A Novel Read

Blackout & All Clear by Connie Willis

2011-06-23T15:53:00.003-04:00

If you have read my blog over the past few years, than you know that Connie Willis is one of my favorite authors. I love her humor and her attention to detail. The books she has written about time-traveling historians fulfill some of my favorite fields: history, comedy, sci-fi. So I was thrilled when I found out she was writing another book about future historians traveling back to World War II (not just any historians. This book is a return to the world she created in two other books. It makes for a more complete story if you've read her other time travel books). Then I discovered she was only releasing half of the book at a time. It is not a series. It is literally one story that stops dead in the middle. You cannot read one of the books without reading the other. I would rather the book had been published together (as though I have any say in the matter, right?) But it did make me hesitate before I read the books.

Blackout was the first book I read on a Nook app. (As an aside, reading on a tablet is worth a discussion of its own which I'll save for another day.) I appreciated Willis' attention to detail. She has done extensive research into World War II London and her characters and situations are believable. Yes, the main premise is time-traveling historians but, Willis writes an extremely vivid, realistic War experience. The book jumps between different characters researching the War who find themselves in the middle of horrifying events.

Jump to book two: All Clear. This book literally picks up right where the first one left off. Around page 300 I was frustrated. I was 800 pages into the story and there was a lot of second-guessing and doubling back. Willis spent too much time having the characters question themselves, and debate the same issues over and over. I remember feeling the same way 3/4 of the way through The Doomsday Book.

Around page 900 Willis finally started to wrap parts of the story up. Characters who had been introduced early in the book were finally explained - the connections between different figures appeared. Some of the ideas introduced very briefly in the beginning of the first book reappeared and started to connect. I kept reading.

Then I hit the last 150 pages and could not put the book down. Willis, in her typical fashion, tied everything together beautifully. It wasn't a happy Christmas bow - not everyone ended up with the perfect ending. There are questions left, but not in such a way to feel as though she's just trying to write another book and make more money. And the last two pages made it all worthwhile. Willis created a link I had not seen coming but was so appropriate. It does make me want to go back and reread To Say Nothing of the Dog - the first Willis book I read and the beginning of an literary obsession.

I think she could have cut out 100+ pages in the middle. I wish the book had been released as a single 1000-page tome. But, I remain a die-hard fan.

(This is the "small" image. I don't know how to make it smaller. Apologies!)

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

2011-05-26T09:00:00.003-04:00

I love Neil Gaiman's books. He can create the most fascinating, dynamic, unique worlds. I have read all of his adult books. But I am not as enamored of his children's literature. I feel it is a bit dark (who am I kidding, it's really dark). I liked Coraline as a story, but it is not something I have given either of my kids and probably won't for some time. So, it was with trepidation that I picked up The Graveyard Book. I was surprised when I found out it had won the Newberry Medal - the highest honor a children's book can receive in the United States.

I will admit to being pleasantly surprised. I really enjoyed Gaiman's story. While dark - the premise is that a young boy's family is killed and he is raised by ghosts in a graveyard to protect him from the murderer - the story is not graphic or scary or otherwise inappropriate for a children's story. Yes there is suspense and there is implicit violence, but there is nothing over the top (a phrase I could frequently use with Gaiman).

One of the reasons I liked this book was the way Gaiman put the chapters together. There is a clear overarching story that follows from the beginning to the end. But each chapter is episodic. You could read an individual chapter as a complete story - a point Gaiman makes about his own book. In fact, the chapter about the witch was originally published as an independent short story. When reading to kids, having a complete story is a nice touch.

Another feature is Gaiman's incredible creativity and novel way of seeing the world. His ghosts resemble characters in other literature, but they all have a Gaiman twist which keeps them original and engaging. His perceptions of death and the afterlife while familiar are not overly dark if a kid were reading the story.

Possibly an odd aside, but the copy I read included Gaiman's Newberry acceptance speech which was amazing. It had Gaiman's wry humor, a respectful amount of humility, but also a poignancy. Gaiman reminded his readers/listeners that great literature to a child is nothing more than a book that creates an escape. What we read as kids doesn't ever have to win awards or even be memorable five years down the road so long as it creates a world to explore.

(Not Beginner) Chapter Books

2011-05-25T09:36:00.002-04:00

Now that my kids have jumped into reading I am beginning to realize how many levels of books it is necessary to have. I knew about the categories of pictures, beginning readers, and chapter books. But my kids are smack in-between beginning readers and longer chapter books. They can handle chapters, but don't want 150+ pages. They still like pictures on pages, but want themes that relate to them. Thank goodness for librarians and classroom teachers. I have been compiling a list to meet the needs of Eldest who loves to read, likes adventure/fantasy stories, prefers human protagonists to animals, wants to read Harry Potter, but is still only 7. It's harder than I would have thought. But, in case, you have an avid reader who is still developing his reading ability, here are some suggestions that we are working on:

The first category is the emerging bridge between graphic novel/chapter book which is really popular in my house:

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid (probably the first in this genre. Its popularity has helped create many others)
Big Nate (undoubtedly riding on the popularity of Wimpy Kid, but Eldest enjoyed it)
Magic Pickle (one book in the series is a pure graphic novel. Eldest was disappointed the others had actual chapters...)
Frankie Pickle (while being forced to clean his room, Frankie fights a monster with an old tuna and mayonnaise sandwich...)
Dragonbreath (while this seems to be popular for many kids, Eldest has turned his nose up at it. Too cute-looking maybe???)
and of course... Captain Underpants (just in case you don't have a young kid and haven't heard of this series)

As for actual chapter books, without the graphic novel concept, it has been tougher. Eldest has told me in the past that he can't see the pictures in his head, so he really prefers the visual. But I'm working on encouraging more chapter books as we seem to be running low on age-appropriate graphic novels. I'm liberal in what he can read, but hardcore manga is not okay. Yet.

Here are a few books that have caught on in our house or we are planning to try this summer:

Black Lagoon chapter books (Eldest picked up the picture books at school, so he knows the series. He can read these in one sitting, but he's reading!)
Naruto chapter books (based on the Japanese manga show, this series has been toned down for a younger audience. It appeals to Eldest but is *clean* enough for mom)
Dragon Slayers Academy series (these are popular with a lot of kids. I am trying to convince Eldest to read them, but haven't had any luck yet)
Secrets of Droon series (same as above. I think if I could get him started, he'd like the series, but so far Eldest has resisted)

I would love any other suggestions or ideas. Anything to encourage a love of reading...

Hunger for Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez

2011-01-12T10:42:00.003-05:00

I first saw this book on a high school summer reading list at the bookstore in Colorado. Asking about it on the East Coast very few people had heard of it. That different alone peaked my interest. Is the academic interest in Hispanic culture that much larger west of the Mississippi? (Yes, there is a demographic reality that answers my question. But as an "American" isn't the melting pot relevant everywhere?) Lo and behold, my dad, a high school English teacher - who lives in Colorado - had the book on his shelf. So I stole his copy.

It took me seven months to finish this book. I liked it when I started but it was not a compelling enough read to encourage me to pick it up after setting it down. It was only my resolution to finish uncompleted academic books that spurred me to finish. I'm glad I did, but now that I'm done I have more questions than answers.

The premise of Rodriguez's autobiography is his attempt to understand his position in upper-class American academia at the height of affirmative action. He makes some poignant and relevant points about race versus socio-economic status. Having a solid middle class education he did not feel "right" being the recipient of affirmative action scholarships, despite his Mexican heritage. To him those scholarships needed to go to the economically disadvantaged who did not have enough schooling to get into college in the first place. Published twenty years ago, his point is still apt. Too many students suffer at the lower levels and would not succeed in college whether they had the funds or not.

The chapter on Catholicism was, to me, the most interesting. I found Rodriguez's descriptions of his journey with religion more genuine than other chapters. Coming of age in the same era when mass changed from Latin to English, he felt a social and personal disparity with Catholicism. Reading about how immersed his daily personal life was in religion explained some social and cultural issues that I had never considered living in the largely secular world.

The final chapter bothered me. There was too much navel gazing. Too much whining. No conclusions. So what? He had these revelations and then ended the book telling us he was writing a book. He had given up on academia. And? What next?

I wonder how high school teachers teach this book. What point is being made? Why are students being asked to read this as part of a summer reading list? It could have merit in the classroom, depending on how it is presented.

At the end, I'm torn. Glad I read it but don't know that I will spend much more time thinking about it.

**apologies for the size of the picture. Blogger is... picky about formatting picture size.

Hiatus?

2011-01-11T14:22:00.003-05:00

Sorry for being gone for most of the past three months. I have hit a wall with blogging about what I read. I finish a decent book and thing, how much can I say about this series that I haven't already said three times before? Or I read a book for leisure, finish and think: enjoyable. Enough said. So many people blog so much that I am feeling lost in the shuffle of excess.

There are two directions I can take the blog and I think I will work at both.

1. I am trying to get back into reading more academic work. There has been a lot published since I graduated and I would like to see how the literature has changed. I have three books sitting at home with bookmarks waiting to be finished. So that's where I will start.

Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong - I finished yesterday
Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez an autobiography - I should finish today or tomorrow
Body by Weimar: Athletes, Gender, and German Modernity by Erik Jensen - I'm on page 52 and would like to finish before classes start next week

2. Kid's books. My boys are reading so differently right now. And finding age-appropriate and interest-appropriate books is a challenge - but a challenge I love. Maybe not every book, but when something jumps out, I will post about what catches their interest.

And I won't ignore my own books completely. If there's something particularly engaging or worth discussing, I will still post it.

Happy New Year!

Wordless Picture books

2010-12-09T10:32:00.003-05:00

During the month of October I focused on the books my kids were reading. I haven't found any of my recent reads that inspiring which is why I haven't posted much. However, I wanted to add another to the list of good kids finds. And I wanted to join the latest I Can Read Carnival celebrating early literacy

If you look at the title, I am writing about wordless picture books. You may ask, how can a book without words inspire literacy? Let me explain:

Boy2 can read. He can read remarkably well considering he is only 5. But I have little idea what his comprehension level is. While he will sound out and correctly pronounce words on a billboard that doesn't mean he comprehends the word. At the beginning of the school year his teacher told me his "comprehension was 0." I know that is not true because he will tell me the plot of books he has read. Sometimes.

Long story shorter... he is not excited about reading on his own right now. He still loves to listen to stories at bedtime and he will look at pictures but he has no interest in "reading." Then I discovered two great new finds at the library. Owly and Polo. These are both series of graphic novel/comic books with complete visual stories but they have (almost) no words. At first Boy2 was skeptical and wanted me to tell the story. I told him he had to tell the story to himself.

Success... yesterday in the car on the way home from the library he picked up Polo and the Magic Flute and told the story - in great detail - to the Clifford stuffed animal he brought home from school yesterday. Listening to him adding dialogue and plot points I realized his literacy was growing exponentially. As important as understanding words when we read is the ability to follow a story to its conclusion.

Both series are well-drawn, colorful, and engaging. The stories have a distinct plot but for my son who doesn't like too much suspense they are not overly suspenseful. I also like that there are multiple stories with the same characters which really appeals to my kids. They become invested in the world of the characters.

I will continue to drop books at Boy2s bedside. But I am more willing to think a little bit outside the box to find other means of working on his literacy than just reading flashcard words.

Sepulchre by Kate Mosse

2010-11-15T11:35:00.002-05:00

Bestseller denotes a book that has sold many, many copies. However, does anyone ever track how many books have been read? That is, just because I buy a book and set it on my shelf doesn't mean I ever pick it up and read it. Nor does bestseller acknowledge the books that look good and get lots of hype but just don't live up to expectations. Recently I talked with friends about a memoir that had been heavily touted in the media. Two people separately told me they started the book only to put it down because it was boring and badly written. I wonder if in the future e-readers will allow statistics about how many people actually spend time with every page of a book...

These were my thoughts as I put down Sepulchre by Kate Mosse. A few years back a friend sent me Labyrinth which I read and enjoyed. But I wasn't over the moon about it. I feel very similar about Sepulchre. I liked the book. Mosse writes a compelling, detailed, historically accurate story. But in the end, I was disappointed. I felt like the book was 500 pages of hype for a relatively simplistic and facile ending.

Sepulchre, in the recent tradition of historical suspense stories, tracks the lives of two individuals in different eras whose worlds intersect. Leonie Vernier lives in 1890s Paris. Meredith Martin is a present day historian tracking down both biographical information about Debussy and historical information about her murky past. Needless to say, there is a connection between the two women - at the very least, the fascinating tarot cards they both possess.

