an adventure in reading

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Top Ten Books I Think Would Make Great Book Club Picks

2012-01-31T18:58:00.000-04:00

This week at The Broke and the Bookish, the Top Ten list is books that would make great book club reads. I've never been in a book club (other than the Ramona book club, and that had different criteria), so I'm not sure what makes good book club books, other than you want to talk about them. So, here is a list of book I've wanted to discuss after reading:

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Nature? Nurture? Was she a terrible mother? Was he a terrible kid? The opinions would be varied, and vocal.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
A haunted house? End of the war, clash of the classes.

The Bone People by Keri Hulme
Were they better together? Were they all awful people?

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
Great ending, and the idea of memories and families would keep a group talking.

The Lizard Cage by Karen Connelly
Myanmar (Burma) and the essense of evil, and passive resistance.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel
What the heck happened there?

Unless by Carol Shields
Can a woman ever write a great novel? Are women diminished in society? What does it mean to be 'good'? What did all those chapter titles mean?

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
Will the future be that bad? Envirionmentalism?

The Unnamed and Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
Is this author the next big thing? How can he write two such different and yet amazing books?

What great books has your book club discussed?

BOOK: House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore

2012-01-29T21:06:00.000-04:00

House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore, 329 pages

Orange January: Longlist 2006; 2nds Reading Challenge

Setting: Finland, the Grand Duchy of Finland under Russian rule, 1901. The first half of the book was in the northern countryside; the second half in the bustling, volatile Helsinki

Characters: Thomas, widowed country doctor; Eeva, the orphaned daughter of a revolutionist/communist; Lauri, Eeva's childhood friend, still idealistic; Lotta, old friend of Thomas, married but unhappy; Sashi, Russian rabble-rouser

What I Liked: The characters were complex and likable. Eeva was a child who had a bad experience being sent to the orphanage, but recognized her true self, and wouldn't compromise. Really, a modern confident woman of uncompromising principles. Thomas was very sad, but also very kind, trying to find some happiness but no clue how to get there. In situations of unrest, people can often take advantage, and I expected terrible things to happen, but Thomas and Eeva never did. Some of the minor characters, like Lotta and Sashi made sketchier choices.
The Historical Context at the end was very helpful to understanding what Dunmore was writing about, and why.
The food was also well described, and the nature and traditions. The sense of Finland really came through.

What I Didn't Like: the ending! After developing all these characters, describing the history of 1900s Finland and the conditions leading up to the Russian revolution and the Finnish civil war, the ending was way too vague. Ninety percent of the book was clear and so well done, but I would have liked a more explicit ending.

Would I Recommend It? I think so, especially if you are okay with endings that are more up in the air. I did enjoy the whole bit, up to the 'ending'.

BOOK: Half-Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan

2012-01-28T18:27:00.000-04:00

Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan, 308 pages

Canadian Book Challenge 5; Giller Prize Winner 2011; Man Booker Shortlist 2011

Esi Edugyan has been aptly recognized for her wonderful book, Half Blood Blues. The way she strings together the phrases and descriptions of music was wondrous. The slang of an American blues man living in Germany in the early 1940s was smooth, all those janes and jacks and licorice sticks. Here she has Sid Griffiths, the narrator, describe Delilah as she sings:

She swung the thick, strong rope of her voice round the words, coming down hard on them, cinching them together. Then she flung the notes bold up in the air, high and horn-like. But her voice was at its core a sailor's voice, rough and mannish. Her notes bitter croaks, filled with muddy regret. p 122

Made me want to listen to some blues music.

There are several sections to this novel, both past and present. There's late 1930s Germany (grim) and then the escape to Paris by most of the members of a blues band, including Hiero 'The Kid' Falk, the genius black German trumpeter. Time in occupied Paris is told forward and back, and in some ways reminded me of Suite Francaise, it felt so real. Sid is not the genius musician that Hiero, or even Chip, his buddy, which leads to some jealousy and decisions that Sid must look back on. He's telling his story sixty years later, through older eyes.

A well-written collection of characters set during a fractious time.

CHALLENGE: New Authors 2012

2012-01-25T15:32:00.000-04:00

I like to keep a list of new authors each year. Literary Escapism is hosting again - here's the info page and sign-up link.

The challenge will run from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.

Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels. Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies.

I want this to be an easy challenge, so you can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors.
After reading your new author, write your review and then come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky.

Here's the NEW authors I read:
1. Hilary Mantel (The Giant, O'Brien)
2. Patrick deWitt (The Sisters Brothers)
3. Esi Edugyan (Half-Blood Blues)
4. Stef Penney (Tenderness of the Wolves)
5.

Debut Authors (no other books to read!)
1.

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books I've Read But Never Wrote a Review For

2012-01-24T17:30:00.000-04:00

It's a freebie week, so I looked at some past topics and decided to list ten books I've read but never wrote a review for. I'm sure this was meant to be about books that were read BB (before blogging) but I've got a bunch from last year that I never wrote a review for, mostly because I decided I wasn't going to feel like I had to write reviews for every book I read, just ones I felt like. No guilt.

The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes, 150 pages

Man Booker Challenge; winner 2011

I got in line quickly at the library, and I know I read it quickly, but all I can remember is that a guy is remembering some event, there's another couple, something to do with the woman, and he never understood really what was going on.
Yeah, that's pretty vague, so I guess it didn't stick with me.

The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjowall, Per Wahloo, 183 pages

Mystery and Suspense Challenge; (book 2 of 10 in Martin Beck series)

I enjoy this series, especially as it reminds me so much of Ed McBain's 87th Precinct series that I read back in the 1980s. Set in Sweden, with a devoted cop, this series is considered the beginning of crime writing. Very gritty, but I don't remember details of the crime from books I read. I tend to remember what is going on in the cops' lives. In this one, the cop's family goes on vacation without him, and his wife is not impressed that he went back to the city, and then Turkey, for a job. Their marriage is teetering.

The Necklace: Thirteen Women and the Experiment That Transformed Their Lives by Cheryl Jarvis, 210 pages

One of the few non-fiction books I read last year. A number of women decide to buy, and share, a diamond necklace. Apparently the necklace was gorgeous, as everyone swooned when they saw it and was transformed when they wore it. Each woman brought a different life experience and expectation, and there were conflicts, but they mostly got along. My biggest problem was that I didn't identify as much with the women, mostly because they were all in their fifties, and just at a different life stage. I was surprised at that, but I guess my fifties will be different from my forties. It was an enjoyable read, but I didn't get the uplifting feeling that the author was trying for, even as she explained it as more than a piece of jewellry.

The Potter's Field by Andrea Camilleri, 270 pages

This is the thirteenth book I've read in the series. Clearly I like them, and how many times can I mention how enjoyable this series is? The food, the comical cop, the excellent endnotes by the translator, Montalbano and his existential angst at aging, what ever the mystery it - it's all good, and I want to go to Sicily.

Einstein for Beginners by Joseph Schwartz, Michael McGuinness, 169 pages

Science Book Challenge; Graphic Novels

This was good, I put it in my classroom, tells the story of Einstein in a comic/graphic novel format. I remembering liking it, but that there were weird shifts in perspective in the writing that accompanied pictures.

Mothers and Sons by Colm Toibin, 309 pages

Ireland Reading Challenge

After reading Brooklyn two years ago, I liked Toibin's writing style enough to keep him on my 'read another one' list of authors. The Ireland Reading Challenge was just the push I needed to start that Toibin book, Mothers and Sons, I had picked up. That's what I like about reading challenges - they remind me of books or authors I've wanted to read.

Very Irish, if your Irish stories are a little bleak, but literary. Toibin writes in a very easy manner, so that I easily got into the stories. In each story is a mother and son, none in a great relationship.

also reviewed: lizzysiddal at lizzy's literary life;

What I Was by Meg Rosoff, 209 pages

A bit of a Seperate Peace story, British boarding school gone bad. There was a really creepy vibe throughout, and I do remember the big reveal at the end, which I was pretty sure about, but it was still good. One of those books where the children are living pretty much adult free somehow and setting up there own life. Great setting along the Eastern sea in the 1960s.

A Window in Copacabana by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza, 242 pages

an Inspector Espinosa Mystery (book 4 of 7); Global Reading Challenge

I enjoy spending time in the Copacabana neighbourhood of Rio with Inspector Espinosa. He's a reader of mysteries, and a thinker, one of those cops much like Inspector Montalbano with no family but loyal cops. As usual, I can't remember the mystery, but I liked the book.

Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey, 335 pages

2nds Challenge; Global Reading Challenge: Ghana

Ghana is the setting for the second Darko Dawson mystery. Still good, still modern with old customs. A colleague of mine did a student teaching session in Ghana, so we've been sharing this series. When she returned the book, she included some Ghanian proverbs, from the proverb book mentioned in the mystery.

1. Madness is supernatural but stupidity depends on you.
2. If you don't have a leg to stand on, you can't put your foot down.
3. Better alone than in ill company.
Those are pretty awesome, and so is the series. Can't wait for the next book!
also reviewed by Joy of thoughts of joy

A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore, 312 pages

Orange July (winner 1996); Gothic Reading Challenge

Another one I liked but have vague memories of. Britain, orphaned children or at the very least ignored, strange relationship between siblings, creepy castle. I wish I remembered more.

also reviewed: carrie at nomadreader; jessica at park benches and bookends; laura at musings by laura;

LIST: More books and authors I Can't Tell Apart

2012-01-21T20:18:00.001-04:00

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree, by Ann Weisgarber

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by E. Lockhart

I think the titles are far too similar!

The Bastard of Istanbul, by Elif Shafak
The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer

It doesn't help that both books are listed together on the Orange longlist of 2008 so I always read their titles at the same time, they also both conjure images of the Middle East.

The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skidsrud

Both were award winning books (Giller Prize Winner for Skidrud and NY Times Notable List and Giller longlist for Rachman) and have the same type of title.

What about you? Do you confuse these pairs of books? Are there others that you confuse? It is actually really hard to come up with these, because you don't realize that they are two different books!

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Books I'd Recommend to Someone Who Doesn't Read Mysteries

2012-01-17T18:04:00.000-04:00

The subject this week over at The Broke and the Bookish is the top ten books you'd recommend to someone who doesn't read stuff in your genre. My favorite genre would be mysteries, so here are my amazon reccommendations. As in, if you've read this book, why not try this book?

1. If you liked Eat Pray Love, try:

The Number One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
For readers who like meditative books; for readers who like travel books (it's set in Botswana)

2. If you liked Bell Canto by Ann Patchett, try:

Case Histories by Kate Atkinson
For readers who like character-driven literature; fans of British books; for psychologists who study how present behaviour is dependent on past events

3. If you liked The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown, try:

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
Millions of readers can't be wrong!; for readers who like intrigue; for readers who like to be in on the latest trends (Scandinavian crime is all the rage)

4. If you liked Bridget Jones' Diary try:

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
For readers of humor; for readers of chick-lit (Spellman keeps a diary)

5. If you liked Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, try:

Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey
For sociologists and anthropologists (Detective Darko Dawson has to blend the traditions of Ghana with modern society); fans of African literature

6. If you liked Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, try:

Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters
For readers of historical books; (it's set in 1140s England);

7. If you liked Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, try:

Callender Square by Anne Perry
For readers of Victorian literature

8. If you liked Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh, try:

A Great Deliverance by Elizabeth George
readers who like to improve their vocabulary; readers who aren't afraid of an epic novel and series; fans of British peerage

9. If you liked Independent People by Haldor Laxness, try:

Tainted Blood by Arnaldur Indridason
readers who are intrigued by modern day Iceland;

10. If you have never read any mysteries, this is the one to start with:

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Classic mystery by the master; for fans of trains

BOOK: The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

2012-01-16T23:00:00.000-04:00

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt, 326 pages

Canadian Book Challenge 5; Giller Prize Shortlist 2012; Man Booker Shortlist 2012

Really liked it. Very funny in a dark way. Eli and Charlie Sister are hitmen in the 1840s. It's a western, during the California Goldrush, must be 1849 - thanks football Forty-Niners!

Eli narrates, and is having some existential issues with being a pyschopathic killer. Charlie is not so keen on getting out of the business. Eli has a sad horse, having gotten the bad end of the deal when they picked up some horses, probably after the brothers killed the owners. Eli figures this is his last job for the Commodore, their shadowy boss.

People who make their livings double-crossing other people have a hard time doing anything other than killing everyone around them, since they fear they will be double-crossed as well. That made the brother relationship all the more powerful. Lots of violence, lots of killing - it is a western after all, not that I've read many westerns. But what I liked about the book was that the western aspect was just the parameters to examine the relationship between the brothers; it could just as easily been modern day, like Pulp Fiction. Not a bad comparison.

The trappers, meanwhile, were unhappy we had usurped their glory with the she-bear and were, I felt, preparing to exhibit rudeness. To thwart this I introduced Charlie and myself, our full names, which silenced them. Now they will hate us ever more virulently, but secretly, I thought. Charlie found these men amusing, and could not help but make a comment. ‘It seems you four are involved in a kind of contest to become totally circular, is that it?

Other than two brief intermissions that seemed like dreams (I never like dreams in books) the book was a quick enjoyable read with lots to recommend. I don't even know what made it so good, I just know when I like a book.

BOOK: Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen

2012-01-13T09:33:00.002-04:00

Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen, 377 pages

Orange January (1998 Longlist); 2nds Challenge (Every Last One)

The first line of the book lets you know what this book is going to be about, "The first time my husband hit me I was nineteen years old." Francie Bennedetto has finally made the decision to leave her abusive husband, and is given a new life and name by a woman's network. Francie and her son relocate to Florida, but the specter of her New York City cop husband hangs over them. You know he will track them down. And the first part of this Orange nominated novel felt very predictable. I kept feeling like I had read this before. But at some point that fell away, and I enjoyed the book more than I originally expected.

Quindlen writes her characters very well, and Francie's evolution and growth felt natural. She protects her son, makes some new friends, and comes to terms with her decision. I can't imagine what it would be like, or how awful it must be, to live in fear. Francie was willing to give up her own family and job and name in order to protect her son and try to let him live a safer life.

This was an Oprah pick in 1998, and it feels like it. Empowering woman, rising above, taking your life back. There is a woman's fiction (whatever that might be!) feel to the book. Quindlen's care for her characters and unwillingness to write the spectacular dramatic ending, keeps this book from falling into Danielle Steele territory. The ending was good, even satisfying because I couldn't tell for sure how it would go, and it made sense, and wasn't completely happy. Like life can be.

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: Interview, Part 2

2012-01-12T20:15:00.000-04:00

But enough about interviewing other people. It’s time I interviewed YOU.

1. What’s your favorite time of day to read?
In bed at night, or on a summer afternoon on the deck swing

2. Do you read during breakfast? (Assuming you eat breakfast.)
I have been known to read the paper or the cereal box during breakfast.

3. What’s your favorite breakfast food? (Noting that breakfast foods can be eaten any time of day.)
Eggs Benedict if I'm at a restaurant; Captain Crunch for cereal, but I love breakfast food all around. (eggs, bacon, ham, sausages, toast, bagels, french toast, etc)

4. How many hours a day would you say you read?
Depends what day it is, but half hour to one hour sounds about right.

5. Do you read more or less now than you did, say, 10 years ago?
I have read more since I started blogging.

6. Do you consider yourself a speed reader?
I read pretty fast.

7. If you could have any superpower, what would it be?
I tell my physics classes I would like "diffraction eyes", (the ability to see around corners, like sound diffracts around objects) but that is more about making the point about how and which waves diffract.

8. Do you carry a book with you everywhere you go?
I do indeed.

9. What KIND of book?
Whatever book I'm reading right now. Unless it's a super large book, in which case I'll look for an easy to carry paperback.

10. How old were you when you got your first library card?
I can't remember

11. What’s the oldest book you have in your collection? (Oldest physical copy? Longest in the collection? Oldest copyright?)
I've got a box of books from elementary school, plus a really old Rainbow Valley by LM Montgomery.

12. Do you read in bed?
I do!

13. Do you write in your books?
I don't!

14. If you had one piece of advice to a new reader, what would it be?
Well, since a new reader should be about six years old, I'd suggest trying a Junie B Jones book.

15. What question have I NOT asked at BTT that you’d love me to ask? (Actually, leave the answer to this one in the comments on this post, huh? So I can find them when I need inspiration!)

LIST: Top Ten Tuesday: Write Another One Already!

2012-01-10T19:56:00.001-04:00

It's my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday. I quite enjoy reading the lists that people put together. Lists are the best. The topic this week: Write Another One Already!

1. Maeve Binchy - I remember reading that she was retiring, but then Minding Frankie came out. So, she has hinted at retirement, but hopefully she has a few more books in her. I've read everything already, and her books and characters are like comfort food.

2. Brian Selznick - I loved The Invention of Hugo Cabret, scooped up Wonderstruck as soon as it was released. We're waiting for another blend of prose and illustrations.

3. Bernice Morgan - One of my favorite authors, she wrote the iconic series Random Passage and Waiting for Time, and then another historical Newfoundland book, Cloud of Bone. Marvelous reads!

4. Hugh Laurie - Has anyone else read The Gun Seller? It's very funny, and involved, an espionage thriller with a dash of humor. Classic Laurie. But I think it's the only novel he's written, which is too bad.

5. Tracey Chevalier - I've really liked all her historical novels, and with only two left (Remarkable Creatures and Burning Bright), I'd like there to be a few more waiting for me.

6. Josh Brazzell (Beat the Reaper) There must be more adventures of this doctor in the witness protection program, the potential is too great to stop at one. Brazell is a doctor with a wicked sense of humor

7. Joshua Ferris (Then We Came to the End, The Unnamed) - I've really enjoyed his first two books; they were very different in style and characters, so I'd love to see his next effort.

8. Andrew Davidson (The Gargoyle) I was leery of picking this one up, but I fell on the love-it side of the argument. The ambition of this book, and the love stories. I'd love to read what else Davidson could write.

9. Arnaldur Indridason (the Reyjevik mysteries) - It might not be Indridason I'm impatient about. I'm pretty sure there are a few more already written in Icelandic - it's the translator that needs to hurry up. The last we heard of Erlunder, he was off in the country, as he wasn't even in the last book, so hurry up!

10. Helen Simonson (Major Pettigrew's Last Stand) How have we only enjoyed one of her books? Major Pettigrew was such a wonderful character, and the book was so charming, I'd love to read another one.

Bonus: Carol Shields Obviously, it would be great to have another book written by Carol. Her death in 2003 left a huge hole in literature. I wish I had read her books before this past year.

What authors would you put on your list? Head on over to The Broke and the Bookish to link up and to see what everyone else is saying!

BOOK: The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

2012-01-06T23:14:00.000-04:00

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson, 724 pages

2nds Reading Challenge

I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo ~~over a year ago~~ (eep!) almost two years ago and I bought this one to read soon after. Of course, once I had it, it looked so huge that I kept putting it off. I had forgotten how page-turnable the series is, because once I actually started this on New Year's Day, I flew through the seven hundred pages. I actually liked this second book better than the first one.

