Rachel Reads

Yep, still alive

2010-01-13T21:57:00.001-05:00

I'm still out here and still reading...but obviously not blogging out it. Ah well. To be honest, it's been two years since I've started this blog and I'm not sure if I feel like keeping up with it. So you may see more posts here; you may not....but Rachel is still reading, for sure.

Fascinating

2009-12-23T19:25:00.002-05:00

I'm on a bit of a nonfiction kick. One of my last reads was Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven, by Susan Jane Gilman. I loved it and of course, it was another Nancy Pearl pick.

The story is Gilman's account of the time she and a friend spent backpacking through Asia in the mid 1980s. Absolutely fascinating. You think the story is just going to be a travelogue but it's not; it's a story about travel, yes, but also about people and her friendship with her traveling buddy--who apparently has secrets of her own.

I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 10/10

Totally different

2009-12-14T20:46:00.004-05:00

Libba Bray's Going Bovine is COMPLETELY different than her previous works. Completely different. Having read her blog, it rings much closer to her natural voice.

The story follows Cameron, a teenager who's been diagnosed with mad cow disease and is dying. He's given a chance to truly live by going on a c-r-a-z-y road trip through the help of a punk rock angel, so he takes it.

I liked the book; it was crazy and interesting and, like The Sweet Far Thing, didn't resolve with sugar plums and happiness.

Rating: 8/10

Speaking of sugar plums and other foods, I just finished A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. I adore Wizenberg's column in Bon Appetit, so I wanted to read her book.

It was a mix of memoir and recipes and was a lovely read. She had numerous recipes I want to try, particularly her sister's scones. Also, I like her concept of mixing to create a meal--that delicious dinners (or lunches or breakfasts) can be easy. It wasn't so much as cooking as blending various ingredients to make a simple meal.

It was a nice read and I really like Wizenberg. She's got a solid fan in me.

Rating: 8/10

Too many reads

2009-12-02T22:01:00.000-05:00

I've been reading but not blogging about it (obviously). But I do want to keep track of what I'm reading, so here's a quick list:

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick -- Eh, it was ok. Reminded me of The Outlander. I wasn't impressed either one, though. Both are very atmospheric, which is enjoyable, though.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris -- Going to see a play written by him this week--exciting! I like Sedaris...this was a good read, not my favorite by him though.

Fire by Kristin Cashore -- Really good! Liked it better than her first book Graceling.

The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis -- Obviously a classic in the Christian faith, thought-provoking and good, for sure

Just decided not to finish Girl in the Arena by Lise Haines...I didn't care for the style of writing or the characters. So I flipped ahead, read the very end and find myself satisfied with my decision.

Too much!

2009-11-19T23:03:00.001-05:00

So I decided to re-read Special Topics in Calamity Physics, which is a bit of a read. And naturally, TEN books I requested from the library came in a day or two after I started Physics. Even with Thanksgiving coming up, I bet I'll have to renew at least half of those. Oh well...

Annoying = Unlikable

2009-11-18T18:51:00.001-05:00

I wanted to like Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev. I do like the cover.

Here's the plot: Beatrice Shakespeare Smith has lived in the Theatre Illuminata for her entire life. The Theatre is home to every single play ever written--and all the characters. Beatrice, who is an orphan that was dropped off at the Theatre (little subplot about "who's my mother" is worked in) is an annoying troublemaker and about to be kicked out unless she proves her worth to the theater. So she tries to. There also may be two guys she's interested in, both of whom get involved in her plot to save her life in the theater. Also, she has four annoying fairy friends. Trouble ensues.

Alright, obviously there's more to the plot but I just didn't like the story. Beatrice's motives and decisions changed sooo quickly and without reason. Plus, she's annoying and honestly, sort of deserves to get kicked out of the Theatre. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON HER FAIRY FRIENDS. UGGGGGH. I have so many issues with them. And really, with most of the characters...some kept in their "character" while others adopted totally modern personalities. Annoying.

Rating: 5/10

A Luxe Ending

2009-11-17T18:55:00.000-05:00

I picked up The Luxe by Anna Godbersen almost as a joke--it looked SO DRAMATIC and sweeping and historical. Okay, so yeah, the whole series has totally been a soap opera, but it's fun.

The last book is Splendor. Can we give whoever designed the covers of this entire series major props? GORGEOUS. The back cover has more of her dress, too.

Splendor wraps up Elizabeth, Carolina, Penelope and Diana's stories, with varying degrees of success. The girls' lives have each reached a breaking point, where lies will be discovered and truth revealed. And this book, like the others, has major drama: druggings, adultery, European royalty, interrupted weddings, etc. Godbersen does know how to write an entertaining story.

****Spoilers
Let's talk about the ending. I'm happy that Elizabeth and Teddy end up together (finally). Carolina seemed to be more likable in this book, but it took her freakin' long enough to finally start providing for her sister. And is it bad I wanted her to end up with the slimy clerk? Ah well, didn't happen. Penelope sort of got what she deserved--as did Henry. I was never a huge fan of Henry and Diana, mainly because Henry was so spineless (and of course, the whole moral issue of adultery). Diana's ending, though, wasn't satisfactory. Diana runs off to Paris--loves many men ("who all loved differently")--and is an artist? Hmmm.

Overall, the ending felt rushed. I didn't need specific endings for people and the vague descriptions weren't satisfactory (eg., "Carolina and Claire threw lavish parties." Really? Is that all there is to life? Throwing amazing parties?). Yeah, definitely a bleh ending.
****

So The Luxe series is over but it was fun, fluff reading while it lasted. And the book covers are amazing.

Rating: 7/10

OMG my heart is broken

2009-11-08T20:53:00.002-05:00

I was wondering why Nancy Pearl hadn't put up her November recommended reads when I stumbled across this: "Nationally known librarian and author NANCY PEARL has discontinued her Pearl's Picks reader's advisory to pursue other interests."

NANCY PEARL, YOU BROKE MY HEART. I love your picks. Please tell me what to read. Waaah.

Unreliable narrators

2009-11-08T20:42:00.005-05:00

Sup y'all....I'm back and just finished Justine Larbalestier's Liar.

So there was a big controversy over the original cover. I'm glad they went with the cover they did. Although I'm not sure what those blue things are she's holding. Seriously, that's bugging me. What are they?

Alright, so the narrator, Micah, is unreliable--she tells you upfront she's a liar--but she's going to tell the truth. Riiighhht. I really can't go into detail about the book, else I'd ruin it for you. But let's just say there's a few big twists--so big that my jaw literally dropped open, twice in a row. But I love when the twists actually make sense and real hidden truths in the early part of the book.

I did like it; this unreliable narrator treated me better than the last one. I thought the ending was a bit rushed but overall, definitely a memorable YA read.

Rating: 8/10

Some Reads

2009-11-02T18:09:00.001-05:00

Here's a few random reads that I've been meaning to mention.

After months of waiting, I read Diana Peterfreund's Rampant. My final thought? Eh. Didn't hate it, didn't love it. Also, for some reason, I didn't expect it to be set in modern day, so that threw me off a bit. And the unicorn aspect was different and interesting....but still, just an "eh" overall.

Rating: 6.5/10

I finished The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry last night. My overwhelming thought on the book? Postmodern.

Here's the Amazon description of it:
"Charles Unwin, a clerk who's toiled for years for the Pinkerton-like Agency, has meticulously catalogued the legendary cases of sleuth Travis Sivart. When Sivart disappears, Unwin, who's inexplicably promoted to the rank of detective, goes in search of him. While exploring the upper reaches of the Agency's labyrinthine headquarters, the paper pusher stumbles on a corpse. Aided by a narcoleptic assistant, he enters a surreal landscape where all the alarm clocks have been stolen. In the course of his inquiries, Unwin is shattered to realize that some of Sivart's greatest triumphs were empty ones, that his hero didn't always come up with the correct solution."

I just didn't have the patience to get into it. Most of the time I was skimming, saying "yeah, yeah, very postmodern, I don't understand what's happen, blah blah." So clearly my attitude didn't really help in my reading and interpretation of the work.

However, Pearl of Pearl's Picks recommend this book and she hardly ever steers me wrong. Ah well.

Rating: 5/10

No Legality

2009-10-21T19:52:00.000-04:00

I'll admit it; the cover of Emma Cole's Every Secret Thing put me off the book. It looks like a legal thriller, which is not my preferred reading, even if it is really by Susanna Kearsley writing under a pseudonym.

As I should've known, the cover has nothing really to do with the book. It's really just a mystery with lots of traveling.

Brief summary: "When an old man strikes up a conversation with Kate Murray and attempts to tell her the story of a murder that has not been brought to justice, journalist Kate Murray brushes him aside - until he mentions her beloved grandmother. Before she can reply, he walks away and she watches in horror as he is knocked down on the road and killed. That fateful moment unleashes a whirlwind of events that takes Kate back into her grandmother's war-time past and across the Atlantic, but every step she takes is tracked by an unknown and deadly enemy..."

The story is typical Kearsley with two timelines and two connected plots. With all of Kate's traveling around Europe and fear that she's being hunted, it reminded me of Mary Stewart (like Madam, Will You Talk?). That's not surprising, considering that Kearsley's work has often reminded me of Stewart.

As for the theme of the book, having grandfathers who served in WWII, I appreciated the focus on veterans and remembrance, as well as the idea that wrong is wrong and needs to be righted. All in all, not a bad read.

Rating: 7.5/10

Sort of book-related

2009-10-16T17:32:00.001-04:00

Amazon is having an ama-zing sale today on the soundtrack for New Moon. It's only $4.99! Tons of great indie bands, plus my favorite band Muse. Sweet deal!

Amazon + Me = True Love

Quick Reviews

2009-10-05T18:02:00.000-04:00

I haven't read anything lately that I've felt compelled to blog about but here's a few brief reviews.

I did read The Magician's Ward by Patricia C. Wrede and it was decent. The "romance" felt rushed, as did the overall story. And I noticed that the back cover copy was very misleading as to what the book was actually about. Here's a brief (and accurate) summary from Amazon:

"This sequel to Mairelon the Magician finds Kim, an apprentice magician and ward of Richard Merrill (Mairelon), in Regency England society. When Mairelon's magic powers are stolen, Kim must trust her magician's abilities to uncover the thief."

Rating: 6/10

Awhile back I also finished The Devil in Music, the last of Kate Ross' Julian Kestrel series.

It was long and took me awhile to get into--but at the end, I was so impressed by the complex weaving that went into the story as well as the twists and reasonings behind people's actions. It was a long read but dived into all sorts of secrets. Also, the title is fabulous--I don't want to ruin it but when the connection was finally revealed, I had to smile in delight at how perfectly named the book is.

All in all, Julian Kestrel's mysteries are definitely a series that's worth reading.

Shivery

2009-09-30T18:15:00.002-04:00

When I was a teenager, I didn't read too many YA books. Call me a snob, but my attitude was: "I need to be challenged in my reading; forget these 'teen' books--give me Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, the classics. I AM ABOVE YA BOOKS." (Obviously I've done a complete turnaround now--I'm all about YA books now and as for the classics, I try to read one once a month.)

My stuck-up attitude was probably healthy for my emotional growth because dang, if I had read books like Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver when I was in high school, my whole concept of love could've been pretty romanticized and unrealistic.

First up: gorgeous cover, isn't it? The font inside the book matched the deep, dark blue from the cover. Lovely.

Shiver is rich in atmosphere: fall creeping into winter, girl and boy in love. Briefly, the story is about Grace, who was bitten by wolves as a child. But a wolf with yellow eyes saved her from being devoured. For six years, Grace sees her wolf. Then she meets a boy with yellow eyes--and you've got yourself a nice little angsty love story featuring werewolves.

Obviously, it's LOVE the first time they speak. That's one reason why I enjoy YA--people can fall in undying-I'll-do-anything-for-you love immediately. As that's generally not too realistic, it's probably better I read that sort of book as an adult than as an impressionable teen.

Regardless, I enjoyed this light fantasy, with all its high school angst and passion. I'm definitely reading more Maggie Stiefvater.

Rating: 8/10

YA Fantasy Galore

2009-09-24T20:08:00.003-04:00

I'd feel remiss in my recording-what-I-read duty if I didn't mention that I read Mairelon the Magician by Patricia C. Wrede (author of one of my favorite books, Sorcery and Cecelia: or The Enchanted Coffee Pot) and Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith.

I'd like to post a pic of Mairelon but I couldn't find a cover I liked. My copy had a creepy, shadowy '80s vibe going. Let's just say I kept the cover face down when I wasn't reading it. Anyway, both books are YA fantasy, albeit set in totally different eras.

Mairelon does feature a magician, like in Sorcery. Mairelon takes in a street urchin named Kim and they solve a mystery. While there isn't any romance really in this book, I'm hoping for some in book two--Mairelon is in his 20s and Kim is 16, so nothing too illegal going on, at least back in those days. Also, I had a hard time with her name (but not because I don't like the name--I do! One of my best friends is named Kim! Hi Kim!). But this girl, well, I kept on wanting to call her Kat. And were there really Kims back in the early 1800s? I don't know. Her name just didn't suit her personality.

Anyway, the book was a rollicking read. Not as much fun as Sorcery but enough to keep me entertained. I think it was Kim's street slang that threw me off. I can only handle so much guttersnipe talk before I want to throw down the book.