Mosse presents a well-researched historical reality. Her knowledge of Languedoc France at the turn of the century create a believable world. But her character of Victor Constant - the bad guy - is remarkably one-dimensional. The present day villain is not well enough fleshed out. For all of the immense detail Mosse includes, she needed to spend more time giving her villain a motivation for his obsessions.

In the story, Mosse's characters talk about Dan Brown and links to the Templars. Needless to say, Mosse is attempting to separate her story from Brown's formulaic pop fiction. Yet, Mosse falls into some of the same traps. All of the drama is easily explained away. The suggestion of more is never really fulfilled.

According to Goodreads, this is the second book in the Languedoc Trilogy. I can't find a link between the stories aside from the geographical location. I am curious whether she intends to write a third book which brings all of the characters together. If so, it seems relatively far fetched.

All in all, I'm glad I read it. I learned a few things. But I would have rather spent the past couple of weeks on something better.

The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear

2010-11-03T11:13:00.001-04:00

I have loved the Maisie Dobbs series since I read the first book. I was thrilled to realize I had an unread book in the series on my shelf: don’t know how I could have missed that earlier. I have heard people call the series “light” because they are mysteries, but really I think there is an incredibly depth to Winspear’s writing. She takes on topics that are weighty and in no way fluffy. She also has created an incredibly real, detailed world which is eminently believable. Winspear is not cozy mystery machine who churns out a new book every season. There is an analytical depth and research background which undermines the descriptions of a mystery as “light.”

In the latest Maisie Dobbs book, Winspear introduces Americans. The soldier who has been killed is an American cartographer who joined the War because he had unique skills and his father was British. Like all Maisie Dobbs books, the plot is more intricate than first perceived.

This book would be terribly hard to pick up without foreknowledge of the series. By the seventh book in the series, Winspear assumers her readers are up-to-date on Dobb’s friends, relationships, and past. This story brings back Maurice, her mentor who has been a foundation of the series. It also reintroduces James Compton and adds a heretofore untold back story which fleshes out the world of Maisie Dobbs. Winspear does an amazing job of combining the mystery and the personal story in a balanced way. She does not go too far astray on either side, losing track of one plotline of the other.

When all is said and done however, I didn’t like this book quite as well as others in the series. The only problem for me was the way the mystery wrapped up. There were too many moments when Maisie knew information which Winspear did not share with the reader. And the denouement was muddy. One character was “sort of” guilty, but I did not feel it was explained as well as it could have been.

Despite the shortcomings, I would wholeheartedly recommend the series. It is easy to get lost in Jacqueline Winspear’s world. And I always learn something new.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

2010-11-03T11:11:00.002-04:00

Yesterday (well, in October. I wrote this then and am posting now) I had to finish Hannah’s latest book. Everything else could wait; the book came first. My second novel by Kristin Hannah and I’m hooked. I will eagerly be looking for more of her work – she’s amazing. Hannah’s books are character driven plots detailing the intertwined relationships of women as they attempt to chart their own path.

Firefly Lane tells the story of Tully Hart and Kate Ryan, best friends from the age of 14. They remain close throughout high school, college, early career and family. From the outset Hannah lead her readers to know *something* would cause a rupture between the two women and I spent lots of reading time attempting to unearth what would cause the break. There are obvious clues but I am happy to say it was not the one I anticipated. What she did create was a logical trajectory for the climax so when it came it seemed so logical without have been blaringly obvious – so to speak.

I loved how Hannah showed the passage of time. There were no “It was the fall of 1985…” paragraphs. Instead she subtly interjected song titles and fashions to show new eras. At one point the girls sport Farah Fawcett do’s, later Tully gets her hair cut in a “Rachel.” Hannah never falls into the trap of describing what a “Rachel” looks like, she knows her readers will know. The story arches from the height of hippie-era bellbottoms through the sequins, crosses, and shoulder pads of the 1980s to the low-rider jeans and belly-baring 2000s. For anyone aware of women’s fashions for the past 30 years Hannah did a great job of showing the period without having to state it.

I will admit, I sobbed through the last 100 pages. I don’t always like tear-jerker books. Especially when an author makes a concerted effort to tug on emotional chains. I don’t feel that way with Hannah. She is telling an amazing story that comes with heartache and drama. The book is not all about the bad, but there is bad as a reality of life.

Oh, and the two Kristin Hannah books I’ve read both take place in the Pacific Northwest. This one starts in the town where my husband went to high school. I liked reading her perceptions of a town I saw in the late 1990s.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

2010-11-01T09:52:00.001-04:00

Shortly after I started my blog I joined Goodreads. What better way to keep track of the books I read. I love the ability to track my books and I love seeing what my fellow bibliophiles are reading. However, Goodreads has recently added a new dimension to my reading. They send a monthly email with book news and new book suggestions. When something catches my attention it is easy to add it to my future to-read list. Whether I get to the books immediately or not, I have them cached for when I need a suggestion.

A few months ago one of the suggestions was Kristin Hannah’s new novel Winter Garden. Hannah was a brand new author to me; although I have since learned she is quite prolific (which makes me very happy as I love finding good new authors to add to my list). I picked up the book at the school library and read it over the weekend.

What an amazing book. Hannah’s story revolves around a mother and her two daughters upon the death of the father: the glue who holds the family together. The adult daughters are not close to their mother but promise their father they will try to remain close after he dies. Over time the women learn about their mother’s past and what has made her the distant woman she is.

Hannah’s characters are well-rounded: their quirks, foibles, and interests resonate with the childhood she created for them. Both daughters have difficulty with love relationships – albeit in a very different way from one another – because of their upbringing. They are distrustful and shut off, more like their mother than they are willing to admit at the outset. It is easy to believe in the people she has created in her novel.

Moreover, Hannah has done an incredible job researching war torn Leningrad. Her descriptions of Anya’s life in Russia during World War II are amazingly accurate. In the right setting, I would happily use this book in a history class. She brings personality and emotion and horror to an event that is hard to portray accurately in a sterile history setting.

Suffice it to say, I will be looking for more books by Kristin Hannah. Firefly Lane is sitting on my bookshelf and the only reason I didn’t pick it up immediately is I wanted to savor knowing I had such a great book waiting for me. I would strongly recommend Winter Garden to almost anyone!

Death Swatch by Laura Childs

2010-11-01T09:47:00.002-04:00

I have read most of Laura Childs’ books in all three of her series. Death Swatch is the sixth book in the scrapbooking series. And as much as I enjoy Childs’ series I am beginning to feel as though she is spread too thin. For the first time I found inconsistencies and problems in this story.

Laura Childs excels at light cozies with strong female characters. She chooses locales with personality and depth. Her themes – scrapbooking, tea, cooking – all offer great opportunities for creativity and useful tips at the back of the book. In Death Swatch Childs combines Mardi Gras and paper stamping techniques.

But…

She is not a historian. Within one chapter she confuses the era of Jean Lafitte badly. She talks about the 18^th century, then she says he lived “over 100 years ago” and then she makes some other claim about the Battle of New Orleans in the early nineteenth century. It was more than a slight editing gaffe. For me it was a sign of someone who is over-extended and not reading or researching as carefully. Aside from flummoxing her dates, she clearly was not overly familiar with the timeline she was writing about. This plot just went too far off the scale to be even remote believable. I realize cozies are not about accuracy and believability, but the authors usually fact check and try to keep their plots vaguely realistic.

All in all, not one of Childs best efforts.

Poetry for kids or Why everyone should read Shel Silverstein

2010-10-25T12:20:00.006-04:00

When my boys were much younger we belonged to a neighborhood playgroup. The kids ranged in age from newborn to kindergarteners. At Christmas we had a book exchange. Everyone brought an anonymous wrapped book and put it either into the "infant/board book" category or in the "older kid" category. I debated the best present to get. After all, I could go to the Dollar store and get a board book but I know I wouldn't have wanted that as a present. I finally found the perfect book:

a 30th Anniversary Edition of Where the Sidewalk Ends

Although a three year old might not dig Shel Silverstein I figured it was a long-term present. I was vastly relieved when the mom who picked my book had a 5 year old. She was the perfect age for the book. Imagine my surprise when the mom opened the book and nearly burst into tears. She announced to the room, "Who would buy an adult book for a child?" in a snide, disappointed voice. I wanted nothing more than to crawl out of the room. This woman obviously had no idea who Shel Silverstein was.

So I am posting here for anyone who doesn't know Shel Silverstein. His work is amazing. And more than anything it is poetry that should be read aloud (as should all poetry, in my opinion).

Lately my boys are getting into reading longer books on their own. But interestingly, they have no desire to move even further up the reading scale and have me read them longer books. While their friends are starting to listen to Harry Potter or The Chronicles of Narnia Eldest and Boy2 still prefer if I read them picture books. Last week Eldest picked up Where the Sidewalk Ends (I bought my own copy at the same time I bought the gift. It has remained on the shelf for a number of years) and they are hooked. Every night they ask for more poems. Both boys want me to read the same book - which is a small miracle of its own.

The cadence of poetry begs to be read aloud. The silly themes in Silverstein's work appeals to kids of all ages. In school over 50% of my classmates chose to memorize Sarah Cynthia Silvia Stout when we had to recite a poem (while I proudly stood and read Robert Frost's The Mending Wall). Yet as an adult I find I am enjoying the books on a whole different level. Silverstein thrives on the acceptability of difference. For any child who has ever felt awkward or like they didn't fit in, there is a Shel Silverstein poem that will speak to him or her.

A couple of months ago I picked out The Giving Tree and read it to Boy2 who listened appreciatively. At bedtime he asked me to read it again. The next day Eldest grabbed it from his brother's room but never said anything about it. When it came time to return the book to the library I asked if he had read it. His comment, "I didn't think I'd like it from looking at the pictures. But, it was actually really good." I would call that high praise from a 7 year old.

Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones by Gene Barretta

2010-10-22T09:20:00.003-04:00

I picked up this book at the school Book Fair in the spring because I liked the bright colors and the cartoony art. It turns out to have been a fun find for both boys. The story is a goofy, cute picture book. But you can read it to kids, and have them read it themselves at many different levels.

The point of the book is to introduce kids to homophones: words that sound alike but have two different meanings (and sometimes spellings).

Each page has a series of two or three homophones. All together the book tells the story of life in a zoo. The pages include things like

DEAR DEER,
I now live at the zoo. Wait until you HEAR what goes on over HERE.
Love,
AUNT ANT

The homophones are always in capital letters. Through the book they do get more difficult. The first time I read it the boys just listened to the story. By the second time they had started to pick up on the words and the differing meanings. Now if I read it they jump up and down and fight for the chance to explain what the story means and to explain the difference in the definitions between the homophones. It is hysterical watching them try to act out "here" versus "hear."

I have noticed a growing trend lately of "grammar" and "math" picture books. I am of a mixed mind on these. On the one hand, like Dear Deer, they are a good way to introduce kids to difficult concepts. Both of my boys have enjoyed math story books we have found. On the other hand, we cram so much academic at our kids that sometimes a story should just be a story.

A couple of examples

Eats, Shoots, & Leaves (the children's edition)

The War Between the Vowels and the Consonants (an odd one, I do say so)

Pizza Counting

Anyone else have thoughts on this growing children's sub-genre?

Benny and Penny Series by Geoffrey Hayes

2010-10-21T10:17:00.003-04:00

**A special thanks to The Reading Tub for asking me to be part of her A Carnival for New Readers for the month of October**

A good librarian is worth her weight in gold. Much of my childhood was spent browsing the shelves of our library with the librarian standing over my shoulder offering recommendations. Last week I stopped in our library and asked for suggestions for my budding readers. She could not have been more helpful!! I went home with half a dozen books, most of which got read in the first couple of nights.

I find it is difficult for emerging readers to suddenly jump into the world of black text, white page, one picture on every other page. So much of reading up until that point has been visual that the change can seem stark. But finding good books which bridge the gap can be something of a challenge (although I will admit that more and more authors are seeing and filling this literacy gap). While I have a long-standing distrust, shall we say, of graphic novels as something less than "real literature," I am beginning to recognize their appeal to new readers. After all, I didn't spent every evening as a child reading Dickens. I read my fair share of Archie and Richie Rich comic books.