The first book introduced Mikael Blomvist and Lisbeth Salander, the reporter and the angry girl. The case that brought them together was sadistic and violent and pretty terrible. The original title of the first book was Men Who Hate Women, which pretty much is a good summary of the second book as well. I really liked the structure of this book as well. The first part reintroduces Lisbeth, and she becomes a fairly sympathetic character. She's anti-social, and can be very violent, but she has a strict moral code of her own, and she develops very deep attachments with a few people. Blomvist is now a more famous journalist, and is working with a couple to investigate sex crimes in Sweden. When a murder occurs, and Lisbeth appears to be the main suspect, the chase is on. The police, the journalists, and some of Lisbeth's friends all try to solve the crime, while Lisbeth is on the loose.

I could not put this down, and the reveals are spaced just far enough apart to keep the pages turning. Other than a slightly unbelievable event at the end, Lisbeth was an amazingly smart protagonist. I liked how Larsson paced the book, and I can see how the three books work as a series. I think the third book will now try to solve the whole case, drawing us more into Lisbeth and Mikael's world. Will Lisbeth let people help her? Can Mikael solve the crime? Can't wait!

CHALLENGE: The Heroine's Bookshelf Challenge

2012-01-03T21:10:00.000-04:00

The Heroine's Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder by Erin Blakemore, 197 pages

Remember all those great books you read when you were younger? Anne of Green Gables? Little House on the Prairie? Little Women? What did they all have in common - strong heroines, and strong woman authors. Erin Blakemore has gathered these ladies, plus nine more famous books, with female authors and heroines, and written a tribute - to the characters, the authors, and the trait that she identified with each. Then, each book gets a recommended 'literary sister' and an offer of when to read each book. For example, Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird, is in a chapter about "Compassion". Read it when you get tired of being yelled at by cable news or with your own little girl. Scout's literary sisters include Lily Owens from The Secret Life of Bees or Meg Murray from A Wrinkle in Time.

I liked everything about this book. I thought it would be more about the books and characters, but the biographies of the authors where often more fascinating. None of them had an easy life, what with being women authors and artists. Even women today don't have an easy time of it - think of the Jonathan Frazen debates, or the Carol Shields' novel, Unless. Having read a majority of the books, I enjoyed reading the most about the author, and the lessons learned in each book. Granted, everyone will get their own lessons from each book, but the ideas Blakemore wrote about, for example - Self (Lizzy Bennett), Dignity (Celie in The Color Purple) or Steadfastness (Jane Eyre) made a lot of sense. It makes you want to re-read all these great books, and search out the literary sisters, because the ones I'd already read seemed like perfect matches. More strong heroines by female authors.

Bibliophibian hosted this last year, but I got the book for this Christmas, and now I have some more books I want to read because of it. Most of these are ones that I've wanted to read at some point, and then having them recc'd in this wonderful book might be the tipping point. Let's call this a long-term project.

1. Emma by Jane Austen (Lizzy's literary sister)
2. The Wreath by Sigrid Undset (Janie's (Their Eyes Were Watching God) literary sister)
3. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibson (Anne's literary sister)
4. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros (Francie's (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn) literary sister)
5. Claudine by Colette
6. Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters (Claudine's literary sister)
7. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
8. All of a Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (Laura's literary sister)
9. Rebecca by Daphne DeMaurier (Jane Eyre's literary sister)
10.The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E Lockhart (Jo's literary sister)
11. A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (Mary's (The Secret Garden) literary sister)

CHALLENGE: Random Reader Challenge 2012

2012-01-02T11:42:00.001-04:00

Lindsay (of Random House) posted about this new challenge to her blog:

The premise behind the challenge is that RHC will be hosting reading challenges over the year. The first challenge is to read one of the following Historical Fiction books:

The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak
The Virgin Cure by Ami McKay
The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich
The Salt Road by Jane Johnson
Madame Tussaud by Michelle Moran
Anything in the Outlander or Lord John series by Diana Gabaldon

You’ll have until February 29th to read the books listed above. Once you’ve finished the book, go to the Random House Blog Challenge Post and submit the link to your review and you could win a really great prize that you can read about here!

That's a great list of books! I've seen nothing but raves about Madame Tussaud, The Virgin Cure, and The Paris Wife. Remember also, that there is Venice in February, which makes the Midwife of Venice look intriguing. I'm not sure what book I'll read, but there are lots of options.

I like the idea of reading just one book, but having two months to read it. I also like the list of books to pick from. What a great idea for a challenge! I can't wait to see what the next Random Reader Challenge will be.

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: Best of 2011

2011-12-29T19:18:00.000-04:00

What were your favorite books of 2011?
I found this meme that has been making the rounds, but here's a list of the top rated books I read this year. Ask me tomorrow, and it might change.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Light Lifting - Alexander MacLeod
Henrietta's War - Joyce Dennys
The Tales of Beedle the Bard - JK Rowling
The Redbreast - Jo Nesbo
The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan
Annabel - Kathleen Winter
The Wife's Tale - Lori Lansens
Coventry - Helen Humphreys
Trackers - Deon Meyer
How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming - Mike Brown
Heads You Lose - Lisa Lutz and David Hayward
Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
Moonlight Sketches - Gerard Collins
Falling Angels - Tracy Chevalier

And now, the meme:

Best Book:
Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward
This had humor, a mystery, and a concept that was so meta I wanted more. As the authors kept killing each others characters, and their relationship disintegrated, I couldn't stop laughing.

Worst Book:
In a Strange Room: Three Journeys by Damon Galgut (Booker Shortlist 2010)
I don't even know what this book was about. There were parts I kind of liked, but mostly, confused and bored.

Most Disappointing Book:
The Reinvention of Love by Helen Humphreys
After loving Coventry, I was not a fan of the characters or setting of Reinvention of Love

Most Surprising Book:
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King.
King took a revenge aspect and let (some) of the characters come out on top, without being destroyed. I was only surprised in that King's stories are as good as ever, and he hasn't lost his story-telling touch (and dash of gross) after all these years.

The Book Most Recommended to Others:
Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran. It was a nice, light book, about sisters in Ireland who came from Iran. I offered this most to my real-life friends, and for fans of Sarah Addison Allen.

Best Series Discovered:
The Janie Quartet by Caroline B Cooney (The Face on the Milk Carton, Whatever Happened to Janie, The Voice on the Radio, What Janie Found)
Once I started reading this young adult dramatics during the summer, I couldn't stop til it ended.

New Mystery Series:
Jo Nesbo's series starring Harry Hole. I only read one, The Redbreast, but as soon as I get a couple other series up to date and under control, I'm diving in to the rest of this great Scandinavian series.

Favorite New Authors Discovered (have to have written more than one book):
Tana French, Helen Humphreys,

Most Hilarious Read:
Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward

Most Thrilling, Unputdownable Book:
Trackers by Deon Meyer
An African thriller with several diverse threads that tied up wonderfully in the end

Most Anticipated Book:
I seldom buy new books but these are two I bought as soon as they came out:
Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey - second in the Ghanian Darko Dawson mystery series
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick - beautiful blending of illustrations and story

Favorite Cover:Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. And the story was pretty cute too.

Most Memorable Character:
Mary Gooch in The Wife's Tale. Her life was falling apart, and she found the strength to turn it around and accept herself.

Most Beautifully-Written Book:
Alexander MacLeod's Light Lifting was a wonderfully written collection of short stories.

Book you Can't Believe you Waited Until 2011 to Read:
I didn't read much in the line of classics this year, so Patrick Taylor's Irish Country series has been given great reviews on the blogs for several years now, and I finally read a few.

Favorite Review You Wrote:
The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Best Book Event You Participated in During 2011:
Orange January/July
Jill does such a great job using Facebook and Librarything to connect all the readers. It's almost time for the next one.

Are any of my memorable books from your lists of this year? What were your favorites?

BOOK: Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier

2011-12-28T10:49:00.000-04:00

Falling Angels by Tracy Chevalier, 402 pages

What a great book to read over the holidays! I flew through this in one day, which shouldn't surprise me, as I have enjoyed all of Tracy Chevalier's books. Girl With the Pearl Earring, The Lady and the Unicorn, and Virgin Blue all were great historical reads, and all very different. I'm a little disappointed that I only have two more of her books to read - Burning Bright and Remarkable Creatures.

Falling Angels was set during the Edwardian period, and chronicles the ten year events of two families, middle-class, dealing with the rapidly changing times. The idea of mourning - the book begins with Victoria's death, is throughout, and not even just because much of the action takes place in a cemetery. By the time the book ends, mourning periods are not taken quite so seriously. The other aspect of the story was the suffragette movement. One of the mothers was not happy, very stifled, and very lost. She finds her purpose when she gets involved with the suffragettes.

Falling Angels was an easy, engaging novel that transported me to another time and place, and one I like to visit - England. Watching the two girls age from five to fifteen, and seeing the changes that occurred as they grew up was a nice history lesson.

BOOK: A More Perfect Heaven by Dava Sobel

2011-12-27T14:49:00.000-04:00

A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos by Dava Sobel, 240 pages

Science Book Challenge

It's good to see Copernicus getting the headline over Galileo, as most people (based on my exposure to high school physics students) are not aware that it was Copernicus who first proposed the heliocentric theory of the planets. His book, On the Revolutions, was not published until he was on his deathbed, and Galileo took most of the heat, and thus fame, for promoting the idea.

Dava Sobel has a good writing style, and I've enjoyed all her books- Planets, Longitude, Galileo's Daughter. A More Perfect Heaven is divided into three sections - the history and biography of Nicholas Copernicus, then a play dramatizing the writing of his book, and finally, the aftermath of his book being published. The history and biography contained a lot of names and facts of life and politics in late 1500s Poland and Europe. As historic and accurate as it was, it was needed to set the characters for the play, "And the Sun Stood Still." The play was a great addition, and while dramatizing nonfiction and putting words in real people that cannot be known is often frowned upon, it makes history come alive, and the facts of the characters were established in part one.

After the play, it was the later chapters that I really enjoyed. That is probably because I teach about Kepler, Brahe, and Galileo in physics, so I was already familiar with much of their stories. Sobel includes many pictures and diagrams from the era, and the sense of life in Europe was conveyed well, including the font chosen for titles.

In Copernicus's day, astrology and astronomy were closed linked and Copernicus tried to separate the prediction stuff out of his planets. I also learned that Copernicus and his star measurements helped to realign the calendar, due to his precise measurements, which was also why his controversial book was never actually banned, because the data was too valuable. Great historical and scientific book.

I won this book through Librarything's Early Reviewer Program.

BOOK: The Canterbury Trail by Angie Abdou

2011-12-24T11:39:00.000-04:00

The Canterbury Trail by Angie Abdou, 275 pages

Canadian Book Challenge 5; 2nds Challenge

I've never read Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, although I believe we studied The Miller's poem in grade twelve, so I had to look it up a little bit, just to get all the references in Angie Abou's novel. Set in the ski town of Coalton, BC, a merry band of ski-bums, hippies, and red-necks pilgrimage to the back woods for the last week-end of skiing for the year.

The story is told with a cast of characters, and an introduction, with alternating characters the focus. At times, the characters started to blend on me, but the list at the beginning helped. I'm not sure why they blended, because there were all pretty distinct - skiing realtor, pregnant wife, hippie and her girlfriend, the ski-bums, but the snowmobiling red-necks were the ones I had the hardest time keeping straight. All the characters end up at a cabin that is free for anyone, and spend a crazy night together, dealing with their stereotypes and past relationships. And the drugs.

But in the end, Janet did nothing. She simply tried her best to ignore the whole drugged and horny reality that had enveloped Camelot. It all left Janet happy for her age and her traditional marriage, p237

As I was reading, I kept thinking how I just don't get the drug culture. I must be too old! One of the activities the campers try is to have a story telling contest, which is the point of original Canterbury Tales. Chaucer also used the Tales to comment on the class system, and Abdou has the ski-town classes conflicting here - the locals, the developer, the trustafarian, the working class. The plot meanders and is not linear, like the skiers ascending the mountain top, doubling back and taking different routes. Considering I'm not a skier, not a drug-taker, and never really lived my wild, partying twenties, I did enjoy the book. It's a world I know exists, but like Janet in the quote above, happy for my own reality.

Abdou's book, The Bone Cage was a Canada Reads nominee last year, and widely read (in Canada) but I liked this one better, both for its actual story, and for the literary parallels to its famous original.

Canterbury Tales picture above, and information about the story taken from wikipedia.

CHALLENGE: Series Goals or The Ones I'm Targeting in 2012

2011-12-22T19:56:00.002-04:00

Suziqoregon at Whimpulsive is a great blogger and she is always reminding me how much I like series by posting about her serial reading. Now she is setting her goals for next year, and I am shamelessly copying her and her picture above. Thanks Suzi q!

I've got a few series I'd like to get up to date on, and a few I'd like to make a dent in their list.

Inspector Armand Gamauche by Louise Penny
The most recent release was in September, and I'd like to get up to date before the next one comes out.
Trick of Light

The Number One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
I made a good effort this year, and it should be no trouble to finish up the last three books in this series. And now I see another will be released!
~~Tea Time for the Traditionally Built~~
The Double Comfort Safari Club
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (2012?)

Darko Dawson/ Inspector Montalbano/ Detective Erlendur
I'm up to date on my three favorite series, but if they release books, as I expect them to, I'm reading them!
Murder at Cape Three Points (Darko Dawson) by Kwei Quartey
The Age of Doubts (Inspector Montalbano) by Andrea Camilleri

The Dublin Murder Squad by Tana French
Faithful Place
Broken Harbour (in 2012?)

The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
Revenge of the Spellmans
The Spellmans Strike Again
The Trial of the Spellmans (2012?)

Inspector Espinosa by Luis Alfredo Garcia-Roza
Only one of these that I have left to read may be available at my library.
Pursuit
Blackout

Vish Puri by Tarquin Hall
I really liked the first book in this ongoing series, so let's stay on top of this one!

The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken (2012?)

This next set of series will not get caught up, but I hope to make an effort in reading several in each.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Pardonable Lies
Messenger of Truth
An Incomplete Revenge
Among the Mad
The Mapping of Love and Death

Phrynne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood
There's no way I'll get caught up, but I'd like to read another four or five from this quick moving series
Blood And Circuses
Ruddy Gore
Urn Burial
Raisins and Almonds
Death before wicket
Murder in Montparnasse
there's still another six!

Harry Hole by Jo Nesbo
Nemesis
The Devil's Star
The Redeemer
The Snowman
The Leopard

Martin Beck Crime series by Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall
4. The Laughing Policeman
5. The Fire Engine That Disappeared
6. Murder at the Savoy
7.The Abominable Man
8. The Locked Room
9. Cop Killer
10. The Terrorists

Dexter by Jeff Lindsay
Dexter in the Dark
Dexter by Design
Dexter is Delicious
Double Dexter

BOOK: Christmas With Anne by LM Montgomery

2011-12-22T19:04:00.000-04:00

Christmas With Anne and Other Holiday Stories by LM Montgomery, 220 pages

Canadian Book Challenge; Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

LM Montgomery was a very prolific author. Twenty novels, and tons of short stories; there have been eleven collections of her short stories published. Many are themed, like this collection of Christmas tales. LM wrote for the masses, selling her short stories where she could, often at the magazines request including a moral or lesson in her holiday stories. This makes some of her stories a tad predictable or sentimental, but readers do like these themes in their Christmas stories (see The Christmas Shoes), so if you are looking for Christmas stories, you can't go wrong with LM and her optimistic view and outlook, amidst the sad and downtrodden.

Christmas with Anne doesn't disappoint, including "Matthew Insists on Puffed Sleeves", and "Katherine Brooke Comes to Green Gables," chapters from the Anne series. Both bring tears when fans of the series read them, knowing all the back stories of Anne. When Katherine complains to Anne that [Anne] couldn't know what it was like to not be wanted, as Anne is ensconced in Green Gables full of love, fans know that Anne could very easily have turned out to be like Katherine. And Matthew buying Anne the puffed sleeves? Well, every mention of Matthew and his adoration of Anne does me in.

The other stories vary in success, but as a whole, they work. Collected together, plot themes develop - feuds forgiven after accidental apologies, and awareness of the blessings in your life.Other than the Anne stories, my favorite was "The Unforgotten One", about not judging what others are thinking or feeling, or who they might be missing.

All in all, they are perfect for Christmas. Short, fluffy, full of love and pathos and Christmas spirit.As an added bonus, my edition was lovely. Nice sizing, with a sturdy cover - a cross between a mass market paperback and a trade paperback. It will become a new Christmas tradition.

BOOK: An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor

2011-12-16T21:44:00.000-04:00

An Irish Country Village by Patrick Taylor, 420 pages

Irish Reading Challenge; 2nds Challenge

I meant to read An Irish Country Christmas this month, but I like to read my series in order and this had to be read first. I read the first in the series, An Irish Country Doctor back in March, and was completely charmed. The second book was actually a little better, as the characters were already met and established. The book picks up just days after the last book, and only continues for the next few weeks, as Dr Barry Laverty is still getting established in Ballybucklebo.

Not much really happens, but it was an easy, light read, perfect for picking up during this busy season, or when standing in line at a checkout. I've actually discovered I don't mind waiting at checkouts if I have a book with me, because I'm not there, noticing the time, or the bad service. I'm where ever my book is taking me - the tiny village of Ballybucklebo in Northern Ireland, circa 1964. I even turned down the opportunity to move up in a line when I only had one item, because I knew I'd enjoy the time in the book.

This book reminds me of some other book, or television show, which I can't seem to remember. It get compared to James Herriot's vet series. It's funny, predictable, charming, and a wonderful way to spend a week reading. I may get to that next book sooner rather than later.

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: character or plot?

2011-12-15T20:19:00.000-04:00

Booking Through Thursday (BTT) asks: "What’s more important to you? Real, three-dimensional, fleshed-out fascinating characters? Or an amazing, page-turning plot? (Yes, I know, they are both important. But if you had to pick one as being more important than the other?)"

I'd have to say plot. Mysteries are my favorite genre, and they are all about the plot. Obviously, the best mysteries are character-strong as well, like in Trackers or continuing series like Inspector Montalbano of Sicily, but the plot gets the pages turning. Linwood Barclay writes terrific thrillers, with good characters, but the plot keeps going. The best example I can think of is The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown. Nothing dramatic about the characters in that one, but the mystery and plot are what get you turning the page.

Snazzy new button for BTT!

CHALLENGES: 2nds Challenge 2012

2011-12-12T18:06:00.006-04:00

Katy at afewmorechallenges is hosting the 2nds challenge again. I like to keep track of these. Either second in a series, or second book by the author that you have read. Keep track all year long.

