Fascinating

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

SO GOOD

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

So Freakin' Cute

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

No Mountains, Ever!

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

Scandinavian Thriller

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

Another week goes by...

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

Happy Times

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

Utterly charming

I was so tired at work today (thank the Lord for the Starbucks in my office building) because I stayed up too late last night finishing the most charming and adorable book. I simply had to finish it! Jeanne Birdsall's The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is a rare book, a sequel that's even better than the first.

The Penderwicks sisters are back home after their wonderful summer vacation. Fall is about to start and with it, a change that will rock the Penderwicks forever. (Hmm, that sounds super-dramatic, but it's really not that sort of book. It's just sweet.) Their father will start dating again.

About four years ago, the girls' mother died from cancer. Since then, it's been the four girls and their professor father, happily chugging along. But when a certain letter forces Mr. P into the dating scene, the girls aren't too happy and concoct a "Save-Daddy-Plan," which of course, has disastrous results. (At one point, Mr. P says he's going off on a date with "Marianne Dashwood." That name sounded so familiar and after 30 minutes of on-and-off-thinking about it, I realized who she was and laughed. Again, charming.) The sisters all have their own separate plot lines which are never confusing and weave together nicely. It's a witty book, with clever, funny little sentences for adults. I was giggling out loud at certain paragraphs. (I can't find the page, but it's when Jane and Skye are talking about a poem of Jane's that Skye turned in as hers and the teacher just can't quite believe it's Skye's.)

Birdsall says she wanted to write a book that is the sort of book she used to read when she was a little girl. I'd say she did a fabulous job.

Rating: 10/10

Utter classic

I adore Baroness Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel. I first read it years ago in high school and fell in love immediately with the story.

The tale is set during the French Revolution. A band of Englishmen, led by the mysterious and unidentified Scarlet Pimpernel, defy the French revolutionaries to save the aristocrats who are being slaughtered. With disguises and sheer cunning, these men save the lives of many.

But who is the Scarlet Pimpernel? And when beautiful and clever Lady Marguerite Blakeney--and her dim-witted husband Sir Percy Blakeney--are forced into the affairs of the Scarlet Pimpernel by an evil Frenchman, will the Scarlet Pimpernel's identity be discovered?

I don't want to give away too much about the plot, but it's such a fun, fabulous read. There's disguises, an intense (that's not the best word, but I can't think of a better one...the story isn't exactly all sugar and spice, but you become so involved and root for the couple...) love story and a happy ending. There's suspense and humor and disguises...just go read it!

And when you've read it, then read another favorite series of mine by Lauren Willig, which also features flowered-named spies during the French Revolution.

Rating: 10/10

Perhaps?

I re-read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight this week. I'm not going to rehash it; if you're curious about it, just google it. You will find more than you can handle. However, I did have a thought about why Twilight is so successful. (I may have also been inspired to write a piece for a literary journal on my idea, but that lasted for about five minutes. Literary criticism is a lot of work--especially when you're out of college.)

I think Twilight has been so successful because it's actually fairly simple and has classic archetypal story: Character moves to a new situation; character meets mysterious stranger. Character falls in love with mysterious stranger and adventure follows. In good archetypal storytelling, there is also magic.

Aren't some of the most successful stories retellings of a familiar plot? And this book surely has a familiar plot--but unlike others, I literally could not put this book down the first time I read it. It blew me away. That in itself makes the book a 10 for me--I couldn't get it out of my head for days. Plus, I really enjoyed the story. (Unlike The Lace Reader, which I still randomly think about--but mostly how I still can't believe the freakin' twist in that book. Has anyone else out there read it and can sympathize with me?)

So that's my literary thought for the day. Happy (almost) weekend!

I was wrong

For over a year I had debated whether to read Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer's Sorcery & Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot. It sounded like a book I'd like--set in Regency England, was recommended by Amazon for me, it's a YA book, etc. However, the negatives kept me away--it's written in letter format (I really don't care for that style), has witches (I don't like witches or Satanic-related activity), it's written in letter format and lastly, it's written in letter format. I'm glad I finally broke down (aka couldn't find any other book I wanted to read at the library) and read Sorcery and Cecelia because it was adorable and the letter writing style didn't bother me at all!