Rating: 7.5/10

Crown Duel is a fantasy set sometime in past-that-never-was. After the death of her father, Countess Meliara and her brother are forced into defending their people. There's a whole bunch of tricky battles and entanglements and kidnappings and alliances and lots and lots of traveling. Has anyone else ever noticed that some books have huge portions of the story dedicated to descriptions of the characters traveling places (Graceling, anyone?). Those stories also make me thankful for my bed. And the fact that no one has ever forced me to go camping--at least since I was 7 or so (thanks a lot, parents).

All in all, I liked Crown Duel ok, but Meliara's ignorance grated on me. WHY IS SHE SO OBTUSE??? Gaaah. At least she admitted she was ignorant--but then she fled the situation so she could go home and "learn." Oh well. And there was a lot of political discussion, which honestly bores me. For me, politics = snooze. Regardless, I'll read the second book but still, not my favorite book ever.

Rating: 7/10

Oooh yeah

2009-09-22T19:10:00.000-04:00

Who's pumped about Dollhouse returning on Friday night? Ooooh yeah, better believe I am. I think this season is going to be fabulous.

YA Fantasy Classic....But....

2009-09-18T17:28:00.000-04:00

I actually read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game a week or two back but have been thinking about what I want to write about it. On one hand, I can completely see why it's a classic; on the other, I'm not completely enthralled with it.

Ender's Game is a classic YA fantasy novel about an incredibly intelligent (and basically grown-up) little boy who has been chosen as the person who can save mankind from the buggers, an alien race that mankind fought nearly a century ago. Ender isn't exactly aware of this and is forced to become a leader and overcome all sorts of miserable obstacles. He's a child that is and was never truly a child.

I read an interview with Card in which he describes his style as American Plain (or something along those lines) and that is a fabulous way to explain how he writes: plain and simple. I don't really enjoy that style and I think that's where my issue with the book lay: I generally remembered I was reading a book instead of being completely sucked into the story with more descriptions and emotions, etc. I love forgetting that I'm reading but Card didn't really achieve that for me with this work.

A few years ago, I did read another fantasy book by him, Enchantment, which I liked, so I'm not ruling him out by any means.

Rating: 7/10

Re-Reads

2009-09-17T18:53:00.000-04:00

When I want a comforting read that I know I'll enjoy, Lauren Willig is a sure bet. In the last week, I've re-read The Temptation of the Night Jasmine and The Seduction of the Crimson Rose. Both are lovely, spy-filled reads. With romance, mystery, history and a bit of adventure, the whole Pink Carnation series is one of my favorites.

Side note: although the books may appear to be just fluff, Willig is very intelligent and knows her history--she has several master's degrees and was (still is?) going after her Ph.D. But she makes history fun to read about it.

SO GOOD

2009-09-15T18:29:00.000-04:00

Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire did not disappoint. At all. I started it Thursday night, finished it Friday. Then I re-started it on Sunday and finished it Monday. So yeah, I liked it. A LOT. (It's a rare book that garners an immediate re-read.)

I love where Collins has gone with the series--the Districts are starting to rebel against the Capital. Katniss is struggling to find where she belongs in the uprising when she and Peeta are forced to face their worst nightmare. The title is perfect (and so's the cover! beautiful!). AND THE ENDING....GAAAHH. I can't wait for book three.

I loved the plotting, the characters, the setting and basically everything about the book. All the elements that made The Hunger Games a success are back.

If you can't tell, I highly recommend this series. It's adventure and action with a bit of dsytopia and some love thrown in. And, in honor of Muse's new CD released today, here's the perfect theme song for the book: Uprising.

Rating: 10/10

Finally!

2009-09-10T09:21:00.002-04:00

My brother actually CALLED me the other day to tell me how good Catching Fire was. (But let's just remember who introduced him to the series, hmmm?) I was jealous he'd already read it but my copy is FINALLY ready at the library. Definitely going to start reading it today!

So Freakin' Cute

2009-09-08T18:36:00.003-04:00

Not too long ago, I read a review by Angie on Jennifer Echols' Going Too Far. She suggested that it'd be a good fit for fans of Simone Elkeles' Perfect Chemistry. Seeing as I adored Perfect Chemistry, I immediately added Going Too Far to my TBR list.

Well, she was right--I loved Going Too Far as well. I couldn't put it down. I started reading it around 9:45 p.m. last night (big mistake). An hour later, I had to force myself to put it down so I could go to bed. Today I thought about it on and off all day, excited to finish it.

The plot is fairly simple: bad teen girl gets in trouble and as punishment, is forced to spend her spring break with a cop during his night shift, driving around their small town and doing police-y work. And they just might end up falling for each other...

But what takes the work above the standard plot is the writing and the characters themselves. I literally laughed out loud at some parts and smiled out of sheer enjoyment at others. Meg and the police officer both have their own issues to work through, but they do and don't let a Big Misunderstanding keep them apart. And did I mention that the book is so freakin' cute? The characters aren't cutesy in themselves but the writing makes the story adorable. Sometimes all you want is a happy, funny story and this fit the bill perfectly.

Rating: 10/10

Fluff

2009-09-06T13:02:00.002-04:00

Every now and then I need a fluffy read--one that doesn't stretch my mind but is instead pure enjoyment. Hester Browne's The Finishing Touches is just that--enjoyable, light-hearted fluff.

Lovely cover! Browne does seem to luck out in her covers--they've been classy so far. Anyway, the story: Betsy was abandoned as a baby on the doorstep of a posh finishing school in London. (Quick side note: I really like the word posh--and of course, I'm a fan of Posh from Spice Girls--so I think I'm going to try and use that word in my vocabulary more.) It just happens that the couple that run the finishing couple don't have any children and are thrilled to adopt her. Betsy is very happy growing up at the finishing school, but after the death of her adopted mother, Betsy is asked to help run the school.

The school needs quite a bit of updating, so Betsy's got her work cut out for her. There may also be a bit of romance and who's-my-real-mother-searchin sprinkled in, too. There's also quite a few cute little tips on being a lady spread in throughout the book, which made it a charming read.

All in all, it was a light read and didn't make me mad like her last book.

Rating: 7.5/10

More Like Art Lectures

2009-08-30T19:31:00.004-04:00

I didn't go into The Art Thief by Noah Charney with any sort of great expectation other than it'd be about art. And it certainly was.

The book is about three main works of art (I think? I've already forgotten)--all of which get stolen. It is also a story FULL of characters. So many that I was lost nearly immediately. The book is also full of theft. Several pieces of art are stolen in Europe; people work separately to find the art and at the end, everything pulls together--and actually in a way that rather surprised me. Looking back, I still don't really get how it all worked but whatever.

My first bit of advice, if you're going to read this book, is to not expect to read a "novel." Think of it as more like people lecturing about art. I enjoyed learning more about art but really, this isn't a true story. Characters aren't fleshed out at all and stuff just seems to happen to further along the plot. And the ending is so sudden, with no lead up to it, that I was taken aback and almost didn't want to accept it. In my mind, the title (The Art Thief) was more about art thieves in general and not a specific person. Any ending can be believable and acceptable to the reader--if there is enough preparation. Charney failed on that front.

The reviewers on Amazon hated this book--out of 54 reviews, 26 of them are one star. Reviewers talked about ripping up the book after reading. Many mentioned laughing out loud at parts that weren't even supposed to be funny. While I don't think it was quite a one star read, it was actually pretty bad for a novel. But I did enjoy reading more about art!

Rating: 5/10

Thin Slices

2009-08-27T18:37:00.004-04:00

I haven't been able to get into a good book all the past week. For now, I've been reading Billy Collins' Sailing Alone Around the Room. Lovely poetry in it, although I think I like the first book I read by him better. In this one, he seems a bit obsessed with death.

It's a gloomy, fall-ish day here in my town...just the sort of day to enjoy a poem or two. So here's two of my favorites from Sailing. "Marginalia" and "Victoria's Secret." Witty, twisty and lovely word imagery.

No Mountains, Ever!

2009-08-21T18:28:00.002-04:00

Well, Jon Krakauer, I already had a fear of mountains. (I'm a Midwest girl. I like flat land and water. Mountains scare me. Even the hills of Pennsylvania, where I went to college, frightened me a little bit.) But thanks to your Into Thin Air, I will never climb a mountain. EVER.

Into Thin Air is Krakauer's account of a deadly storm that hit Mt. Everest in May 1996. He barely survived but others climbing with him didn't.

Before I read this book, I never realized how dangerous climbing truly was (or how cold!). It raises interesting thoughts on what compels people to try something so deadly.

The read was intense, organized and didn't dwell too long on "afterwards." I highly recommend it.

Rating: 10/10

Remembering who is the central character

2009-08-19T19:57:00.000-04:00

A few summers ago I had an Elinor Lipman summer. I read everything she wrote (except her short stories). She just published her latest book, The Family Man, so of course I had to read it.

Here's a summary from the cover copy:

"A hysterical phone call from Henry Archer's ex-wife and a familiar face in a photograph upend his well-ordered life and bring him back into contact with the child he adored, a short-term stepdaughter from a misbegotten marriage long ago. Henry is a lawyer, an old-fashioned man, gay, successful, lonely. Thalia is now 28, an actress-hopeful, estranged from her newly widowed crackpot mother -- Denise, Henry's ex. Hoping it will lead to better things for her career, Thalia agrees to pose as the girlfriend of a former child star and current horror-movie luminary who is down on his romantic luck. When Thalia and her complicated social life move into the basement of Henry's Upper West Side townhouse, she finds a champion in her long-lost father, and he finds new life -- and maybe even new love -- in the commotion."

Yep, that sums up the book. I enjoyed it, although it was almost a bit slap-happy for me. I don't remember her other books being that way....although it fit with the whole showmanship aspects of Thalia and the "horror-movie luminary."

I had trouble remembering that Henry is the central character and that Thalia wasn't the main focus. If I had, I would've been more content in her story being more of a periphery one.

Rating: 7.5/10

Not so tasty after all

2009-08-18T18:59:00.000-04:00

Confession: I've tried to read Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen (by Julie Powell) twice--a few years apart, too--and just could not make it through either time.

I wanted to see the movie (actually just saw it last night and Meryl Streep was amazing in it; Amy Adams' haircut was awful) and of course, wanted to read the book first. But I just couldn't force myself beyond page 50.

Powell swears up a storm--I can handle a few words sprinkled in but her usage was sooo unnecessary and constant. And she keeps on bashing Republicans constantly. I'm pretty darn non-political but I'm not a Democrat, so her continual blame on that political party got old quickly.

Probably my biggest issue is the simple fact that the book is more of a memoir about her life and not really about her cooking. I don't care about your crappy apartment, Julie, or the fact that you're not-really-ok-maybe-slightly interested in guys other than your husband. It's marketed as a food book; I want it to be about food.

Rating: 2/10

Scandinavian Thriller

2009-08-12T09:10:00.004-04:00

Dang. Stieg Larsson knocked me over with The Girl Who Played With Fire.

The book left me in awe. Larsson tied his last book into this one and yet diverged it in a fabulous way. So good.

Lisbeth Salander ("the girl") is accused of murdering three people. Mikael Blomkvist doesn't believe she did it and starts investigating to find the truth. What actually happened--and what is being hidden--is much deeper and darker than he could know...

The pace starts out slower, with police procedural work becoming part of the story, yet Larsson manages to make it interesting and then bumps up the story to compelling. His commentary on Sweden's society is subtle yet condemning. The twists and turns in the plot were completely unexpected and surprising and made perfect sense. And Lisbeth Salander is one of the most interesting characters I've ever read about.

I dreamed about the first one and yes, dreamed about this one, too. Now I want to re-read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. And thank the Lord there's a third book, coming out sometime soon (I hope!).

Rating: 10/10

A Roman Book I Like

2009-08-07T17:47:00.000-04:00

Years and years ago I read A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers. I loved it. Generally I don't care for books set in Rome, but this one was so well-done and fascinating that I actually liked it. After talking about the book with a friend, I realized I couldn't remember most of it and decided to re-read it.

Voice is about a Jewish (and Christian) slave girl who is captured during the fall of Jerusalem and ends up a slave for a Roman family. She ends up caring deeply for the family (especially the son!) but faces dire consequences for her faith. Tied in with her story is another slave-forced-to-be-a-gladiator. Rivers weaves numerous storylines together so well--it's definitely an epic story.

Rivers is a great writer....for proof of this, my younger sister, who didn't like reading (how are we even related???), read Rivers' Redeeming Love and suddenly discovered she liked reading!

This series is from the early 1990s but it's remained in print since then--clearly people like it. It's book one in a trilogy, so I'll post reviews about books two and three in the months to come.

Rating: 9.5/10

Another week goes by...

2009-08-03T18:12:00.000-04:00

Last week I re-read one of my all-time favorites: The Stars for a Light, book one in the Cheney Duvall, M.D. series by Lynn Morris and Gilbert Morris. I love this series....so good. It's about a female doctor in the 1860s.

Rating: 10/10

Also, thanks to Angie's recommendation, I also read Emily Gee's The Laurentine Spy. It's a nicely-done piece of fantasy work...more serious than I prefer, but still enjoyable. Go read her lovely review if you want more details about it...

Rating: 7.5/10

Swedish time, baby

2009-08-03T18:11:00.000-04:00

My copy of The Girl Who Played With Fire came into the library today. YESSSSSSSS.

Now to finish what I'm currently reading as quickly as possible.

Pie time

2009-07-26T17:45:00.002-04:00

I just finished reading Alan Bradley's The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. It's sunny and warm and I can combine reading with tanning. Yay for weekends.

Fun cover, huh? And it's a perfect representation of what happens in the first chapter.