Just a spoonful - Read 3 books that are 2nd in a series or the second time you’ve read the author.
A few more bites - Read 6 books that are 2nd in a series or the second time you’ve read the author.
A full plate - Read 12 books that are 2nd in a series or the second time you’ve read the author.
All you can eat - Read 20 books (or more) that are 2nd in a series or the second time you’ve read the author.

The Authors Who Should be Read Again:

Alan Bradley - The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag
Jo Nesbo - Nemesis
Qiu Xioalong - A Case of Two Cities
Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire
Georgette Heyer - Cousin Kate
Jasper Fforde's second book in the Chromatica series
Tom Perrotta - The Abstinence Teacher
Ruth Rendell - The Water's Lovely
Marsha Mehran - Rosewater and Sodabread
~~Helen Dunmore -~~ ~~House of Orphans~~
Emma Donaghue -

What I Read:

1. Stieg Larsson - The Girl Who Played With Fire (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo)
2. Anna Quindlen - Black and Blue (Every Last One)
3. Helen Dunmore - House of Orphans (The Spell of Winter)
4.

BOOK: Small Ceremonies by Carol Shields

2011-12-11T15:31:00.000-04:00

Small Ceremonies by Carol Shields, 179 pages

Canadian Book Challenge

This is the first of Carol Shields published books. Box Garden, her second, is a companion book, as each book is narrated by a sister. Here, Judith Gill is a biographer in Canada in the 1970s. Biographer is the key idea here - how do you ever know a subject? or even anyone else? Each person views the same event or life from their own perspective, so we all see everything differently. Even comparing the mother from both books is interesting, as Judith (Small Ceremonies) and Charleen (Box Garden) see her from different views. Judith is writing about Susanna Moodie, the Canadian pioneer. (Note, Carol Shields went on to write a criticism on Moodie, Voice and Vision, in 1976. Did she write the Moodie book after doing research for this book, or did the research she did for the Moodie book give her background for this book?) Judith also tends to look at everyone, trying to find that biographer view of people.

Like in Box Garden, the little things, the small ceremonies of day to day life, are the main story. I was thinking jokingly that Shields was the original Seinfeld, writing about nothing. It's just that her nothing is about everyone, which is what makes Shields, and Seinfeld, resonate. Instead of looking through the telescope to the wide open skies, she turns it around and details the tiny things in a life. And while the characters are going along, with not much happening, there are events in the book that are not clear, a bit of a mystery. Often, as in life, they are not a big deal, but you keep turning the pages. It's the writing - Shields didn't win the Pulitzer (and the Orange) for nothing.

The Staircase Letters: An Extraordinary Friendship at the End of Life by Arthur Motyer, with Elma Gerwin and Carol Shields
149 pages

Canadian Reading Challenge

Arthur Motyer was a professor of Elma Gerwin's, who was a friend of Carol Shields. They all share a love of literature, and all worked with writing all their lives. Elma discovered she was facing cancer, as she knew Carol was, and cc'd Arthur and Carol, thinking they would all share in the writing of emails during their mutual fight with, what would become, their terminal illness.

Motyer writes the in-between and fills in much of the background for the emails - they lived all across Canada. The book felt a little awkward to start, a little Arthur-centered, but that fell away gradually, and the dignity and strength of the two women takes over the book. It could have turned into a bit of watching a train-wreck, but Motyer wisely focuses on each person's (i,e, your own) view of death and dying, referencing many literary allusions and poems. Eventually, it is all about your own perspective of life, and death, and happiness, and sharing Elma and Carol's letters felt like being bestowed with a little bit of grace.

EVENT: 2011 Advent Tour

2011-12-06T10:00:00.000-04:00

This is my fifth year participating in the Virtual Advent Blog Tour. Here's a little recap of my past editions:

In 2010, I took a humorous look at some local events on Prince Edward Island.
In 2009, we played 'guess the carol'
In 2008, I played a game of 'guess the movie', and my favorite Christmas picture ever.
In 2007, it was the original 'guess the carol' game, with your vocabulary tested, and my whipped shortbread cookie recipe.

Well, I guess I like some guessing games! I wasn't feeling as creative this year, so instead, I will offer a recipe for fruitcake. I find as I get older, I am enjoying fruitcake more. This one is very delicious!

My Grandmother's Fruitcake Recipe

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups dried fruit
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup brown sugar
juice of one lemon
8 oz nuts
1 full bottle of Irish whiskey (or Scotch if you really prefer)

Sample the whiskey to check for quality
Take a large bowl
Sample the whiskey again to be sure it is of the highest quality
Pour 1 level cup and drink. Repeat
Turn on the electric mixer
Beat a cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl
Adda teaspoon of sugar and beat again
Make sure the whiskey is still OK
Cry another tup
Turn off the mixerer
Break two legs and add tot he bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit
Mix on the turnerer
If the fried druit gets stuck in the turnerers, pry it loose with a drewscriver
Try the whiskey again to check for tonsisticity
Next, sift two cups of salt or something
Who cares, check the whiskey, now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts
Add - One table - Spoon
Of sugar or something
Whatever you can find
Grease the oven
Turn the cake tin to 350 degrees
Don't forget to beat off the turner
Throw the bowl out the window
Chick the whiskey again
Go to bed
Who likes fruitcake anyway

My grandmother actually sent me this recipe many years ago.
Merry Christmas! Happy Holiday! I hope you all find a lovely book to read under the tree.

( Please wait for the Intense debate comments - sometimes it takes a few seconds to load.)

BOOK: Tide Road by Valerie Compton

2011-12-04T13:20:00.000-04:00

Tide Road by Valerie Compton, 230 pages

Canadian Book Challenge

He came through the door like a thunderclap, like a breeze. Hey! he yelled. Or, Hey, he said. He let the door slam. He eased it shut.

Which way had it gone? She couldn't be sure.page9

The opening lines of this novel set on Prince Edward Island drew me into the story immediately. How do we remember things? Sonia struggles with the grief of her missing daughter, Stella all the way to the beginning of her missing - does she even remember that correctly? Stella goes missing (presumed drowned) in the winter of 1965, which sends Sonia reeling back in memories to 1941, the summer she worked alone at the lighthouse on Surplus Island. Sonia needs to come to terms with her life and the choices she made (or had made for her) before she can really deal with Stella's disappearance.

Part of the appeal to me is obviously the location. When Compton mentions places or things, they have a meaning for me living on Prince Edward Island. I remember Roger's Hardware, the Rollaway lounge; the road between Winsloe and Rustico is the road I lived when we were first married. The descriptions of the shore and the water continue the tradition of LM Montgomery and the connection to nature here on this island. The writing is poetic and wispy and full of images.This connects even more to the characters, as Sonia could be/was an artist, and Stella has vision issues.

There is a bit of a mystery as to what actually happened to Stella. Suspicion falls on Stella's husband, adding an extra layer to the family's grief and anger. Sonia's denial about this aspect of Stella's life make her believe that Stella has just run away and Sonia puts her energy into finding Stella instead of dealing with her grief.

The strength of the book is in the character of Sonia who was very real, a woman from the middle of the 1900s, with very few choices. She struggled to get by with a husband who was abusive, with children that kept coming, the hard, violent life on a farm, striving to discover her voice. The book and her grief are about her struggle to realize she even had a voice, a vision for herself.

Grief and memory are two common themes in literature. Two other books I read this year (that I never reviewed) also tackled these themes. February by Lisa Moore was also about grief, after the Ocean Ranger disaster in Newfoundland. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes was an old man remembering events from his past and his role in them. Tide Road was a blend of the best of both books. Sonia was dealing with her grief by looking to the past to make sense of her daughter's life. "You still have to solve your own life if you want to be of any help to [your children]" (from p 190) seems to be the advice that starts Sonia on her way.

I hope more people can discover this wonderful book.

CHALLENGE: Aussie Author Challenge 2012

2011-12-03T16:50:00.000-04:00

Some challenges are really challenges! I've tried twice to read the higher level of this challenge, and failed both times. Booklover Book Reviews is hosting, with the sign-up page and lots of info, found here.

Challenge Period: 1 January 2012 – 31 December 2012
OBJECTIVE Read and review books written by Australian Authors – physical books, ebooks and audiobooks, fiction and non-fiction!
Challenge Levels:
TOURIST – Read and review 3 books by at least 2 different Australian Authors
DINKY-DI – Read and review 12 books by at least 6 different Australian authors
‘Dinky-Di’ is Australian slang meaning ‘true or genuine’.

What will I be trying this year?
Kerry Greenwood - (Phrynne Fisher series) Blood and Circuses, Ruddy Gore, Urn Burial, Raisins and Almonds
Peter Temple - (Jack Irish series) Bad Debts, Black Tide,
Jaclyn Moriarty - The Murder of Bindy McKenzie
Kate Grenville - The Secret River, Lillian's Story
Kate Morton - The Forgotten Garden
Tim Winton - Breath (library, 217 pages)
Thomas Keneally - Schindler's Ark

CHALLENGE: Orange January

2011-11-28T18:34:00.007-04:00

It's time to start thinking about an Orange January! Will it be books from 2011 list, or into the older titles? Check out the Orange Prize Project blog for more ideas and the Facebook group for ideas and possibly prizes! Every January and July, fans of the Orange Prize read all they can in celebration. The actual requirement is only to read one book.

Orange January Ideas:

Books in my house:
Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel (2006 short list)
Small Island by Andrea Levy (2004 winner)
The Colour by Rose Tremain (2004 longlist)
Larry's Party by Carol Shields (1998 winner)
Love Marriage by VV Ganeshananthen (2009 longlist)
Old Filth by Jane Gardam (2005 shortlist)
Black and Blue by Anna Quinlen (1998 longlist)

Books from the library:
The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer (2008 longlist)
This is How, by M.J. Hyland (2010 longlist)
Secret Son, by Laila Lalami (2010 longlist)
Black Water Rising by Attica Locke (2010 shortlist)
The Tenderness of Wolves, by Stef Penney (2007 longlist)
House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore (2006 longlist)

And the books I read, with reviews linked:

1. The Giant, O'Brien by Hilary Mantel (1999 longlist)
2. Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen (1998 longlist)
3. The Tenderness of the Wolves by Stef Penney (2007 longlist)
4. House of Orphans by Helen Dunmore (2006 longlist)
5.

BOOK: The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett

2011-11-27T11:33:00.001-04:00

The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett, 140 pages

Life is busy in the 21st century. Much of it is our own making, but that's how we live. We need information now; can't wait 10 seconds for the page to load; too long, didn't read; kids going in different directions. I just seem to go, go, go. Go, dog, go! Reading is a way to slow things down, but I often read mysteries, or thrillers. Books that engage me and have me frantically turning pages so I don't fall asleep, because if I stop, I might fall asleep. However, as I read The Country of the Pointed Firs, this small, charming book, I could feel my body slow down and my brain slow down as I adjusted to life as told in small tales from a 19th century fishing village on the shores of Maine.

There isn't much to this story, not really a plot, just collected stories from the unnamed narrator as she spends a summer in Dunnett Landing, meeting friends and family of her landlady. There is herb gathering, family reunions, and boat trips for the day - depending on the wind direction. There are stories from sea-faring days, and even laments of how life is changing by the end of the 1800s. But overall, there is a peacefulness, and calm that comes with Mrs Todd and the stories related in this quiet book. I'm so delighted to have discovered this gem.

on entertaining:

Tact is after all a kind of mindreading, and my hostess held the golden gift. p59

on old friends:

There, it does seem so pleasant to talk with an old acquaintance that know what you know. Conversation's got to have some root in the past, or else you've got to explain every remark you make, an' it wears a person out. p73

on life near an ocean:
[The view] gave a sudden sense of space, for nothing stopped the eye or hedged one in, - that sense of liberty in space and time which great prospects always give. p58

also reviewed: Eva at a striped armchair; JoAnn at lakeside musings wrote about the author;

CHALLENGE: Venice in February

2011-11-20T14:34:00.000-04:00

Bellezza of Dolce Bellezza and Ally of Snow Feathers are hosting a Venice in February reading challenge. Bellezza has the most amazing list of books set in Venice. It goes on and on and it has, I think, every book I have ever read set in Venice.

Such as:

Death in la Fenice by Donna Leon
In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare

Plus a few I am interested in:

A Taste of Venice by Roberto Pianaro

Don't Look Now by Daphne DuMaurier

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan
(Booker Prize short list 2001)

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

And after checking my library:
The Glassblower of Murano by Marina Fiorato
No vulgar hotel : the desire and pursuit of Venice by Judith Martin
Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino
Miss Garnet's Angel by Sally Vickers
Vaporetto 13 : a novel by Robert Girardi
Pippa Passes by Rumer Golden

and another from the Donna Leon series, Inspector Brunetti, Death and Judgment

My sister and I in Venice

Hopefully in February I'll manage to read one of these, and reminisce about my stopover in Venice five years ago.

MEME: One Book, Two Book, Three Book again

2011-11-19T22:00:00.001-04:00

It's time to rejoice with the revival of the One Book, Two Book, Three Book meme originated by Simon at Stuck in a Book.

1. The books I’m currently reading: The Man Who Went Up in Smoke by Maj Sjowell and Per Wahoo. This is second in the Martin Beck series, written in the 1960s by the Swedish couple. This terrific police procedural was the first of the Swedish crime novels, long before that Girl Who ... became famous.

2. The last book I finished: The Uncoupling by Meg Wolwizer. Somewhere, months ago, someone on the blogs raved about this. I requested it at the library and it took for-ev-eeer to arrive. But I got it read, and it was good.
ETA: found it. Aths at Reading on a Rainy Day reviewed The Uncoupling. She wrote a great review; pretty much my opinion as well.
Also, Softdrink at Fizzy Thoughts reviewed it here and Carrie at Nomadreader reviewed it here.
So, three reviews within a couple of weeks in June made it catch my attention, and then it took 4 months to get it from the library.

3. The next book I want to read: Tide Road by Valerie Compton (a PEI book!) or Small Ceremonies by Carol Shields.

4. The last book I bought: There was a little "hall book sale" at school for library week, so I bought Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen from a student who had a whole table of books she 'read over the summer'; and The Fire Dwellers by Margaret Laurence and Lives of Girls and Women by Alice Munro and The Morningside World of Stuart McLean from the library as they weeded out some older books. I'm a good little Canadian!

5. The last book I was given: A dear friend, who retired last year so I don't see her so often, dropped off The Way We Were by Marcia Willet and Beautiful People by Wendy Holden. The note she left with them said to 'enjoy, and pass on.'

It's also time for the sign-ups for the Advent Tour! I've already got my date assigned - go sign up here. It is a great way to share holiday traditions, have some fun, and meet a ton a new people. Marg and Kailana are the wonderful hosts.

BOOK: Moonlight Sketches by Gerard Collins

2011-11-16T18:42:00.000-04:00

Moonlight Sketches by Gerard Collins, 190 pages

5th Canadian Book Challenge

This summer I made my first trip to Newfoundland. While I spent most of my time in basketball gymnasiums and supervising twelve fourteen year old boys, I did manage to sneak off one afternoon to downtown St John's for some shopping. I poked in every little craft shop, ate fish and chips at Duke's, and had a drink on George Street. It was wonderful. I was looking for souvenirs - got some screech coffee, moose socks, a jellybean row picture, and I wanted to buy a Newfoundland book. Something that would feel like a find, an unknown quantity. I managed that, with Moonlight Sketches by Gerard Collins.

Moonlight Sketches is a collection of short stories that are part of a bigger story. Beginning before the Ocean Ranger sank, and progressing (not always linearly) to the present, the town of Darwin (population 2500) is the setting for most of the stories. Life changes as the cod fishery ends, oil comes in and small villages disintegrate. The stories are more about the individual people that live in Newfoundland, but from a distance, by the end, you see how Darwin has changed.

I was hoping for more overlapping characters, and eventually a few stood out. Tough guy Benny and his cousin Dave make appearances in several stories (it feels like there could be a novel beginning) as does Jack of Jack's Place, the bar in Darwin. Jack's Place figures prominently in "Two Lesbians Walk Into a Bar", which also shows the dark underbelly of life in a small town where everyone knows everybody. "The Darkness and Darcy Knight" might put you to mind of Deliverance, if I know what Deliverance is actually about. Overall, there is a dark feel to these stories; life on the Rock isn't easy. But I enjoyed reading this collection, and will probably reread a few now that I know some of the characters better.

CHALLENGE: What's in a Name 5

2011-11-15T22:15:00.001-04:00

It's my fifth year, so I can't not participate in this one. Just picking the titles is half the fun. Finding a reason to read some books I've already wanted to read is bonus. Are you joining in this one? It runs all year, and only six books. Check out bethfishreads for more details or to sign up.
Here's the categories for next year:

A book with a topographical feature in the title -- e.g. Black Hills, Purgatory Ridge, Emily of Deep Valley
A book with something you'd see in the sky in the title -- e.g. Moon Called, Seeing Stars, Cloud Atlas
A book with a creepy crawly in the title -- e.g. Little Bee, Spider Bones, The Witches of Worm
A book with a type of house in the title -- e.g. The Glass Castle, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Ape House
A book with something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack in the title -- e.g. Sarah's Key, The Scarlet Letter, The Devlin Diary
A book with something you'd find on a calendar in the title -- e.g. Day of the Jackal, Elegy for April, Freaky Friday, The Year of Magical Thinking

So, the possibilities!

topographical feature

The Secret River, Kate Grenville
Small Island, Andrea Levy

something you'd see in the sky

Swann by Carol Shields
The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo
The Girl Who Chased the Moon, Sarah Addison Allen

creepy crawly

Lark and Termite by Jayne Anne Phillips
The House of the Scorpion, Nancy Farmer

type of house

The Last Resort by Carmen Posadas
Urn Burial, Kerry Greenwood
The Saturday Big Tent Wedding, Alexander McCall Smith

something you'd carry in your pocket, purse, or backpack

Duma Key, Stephen King
13 Little Blue Envelopes, Maureen Johnson

something you'd find on a calendar

The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer
The Wednesday Letters, Jason F Wright
The Wednesday Sisters, Meg Waite Clayton

What I Read:

Topographical feature:

Something you'd see in the sky:

Creepy crawly:

Type of house:
House of Orphans - Helen Dunmore

Something you'd carry in your purse or backpack:

Something you'd find on a calendar:

BOOK: Twelve Drummers Drumming by C.C. Benison

2011-11-11T19:31:00.001-04:00

Twelve Drummers Drumming by C.C. Benison

5th Canadian Book Challenge; review copy from Randomhouse

Reverend Tom Christmas (not surprisingly, he doesn't like Father Christmas) is trying to get a new start to his life. After his wife was murdered, he moved with his young daughter to a small village, Thornford Regis, to be nearer his sister-in-law. A delightful English village, full of characters, until Sybella, a nineteen year old troubled girl, is found murdered during the May Fayre. Tom becomes a bit of a detective, as he seems to confuse his role as confidante to his parish with the nosiness needed to solve the crime.