Moreover, emerging readers have the challenge of fitting their reading level into their interest level. As Eldest struggled to read he didn't want books with pictures of babies and words like "dolly" and "ball;" he wanted Star Wars and NFL Football. Boy2 is the opposite. His reading ability his high for his age, but he still prefers Blues Clues and doesn't want stories about zombies or space aliens.

Benny and Penny fit perfectly into Boy2's needs. The characters are a brother and sister mouse who go on adventures and get into typical little kid trouble. One of the realities of graphic novels is that many of them are geared to an older reader. Benny and Penny is blissfully innocent. There is nothing scary. There are no creatures lurking in the dark. There are no themes of good vs. evil. They are simple stories.

Boy2 read the 32 page story at bedtime the evening I brought it home. The next evening he requested that we read it together - he played the role of Benny, I got to be Penny. Listening to him read and include the enthusiasm and expressionism of the story was magical. He was so excited.

Yesterday I was back at the library browsing the shelves for more Benny and Penny stories. Sadly, they were all checked out. Obviously my son is not the only fan. We will be keeping our eyes out for these books.

The Geronimo and Thea Stilton Series

2010-10-04T10:54:00.006-04:00

Finding a series which is appealing to both boys and girls can be challenging these days. In a world which touts gender-neutral toys, chapter books do not follow the rules. So many of the plots are extremely gendered. Walking through the bookstore you can find pastel colored spines with titles about fairies, girlfriends, and jewelry. Or you can find dark colored spines and titles with "gross," adventure, or daring in them. There is little to appeal to kids who don't fit the mold.

Enter the Geronimo and Thea Stilton series. Even here they have divided the books into two categories - Geronimo for the boys and the Thea Sisters for the girls. But they remain significantly less gendered than what else I have found. The stories are action/adventure. In each one Thea or Geronimo - employees of their family's newspaper business - track down missing people, find treasure, or explore scary houses.

As much as my boys enjoy the plots - and for those who are leery of too much tension, these have not bothered Boy2 who tends to be very sensitive to scary things - the best BEST part of the Stilton books is the actual text.

As I have said, my boys are visual. They like the pictures. So a page with all black and white text still seems a bit too boring. But the creators of this series had a great idea. The font is far from standard. According to The Geronimo Stilton News Site they use "nontraditional fonts and colors" as part of "Visual Literacy." Whatever phrase they use to describe it: it works for my kids! In a big way! They love to see the words played out on the page.

If I could find more series like this I would snatch them up in a heartbeat. Right now it is the only thing Boy2 is reading. He even approached the school librarian and asked for a harder book than what she had put out for the kindergarteners. He mentioned Thea Stilton and read a page to her before she would let him take it out to prove he could read it.

From their site I just learned Geronimo Stilton is a translated Italian series. The Italians are doing it right. For early literacy I love love love this series!

Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel

2010-10-03T19:02:00.003-04:00

Both of my boys are very visual. They have always loved reading picture books at bedtime. About a year ago when I attempted to read a chapter book to them Eldest declared, "I don't like chapter books because I can't see the pictures in my head." So we stuck with picture books. Even as they are reading more on their own recently, they still prefer picture books to chapter books at bedtime.

I realized for kids who like the depth of picture book stories, like Eloise, easy readers are overly simplistic. While the idea of reading their own books is important, both of my boys wanted to move from picture books to detailed stories.

All of that to say, we love the Bad Kitty series in my house. The original Bad Kitty is cute and funny. Both boys laughed and asked us to read it again and again. The pictures are amusing and well done. In addition, it is also a more advanced alphabet book incorporating words a child would not be expected to know but can easily learn. After reading Bad Kitty, we immediately moved on to Poor Puppy.

Nick Bruel made a great choice in expanding the picture book into an easy chapter book series. The same humor is apparent in the stories. They are funny for kids but equally funny for the adults reading. The great pictures (although in black and white rather than color) run throughout the book which means for Eldest he can hear the story and still be invested in what's on the page. In addition, there is enough text to tell a whole story. I started reading Bad Kitty Gets a Bath the other night and after I left Boy2 finished reading the story on his own. We have not yet read Happy Birthday Bad Kitty but I foresee it in the near future.

If you can think of other series like Nick Bruel's which bridge the gap between graphic picture books and graphic chapter books, please share. We're always looking for more like it.

October is Children's Book month - at least for me :-)

2010-10-01T10:24:00.003-04:00

I am going to take a break for the month from blogging about the books I am reading. I may hang onto the titles so I can post them later. But for this month I will turn my focus to children's literature. Both of my boys: Eldest and Boy2 have recently made the jump from Easy Readers to Chapter books. It is not an easy transition and some days are more successful than others. But it is fascinating to watch their interests and their abilities change every day.

There are so many good books for kids these days that I am gratified by what I can find. Not everything they read is "literature." Far from it. But they are reading and that's what is important. There is always room for improvement too. If there is one great book, how can I find more like it?

I try not to be an overbearing parent. I did not spend hours showing my kids Mozart flashcards at the age of two. But I will admit that I have pushed reading on them. As you probably noticed from my blog, I LOVE to read. Books are as necessary to me as food. I wanted to pass that love onto my children. But equally important is the necessity to read to be successful in school. Whether Math, Science, Social Studies the ability to read and comprehend instructions and texts are crucial. So I felt like early reading would make the transition to school easier.

It has, but now I have kids reading above their grade level which presents its own challenges.

Anyway, that's enough from me. Now on to the books:

State of the Onion by Julie Hyzy

2010-09-28T10:05:00.003-04:00

When reading a cozy mystery series there is suspension of disbelief and then there is "so far fetched I am having trouble with my disbelief turning into laughable disdain." What can I say; I applaud Hyzy for her attempt at a novel fun locale for her series. I think writing a series about the White House chef is creative. She admits in her acknowledgements that she can't have all the details concerning the White House kitchen completely accurate because of privacy and security. That actually wasn't what bothered me overmuch.

The plot of State of the Onion revolves around Olivia Paras, the assistant chef in the White House who gets involved in a security breech involving the president. With an inability to keep out of harms way, Ollie ends up the target of an assassin's wrath because she is the one person who has seen him and can identify him. As a chef, the book of course revolves around cooking and the kitchen. There are recipes in the back. So far, typical cozy.

My frustration came from the subplot which involved two warring Middle Eastern nations who come to the United States for a joint meeting. Hyzy could not logically put Palestine and Israel into the book so instead she created two made-up nations with "very different backgrounds." That destroyed it. By definition she had to write in generalizations. Her perceptions of Middle Easterners were stereotyped and one-dimensional.

Furthermore, I found the "rah rah the President is perfect we're so patriotic it makes everyone gag" to be over the top. Obviously someone who works in the White House has a healthy respect for our government and the office of the President. But to suggest that we are the only great nation who has all the answers is overstated.

Now, other people I know liked this book a lot more than I did. I'm a harsh critic when it comes to accuracy and realism. If you want a light fun story, Hyzy's not bad. I did get invested in the climax and discovery of the bad guy. It was also the right book to have when I needed something light, fluffy, and not too deep.

Baker Towers by Jennifer Haigh

2010-09-22T14:09:00.003-04:00

I picked up Baker Towers on a whim at a discount bookstore. I had never heard of the book or the author. But the blurb on the back sounded engaging. I'm really glad I got the book. Haigh's novel grew on me as I read it. By today I wanted the peace and quiet to sit down and finish the story uninterrupted.

Jennifer Haigh has an interesting quality of saying a lot in a very few words. The story revolves around a miner's family in World War II-era Pennsylvania. In the first moments the father, a coal miner, keels over dead. The rest of the book follows his children as they navigate the world they inhabit from youth to adulthood. There are two sons and three daughters in the family who all take very different paths which continue to intersect.

Dorothy, the eldest daughter, moves to Washington DC to work as a stenographer to help out her family. Joyce, the middle daughter, enlists in the Navy after the War is over, returning home when her mother's health fails. Lucy, the baby, struggles with her weight and navigating a world devoid of me. George, the eldest son, returns from the War with grandiose desires he cannot fulfill. Sandy is the golden child of the family, yet he's always on the periphery of everyone's concerns. Each of the children, and eventually the grandchildren, flit in and out of their hometown and one another's lives as their circumstances change.

Haigh's writing is light but imbued with a lot of depth. She does not dwell on unnecessary explanations of feelings. Nor does she spend overmuch time describing imagery. Yet with a short turn of phrase an entire conversation makes sense. Although the book is only 320 pages long it feels like a much longer story. She intertwines the voice of the family members in a way to see a clear picture of their life through many eyes.

An unexpected pleasure. I hoped for a good book. I found a really well-written treasure about a time and place I personally really enjoy.

Uncharted Territory by Connie Willis

2010-09-17T10:44:00.003-04:00

Connie Willis is one of the most award-winning science fiction authors in the past twenty-five years. And yet her books will never be a part of the literary cannon. That isn't Willis' point. In fact, it is her ability to poke fun at so much of society that makes her books great. They are the antithesis of the cannon and yet everyone should read them.

Uncharted Territory is an odd little novella. At 160 pages it seems tiny compared to most of what appears in bookstores these days. But considering that more than half of Willis' work is short stories this book bridges the gap between her two types of stories.

The story drops you right in the middle of a fantastical science fiction world replete with explorers charting a foreign planet. The language is slightly off making it a bit of a challenge to immerse yourself in the story. The alien is inexplicable and speaks oddly. There is no immediate conflict to drive the plot. All in all, it sounds like many, many short stories.

The appeal of any Willis story is her ability to find the incredible humor and irony in seemingly serious topics. Most of the story explores the ridiculousness of treating native peoples and lands "with respect" (which looks bad when I write it that way). Obviously she takes the idea to the extreme in which the explorers are fined for leaving footprints in the dust which may irreparably harm the native flora and fauna. Trust me its funny.

But in the long-term the story is actually exploring gender-bending. One of the main characters is Evelyn - assumed to be a woman but of course a British male - who studies mating habits of alien species. As it turns out, he should be studying the mating habits immediately surrounding him.

This book has a limited audience appeal and universally relevant commentary. While not my favorite of her books by a long shot, Connie Willis remains a great author.

The Girl Who Played with Fire AND The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

2010-09-15T09:21:00.004-04:00

Last night I refused to interact with anyone in the house. I was bound and determined to finish Stieg Larsson's trilogy. On the one hand, I really wanted to know the outcome - how was he going to wrap up all of his story lines? On the other hand, I just wanted to finish the damn series!

Stieg Larssoon loves details! He goes into amazingly explicit minutiae for the sake of the story. In the long run I understand why he included every single aspect. Nothing was extraneous. It all tied together in the end. And all the sideline stories were crucial to bring the people together how and when he did. But... 250 pages into The Girl Who Played with Fire he *finally* set up the plot. It was somewhat laborious to keep reading and wonder where in the world he was going with his stories. Similarly, in The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest I had to wonder why I was spending so much time reading about Berger and her personal problems. It all made sense in the end, (there was one particular moment in the story for which it was necessary for Berger to implicitly trust Salander) but I don't know that that much space was needed for some of the information.

It is an amazing series. Larsson has combined police procedural, John LeCarré style spy intrigue, and current social gender intrigue into an intricate and intriguing storyline. I won't debate the merits of Larsson's trilogy. Instead, I am going to take a minute to debate a few small issues I had with the series.

In the beginning of The Girl Who Played with Fire Salander is wandering around the Caribbean. As I said before, I understand the logic of setting up the story in the way Larsson does. But, given the character he had described in book one, I had a hard time buying some of her character traits in book two. Suddenly this sullen, untrusting girl is sitting chatting casually with a bartender and helping people out. It didn't fit for me. It was too abrupt of a change.

My husband and I have been having an ongoing conversation about the role of sex and violence in the series. We've debated why Bloomkvist has to take so many women to bed - is it necessary for the storyline to set him up as an individual who is very casual about relationships? is it indicative of Swedish society? or is it sheer selling value to include lots of sex?

My mother and I discussed why the series has gained so much popularity recently. Her conclusion: it's about Sweden which is currently "hot," and its for sale at Costco which seems to dictate bestseller list these days. I agree with both of her statements, but I would add that the intrigue of Larsson adds to the power of the series. Knowing that Larsson is dead and can't write anymore allows readers to wonder what was supposed to happen next.