Here's Amazon's description:
It's the beginning of a lazy summer in 1950 at the sleepy English village of Bishop's Lacey. Up at the great house of Buckshaw, aspiring chemist Flavia de Luce passes the time tinkering in the laboratory she's inherited from her deceased mother and an eccentric great uncle. When Flavia discovers a murdered stranger in the cucumber patch outside her bedroom window early one morning, she decides to leave aside her flasks and Bunsen burners to solve the crime herself, much to the chagrin of the local authorities.

With her widowed father and two older sisters far too preoccupied with their own pursuits and passions—stamp collecting, adventure novels, and boys respectively—Flavia takes off on her trusty bicycle Gladys to catch a murderer. In Alan Bradley's critically acclaimed debut mystery, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, adult readers will be totally charmed by this fearless, funny, and unflappable kid sleuth. But don't be fooled: this carefully plotted detective novel (the first in a new series) features plenty of unexpected twists and turns and loads of tasty period detail.

Yep, that review sums up my feelings. Lovely period setting, good plotting, detailed characters, amusing, etc. I guess the sun took away my desire to write any more details. Oh well.

Rating: 8/10

I think I need to stop reading about child detectives, though....first Harriet, then Flavia. I'm in the mood to read something totally different.

In which I make a mess of the series

2009-07-22T19:06:00.002-04:00

I adore Susan Howatch's writing. Okay, so I haven't read any of her early works but from her Starbridge series on, I've been a fan.

Back in January 2008, I read The Wonder Worker (which utterly horrifies me; I literally thought I had just read within the last six or eight months....not 17 months ago). It is the first book in a three-part series about Nicholas Darrow's healing center, but back in 2006, I read the third book in the series, The Heart Breaker. So I guess it's fitting that I finally read the second book, The High Flyer. And dang, I wish I had read them in order. I'm going to have to re-read Heart Breaker to fully get the entire story because characters from the first two books have subplots in it.

So for this book, the plot is this: Carter Graham is a "high flyer" aka big business woman. She marries a guy named Kim (I think his real name is Joachim) and then is hit with a series of revelations from him. Basically, he's a liar and involved in some baaaaad stuff. But Carter gets involved with Nicholas Darrow and good things come about...

I enjoyed The High Flyer but it was certainly filled with dialogue and analyzing situations, people, etc. While it was good, it didn't blow me away like other of her works. All in all, not bad but I like some of her other writing better.

Rating: 7/10

Why, Donna, WHY?

2009-07-22T11:59:00.001-04:00

I'm not going to post the cover of The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. It's CREEPY. So creepy that after I bought the book at a library book sale, I couldn't bring myself to read it for months because of the cover: all black, with a cutout of a baby doll's eyes. And there isn't even really a doll mentioned in the book! When I finally did read it, I kept it face down at all times when I wasn't reading it.

The Little Friend is a Southern gothic novel that takes place over a summer. (In that respect, I was thrilled to read it; I love reading books set in the same season.) I have to admire how completely Tartt switched from the New England/ivy league college setting of her first book, The Secret History, to the completely rural, class-conscious atmosphere of a small town in Mississippi. And her narrators switched gender, age and worldviews.

So the basic plot is this: 9-year-old Robin was found hung in his backyard; no one knows who did it. Twelve years later, Robin's sister Harriet decides she's going to find his murderer. And then she becomes involved with a certain trashy family and snakes and wow, Harriet's life is crazy and odd and gothic.

Tartt is a detailed writer and this book is certainly character-driven. (In my opinion, too character-driven. You get to know SOOO many people far too well.) Harriet is a fascinating character that's not entirely sympathetic. But that's okay, because otherwise she wouldn't have accomplished what she did. As for plot, well, random things happen. Like poisonous snakes nearly killing people. Looking back on it all, my main problem is that I didn't end the book feeling resolved on anything.

Here's my main issue and it's a bit of a spoiler: THE ENDING IS AWFUL. There's no resolution. None. Every single plot line is left open: Harriet's parents, what will happen to Danny and Harriet, the murder.....GAHHHH. Donna, you strung me along for 600+ pages; I WANT ANSWERS. I know, I know; life isn't pretty and full of answers but fiction isn't real life.

I just want to talk to someone else who read this book. Help me move on and resolve my issues...

Rating: 6/10 (more like a 8.5 for writing but a 5 for plot because I'm still so bitter)

Fun Fun

2009-07-13T19:56:00.003-04:00

Ally Carter's Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover is sheer fun. I'm always up for the Gallagher Girls and their adventures.

Here's the gist of the series: there's a super-secret school, Gallagher Academy, that trains girl spies (they're not spies now; just learning everything they'll need to know). Cammie Morgan is a pavement artist--skilled at following people, seeing what others don't. She'll need those skills to help protect one of her best friends, whose father is running for vice president.

The story ties in nicely to the previous books in the series, so you should really read those first. (On that note, who reads just one book in a series or skips around? And as I typed that sentence, I realized that I DO. Currently, I'm reading the second book in a loose series where I read book three first, followed by book one and now I'm on book two. Shame on me. But more on that later...)

Cammie is growing as a character and overall maturing, so that's nice to see. And yay for a certain character from book two making a few surprise appearances.

Anything, I like this series....it's fun, full of spies and is still somehow believable.

Rating: 8/10

You're not better than the pros!

2009-07-10T17:25:00.003-04:00

I don't remember why I wanted to read Fake I.D. by Walter Sorrells, other than it featured a mom and a daughter living on the run. It seemed like an intriguing YA story.

And it could've been a good story, except for so many gaping plotlines and holes. Chasity Pureheart doesn't know her real name; her current name was plucked from a romance novel. Her and her mom have been running for 16 years but "Chass" doesn't know why. Her mom goes missing and then Chass' life falls apart....or finally comes together? Well, thanks to the preview of book two at the end, you learn neither happens. It's Sorrells decided he wanted to write more about the series, so he totally writes off what happened in book one.

But here's my biggest issue with the book: the secret could've easily been turned over to the police. It should've been immediately turned over! I truly do not understand why Chass' mom has decided to keep them on the run, other than she says something like she's been working on finding solid evidence on this one bad guy for the last 16 years. Honey, clearly you suck at it. Let the pros do their job. Oh! Here's another thing--spoiler alert--at the end, you get a preview of the next book and even though they revealed the secret, the same people are still after them. I DON'T GET IT. The secret should've been in police custody, etc.

There's a few issues, too, with continuity. Chass leaves a guitar and all her clothing in a certain car, which she has to ditch, leaving it all behind. Yet somehow later she still has it. What? Aah, and so much gets resolved in a page or two, it killed me. Really, this book just killed me. (And you think a few other characters, but nope, book two brings them back.)

It certainly was action-packed and an engrossing read but the reason for it all annoyed me so much, as did little continuity issues.

Rating: 6/10

Weekend/Monday Reads

2009-07-08T18:59:00.001-04:00

I wasn't really in the mood to read much this weekend (a rare event for me). Still, I managed to finish off Mad About the Boy? by Dolores Gordon-Smith and Edna Lewis' The Taste of Country Cooking.

I love the cover on this one; it's actually what drew me into the series. The cover is evocative of the atmosphere of the novel--very 1920s.

The series feature Jack Haldean, a former Royal Flying Corps pilot turned mystery writer. While Jack is visiting relatives at their grand estate, a guest kills himself--but Jack isn't convinced. As he delves into the mystery, new complications keep on popping up, involving everyone in the family.

Gordon-Smith, as I've said before, is a good writer; it's easy to read and engrossing. I'll be reading book three, As If By Magic (and again, beautiful cover!).

Rating: 8.5/10

Another book I've been reading in bits and pieces is The Taste of Country Cooking (30th anniversary edition). I wouldn't call it a cookbook for general use but rather a look at what cooking used to be like--and I am SO GLAD that I don't have to butcher my meals. It's fascinating how much food preparation has changed in less than 100 years but also in what remains the same. Also, I was intrigued by how Lewis is a strong champion for local and organic eating--30+ years before it became a major movement.

Overall, it reminded me of Little House on the Prairie and how so much of those books involved gathering/preparing/eating food. And I loved them for that fact. But, as in those books, I don't love Edna's descriptions of slaughtered pigs with "glistening" white skin. Eww. I'm not a vegetarian nor will I ever be, but let's not test how deep my love for meat goes, okay?

Still, slaughtering descriptions aside, it was an excellent read and I do recommend it for any fan of cooking.

Wandering with maps aplenty

2009-07-04T12:50:00.002-04:00

Reif Larsen's The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet is certainly ambitious and in some ways, charming.

The book is about 12-year-old T. S. Spivet, a genius cartographer. T. S. maps everything--from the corn he and his sister husk to bugs to yeah, everything.

T. S. lives with his rancher father, his scientist mother and his normal pop-obsessed sister. In this family, no one quite fits. T. S. is certainly no cowboy but instead more of a scientist like his mother. Anyway, a professor friend nominates T. S. for a Smithsonian award, which he wins--but the committee doesn't know he's only 12. Too scared to tell his family about the award, T. S. runs away to Washington, D.C. and has many adventures, etc. (Just a side note on that: in Chicago, T. S. has a rather, um, surprising/violent encounter. It threw off the book for me; it was realistic but just didn't fit with the rest of the novel.)

The book rather meandered. Unless there's a sequel in the works, then we're left with so many open-ended questions: Does his mother discover her species of beetle? What happens to the book his mom is writing? Is T. S. and his father's relationship repaired--but his parents' relationship is now ruined? There's also a bit of magic realism thrown in, which again, is a bit odd for a book so solidly founded on science.

My one big complaint was the lack of resolution on so many fronts. It was one of those endings where I involuntarily spoke out loud "Are you kidding me? THAT'S the end? GAHHH."

Selected Works is different--a bit of a plodding work--definitely not a beach read. But it is beautifully illustrated with maps and sketches, which add to the writing but slow it down. It's worth taking a peek at to see if you'd want to read it. Just be prepared for some randomness scattered in.

Rating: 7/10

Happy July

2009-07-02T10:23:00.003-04:00

So my three best friends came up for a loooong "weekend" visit. It was incredibly fun and fabulous and I'm sad they're gone. Sometimes I really miss college--mainly the social aspects.

Anyway, that means I did practically no reading--instead we watched movies, like Step Up 2. I LOVE that movie (ok, well, really just the lead guy, actor Robert Hoffman, and all the dancing). So good!

I'm about to finish up a book that's taken me all week to plow through, so I'm looking forward to finishing it and moving onto something new.

Plants galore

2009-06-25T11:02:00.003-04:00

First of all, I really like Franz Ferdinand. Their latest CD makes me want to have a party--or workout (seriously, they make working out and running so much better).

Anyway, I've been reading everywhere about Margot Berwin's Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. Is the hype justified?

Hmm, well, isn't that a pretty cover? No, just kidding, the book was interesting and I really enjoyed the focus on tropical plants, along with their mystical qualities. It's probably just so different (a bit of magic realism combined with plant lore) that it stands out.

Here's the plot: Lila is a recently divorced, youngish, NY advertising executive. She meets a hottttttt plant man who sells her a tropical plant. She discovers that she loves plants, which leads her to this random laundromat filled with plants--including the nine plants of desire. A few mistakes later, the plants are stolen and Lila must make it up to the laundromat owner, Armand. So they travel to Mexico to locate replacements and Lila learns more about the plants and realizes how full her life can be.

I liked the book; however, I think you can see where plotting and symbols tighter. Still, Berwin shows a lot of promise and definitely offered up a unique twist with her focus on tropical plants.

On a side note, it's been pretty darn hot here and I don't have air conditioning (by choice--I love being warm!), so I could really feel her descriptions of the jungle and heat.

Rating: 6.5/10

Delicioussssss

2009-06-25T10:54:00.003-04:00

For my birthday, I requested Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. I peruse through numerous food blogs and Baking always seems to pop up. And since I love baking, well, I figured I should own this classic.

Um, yeah, isn't that cover reason enough to buy this book? After paging through it, I settled upon her Coffee-Break Muffins, which use A LOT of coffee (fine by me!). I brought them into work, where reviews were mixed. The girls seemed to like them; the guys, not so much. Let's just say if you don't like coffee, you'll hate these muffins.

Anyway, I'm excited to try more out of her book--especially the chocolate recipes.

Ah, Poe

2009-06-21T20:50:00.003-04:00

Ah, Tap & Gown, with you comes the end of the adventures of Amy and Poe. It's a necessary end, as it'd be hard to continue writing about a college secret society after the main character has graduated, but still, no more Poe is a sad thing. (That being said, Poe did continue on as a patriach, right? Still two patriachs hanging out would be a bit sad.)

Tap mainly deals with the Diggers' trouble rounding up suitable candidates for class D178--and, as it's class D177 doing the picking, of course there's major trouble ahead...and reality hits for Amy and Poe--and everyone else who's graduating.

Rites of Spring (Break) is obviously the gold standard (Poe!!!!), but still I enjoyed this one. Diana Peterfreund has definitely developed as a writer and it's been nice to see how the quality of her writing has progressed. It was a quick read and I'm looking forward to Peterfreund's Rampant. Maybe I'll enjoy killer unicorns as much as I enjoyed Poe?

Rating: 8/10

A rather '20s weekend

2009-06-21T20:28:00.004-04:00

This has been a rather 1920s-esque week for me. First, I read Paul Murray's An Evening of Long Goodbyes, which isn't actually set in the '20s. However, the main character seemed to want to live in that era and I honestly had a hard time remembering that the book was set in modern day Ireland. It was interesting in that aspect--Murray did a good job of creating a Roaring '20s feel to his modern work.