The tale is set in Regency England and is a series of letters exchanged between two cousins, Cecelia and Kate. Cecelia is home in the country while Kate is off in London having her first Season. The girls both accidentally stumble into a dastardly plot involving magic (and a Marquis and a not-so-stealthy spy). It was just a happy and adorable book! The letters weren't annoying at all--they featured only interesting details and weren't so freakin' long that it'd be impossible to actually write (cf. Pamela). It's a rare book that can make me like letter/diary novel. (Bridget Jones is another example of a diary book that I actually liked.)

Sorcery and Cecelia was one of those wonderful books where everything happened that I wanted but nothing was forced. I loved the two romantic leads in the book...and the romances themselves were adorable and developed so satisfyingly. I liked all the characters, the settings, the plot.....do me a favor and go read it!

Rating: 10/10

Sparkly

I read Neil Gaiman's Stardust last year, before the movie came out. I really enjoyed it--it was a fairy tale, romance and adventure all tumbled into one.

Isn't this cover gorgeous? My copy is the movie edition but I like this cover much more.

The story follows 18-year-old Tristran Thorn, who promises his beloved Victoria that he will fetch a fallen star for her. If he does, she will do whatever he wishes. Tristan must go into the land of Faerie and brave witches, enchantments and murdeous kings in order to fetch the star and bring her (yes, the star is actually a girl) back to his love. The ending is delightful and ties the plot together nicely.

It's definitely appropriate for a YA audience but adults will like it just as much. For me, it's a comfort read--easy, delightful and worth savoring.

Rating: 10/10

I read it!!! and loved it!!!

The suspense was killing me and so I broke down and bought Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. And I am so happy I did.

I did not read any reviews of BD before I read the book because I didn't want to have any influence on my opinion. I'm glad I did because there's quite a few negative reviews on Amazon. I'm actually a bit sad at how many people seem angry at the ending. I have no idea why--it was a freaking HAPPY ENDING, people! It was as if some reviewers wanted a great tragedy....why, you crazies? Why?

The story picks up with Bella preparing for her wedding and honeymoon--and then a few chapters later, the story takes a totally unexpected twist. A new character is introduced that transforms the rest of the book and shapes Bella's destiny. Plenty of closure is given, as necessary.

Here's what I liked about the book: Bella finally becomes Edward's equal. She's not whiny or indecisive. That was also a major complaint about the series--but no longer. She's matured greatly from the girl in Twilight. She can handle the challenges her new life is presenting her. And finally she and Edward can be truly together (and Jacob gets his happy ending, too! Seriously, I gasped out loud when he imprinted but I love how it works out).

We all know that I really admire Meyer but honestly, I liked the ending. It was thoroughly happy. It's an author's right to end a series how she likes--if she wants it to be perfectly happy, isn't she allowed to do that? And seriously, how do you think the legions of teenage girls who live and breathe this series would handle a tragic ending? I read an interview with Meyer and she's had the ending planned out for years (literally). The story is fantasy; happy endings can occur in fantasies. Real life can suck; I want my books to be joyous.

Here is an excellent review of the book from All About Romance Novels. It sums up my feelings nicely.

Rating: 9.5/10

(Spoiler: the only reason why I'm giving it a 9.5 instead of a 10 is the last 100 pages or so--the story is building up to a fight, which I wanted, but then it just doesn't happen. It was a bit anticlimactic. Other than that, it was soooooo good.)

So sweet

I have found an author that I love and I will read all of her books from now on. Her name is Sarah Addison Allen.

I stumbled across The Sugar Queen randomly on Amazon and decided to give it a try.

I must admit, the absolutely gorgeous cover drew me in. Isn't it so pretty and magical? Anyway, the story is about Josey, who at 27, lives with her really old mom and does everything her mother tells her to do. It actually reminds me of Valancy and The Blue Castle.

One day, Josey opens her closet door--her secret closet, where she hides oodles of sweets and romance novels from her mother--and there sits Della Lee. Della Lee refuses to leave Josey's closet. That's where Josey's new life begins.

The story, although it sounds a bit odd, is adorable. The story has plenty of magic realism, which I love. Josey slowly blossoms and breaks away from her mother. A sweet love story flourishes with Josey and a certain young man.