Cozy little mystery, with the delightful village setting, Benison is touted as a choice for fans of Alan Bradley, Louise Penny, and Alexander McCall Smith. As a fan of all of those authors, I would say Benison has a place on the shelf with them. He has set up a village with some great characters, and some ongoing mysteries that aren't completely solved with this first book. The second book will obviously be Eleven Pipers Piping. His writing isn't quite as tight as Penny's, nor quite as relaxing as McCall's but I did like a lot of the supporting characters, and while Tom himself is not a perfect character, he is trying hard to be a good father. He is still grieving his wife, but starting to be interested in women. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next in Thornford Regis.

CHALLENGE: Christmas Spirit Reading Challenge

2011-11-07T22:01:00.007-04:00

The True Book Addict is hosting a Christmas Spirit Challenge at the dedicated blog. Head on over to get some more information and to sign up.
From the blog:

challenge will run from Monday, November 21, 2011 through Friday, January 6, 2011 (Twelfth Night or Epiphany).
These must be Christmas novels, books about Christmas lore, a book of Christmas short stories or poems, books about Christmas crafts, and for the first time...a childrens Christmas books level!
visit this POST for a list of new Christmas books for 2011.
Levels:--Candy Cane: read 1 book
--Mistletoe: read 2-4 books
--Christmas Tree: read 5 or 6 books (this is the fanatic level...LOL!)

Additional levels:
--Fa La La La Films: watch a bunch or a few Christmas movies...it's up to you!
--Visions of Sugar Plums: read books with your children this season and share what you read

I want to read:

~~An Island Christmas Reader~~ by David Weale
~~A Child's Christmas in Wales~~ by Dylan Thomas (reread)
~~"Dave Cooks the Turkey"~~ by Stuart McLean (a tradition)
An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor

What I Read:

1. Christmas With Anne and Other Holiday Stories by LM Montgomery
2. A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
3. Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie
4. An Island Christmas Reader by David Weale
5. "Dave Cooks the Turkey" by Stuart McLean
6. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie

Books for Next Year: (thanks for all the reviews, folks)

1. Miracle and Other Stories by Connie Willis
2. The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
3. An Idiot Girl's Christmas by Laurie Notaro
4. Wishin’ and Hopin’: A Christmas Story by Wally Lamb
5. Anne Perry's Christmas series
6. Immovable Feast: A Paris Christmas

In other Christmas news, I signed up for the Book Blogger Holiday Swap. The sign-up is here, and you have until this Friday, November 11th, to get registered. There are several options to pick from (money level, mailing locations). I've enjoyed this every year I've participated.

Now all I need to see is the Advent Calendar Tour and my Christmas plans are complete.

BOOK: The Reinvention of Love by Helen Humphreys

2011-10-30T16:05:00.000-04:00

The Reinvention of Love by Helen Humphreys, 309 pages

5th Canadian Book Challenge; 2nds Challenge

When I saw that Humphreys' book was being released so soon after I has just finished Coventry, I jumped in line at the library to read her latest book. Alas, to Humphreys credit as a writer but not mine as a reader, this book was quite different. Coventry was England during the wars, this was France in the 1800s. I am clearly an anglophile. I'll be wishing I read this during Paris in July, and I may have enjoyed it more then. Coventry also seemed to have much more action and plot. Perhaps since Reinvention of Love is based on real characters (Victor Hugo, his wife Adele, writer Charles saint-Beuve) Humphreys was committed to actual events and words already spoken by her characters. Also, in the French literary tradition, it seemed to ponder more philosophically about ideas of love and existence. Too bad for this book that after my past two months of mystery and mayhem reading for RIP the lack of active plot was too slow.

I'll try another book by Humphreys and mark this one down as wrong book, wrong time.

BOOK: Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King

2011-10-26T08:30:00.000-04:00

Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King,

RIP 6

I decided to spread the King out a bit this month. After each other book I finish, I will read one of his novella/short stories. Each story stands on its own a little better, and I get to extend the King season for the whole month.

After reading Pretty in Ink:

1922, 131 pages

A man who convinces a son to help him kill his wife sees his life fall apart in middle America just before the depression begins. Nice homage to the Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe, as the narrator is haunted by the rats from the well where he dropped his wife. So, it's creepy, and gross and perfectly King, with characters that allow you to see their hearts, however dark. "Perfectly King" is high praise as I've always loved his writing. He creates characters with layers, and stories that bounce along, and you just don't forget his books. There have been some duds, but I've really enjoyed his shorter fiction.

After reading The Distant Hours:

Big Driver, 130 pages

At this point, part of what makes a Stephen King story scary, is worrying about how far he will take the plot. He does horrible so well, that I keep imagining what terrible event will happen next to the main character. When a cozy mystery author gets thrust into a decidedly not cozy crime, I kept thinking things would get worse and worse. When Tess decides to take revenge on her rapist, around every corner, and with every decision she takes, I kept thinking it would be worse and worse. As I think about the story, it was very satisfying as King lets her get her revenge. I loved how her cat and her GPS talk to her, or at least, the voice in her head talks back to her in this way.

After reading The Broken Shore:

Fair Extension, 31 pages

A fifty year old with cancer makes a deal with Mr Elvid (even I noticed that!) to get revenge on his best friend from high school. Revenge is becoming a big theme in these stories. Dave Streeter gets better and his friend's life takes a turn. King is messing with my mind and my expectations of how characters will behave in this story, as he did in Big Driver. I liked it in Big Driver, and was sickened in this one. At least the story was short.

After reading Wonderstruck:

A Good Marriage, 84 pages

How well do you ever really know someone? King takes this premise and runs with it after a wife discovers her husband's secret in the garage.It's the question that everyone asks after a terrible crime is discovered: How could the wife not know? King explores this very idea. Tough reading, but again, King takes the optimistic ending for the characters.

Bonus Story: Under the Weather, 15 pages

You can see the ending coming in this one, plus King drops all kinds of hints, but you still hope this won't end the way you know it will. Young ad-man having trouble concentrating at work, worrying about his wife at home recovering from bronchitis. Spoiler if you highlight the next section: If you've read A Rose for Emily... and that's the end.

BOOK: Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

2011-10-25T21:41:00.000-04:00

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick, 630 pages

2nds Challenge

After reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, and absolutely loving it, I was hoping that Selznick would write another book. Yay! Wonderstruck has been recently released, and I actually bought the hardcover edition. I very seldom buy a hardcover - I'll wait for soft, or borrow from the library, but I knew I would want to keep this book.

There are two parallel stories, one in text and one in pictures. Deafness plays a part in both stories (there are plenty of parallels) and the fact that Rose in the 1920s section was deaf and her story is told in pictures seems perfect - quieter. In the 1970s, Ben is living with his aunt and uncle in Minnesota after his mother died. He never knew, or heard of, his father, and begins to unravel the mystery among his mother's belongings, sending him on a trip to New York City. The two stories eventually meet up in the present day, in a delightful way.

Much of the story takes place in the American Natural History Museum, and in the Afterward, Selznick acknowledges From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs Basil E Frankweiler and challenges readers to find the references to E.L Konigsburg and the book. Cool. The book also contains much about collecting and museums.

Never be put off by the size of Selznick's books. Because so much of them are the wonderful illustrations, it reads very quick. He does such a perfect blend of drawing and story, and I love his charcoal illustration style. Another book please, Mr Selznick.

BOOK: The Broken Shore by Peter Temple

2011-10-24T16:56:00.000-04:00

The Broken Shore by Peter Temple, 445 pages

Book Award Challenge (CWA Gold Dagger 2007 and Ned Kelly Award for Crime Writing); Aussie Author Challenge; 2nds Challenge (read Truth)

Temple has a writing style that takes getting used to, but I quite enjoy it. There are no big descriptions, but the atmosphere is felt. The Australian slang takes getting used to, and I still miss the meaning of tons of words, but I get the idea. It makes me feel like I am in Australia, real Australia. It's rough, and the crime side underbelly, but it feels very real and gritty.

Cashin thought that he knew the answer, delivered to him by some process in the brain that endlessly sifted, sorted and shuffled things heard and read, seen and felt, bits and pieces with no obvious use, just clutter, litter, until the moment when two of them touched, spun and found each other, fitted like hands locking. p 288

This quote is what reading the book was to me - not all clear all the time, but then it coalesces and was a great description of how good detectives figure things out.

Joe Cashin is recovering from a bad incident (eventually somewhat revealed) and sent to a small town, the small town where he grew up. He ends up in the middle of a murder investigation of a local philanthropist. He is in contact with Villani from Victoria (and main character of Truth.) Cashin is hurting, and finding his way in the new locale with his new life. The plot twists and turns (police procedural, so the reader only knows what Cashin discovers) and is a great read. A little violent, and graphic in parts, but gritty and great character development. Plus, Dove, the aboriginal detective from Truth also makes an appearance. I'd love a book with more Dove.

CONTEST: Jodi Picoult Giveaway

2011-10-18T08:54:00.002-04:00

Simon and Schuster is having a big Jodi Picoult give-away. It's huge - win a library of her books.

I've only read a couple of her books so far, Nineteen Minutes, Mercy, and My Sister's Keeper. There is a definite uptake on teenagers reading, and I see tons of Jodi Picoult books being carried around the high school I work in. Excellent work, Ms Picoult, keeping young readers reading.

Click on the picture to be taken to the S&S website to enter the contest. It opens on October 18th and closes November 8th. Open only to Canadian residents, sorry. Good luck everyone!

BOOK: Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson

2011-10-15T10:10:00.000-04:00

Pretty in Ink by Karen E. Olson, 299 pages

RIP 6; Mystery and Suspense Challenge

Finding ways to put amateur sleuths into mysteries can be tricky, and it felt a little forced in this book. Brett Kavanaugh, owner of the classy tattoo shop in Vegas, The Painted Lady, keeps sticking her nose in business that she shouldn't. She has cop for a brother, which gives her some inside information into the crimes. Maybe because I usually read mysteries based on the police point of view, but Brett's continual refusal to help the police, or her complete defiance of answering their questions truthfully, or going her own way, bothered me more in this book.

When I can ignore this aspect of moving the plot along, I did enjoy the book. After witnessing an assault at a drag queen show, and then the disappearance of one of her employees, Brett gets involved. Her store had done some of the tattoos for the performers. She spies a tattoo on the assaulter and discovers that it was done at her rival and possible romantic interest, Jeff Coleman's. The characters who work with Brett are fun, and the setting of Vegas is perfect for over the top events.

There are two more books in the series, Driven to Ink, and Ink Flamingos, and I'm sure I'll continue reading to see how Brett's romantic life continues and to get more background in case I travel to visit Vegas.

BOOK: The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

2011-10-14T21:01:00.000-04:00

The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, 562 pages

Challenge checklist - Gothic Reading Challenge; RIP 6; 2nds Challenge; Aussie Author Challenge

Kate Morton book list - The House at Riverton, The Forgotten Garden, The Distant Hours

Gothic checklist- romance and horror, castles, secrets, madness, darkness

Raidergirl's good book checklist - England, sisters, back and forth in time (parallel stories), bookish mysteries

Morton created many well developed characters that I really enjoyed reading about. I liked the war story, and the present day story. The relationships between all the characters seemed real, and the secrets were tantalizingly revealed. The ultimate secrets weren't as dramatic as I was imagining, but the journey to get there was well worth my time. Excellent book for the RIP season, and to finish off the Gothic Book Challenge for me.

also reviewed: kittling books; rhapsody in books; caribousmom; katherine of a girl walks into a bookstore; karen at the bookbath;

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: Sequel

2011-10-13T18:17:00.001-04:00

If you could get a sequel for any book, what would it be?

Some of my favorite books already have sequels (Anne of Green Gables, Bridget Jones, Heidi, plus all the mysteries - I do love my comfortable characters). Anne of Green Gables even has a prequel that was recently written (Before Green Gables.) I can think of a few. It would be great to revisit Jane Eyre and see her and Mr Rochester in their later years. The only problem is that another book would need a plot, which involves conflict of some kind, and I'd really rather imagine them happily ever after, for ever after.

After I finished The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens this summer, I wasn't ready to be done of the characters Mary Gooch and her husband. That's a book I'd love to see some follow up to. Either from her husband's point of view, or just more of Mary on her life journey. The book ended on a beginning of sorts, and I'd like to read more about Mary Gooch.

What books am I forgetting about that need a sequel?

BOOK: Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

2011-10-05T18:47:00.000-04:00

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, 307 pages

2nds Challenge; Aussie Author Challenge

It's not officially a RIP book for me, but if ever I was imbibing Peril, it was while reading a book about the plague, the black plague in a 1666 English village. People dropping left and right of a horrible death. Plus, as is often in these types of books (or movies, like Titanic) so many ways to die.

Brooks did her homework and the story is filled with historical aspects. Apparently, the book was conceived after Brooks visited the village that this book is based on, where a plague outbreak occurred. The villagers decided, in the novel based on the legend, to quarantine their village once the outbreak began, to prevent the spread, but taking their own chance for survival. It's pretty bleak, but the main character, Anna Firth manages to stay healthy and provides medical care for many in the village.
Well written historical fiction, with a dash of peril for the season.

also reviewed: laura at musings by laura (who found the ending far-fetched); sandy at You've Gotta read this;
Jackie at farmlanebooks; les at lesley's book nook;

BOOK: Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

2011-09-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol, 221 pages

RIP IV; Graphic Novel Challenge

Anya is a Russian immigrant trying in vain to just be a normal American teen. When she acquires a ghost after falling in a well, she feels that things are going to turn around. However, not all things are quite who they seem to be. Not the cute boy she crushes, not the nerdy other Russian immigrant, and not even the ghost.
I really liked the drawings and Anya's regular teenage angst, compounded by her differentness. Anya's Ghost is an example of how graphic novels work well - the combination of story and images together make the great read.

The Adventuress by Audrey Niffeneggar,

Gothic Reading Challenge; RIP IV

Hmm. As a little story, it feels like a fairy tale - there is kidnapping, betrayal, castles, true love, a nunnery, and redemption. The artwork is definitely unique, and dramatic. The note explaining the art at the back gave me an appreciation for it. Niffeneggar made the art in the 1980s when she was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. So it's not a graphic novel, it's an illustrated novel like you'd get for a child, but it is for adults. Perhaps there should be more book like this written for adults, but this one flew over my head. Waaay over my head. Perhaps if I'd read Kafka, I would have understood why she turned into a moth. Or never wore a top. Oh well, it only took about 10 minutes to read, so it's practically gone from my head already.

BOOK: Trackers by Deon Meyer

2011-09-12T13:24:00.000-04:00

Trackers by Deon Meyer, 478 pages

RIP 6; Global Reading Challenge; 2nds Author

I was blown away by Deon Meyer's Thirteen Hours last year, and I was not let down with his latest release. Trackers involves several different trackers in South Africa, and is almost three overlapping stories in one giant thriller.

One story is Milla Strachan, recently separated from a terrible husband, discovering herself in a new job, as a writer for the intelligence gathering division of the South African government. A second story is bodyguard Lemmer accompanying the smuggling of two rhinos from Zimbabwe into South Africa. The third story is recently retired cop Mat Joubert working on a missing husband for a private investigative firm. Through it all, the organized crime network in South Africa play havoc with their fingers in everything.

Each story was exciting and thrilling in its own right, but the subtle way they overlapped, providing the reader with a bit of information that the characters don't have was very well done. Watching the intelligence gatherers compile information and make conclusions did not inspire much confidence in me, but they did manage to get the job done, mostly through dumb luck. Although it wasn't meant to be, I found that section quite humourous, knowing what I did from the previous section. I haven't read about Mat Joubert before, but librarything tells me he is the main character in several other books, and my cop buddy from Thirteen Hours, Bennie Griessel, makes a small cameo. Joubert and Lemmer are tough, strong characters, those outlaw type guys who operate mostly within the law, the kind that are fun to read about.

Without wasting a lot of words on description, the plot flies along. Yet Meyer manages to set the South African location as if you were there, and the characters come to life with depth and backstory. Mention must be made as well to the translator from Afrikaans, KL Seegers, for the wonderful job.

Now that I am up to date on some of my other favorite mystery series (Inspector Montalbano, Inspector Erlunder, Inspector Gamauche) it's time to read more Deon Meyer. Bennie and Mat each have a few books they've been in already - Dead at Daybreak, Devil's Peak, Dead Before Dying, and Proteus.

thanks to randomhouse for the review copy

BOOK: Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward

2011-09-09T19:28:00.000-04:00

Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Hayward, 300 pages

Some books just hit your funny bone and this is one of them. The premise is that Lisa Lutz, author of the Spellman Files, wanted to team-write a murder mystery. She asked her former boyfriend, poet David Hayward, to write the alternating chapters, with some pre-agreed upon guidelines. The actual story (not the best part, I'll get to that in a moment) is that a dead body appears on the grow-op farm of an orphaned brother and sister, two aimless twenty-somethings. They can't call the police to their farm, so they get rid of the body. Which then reappears on their farm.

Lisa writes the first chapter and then sends it off to David, with an email note, which he responds to. Then he writes the second chapter, introducing new characters and taking the story in different directions. Rather quickly, the team approach failed. Although they decide that they won't focus their own narratives on the sister-by-Lisa and brother-by-David, it happened pretty quickly. Each author developed the characters differently, and as more murders piled up, one characters killed by the other author, and then brought back to life by the originating author, and then definitely killed by the first, the snarking and sniping back and forth in the emails became the fun part. The story existed only for Lisa and David to disagree about what they are going to do. (Who gets to write the last chapter? Flip a coin - hence the title, which also works on another level as the first murder is a beheading.)

How contrived you find the emails back and forth will determine your enjoyment of the story. I couldn't wait to see what the Lisa would say to David about what she wrote to 'fix' his part of the story, or how he would respond to the killing of his favorite character - he invents an cousin who looks the same. I don't think you can take the actual murder as a story in itself. It was only there to demonstrate the animosity of the authors, which I also imagine was the plan in the first place. It comes together a little too perfectly to imagine that they didn't plan the whole thing. Didn't lessen my enjoyment of the whole thing at all. However, I read reviews at librarything where the reviewer didn't like the email part at all. I don't know how you could read this book without recognizing that the story goes the way it does only because of the notes between the authors.

Fun, fun read with a unique approach.

also reviewed: raych at books i done read; suziqoregon at whimpulsive; jenn at devourer of books;

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: Queue

2011-09-08T17:37:00.000-04:00

What are you reading now?
Would you recommend it?
And what’s next?

Reading now: Trackers by Deon Meyer. It's a mystery thriller set in South Africa. I loved Meyer's Thirteen Hours last year, and couldn't wait to read another. It's going slow for me, only because it is also the first week of school which is exhausting.

Would you recommend it? yes, for fans of exciting thrilling stories. South Africa provides a unique setting, and the intrigue of potentially stopping a terrorist act, and the organized crime, rhino poaching, leave the reader a bit dizzy, but turning the page. I'm really liking this bodyguard character, Lemmer.