I don't think I'd recommend the book to anyone; it was a bit boring in parts and turned oddly serious at the end. Charles, the main character, lives in the old family manor, acting the part of a country gentleman. When he learns his family (just a younger sister and mother away at rehab) has lost all their money, he's forced to leave his home and--gasp--get a job. Throw in some interesting secondary characters and you've got yourself a romp...kind of. Oddly enough, there was a fair amount on immigration in Ireland and all the unrest that's caused. (Glad to see America's not alone in dealing with those issues.) But the ending...ok, here's the thing: part of the ending revolves around a play on words. However, I think the joke only works if you say the words in a British/Irish accent. Whatever; it was a different sort of read...not sure if I'd read it again if I knew what it was going to be like.

Rating: 7/10

So a friend and I went to the movies but our movie had been cancelled. As it was a local theater, they were sooo nice about it and gave us free pass into Easy Virtue instead. Here's my thoughts on that movie set in the '20s:

1. Jessica Biel is a bad actress. I'm a bit prejudiced against her since she's been whining about how hard it is to be beautiful and be taken seriously as an actress. Honey, that's because you're not a good actress. If you were, your beauty would only be an additional aspect (cf. Kate Winslet, Audrey Hepburn, etc.)
2. Colin Firth is wonderful. Too bad he wasn't in the movie that much.
3. The movie was boring and tortuous. Within the first five minutes, both my friend and I knew we had a long road ahead of us.
4. So, at one point, I was joking around about what the ending was going to be. I was kind of serious, but not really. BUT IT HAPPENED EXACTLY HOW I PREDICTED. (If you really want to know, it's this: Jessica Biel's character leaves her wimpy husband for her father-in-law (played by Colin Firth) and yeah, that's the ending. Wow.
5. I just can't get over how much I didn't enjoy this movie.

So there's my roaring weekend for you!

Get Your Burr On

2009-06-18T20:05:00.001-04:00

If you've read much historical romance, then you've most likely heard of Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Somehow, I hadn't read it but my (future) brother-in-law bought it for my birthday, so now I can say I've experienced Jamie and Claire.

Here's the description via Amazon: English nurse Claire Beauchamp Randall and husband Frank take a second honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands in 1945. When Claire walks through a cleft stone in an ancient henge, she's somehow transported to 1743. She encounters Frank's evil ancestor, British captain Jonathan "Black Jack" Randall, and is adopted by another clan. Claire nurses young soldier James Fraser, and the two begin a romance, seeing each other through many perilous, swashbuckling adventures involving Black Jack. Eventually Claire finds a chance to return to 1945, and must choose between Frank and Jamie.

I think the whole two men in her life thing threw me off from reading the series but it truly was an interesting, good read. It was long and full of adventure--and I was actually distraught, thinking there wouldn't be a good ending. It's easy to see why this series is a classic.

Rating: 9/10

Actually a biography

2009-06-16T09:27:00.000-04:00

In college, I read Kathleen Norris' Cloister Walk and thoroughly enjoyed her writing. So when I saw her Virgin of Bennington at a library book sale for $1, it was an easy buy decision.

From reading the cover copy, I thought it was going to be about her college years and the time afterward--how she led a wild life in NYC to developing faith and moving to one of the Dakotas. But really, the book was about her mentor and employer, Betty Kray, whom she met in NYC.

While Kray's life was interesting and important, particularly for American poetry, a mini-biography wasn't what I was expecting. It seemed as if Norris started out writing about herself but found Kray to be more fascinating.

The book itself wasn't that bad; it was just so wrongly marketed and has such a misleading cover copy that I think most people will be a bit puzzled and then annoyed that Virgin isn't at all what they thought it would be.

Ah well, at least it was my nonfiction read for the month. And it was an appropriate follow-up to Billy Collins, too.

Rating: 6/10

Simply lovely

2009-06-10T21:55:00.005-04:00

I don't remember when I first heard of Billy Collins; it was probably through my friend Kim, who has excellent taste. So when Angie posted Collins' poem Taking off Emily Dickinson's Clothes, it was an excellent reminder that I've always meant to read an actual book of his poetry. I picked Ballistics, which is a fine example of modern poetry.

First up, I love the cover. It's gorgeous in person. Secondly, I enjoy modern poetry. I even interned for a small publishing house that was putting out a book of modern poetry (that was a glorious summer; sitting outside, drinking iced coffee, reading poetry all day long...sigh). So it's pretty natural that I thoroughly enjoyed Collins' work. His writing is simple yet fraught with twists and bits of humor. I want to read more.

Rating: 9.5/10

Zombies

2009-06-08T18:26:00.000-04:00

Much to the disgust of my brother, I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith. I think my brother's disgust lay in the fact that Grahame-Smith is blatantly adding in a shock factor to drum up sales...which, yes, is true, but obviously caught my attention (and many people's).

First up, the cover. It's gross. So gross that I kept it face down when I wasn't reading it.

The book itself...well, yes, it's a gimmick. It was sometimes amusing, sometimes weird and other times, well, bizarre.

I did notice that Grahame-Smith made Elizabeth an anti-Christian character, which wasn't necessary. The reader's guide questions at the end of the book made the author's opinions toward Christianity and the church made it clear that Grahame-Smith wanted to add mockery about that faith. That sort of tainted the book for me. I mean, it's one thing to enjoy the addition of zombies and all that silliness but to add his own worldview and opinions to a classic novel that doesn't say anything on the topic is another matter.

So read it for the gimmick but don't expect much more.

Rating: 5/10

It provoked my thoughts

2009-06-03T18:52:00.002-04:00

Cory Doctorow's Little Brother invaded my subconscious. I suppose what really got me about this book is that Doctorow's privacy-invading future is feasible.

Little Brother is a look at America's not-too-distant future, one where its citizens are monitored closely with cameras, chips, etc. Seventeen-year-old Marcus and his friends are happy to simply get around their school's technology to play games and hang out. But when a terrorist attack kills 4,000 people in San Francisco and his group is in the wrong spot at the wrong time, Marcus learns the hard way about freedom, rights and torture. But he believes in a free America, so he starts to fight back using awesome, hacker-inspired methods.

Here's where the story seeps in my subconscious:
I read a few chapters of Little Brother before read. At 2 a.m. I wake up to sirens---really loud sirens close by. And I'm terrified because I think the cops are coming for me. I was honestly expecting them to knock on my door and take me in because I'm part of Marcus' hacking group. I even got out of bed to check to see if the cops were in my parking lot. It took me another minute or so to calm down and realize that I was still kind of in dreamland. How bizarre, huh?

I do recommend reading this YA novel because it does inspire thought. I'm pretty conservative (but honestly apathetic--although I do vote!) politically speaking and while I could see the liberal bias the book takes, I think it's out of legitimate fear of where our nation could head. Intriguing (and dream/nightmare-inspiring) stuff....

Rating: 8.5/10

(Spoiler alert as to why I rated it an 8.5: The end wasn't super believable; I just don't believe a state's police force could overturn national security. That's not legal, is it? Good does prevail in the end but is it sad that I don't believe it actually would?)

Much Better

2009-06-02T18:18:00.001-04:00

Maria V. Snyder, you did a much better job with Storm Glass than with Fire Study.

A gorgeous cover like this is a good start, eh? Seriously, I love it--and it's an excellent cover for the book, too. There were lots of glass orbs in this novel and it's nice to have a clear image in your head when you start reading about them.

Storm Glass ties in Opal from Fire Study. She has a gift with magic and glass....but isn't sure what her powers exactly are. Because I'm feeling lazy, here's an edited description from Amazon:

As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it's time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan's glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers require Opal's unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap in to a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she hadn't known she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she's ever known.

Throw in a little loooooove interest(s) and you've got yourself a good tale. The book does tie in nicely with Yelena's story, too.

I'm being generous giving it an 8, mainly because I was able to guess what was partially going to happen. (I don't like guessing---surprise me, authors!) However, it managed to wipe away the horror of Fire Study so that's a plus.

Rating: 8/10

Quite a wait

2009-06-02T17:34:00.001-04:00

Back in January, I added Kristen Heitzmann's Rules of Contact to my Amazon wishlist. I happened to check on it today and see that Amazon says it's going to be released on "December 31, 2035." Obviously that's an error but an amusing one, nonetheless. Guess it's going to have to spend 24 years on my wishlist....

My twin?

2009-05-29T17:40:00.001-04:00

I have a few blogs that I read in fell swoops every now and then--one being The YA YA YAs. I was catching up on it today and discovered a hilarious post that mentions my blog. Evidently Trisha from The YA YA YAs and I have eerily similar taste in our reading choices...

An Explemary Novel as to Why You Shouldn't Run Away

2009-05-27T17:47:00.000-04:00

Back in August, I read Lois Lowry's The Willoughbys. It had a hilarious appendix with descriptions about various books her book had satirized. One such book was Toby Tyler: or: Ten Weeks with a Circus by James Otis, or as I prefer to call it An Explemary Novel as to Why You Shouldn't Run Away From Home.

The plot is a little boy's fantasy come true: Toby Tyler runs away from his "mean" uncle and joins a circus. However, circus life isn't all it's cracked up to be. Toby's boss is harsh and whips Toby and yells at him when he doesn't sell enough lemonade. Toby makes a friend, though, in Mr. Stubbs aka a bad monkey. (I think he's a naughty monkey--he throws away Toby's money and tears up all their food when they're running away for the second time.) So Toby's unhappy, wishes he had never run away and spends his free time plotting to run home. After numerous trials, Toby finally does run away, where he is utterly forgiven. (And on a side note, Uncle Daniel asks Toby to stay with him until he DIES--but in a "oh, Toby, you're like my son; I love you; stay with me" kind of way.)

Classic stuff, indeed.

Rating: 7/10

Bleh reads

2009-05-25T10:25:00.004-04:00

Some reads from last week and brief opinions:

Reluctant Burglar by Jill Elizabeth Nelson -- The cover copy really made it seem as if this book would be full of art theft and capers...but it really wasn't. That is one trouble with Christian fiction; some of the most intriguing story lines can involve morally wrong actions. So how does an author work around that?

Anyway, Burglar was more of a organized crime/FBI sort of book than an art heist novel. Whatever. It just didn't capture my fancy at all. To quote one Amazon reviewer, it's "vanilla."

Rating: 6/10

The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner -- Book two in a series, following The Thief, which I remember liking okay. Turner's writing just must not do it for me. All the talk of war and battle strategy didn't captivate me, either. The book does has some surprising twists and I know many bloggers have raved over it, so evidently it does appeal to some people, just not me.

Rating: 7/10

Maybe I was just in a cranky reading mood? Ah, well, life goes on...

Happy Times

2009-05-19T18:41:00.000-04:00

I'm happy because:

1. Chuck has been renewed!

2. Dollhouse has been (shockingly) renewed! Seriously, I had about an ounce of hope it'd get a second season; everything I read said Fox was absolutely merciless and is all about ratings (and Dollhouse doesn't have great ratings). Yet, a network FINALLY took DVR recordings and online viewings into account (which makes sense for a show aired on Friday night...sheesh). Fox, thank you for giving us more of this fabulous show!

3. I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and adored it. The plot seemed a little sketchy to me (a bunch of kids forced by the government to fight to the death) but it was so well-written and engrossing. It makes me happy to read a book that I wouldn't normally read but then end up loving it. That's when I tell myself risk can be a good thing.

Rating: 10/10

4. I'm neutral emotionally toward Robin McKinley's Beauty; it didn't make me happy or sad. It was a nice retelling of Beauty and the Beast, complete with her own little reworkings. Good YA read but I think I like her adult books more.

Rating: 7/10

5. Lauren Groff's The Monsters of Templeton was a really interesting read in that it features numerous chapters by different ancestors of the main character. Basic plot line: girl comes back to hometown and learns that her father is someone in the town and that her mother is distantly related to him. A genealogy search ensues. Also interesting is that the main girl is kind of a snobby jerk. She's not exactly an anti-hero but is certainly flawed. Intriguing, postmodern book.

Rating: 8.5/10

Dickensesque

2009-05-14T16:59:00.001-04:00

It's evidently been my week of Hanna/Hannahs. First, German Hanna from The Reader and now author Hannah Tinti.

Fun cover, eh? It makes you think it's a YA novel but don't be fooled. The Good Thief starts out in a YA vein but then evolves into something I wouldn't want my child to read. It wasn't crude or vulgar but did have some scenes involving grave digging (with lots of detail about the dead bodies and such), people getting beat up and other sorts of things that an older reading audience (say 11 and up) could appreciate the details more and not get grossed out/scared. It could've been a good YA novel but as the book went on, it just didn't read like one.

The plot is rather Dickensesque. Ren, our young hero, is an orphan living at a Catholic orphanage. He's also missing a hand, which has scared off anyone who would've adopted him. Ren's luck changes when Benjamin Nab adopts him...but it turns out Benjamin is a thief. Fortunately for Benjamin, Ren is also a thief, a naturally talented one.

Benjamin and Ren meet up with Tom, a friend of Benjamin's. They con people, steal stuff, etc. The guys end up in a certain town, where all sorts of plotlines are created and tie together. Tinti definitely created a convoluted plot, but I thought for the most part, it worked--at least in the world that she had created.

I like Tinti's style of writing; it's flowy and detailed and again, reminiscent of Dickens. I bet her later works will be even better--after all, this was her first novel.

Rating: 8/10

That shameful? Really?

