rolled north to Santa Barbara. It was a local and I intended to sleep on the beach at Santa Barbara that night and catch either another local to San Luis Obispo the next morning or the firstclass freight all the way to San Francisco at seven p.m. Somewhere near Camarillo where Charlie Parker'd been mad and relaxed back to normal health, a thin old little bum climbed into my gondola as we headed into a siding to give a train right of way and looked surprised to see me there."

Okay, so it's a brief mention and not even descriptive...the article has better examples. But still...Jack Kerouac and SLO. I've lived here for 32 years, and spent 6 years at college in San Luis Obispo. I can't believe this was the first time I'd heard the two mentioned together!

And finally, the same New Times that I just linked to for the Jack Kerouac article is the creator of 55 Fiction. New Times, which is based in San Luis Obispo, has run a yearly contest since 1987. However, before you get too excited about me living in an area with such a cool weekly newspaper, I'll add that they usually manage to offend some part of the population on a weekly basis. This week it was me, with an extremely offensive editorial cartoon. So it's pretty much a love-hate relationship we've got going on.

I hope you've enjoyed this brief glimpse of San Luis Obispo County...if you've come across this area in any of your readings, let me know!

They say it's your blogday...

2009-05-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Today Dawn of She Is Too Fond Of Books is celebrating her 1 year blogiversary! Woo-hoo!! Since Dawn inspired this masterpiece, I composed a song especially for her and her blog's special day (okay, so I had ~~a little~~ a lot of help from Lennon and McCarthy)...

You say it's your blogday
It's not my blogday tho, yeah
They say it's your blogday
We're gonna read a good book
I'm glad it's your blogday
Happy blogday to you

Yes we're going to a blog party
Yes we're going to a blog party
Yes we're going to a blog party

I would like you to read
(Blogday)
Only please not Candide
(Blogday)
I would like you to read
(Blogday)
Read

I would like you to read
(Blogday)
How ‘bout some Gott-Gott-Gottfried
(Blogday)
I would like you to read
(Blogday)
Read

You say it's your blogday
Sorry my song sucks, yeah
They say it's your blogday
You're gonna read a good book
I'm glad it's your blogday
Happy blogday to you

So head on over to She Is Too Fond Of Books and wish Dawn a happy blogiversary...rumor has it she'll be mixing up some margaritas!

The suspense is killing me!

2009-05-14T19:52:00.000-07:00

So yes. I actually read some of the spam that makes it through gmail's filter, because they can be so darn entertaining. Case in point...

I know this mail will bring lots of surprises and inquisitiveness to you since there was no previous association before now between us, Please do not be offended & I will understand completely if you cannot be of assistance to me. I am the wife of Late Mr. Alexander Litvinenko (Mrs. Marina Litvinenko), former Russian spy.

My Husband tea was poisoned with polonium-210 by the Russia Government and died November 2006 at the University College Hospital in Central London because of the memorandum he wrote concerning numerous connections between top brass of Russian law enforcement agencies and Russian mafia groups, such as Solntsevo gang which they are after my life (Reason I will disclose Further).

Please I want you to assist in transferring my late husband deposited funds from a financial Diplomatic Vault with one of the biggest banks in the world. All I need from you is to take in charge of the funds transfer to your country for charity purpose and use your discresion on investment without any publicity involvement.

Do take this assistance as a contribution to fate because this is not an easy task for my situation and that is the main reason why I contacted you, more details on establishing relationship with me.

Russian spies! Death by poisoning!! Polonium-210!!! (WTF is polonium-210?) The Russian mafia!!!!

I love it. Major points for the Russian connection (how did you know I wrote my senior project on how the Russian Revolution affected the roles of women?). Bonus points for sending it to me in a language I can read. Except...if you say Reason I will disclose Further and you don't disclose? That's just mean. And you really need to work on those run-on sentences.

No money for you.

A night at the movies (via twitter)

2009-05-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

A few months ago bethany and I had a marvelous time watching the Twilight movie together...even though she lives in Oregon and I'm in California. Thanks to Twitter we were able to trade comments back and forth throughout the movie...and we didn't even annoy anyone with our whispering. Well, unless you were on Twitter and got bombarded with our tweets.

So I've been trying to think of another movie that would lend itself well to this type of movie watching experience and I can't really think of anything that would be quite so cheesily entertaining. Although I am limiting myself to book-to-movie adaptations and also to movies that I can rent on iTunes. Oh, and to movies that I haven't seen, because I'm not a huge fan of re-watching movies.

The best that I can come up with is Little Women...the 1949 version, because it's got Elizabeth Taylor and Janet Leigh! There's got to be some fun in there, right?

So who's in? If I set a date and time (not this week, but probably next Friday or Saturday night), is anyone interested in synchronized movie watching and commenting via Twitter?

Teaser Tuesday

2009-05-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"There was clearly a conceptual problem with this holiday, which essentially imposed a month of calorie, caffeine, and nicotine withdrawal on a half-hearted nation ambivalent about its Islamic faith. Without any hint of festivity or communal spirit of fasting to brighten the days ahead, the holiday loomed like one long rehab program."

from Lipstick Jihad, by Azadeh Moaveni, p. 103

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

2009-05-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Sherman Alexie
September 2007
230 pages

Despite the freakishly long title (a little consideration here, title-people…if I get carpal tunnel from typing out long-ass titles, I’m gonna sue), this is a short book. I think it took it me a little over an hour to read. And that includes time spent checking out the awesome pictures that really enhance the story.

Arnold “Junior” Spirit lives on the Spokane reservation, a place of little hope. He is a frail kid, born with water on the brain. He describes himself as having a big head, big hands and feet, too many teeth, bad eyesight, as well as a stutter and a lisp. After he is suspended from school for throwing a textbook at a teacher (he was frustrated by how old the book was), Junior is inspired by that same teacher to enroll in an off-reservation school. Rejected by his best friend (as well as the entire reservation) for what is seen as a traitorous act, Junior also struggles to fit into his new all-white school. Eventually, he finds a place on the basketball team and makes new friends, but sometimes it is a real effort to make it to school. He doesn’t always have a way to get there (no money for gas, his dad is hung-over, the car is broken) and the stark reality of life on the reservation interferes. Junior is forced to deal with issues (poverty, alcoholism, frequent death, racism) that many of his new classmates are unfamiliar with.

Junior is also an artist, and the book is filled with his sketches...there are pictures of Junior, his parents, his sister, his sister's trailer, his friends, his grandma. Full of detail and little quirky captions, the pictures are a fantastic addition to the book. They even have little tape marks as if they were taped inside of the diary.

Ti had asked for recommendations for her 10 year old son who requested more mature reading material (he loved The Outsiders...wait, do 10 year boys say love?). I think this would fit the bill. The issues of race and poverty and "fitting in" give the book some teeth, and Junior certainly doesn't censor his thoughts. Life on the reservation isn't pretty, and this book reflects that.