And what's next? maybe the library book The Miracle at Speedy Motors before it comes due, or maybe Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks, or something from my RIP list.

CHALLENGE: RIP 6

2011-08-31T09:40:00.011-04:00

Hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings

runs now until October 31, 2011

All my favorite types of books:
Mystery.
Suspense.
Thriller.
Dark Fantasy.
Gothic.
Horror.
Supernatural.

Peril the First - read 4 books

Pool of possible reads: (from last year's list)

Broken Shore by Peter Temple
The Black Echo by Michael Connolly
Angelology by Danielle Trussoni
20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill (short stories)

and new to the list:
~~And Then There Were None~~ by Agatha Christie
~~Full Dark, No Stars~~ by Stephen King
Moonlight Sketches by Gerald Collins(short stories)
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsen
Undone by Karin Slaughter
The Reapers by John Connolly

The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe
plus assorted ongoing mystery series: Maisie Dobbs, ~~Tattoo series~~, PerWahoo, Jo Nesbo,

gothic
~~The Distant Hours~~ by Kate Morton
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Books that got read:

1.Trackers - Deon Meyer
2. And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie
3. The Adventuress - Audrey Niffeneggar
4. Anya's Ghost - Vera Brosgol
5. Pretty in Ink - Karen E. Olson
6. The Distant Hours - Kate Morton
7. The Broken Shore - Peter Temple
8. Full Dark, No Stars - Stephen King
9. The Potter's Field - Andrea Camilleri

BOOK: The Janie Quartet by Caroline B Cooney

2011-08-29T09:58:00.000-04:00

Note: If you read very far in this set of reviews, each book will spoil the one before it. Not that the titles don't give away a lot of the plot anyway, but, you were warned.

The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B Cooney, 180 pages

I would have gobbled these books up as a teenager. As it is, I've been flying through these. I picked up the first two books at the library book sale after recognizing the author's name. (Code Orange, What Child is This?) It begins with sixteen year old Janie seeing a face on the milk carton of a missing three year old, and realizing it is her. How could her parents be kidnappers? Who are her parents? She spends this book dealing with the idea of who she really is, and how to confront her parents, which she really does not want to do, because she has a pretty sweet life.
A little teenage angsty, but of course it is!

Whatever Happened to Janie?, 200 pages
2nds Challenge

Janie deals with the fall out of the discovery and, under court order, goes to live with her original family. Cooney does a great job of looking into the ramifications of this type of dramatic kidnapping stories. There are not always happy endings, for any one involved. Janie goes from being Jane Johnson, only child in Connecticut to being Jennie Spring, one of five children in New Jersey. Who are her parents? Who is she?

The Voice on the Radio, 183 pages

Janie is getting her life back in order, arranging both her families into her concept of herself without feeling like she is hurting either one. The only problem is her perfect boyfriend, Reeve is going off to college. Poor Reeve, the underachieving, low esteem boy next door. He gets a gig right away at his Boston university hosting a radio show. And the only thing he can think to talk about on the air is the Janie ordeal. He is able to give the inside story and rationalizes that Janie will never hear the show. Yeah, this won't be good for anyone.

What Janie Found, 178 pages

The finale. Lots of what if? how come? Eh, the ending was only okay. I'm glad I didn't have to wait the ten years as a teenager for the final book to come out. It promised so much more action than was delivered, when Janie, Reeve, and little brother Brian fly out to visit the eldest brother Stephen in Boulder, Colorado. But really, they think they are on the trail of Hannah the original kidnapper and what would happen if they met her? At least everyone is growing up, and learning about forgiveness and moving on. And family.

BOOK: As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories by Alistair MacLeod

2011-08-28T10:44:00.000-04:00

As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories by Alistair MacLeod, 174 pages

Canadian Book Challenge 5

It seemed hard to believe that people only twenty miles away would write letters to one another and only visit once a year. But at that time the distance was hard to negotiate and there were no telephones. from "Vision"

The connection to the past, and how times have, and have not, changed is the major theme of Alistair MacLeod's writing. Oral history and stories passed down through generations have shaped the Maritimes. Our history is not that far removed from the Highlands of Scotland or the fields of Ireland. Each of the seven short stories in this collection relates to the past somehow. Here's a brief outline, which does nothing to tell how powerful each story is.

"The Closing Down of Summer" - Miners who travel the world spend their last day of vacation on Cape Breton. Dangerous work for large men, leaving their womenfolk. Relevant today? How many Maritimers are working in Alberta, sending money back to their families?

"Winter Dog" - a man remembers the dog of his childhood who saved his life out on the ice

"To Every Thing There Is a Season" - Yet when I speak on this Christmas 1977, I am not sure how much I speak with the voice of that time or how much in the voice of what I have since become. Very touching, my favorite in the collection.

"Second Spring" - A young boy wants to breed a cow for a young farmers group

"The Tuning of Perfection" - Producers from the big city of Halifax come to Cape Breton looking for Gaelic singers, causing rival families to compete. Gaelic is considered a dying language but one of the local high schools here offers a course on beginner Gaelic, trying to revive it

"As Birds Bring Forth the Sun" - a family is haunted by a wild dog that comes to them as they die

" Vision" - A fisherman tells his son a story from his youth visiting his grandparents for a week.

BOOK: The Likeness by Tana French

2011-08-26T12:06:00.000-04:00

The Likeness by Tana French, 693 pages

Ireland Reading Challenge; 2nds Challenge

I read the first book, In the Woods, by Tana French just earlier this year. I'm not sure if you need to read the first one before The Likeness. The mystery is constantly referred to, obliquely, but I don't think it would be necessary, since I forget details from that book already. One thing I really like about this series, called the Dublin Murder Squad, is that the main character shifts each time. The first book was narrated by Rob Ryan. The second is his former partner, Cassie Maddox. The next book, Faithful Place has Cassie's boss Frank from this book, become the main character. Taking characters from a tangent keeps the story direction changing.

The premise of The Likeness is super cool, if crazy. A dead body who is an exact ringer for Cassie has been found. But not only does she look exactly like Cassie, she is living under the alias that Cassie used several years previously, Lexie Madison. What? Exactly. Cassie's old undercover boss, Frank (soon to narrate his own book) tries to convince her to take Lexie's place and pretend she hasn't been killed to help suss out the murderer. Unless the murderer really meant to kill Cassie and got the wrong girl. Zoinks.

The book is long, and French tends to ramble on a bit - I blamed it on Rob Ryan in the last book, but Cassie talks the same way around subjects, but it still moves along quickly. If it took me three weeks to get through it, I'd be really complaining, but both books I've just gobbled up, so it's really not an issue. Is it just a plot point of mystery authors, or do real life police continually withhold evidence from their bosses that might help them see the big picture, just like suspects? Other than that annoying habit, thumbs up from me, and looking forward to the next adventure in Dublin.

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: History

2011-08-25T10:08:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I feel like the only person I know who finds reading history fascinating. It’s so full of amazing-yet-true stories of people driven to the edge and how they reacted to it. I keep telling friends that a good history book (as opposed to some of those textbooks in school that are all lists and dates) does everything a good novel does–it grips you with real characters doing amazing things.
Am I REALLY the only person who feels this way? When is the last time you read a history book? Historical biography? You know, something that took place in the past but was REAL.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot was an excellent history/science book. Granted, the history was only from the 1950s, but it was the history of the HeLa cells, and the story of the woman who made it possible.

The other most excellent history book I've read is The Devil in the White City by Eric Larson. This book gives two histories at once - the Chicago World Fair, and a serial killer. This reminds me that I'd love to read another of Larson's books. He does history well.

Also, we shall not overlook Sarah Vowell and her fun filled history adventures (Assassination Vacation, for example) that read more like stand-up. Love her voice. (literally and literaturely)

Any other great books I've missed?

BOOK: The Widows of Paradise Bay by Jill Sooley

2011-08-25T09:27:00.000-04:00

The Widows of Paradise Bay by Jill Sooley, 253 pages

Canadian Book Challenge5

Prissy Montgomery is shocked and horrified when her husband, Howie, announces he is leaving her and wants a divorce. But that is nothing compared to the shock when she heads home to Paradise Bay, Newfoundland, with her teenage son, and discovers that her mother has taken out an obituary for Howie and announced him as dead. This great little read continues to blend the drama with the humor as Prissy meets up with some other young widows, and they all try to deal with their new life.

I hate funerals, which makes me something of an anomaly as far as the population of Paradise Bay goes. p 65 Sooley nails the small town life, and is full of fun Newfoundland, sure as be b'y. (Funny story - when I was in Newfoundland in July, a few of us went shopping in downtown St John's. The highlight for all three of us was getting to hear some 'real' Newfoundland accents.That, and the fish 'n chips at Dukes.) Prissy never really comes out of the fog that has become her Ontario life until she returns home - how ironic! The three widows each tell their own story, and far from overwhelming, all the characters come to life distinctly and their stories are balanced and integrated, although they revolve around Prissy. And while the book feels plenty humourous, there is much more, with tragic deaths and families learning how to be together. This was a great book.

also reviewed: Melanie, at the Indextrious Reader, which is where I first learned of this book. Thanks Melanie!

BOOK: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

2011-08-22T10:44:00.000-04:00

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick, 291 pages

Gothic Reading Challenge

Ralph Truitt advertises for a reliable wife, something a rich man can do in the early 1900s in Wisconsin. Catherine Land answers his advert, and hijinks ensue. No, not really hijinks; more like a gothic, twisty plot ride. The cover states "Suspenseful and erotic... Good to the riveting end." And it was, and it wasn't. Let me explain.

I like pizza, but I'm not a huge fan of mushrooms. I wouldn't gag on a mushroom, like I might with squash (I hate squash!), but I would never pick mushroom flavored food. It's too bad because mushrooms are added to a lot of food. If a mushroom makes it onto my pizza, I'll eat it. It's still pizza after all. I can manage to eat a lot of food that have mushrooms in them, but they don't add to my enjoyment at all. This book was a mushroom pizza to me.

She thought of her garden. She thought of her life, her patchwork quilt of a life, pieced together from castoff scraps of this and that; experience, knowledge, clairvoyance. None of it make any sense to her. p 146

Something about the writing just didn't match in my head. I couldn't get lost in the story. There was nothing wrong with the writing, just wasn't what I like, although I didn't dislike so much that I put the book down. I did like the story. This book came to me highly recommended by a friend at work who usually gives me great books. People seem to either love it or not.

I found this great review at librarything:
I think I have figured out what it is about Goolrick's writing that bothers me. His prose is very repetitious. He tends to repeat himself. He repeats himself to create a certain tone. He repeats himself and we get it already. ( posted by scratch)

also reviewed: lori at she treads softly; rhapsody in books' book club meeting; rhapsody in books weblog review; tiny little librarian's reading room;

BOOK: How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown

2011-08-17T22:42:00.000-04:00

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown, 255 pages

Science Book Challenge

I posted this to my livejournal account five years ago:
20th September, 2006
So, apparently, people are blogging about the fact that Pluto has been demoted to dwarf planet. And everyone is upset, according to the CBC report I heard on the radio today. Boo hoo, their mnemonic won't work anymore. Well, maybe if they had learned the mnemonic for the scientific process instead of how My Very Educated Mother... they would understand. Science is an evolving arena. The fact that the definition of a planet wasn't working, and there were too many exceptions meant the planets were going one of two ways: lose Pluto, or gain Ceres, UB 313 and several other orbiting objects that have more 'planetary' properties than Pluto. Pluto has only been a planet since 1930. Just because you learned the planets in school, it doesn't mean they will all be planets as long as you want them to be. It's a good thing you weren't alive during the Renaissance, because you never would have let Columbus sail to America, and you would have led the attacks on Copernicus and Galileo.
So, bravo collection of Astronomers who met in Prague. I thought it was one of the most interesting developments in science in a long time. Thank you, and now I have to go learn about this new collection of dwarf planets, and where they fit in the solar system. Long live the scientific process.

All right, it took me five years to actually get around to learning about the new definitions, but in my defense, I must have been waiting for this great book to be written. Mike Brown is the astronomer from CalTech who found a few objects in the solar system with the potential to be planets. He explains, in easy to understand language, how he found it and the processes involved and then the implications for Pluto. How I Killed Pluto is also a memoir, and he includes the distractions of his life (wife and baby) in a humorous way. Brown's passion for the sky and the planets up there is infectious, and he makes it easy to read, and want to learn more, about astronomy. The family stuff was cute and it kept reminding me that this was Mike Brown's story, not just Pluto's. Just the right amount of personal interspersed with the science.

There are rules about naming objects in space - craters on Mercury have to be named for deceased poets and moons of Uranus are named for Shakespeare characters. Objects in the Kuiper belt (which I learned so much about) must be named for creation deities, which meant that astronomers had to research about all kinds of mythology to appropriately name their new discovery.

If you want an easy to follow history of the demise of Pluto, and an introduction to some astronomy, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming would be where I recommend you begin.

BOOK: Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz

2011-08-14T18:44:00.000-04:00

Curse of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz, 500 pages

2nds Reading Challenge; Mystery and Suspense Challenge

The Spellmans are hilarious! In the first book, the whole family seemed crazy, but in this book, Isabelle is the main one. The rest of the family seemed a little more normal to me. Hmm, well, not normal, but not as paranoid and intense as Isabelle.This book begins with Isabelle's fourth arrest (only two really count) and her long-winded explanation to her eighty year old retired lawyer of how she ended up in jail. Again. And naturally, none of it is Izzy's fault.

I won't say any more about this book, because you need to start at the first book of this fun romp through San Francisco. Izzy learns a little bit more and may even be, gasp, learning some things about herself and others. But there are still more adventures with the Spellmans - Revenge of the Spellmans and The Spellmans Strike Again.

BOOK: Lavoisier in the Year One by Madison Smartt Bell

2011-08-12T19:11:00.000-04:00

Lavoisier in the Year One: The Birth of a New Science in an Age of Revolution by Madison Smartt Bell, 186 pages plus index

Science Reading Challenge; Paris in July

I know practically nothing about French history. Some things that sound familiar to me include: the Bastille, Let them eat cake!, Napoleon. And that's about it. I've heard of Lavoisier from Chemistry - the conservation of mass in chemical reactions is a pretty basic tenet in science. So, this book combines both of these aspects of Antoine Lavoisier's life - his scientific role, and his part during the time of the French Revolution and I learned a lot.

The history part is kind of boring, quite honestly, but I did get a picture of what happened. Lavoisier was a quasi-noble so he had important jobs although science was also his love. He tried to stay somewhat neutral and felt his job was as a civil servant, not a politician. I liked how important his wife was to his scientific discoveries, and it was good to see a woman get some credit. Describing the background of the theory of what would become elements also was a bit boring, but also the part that I found most fascinating.

Hopefully, most people who have finished high school have a model in their head of atoms, and molecules, and elements. We know that air is made up of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, plus an assortment of other gases. But imagine not knowing that, and figuring out that there were several different types of gases making up the atmosphere, as well as the extra problem of where energy comes into reactions, and connecting it to fire and heat. Lavoisier was one of the first scientists to make progress in the breakdown of the atmosphere. He debunked the phlogiston theory and isolated oxygen. He also developed a nomenclature for chemistry that is still used to this day. Plus the conservation of mass was evident due to his meticulous chemical reactions as recorded by his wife. That history and story was amazing! He battled against the scientific establishment, and scientists from other countries but seldom his own doubts. He won his battle with the scientists, but not the one with the Jacobin rebels.Ooh, bad ending for Lavoisier, but good for science.

BOOKING THROUGH THURSDAY: National Book Week

2011-08-11T19:04:00.000-04:00

It’s National Book Week. The rules: Grab the closest book to you. Go to page 56. Copy the 5th sentence as your status.

It was 2001, and though perhaps Arthur C Clarke's predictions of space tourism and obelisks on satellites of Jupiter had not come true, it was finally time to get rid of the hundred-year-old technology of the photographic plates.

How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown

BOOK: Coventry by Helen Humphreys

2011-08-08T19:14:00.000-04:00

Coventry by Helen Humphreys, 177 pages

Canadian Book Challenge 5

During World War Two, the cathedral in Coventry was the only cathedral in England that was demolished, in a terrible night of bombing. Humphreys immerses the reader in what it must be like to live in a town under seige. Is it better to be in a shelter and not know what is going on, but possibly safe? Or is it better to be on the streets, controlling a bit what happens, and at least able to see? There really is no good place to be.

The story begins in the first world war as Harriet is sending her husband of two months off to France. Most second world war stories in England are connected in some way to the first war. Still living in Coventry in 1940, Harriet really has nothing left to lose. She spends the night running around Coventry, trying to get safe, and helping Jeremy find his mother, Maeve. Maeve is also trying to find Jeremy.

I'm not sure how Humphreys did it, but so much happened in such a short book. Characters came to life so quickly, and I really enjoyed getting to know Harriet and Maeve. Both were strong, independent women who write and draw to help process the horror they saw that night. I am not giving this book enough of a good review, because it was a wonderful, wonderful read and I'll definitely look for more books written by Helen Humphreys.

Much better reviews can be found: Jill at the Magic Lasso; Sandra at Fresh Ink Books;

WEEKLY GEEKS: Back to School

2011-08-08T14:32:00.001-04:00

The assignment from Weekly Geeks: (which I haven't done in ages!)

It's still the first week of August, but many of you, like me, may be already in the back to school mode. For us, it's only two weeks away! So I thought I'd do a back to school edition of Weekly Geeks and ask you these questions:

What's your favorite bookish school memory? Scholastic book orders! Getting the new pamphlet and scouring it looking for a book that looked interesting, and that I could afford. A few that I remember, because they are still in the basement - Follow My Leader, My Mother Made Me, Ginnie's Baby-sitting Business, Patricia's Secret, The Trouble with Terry, and Amy Moves In.

Did your teacher read aloud to you? Do you remember what book it was? I'm sure teachers always read aloud to us, but the one I remember most was in grade five when Mrs Adams was laughing so hard while reading This Can't Be Happening at MacDonald Hall! that she couldn't keep reading. Bruno and Boots are the best!

Do you remember what books you checked out at the school library? There was a book I know I took out of the elementary library many times, called Why Me? It was about a girl who gets diabetes, and so does her dog. She shares her insulin with the dog. I couldn't remember the name of this book for a long time, and no one else I know remembered it either. Someone asked at Name that Book at Librarything, so I found out it is also called Sugar Mouse.

What was one of the first book reports you did for school? I have some memory of a Helen Keller book report. As an aside, I had a grade eleven boy this year ask 'Helen Keller wasn't real, was she? She couldn't have been a real person?' Head bonk on desk.
I also remember, in junior high, planning to do a book report on George Washington. I have no idea why a Canadian girl was planning that. In my library search, I accidentally found a book about George Washington Carver, and not really knowing the difference, learned all about peanuts instead!