2009-05-13T17:26:00.001-04:00

While I haven't seen the movie, The Reader seemed to have a fairly interesting plot, so I picked it up. Am I glad I did? Meh.

To preface, the story is set in 1950s Germany. Michael Berg is 15 years old and has hepatitis. He meets Hanna, a woman in her mid-30s, who finds him sick outside her apartment one day. Michael, once he feels better, goes to visit her...and ends up sort of being seduced? And they end up having an affair for months and months. Hanna requests that Michael reads to her; he does and that becomes a major part of their relationship.

The story is broken into three parts: Michael's teen years, his 20s and then 30s-ish. Hanna saturates his entire life, preventing him from really moving on in his life (at least in my opinion). Hanna has deep secrets of her own, which set up the theme for the book.

Overall, the book was okay but I didn't really sympathize with Hanna or Michael. I can understand the effect she had on him but I couldn't comprehend her one secret (the non-fire related one) and why she wouldn't try to correct it until it was too late. She was that ashamed of it? Really? I'm such a doer that I can't handle not fixing her situation. Ah well.

Rating: 6.5/10

Doom and the West

2009-05-09T21:14:00.005-04:00

First up, what an incredible season finale of Dollhouse! I really hope it's not the series finale because the last few episodes have been amazing and I think next season could really rock. The big reveals in the show completely surprised me--I love TV shows that employ a good twist every now and then (cf. Veronica Mars). So here's hoping Fox renews it...and NBC renews Chuck. Oh, and that ABC renews Samantha Who?. Yep, every network show I watch is on the edge. To quote my mother, "if you like a show, it must be doomed." Sadly, it appears to be true. Let's hope that's not true for books, too....

If I remember right, there was a decent hoopla about Gil Adamson's The Outlander. Enough of a hoopla that I added it to my TBR list, anyway.

The story follows "the widow," who is fleeing her twin brother-in-laws. She's fleeing because she murdered her husband and the twins want revenge. So she runs for her life and meets people, who generally help her out. The book is presented as a tale of survival: the widow fleeing across the Wild West, struggling to survive. Parts of the book surely are that but a big chunk of the book details her life in a little mining town.

I didn't love the book; the sympathy for the widow never fully developed. You never fully get her story, either. Personally, I think she's crazy and a murderess. This makes me ashamed of my English major self, but I didn't really get the ending--the last page or so. I just have oodles of questions and no answer. (For instance: Did the widow run away again? Or was she just being cute in writing what she did? How'd she learn to write? Gaaaah.)

It's a decent read with some nice descriptive, intelligent writing but overall, I just kept thinking that the book wanted to be something different and deeper than it actually was. But it wasn't.

Rating: 7/10

A Baby Strikes Again

2009-05-06T17:26:00.001-04:00

While browsing through the new book shelves at my library, I stumbled across Janet Mullany's The Rules of Gentility. Why it's in the "new" book section, I don't know, as it came out about two years ago, but that sort of thing doesn't concern my library. (Just kidding, kind of, library. I love you!)

It looks like fun, right? Here's the description, courtesy of Amazon: "A delightful marriage of Pride and Prejudice with Bridget Jones's Diary, Janet Mullany's The Rules of Gentility transports us to the days before designer shoes, apple martinis, and speed dating—when great bonnets, punch at Almack's, and the marriage mart were in fashion—and captivates us with a winsome heroine who learns that some rules in society are made to be broken."

To an extent it was as described...except for a plot device that just really bothered me. And it's a slight spoiler, so read at your own caution. The device was a baby....the hero's baby with his mistress. Yikes. It just seemed so bizarre; the hero was actually really into being a father, even wanting his mistress to live on his estate, so he could be near the baby. The heroine seemed totally okay with it all. What woman would honestly be content with her husband's ex-lover living within throwing distance of them? And then I could see all sorts of issues with the hero favoring his firstborn with his legitimate children...goodness.

So the book was fun and light but I fell into the trap of placing myself in the heroine's shoes and found myself wanting to make different decisions than she did.

Rating: 7/10

Too attached to reality?

2009-05-01T20:00:00.003-04:00

Maureen Johnson is funny; her blog makes his point quite, quite clear. However, 13 Little Blue Envelopes wasn't actually that hilarious, sadly. Some dialogue made me smile but overall, not as funny as some of her other works.

I'm not a huge fan of the cover; it kind of gives off a trashy feel to the book. And 13 Little Blue Envelopes not trashy in the least. Unrealistic, yes, but not unclassy.

My biggest issue with the book is its sheer lack of unrealism. Here's the plot: 17-year-old Ginny receives a letter from her aunt, complete with cash and instructions to buy a ticket and fly to Europe. The kicker is that Ginny's aunt died earlier that year.

So Ginny--a MINOR--packs up BY HERSELF and goes to Europe, where she doesn't know what she'll be doing, where she'll be going or who she'll stay with until she opens each letter at its appointed time. She travels across Europe, meeting people and

Conceptually, I like the book. It's good plot for a coming-of-age story and the European locations are fabulous. But what kind of parents would'nt require their TEENAGE daughter to at least call once while she's over there? Most of the time, she travelled alone and no one knew where she was.

It's not that I am a devout fan of realism (I watch Dollhouse so obviously realism isn't always key for me)--but if I'm going to be handed a big dose of fantasy, I want to be able to accept it whole-heartedly (cf. Twilight). Aspects of the plot's mechanisms bugged me--simple things like.

Regardless, this wasn't my favorite book by Johnson but still not a bad read.

Rating: 7/10

A book and a TV show that make me talk out loud

2009-04-30T19:34:00.004-04:00

First up, Chuck's season finale made me laugh out loud and say "WHAT???" To quote my sister, it was awesome. Here's hoping NBC renews it for next season.

Swedish author Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo was truly an interesting, engrossing read--one that will stick with me. I even dreamed about it (a high compliment, indeed!).

From the start, it's apparent that this is going to be a different sort of book. The protagonist, Mikael Blomkvist, is sentenced to jail within the first chapter, guilty of libeling a very powerful financial guru. (And no, he doesn't get off. He serves his time.) When a wealthy man offers to help Mikael take down the guru in return for solving a murder that's haunted him for almost 40 years, Mikael accepts.

As a separate plot line that becomes entangled with Mikael's is Lisbeth Salander--a truly fascinating character who dresses like a punk rocker but is a brilliant investigator. Mikael and Lisbeth don't interact until at least midway through the book but their first scene is wonderful. Larsson does a fabulous job of creating characters--everyone is distinct.

The book is dark, however, and had a fascinating interweaving of violence against women and people's reactions to it. It wasn't exactly subtle, but the theme was so well-done that Larsson deserves props.

The very last page, though, made me say "WHAT?!?!?" and not exactly in a good way. It was understandable but not what I wanted for the ending--until I found out Dragon Tattoo is the first book in a trilogy. Phew! And from what I've read of book two, it's even better than this one.

Rating: 9.5/10

A week's worth of reading...if I can remember

2009-04-28T18:34:00.003-04:00

My last week was a fun, busy one so I didn't do a ton of reading. I finished reading High Adventure in Tibet by David Plymire. High Adventure is a biography of David's father, Victor Plymire, who went over to Tibet in the early 1900s to share about Christianity. Let's just say I'm glad I'm not living in that era--it sounded pretty primitive and rough. The story itself was very interesting, though.

I did pick up Mariana by Susanna Kearsley, too, just for a fun read.

Mariana follows modern-day Julia, who somehow is transported back in time as Mariana. Both women fall in love but Mariana's life is a bit harder...evidently Julia has to work out some issues as Mariana before both women can rest in peace. There were some reincarnation themes, etc. throughout the book to explain all of that. Anyway, the story switched between Julia's story and Julia-as-Mariana. I felt more vested in Julia's story and adored how the story ended for her.

While this isn't my favorite Kearsley, it was still an enjoyable read, mainly because she's such a descriptive and enticing writer.

Rating: 7/10

More, more!

2009-04-21T18:42:00.000-04:00

I've reached the end of Carol Goodman's writings--or at least her books. I'm a bit sad about that.

The Ghost Orchid is probably her best in terms of atmosphere. The story is set in an old mansion in New York, complete with decaying gardens and fountains. There's two plotlines going on: present day and a story from the Victorian Era. And, to be fair, an even earlier story from the 1700s...but Goodman ties them all together.

The story does focus on mediums and has a prominent ghost theme, which I don't care for, but I like Goodman so much I went for it anyway. Her imagery is lovely, though.

Sadly, my favorite part of the book is a short interview with Goodman at the end of the book and she mentions that her books do focus on water (Lake of Dead Languages, Seduction of Water, The Drowning Tree)--and that in Ghost, she purposely placed the water underground. I adored her interview--it was interesting, had great insight into her work--and how she works--and yeah, made me more of a fan.

Rating: 8.5/10

Immediately added to my wishlist

2009-04-21T12:40:00.000-04:00

The title alone of this book convinced me to add it to my Amazon wishlist (aka my books I want to read but probably won't buy list): The Pale Assassin (Pimpernelles) by Patricia Elliott. It's the female league of the Scarlet Pimpernel!

Here's the description: "Eugenie de Boncoeur is growing up in Paris, unaware that her guardian has contracted her to marry the sinister spymaster known as 'le Fantome' when she turns sixteen. She finds herself falling for the handsome lawyer, Guy Deschamps, but there is little time for romance; France is descending into chaos as the Revolution takes hold. Soon Eugenie is fleeing for her life. Her brother Armand has become involved in a plot to save the King from the guillotine, the mob is searching for aristocrats, and le Fantome, the pale assassin, is on their trail - desperate for revenge."

Sounds like fun! Is it sad I'm already rooting for her to end up with le Fantome? I bet he'll turn out to be a good guy.

A bit different from the usual

2009-04-19T16:23:00.002-04:00

On a whim, several years ago, I picked up Suzanne Strempek Shea's Becoming Finola. The cover was pretty and the plot sounded interesting. I ended up loving the book and went on to read most of Shea's other novels. Sheas' Hoopi Shoopi Donna made me cry--and I don't cry easily while reading. So I went into her Lily of the Valley expecting tears. Instead, I ended up not caring about the narrator, Lily, or her story.

Lily is an artist who chose to stay in a small town, not doing much. Her big break comes when the richest lady in town asks her to make a painting of her family--but her family is all dead and Lily has to use old photographs to create the portrait. So the book goes back and forth, into Lily's past, as well as the rich old lady's. There isn't much of a plot to the book, other than Lily working on the painting.

One Amazon reviewer sad the book made her slightly depressed--and I can see why. Lily is 39, divorced, living in a little apartment in a small town, mainly doing grunt artwork to survive. She doesn't appear to have much ambition to do anything else, so my pity was pretty darn low. At the end, the "moral" of the book is that you choose your family, blah blah blah (can you tell I thought it was a bit preachy and overdone?). Evidently that makes poor, single Lily feel better--yeah, so it's clear I didn't think much of Lily or her art. At least no tears were shed.

Rating: 6/10

Weekend = No Reading

2009-04-14T17:50:00.000-04:00

I started a new book this weekend but after a hundred pages or so, I said, "Rachel, do you really want to read this book or are you just reading it because you like the cover and think you should read it?" At that moment in time, the answer was a resounding "no, I don't want to read this book." Honestly, the book itself isn't that bad--I just didn't care about the topic matter--so I don't want to mention it by name. Maybe someday I'll give it another read.

I decided to pick up Mary Stewart's Madam, Will You Talk? instead. I first read this about a year ago and in re-reading my blog post about it, yeah, my opinion remains the same. It's a fun, action-packed story featuring numerous chases and a woman who can really drive. Lovely reading.

Was just the sophomore slump?

2009-04-09T19:47:00.003-04:00

I'm wondering if Erynn Mangum's Rematch was just a case of sophomore slump, because her third book, Match Point, didn't irritate me at all.

For the following illustration, you should know my parents have two Jack Russell Terriers: Jack (clever name, eh? he's a Humane Society dog, so we didn't name him) is crazy and NEVER STOPS moving/barking/playing while Penny is old and likes to eat and sleep. While Rematch felt as if Jack wrote it, the third book felt as if Penny wrote it, with a few paragraphs written by Jack thrown in.

The third book has the tables turned on Matchmaker Lauren Holbrook: suddenly she's finding herself being set up for looooooooove. Everything turns out fine, with almost more resolution than I needed (for example, two people in the book need a house. They look at one house, decide it'll do just fine and boom! They bought it. Wow.)

Anyway, if you like chick-lit, you'll probably like this book.

Rating: 7/10

Lastly, let's give props to the cover designer. The colors just pop and the designs suit the books perfectly:

Couldn't accept

2009-04-06T17:30:00.000-04:00

I read Erynn Mangum's Miss Match about two years ago and remember really enjoying it. It was cheery, bopped along and was pretty relatable to my life: the main character, Lauren Holbrook, is in her early 20s, living at home, loves chocolate and coffee and believes her calling is matchmaking. While I'm not a matchmaker, it was fun reading.

Fast to my present day reading of the second book in the series, Rematch, which didn't enchant me; it bugged me. It was many little things...Lauren only drinks coffee (and the occasional pop) and eats chocolate or junk food. For lunch, she'd have cheesecake. For dinner, it'd be a brownie sundae. AND YET SHE'S STILL SKINNY. Gaaaaaaaaahhhhh. Seriously, if anyone ate like that in real life, they'd weigh 250+ pounds. Perhaps it's because I work so hard to stay in shape and know that I can't overindulge, but I hate reading about people who eat a ton of crappy food and still are so thin. Maybe it's because I've moved on in my life and Lauren hasn't but I think our similarities have ended.