I'm glad I read The Millennium Trilogy, as it has been dubbed. It's a fast-paced, interesting series that raises a lot of questions about how society views outsiders. But I also am glad I read it because it keeps me abreast with current trends. Now I'm ready for something without a lot of sex, violence, or coffee drinking. :-)

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

2010-09-07T21:05:00.004-04:00

The Girl With a Dragon Tattoo is an international phenomenon. I have to believe everyone in the literate world has heard about this book in the past six months. My mom has read the series, my husband has read the series, friends have read the series. I finally decided I would bite the bullet and read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Too many recommendations tend to leave me cold; I find overwhelming praise often means I am disappointed in a book so I started reading with considerable trepidation.

Happily I can report I liked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo as much as alluded to by other readers. Larsson writes a compelling book. His characters are not archetypes and yet he describes them well enough to make them believable. All things considered, Larsson does not lack for descriptive detail. Reading the second book in the series I find that he overwhelms with detail, but more on that later.

For anyone left who has neither heard of the book nor seen the movie, the plot revolves around a 30-year old mystery surrounding a teenage girl who disappeared from an island without a trace. Mikael Blomkvist, a veteran journalist suffering from professional problems, is brought in to reanalyze the facts and try one last time to discover what happened. Eventually he needs a researcher to help with his search and brings in Lisbeth Salander, the infamous girl with the tattoo. Lisbeth’s back story ultimately becomes the plot of the Larsson trilogy. In this book Blomkvit and Salander solve the immediate mystery. But Larsson sets up the conundrum for the next two books.

So many people have commented on this story that I don’t feel it necessary to once again rehash the merits of Larsson’s story or writing ability. Let me just reiterate a thought I had when I read Camera: the Swedes are a DARK people. The literature that I have read involves sex and brutality in concrete, detailed terms. I have no idea if this is a fair assessment of the population or merely the books which have been translated to English as having a cross-cultural interest. But either way, it is not a book to be read by the faint of heart. Sexual deviance is an assumed narrative in Larsson’s storylines.

As I write, I am halfway through The Girl who Played with Fire. So far, I like the first book better. But I’ve been told I have to finish all three before I can make any conclusive statements.

Slummy Mummy by Fiona Neill

2010-09-03T19:58:00.004-04:00

First, let me say that I have learned after reading Fiona Neill's book Slummy Mummy that the term "slummy" in British English is more akin to our word sloppy as opposed to the more common usage of the phrase.

Second, let me point out that I did not expect to like this book. I didn't think I would hate it, but I also didn't pick it up expecting to read a great story or encounter great literature. I saw Slummy Mummy as a mindless diversion book.

Having those two caveats out of the way, I will admit I enjoyed Slummy Mummy more than I intended. Imagine, as a mother, your worst possible morning taking the kids to school, turn that day into a routine which occurs every day, and then add a good touch of humor. Now you have the basis for Neill's novel. Lucy Sweeney, the "mum" in the title is drowning in a sea of overwhelming motherhood. She cannot keep up with her kids' needs on a daily basis and her OCD husband does not seem to help the situation.

Sweeney finds herself competing with other school parents like the "Yummy Mummys," the "Alpha Mum," and "Sexy Domesticated Dad." The thing is, as a parent of school-age kids I would hate to admit I'm a slummy mummy, but I do know my fair share of yummy mummies and alpha mums. Neill's descriptions are really funny because they're so real.

On top of the humor, Neill tells a pretty good story. Sweeney finds herself unhappy with her personal life and turns to a flirtation with Sexy Domesticated Dad to push her out of her misery. The humorous antics and horrific moments in the story end up telling a good plot. Everyone is relatively redeemed in the end. but it actually made me stop and think about my own family situation. I hadn't anticipated that when I looked at the front cover.

It is diverting and not terribly heavy. The cover might forgo a read in public. But Slummy Mummy is worth the read.

The Aloha Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

2010-08-31T20:29:00.003-04:00

I first discovered Jennifer Chiaverini by sheer chance. I stood in the bookstore looking for a book by Tracy Chevalier and was attracted by the cover of a nearby book, The Quilter's Apprentice. I am not a quilter but at the time I worked with a volunteer quilting group and I enjoyed watching them work and listening to them talk. I read the first three books in the Elm Creek Quilt series and happily shared the series with my mom and the quilters. The books were easy reads, somewhat sweet, but also informative about the art of quilting.

As Chiaverini grew in renown, her books also grew in number. When I picked up The Aloha Quilt I was surprised to learn it is the 16th book in the series!! And it is one of the better ones I have read lately, honestly. Chiavernini's books fall into two categories: contemporary stories about modern day quilters and their socio-personal interactions versus historical stories about the roles quilts have had in important American historical events. While the historical books are very informative, they just don't grab my attention the same way as the contemporary stories do.

When I saw The Aloha Quilt sitting on the new book shelf at the library I picked it up gleefully and immediately began devouring it. It took me less than two days to read (which is not an amazing feat unless you consider it was the last week of summer and both of my kids were at home pestering me and expecting me to help them get ready for school).

The book takes a secondary character from early Elm Creek novels, Bonnie, and gives her a whole book. Bonnie and her husband have recently filed for divorce (a topic explored in another book) and as a way to escape the ensuing difficulties she moves to Hawaii for six months to help her friend Claire set up a quilt retreat. The story revolves not only around Bonnie, Claire, and the questions over divorce later in life, but also spends a good amount of time on Hawaiian culture.

I found Chiaverini's descriptions of Hawaiian quilting and its offshoot history really interesting. She managed to dovetail the state's unique history with detailed information about the applique-style quilting of the region. Knowing only the most tangential information about Hawaii, I enjoyed learning more in the light style Chiaverini has.

Was the book a bit cliché? Yeah, a bit. Did everything work out in the end with a nice ribbon tied around it? Yes. But that's part of why I like the contemporary Elm Creek stories. They're easy on the psyche. All in all, a great end of the summer read.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

2010-08-31T18:29:00.006-04:00

I came at reading Geraldine Brooks in rather a backwards fashion. I started with March, followed by People of the Book and am only now getting to Year of Wonders, Brooks’ first novel. The friend who recommended it described the story as “a book about the plague with some romance thrown in.” With that description in mind, I expected more romance than delivered. Not that less romance is a bad thing, I was just surprised at the outcome of the story.

Backing up, the plot of Year of Wonders revolves around a small northern English town that isolates itself during an outbreak of the Plague to avoid spreading it to neighboring communities. As surprising as it sounds, the story emerged from an actual historical account of an early modern town which did exactly that. The protagonist of the story is the rector’s housekeeper, Anna Frith. The reader learns in the first few pages that she and the rector, Michael Mompellion, are two of the survivors of the attack who remain in the, physically and emotionally, diminished village. Most of the story backtracks and follows the characters through the year of disease, eventually coming full circle so the story meets where it left off at the beginning.

In the Afterward Brooks describes her transition from journalist to novelist, fascinated by understanding the story of the historical Derbyshire village. Brooks’ research skills shine through as her descriptions of the lifestyle and times are apt. At times her graphic imagery leaves too little to the imagination, but given the subject matter it is not surprising. Brooks does acknowledge her choice of a strong female character who sits outside the bounds of traditional society as her focus. In Brooks’ mind the story needed someone who could break the confines of social norms and was in an ability to do so.

I could see common interests in Brooks’ three novels; her work focuses on strong female leads. She takes these characters and places them in nearly impossible (yet historically real) situations to unearth how their strengths allow them to persevere. I enjoy her plots but mostly her development of the issue of integrity.

Year of Wonders reminded me of reading Connie Willis’ The Doomsday Book. The comparison is obvious considering they both focus on the Plague. But the similarities are not merely that straight forward. Like Brooks, Willis writes about the strength and wherewithal to survive adversity and horrible odds. If you haven’t read Year of Wonders and don’t mind descriptive imagery of the Plague, this is a book worth reading. If you’re not so into the Plague, I would still recommend Geraldine Brooks – one of her other stories may be more palatable.

The Abyssinian Proof by Jenny White

2010-08-27T21:29:00.005-04:00

Jenny White's first novel in the Kamil Pasha series, The Sultan's Seal, was far and away one of my favorite books this year. White has the uncanny ability of imparting a ton of knowledge about the Ottoman Empire, a subject of which she is well versed, without lecturing or falling into a litany of facts. The plot remains the most important aspect of the book.

The Abyssinian Proof, White's second entry in the nineteenth-century mystery series, tells a nuanced story of a little-known religious group living in the middle of Ottoman Istanbul. The information White has at hand about this leftover Byzantine Christian sect is fascinating. There was a tenuous moment when the story veered into a mention of Templars and I feared White had fallen into the trap of writing another derivative Christianity gone bad novel, à la Dan Brown. But, she saved herself and didn't go there. Thank goodness.

It is easy to lose oneself in White’s novels. She tells a compelling story with plenty of interesting twists and intrigues to keep me reading. The mystery is not overly straight-forward but she does throw in clues throughout to keep me guessing. However, White is also knows her history. She is not writing about stereotypes and overused characteristics of the Ottoman Empire. Her depth of knowledge allows me to learn relevant, genuine historical information within the scope of a fictional story.

Moreover, White tends to throw in some subtle social commentary about our own world. The intrigue between the Christians, the Muslims, and the Jews; the distrust of differing religious beliefs; the debate over political and cultural power based on ethnicity all ring as remarkably true today as they did 150 years ago. White manages to point out that the Ottoman Muslims were not some evil religious offshoot with nothing but bloodlust in their hearts. Her characters are somewhat universal.

I look to disappear into my books. But I don’t mind learning something along the way. Jenny White is one of the best current authors who allows me to do both of those things at the same time. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for the third book in the series. (Oh, and I heard a rumor she may attempt to discuss the Armenian Genocide in a future story. That would capture plenty of attention.)

The Russian Concubine by Kate Furnivall

2010-08-21T19:00:00.003-04:00

I picked up The Russian Concubine at a discount bookstore based purely on the blurb on the back. A story about White Russians living in Junchow, China in 1928 sounded like a great locale and population for a novel. After a grad school classmate wrote a paper about Russians in China I became intrigued by an ex-pat community I had never heard about before. This book fit that niche perfectly making it a great opportunity for a summer read.

The Russian Concubine was good, but it could have been better. I really enjoyed exactly what I had hoped for - the locale and the interaction between vastly different communities of inhabitants. However, Furnivall fell into too much romance and the plot fell flat by the end of the story. The story revolves around Lydia Ivanova, a young Russian whose father was killed by the Communists when they were fleeing Russia in 1917. The story picks up in 1928 with Lydia pickpocketing a British gentleman and bringing the money back to her drunken, beautiful, classical piano playing mother. Finding herself trapped by dangerous locals, an exotic stranger saves her - enter the love interest: Chang An Lo.

Furnivall's strength lies in her ability to describe the interaction between the various ethnic communities living in China in the interwar era. The British have the money and the power. The Chinese are in the midst of a Civil War between Chang Kai Shek - supported by the British, and the Communists (pre-Mao and a strong leadership). The Russians, meanwhile, exist in a vacuum without either passports, wealth, or power. Lydia and her mother work to give themselves a legitimacy in the society to which they do not belong. The mother uses her beauty to gain financial and social support from better-off men, the daughter uses her wits to manipulate the society to help her.

While I immersed myself in Furnivall's world the story drug in the second half. She spent too much time laboring over the romantic relationship between Lydia and Chang An Lo. Lydia manages to find and save her love in a highly unrealistic way. At the last moment Furnivall throws in a curve ball which I found highly unnecessary and likewise unlikely.

The Russian Concubine was a good summer read; it was diverting and romantic. But I had hopes of reading a more historically-driven accurate story which it was not.

Every Last One by Anna Quindlen

2010-07-23T15:57:00.003-04:00

Anna Quindlen is my hero. She has an incredible ability to vividly yet succinctly describe a scene. Reading her prose is effortless; I never feel like I am wading through unnecessary text, yet I can perfectly envision the world she narrates. Honestly, I have read almost none of Quindlen's more well-known column writing, but I have read every novel she has written so I couldn't wait to get my hands on Every Last One. I finished it yesterday and sat thinking, "Wow."

If you have never read any of Quindlen's fiction, be forewarned. Her books are heavy! And emotional. I cry more reading her than almost any other author. Yet, I respect the dilemmas Quindlen forces her characters to face much more than other author's emotive problem-driven plots (think Jodi Picoult). For me, Quindlen doesn't force a particular emotional response on her readers. Her characters are flawed and human rather than idealistic or purely bad. She doesn't tell a reader how they should respond to a situation; instead she presents the situation and allows the reader to decide how they feel about what happened. Moreover, Quindlen doesn't give away the plot on the dust jacket. I will say, the crisis in Every Last One caught me off-guard. I was completely blind-sided by the events that unfolded in the story. At 3 am I lay in bed sobbing with the main character.