Do you have a favorite book or author that you first heard about from a teacher or school project? I was in school during the Reader stage of Canadian education. Anthology books with short excerpts and non-fiction essays were how we learned to read. Books where just read on your own time.Although, I guess the afore mentioned Bruno and Boots books by Gordon Korman were discovered in school.

Do you have a not-so-pleasant bookish memory from your school days? Once I got to high school and the assigned reading started, I wasn't a happy camper. The Pearl, Lord of the Flies, Wuthering Heights - these classic literature books couldn't compare to the exciting Agatha Christie mysteries or horror books by Stephen King that I was immersed in.

Check out the other Weekly Geeks entries at the blog.

LIST: Top Ten PEI books

2011-08-06T21:43:00.000-04:00

John has challenged participants to make a top ten list of books from your or about your province.
Can I do a top ten list of Prince Edward Island books without putting the obvious book on the list? Clearly, we all know LM Montgomery is from PEI, and I can't do a list without her on it at all, but see if I can leave out Anne of Green Gables. I don't know how available some of these books are, but I have read or own all of these.

Top Ten PEI books, in no particular order

1. Bannock, Beans and Black Tea by John Gallant, reviewed here.
Great read about life on not very perfect Prince Edward Island during the depression. The font and illustrations make this one classified as a graphic novel in my library, but I question that.If you've got an entitled kid that is bugging you, give them this one to show them a different perspective.

2. Tide Road by Valerie Compton on LT
I'm in a huge line at the library for this one with the local crowd. I'm not sure what it's about but it is getting some rave reviews. Stay posted, I'll hope to review this once I finally get it. Hurry up ten people ahead of me!

3. Them Times by David Weale on LT
Weale is a great oral story teller and works the summer circuit here often. He tells great stories from 'them times' and is a humorous, enjoyable read. He's got several books of this ilk, and is famous (to me) for introducing me to the wonderful writing of Alistair MacLeod in his Island Studies university course.

4. Micmac by Choice by M Olga McKenna on LT
Confession - McKenna is my grand-aunt, but this is one of several historical books she has written, including a history of the Sisters of Charity. She's a pretty impressive lady, professor emeritus of education, and will turn 91 later this month. It was great to see her last weekend at a family gathering.
Micmac by Choice is the story of Elsie Sark who married into the native community after the first world war and became a beloved part of it. It's been republished a few times, I believe.

5. The Dictionary of Prince Edward Island by TK Pratt on LT
Fun book with local words and phrases collected and explained. A wonderful social history of the smallest province, from 'the inhaled yes' to 'stormstayed', from 'slippy roads' to 'as useless as a bag of hammers'.

6. The North Shore of Home by Frank J Ledwell on LT
This is a wonderful collection of stories, essays and poems by the late poet laureate of PEI. Ledwell is from my husbands community of St Peter's Bay so we have a special affinity to this book. I also want to thank Frank for asking me if I was an English major, when I took his course in third year university. I wasn't, (chemistry) but he restored faith in my writing ability after a disastrous episode in freshman year.

7. The Green Gables Detectives by Eric Wilson on LT
Looking for a book for your child to read about PEI? Wilson has a great series about detectives Tom and Liz Austen as they vacation all over Canada, so if you want to get your child reading mysteries, or books set in Canada, Wilson is a great beginning.

8. Rink of Dreams by Nancy Russell on LT
Nancy Russell is from PEI and has written a couple sports-based kids chapter books. I enjoyed her So Long Jackie Robinson (review), set in Montreal just before Robinson broke into major league baseball. This one is hockey based my son read it a few years ago.

9. The Stand-In by David Helwig
I own this novella, and I read this years ago, but I can't remember much about it. Helwig has written a number of books and plays, so he's name you can investigate if looking for other Island authors than you-know-you.

10. The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery my review here
Speaking of you-know-who, here she is! I could easily have made the list all LM books, but I'll go with my favorite of the non-Anne series.This is such a charming, delightful read that if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. She's not that famous for no reason.

BOOK: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

2011-08-04T22:10:00.000-04:00

Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny, 371 pages

Canadian Reading Challenge 5; Mystery and Suspense Challenge

Every time I start reading these books, I wonder why although I have stuck with them through book number six. The writing is so dramatic. Questioning. Continually. Half sentences to make the point. It's like a book full of dramatic pauses. Wondering.

But then, the plot takes over, and Penny does her plotting and pacing and her characters become a little less annoying and I get sucked in. I particularly like how she essentially took two stories and wove them together to pull me through this story where she could have written two books. Gamache is recovering from his last case, spending time in Old Quebec City when a murder occurs that he is asked to help with. At the same time, Jean-Guy Beauvoir goes to Three Pines to look into the death of the hermit, from the last book, again. During both of these stories the past case is remembered and seamlessly written into the present case. Balancing these three stories kept me enthralled and turning pages. (Other than the dramatic pauses) The entwining of these cases makes this one of the best books in the series for me.

Still Life, the first book in the Three Pines mystery, was chosen by our local library as a big read for the summer. The 'read' ends with Louise Penny coming in September as her latest book, A Trick of the Light, is released.

MEME: Booking Through Thursday

2011-08-04T09:44:00.000-04:00

What’s the last book you were really EXCITED to read?
And, were you excited about it in advance? Or did the excitement bloom while you were reading it?
Are there any books you’re excited about right NOW?

I was really excited to read Annabel by Kathleen Winter. There was great buzz about it and my sister gave it to me for Christmas. I waited and anticipated and it turned out as great as I had hoped when I read it for Orange July.

The latest Indridason mystery, Outrage, was just released in July and it was as excellent as I had hoped. The Icelandic mystery series is one of the best out there and I was excited as I read it to see it focused on one of the secondary characters, Elinborg, from previous books.

There are two books I have recently bought that I am most looking forward to. Children of the Street by Kwei Quartey, the second Darko Dawson mystery, set in Ghana. The first book was such a pleasant surprise that I've been waiting and waiting for the second in the series. The second book is Heads You Lose by Lisa Lutz and David Haywood which promises to be a hilarious mystery. Lutz writes the irreverent Spellman series.

BOOK: The Box Garden by Carol Shields

2011-08-03T11:55:00.001-04:00

The Box Garden by Carol Shields, 213 pages

Canadian Book Challenge 5

I am starting to really enjoy Carol Shields writing. I can't read her books very quickly as her prose is jam packed and it took me a while to read her way. I had already tried a number of her books, (was underwhelmed by The Stone Diaries as my first book but enjoyed The Celibate Season written with Blanche Howard) but after reading Unless, I decided I wanted to read all her books. The Box Garden was originally published in 1977 and makes it one of her first novels. My cover is equally as ugly as the one I've shown, but I have been unable to find the actual photo of it. Book covers have taken a decided change in the last few years, and books from the 1980s are so hideous. Someone should compile some ugly book covers from that era. Ew!

But he writes with the most pressing sort of intensity, something much larger than mere eloquence. Anguished. But reflective too. Not like a scientist at all. More like a poet. Or like a philosopher. p81

Charleen Forrest narrates this chapter in her life as she heads home to her mother's wedding in Toronto. It's the late 1970s and Charleen is struggling with her divorce and her seemingly (according to her friends) unsuccessful life on her own. Shields takes the time to develop Charleen and the people around her, but it is mostly about Charleen. The last third of the book takes a surprising turn that throws Charleen's life upside down and made me rush to the end.

I liked the setting and realizing how much life has changed in the last thirty or forty years. I remember being a kid in the late 1970s! When it was a huge deal to make a long distance call. When cross country travel was a big deal. Charleen is coming into her own during a time when many women were learning to live on their own, raise kids, and find themselves. Carol Shields has written a quiet book with a wonderful main character.

CHALLENGE: Science Book Challenge 2011

2011-07-27T13:27:00.006-04:00

Scienticity is hosting this fourth annual reading challenge here. Check them out for more infomation, or to find lots of science or science related books reviewed.

The Science Book Challenge is easy as pi: read 3 (or 3.14!) science books during 2011, then tell us and others about the books you've read and help spread science literacy.

My pool of possible books includes:

~~Lavoisier in Year One~~
A Force of Nature by Richard Reeves
The Calculus Diaries by Jennifer Ouellette
Newton by James Gleick
How I Killed Pluto And Why it Had it Coming by Mike Brown
The Music of Pythagoras by Kitty Ferguson
Waves by Susan Casey

What I Actually Read:

1. Lavoisier in the Year One by Madison Smartt Bell
2. How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming by Mike Brown
3. Einstein for Beginners by Joseph Schwartz, Michael McGuinness
4. A More Perfect Heaven - Dava Sobel

BOOK: The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens

2011-07-27T10:42:00.000-04:00

The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens, 369 pages

Canadian Book Challenge 5; 2nds Challenge

I thought The Girls by Lori Lansens was good, but I just adored this book. Mary Gooch is a character whose struggle to find herself I won't soon forget.

Mary Gooch is morbidly obese, and on the eve of her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, her husband disappears. Life is hard for Mary, and physically she is struggling to just get around. Her husband Gooch has been her life and his disappearance sets her world upside-down. As she searches for him, she ends up finding herself. It sounds trite, but the writing was so good, and Mary's reaching out to people, letting others help her and learning that she has value in her own right was very satisfying. The Wife's Tale is set in the same small Ontario town as The Girls. The girls, conjoined twins Ruby and Rose Darlen are mentioned in this book as well. I believe Lansens' other book, Rush Home Road is also set in the same town.

In some ways the ending wasn't enough; I wanted more! But Lansens told all she needed to and Mary's life, while not tied up neatly at the end, was really more of a beginning. I would love to have read the same book from Jimmy Gooch's perspective as well. He was a character that I really liked (even though he disappeared from Mary's life) and would have liked to have learned even more about him.

also reviewed: leeswammes;

BOOK: The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier

2011-07-25T15:34:00.000-04:00

The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier, 304 pages

Paris in July

This book gave me the best of both French worlds - life in mid 1500s during some religious strife, and life in a present day small village. Parallel stories as Ella Turner, a transplanted American arrives with her husband and begins to trace her ancestors and Isabelle du Moulin, four hundred years earlier, deals with her in-laws, and the battle between the Huguenots and the Catholics. These two women seem to have some connection, and as the story progresses, their stories become more and more entwined.

I really liked the historical half of the story and learned a lot about the role of Calvin and the Reformation in France. Isabelle married into a family partially against her will and battled for herself and her children. It wasn't easy being a woman in 1572. Ella, the modern woman was a kind of strange character, and I found some of her choices and decisions odd. She struck me as selfish and self-centered, rather immature. She seemed too young to be having a life crisis and like a junior high kid worried about how people were looking at her. The French characters she met as she delved into her ancestors were better drawn.

So while Ella was a silly twit, the parallel style of writing, back and forth between Isabelle and Ella was very effective. This was Chevalier's first novel, and her style has progressed. I loved her other books I've read, Girl With Pearl Earring and The Lady and the Unicorn both of which just stayed with the historical aspect. The Virgin Blue was still a decent read, perfect for Paris in July, other than selfish Ella, but the way she brought the two stories together was compelling. I'm a fan of Chevalier and look forward to her other historical books, Burning Bright (William Blake and English history) , Falling Angels (Edwardian history and suffragettes) , and Remarkable Creatures (fossil hunting in 18th century England).

BOOK: Annabel by Kathleen Winter

2011-07-22T21:55:00.000-04:00

Annabel by Kathleen Winter, 460 pages

Orange July (shortlist 2011); Canadian Book Challenge 5

In 1968, a baby is born in a small town in Labrador. Only his parents and the midwife realize that the child is born with both male and female sex organs. Annabel follows the life of Wayne as he grows. Don't expect a story like Middlesex, if you've already read that book. Annabel is more about fitting in, being comfortable with who you are, whatever that might be, and the delicate balance within a family of parental love.

Winter writes a beautiful, slow story. Wayne, his parents and the midwife are all characters the reader gets to know and hope for. There is less about the male/female than you would expect; it's there, but not so much from Wayne's thoughts. Labarador is a huge character and I was pleased to get to know it as I doubt I'll ever get to visit. Wonderful book overall!

I was born in 1967, so I knew I would be able to culturally relate to Wayne throughout his life. All the song references seemed spot on for me. (Those high school years are such a noticeable signpost. For example, it was September 1984 that MuchMusic debuted because it was the weekend before school started in grade twelve and we stayed up all weekend watching videos.) There was a reference to a Subway store in St John's after Wayne graduated from high school, which struck me as odd. I was well into university before Subway started becoming popular, which is late 80s. I did a little research and it turns out that the first Subway restaurant in Canada was in Newfoundland in 1986, the year Wayne graduated high school. Well done!

some other reviews: bellistra magazine discussion; geranium cat at geranium cat's bookshelf; jules at jules book review; buried in print; jackie at farmlanebooks; amy at amymackiereads;

CHALLENGE: Paris in July

2011-07-15T08:30:00.003-04:00

I've never been a huge Woody Allen fan, but when I saw Midnight in Paris was playing at my favorite local indie movie theatre I decided to go. I don't think I am a Woody Allen fan after watching this, and there are all kind of problems I could describe with the movie, but Paris was not one of them. It was beautiful.

Owen Wilson, an aspiring novelist, is in Paris with his fiancee. He is unsettled and questioning his career change. One night drunkedly walking back to his hotel one alone, he is invited into an old car to go for a ride. He ends up driving back to the 1920s of Paris, and partying with the Fitzgeralds, Scott and Zelda, Ernest Hemingway, Alice and Gertrude, plus assorted other famous painters and artists. I'm sure I missed many references to people and times. Isn't the movie poster gorgeous?

Owen Wilson was clearly channeling a young Woody Allen. The thing that really surprised me was the audience reaction. The movie was amusing, and I smirked, but the whole place would bust out laughing, guffawing actually, over the slightest comment or situation. It seemed to me that fans of Allen's movies were prepared to laugh uproariously at his movie. I'm guessing these people don't watch Wipeout and laugh at idiots falling down.

BLOGGING: It's Tuesday, Where Are You?

2011-07-14T08:18:00.002-04:00

It's been a while since we've played this meme, but luckily nearly every book has a setting of some kind. So, inquiring minds want to know - Where is reading taking you today?

Since it is Paris in July, I thought it was time to head to Paris, so I am in Paris in the 1700s, as Antoine Lavoisier is beginning his scientific career. He's known for a few things, most notably his experiments and discovery of oxygen and hydrogen and his understanding of conservation of mass. But, as all good nonfiction should do, I've also learned he was a major developer of the metric system. I love the metric system! I love it so much, I show my physics class this video every year:

Back to Lavoisier. Not to give anything away, but since it is around the Revolution, and he is nobility, it doesn't look good for him.

I am reading Lavoisier in the Year One: The Birth of a New Science in an Age of Revolution by Madison Smartt Bell from the Great Discoveries series.

Where is reading taking you today? Leave a comment or write a post. Spread the word.

BOOK: Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill

2011-07-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill, 330 pages

Orange July (shortlisted 2008); Canadian Book Challenge 5

Winner of Canada Reads 2007, I think I have been mixing this book up with The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls. While Glass Castle is a memoir, Lullabies for Little Children is fiction, though I gather from reading about the author, that it is somewhat based on her experience growing up in Montreal.

Baby, the twelve year old narrator, is being raised by her father, Jules, a heroin addict with some mental health issues. Baby's mother has died, and Jules has raised her since he was fifteen, living in downtown Montreal. While they may not have much stability, there is love. Twelve year olds are at the best age, since they are still kids, but are getting mature enough to see the world around them, and beginning to understand their place in it. Baby is a strong character and proves the adage that if children have one person who loves them, they have that support they need to turn out okay. Eventually, as she ages, and with Jules disappearing at times, Baby begins facing adult situations. When the local pimp makes her his project, Baby reaches a cross roads, conflicted by the grownup world and her friendship with a 'normal' twelve year old. The contrast between Baby's time with her friend Xavier and her dates with Alphonse the pimp are stunning.

The first half of the book, with Baby's stream of consciousness, was really strange. Her view of Montreal and her life thus far was weird and I wondered how the author came up with each bizarre incident. They seemed so random, but then life is random for children, especially ones who don't have a lot of stability. Once Baby's life had been established, I found the second half of the book much stronger. Some people are survivors.

You could not make a child with bad memories into a kid with good memories. A really effective social worker would have to be a time traveler who could go back in time and undo the abuse most kids [in detention] had suffered. p 191

BOOK: Outrage by Arnaldur Indridason

2011-07-05T12:56:00.050-04:00

Outrage by Arnaldur Indridason, 288 pages

Mystery and Suspense Challenge; book 7 in the Erlunder series (available in English)
translated by Anna Yates

Yah! Another book in the Inspector Erlunder series has been translated into English. I notice it's a new translator for this edition. There is just one more now that is written left to be translated. This is my favorite detective series currently on the go. The Icelandic setting is dark, and the mysteries are good, told from the police perspective.

I've always wished there was more of a focus on Elinborg or Sigurdur Oli, two of Erlunder's detectives. In this book, Erlunder has gone off to the eastern fjords and we finally get to have a book from Elinborg's perspective. We meet her family, and get to see what goes on in her head as she tackles a case, trying to balance the terrible situations she runs into on the job with her children at home.

A young man is found in a pool of blood, and as Elinborg delves into the case, she finds double lives, drug dealers, and connections to some past missing person cases. Missing people is certainly an ongoing theme in the Erlunder books. She deals with colleagues who don't cooperate, and children who aren't getting along and witnesses who lie. I found this book read very quickly, with just one main mystery to be solved. The overall feel of the story was different - whether due to the different main character, or the translation, I'm not sure. Elinborg is more practical, less introspective than Erlunder and the narrative reflected that.

Erlunder wasn't around at all and now I am wondering what will happen with his ongoing story. Hurry up next book to be translated!!

BOOK: Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones

2011-06-26T22:04:00.000-04:00

Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones, 266 pages

What's in a Name 3: jewelry or gem in title

I should have read this when I was a child, but then again, I didn't read much fantasy type stories. Diana Wynne Jones wrote an afterward in 2001, twenty-five years after Charmed Life was written, explaining how she came to write it. Reading this now, after Harry Potter and the magical phenomena in books, it's easy to see that this must have been an inspiration for JK Rowling.

Overall, it was okay. I'm glad to have read a DWJ book, but don't imagine I'll read another in this series. Without having read it as a child, it didn't appeal to me in the way that Harry Potter did. But then I'm not a big fantasy reader in the first place. I'll put this one where my kids might find it.

CHALLENGE: Once Upon a Time Update

2011-06-21T12:10:00.000-04:00

I signed up for the journey, hoping to read one book, and I ended up reading eight. And the best part? Besides the great books? Five of them were books I've had for a long time and wanted to read.

