CHALLENGE: In the Pub Challenge 2009

How can I refuse?

Proposed reads:

1. Beat the Reaper - Josh Bazell 01/31

2. Arctic Chill - Arnaldur Indridason 03/17

3. Love and Summer - William Trevor 08/25

4. The Little Stranger - Sarah Waters 06/07

5. Map of the Invisible World - Tash Aw 05/20

6. Nocturnes - Kazou Ishiguro 05/05

7. The Housekeeper and the Professor - Yoko Owaga 05/14

8. Twenties Girl - Sophie Kinsella 07/22

9. The Bishop's Man - Linden MacIntyre 08/11

UPDATE: Completed Challenges

It's time to update some challenges I've completed recently:



Once upon a Time Challenge Mar 21 - June 21/08

goal: Read 5 books in the fantasy/fairy tale/folklore genre.
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
Zel by Donna Jo Napoli
The Complete Fairy Tales by Oscar Wilde
Beauty, by Robin McKinley
Stardust by Neil Gaiman

I'm learning that this isn't my favorite genre, it can be rather hit or miss.
Hits: The Goose Girl and Zel
Misses: Stardust and Oscar Wilde

But Carl V still rocks and I'll definitely be around for his RIP III in the fall.

In the Pub '08 all year
Goal: read 8 books published in 2008
1. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
2. The Quirks and Quarks Guide to Space by Jim Lebans
3. The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason
4. The Ravine by Paul Quarrington
5. A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif
6. The Outcast by Sadie Jones
7. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan
8. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

I was quite surprised how easy this one was, but getting advanced copies, winning books, and just being more aware of new releases made this one easy. There are some great books on this list. Favorite: Remember Me?, but they were all good and I would recommend any of them for different readers. A toast to 3M(Michelle) for hosting this and bringing me into the new release section of the bookstore. There is still time to join this challenge, the year is only half over.

Heard it Through the Grapevine May 1 - Nov 30/08
Goal: read 3 books that have been recommended to you

1. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett, recommended by 3M at onemorechapter
2. Heart Shaped Box by Joe Hill both recommended by kookiejar at a fraternity of dreamers
3. Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips, recommended by tinylittlelibrarian, and kookiejar

Haven't got to yet, but still plan to:
1. Sacred Cows by Karen E. Olsen, recommended by chris at book-a-rama
2. Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos, recommended by literary feline at musings of...
3. Then We Came to The End by Joshua Ferris, also by kookiejar

You can't go wrong with this challenge, because all the best people with the best taste are suggesting great reads. Thanks to Lynne at her little corner of the world for putting this one together. There is a whole blog for this one that I didn't join mostly so Iwouldn't get even more recommendations, but there is still time to join up; three books in four months? Easy.

Chunkster Challenge 2 til Dec 20th, beating the Christmas rush

Goal: read 4 books, each over 450 pages.

from the original list:
1. The Book Thief, Markus Zusak: 550 pages
3. The Night Watch, Sarah Waters: 503 pages
6. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith: 483 pages
8. Angry Housewives Eating Bonbons, Lorna Landvik, 483 pages

The best of these is The Book Thief, but none felt like a chunkster, which is the best compliment I can give a big book. Thanks to think pink dana for hosting this one. You should see all the Chunksters that have been read already for this one.

BOOK: Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

Southern Reading Challenge; pub in '08

My son just said to me, "Didn't you just start that book yesterday?" Always the sign of a good book, one that I just race through. I've been reading some good reviews of this one in the Southern Reading Challenge. It's a classic southern novel, tackling racist life in Mississippi just after the second world war. Told from several different points of view, two families - one black and one white, living on the same farm, deal with a terrible tragedy. Several characters, all likable in their own ways, narrate the action.

There's Laura. A city woman who married late, she loves her older husband, but with the return of Henry's younger charming brother from the war, she is forced to examine the decisions she has made.

Henry has a strong sense of family obligation. He tries to do the right thing, but living in the Mississippi Delta, racist behaviour is ingrained. He takes his hateful father in to live with his wife and children, even though Pappy makes everyone miserable. Henry just wants to own land, and be a farmer, but loyalty and proper behaviour is important too.

Florence is the wife of Hap, the black tenant farmer. She's a midwife who comes to help out Laura in the cabin. Her son Ronsel has just returned from the war, and he isn't fitting in on the farm.