Can I make it any clearer? This is a really sweet, cute book. I liked Allen's style of writing so much that I will read all of her books. All of her books feature "love and magic." I know her Garden Spells was a huge hit, so I'm going to read that, too.

Rating: 10/10

wowzers

This is a re-read, but I like it so much I want to talk about it. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl is an amazing book.

I stumbled across Pessl's book for the second time at Half-Price Books for $2. Um, yeah, snatched it up. It ended up being the UK version though. I don't actually get the flowers and the Spanish dancing drawings it has inside the cover. It's pretty, but doesn't fit the book at all. Whatever.

The story is about Blue Van Meer and her professor father Gareth. After Blue's mother dies, the two travel across America, living in about three towns a year. He teaches; she goes to school. Life is good--until Blue's senior year, when they spend a whole year in a little town in North Carolina. There she meets five students nicknamed the Bluebloods (no vampires involved) and teacher Hannah Schneider--and her whole world changes.

So it sounds like a typical bildungsroman but it's not. Here's what I like about it:
*It cites more books than any other novel I've ever read--but Blue works it into the story.
*It suddenly shifts into a murder mystery part way through.
*It has a jaw-dropping ending--seriously, everything falls together and hangs on a thread.
*It's postmodern--you don't know what the truth is at the end. It's like Daphne Du Marier's My Cousin Rachel in that respect--you don't know what to believe at the end (was Rachel truly evil or just a flaky woman?!?).

Also, if you're interested, I read this interview with Marisha Pessl last year and really enjoyed it.

I'm giving it a 10 because it's a book that has impacted me. It does have its flaws (too wordy at times, can take awhile to get into, etc.) but I still think it's amazing and unique.

Rating: 10/10

Days later...

It's not a secret that I really like Stephenie Meyer's writing. I think she's amazing and has such an incredible imagination. Really, I could gush about her. (But I promise I'm not like the girls that dress up like her characters from the Twilight series or have a fansite; I just like her writing.) That being said, I was still a little "hmmmm" about The Host because it's about an alien.

First of all, what a mesmerizing cover! I had to flip it over to the back whenever I wasn't reading it because the eye was too intense.

The book itself was also intense--but so good! Here's a quick plot summary from Amazon: "Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human...But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind...Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love."

The awesome part of this book? It's not really about a love triangle--it's about defining what a human is and what connects people. The ending is powerful and beautiful (and happy! As you get into the book, you realize there can't be a happy ending, but again Meyer strikes with a perfect answer. I was so thrilled.)

Her treatment of love is great--you'll see that at the ending. Love is about a person's soul and not based on looks and lust. That's sadly a rare concept in many romance--and other--books.

That's enough; go read it. Days later I'm still thinking about it!

Rating: 10/10

Seriously

I have been reading all week...but it's been a busy week and the book I've been reading (Young Miles) is actually three books in one, so take that. Maybe I'll finish it this week....just like I finished Firefly last week. And now I'm sad it's over. That show definitely gets a 10.

Enjoy

It's Monday night, which besides Jay Leno's headlines which crack me up, it's also time for my hottie pick of the week.Jeffrey Donovan, star of my favorite TV show Burn Notice, you are my hottie of the week. You also have the best sunglasses in the world.

Also, because of this show, I now say the word "Miami" with an Irish accent. Watch the first season encore on USA, starting on April 17 at 11 p.m., and you'll see why.

No mustache

I know Brandon Flowers from The Killers did (maybe still does) have a mustache--which is a major no-no in my book--but he's still the Hottie of the week!

Yeah, I'd marry him.

Ah. love

In honor of PBS showcasing Pride and Prejudice, which ended last night, Colin Firth is a natural choice for Hottie Monday!

Clearly I like my Regency boys. (Or is P&P too early for Regency? Okay, I just looked it up. Regency in England is from 1811-1820. Pride and Prejudice was written in 1813; therefore, perfect Regency-era story.)

If you like Pride and Prejudice, give Bridget Jones' Diary a try. There's a wonderful connection between this miniseries, Colin Firth, Mark Darcy and the BJ movies. I tried to find a story about it but I need to go to work now. :)