Books I Read:

1. Waiting for Gertrude by Bill Richardson
2. The Tales of Beedle the Bard - JK Rowling
3. The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen
4. The Night Wanderer - Drew Hayden Taylor
5. Pomegranate Soup - Marsha Mehran (look for the sequel)
6. Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
7. The Little Book - Seldon Edwards
8. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
and have started Charmed Life by Diana Wynne-Jones but won't finish it completely

Three were books I had read the author once before and wanted to read another. The best book was Tales of Beedle the Bard. Just an excellent, delightful read, absolutely perfect for this challenge. But I can't complain about any of the books and all were enjoyable.

New authors: Marsha Mehran, Rick Riordan, Seldon Edwards, Ransom Riggs, Diana Wynne-Jones

Two humorous Canadian authors - Bill Richardson and Drew Hayden Taylor. Everyone should read Bill Richardson. Stupidly, I watched the movie of Percy Jackson before I read the book, but the book was still good. Eventually I'll get to the other books in the series. It certainly helped me learn about my Greek gods.

I would recommend Pomegranate Soup to fans of Sarah Addison Allen. Both are whimsical and magical with strong women characters.

And for something completely different, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is not to be missed.

Here's the link where participants have been posting links to their reviews.

Thanks for hosting another round Carl!

BOOK: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

2011-06-20T21:28:00.000-04:00

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, 348 pages

Once Upon a Time Challenge

I've been wanting to read another book like The Invention of Hugo Cabret (one of my favorite recent reads) which combined story with pictures, more than a graphic novel. This book comes close. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a most unique book that takes old, unusual photographs and builds a world and story around them. The pictures, salvaged by collectors from yard sales and garbage are unique, to say the least. The girl on the cover, for instance, is hovering. The book itself is wonderful.

The premise of the story is a young boy has been entertained by stories from his grandfather, a Jewish orphan from the second world war who spent time on an island off Wales. The stories include very unusual children, the kind you'd expect to see at the circus. As the boy grows, he figures the stories are fairy tales, but one awful night, he discovers there may be more to the stories than he first suspected. What follows is a scary, spooky, creepy ride, part fantasy, part science fiction, with a dollop of gothic. I don't want to give too much away, and the story on its own would be just okay, geared to teenagers, but the addition of the photographs made this a great read for me. I often peeked ahead at the pictures, and was impressed with how they would be incorporated into the story.

The story ended on what clearly felt to me like a "to be continued", although there was a ending of sorts. My other nit-pick was the point of view. It was told from the boy's first person, but it included too much description for that. Either cut some of the setting descriptions, or change it to third person and really set the mood. I loved the island setting, and felt the creepy, ancient feel of the location. The 'peculiar children' were well defined, and fun to spend time with. I've already passed the book on to my eleven year old daughter.

thanks to randomhouse for the review copy.

also reviewed : Carl at stainlesssteeldroppings;

CHALLENGE: Canadian Book Challenge 5

2011-06-16T18:01:00.031-04:00

Hosted by John Mutford of The Book Mine Set, the Canadian Book Challenge 5 is one of the hottest, most sought* after book challenges to participate in, in the ~~northern hemisphere~~ world. Beginning on July 1st, Canada's 144th** birthday, the goal is to read 13 books in the year, one to represent each province and territory in Canada.

I am celebrating Canada Day in St John's, Newfoundland this year, so will be among the first people to be able to begin the CBC 5. To join in the challenge, simply email john with the subject "Sign Me Up" at jmutford [at] hotmail (dot) com.

(* I'm just assuming. What could be more hot or sought after?)
(** I was born during Canada's centennial, so I'm always exactly 100 years younger than Canada)

The Book List of Ones I Want to Read:

Doing Dangerously Well by Carole Enahoro
Rockbound by Frank Parker Day
Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O'Neill (Orange Prize shortlist 2008)
Annabel by Kathleen Winter (Orange Prize shortlist 2011)
Larry's Party by Carol Shields (Orange Prize winner 1998)
The Box Garden by Carol Shields
Extreme Vinyl Cafe by Stuart McLean
Microserfs by Douglas Coupland
As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories by Alistair MacLeod
The English Patient by Michael Onjadte (Man Booker winner 1992)
Diamond Dreams by Stephen Brunt
Getting Over Edgar by Joan Barfoot
The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe

The Wife's Tale by Lori Lansens
Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny

The Books I Actually Read:

1. Lullabies for Little Criminals - Heather O'Neill
2. Annabel - Kathleen Winter
3. The Wife's Tale - Lori Lansens
4. The Box Garden - Carol Shields
5. Bury Your Dead - Louise Penny
6. Coventry - Helen Humphreys
7. As Birds Bring Forth the Sun and Other Stories - Alistair MacLeod
8. The Widows of Paradise Bay - Jill Sooley
9. The Reinvention of Love - Helen Humphreys
10. Twelve Drummers Drumming - CC Benison
11. Moonlight Sketches - Gerard Collins
12. Tide Road - Valerie Compton
13. Small Ceremonies - Carol Shields
14. The Staircase Letters - Arthur Motyer, Elma Gerwin, Carol Shields
15. Christmas With Anne - LM Montgomery
16. An Island Christmas Reader - David Weale
17. The Canterbury Trail - Angie Abdou
18. The Sisters Brothers - Patrick deWitt
19. Half-Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan
20.

BOOK: The Little Book by Selden Edwards

2011-06-15T22:26:00.000-04:00

The Little Book by Selden Edwards, 364 pages

What's in a Name Challenge: size in title; Once Upon a Time Challenge

Very interesting book with time-travel to 1897 Vienna. Wheeler wakes up in Vienna, a city and time he's heard about in depth from one of his boarding school teachers. Esterhaze was a young man in the heyday of Vienna, before the wars, but in a time of great discussion and ideas. Sigmund Freud was part of the city. Wheeler is a forty something character who has always marched to his own beat. Relatively unfazed by his appearance ninety years earlier, the story backtracks to find out who Wheeler was, how he first met Esterhaze and how he came to be in Vienna.

As with all time-travel books, if I start to think about who and when I get confused, so I just read a long and go with it. The family and characters were well developed, and the epicness of Wheeler's family is a big part of the story. Edwards worked on this book for thirty years and the loops and historical times and implications were cool.

The idea of fixed history, and whether you can change what happens in the future is always a part of time-travel books. In this case, Wheeler travels back to a time when Adolf Hitler is a boy. Hmm, what would you do? Overall, good read. It started a bit slowly, but then books with a lot of story and layers take time to develop. I thought the end was well worth the journey.

CHALLENGE: Orange July

2011-06-13T21:25:00.005-04:00

Once again, it's that time of the year when fans of the Orange Prize celebrate by reading, at least one book from the short or long lists or a winner. Jill keeps up organized, if you like that sort of thing, on Facebook and at Librarything. These are places to chat with other readers, and discuss the books we've read. Need to talk to someone after reading Fingersmith? Need to vent to someone after reading We Need to Talk About Kevin? Someone at librarything has probably read it and would love to discuss it with you.

For more information about Orange July, visit Jill at her blog, The Magic Lasso

I'll read before July even starts: (feel free to start early)

~~The Memory of Love~~ by Aminnata Forma (shortlist 2011)

Book I Own

Larry's Party by Carol Shields (1998 winner)
Annabel by Kathleen Winter (2011 shortlist)
Prep by Curtis Sittenfield (2006 longlist)
A Spell of Winter by Helen Dunmore (1996 winner)
~~Lullabies for Little Criminals~~ (shortlist 2008)

The Colour by Rose Tremain (2004 longlist)
Love Marriage by VV Ganeshananthan (2009 longlist)

The books I actually read:

1. Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld
2. The Memory of Love - Aminnata Forma
3. Lullabies for Little Criminals - Heather O'Neill
4. Annabel - Kathleen Winter
5. A Spell of Winter - Helen Dunmore
6.

BOOK: The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

2011-06-11T10:08:00.000-04:00

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan, 211 pages

adorable: a book written completely in dictionary entries, alphabetized, about a love story

charming: told from the male perspective, and not in the order that it occurs. One of the entries discusses how we gradually tell the story of our lives with new partners, not in the order they occur, but as they occur to us. They eventually fill in the biography of our lives, layer by layer.

favorite: Levithan has written several books with Rachel Cohn, including one of my favorite reads of this year, Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. Although he has written many young adult books, I don't think this should be classified as YA. Not that teens wouldn't like it, but it follows two twenty-somethings who meet through an on-line dating service.

poetic: with brief entries, the piece takes on a poetic-ness. Some are funny, some serious, some profound, some philosophical. The reader has to construct the characters, and the timeline, into a narrative

recommendation: a realistic love story, with warts and hurt, written in a unique style. With one entry on each page, the read was very quick, perfect for a readathon. In many ways I wanted it to last longer, to tell me more, to get a deeper look at the characters. I wanted to know them better.

summary: sweet, love story, charming, short, impressive

BOOK: Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran

2011-06-04T20:43:00.000-04:00

Pomegranate Soup by Marsha Mehran, 314 pages

Once Upon a Time; Ireland Reading Challenge

For people who have read Sarah Addison Allen and liked her books like The Sugar Queen or Garden Spells, I would suggest Pomegranate Soup. Set in Ireland, it follows the story of three sisters from Iran who set up a cafe in the mid 1980s. One of the sisters has a way with food, and their exotic offerings bewitch some of the residents of the small Irish village. Nothing big or magical, just a small hint of the mystical, much like Addison Allen adds to her books.

The sisters were wonderful characters, and the story that gradually comes out of their leaving Iran during the revolution adds a depth to the novel, which begins rather lightly, with some stock Irish characters from the village. The nosy old lady, the bully who owns most of the town, the drunk. But then, I like my Irish stories as well, stock characters or not, so Maeve Binchy fans might also like this book. It's a nice, light read, with a sequel that is also available to read, Rosewater and Sodabread. So much of the story revolves around food, and there are recipes for all the Iranian delights at the back of the book. Really, it hits all my 'likeable' points about a book, and I quite enjoyed it.

Mehran was born in Iran and, after escaping during the Revolution, has lived in several countries before settling in Ireland.

BOOK: Southwesterly Wind by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza

2011-05-29T11:12:00.000-04:00

Southwesterly Wind by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza

book 3 of 7; next in series: A Window in Copacabana

Inspector Espinosa, the police man who nobody thinks is a policeman. The bookish, introspective detective who lives in the same apartment he grew up in, with a wife and son long gone to Washington, DC. The warm, wild streets of Rio de Janeiro as the southwesterly winds roll in, bringing change.

A young man comes to Espinosa, worried. A psychic told him he would commit a murder before his next birthday. He's now a complete wreck. Espinosa listens patiently and entertains him, assigning an old friend unofficially to the case. But when two people connected to the young man turn up dead, they have to look a little more seriously at the quiet young man.

I've been reading this series quite out of order, so keeping track of what is going on in the personal lives of Espinosa and the people around him is tricky. (I hate reading a series out of order, but I blame my library.) Espinosa is beginning to think he might like a relationship with a woman, but he really likes being alone as well. His friendship with 13 year old Alice in his building is touching, and clearly replaces the one with his son he never sees. Having already read the seventh book, Espinosa is still evolving and I'm looking forward to the next couple of books to see how he gets where he ends up.

This week in the Crime Fiction Alphabet we are up to letter S, and my reading matches the week! Yah-hoo! So S is for Southwesterly Wind by Luiz Alfredo Garcia-Roza. Other books in the series:
The Silence of the Rain
December Heat
Southwesterly Wind
A Window on Copacabana
Pursuit
Blackout
Alone in the Crowd
For more participants in the Crime Fiction Alphabet for this week and the letter S, check here.

CHALLENGE: Paris in July 2011

2011-05-19T20:05:00.003-04:00

Paris in July is being hosted again by Karen at BookBath and Tamara from Thyme For Tea . I participated last year, reading and watching a variety of genres.The best was watching Ratatouie. I can't believe I hadn't seen it before.
The idea is to read or watch or cook or bake or anything else that you dream of posting about France. Bonne Chance!

Possible Ideas:

Nonfiction: Lavoisier in the Year One:The Birth Of A New Science In An Age Of Revolution (Great Discoveries)
Watch Coco or La Vie en Rose
Fiction: Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
a mystery by Fred Vargas
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert (some year I'll get this actually read!)
Madame de Stael: The First Modern Woman by Francine Gray (I started reading this on dailylit.com last year)

What I actually did:

1. watched Midnight in Paris at the theatre
2. read The Virgin Blue by Tracy Chevalier
3. read Lavoisier in the Year One by Madison Smartt Bell

BOOK: Tigerlily's Orchids by Ruth Rendell

2011-05-16T18:26:00.000-04:00

Tigerlily's Orchids by Ruth Rendell, 280 pages

Mystery and Suspense Challenge; review book from Randomhouse.ca

As mysteries go, this was a quiet one. No detective called in to solve the case, no amateur sleuth who just happens to be around. No, this is not a cozy mystery nor a police procedural both of my usual mystery fares. There's not even a death until well over halfway through the book. It reminded me of Rear Window, the Jimmy Stewart/Hitchcock movie where the man across the street, bored with a broken leg, begins spying on his neighbours across the street. There actually is a bored man across the street who 'keeps an eye' on his neighbours in the apartment of flats across the street, or whatever those are called in London. He likes to give names to everyone and imagine their relationships. As the reader, we get to see the truth about the people, and how wildly off he is in his nosiness.

No, it's not a classic mystery, but it was a great story. Seeing how the tenants were connected, and what was going on in their lives - some sad, some cute, some tragic, made for great reading. As the characters got more and more entwined, as people who live near each other are wont to do, I was kept on the edge of my seat. It wasn't scary suspense, but there was a feeling that something would happen to someone, and soon. There were some surprises and the plot moved quickly in the second half. I enjoyed the characters although they weren't all good people. It's a story with characters that lie to the police because they have something to hide, but not related to the case usually. Sigh, it must be tough to be a police officer investigating a case.

Great writing, interesting characters, and a that plot meanders for an enjoyable read.

This is my contribution for this week's Crime Fiction Alphabet. Ruth Rendell for the letter R. Rendell has written a pile of mysteries, prolific would be the term. How have I never read any of her books? There is a series with Inspector Wexford, and a large number of stand-alones, plus even more written as Barbara Vine. I managed to pick up another book at the used book sale: The Water's Lovely. Can't wait.

Rendell has been winning awards from the Crime Writers' Association since 1976, up to the 1991 CWA Cartier Diamond Dagger and the 2004 Gumshoe Award for Lifetime Achievement.

Hosted by Kerri at Mysteries in Paradise

By Friday of each week you have to write a blog post about crime fiction related to the letter of the week.
Your post MUST be related to either the first letter of a book's title, the first letter of an author's first name, or the first letter of the author's surname.
So you see you have lots of choice.
You could write a review, or a bio of an author, so long as it fits the rules somehow.

MEME: One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four.... and Five

2011-05-08T19:06:00.000-04:00

I aw this meme around a few places this weekend, most recently at Lizzy's Literary Life. I guess it started at Stuck in a Book. (I have recently discovered that I can copy a link location in the 'right click' menu. I used to follow the link and then copy from the address bar. I'm sure I'm the last person to figure this out, but it has made linking posts sooo much easier.)

1) The Book I am currently reading
I've been reading The True Story of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey, and now have just started Tigerlily's Orchids by Ruth Rendall.

2) The Book I finished last
I just finished Bannock, Beans and Black Tea by John Gallant, an memoir of an Islander from the 1930s that will give you an idea of life on PEI that is not much like Anne of Green Gables. It put me to mind of books I've read set in Ireland, like Angela's Ashes. When people in the Depression say they were poor, they were really poor. No social assistance, no help of any kind.The title refers to the most common meal, when they had one. I liked recognizing the locations, as I live about a forty minute drive from the setting of this book. It was called a graphic novel on library thing, but it was mostly just written stories, with a few pictures drawn in. I'm hoping to get my kids to read this book, to maybe have them appreciate what all they take for granted.

3) The Next Book I want to read
A mystery of some sort - probably The Devil's Whisper by Miyuke Miyabe

4) The Last Book I bought:
Isaac Newton by James Gleik. I teach about Newton everyday - I should learn more about his history. I'm looking forward to reading about his feud with Robert Hooke. That's the kind of stuff that makes some of the scientific names come alive.

5.) The last book I was given:
The Music of Pythagoras by Kitty Ferguson was lent to me by a student, so I have until the end of June to get this one read. I'm always pleased to share reading ideas and books with my students.

BOOK: The Night Wanderer by Drew Hayden Taylor

2011-05-07T14:21:00.000-04:00

The Night Wanderer: A Native Gothic Novel by Drew Hayden Taylor, 215 pages

Gothic Reading Challenge; Once Upon a Time; 4th CBC

I read Taylor's Motorcycles and Sweetgrass last year (and loved it), and this book, The Night Wanderer, feels like the practice run for Motorcycles and Sweetgrass. The Night Wanderer is classified as young adult, and tells the story of Tiffany Hunter, a native girl in Otter Lake who is suffering much teenage angst. (Otter Lake is the same location as M&S) Her mother has run off, leaving her with her bitter father and her charming grandmother. A mysterious stranger from Europe arrives and boards at their house. (A stranger comes to Otter Lake and shakes up the town in M&S)

In both books, the stranger introduces a supernatural/mythological aspect to the story. The Night Wanderer isn't as consistently funny as M&S, but the hints are there that Taylor has a comedic novel in him. Taylor manages to tell native stories that are accessible to non-natives, without being depressing, while conveying the vast history and traditions, and illustrating the conflicts that exist. I felt like I got a little history in my entertaining story, and combining native mythology with vampires was a nice touch. The teenage stuff was okay, showing the typical "woe is me" teenage angst when families and boyfriends aren't working out. Overall, good read, especially for readers who like vampires in small doses, and I'll be waiting for another book by Taylor.

BOOK: The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

2011-05-04T17:45:00.002-04:00

Hosted by Kerri at Mysteries in Paradise

This week is the letter P, represented by Louise Penny. Louise Penny is a Canadian author and her Inspector Gamauche series has won her many awards - three Agatha Awards for best novels in 2007, 2008, and 2009. The series is set often in the small village of Three Pines in Quebec.
See more P entries here.

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny, 460 pages

Book Awards V: The Agatha Award 2009; 4th Canadian Book Challenge

book 5 of 6 in the Three Pines Mysteries

Another murder in Three Pines brings Inspector Gamauche back to the village with all the village gang - Peter, Oliver and Gabriel, and poet Ruth. The body of a man has been found in Oliver's Bistro, but who is he? No one in the village recognizes him. Is his death related to Oliver? Or is there a connection to the new Spa being developed in the old Hadley house that had the first murder in the series?

This book delivers the usual strong murder, with Gamauche keeping his eyes and ears open. There was less about the political intrigue in the Surette and Gamauche and his boss. Also, his team seemed somewhat less involved. I think overall, this volume has a different feel than the previous book - more with the characters of the village and the mystery, less with the police themselves. I think I liked this one better, without the other side stories.