Without giving away too much of the plot, the story of Every Last One revolves around a normal all-American family: a doctor father, a part-time working mother, a 17-year old daughter thinking about college, and twin 15-year old brothers one who plays soccer and the other who plays the drums. The daughter breaks up with her long-term boyfriend, the drum-playing son suffers from depression, the mom ponders her childrens' futures. The reality of Quindlen's characters is what gives her book power. We can all imagine ourselves or our neighbors in Quindlen's fictional family. The realism is what gives the tragedy even greater weight.

I would not recommend reading Every Last One at the beach, or anywhere else in public. But I strongly recommend reading it. It really makes you think.

Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley

2010-07-20T18:35:00.003-04:00

Once upon a time a book-loving sixth grader met a generous intelligent librarian. This librarian, wise in the ways of tween girls, introduced our heroine to the world of fantasy books. Recognizing the dreams of young girls to be princesses and marry princes the librarian offered the young girl Robin McKinley’s books, in particular The Hero and the Crown.

Across the miles and years a tween boy entered the realm of fantasy reading the classic tale of Robin Hood as retold by Robin McKinley in The Outlaws of Sherwood.

Time passed, the two met and shared a love of good fantasy, Robin McKinley having faded into the background of other authors and works. Until the day when our heroine brought home Rose Daughter thrilled to read a new book by the person who introduced her to fantasy. Her husband (and very own prince) saw the book at home and exclaimed, “I remember Robin McKinley. She was …” and our heroine, older, wiser, and no longer desiring the life of a princess finished his sentence, “…one of the first fantasy authors I ever read.” And so ends our story…

Yes, I’m a cheeseball. But yes, it’s true. Both my hubby and I first delved into fantasy reading Robin McKinley’s books. She is the idyllic fantasy author for tween readers. Her stories offer romance and adventure and magic but they are innocent and appealing. Many of her works are retellings of famous fairy tales and Rose Daughter is no exception. As a matter of fact it is the second book by McKinley to retell the story of Beauty and the Beast (the first being her well-loved and recognized Beauty.)

In Rose Daughter McKinley works all the details of the infamous story of Beauty and the Beast into a nuanced version which focuses around the importance of the rose. In this version Beauty is one of three daughters, her special talent being gardening. When she travels to the Beast’s palace she focuses on bringing his rose garden, housed in a large greenhouse, back to life.

The story was intimately familiar but yet novel enough to not be boring. Robin McKinley has an incredibly vivid descriptive writing style without laboring over too many details. All in all, Rose Daughter reminded me of my introduction to the world of good, innocent (romantic) fantasy. A great light summer read.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

2010-07-15T19:51:00.007-04:00

Prep satisfied everything that the last two books I read have not satisfied. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, even if it wasn't exactly what I thought it would be.

My husband noticed me reading a new book the other night and asked what I was reading. Based on the quotes on the cover I replied, "A female version of A Separate Peace.” My answer was largely tongue-in-cheek but having finished the book, it was actually an extremely apt description. Prep is the story of a fish-out-of-water and her four year experience at an elite East Coast boarding school. From the first day Lee Fiora does not match the stereotypical description of a boarding school student of which she is hyper aware. Throughout the novel her comfort level waxes and wanes and she makes friends, learns to navigate academics, and explores sexual relationships. I think there is something of Lee in every girl.

So many of the conundrums Sittenfeld places on Lee resonate with modern teenagers - whether in boarding school or at home. As I read I found myself personally relating to the angst Lee felt. But I also found myself reflecting on my friends as we traversed the high school issues. One friend in particular suffered from so many of the self-doubting characteristics of the main character that I felt as though I were in her head and I began to understand her better.

I had friends who went to boarding school and while some of the challenges were undeniably unique, I don't think this book speaks exclusively to that audience. I found myself thinking back to college classmates who had gone to boarding school and middle school friends who chose boarding school. In some ways they always seemed a world apart; they had an experience to which I could hardly relate. Yet, I found myself thinking about the intense dynamics of dorm life - even if Lee suggested college dorms were quite different from high school ones. And if nothing else I have read a distinct canon of boarding school literature which addresses similar themes across the ages.

I loved this book as much as I disliked The Secret History. To some that may seem antithetical - after all they are both "academic/literary fiction" - situated in the insular worlds of rich East Coast academia. So I think it only fair to explain the differences in my mind. Neither book is particularly plot driven. Yet I found this one so much more engaging because it was about the development of a teenage girl on an individual and extremely personal level. Interestingly, in the Reader’s Guide Sittenfeld says,

I consider plot above everything else except character. There’s nothing I hate more than some book that’s all just exquisite language. That’s so boring….I very consciously think about plot and say, I want there to be a twist here or I want there to be a surprise.

To me that is indicative of the difference in the two novels. Moreover, Sittenfeld felt like a real person in her interview whereas Tartt annoyed me in hers.

The other main difference between the two stories was the characters. I could empathize with Lee’s plight and I could understand her angst. She was flawed and at times annoying, but generally I would describe her as a character I enjoyed reading. Tartt’s characters were so flawed as to be unlikable.

I read Prep in less than 48 hours. It was a book I thought about and couldn’t wait to pick up again. Now that I’m done I still find myself think about Aspeth and Dede and Martha. I am curious how these individuals lived and worked together. More than anything longevity of thought is a sign of a great book.

Murder in Miniature by Margaret Grace

2010-07-13T10:35:00.003-04:00

Murder in Miniature is a true cozy mystery. Nothing violent happens on screen - it is like reading a classic play. The only people who die, die offstage. The characters hear about what happened to them but never actually see any gore. Even the main character is never put in real danger - no gun toting or kidnapping. It is very sanitized.

After finishing The Shipping News which is not plot-driven I needed a story with a bit more to lead me through it. Margaret Grace succeeded on that front. The plot revolves around a temporarily kidnapped friend, a murdered drifter, and a found sapphire. The main character is an aging widow and her ten-year old granddaughter. The theme is building dollhouses. The characters are always on the looking for ways to incorporate found objects into their dollhouses. The sapphire is found inside a craft tote bag of dollhouse making materials.

This would be a perfect book for your great aunt who doesn't like things that are too messy. Or for your 11 year old niece who wants to read more grown-up books but doesn't need all the gore or sex so many books can have. It is innocent - while still a murder mystery.

Great literature? No. A good summer diversion? Yep.

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

2010-07-08T11:11:00.004-04:00

I don't appear to be genetically created to appreciate literary award winners. The Shipping News won the Pulitzer prize after all and yet I found it... boring, honestly. Okay, I am glad that I read it now that I'm done. But it was not a book I enjoyed reading. I can understand why it was award winning when it comes to novelty of style and setting the stage for the plot. But the plot itself is just not very interesting.

The story of The Shipping News revolves around a single father, Quoyle, who finding himself at loose ends moves with his aunt and his two young daughters to a small village in Newfoundland. Although he has never been there before his family is from there and still owns property in the area. Quoyle is an accidental journalist who becomes involved in the town's life while writing the news of the boats coming in and out of port.

Proulx has a unique writing style. At least half of her sentences are fragments. They evoke distinct imagery and the purpose of her style is clear. Yet if 90% of writers tried to emulate Proulx's writing they would be kicked out of school for poor use of language. While I appreciate the idea behind her voice I personally did not find it engaging to read. As a book lover I found it discouraging that every five pages I was more inclined to set the book down and find something else to do rather than keep reading. Last night I had to force myself to focus just to get through the final 30 pages of the story. It is rare that I am that unengaged in a book. Once again I am guessing I am alone in my views on this book. Friends raved about it and gave it to me encouragingly. Other reviews I have seen give it an overwhelming thumbs up. Maybe I just need to realize that I don't appreciate "novelty" and "literary qualities" in my book reading.

I am glad I read The Shipping News. I gave it points for uniqueness and novelty of voice. But the story itself just never caught my attention. To me plot overrides writing style. What can I say, I guess I'm just an action-oriented girl.

Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett

2010-06-30T22:13:00.004-04:00

My eldest son picked up Chasing Vermeer and read the first two chapters. By itself that sentence should not be breathtaking. However this is the first (non-picture) book he has ever voluntarily picked up and read. I don't know if he will get much farther, to be honest. He is starting first grade and is just jumping into the world of chapter books and I think Chasing Vermeer is over his head for now. But it will stay on the shelf for another day.

In the meantime, I had heard about Blue Balliett's first book somewhere along the way and was more than happy to pick up a copy at the library book sale for under a dollar. I decided to read the story first to see if it was appropriate for my 6 year old but also because I love a good kid's book. I'm glad I did.

Chasing Vermeer is the story of Petra and Calder, two socially-awkward kids, at a lab school attached to the University of Chicago. Their enthusiastic teacher introduces them to the art museum and the idea of debating with the meaning of art. They both discover an affinity for Vermeer when a famous Vermeer is stolen launching them into a mystery to uncover what really happened. The idea of coincidences, hidden messages, and questioning the truth lie at the heart of Balliett's book.

The story has an appeal at many levels. The main characters have interesting backgrounds and idiosyncrasies which speak to children who don't always fit in. The illustrations in the book and parts of the plot revolve around hidden messages and breaking codes which I know my boys both love. But the plot is both genuine and well-enough-crafted to appeal to a parent. I don't know that I will run out and buy Balliett's other books. But I will leave Chasing Vermeer for my boys on another day and will happily buy the other stories at their request.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri

2010-06-27T15:50:00.003-04:00

If I have a passion for an odd sub-genre of books, it is stories about foreigners adapting to a new culture. I love books like A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth - books that delve into questions of identity and ethnicity and interacting as a minority. Over the years I have found myself searching out books whose plots revolve around the individual struggles of people in flux. It was an interest in this type of story that brought me to Jhumpa Lahiri in the first place. I read The Namesake and then I saw the movie. The book was better (isn't it always) but the movie was actually quite good.

I have been coveting Unaccustomed Earth for absolutely months and finally got a copy from the library. I devoured the stories in a couple of days. While I loved the book I would have liked a novel better than short stories - but that's just me. I like the development of a novel-length plot. In Unaccustomed Earth Lahiri writes about Bengali-Americans who all interact with their families and deal with their joint cultural identities as integral definitions of their self. I had two favorite stories. One dealt with three post-grad roommates with little in common other than their shared apartment. The Indian girl gets regular calls from Indian men proposing a meet-up for the possibility of a future marriage. But she is heavily involved in a less than healthy relationship. Her American doctoral candidate roommate gets unwittingly involved in her affairs.

The best of the book in my opinion (which plays to my preference for longer stories) is the three-part novella style "Hema and Kaushik." The story unfolds in three parts, each part being narrated by either Hema or Kaushik. These two individuals have a shared family background. Over time their paths cross again and they find their heritage and future life choices brings them together in a way they would not have anticipated.

Lahiri's stories are poignant. While there is something about her characters which make them (maybe) uniquely Indian, she is attuned to universal themes in the relationships between family and friends. Certain aspects reminded me of filial duties I have had friends of mine express in the past. I believe Lahiri is becoming an Amy Tan for the 21st century: a voice for "her people." I would be curious to read more about how she feels about this role because while there is a universality to her stories each of the characters are fiercely unique and independent and not easily categorized by his/her ethnicity and/or identity.

I will happily read more of Lahiri's work. I have not yet read Interpreter of Maladies - a heavily lauded compilation of short stories (heck, it won the Pulitzer Prize) only because I don't gravitate towards short stories. But I have no doubt I will in the future.

Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen

2010-06-26T13:04:00.004-04:00

I need to take a break from reading memoirs. I have two friends currently writing their memoirs and they're SO much better than the published books I'm reading. Somehow current memoirs do not seem to follow a standard narrative line. It is acceptable to revisit the same topic multiple times throughout a book even though the reader has already learned about the topic, more than once. I prefer reading books that follow a story rather than ones which jump around reciting anecdotal stories without connecting them.

A friend gave me Janzen's book and described it as a light, fun read. The title caught my attention. It's the beginning of summer, a comedic beach read sounded like the perfect idea. The story is light and fun and engaging. I did laugh from time to time. But I was hoping for more. The title is a bit of a tease, suggesting a greater dichotomy between the character and her upbringing than actually appears in the story.