Ronsel was a decorated soldier in an all black battalion and is having a hard time adjusting to his subservient role in town after the freeing life he was able to live in Europe. He and Jamie bond over their war memories and are able to forget the race differences, much to the consternation of all the families.

And Jamie. He is really the catalyst for much of the tension - with his father, his brother, his sister-in-law, and with Ronsel. Pappy never narrates, but the level of hatred I felt as I read about him made him a character unable to narrate.

There is much tackled in this novel, but it all flows so seamlessly, that it wasn't until I tried to write a summary that I realized how complex this was. Life in Mississippi before Dr King and the civil rights movement, the returning soldiers from war who are unable to fit back into their former life, and the different types of love within a family are the main ideas I noticed.

Thanks to Maggie for sending me the book! I won it in the Haiku contest of the Southern Reading Challenge for my haiku from The Secret Life of Bees. And it's autographed.

BOOK: A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

in the pub '08; Orbis Terrarum challenge:Pakistan; randomhouse review book



In 1988, a plane carrying the President of Pakistan crashed, killing the President - military dictator General Zia, some generals, and the American Ambassador, Arnold Raphel. This book looks at what may have caused the crash and the death of the General Zia.

I had to look up at wikipedia to see how much was true. And when I saw this picture of General Zia-ul-Haq, I can see where this story came from, because doesn't this face belongs in an amusing story? The crash of the plane was never explained, so Hanif writes this amusing look at army double-crossing and plots from an assortment of people with motive to assassinate the leader. I imagine leading a military coup and killing your predecessor is somewhat like marrying the man who cheated on his wife with you: eventually it will happen the other way. Cheaters cheat again, and someone will try to assassinate you.

There are many plot threads and characters and as usual I found it somewhat difficult to follow all that wasn't explicitly stated. Espionage stories can be tricky for me - I am that person in the theatre asking 'Who was that? Was that the husband? What just happened?' It doesn't lessen my enjoyment though. I just have a hard time keeping track of characters.

The setting of 1988 means the Afghan-Soviet war is still going on. The roles of the Pakistanis and Americans and the CIA are noted here, and OBL makes a cameo appearance at a party. Nice touch and a part of the absurdity present in the book.

This was a good book to use for the Orbis Terrarum because I feel I have a greater understanding of Pakistan. It was amusing, but when a book is described as 'very funny' it sets up a lot of expectations for the reader. It takes a while for the author to set up all the possible causes of the death, but by the end, it all comes together nicely. The book is mostly narrated by a young soldier, junior officer Shigri, intent on revenge for the death of his father.

(I'm not very good at summaries; my reviews are more impressions. Here's a summary if you like that sort of thing)

BOOK:The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

in the pub '08

How do I remember so little about the war in Sarajevo? Yugoslavia broke apart after the Cold War, and I know there were lots of civil wars and the Canadian Peace Keepers were in Bosnia during the 1990s. I guess it's the same sort of awareness in Darfur now; there is something going on but the effect on me is minimal and I'm not exactly sure of all the details. I know something is going on, but somebody would do something if it was really so bad, right? This book, The Cellist of Sarajevo paints a grim picture of what life is like for citizens of a city living during a war siege.

Galloway takes a true event, a cellist who decides to play everyday on the site of a bombing and fashions a war story I won't soon forget. Twenty-two people were killed while waiting in line for bread and the cellist decided to play for them. He wanted to do a little thing, for their memory, and for his sanity. Galloway takes three fictional characters and follows them during the weeks the cellist plays. Arrow, a sniper who is the best at her job, is assigned to protect the cellist from enemies. Dragan, an older gentlemen who has sent his wife and son to Italy for safety, but can't bring himself to leave his beloved city. Kenan, a younger man who spends days at a time risking his life to get a water supply for his family.

This book scared me and moved me. How do people change in a situation like that? The hatred that develops, the change in character of the citizens as each person tries to survive in their own way. Some people run away, some stay and pretend it isn't going on, and some fight back. How did the rest of the world allow this to happen: for almost 4 years the former Olympic city was under siege and electricity, food, jobs, and money were all scarce. Galloway does a wonderful job of bringing the reader into the mind and life of a citizen in the city.