The book just felt like a Jack Russell Terrier wrote it--hyper, hyper, hyper. The dialogue was snappy and the book never seemed to drag; in fact, I wanted it to slow down at times. But again, one aspect that bugged me was that everyone--including people they just met--called each other "honey," "sweetheart," "dear," etc. Random guys would call their female friends "honey"--and they were honestly just friends. Um, that's abnormal. If it was just one person, I could've handled it. But seriously, EVERYONE did it.

And one last complaint: Lauren's dad's new girlfriend, in discussing marriage, says that she didn't meet her first husband until she was 25. In context though (and perhaps I'm just a bit sensitive on this subject), the girlfriend made it seem as though 25 was kind of old to find your mate and that Lauren still had plenty of time, as she was only 22 or 23. GAAAAAAHHH. I'm just praying I'll get married by my late, late 20s. I also read this weekend that a woman's fertility starts to decrease by age 25, so yeah, I'm screwed--old and infertile.

I know the author is young (I think she was 22 or 23 when she wrote the book) so I'm sure that as she matures, her writing and aspects of the plot will, too.

On a positive note, any elements of faith were extremely natural and woven in quite well. Her faith was part of the story. So props on that, Mangum.

I checked out book two and three at the same time, so I will read the third book.

Rating: 6/10

Chemistry? Yeah, Chemistry!

2009-04-02T18:57:00.002-04:00

Sometime last year I read a review on The YA YA YAs about Perfect Chemistry. In their words, this is the book: "Simone Elkeles’ Perfect Chemistry is a teen romance full of clichés, melodrama, an unrealistic denouement, and a completely over the top epilogue. And I freaking loved it. Ate it up with a spoon like it was an ice cream sundae."

Perfect Chemistry is about Alex, a Latino gang member, and Brittany, the "perfect" blond cheerleader. Forced to partner in their high school chemistry class, their very-different worlds collide and yes, it's chemistry.

The story is obviously unrealistic but so addictive. The short chapters switch between Alex and Brittany's point of views, which didn't bug me, suprisingly enough. You see their lives and their secrets and how they're meant for each other. And while the epilogue is completely over the top, I adored it.

Basically this book is sheer fun--don't take it seriously and enjoy the chemistry.

Rating: 9/10

What I've been reading

2009-04-02T17:01:00.001-04:00

I have been a reading roll, checking off my TBR list. First, it was Snow Angel by Jamie Carie and then The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt (which I bought at a library book sale either this summer or last year? I'm sad that I have no idea).

Snow Angel is Carie's first book and isn't it a pretty cover? Gorgeous colors. Anyway, the story follows Elizabeth, who is determined to mine for gold in Alaska. After being caught in a freak snow blizzard, she's about to freeze to death when she sees a lighted cabin. The cabin belongs to Noah, a hardy (and attractive) farmer/but-how-can-you-be-a-farmer-in-Alaska-so-yeah-I-don't-really-remember-but-he's-not-a-miner. Noah ends up falling in love with her but Elizabeth's secrets and her past hold her back.

The story had a nice faith aspect woven in, too. Connected with Elizabeth's struggle to trust Noah is her struggle to trust in God.

I didn't like it as much as Wind Dancer but Carie has restored some of my enjoyment in the Christian fiction department. I'll definitely read more of her books.

Rating: 7.5/10

I was randomly in the mood for nonfiction, which never happens, but I didn't have any checked out from the library. Thankfully I remembered I had The City of Falling Angels, which I bought because I loved Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Seriously Midnight was one of the first for-fun nonfiction books I ever read and it changed my thinking--nonfiction could be interesting, I realized.

I didn't love City like I did Midnight. It had one problem that I've noticed in nonfiction: a lack of a unifying theme. (And no, I didn't count "Venice" as a theme.) It rambled, examining different incidents and characters of Venice. There was a sort of "theme" in that he followed an arson case but that was truly scattered throughout. Anyway, it's an interesting look at a European city and unlike Savannah, I have no desire to visit it.

Rating: 7/10

Took only two years

2009-03-25T17:30:00.000-04:00

I am so excited right now. Scarily excited. On March 25, 2007, I added How I Fell in Love with a Librarian and Lived to Tell About It by Rhett Ellis to my Amazon wishlist. Today, March 25, 2009, I will remove that book from my wishlist---and I didn't even plan it out this way! I did realized that it had been about two years since I added How I Fell and I did want to finally get it off my wishlist. But still, it's a bit sad how excited this random coincidence makes me. However, I have to admit this book wasn't worth waiting two years to read.

If you want to see the cover, go here. It's so cartoony and I hate cartoon covers. The book is more of a novella and is probably self-published (or maybe independently published), which explains the cover. However, it had rave reviews on Amazon and I loved Ellis' novella The Greatest White Trash Love Story Ever Told. Seriously, that story rocked. It was truly examined redemption--yet was sweet and utterly shocking/surprising. I'd probably give it a 10. So you can imagine that I went into How I Fell with high expectations.

Here's the plot: basically, this 37-year-old pastor falls in love with a 24-year-old librarian who has just moved to his town. Oh yeah, she's a bit crazy. Like take numerous-pills-a-day, can't remember hours of her life, seriously crazy. There's also a subplot of this "bad" councilman who wants to shut down the town's library. But don't worry--love conquers all!

Here's what really got me: the writing. It focused on random details that didn't add to the plot (ex.: they had chips, slaw and pop for dinner and then sat on the couch...) and had much awkward telling, but not so much showing. And the pastor seemed hardly concerned about being in a relationship with a CRAZY person--someone who would randomly flip and start talking in rhymes, break the law with a "wild" car chase, etc. The whole major age gap wasn't really addressed either; speaking for someone who is in her mid-2os...um, that guy is almost 40...that's a 13-year gap. Yikes.

So I had issues with this book. But at least it's finally gone from my wishlist!!!

Rating: 5/10

A week's worth

2009-03-23T09:45:00.006-04:00

Evidently I haven't been in a posting mood. Ah well, inspiration comes in waves. So here's what I've been reading this week:

Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda

Plot, courtesy of Amazon: An ambulance driver during WWI, Jade del Cameron promises a dying soldier that she'll track down his brother. The only problem is that the soldier's mother, whom Jade goes to visit in London, insists that she had only one son. Jade reasons that the missing brother must have been born to another woman, conceived when the now deceased family patriarch was exploring East Africa. So off she goes to Nairobi, where she mingles with the colonial elite, kills a hyena, learns Swahili, fingers a drug smuggler, romances a man twice her age, uncovers a murder and attracts the attentions of a local witch.

My thoughts: Kind of dark with a mystery I wasn't a huge fan of, interesting setting, I'll probably read the next one...

Countdown by Michelle Maddox

Again, courtesy of Amazon: Kira Jordan wakes up in a pitch-black room handcuffed to a metal wall. She has 60 seconds to escape. Thus begins a vicious game where to lose is to die. The man she's been partnered with--her only ally in this nightmare--is a convicted mass murderer. But if he's so violent, why does he protect her? No one to trust. Nowhere to run. And the only hope of survival is working together to beat the COUNTDOWN.

My thoughts: Action-packed, fun, quick reading...it's a SHOMI book and I think I may like the genre.

As Shadows Fade by Colleen Gleason

My thoughts: The last book in the Gardella series...and it had an excellent ending. I am thoroughly satisfied with how Gleason ended the love triangle.

My first did not finish of the year (I think)

2009-03-16T18:40:00.003-04:00

I wanted to like Celia Rees' Sovay but after 50 or so pages, I just gave up.

Here's why: the point of view switched intermittently, I had no sympathy with the main character and I didn't like where the book was headed. Also, I didn't understand really why Sovay became a highway robber. Was she just on the outlook for a certain document that could incriminate her father? I don't know...

I liked Rees' Pirates but something happened to the writing in this book. It was painful but yet dull. I had read negative reviews of the book but wanted to give it a chance. Yeah...sometimes it pays to listen to advice.

Another classic Goodman

2009-03-13T17:36:00.001-04:00

I like that I can pick up any Carol Goodman novel and have my expectations met. Her The Drowning Tree is a classic example; it's peppered with water imagery, poetry, an "other" woman and twists.

The book has a dual story, following a modern-day woman, Juno, whose husband was put away for insanity. After something horrible happens to Juno's best friend, Christine--who also was a good friend of her insane husband--new twists and turns reveal a connection to the past. Juno's life begins to reflect the story of two Victorian women who may also be connected to Christine. It's an interesting contrast between the two eras and stories.

I like how Goodman examines a theme in her works. This time, the theme was on art and madness. Can a deep obsession with art--and creating art--drive you to madness? What is the relationship between the two?

Goodman is smart and it shows it in her writing. I feel more intelligent just reading her work.

Rating: 8/10

Not envious of a love triangle

2009-03-13T12:33:00.006-04:00

Anna Godbersen, your latest Luxe novel, Envy, was strangely addictive. I'm not sure why, either. I wasn't sure I was in the mood for drama but your story sucked me in even though the book focused way too much on Penelope, who everyone hates. She's a schemer, a liar and to be honest, I think she deserves Henry, who is pathetic, weak and a drunk. I know, I know, he only married Penelope to save Diana's reputation but since that clearly didn't lead to anyone's happiness, since now all he does is drink and long after Diana. And Diana wavers between hate and love for Henry and being a slut with Penelope's brother. Ah, love triangles, where no one is happy.

Let's talk about Diana's sister, Elizabeth. All Elizabeth did was puke throughout the entire novel (hello, morning sickness!). She was so faded in the story, letting life roll on by but I was truly surprised by her ending (and Diana's, too).

Carolina's story was fine but I'm not a whole-hearted fan of hers. I still think she's going to end up with Tristan, since she's also a major liar.

The Palm Beach setting was a nice change and kept the action rolling along. I'll definitely read all the books in this series because they're freakin' addictive. Also, all the covers in the series are amazing.

Rating: 7.5/10

2009-03-08T20:54:00.002-04:00

Tom Vanderbilt's Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us) scared me.

As you likely deduced, this book is all about traffic. It's about merging, signs, pedestrians, danger, death and scared the crap out of me. Basically, no one quite understands how to best control traffic because humans are unpredictable. Scary, yes.

Anyway, the book is well-researched, with tons of footnotes, which I appreciate. Also, his writing style is easy to follow and understand. All in all, a good nonfiction read, regardless of how it scared me. I think I'm going to work on my driving skills...

Rating: 7.5/10

Not related to books at all...

2009-03-06T16:00:00.001-05:00

...but happy 03/06/09!

Still chugging

2009-03-05T13:10:00.002-05:00

I'm still chugging away at Traffic. It's interesting reading that's freaking me out about my own driving but I just can't read nonfiction as quickly or as intensely as fiction. Thus, it takes me longer. Also, when I'm reading something more serious, I have to interperse my reading with something light. And since I don't want to begin one book while reading another, I usually pop open one of the 30 magazines I have on my table, just waiting to be read. I'm getting toward the end of Traffic though, and once I'm through it, I'm thinking it will be a Carol Goodman weekend...

Hello again

2009-03-02T17:02:00.001-05:00

So I haven't been reading any new books lately. I'm just in a re-reading mood. This week, it's been Sorcery and Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot (which was just as charming and adorable as the first time I read it) and...one other book. Hmmm. Oh! I remember: When Twilight Burns, in preparation for the final book in the series, As Shadows Fade.

Currently I'm reading my one nonfiction book of the month, Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (and What It Says About Us). So far, so good...except it's convincing me that I'm a bad driver...

And the point was?

2009-02-24T13:15:00.002-05:00

The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes left me saying "umm, what just happened and what was the point?" So it won my "wtf" award this month.

Well, it's British, so maybe that explains it. (Sorry, lame joke.) I read this book for 1) the gorgeous and gothic and suck-you-in cover, 2) decent-sounding plot and 3) mixed reviews on Amazon. I wanted to see why people hated it or loved it. Also, numerous reviewers mentioned A HUGE TWIST and I was curious. (For the record, it wasn't a huge twist and it didn't impact the plot much.)

Ok, honestly, I don't even know how to sum up the plot. It's set in late Victorian England. The story basically involves an aging magician/detective named Edward Moon and his silent assistant, The Somnambulist. They are presented with a mystery...first two odd murders, bizarre assassins and warnings about something bad that's going to happen to London in a certain amount of days. Stuff happens; people randomly show up/disappear; and Edward gets lucky in solving the mystery...but that doesn't prevent the bad thing from happening.

Let me be upfront: the book is weird. It could've been weird-yet-enchanting but as the book progressed, it just became um-I-feel-slightly-uncomfortable-weird. The late one-fourth of the book spirals into a bizarre, end-of-the-world fight that just doesn't make sense. Seriously, characters suddenly showcase the ability to disappear into thin air and I won't even get into details about who the sleeping person is and what happens to his body...bleh. Also, the ending itself is so unclear. I have no idea if it actually happened, and to be honest, it's basically a "yeah, who cares?" ending.

I didn't really gain much by reading it. Maybe if it hadn't spiraled into a crack-fueled world, it could've been better.

Rating: 5.5/10

Yeah, definitely going to re-read this one a few times...

2009-02-23T18:33:00.003-05:00

Last January I fell in love with Deanna Raybourn's Lady Julia Grey series. So let me just say, after a year of waiting, I was EX-CI-TED that the third book, Silent on the Moor, finally came out. So excited I read it in one day.