The basic plot of Mennonite in a Little Black Dress is a newly divorced woman who travels to her childhood home for a chance to recover and put her life back together. To add insult to injury her husband left her for a man named Bob who he met on “Gay.com.” Janzen also suffered from a car accident which left her physically hurt. Through the course of the memoir the reader learns thatJanzen’s ex-husband was verbally abusive and a manic depressive who brought his wife into his misery. Janzen counters her experiences with her admittedly bisexual husband to the much more traditional men of her Mennonite upbringing.

Both Janzens’ brothers and her father are devoted Mennonites who accept her differences of opinion relative to religion and lifestyle but yet remain wedded to their traditional views. By the end of the book Janzen has reconciled herself to many of the Mennonite ideas she escaped in college and through her marriage. But she leaves the conclusion necessarily open-ended as to where she will turn in the future.

The whole book rang a bit false, “Ha ha, my husband treated me like crap and then left me. Now I’m going to poke fun at him, at me, and at my upbringing. Isn’t that funny?” I enjoy snark and satire and witty cynicism. But it was a bit too raw and painful to be genuinely funny.

Ruby in the Smoke A Sally Lockhart Mystery by Philip Pullman

2010-06-15T12:05:00.003-04:00

Once upon a time I loved reading Gothic Mysteries. Somewhere in that junior high era I discovered Philip Pullman's Sally Lockhart Series. I read Ruby in the Smoke eons ago. When my husband rediscovered the series he picked up the first book. Although his connection to the story was not based on personal memory. He got Ruby in the Smoke because Pullman is the well-known author of The Golden Compass series.

Ruby in the Smoke was written first and while it is a good book and shades of Pullman's later characters are evident in the story I would argue that Golden Compass is the better series - he extends his nuances and side plots in intricate detail with The Dark Materials books.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed re-reading Ruby in the Smoke. To be honest, I know I read the book before but I did not remember anything about the story. Written as a young adult book, it does deal with death and violence in a way that would keep me from giving the book to anyone younger than maybe 10. Pullman's plot revolves around an Indian ruby, an orphaned girl, and piracy all located in soot-filled Victorian England: classic Gothic at its finest. One of Pullman's strengths as an author is his ability to create strong relationships between his young characters: Ruby in the Smoke is no exception. Each of the book's main characters is young, unique, independent, and strong. I appreciate his books for the message of independence and strength of character he sends.

I will likely hang on to my copy of Ruby in the Smoke for my boys. However, it is not a story I will read to them in the next couple of years. The themes (as Pullman seems interested in in general) are a bit dark and heavy for a younger child. He acknowledges the dark side of people and is willing to have a character suffer a beating to further the plot. This book does not hold place amongst my favorite books that I will re-read for nostalgia sake. However, it was a good light romp through my literary past.

House of Testosterone: One Mom's Survival in a Household of Males by Sharon O'Donnell

2010-06-09T15:47:00.003-04:00

My mom picked this book out for me based on its title and its cover art; she figured as a girl who has way too many Barbie dolls and two boys I could appreciate what O'Donnell had to say. Whenever my sons saw this book on my nightstand they would laugh and tell me all about the boy who was dressed like Captain Underpants. The cover sold exactly what the book is: a light comedic memoir of one woman's attempt to live in a house of males; it seems like the perfect book for a mom of two boys. Having read it, I immediately passed it on to a friend who is the mom of three boys. There is enough truth and humor it what O'Donnell says that I can it will make the rounds amongst my mom friends.

An excerpt from the books describes the life of a mom of all boys:

you automatically wipe off the toilet seat before you sit down
your weekend schedule includes more total hours of little league sports than it does sleep
the lamp in your family room is held together by Super Glue in three places
you can carry on a conversation about athletic cup sizes with the college-aged guy at the sporting goods store with no embarrassment whatsoever

All moments to which I can either relate or imagine will exist in my future. Undeniably these bullet points make me smile. However...

O'Donnell needed a better editor.

The book has two fatal flaws which kept it sitting on my nightstand for three months rather than getting read in a night. First, O'Donnell makes gross over-generalizations about men which makes her sound like she is writing in the 1950s. Second, she mentions the same anecdotes two or three times in different sections of the book setting up her train of thought as disjointed and repetitive. Both of these issues, I think, could have been fixed had someone sat her down and made her rewrite more carefully before publishing what should be a fun look at parenting boys.

O'Donnell's book is a series of anecdotes about living with four sports-crazed, non-cooking, laundry-challenged men - her three sons and her husband. As a mom of boys, some of the stories made me smile - although nothing in particular is coming to mind which tells me they weren't all that memorable. I could relate to spending hours pouring of sports details and driving from scouts, to sports, to other sports. But O'Donnell's husband is a 1950s Neanderthal who somehow completely missed the woman's movement on the 1960s. O'Donnell cheerfully talks about he forgets anniversaries, complains about going to the theatre with his wife, and ignores her whenever a sporting event is on. I hope most women would not put up with his stereotypical antics and would not raise their sons to emulate this outdated model. I am sure the author exaggerated moments for the laughs but instead the stories end up making her look manipulated and lacking in a backbone.

By the end of the book I felt like I had read about her RV camping experiences and trips to Disney at least half a dozen times. I knew from her multiple mentions exactly which baseball team her family preferred. While the stories worked as individual essays, as a book she needed to remove redundancy and better organize her stories.

Finally, the last chapter of the book suddenly veers from humorous to sappy. "Moms hug your boys and tell them how much you love them before they grow up and leave you. Because leave you they will," seemed to be the tone of the last section. I would have preferred she stay light and humorous and end her book on a funny note rather than the shift to nostalgic.

House of Testosterone is a classic example of good marketing and a good cover to make up for a relatively weak book.

The Universal Computer: The Road from Leibniz to Turing by Martin D. Davis

2010-06-01T11:01:00.003-04:00

Every semester I teach Introduction to the Study of History. The course covers the twentieth century and every student is expected to write a research paper. I have a distinct number of students fascinated with the history of technology - current computer/cell phone/internet technology in particular. But in general the papers are pretty bad (to put it mildly). The students tend to wax poetic about how "shiny" technology is and spend much less time actually writing about how the technology emerged. Not a student of the History of Technology myself, I decided to beef up my own knowledge in order to give my students a better foundation.

Finding good history texts about post-World War II technology has posed a bigger problem than I anticipated. I can find good books about steam engines and the wheel but less about current technology. What I did find tended to be extremely technical - written for the engineer or the scientist rather than the historian. Finding three copies of Davis' The Universal Computer in the Computer Science section at the university library suggested a popular book so I picked up a copy.

After reading Davis I may be a technology/science convert! This book was SO interesting! It was math, philosophy, biography and history of the first computer all wrapped up into 250 pages. Each chapter focuses on one mathematician's quest for greater understanding of logic. Davis starts with Leibinz in the 17th century and moves forward progressively through the 1950s. The individuals he discusses would not necessarily be considered foundational figures in computer technology but their names are vaguely familiar from high school science or science fiction (in some cases) Leibniz, Boole, Bertran Russell (although I never knew of him as a mathematician but an conscientious objector). The most well-known figure for computer people is Alan Turing the creator of the Universal Machine which leads to the logic of modern computers.

Part of what makes the book compelling is the biographical information Davis includes. Not only did he walk through the mathematical equations (which made my head spin) but he also gave tidbits about the men's lives (and yes, it was almost exclusively men) and the worlds they inhabited. It was hard for me to imagine a world in which logic and the debate about infinity were religious questions rather than issues of hard science.

The other aspect that made the book fascinating was Davis' role in these issues. As soon as he began writing about the interwar era he interjected himself into the story, talking about meeting Einstein, about writing his dissertation at Princeton under one of the mathematicians, about reproving Frege's analysis. Davis does not tout his own role in the creation of the computer but his contributions are obvious throughout the second half of the book.

Having finished The Universal Computer I feel better able to assist my students with computer history questions. There's still a lot more to read and a ton more questions to attempt to answer. But I slowly feel like I am getting a better grasp on the history of modern technology.

Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos

2010-05-27T10:51:00.004-04:00

I am not a poet. In general I'm not even a fan of poetry. Yet Marisa de los Santos, who is a poet, uses incredible poetry in her descriptive novel. In fact, she breaks most of the rules writing guides tell struggling authors: she uses too many adverbs, she uses cliches with aplomb, and she lets her characters ramble. But put all her idiosyncrasies together and de los Santos writes a very compelling story. What makes the writing work is that each character has his/her own distinct voice.

Cornelia likes cliches and wandering thoughts.

Dev likes logic until logic no longer works.

Piper likes order until order falls apart.

Call me a book snob, but I am not a huge fan of "women's literature." Too many stories revolve around marital problems and children's health. I find them redundant and the authors often work too hard to pull at my emotional strings. Belong to Me does have some of those characteristics and yet I did not find them overwhelming the plot. The story stands strong even without the marital problems and the children's health issues.

Maria de los Santos has the rare skill to write from the perspective of very different individuals convincingly. To tell the story from the perspective of two women who hate one another on sight and yet grow to become friends is a challenge. As a reader my immediate opinion of Piper was disdain and yet by the end of the novel she had redeemed herself through her experiences and her growing acceptance of Cornelia and different ways of seeing the world. De los Santos writes Piper's haughtiness and changing nature realistically.

One of the best aspects of the book was the surprise. I didn't see it coming at all. The author does a great job laying out all the clues buy not alluding to the idea that the information is clues until the reader is hit with what is really going on.

On the other hand, she did wrap things up a bit too neatly for my tastes. In the epilogue she alludes to problems and discord but yet everything is tied up with a neat little bow. A little more discord would have rung more true - although who doesn't want to see all the characters happy at the end?

I would consider this book a good summer read: it makes one think, but not too hard. It has conflict and plenty of sadness - it did make me cry, but yet lots of redemption too.

Silent Spring by Rachel Carson

2010-05-25T09:30:00.003-04:00

I would love to teach an Environmental History class - personal interest and student intrigue. However, I do not have an academic background in the field. Starting from scratch is a daunting task but I am curious enough about current environmental issues to dive into the field on my own. Last year I read The Gentle Subversive, a biography of Rachel Carson which I found enlightening - she is not an individual I ever heard about growing up (and I grew up in an environmentally conscious area). But living down the road from the Rachel Carson Homestead her name has come up more often recently.

I have checked out Silent Spring at least twice from the library but it took until this month to actually tackle reading it. I am NOT a scientist. I never liked science at school so reading a book about chemicals, full of acronyms and lengthy discussions of the impact of pesticides on human and animal populations seemed daunting. One of the great appeals of Carson's work is she takes a very heavy topic and makes it feel significantly less daunting. I understood a greater portion of the science than I had feared I would. She makes the topic of DDT and the destruction of the environment understandable. While Silent Spring is weighted with scientific and academic studies to prove her her points about the rapid destruction of the balance of the ecosystem I did not find my head spinning (too much) with jargony terminology.

When I discussed environmental history with another scholar, she pointed out Carson's book is a primary source. As a historian I recognize the book is dated. There are anachronisms in how she speaks (Carson did not live in the PC 21st Century) and a lot has changed in environmental awareness because of her book. I noted certain facts she included because I would like to know if they have changed in the past 40 years - in particular her information about the FDA caught my attention because that agency name comes up frequently in current discussions about Slow Food and Better School Food conversations.

Is this a book I would recommend to everyone?

No. I think there are more timely books to read now which discuss current environmental issues. However to someone who wants to understand the foundations of the current environmental movement its still relevant. Honestly for my needs I think the biography was more useful because I did gain a better understanding of how Carson fit into the scientific world discussing the balance of nature. Nonetheless, I feel more educated having read her words and seeing how good she was about taking a complex issue and writing about it for a non-scientific audience.

After the Wall: Confessions from an East German Childhood and the Life that Came Next by Jana Hensel

2010-05-20T15:13:00.005-04:00

(One of my goals this summer is to pick up new scholarly books in my field - something I have not done since graduating and enjoying a respite from academia. I can't promise they'll be as exciting as my usual fiction entries but I am enjoying the foray back into history.)

[The last "true" GDR kids] trends amounted to nothing more than a staged performance of individual withdrawal from public life, a refusal to participate, and, to a certain extent, collective boredom. In cliques, everyone looks and feels the same. Internal unity was more important than external individualism. Such was the schizophrenia of everyday life in the GDR. You had to participate without attracting attention, to function within the system without actively collaborating or supporting it. All representatives of the state and other public functionaries were viewed with distrust and distaste. So people tended to keep the private sphere - where they could truly say what they thought - strictly separate from the public one. (160-61)

I saw Jana Hensel's memoir listed in a catalog of recent history books and decided it was worth a read. I think the quote above reflects the ideas she tried to get across in her book: the difficulty of acknowledging a GDR past while inhabiting a post-reunification present.