Next up - Bury Your Dead, then I am up to date.

also reviewed: kerri at mysteries in paradise; booklogged at a reader's journal;

BOOK: Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

2011-05-01T19:52:00.000-04:00

Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie, 284 pages

Vintage Mystery Author Challenge; Mystery and Suspense Challenge

On an isolated archaeological dig outside Baghdad, the leader is worried about his wife's health, so a nurse is brought in to keep an eye on her. It appears she is afraid of something, or someone. Once she turns up dead, Hercule Poirot, who just happens to be in Baghdad awaiting passage back on the Orient Express, comes to the site to investigate.

One of the things I enjoy about Christie's writing is she often takes a different perspective of the mystery. For this one, it is the nurse who was asked, after the fact, to record the events that occurred at the archaeological site. So the whole story, including all the Poirot interactions are what the nurse saw, and how she understood what happened. Poirot is at his logical, methodical best, using the nurse as his assistant. I liked how he left this murder to take the Orient Express back across Europe, which just happens to be the most recent other book of Poirot I've read.Christie writes tight, well-plotted mysteries with clues and many suspects. I never know who or what happens, but I always enjoy the story.

also reviewed: kerrie at mysteries in paradise;

BOOK: The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo

2011-04-23T12:36:00.000-04:00

The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo, 618 pages
Book 3 of 8 in the Harry Hole series

Criminal Plots Challenge: book blurbed by an author; Mystery and Suspense Challenge

I picked this book for the Criminal Plots Challenge. One of the categories was to read a book by a new to you author who has blurbed on a book you've liked. I read The Man on the Balcony, and Jo Nesbo wrote a blurb on that cover. And now I've found a new series to follow - Harry Hole.

Jo Nesbo is a Norwegian author, and Harry Hole is the down-on-his-luck detective. A struggling alcoholic who gets moved around the Oslo police department because of events that happen to Harry. The cover hints at an espionage/world war 2 type of story, but it's much more a detective story. There are lots of characters, but it doesn't take too long to like Harry a lot, and root for him. This was a long book (over 600 pages) which means it took a long time to set up the story and realize what exactly the mystery was. I was a bit confused with the past and present stories, and all the Norwegian names, but I often have that issue, and just read through it. Once I hit the half way part though, I couldn't put it down.

Loved the setting, loved the characters, even the ones I hated. My library doesn't have the first two book, both of which are referred to - something that happened with Harry in Australia, and something that happened in Thailand. I'll keep reading this series as one of the characters and his duplicity have not been discovered yet - looks like a long-term story arc for Harry.

also reviewed: kerry at mysteries in paradise; susan at you can never have too many books;

BOOK: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling

2011-04-18T20:23:00.000-04:00

The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling, 105 pages

Once Upon a Time Challenge

What a delightful book of wizarding fairy tales! I think I liked the concept as much as the fairy tales, but they were well done too. Having Professor Dumbledore annotate the tales after each story was a great idea. The book itself deals with the history of fairy tales, and how they were written to teach lessons and morals to children, probably before there were many books available to the general population. Thus, the oral tradition of stories was passed down.

Apparently, the wizarding world was no different. Beedle the Bard, much like our Brothers' Grimm, collected and wrote many fairy tales. Five tales are collected here, and much like the old Brothers' Grimm, were more graphic and scary than some of the more sanitized versions that survived. (Hermione has translated these from the original runes.)

One of my favorite parts of the last Harry Potter movie was the animated version of "The Tale of the Three Brothers". The visuals were so unique and flowing; they looked like a story but in picture version. Finally, I even really liked the edition, with its small size and hardcover, it feels like a truly old book, or one at least that has come from Diagon Alley.

also reviewed by jenny at jennysbooks; michelle at 1morechapter; trish at love, laughter and a touch of insanity;

BOOK: Affinity by Sarah Waters

2011-04-17T18:50:00.000-04:00

Affinity by Sarah Waters, 352 pages

Gothic Reading Challenge

Sarah Waters An author I've almost read everything of now, just Tipping the Velvet to go. Waters is a reliable author who tells good stories with good characters in great settings

Characters Margaret Prior, an upper-class spinster, recovering from some incident and the death of her father
Selina Dawes, a spiritualist, who is in jail
Plenty of jail matrons and a bossy family to keep Margaret in line

Plot Margaret meets Selina in her role as a Lady Visitor at Millbrook prison. Can't tell much more in a Sarah Waters book!

Setting Victorian England, women taking chloral and dilaudid and becoming weak, literal swooning, dark and dreary and Dickensian, seances and ghosts and medias

Gothic-ness A pleasing sort of terror, supernatural, secrets, castles (jail), darkness, romance

Verdict Not quite as mesmerizing as Fingersmith, nor as twisty, but still, a great suspenseful book

BOOK: First Love by Joyce Carol Oates

2011-04-17T10:57:00.000-04:00

First Love by Joyce Carol Oates, 86 pages

Gothic Reading Challenge; 2nds Reading Challenge

I'll confess, I only took this from the library because it's a Gothic love story (which I'm not sure about after reading it - just because you call it gothic and use gothic fonts?) and because it was short. So essentially, it's just a short story, because the 86 pages are small pages, smaller than a paperback. And then it is a pretty disturbing short story. My sampling of Oates writing is beginning to have quite the disturbing angle - the only other book I've read was Zombie.

Eleven year old Josie and her mother Delia move in with a great-aunt and her grandson, Jared Jr. who is on a sabbatical from the Presbyterian seminary. The house is old, the town is old and Josie is left to her own devices by her mother, who is enjoying her new freedom. Most of the story is then about Josie and Jared and their disturbing relationship. It's told from Josie's point of view, but in second person well after the fact. There are lots of religious questions and symbols - many different versions of paintings of Jesus, the actual snake in the grass, to the hypocrisy of religious leaders. The writing is good, and visual, and there are lots of points of discussion, but I'll not be remembering this book.

My biggest question is why is this considered gothic? Wikipedia to the rescue. The most basic definition, "a genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance" seems to answer my own question. This was a questionable romance, as child abuse is clearly horrorific.

BOOK: Waiting for Gertrude by Bill Richardson

2011-04-11T20:55:00.001-04:00

Waiting for Gertrude by Bill Richardson, 182 pages

Gothic Reading Challenge; 4th Canadian Reading Challenge; Once Upon a Time

I remember listening to Bill Richardson on CBC one summer in the early 90s. I had a job where I had to drive around to different job sites, and his program, Crosswords was a wonderful show to listen to while I drove. Listeners from across Canada, and the world, would write letters and Bill would read them, and play some wonderfully eclectic music. Very CBC. I later read his delightfully funny Bachelor Brothers Bed and Breakfast,{reviewed here by eva at a striped armchair and here by Nan at letters from a hill farm) so when I saw this book come up in my library search for Gothic read, I knew I would be reading it. After the fact, I think it could count as a Once Upon a Time book, as surely, cats talking makes it fantasy?

In the Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, there are oodles of famous dead people. Imagine, as Bill Richarson did, if they were reincarnated as cats, and the cats still lived in the cemetery. So there would be Jim Morrison, the silent, brooding tomcat exceedingly well-endowed; Sarah Bernhardt, the dramatic actress; Maria Callas, the singing diva; Marcel Proust, the sleeping private detective; Oscar Wilde, being Oscar and infatuated with Jim Morrison and Chopin is the postman who delivers the letters to the cats. And Alice B Toklas, who is waiting for her love and husband, Gertrude Stein to arrive at the cemetery, translated. So it's a graveyard gothic, but also a touch comedic, because it is Richardson after all, and he can't turn that off.

There was never such a ratter as Sarah Bernhardt.

So, the book was fun. It made me wish I knew more about many of the characters. Richardson has each cat write and speak distinctively, so I liked some cat's voices more than others. The concept is so unique, and the love between Alice and Gertrude comes through. (Memo to self - find one of their books to read?) The first part of the book introduces all the characters and sets the scene. The second part of the book develops a bit of a plot - objects are going missing, and the cats are putting on a revue. With a concept book, the first while was just the fun of seeing how it all worked. Then the mystery arrived and the action picked up. And then it ended.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the poetry, and the fun Richardson has with his writing. Play on words abound, plus, nearly each character gets a poem as part of La Fontaine's Versified Walking Tours:

Attention, please, cats square and hep-
Before we take another step,
May I address a word to those
Who'd rather have their tour in prose;
Who'd rather hears dogs caterwaul
Than hear a cat spout doggerel.

BLOGGING: Just for Fun

2011-03-30T15:56:00.001-04:00

The Land of Painted Caves drinking game

You will need:
1 copy of The Land of Painted Caves by Jean M. Auel
1 (or more) bottles of alcoholic beverage of your choice
Someone to drive you to the hospital / home stomach-pumping kit

Take a drink every time a new advancement is made within the Nine Caves or the general sphere of Ayla’s notice. If Ayla herself invents something (or utilises something in a freshly practical way) you must drink until the next point that Ayla's dress sense is complimented.

Take a drink for every ptarmigan killed with a sling, two if their fluffy feet get a mention. Alternatively, just keep drinking until you can’t remember how Creb liked the birds prepared.

Take a drink if Ayla adopts an animal, two if someone objects, three if it kills someone, and four if she takes out pet insurance with More Than.

Take three drinks every time Ayla and Jondular share Pleasures. Take another if mention is made of how ‘much’ of him she can take, and have some bar snacks and come back in a bit if it looks like he pleasures her first, then she reciprocates, and then they manage to get each other off simultaneously, all without pause. ~~Have another drink if you think Auel ever had sex, ever.~~ That's a bit mean. Have another drink if you think anyone ever had that sex, ever.

Take a drink every time Jondular’s ‘special affection’ for illegal teens is mentioned.

Have a drink every time Ayla saves a life.

Have a drink for every three pages of description unbroken by dialogue or plot-movement.

Have a celebratory drink if a) Ayla hears about Durc (two if she finds him) b) Ayla hears about her Clan or c) discovers her actual origins.

thanks to trishtrash at livejournal's bookmeme community for this very fun drinking game. I am now all set for the sixth and final book to be released.

BOOK: Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay

2011-03-27T21:20:00.001-04:00

Hosted by Kerri at Mysteries in Paradise

This week we are up to the letter L, and L is for Lindsay, Jeff Lindsay. Lindsay is the author of the serial killer series Dexter. Dexter is also a television series on Showtime starring Michael C Hall. Jeff Lindsay is the pen name of crime novelist Jeffry P. Freundlich (born July 14, 1952) Many of his earlier published works include his wife Hilary Hemingway as a co-author. His wife is the niece of Ernest Hemingway and an author in her own right. Lindsay was born in Miami and graduated from Ransom Everglades high school in 1970, and from Middlebury College, Vermont, in 1975. (info from wikipedia)

Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, 368 pages

Global Reading Challenge: US

What to wear? I could think of no guidelines on what we were wearing this season to a party forced on you to celebrate an unwanted engagement that might turn into a violent confrontation with a vengeful maniac. Clearly brown shoes were out, but beyond that nothing really seemed de rigueur. p263

It's a scary place inside Dexter's head, but quite funny. It's a dark humor obviously, as a psychopath/sociopath like Dexter can only achieve. He's not quite human, but he recognizes that in himself and he can usually spot a fellow psychopath. It helps him, see, because the only people that Dexter will kill are other serial killers. His dead foster father recognized his 'quality' and taught him how to survive and still feed the Dark Passenger, the name Dexter has for his killing persona.

This is the second in the series, and the serial killer is a sick, sick killer. So much so that if you are queasy at all, I wouldn't recommend this book. It's such a dichotomy, with the humor and the grossness - I don't think this series is for everyone. I've read that the television series is a bit different, so I think I'm going to try and read the books before I investigate the show. I like the books, and I don't want that ruined yet.

BOOK: Various Miracles by Carol Shields

2011-03-26T12:12:00.000-04:00

Various Miracles by Carol Shields, 201 pages (published in 1985)

Canadian Book Challenge 4

The first of the twenty-one short stories sets the tone for the rest of the book. "Various Miracles" is a series of images of people having small miracles occurring in their lives through out one year. To me they seemed more like coincidences, but then why did Shield use the word miracle? The rest of the stories are read through that veil of miracles for small events.

Most of these stories fall into the category of glimpses, or scenes in the life of a person. Character studies, or 'Scenes' - "too fragmentary to be stories and far too immediate to be memories....they are what a life is made of, one fitting against the next like English paving-stone." p91 Several stories take the theme of one glimpse and then goes from there. 'Mrs Turner Cuts the Grass' shows all the life behind the old lady cutting the grass, very different from what the neighbours and young girls walking by making their judgments might suspect. Or the reverse as it were, of the man who builds a who life around a flitting glimpse of a life, 'Love So Flitting, Love So Fine', imagining the woman from the sign Wendy is Back! and then falling in love with her.

I was thinking as I read that I like a little bite, a little twist to my short stories (think Shirley Jackson or Stephen King) and that these were a little tame. However, in looking back, some do have a little nibble to them. 'Poaching' is about a couple who pick up hitchhikers, looking to get stories from people, stealing the part of them they unwittingly share. Or in 'Invitations' a lonely woman gets an invitation every day for a week, to increasingly better events. Or in 'Words' where oral speech is seen to contribute to the climate destruction of the world, so what if people stopped talking?

All the stories are quiet but real. The prose is easy to read, and the characters are brought to life so easily and quickly. Definitely for fans of short stories and Carol Shields.

BOOK: A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle

2011-03-24T10:30:00.000-04:00

A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle, 342 pages

Irish Reading Challenge

Beginning in 1901 with the birth of Henry Smart in the slums of Dublin, A Star Called Henry follows the beginnings of the Irish Independence struggle through one homeless child. Homeless child makes Henry sound helpless, and he was far from helpless. At the age of fifteen, he was in the Post Office on Easter Monday in 1916 as part of the IRA and much of his adventures had an unreal quality to them. Historical fiction of a real event told through a fictional character's involvement.

Doyle doesn't use quotation marks for dialogue, which always makes reading more of a challenge to me. He also has a stream of conscience style writing, and, added to Henry's unreal type life, made this a bit of a difficult slog. I liked it in parts, but it was always a bit of a struggle. Every now and then I could get into the story, and follow what happened, but then there would be more fighting or training, and I lost interest. Finally, at around page 230, I said enough, and skimmed the rest. Lots of memorable characters including Missus O'Shea, Henry's teacher, or Granny Nash, Henry's crazy, reading maniac grandmother, along with real life names like Michael Collins and deValera, were only seen through how they affected Henry, so didn't really have any role, other than as characters. No development of them except as interactions with Henry.

Doyle has a characteristic style, so if you appreciate it, you might enjoy this book. (Booker Prize winner 1993 Paddy Clark Ha Ha Ha, or The Woman Who Walked Into Doors) With the look at the desperate poverty (reminded me of Angela's Ashes) to the view of the Irish Independence fight this book will appeal to some people. I liked the topic, just not the manner in which it was delivered.

CHALLENGE: Once Upon a Time V

2011-03-23T10:25:00.010-04:00

Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings announced recently:

Five years ago I set out to celebrate my own deep affection for this literature by inviting others to set aside the period of the year that in the Western Hemisphere is known as Spring (March 21st to June 20th) to journey together into the magical lands of fantasy, fairy tales, folklore and mythology.

I'm most likely to complete the Journey (one book at a minimum) for this challenge. Check out Carl's blog for more options, including short stories and films. I'll confess to being more a fan of the creepier challenge, the Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge that Carl hosts in the fall. But there are enough of the whimsical, fairytale/ folklore books I want to read that I decided to join this year as well.

Previous Once Upon a Time Challenges I've completed:
Once Upon a Time 1; Once Upon a Time 2; Once Upon a Time 3 I guess I took last year off!

Some of my favorite books that I've read that fit this challenge or May I Recommend?

Weetzie Bat by Francesca Lia Block (fairy tale)
Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (fairy tale)
Motorcycles & Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor (folklore/mythology)
Tale of Desperaux by Kate DiCamillo (fairy tale)
American Gods and Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (folklore)
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli (folklore)
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde (fantasy)

Pool of Books: or surely I will read one of these?

T~~he Sugar Queen~~ by Sarah Addison Allen
~~Tales of Beetle the Bard~~ by JK Rowling
Anasi Boys by Neil Gaiman
The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde
T~~he Little Book~~ by Seldon Edwards
Enya Burning by Shannon Hale
~~Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief~~ by Rick Riordan
~~Pomegranate Soup~~ by Marsha Mehran

Books I Read:

MEME: It's Tuesday, Where Are You?

2011-03-22T09:24:00.000-04:00

Good morning! It's March Break here at an adventure in reading, time to rest, read, and recover from all that learning we've been doing in school. Also, time to clean a bit and plan a birthday party for the almost eight year old. Birthday parties are the height of the social season in the grade two world, and the planning cannot be started early enough, in her mind. We've decided on a Club Penguin theme, so now I need to figure out how to make Puffle cupcakes.

When I get a break from party planning, I am reading and I am in Ireland. It's Easter Monday, 1916 and the Irish Republican Army has just staged their uprising. Told from Henry Smart's point of view, it's a sad time in Ireland as he's been living on his own, on the streets, since he was five. (A Star Called Henry, by Roddy Doyle)

Where is reading taking you today? Leave a comment, write a post, have fun.

BOOK: An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor

2011-03-21T18:18:00.000-04:00

An Irish Country Doctor by Patrick Taylor, 343 pages

Irish Reading Challenge

It took me a while to get the tone of this book. At first, I thought it would be like the Miss Julia series (Miss Julia Throws a Wedding, Miss Julia Hits the Road), but it wasn't farcical enough. Miss Julia has super broad characters, and often the events become outrageous. That's their charm, since Miss Julia comes off as so prim and proper and she ends up in crazy situations. But Irish Country Doctor isn't like that.

Then I thought the young doctor (Barry) would be more antagonistic to the old doctor (Fingal). That they would be battling the old with the new methods. But no again. Barry is quietly respectful of Fingal, even while disagreeing with him, and Barry is smart enough to realize he has lots to learn. Fingal also sees in Barry a protege, and is smart enough to realize he can learn from the young new doctor. So, Irish Country Doctor isn't like that either.

There are local characters in the book, and it reads more like a LM Montgomery novel set outside Belfast, with the small village, and star crossed lovers, and the lovable main character who finds ways to make it all turn out well in the end. Everyone happy, except the 'bad guy', who gets his comeuppance. So that's what An Irish Country Doctor is like, and no wonder I enjoyed the book - it reminded me of LM Montgomery and her village stories of interconnected people. And like Montgomery, Taylor keeps writing, so there are more in the series: An Irish Country Village, An Irish Country Christmas, An Irish Country Girl, and An Irish Country Courtship. Lots to look forward to.

also reviewed: beachreader, nan at letters from a hill farm,Nancy Horner (bookfool) reviewed for Estella's Revenge, Lynne at Lynne's Little Corner of the World,