This book is particularly interesting to me because I know a teacher that came from Yugoslavia. I haven't talked to him about the specifics, but he came to Canada in the 1990s and I was thinking of him and his family while I read this book. I want to tell him about this book, but it might be too close for him to read about. For everyone else, this is a beautiful book that I think most people would like. It's not violently graphic but you will feel what it is like to live in a European city during a war. Not that you want to experience that, but I know that the next time I hear about a country under attack, I'll think differently.

BOOK: The Outcast by Sadie Jones

The Outcast by Sadie Jones


in the pub '08,

The novel opens in 1957 with Lewis' return home after a stay in prison. We quickly flashback to when he was ten and his father was returning from the war, 1945 , to the small village outside London and follow poor Lewis's life up until his incarceration. The last third of the book rejoins the story after his release after prison. Interestingly, his years in prison seemed the most peaceful and safe.


Lewis and his mother would be described as a little odd, happy with themselves. They lived together while Gilbert was off in the war. His return is quite an upheaval, as returns from war can be. At ten, Lewis and his mother go for a picnic in the woods, but his mother doesn't return alive. This pivotal event changes Lewis, as in my opinion, no person cared for him or showed any affection. This loss of affection was particularly painful after the closeness to his mother. Gilbert quickly remarries a younger woman, Alice, and the neighbourly Carmichael's, including daughters Tamsin and Kit are entwined with Lewis and Gilbert, as well as the violent Dickie Carmichael, who is also Gilbert's boss. Drinking, abuse, and self-mutilation are all pushed under the rug, stiff upper lip, and then the requisite sending 'difficult' children away to boarding school.


So much happens here, an intrusive peek into the lives of upper middle class people in England, but also everyone as everyone has secrets and how well we hide them or deal with them can determine how functional our life appears. Lewis is a particularly sad case of a child shown no compassion. I was so frustrated at the way everyone dealt with him as if he were just a bother, or worse. Granted, he makes some bad decisions, but if ever there were a character who was given every bad break, it was him. I got very caught up in the emotions of the book and Lewis, and my heart just ached for him. A scene late in the book, with the village doctor who talks about Lewis' mother and then simply adds, 'I always liked you' was such a touching moment, one of the few people in the village to acknowledge him in any way. I read this very late into the night, because I had to finish it and see how it could end.


There is some buzz about this book; it's shortlisted for an Orange Prize, and I found it to be an engrossing read. There are some disturbing aspects to the novel, the secrets that are kept, but the overall neglect of Lewis and his emotional growth is what will stay with me.

BOOK: The Ravine by Paul Quarrington

The Ravine by Paul Quarrington

in the Pub '08

Paul Quarrington has been in the news lately (in Canada) as the author of the winning Canada Reads book, King Leary. I haven't read it yet, but when I got the opportunity to read his latest book, released March 11, 2008, I jumped.

And then I laughed my way through this book. Phil McQuigge is a fifty year old alcoholic, who has recently lost his wife and his job. Things aren't looking so great for Phil. Interestingly, Quarrington describes the book as semi-autobiographical. Phil decides that much of his crappy life relates back to an incident in 'the ravine' when he and a friend and his brother met up with some mean teenagers one day. Phil decides to write a novel based on the incident, if only he could remember exactly what happened.

I'm sure this doesn't sound like a funny book from my description, but Quarrington is very humorous, with irony and black comedy and straight-out funny lines. Phil's brother Jay, who also made a mess of his life, is around if somewhat estranged, and continually refutes the details of Phil's memories. I found this a rather timely discussion of memory, as there have been some recent news events with misplaced memories, and it is an area I find very interesting. Phil was also a teevee writer, and his famous television show (famous in Canada for 156 episode, it only played two episode in the States) is based on a movie he saw as a child (memories again.) Then you begin to question the narrator because if he doesn't remember, how reliable is anything he tells us?

So, the book is a novel being written by the main character about his life, which is semi-autobiographical. If I thought about it I got confused, so instead I just sat back and enjoyed the self-deprecating humour. The ending was a little weird and I'm not exactly sure what to make of it, but it was worth the read to get to the end. I must look for King Leary now.

BOOK: The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason

The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason

pub in '08, series challenge

I'm up to date in this series, but now I can't wait for the next one. This third book in the series continues after the big battle in the last book. Victoria, Max and Sebastian are all around and fighting vampires, but more importantly, their attractions to each other. I don't want to say too much, because I could be giving things away from the second book, but they are still in Rome, and the story is continuing fighting vampire leaders Lilith and Beauregard. This is a fun book, lots of vampire lore, and heaving bosoms. The plot races along, actually only covering a few days, but fast and furious. Victoria has the same stubborn streak she accuses Max and Sebastian of having, but she seems to be recognizing her attractions to each of them and realizing her power and intelligence.