I haven't picked up much new history lately and this caught my fancy. While I have studied material culture in the two Germanies, discussed the fall of the Wall, and watched post-Wall films like Goodbye Lenin and The Lives of Others, I have not read anything scholarly about post-1990 German reunification (although Timothy Garton Ash's The File broaches this topic).

Hensel's memoir is less scholarly and more frenetic outpourings of thought, but it nonetheless encapsulated core ideas about the difficulties of reunification. I am similar in age to Hensel and like her had not yet completed high school when the Wall fell in 1989. At a crucial stage in personal development introducing an entire new past, present, and future will most assuredly change how a person sees herself. Hensel's goal in writing After the Wall is to point out to Germans the difficulties of assimilating to West German models without having to renounce her communist heritage. Thinking back to the sense of euphoria in the early-90s and my own views of the two Berlins when I saw them in 1995, I found Hensel's frustration with the lack of understanding West Germans showed for her early life intriguing. She neither lauded the GDR and cried over its demise nor did she dismiss it as a an outdated failure. She acknowledged it was merely the world she knew.

Critics of Hensel argue she spends too much time navel-gazing and reiterates the same points ad nauseum. Admittedly, the book could use some polish (And I must briefly ask who placed the pictures in the book. Very often they had a tangential connection to the storyline but no real necessarily relationship. They seemed to have been included merely to break up the text and make is seem less scholarly). But as a history of memory and remembrance I think it is a great tool which could be used successfully in a post-Cold War college classroom. Not to mention the book is a quick and easy read written in a very casual style - a bonus for students who are not invested in dry academic reading. I am trying to figure out a way to incorporate excerpts into my own classes.

Sold as Zonenkinder (Children of the Zone) in Germany, it received tons of attention and praise. The translation includes a short history of the GDR for a non-specialist but also a very useful commentary by the translator. In fact, the notes should have appeared at the beginning as they give the reader useful information for understanding the book (and they take a journalists perspective and give it the needed scholarly twist).

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

2010-05-19T12:16:00.003-04:00

I feel as though everyone I know and a LOT of people I don't know have read The Help. Everywhere I turn I see raving comments and reviews of this amazing book I simply *have* to read. I will be honest; the more people tell me I must read a book the greater my cynicism scale rises. I find all too often the books that get the most attention are over-sold and good but in no way amazing. (Think of it like the Star Wars trilogy. Everyone told you how amazing the new movies were going to be and you saw tons of ads showing cool special effects shots, but when you actually watched the movies you were necessarily disappointed. There's only so much hype any story can take before it become impossible to live up to its own reputation.)

So, I picked up The Help wanting to enjoy it but wary it would disappoint. By and large, it didn't. I really enjoyed reading Stockett's view of 1960s Mississippi. One thing I noticed off the bat was I had no idea of the plot of this "amazing" story. For all the raving I had heard, not a single person had explained the basic plot. I had a light bulb moment of realizing who "the help" meant.

In my opinion Stockett's greatest skill is creating believable characters. She had a wide variety of personalities, socio-economic backgrounds,and education levels all stuffed into Civil Rights era Jackson, Mississippi and yet I did not feel any of the characters was a stereotyped cardboard cutout. They all had depth and personality which made them feel real. In her short monologue at the back of the book, Stockett talks about her difficulty writing genuine feeling relationships between White- and African-American characters that didn't sound too Gone With the Wind. I think she was successful in creating an honest and sympathetic view of the love that develops between caregivers and those in need of the care. Each woman in the story has a unique story which dictates who she is and why she sees the world as she does. Yet Stockett does not fall into the trap of grouping characters into an "us" and "them" dichotomy. The closest she has to a wooden character is Hilly and that is only because as a reader we never see the world through Hilly's eyes. A wise choice on Stockett's part as I think it would be difficult to write such a staunchly racist character in today's world and make her at all sympathetic.

My favorite storyline probably involved Minnie and Celia because it was one of the most unexpected. I thought I had figured out Celia and Johnny's relationship and was relieved when I hadn't. I liked the story Stockett wrote much better.

The reason I can't give this book my overwhelming praise and stated "by and large" was the historian who I just can't turn off. Having recently read Precious and seen The Blind Side (and moreover read commentaries and critiques of both the books and the movies) I have a growing awareness of the difference in mainstream views of African-American life and more sidelong stories. While Stockett did a "good" job recreating her world, she was careful. She did not show the horrors she could have shown. She played it safe. Her book was written for and is being appreciate by a white, middle-class, safe audience. She is not going to rock any boats with what she wrote. Overwhelmingly her readers can walk away feeling good about themselves without having to question their own personal morality. The Help is almost a sanitized version of The Color Purple or Beloved.

Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse #2) by Charlaine Harris

2010-05-16T21:54:00.003-04:00

I looked at all the books on my bookcase and had no desire to read any of them. Nothing peaked my interest despite the fact that I bought most of them. Instead I put the second Sookie Stackhouse book on reserve at the library. I read Dead Until Dark out of sheer basic curiosity; I saw part of a True Blood episode and found myself intrigued.

It turns out Harris writes a pretty good paranormal mystery and I was happy to read another one. I am not running out to buy the next six books in the series nor am I pushing True Blood to #1 on my Netflix queue. However, I will continue to read the books and one of these days I will get around to watching the series.

Harris does a few things I really appreciate which makes her series worth picking up. The heroine does not fit any stereotype. She is neither the stereotypical middle-aged protagonist of many cozies, nor is she the heavyset yet cute heroine of the chick lit genre. Sookie makes no apologies for being lower middle class, rural and relatively uneducated.

She isn't afraid to introduce as many paranormal creatures without apologizing for how and why she includes them. The world she creates is standard Americana with a twist: it is neither overly fantastical nor is it overly shocked by the creatures that appear.

Finally, Harris seems to have fun writing and doesn't take herself too seriously. She uses light fun humor throughout her book.

In Living Dead in Dallas Sookie and Bill fly to Dallas, stay in a vampire hotel, and infiltrate an anti-vampire Fellowship. Sookie gets kissed by Eric, wonders about Sam, and meets a slew of mythical creatures. Fun, light, enjoyable.

Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum

2010-05-12T12:29:00.009-04:00

I am a confirmed bibliophile: I love to read. I absorb books.

I am a European historian: I am trained to ferret out the nuances and recognize there is no *T* truth.

Once in a while my two worlds collide. The book Those Who Save Us spoke to both of my personalities and at times they argued, at odds about the power and appeal of Jenna Blum's book. In this post I will talk about Those Who Save Us as a powerful novel. I wrote a post on my other blog talking about Those Who Save Us as truth-based historical fiction.

Those Who Save Us is the story of a mother and daughter both trying to understand, overcome, and possibly forget about their experiences in World War II Weimar, Germany. Anna, the mother, lived through the War as a young mother doing what she had to to protect her daughter. Trudy, the daughter, is a German historian, who is trying to understand the Germans and how and why they acted as they did during the War. The story jumps back and forth between the lives of the two women - one in the 1940s the other in the 1990s. As the two stories merge, the reader has the omniscience that the two women lack which makes the story tragic because of the characters' inability to speak and explain.

Blum tells a compelling story of love and hate. Self-hatred plays a strong role in the understanding of the two women. As I read, I suddenly understood why the field of psychology and self-analysis blossomed in the thirty years after World War II. Both of these women desperately needed an outside person to absolve them of their individual guilt. The self-immolation is centered around the character of the brutal Obersturmführer who takes Anna as his mistress. Trudy believes the Nazi Officer is her father and hates herself for her heritage. Her field of study becomes a personal psychological attempt to understand her own life and absolve herself for her family's actions.

The finale of the novel is uplifting but Blum does not fall into the Hollywood trap of wrapping everything up into a neat little box. Questions are answered but everyone is not completely forgiven and happy.

Blum has a history working with Steven Spielberg's Shoah Foundation. She has a good working knowledge of the Jewish (and some German) experience during the Holocaust. That comes through clearly in her novel and the reminiscences of the Germans in the story are honest, brutal, and well-written. My angst about the book revolves around her descriptions of average Germans outside of her main character. I find Blum's writing less frustrating than I find her representation of Trudy who as a historian, even 13 years ago in 1997, should have had a more nuanced and "shades of grey" view of the German people. I am a product of my own schooling and my professors did an incredible job of showing the Germans as Ordinary Men NOT Hitler's Willing Executioners. Blum could have used a touch more understanding.

Push by Sapphire

2010-05-04T13:16:00.003-04:00

(Don't let the cover you fool you. The novel inside is Push. Publishers re-covered it and titled it Precious because the movie was titled Precious rather than Push. The only difference as far as I can tell is this edition includes a reader's guide and a picture of the movie actor.)

I have had Push on hold at the library since February. I finally broke down and bought my own copy this weekend because I really wanted to read it! Once I had the book in hand I read it in two sittings. It's not long but more than that it's a story that needs to be read continuously. It would be a difficult book to put down after reading only a page or two at a time.

I would be hard pressed to say I *enjoyed* reading Push. The story is far from enjoyable - the plot revolves around a 16 year old girl who is pregnant for the second time by her father who has repeatedly raped her. Her mother beats her upon discovering Precious' first pregnancy at the age of 12 for "stealing her man." It's a sad look at life in contemporary Harlem. However, I am very glad I read this book.

I first heard about Push as a suggested book for high school students in an inner-city school. Having finished it, I can understand the logic behind choosing this book. For many contemporary students, the issues Precious deals with are more true-to-life than what Huck Finn encounters (sadly). I am torn as an educator however. Sapphire writes the book from the perspective of an illiterate teen: the spelling and grammar is non-existent. In an English class, while I can appreciate the use of slang and dialect, I would never want to give students the message that writing so poorly is a good way to get a book published. I would still want my students to write correctly. I do think it would be interesting to pair Push with a classroom study of the Harlem Renaissance. Precious lives on Lenox Avenue and talks about Langston Hughes. Using the book as a commentary on what has or has not changed in African-American society might be really relevant.

As an aside, the style of the book reminded me of Daniel Keye's classic story Flowers for Algernon. Like Charlie, Precious's dialogue, writing, and ability to express herself grow throughout the novel, showing the impact of her new education.

All in all, not a light beach read by any stretch of the imagination. But a worthy story that deserves to be told.

* * * * * * *

Adding a final note. I watched The Blind Side this evening and really enjoyed it. Curious about the accuracy of the film, I started researching it online. I ended up reading an article talking about why The Blind Side has been a better-received film than Precious: an interesting discussion about social perceptions and presentations of young African Americans in mainstream media. But, to the point, I found an NPR article about Sapphire I wanted to share. At the very least I feel like my impressions of the writing are justified knowing Sapphire has an MFA and is versed in American literary traditions.

A Brother's Price by Wen Spencer

2010-04-29T16:29:00.004-04:00

Wen Spencer is a Pittsburgh find. My husband and I both read and enjoyed the two books in the Tinker series which take place in a crazy-Pittsburgh future. Light fantasy, they were fun and amusing. Not terribly deep but engaging. When I found four of Spencer's other books at the used bookstore I snatched them up; she is not an author I find at most stores. I honestly didn't pay much attention to the titles or plots just picked them up based on the author.

In the mood for fantasy, I started with A Brother's Price because it is a stand alone rather than the first book in a series. In some ways, the plot of the novel is the extremely well-explored world of high palace intrigue: assassination, murder, kidnapping, and marriage contracts. However, Spencer throws a plot twist into the book which makes the entire world significantly more interesting than it might have been. She reverses gender roles. In the world of A Brother's Price men are rare and respected for their rarity. They play the stereotypical role of a woman - kept at home, sheltered, expected to care for children, clean, and cook.

The reversal is so pat as to possibly be trite, but it wasn't. I felt like Spencer did a remarkably good job of addressing contemporary social constructions (gender is a social construct, regardless of what Texas textbooks want to argue) and turning them on their head without being too tongue-in-check. There are humorous moments when the long-haired men get called honey and coddled for being overly emotional. Admittedly though, I found myself startled when she would address a military officer as she - sad to admit but I'm so used to those roles being expectedly male that the difference did call me out. However, for the most part I found myself buying into Spencer's world and the way she outlines the social norms she has written. Her role reversal rather than just a way to create a novel twist in a fictional, fantastical world is believable. The problems in the society she has written cater to the control and care of the males.