Let me just air this tiny complaint: the cover! It's eye-catching but is a commmmmplete change from the earlier books in the series. The previous covers were tasteful, gorgeous and accurately reflected the mood of the books. This cover makes Silent on the Moor look like a bodice-ripper, which it isn't at all. Why, publishers, why? Why do you do this?

Ok, now on to the book: just as good as the others. Moor focused less on the various mysteries, or at least on solving them, and more on Julia and Brisbane's relationship.

In some ways, their relationship concerns me. Brisbane won't let anything happen between them until he can support her financially but at the same time, he seems so willingly to let her just walk out of his life--he doesn't contact her and after she shows up at his new manor, he consistently tells her to leave. At one point, Julia is told by a wise woman to ignore his words and just read his body language; once she does that, his feelings are pretty darn clear. After I re-read the book, maybe I'll understand his motives better. I know "if it's love, it will wait" but he just seemed so okay with waiting while Julia wasn't content with that at all.

Anyway, the mystery tied nicely to the other books and helped clear up Brisbane's character even more. However, the ending completely surprised me. I knew from the author's blog that this wasn't the last Julia Grey novel, so I wasn't expecting the ending that did happen--but I am so happy with it. I'm thinking book four may be a sort of Busman's Honeymoon-esque book.

I love Raybourn's style of writing. It's the kind that should be savoured, sitting in front of a warm fire, sipping hot tea. Seriously, go read this series.

Rating: 9/10

A love song to reading

2009-02-22T15:19:00.003-05:00

I've been in a re-reading mood this week...first Rites of Spring (Break) and then M. M. Kaye's Death in Cyprus. Kaye's writing is so familiar and comforting. Seriously, there is such a joy to re-reading a book, knowing exactly what is going to happen and yet noticing new details or reinterpreting a phrase or a character's action. Anyway, after I finished Death, I wanted something sweet and short to occupy my time until I could get to Borders to buy Silent on the Moor. I found the perfect little read at my library.

Alan Bennett's The Uncommon Reader is truly an ode to reading. I had heard excellent reviews of this book in many different places and can see why Reader is earning acclaim.

The novella is about the Queen of England, who toward the end of her life, discovers she loves reading. She really, realy LOVES reading. She begins to ignore all her duties in favor of reading--much to the dismay of her subjects. The novella is sprinkled with all sorts of observations about reading and those who love books. The ending was perfect and I may have even laughed out loud. If you love reading, you'll probably enjoy this short story.

Rating: 9/10

Re-reads

2009-02-18T19:14:00.003-05:00

I had to return Rites of Spring (Break) to the library yesterday...but first, I had to re-read it. Glad to report it was just as enjoyable the second time around. You know it's a good book if you want to immediately re-read it!

In other news, Deanna Raybourn's Silent on the Moor has been released early--at least, it appears to be available on Amazon and Borders.com. I placed a hold on it at my local Borders but can't get to there until Friday. Sigh. At least I'll have all weekend to devour it. And if it's anything like Silent in the Sanctuary, it'll be an immediate re-read, too.

Trends

2009-02-16T09:13:00.006-05:00

This winter is my Carol Goodman season, where I'm going to devour everything she's ever written. Yay for favorite new authors. Up next is the one that made her name: The Lake of Dead Languages.

The reviews for this book are accurate: it is fast-paced, with creepy atmosphere and secret after secret being revealed. Honestly, I was a bit surprised because I was able to pretty much figure everything out before Jane, the main character, did. Perhaps Goodman wanted us to know before Jane did? Because I'm honestly not that clever at mysteries.

Here's the summary, from Goodman's website: "Twenty years ago, Jane Hudson fled the Heart Lake School for Girls in the Adirondacks after a terrible tragedy. The week before her graduation, in that sheltered wonderland, three lives were taken, all victims of suicide. Only Jane was left to carry the burden of a mystery that has stayed hidden in the depths of Heart Lake for more than two decades. Now Jane has returned to the school as a Latin teacher, recently separated and hoping to make a fresh start with her young daughter. But ominous messages from the past dredge up forgotten memories. And young, troubled girls are beginning to die again--as piece by piece the shattering truth slowly floats to the surface..."

Seriously, the atmosphere just drips in the this story. I had the shivers by page 10 or so, when Jane starts discovering literal pieces of her past showing up, haunting and taunting her. While I think Goodman's writing has improved and I still like The Night Villa the best, The Lake is definitely a good read.

In good English major fashion, I've noticed a few trends in Goodman's writing. These includes: water as a major player, myths/fairy tales, a slightly older woman (think early 30s or so) and a younger woman who generally turns out to be trouble. And yet she manages to create a completely different story each time with these favorite themes. I'm intrigued to see if her other three books do, too.

Rating: 9/10

I now know where Kiev is

2009-02-11T17:59:00.004-05:00

The last geography class I remember taking was in fourth grade. Scary. Well, thanks to Conspiracy in Kiev by Noel Hynd, I now know where Kiev is (Ukraine!).

I picked up this book because it was about Russia and Ukraine. It's a thriller--think Robert Ludlum or someone along those lines. As such, the characters tend to be a little flat, with more telling than showing. Sure, there's action, but I think I'm more of a character girl. The book is also a bit long and since I wasn't in love with like Rites of Spring (Break), it took me several days to finish off.

Alex is an agent with the Treasury...but somehow gets involved with the CIA. Anyway, she's sent over to Kiev to act as an emissary/bodyguard to a major Ukrainian mobster, because the U.S. president is coming over for a visit and the CIA doesn't want any trouble. Well, there's trouble and people die and Alex's mobster disappears. Everyone thinks he's behind the shootings.

So...about that mobster...Alex is repeatedly told to STICK LIKE GLUE to the mobster, Yuri FedersomethingRussian. It's repeated numerous times; one CIA guy basically tells her to seduce him so she can spend even more time with him. So what does she do? She spends like three hours a day with the mobster, if that. How is that like GLUE, Alex??? And why did no one call her out on that?

Anyway, fast forward a few months and Alex is randomly off to South America for a totally different job. SUPPOSEDLY these two jobs end up tying together but I literally was thinking "what is this? this plotline is weak!" while reading it. Yeah, more shootings happen and then she's taken back to Europe where more shootings occur because she's a target or something. People want her dead. And since there's more books in the series (yet to come out), my guess is that they'll keep after her.

***Spoiler alert***
Can I just say that I knew her fiance was going to be knocked off? I knew it! I kept on waiting for him to die at any moment. And why did Alex almost die at the end? The bullet evidently didn't even really penetrate that far.
****

Rating: 6.5/10

Up too late

2009-02-08T15:27:00.003-05:00

I stayed up too late to finish Diana Peterfreund's Rites of Spring (Break) because it was so freaking delicious. Seriously, it just made me happy. And after I finished it, I may have gone back and re-read certain parts. Rites is definitely my favorite book of the series so far and not just because of one certain character (Poe!!).

After a winter semester filled with pranks against other secert societies, the Rose & Grave class of D177 is going on vacation. They're off to their own secret island, where a few members of past classes are there, too, including Amy's nemesis-turned-maybe-friend Poe. Trouble follows the class to the island, where pranks begin to spiral out of control....and a certain romance starts brewing.

The last book in the series, Tap & Gown, comes out in May. Yay!

Rating: 9/10

Entertaining enough

2009-02-06T11:47:00.001-05:00

Perhaps Ally Carter has ruined me for other teen spy series. That could be why I found Shannon Greenland's Model Spy entertaining but not that plausible. (Which I fully accept as a ridiculous statement. Any book about a 15- or 16-year-old person being a spy is going to be somewhat hard to swallow. Still, Carter did such a good job of making me believe in her world.)

Here's the basic gist: Little orphan Kelly is a computer genius but don't worry, she's not geeky--she's so beautiful she could be a model (which may come in handy later on...). She's about to finish college, having skipped years and years of schooling. A cute boy asks her to break into a government site and Kelly, like a sap, does it for him. And then she winds up arrested and forced to make a decision: join an elite group of teenage spies or go to jail. She becomes a spy--and surprise, surprise, that cute boy who asked her to break the law is also a spy, too! Basically, he set up her up to be recruited. I do have some issues with that, since they didn't really give her a choice (be a spy or die!!! ok, just kidding), but whatever.

So Kelly thinks she's going to be a a stay-at-home spy, tapping away at a keyboard but suddenly she has to pose as a model in order to complete this mission that I don't feel like going into detail about. Oh, and one of her partners is the cute boy.

It's not like this was a bad book. It was short and tiny. (Seriously, the book was oddly small-sized.) I just didn't love it. I'm sure there's some teen girls out there who love, love, love this book. But I just like Ally Carter's spy series better.

In a positive note, deleting this book off of my TBR list on Amazon now means I only have 25 books on the list! And six of those books haven't even been released yet.

Rating: 6/10

It seduced me

2009-02-03T18:06:00.004-05:00

Carol Goodman's The Seduction of Water sucked me in within the first few pages. The story's atmosphere, the lyrical quality of the writing, the simple story that slowly expands...I'm not sure what it is, but I just really, really like Goodman's writing. Her books are the sort that I'd be proud to be caught reading, one that I'd recommend to my mom.

The plot goes along these lines: Iris Greenfeder is in her mid-30s. She's a teacher, sometimes writer and almost has her Ph.D.--she just needs to write her disseration. Actually, everything in her life is an "almost." She has a boyfriend (of 10 years) but they have no plans to marry. She's a writer, with just a few publications. Basically, she hasn't accomplished all that much. While thinking about her mother, a famous writer herself, Iris writes a small story that ends up spinning itself into a book offer. All she has to do is go back to her childhood home--a hotel in the Catskill Mountains--and solve a few mysteries.

The story is a bit slow in parts but that allows you to savor it, too. It's a mystery but the action doesn't pick up until the last third of the book or so. However, compared to The Night Villa, there was more romance. I really liked the male lead--from the first instance of his mention, I was hoping he'd be involved in the book. (And I may have peeked ahead just to see if he was.)

Basically, I'm a Carol Goodman fangirl. And I've yet to read her most popular book, The Lake of Dead Languages. So perhaps the best is yet to come...

Rating: 9/10

Another shining example

2009-01-31T10:54:00.004-05:00

Here's my (one of many, haha) issue: I like Christian fiction but I have trouble finding books that are actually 1) well-written, 2) not sappy/ridiculous and 3) actually deal with faith in a deeper way. Jamie Carie, your Wind Dancer is a shining example of how Christian fiction should be.

I love the cover, too. The woman is fierce, beautiful and exactly how I picture the main character, Isabelle Renoir.

The story is set in the 1700s, during the time that America was struggling to break free of England's chains, particularly the war to gain the wild frontier. American scout Samuel Holt, while on a mission, meets up with Isabelle Renoir, her brother and their Indian guide. They end up traveling together and get mixed up in the fight for American independence--and their own freedom.

Isabelle is wild--she dances for God, wears the color red and basically just marches to her own beat. However, she knows that Samuel Holt is her destiny within seconds of meeting him. A few issues hold up their happiness--like being captured by Indians--but both characters firmly believe that God will bring them through.

I loved how real and deep their faith was--there was no pettiness or simple messages in this book. It was true, life-sustaining faith. It was real and vibrant and inspiring--yet never preachy. The story itself is action-packed. I started reading it before going to bed...and had to force myself to stop so I'd get enough sleep.

I definitely recommend this book. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it and I've already added Carie's other novels to my TBR list.

Rating: 9/10

Sweetly realistic

2009-01-30T18:58:00.004-05:00

It's not a secret that I'm a huge Lauren Willig fan. A new book of hers comes out, I buy it--in hardcover. Her newest book, The Temptation of the Night Jasmine, has been eagerly anticipated by me for, oh, about a year now.

I don't want to do a full-out review on this book because I devoured it...which means I read it so quickly (because I was! so! excited!) that I didn't have time to fully savor it.

Anyway, here's an abbreviated summary of the book, courtesty of Willig's site:

"After 12 years in India, Robert, Duke of Dovedale, returns to his estates in England with a mission in mind-- to infiltrate the infamous Hellfire club to unmask the man who murdered his mentor at the Battle of Assaye. Intent on revenge, Robert never anticipates that an even more difficult challenge awaits him, in the person of one Lady Charlotte Lansdowne. Throughout her secluded youth, Robert was Lady Charlotte’s favorite knight in shining armor, the focus of all her adolescent daydreams. The intervening years have only served to render him more dashing. But, unbeknownst to Charlotte, Robert has an ulterior motive of his own for returning to England, a motive that has nothing to do with taking up the ducal mantle. As Charlotte returns to London to take up her post as Maid of Honor to Queen Charlotte, echoes from Robert’s past endanger not only their relationship but the very throne itself."

In some ways, I think this is Willig's most well-written book. She's definitely grown as a writer and has shifted into more of a historical writer--which I like. The sensuality in her books has decreased as well; in this one, the couple share just a few kisses. However, that suits her characters--Charlotte is certainly no Amy or Henrietta; she's a dreamer and much more reserved. Her actions suit her character.

A major theme underlying the novel was the reworking of the hero and heroine's perceptions of each other. They had to cast away their romantic ideals and see each without their own perceptions clouding their view of the other person. According to my mother, this is something I need to do...bleh.

There wasn't much (ok, any) action from the Pink Carnation but from interviews I've read with Willing, this book's plot helps set up future plots that do involve the Pink Carnation. Yay for spies.

On a last note, I really liked the French spy. I'm not sure who he is but I hope he'll show up later on! His interactions with Charlotte and Henrietta were hilarious and delightful. In my mind, he's a good mate for Jane...there's only the little issue of him serving France and her England...