A very cool part of this book was the acknowledgements including booklogged, bookfool and carl. How cool was that? I thought the books were a trilogy, but they most certainly are continuing, because this book ended at a point that I really want to know what is going to happen next. These books are a nice diversion, nothing too heavy but lots of escapism, romance and adventure.

And finally, my question is: are you a Max or Sebastian fan?

BOOK: Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

In the Pub '08

What if you were in an accident and woke up 3 years later? Only, not really 3 years later, but 3 years earlier in your life? Lexi Smart, a twenty-eight year old Londoner wakes up and discovers she isn't the person she thought she was. Lexi, like Becky the Shopaholic, is a little too obsessed with money and looks, but now she has them and she isn't quite sure how she got them. This book is her discovery of who she has become in the past three years, and getting to know the people in her life and her new high powered job.

Kinsella hasn't lost her touch, and I quite enjoyed this book. I find the Shopaholic series a little too silly sometimes, but Lexi is more realistic. The Undomestic Goddess was very good and funny, but the setup was a little contrived. I think she's got it altogether here. Kinsella does a great job with the plot, giving a few details here and there, interesting characters and then wrapping it all up. The process poor Lexi goes through in trying to remember her life, and wondering who to believe, as she must rely on others to tell her about her life. And many people take this opportunity to tell her the way they probably wish things were, which doesn't help her recover her real life.

This has the makings of a great romantic comedy- I can see Hugh Grant or Colin Firth as one of the men, maybe Jennifer Garner as Lexie, and the plot would unfold humorously. You read it here first!

BOOK: Quirks and Quarks Guide to Space by Jim Lebans

The Quirks and Quarks Guide to Space by Jim Lebans

42 Questions (and Answers) About Life, The Universe, and Everything

Science Book Challenge

If you are lucky enough to get CBC radio, you probably already know about Quirks and Quarks, the science show on Saturdays. Host Bob MacDonald explains all the newest scientific discoveries, in everyday language and with humor. I was very excited to see this book released, and it is going to have a prominent place on my desk at school. During physics classes, the most amazing questions can be asked, and I don't know the answer to many of them, astronomy not being my strong suit. I may even start reading a chapter out loud every day or so, because this is the stuff that people want to know.

To give you an idea of the tone of the book, which is very readable, the opening quote is from Douglas Adams, "Space is big. Really big....." Lebans, a producer with the Quirks and Quarks show, tackles 42 questions and then answers them. Where does space begin? (100km above Earth) Can I run fast and jump into orbit? (theoretically, but not really) What moons are worth visiting? ( Jupiter's Europa, and Saturn's Titan might be very interesting) and How fast are we moving through space? (it's all relative to what else is moving, but pretty fast)

Lebans does a great job of explaining why Pluto isn't a planet anymore, and what might happen if you fell into a black hole, which involves 'spaghettifying.' I first heard that phrase when watching 'A Brief History of Time,' the documentary based on Stephen Hawking's book of the same name. I am not up to date enough to know if everything is accurate, but since science changes so rapidly, I'll assume it is good for now. I plan to reread some of the Big Bang Theory questions later, and I hope I'll be lending this out to those inquisitive students who love physics.

CHALLENGE: In the Pub 2008

In the Pub 2008 hosted by 3M at the Pub

I think Michelle was inspired by this Booking Through Thursday question, about what was the best book published in 2007 that you read. And she was like me, and saw a woefully small list of books published in '07, so she decided to remedy it. And her remedy? Create a challenge to read at least 8 books published this year.

But the best part is the Pub she created, hence no young adult or children's books allowed. So, since I really want to go the The Pub, I'll sign up for this challenge. Even if I don't complete it, I'll have few drinks and get some great book suggestions for the next year.

So far, the only 2008 books I know I'd like to read are:

1. Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella

2. The Quirks and Quarks Guide to Space by Jim Lebans

3. The Bleeding Dusk by Colleen Gleason

4. The Ravine by Paul Quarrington

5. A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif

6. The Outcast by Sadie Jones

7. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan

8. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Obviously, most books will be selected as the year progresses and they are actually published.