Rating: 8.5/10

Labyrinth of the mind

2009-01-28T17:51:00.004-05:00

Kristen Heitzmann does an excellent job of writing creepy, suspenseful novels. I've liked everything I've read by her and The Edge of Recall was no exception.

Tessa is a landscape architect, specializing in labyrinths. When she receives a phone call from an old friend/love requesting she join him on a special task, she reluctantly agrees to at least check out his offer. The project ends up being a unique labyrinth that she can't resist. So, she and the friend, Smith, end up working together...and possibly end up as more.

There's also a huge psychological aspect to the story. Tessa is haunted by nightmares of monsters and labyrinths. In a way, I was reminded of Susan Howatch's work (which is a compliment). There were deep-seated issues that she had to address and conquer in order to be a whole person again. Sometimes I did think she was a little crazy but it all works out in the end.

The story tied together nicely and yeah, creeped me out at parts. While this is labeled as Christian fiction, that shouldn't scare anyone away. It was part of the story and part of Tessa's healing, but there definitely was no preaching. And the labyrinth part was actually very interesting, too. I like learning about new topics and now I know a little bit more about mazes vs. labyrinths.

Rating: 8.5/10

No sympathy

2009-01-24T22:21:00.003-05:00

You know how there's certain books you just think you should read? Well, after watching The Talented Mr. Ripley, with my boy Matt Damon in it, I told myself that I should read the book. After all, generally the book is much better than the movie and since I had liked the movie, I'd like the book, too. Yeah, not so much.

Patricia Highsmith wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley and numerous sequels. According to the book's description, Tom Ripley is a sociopath. After looking up the description of a sociopath, yeah, he is one. Manipulative, parasitic, a liar...again, I just didn't like him.

***Spoilers ahead****
The movie actually is pretty true to the plot, but if anything, the movie is better. It's more suspenseful, believeable and convincing. You kind of like/empathize with Tom Ripley of the movie--in the book, Tom isn't as likeable. He's never fully understood.

Most of the book I can believe; Tom is a murderer and gets away with two murders, including his friend Dickie Greenleaf. What I couldn't swallow was the ending--he fakes a will, leaving EVERYTHING of Dickie's to himself, and presents it to Dickie's father, WHO BELIEVES IT. For me, that will just screamed "I murdered Dickie for his money. I'M GUILTY." I wanted him to get nailed for the murder, too, but no luck.
***

I didn't really like the book at all and struggled to finish it. Honestly, the movie was richer and more interesting. This is the very rare occasion where I say see the movie and skip the book.

Rating: 5/10

Hope springs eternal

2009-01-22T12:50:00.003-05:00

Veronica Mars may still end up being a movie...If this ends up being true, I am such a happy girl.

Russia!

2009-01-21T18:14:00.004-05:00

I have a fascination with Russia. It's somewhere I'd never want to live--I'd be miserably cold 90% of the time, I imagine--and yet, the people and culture intrigue me. That could be one reason why I loved David Benioff's City of Thieves but really, it's probably just because it's a good book.

So when I went to the library the other day, I had three books in mind that I wanted to check out. And of course, all three were already checked out. In my desperate search for enough books to tide me over to my next visit, I stumbled across City of Thieves and vaguely remembered hearing excellent reviews about it. I love, love, love the cover, so I was sold. (Seriously, I could see it as a poster. I'd buy it.)

Here's the basic plot: It's WWII. Lev is a 17-year-old Russian who has been jailed as a looter after stealing a flask off a dead German paratrooper. He think he's going to die but the colonel in charge gives him and another prisoner (a deserter), Kolya, a task to accomplish in exchange for their lives: find a dozen eggs. Oh, and by the way, this is during the siege of Leningrad, which is so bad that some people are turning into cannibals. The story follows their journey to find a dozen eggs.

Benioff's writing is funny, engaging, bittersweet and captures the spirit of Russia during that era. I loved the way the book was framed, which made the ending perfect. It's a short read and totally captivated me. I'm happy I read this book.

Rating: 9.5/10

One of my favorite book covers ever

2009-01-19T10:17:00.005-05:00

About two or three years ago, I read Aurelie Sheehan's The Anxiety of Everyday Objects, which some critics hailed as the Great American Secretary Novel. (The story was about a woman who had an M.A. and wanted to be a writer but ended up as a secretary because, hey, it's tough to survive as a writer.)

Back in July 2007, I added Sheehan's second novel, History Lessons for Girls, to my Amazon TBR list. Only a year and a half or so later, I finally got around to reading it. (I've been trying to clear out my list; I only have 30 books on the list and at least five are soon-to-be-released. Do I just like having a list? Or is it I think I should read these books but secretly don't want to/can't remember why I added them? Hmmm.)

You know, now that I think about it, one reason I wanted to read the book is the cover. It is gorgeous--ethereal and simple and perfect for the book. I love the way the horse's hair is floating. The yellow used also reminds me of the 1970s, which is when this novel occurs.

Simply, the book is about the friendship of Alison Glass and Kate Hamilton. Alison has scoliosis and must wear a back brace. Alison moves to a new school and is made fun of--but Kate sticks up for her and their friendship is born. Both girls appear to have good homes but soon it's clear that neither do.

The story is also about what happens when their parents meet and mingle. I didn't actually like any of the parents, besides Alison's dad. Kate's father is a scam artist--he calls himself "Tut" and is an "Egpytian shaman." Both of the girls' mothers are weak and pulled in by Tut's charisma and claim that the love of acquiring possessions is actually healthy and good. Sheehan definitely satirizes the '70s obsession with New Age and self-love and that whole mindset--Tut, as a symbol of that theme, is eminently despicable.

I didn't love the book but it's well-written and has an excellent theme. I didn't love the book because of the ending, although really, it's clear why it happened. The book lacked hope that the characters could find spiritual healing and fulfillment. I can see why this book won't ever be popular but it's still quality literature.

Rating: 7/10

Almost in time

2009-01-18T14:14:00.003-05:00

Back in December, I was looking for Christmas-y books. A few weeks after Christmas, I've found another one to add to my list: Let It Snow: Three Holiday Stories by John Green, Maureen Johnson and Lauren Myracle.

In Maureen Johnson's own words, here's the plot: "About a year ago, John Green, Lauren Myracle and I thought it would be a very good idea to work together on a three-author book—three separate stories that took place in the same town during the same storm, over Christmas. So we did."

Some of the same characters populate all three stories, intermingling nicely, yet each story is distinctive. Basically, there's a huge snow storm that strands a train bound full of people (including a car full of cheer-lead-ers!!!) in a little town. The stories are all romances that are precipitated by the storm.
I liked Maureen Johnson's story the best, probably because I like her writing so much. However, I foolishly thought that the stories went in order of the cover, so naturally John Green's story was first. While I was reading it, I kept on thinking, "wow, I don't remember John Green being this humorous. It reminds me of Maureen Johnson, actually." Yeaaaaah, that's because it WAS Maureen Johnson, author of one of the funniest blogs ever.

Anyway, each novella is fun and Christmas-y and yet not overwhelmingly so. I just wish I could've read it in December.

Rating: 8/10 (9/10 for Maureen's story!)

Revel-yawn

2009-01-15T18:03:00.003-05:00

Reading a messy book is an interesting sensation. You know it's a complete mess, with aimless chapters and repeated phrases/emotions/statements. You want it to get better, especially if it's in a series you've enjoyed, but wishing does not make reality happen, so you force yourself to read each page until, suddenly at the end of the book, whole new twists are thrown in and you know you're going to read the next book and you're not happy about it. Welcome to Melissa de la Cruz's Revelations.

Pretty cover, yes? It's so much better than the scary second one. I liked the first two books in the Blue Bloods series. Although to be fair, they were the sort of books I read and then immediately forget. It was bad when I started reading Revelations. I couldn't remember anything about the plot other than the character's relationships.

Here's my first complaint: the book opens up with a "here's what happened in the last few months" which included the main character, Schuyler, hooking up with a certain someone, losing her emancipated status, being forced to go live with another family instead of her grandfather, becoming best friends with another girl and a few other things that I can't remember. A lot happened in those few months...which maybe explains why nothing happens in the first three quarters of the book.

The book just didn't seem to have a plot. I really felt like it meandered all over and never really settled on anything. Schuyler was much more annoying in this book, too. And, for some reason, the pop culture references in this book really got me. (Quick rant: Authors, using tons of pop culture references dates your books. Seriously. Do you really think people are going to remember The Hills and random top 40 hits you reference? The classics survive because they don't; they keep most modern references out--just look at modern classics like The Painted Veil or Mary Stewart. Stephenie Meyer discusses this in one of her interviews; she didn't name the band Bella and Edward were supposed to go see in Twilight because she didn't want to date the book. Yet another reason why I admire her...) Anyway, I didn't remember those references being in the earlier books.

Of course, although I suffered through the book, the ending had so many twists and so much action that I will read the next one. ARGHHH.

Rating: 4/10

Confession: I rather liked it

2009-01-12T21:42:00.002-05:00

Back in June, I read Diana Peterfreund's Secret Society Girl. Whether it was the traveling I did that weekend or my attitude or the expectations that I brought to the book, I just didn't like it. However, so many of my favorite book bloggers really seemed to enjoy it, so I decided to give the rest of the series another shot. I'm glad I did.

Yes, I did enjoy book two, Under the Rose and there's one character in particular that I just really, really like: Poe. We actually learn his full name in this book and Amy has more interaction with him. (Confession: Before I decided to continue with the series, I peeked ahead to book three just to make sure Poe was in it. And I liked what I read in book three that concerned Poe, hence my reading book two...) If you're in the mood for Ivy League secret society intrigue, give these books a shot.

On a side note, while prowling around Peterfreund's site, I ran across a new book of hers titled Rampant. After reading the description on her site, I immediately emailed my brother and we agreed that Rampant sounds freakin' awesome, hilarious and astounding. Here's the description:

Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns… The sparkly, innocent creatures of lore are a myth. Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. And they can only be killed by virgin descendants of Alexander the Great. Fortunately, unicorns have been extinct for a hundred and fifty years. Or not.

You better believe I'm going to read this book.

From serious to fabulous

2009-01-08T18:41:00.003-05:00

I've heard of Carol Goodman before, namely her The Lake of Dead Languages. However, I've picked up The Night Villa, also by Goodman, at my library several times before deciding to just go ahead and read it already.

Lovely cover, yes? It suits the mood of the book perfectly--Italy, the sea, history, beauty.

Here's a brief plot summary, mostly courtesy of Amazon: University of Texas classics professor Sophie Chase, after barely surviving a gunman with ties to a sinister cult, joins an expedition to Capri. A donor has funded both the exact reconstruction of a Roman villa destroyed when Mount Vesuvius buried nearby Herculaneum in A.D. 79, and a computer system that can decipher the charred scrolls being excavated from the villa's ruins. Her trip takes a different spiral when she starts seeing ghosts of her ex-boyfriend--one who fell prey to that same cult...

I was actually surprised by how much I really, really like this book. Goodman is a literary writer; her prose is gorgeous. Her settings were vivid and I often felt like I was reading a Mary Stewart novel. (It was so bizarre; the authors' styles are so different, but I kept on thinking "this book is Mary Stewart-esque; wait, no it's not, why am I thinking this?") I was worried it was going to be a super serious, "I AM A LITERARY WORK" sort of book but it's not--it's a perfect example of what a quality modern novel can be.

The different threads of the story pulled together beautifully and although I'm not a huge fan of dual story/timelines, even in small doses, it worked for this story. I found myself actually interested in and wanting to know more about the characters from 79 A.D.

Basically, Carol Goodman has a new fan and I want to read more of her work. The Chicago Tribune quote on the cover sums her style up: "light enough for a weekend on the beach but literary enough for a weekend in the Hamptons."

Rating: 9.5/10

From existential to serious

2009-01-08T18:25:00.005-05:00

After reading The Moviegoer, I couldn't just switch to a light, happy novel. My follow-up read was The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham.

To start, this is a weird cover, isn't it? It's a potrait of some woman, and from her apparel, I would guess the 1920s, which is when The Painted Veil was written. It mesmorized me; those eyes, her haircut, that bird...I couldn't look away.

Yet I evidently broke the spell and actually opened the book and was surprised by how easy it was to read and that I actually enjoyed it.

Bred with one goal in mind, marriage, Kitty is a bit startled to realize that she's reached her mid-20s, is unmarried and her sister is about to marry a titled lord. She hurriedly chooses one of her suitors, Walter Fane, to marry because he adores her, will be going to the Orient for his job thus sparing her the pain of staying in England to watch her sister's grand wedding...and yeah, those are her reasons.

The marriage is a disaster and Kitty has an affair. Walter figures it out and forces her go with him to a cholera-infested area of China--in hopes that she'll die (or so Kitty believes). Kitty must reckon with herself and who she has become--and what she will do in the future.

This is not a romance, but rather a story of flawed people who make poor decisions--yet they struggle for redemption and hope. I wasn't sure if I would like the story but I did. It's deep without being painful (eg., The Moviegoer) and still manages to present an interesting story.

Rating: 9/10

Goodbye, Cottage Living

2009-01-06T11:22:00.002-05:00

I love, love, love Cottage Living magazine. I discovered it in college and have been a subscriber for years now. So imagine my heartbreak when I received a postcard in the mail, letting me know that Cottage Living has been cancelled.

I was offered a subscription to Southern Living instead, but please--I live in Northern Ohio. I am so not living the Southern lifestyle. So goodbye, dear Cottage Living; I will miss you.