Spencer's novels walk the fence as part of what I have learned is a large and growing genre known as Sci-Fi Romance. The books have a clear romantic undercurrent. There is not explicit sex, but a sexual tension that grows. One sticky-wicket on that note - the cover art is SOOO wrong. Whoever drew it never read the book and Spencer could not have agreed with it. It suggests a plot point in the book but the characters are drawn completely incongruously. I am not going to go out of my way to read all the Sci-Fi Romance I can, but I would read more. All in all, A Brother's Price is a good addition to my catalog of Wen Spencer books - light, fun, and it made me think - a little bit.

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley

2010-04-26T08:38:00.002-04:00

I have picked up A Thousand Acres a dozen times, read the back cover, and put the book back on my shelf. Last week for whatever reason when I picked it up again I didn't put it down. I committed myself to reading Smiley's work. I have read Moo and adored it. But life on a rural Iowa farm didn't jump out at me as an engaging locale for a novel (maybe that makes me a snob, I don't know). Was I going to read about them watching the corn grow?

I am SOOOO glad I read A Thousand Acres. It is amazing. A bit dire, maybe, but honest. Around page 150 I realized that all of my cousins needed to read this book. I began to understand my father's upbringing as the son of a patriarchal farmer father. The characters either chafe at the opportunity to prove themselves to the patriarch or they kowtow to his dominant personality and push all their emotional turmoil further down. Whether Iowa or points east, Smiley created an incredibly realistic (yet not at ALL boring) view of farming life.

Around page 250 I reassessed my statement. I still think the overall premise is extremely relevant for anyone with farming ancestors as the family dynamics are genuine. However, I would not want anyone to associate my grandfather too closely with Larry Cook. Demanding, expecting excessive control over his family and his world: yes. Going as far as Larry Cook: I sincerely hope not.

The series of events which continue to build felt oppressive at times but I understood why Smiley kept laying on the destruction. The characters had ignored so much negativity for so long that when the truth came to light everyone recoiled and fell apart. I just discovered that the plot is a modern, rural retelling of Shakespeare's King Lear which could account for the perpetual destructive tendencies of the characters.

One particular aspect which was a small side plot intrigued me. A Thousand Acres was first published in 1991. When Jess Clark returns he has grandiose ideas of farming his inheritance organically. Because of the focus on organic today I enjoyed reading how traditional farmers perceived the idea of organic in the late-1970s (the periodization of the book). Not only did they think Jess was crazy to suggest such a thing, they also dismissed his ideas about chemical run-off in wells affecting pregnancies. Smiley obviously had an "early" and relevant interest in the debates about modern farming.

When all is said and done, I am glad I finally opened A Thousand Acres rather than sidelining it yet again. Five years ago I probably would not have liked the novel very well. But the time and place I'm in right now, it spoke to me.

Heart and Soul by Maeve Binchy

2010-04-24T17:37:00.005-04:00

Once upon a time, I read every book Maeve Binchy had written. I recommended her books to a friends on the premise that her plots are "innocent." The friend in question read one book and informed me I was insane. She wondered how I could describe books whose plots revolved around abortion, affairs, and love lost could be described as innocent. I stand by my stance. While the characters very often fall under the spell of poor romantic choices, the outcome includes the antagonist getting his (or her, although it is quite often a man) just desserts and the protagonist feeling vindicated.

Heart and Soul is Binchy's most recent work and not only are the protagonists rewarded for their innate goodness, Binchy has gone back to previous books and brought in characters from many past novels and caught the reader up on their lives. Individuals from Quentins, Scarlet Feather, and Whitethorn Woods, among others, all meet through the experiences of the employees of a Dublin heart clinic.

Binchy does a great job of telling a remarkably comprehensive story from the viewpoint of at least a half a dozen characters. Each chapter starts with the perspective of a different individual. At times the stories seem only tangentially connected to the main plot; other chapters push forward the success of the heart clinic. By the end of the novel all of the characters have interwoven stories that coalesce into a logical conclusion.

There are very few true antagonists in Heart and Soul - a racist old lady and a womanizing foreigner. The story is undeniably a syrupy romance. All of the characters who deserve to find love do. After the last couple of dark books I have read recently Maeve Binchy's Heart and Soul was a breath of fresh air - and it is very innocent.

Sleep Pale Sister by Joanne Harris

2010-04-21T13:15:00.002-04:00

I have sat on this book for about a week without posting about it because I am unsure what I want to say. I liked Joanne Harris' story, but I didn't love it. It read like a dark Victorian-style Gothic with a slight fantastical twist; a novel idea but it seemed to run out of steam.

According to the introduction, Joanne Harris' early novel fell out of production and has only recently been republished as a result of fan demand. Harris made minimal if any changes except for a new cover. She mentions more than once that the book finally has the cover it deserves.

The story in Sleep, Pale Sister revolves around a dysfunctional Victorian couple. Henry Chester, the husband, is a painter who marries Effie, his much younger model. Rather than seeing her as a real person, he sees her as the epitome of the portraits he has painted. She is unworldly, growing up in the narrow confines of her limited experiences, but she yearns for more personal freedom.

The crux of the book centers on the couple's disparate views of personal/sexual interaction. Henry is horrified at the idea of a woman having, much less expressing, sexuality. So much so that the reader learns relatively horrible things Henry has done to other women who do not gel with his ideal stereotype. Effie, needless to say, chafes under his intense scrutiny and eventually revolts in an unexpected way.

The plot was not particularly complex. The outcome was not unexpected, but also not a happy ending. What I liked about Sleep Pale Sister was the study of taking Victorian mores to their excess. Discussions of hysteria and the use of laudanum to control emotionally "weak" women rang true to the era. It took the historic issue of female sensibilities and pseudoscientific means of dealing with them and personalized it.

But, the book felt sophomoric. Harris' other works are so much better: more developed and more nuanced. I maybe wouldn't use that description if I didn't know the book was a reprint of one of her earlier works but knowing it is, I can see the difference. I'm glad I read Sleep Pale Sister, but I don't know if I would have liked the book if I hadn't read other works by Joanne Harris before.

Camera by Eva-Marie Liffner

2010-04-07T21:50:00.003-04:00

Strange yet uninspired.

Camera is sort of a mystery, sort of a suspense. Add a touch of literary fiction. The book has possibilities. Yet oddly enough the blurb on the back of the book gives away too much information. There is no real climax, no a-ha moment, no sense of resolution. I felt like I knew exactly what the plot was from page one and was waiting for some sort of surprise to tell me more. But the surprise never came. The outcome was exactly what the blurb on the back of the book said it would be.

Needless to say, the book revolves around cameras and photographers. Both the character in the present - an unhappy, antisocial woman who has inherited her uncle's estate - and the character in the past - a young Swedish photographer living in turn-of-the-century London - are photographers. Liffner has an interesting way of describing her scenes, often incorporating excruciating detail which is not always related to the plot. But her descriptions read like visual photographs. I don't know if that makes much sense, but I got the impression of a picture with the way she used her descriptive talents. In that regard alone, Camera was a remarkably fascinating book.

Camera is translated from the Swedish. I have not read many Swedish books but I know of a couple of other Swedish authors besides Liffner and I have this to say: The Swedish are dark people.

Prayers for Sale by Sandra Dallas

2010-04-01T18:23:00.003-04:00

At some point I decided I wanted to learn to quilt. My mom and I joined a group of retirees who quilted together on Wednesdays, making one quilt a year. They agreed to teach us the basics. One quilt square later I put the quilting down but picked up an appreciation for the difficulty of careful piecing. During our conversations one of the women mentioned the book The Persian Pickle Club, a novel whose central theme is quilting. Both my mom and I read it, thankful to our indirect introduction to Sandra Dallas’ works. Since then neither of us have become master quilters, but we have both read all of Sandra Dallas’ books. Prayers for Sale could be one of my favorites (or Tallgrass… or maybe The Persian Pickle Club), although I would not have said as much until nearly the end of the book.

Dallas has a very specific audience for her novels; most of them deal with the history of the American West and/or Midwest, often Colorado. And quilting usually plays some role in the story. Prayers for Sale is not an exception. The story revolves around two women living in a small mining town in Depression-era Colorado. To be honest, the subject did not appeal to me overmuch (yes I’m a historian but I have always found Colorado history to be booooring). When I read the acknowledgements at the beginning I was not won over either. It appeared that the book was a series of short stories woven together to tell a larger plot. If not done well, woven together stories can be tedious.

There are certain chapters which I felt were heavy-handed in creating a logic to combine the main narrative and the individual story. From time to time it felt too contrived. However, the end redeemed the whole book. When I am sitting in public transportation trying to keep myself from crying over the conclusion of a story, I consider the book a success. Dallas wove together all the disparate stories in an admittedly convenient way but an overall appealing and reflective way. By the end of the book I appreciated the various stories because they did explain the main character whose role was to be a storyteller to keep the history of the area alive.

My mom (the only other person I know whose read all of Dallas’ books and the one who gives me the books to read) has suggested more than once that Dallas’ novels would be effective in a history classroom. She is successful at weaving together accurate historical detail with sympathetic literary characters. While I don’t know many teachers who would take the time to let students explore the stories in a novel, I can see a very genuine place for Dallas’ works – it would engage students who find the standard lecture/note history class unappealing. And it might introduce a whole new generation to both storytelling and quilting.

All in all, a book I am very glad I read.

Murder in the Sentier by Cara Black

2010-03-28T21:27:00.005-04:00

Paris must be one of the most written about cities in literature (alongside New York and London). Who can think of Paris without thinking about romance and fine art and culture? But the famous city of so much literature is not the Paris of Cara Black's books. And I find her lack of idealism about Paris refreshing. She writes stories that explore the seedy underground of Paris. There is still a nostalgic appeal to her descriptions of the historic city, but they are not idealized and utopian.

Murder in the Sentier is the third in the Aimée Leduc mysteries. I enjoyed it - like I have enjoyed all of Black's books so far. But I enjoyed it less than the first two books in the series. I felt like Black had so much description to set the neighborhood that it took over for the plot.

Black's strength is the ability to interweave historically important moments in French history with modern problems. Leduc, a cyber-detective ends up solving crimes involving events from 50 plus years ago. In her first book Murder in the Marais, Black tackled anti-Semitism, collaboration and the Holocaust - amazing and well-written. In Murder in the Sentier Black tackles 1970s reactionary terrorist groups. Historically interesting? Yeah, I suppose. But it didn't grip me the way her other books have.

I also felt like Black worked too hard to incorporate Leduc's tortured past into the novel. The readers know from other books about Leduc's missing mother and now dead policeman-turned-detective father. Yet in this book dad has a black mark for possibly aiding and abetting his wife (Aimée's mother) who collaborated with reactionary terrorist groups. It didn't jive with the other stories in my mind.

The reason I will continue to read all of Black's books? Her descriptions of Parisian neighborhoods. Black has done painstaking research to describe each quarter of Paris as unique and distinct from any other neighborhood. But she also throws in historical bits which demonstrate a strong knowledge of the city's past as well.

An enjoyable read - much heavier than a cozy --> prostitution, drug use, bits of blood and guts. Worth the time if you love books about the City of Lights.

Cassandra and Jane: A Jane Austen Novel by Jill Pitkeathley

2010-03-22T09:58:00.004-04:00

Meh.

I love Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility as much as the next bibliophile. But this book was boring.

Austen has claimed so much pop culture attention lately - from full novels about Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice fame (you can seduce him, turn him into a vampire, or read his diary) to Zombies (twice over) and Sea Monsters to new BBC releases of Emma, Austen remains in the public eye. So the idea of a fictionalized version of the life of Jane and her sister Cassandra seems like a realistic and engaging idea.

Maybe it is because Hollywood has told us too much about Austen. Maybe it is because her novels have long been touted as being semi-autobiographical, but Pitkeathley's novel does not offer anything that an Austen fan does not already know. To suggest that Jane had a short-term affair that turned sour or turned down an offer of marriage because she did not love the prospective groom should not surprise many.

Moreover, Cassandra is sniveling and co-dependent. Anytime Jane gets happiness Cassandra complains because her sister is not at her side day and night. To suggest that Cassandra Austen spent 20+ years after Jane Austen's death sitting around remembering her sister and reading her novels day in and day out is a sad caricature of any individual. I sure hope that Cassandra mourned her sister but moved on and continued to live her life.

I did find the family tree and the expectations of the maiden aunts interesting. The Austens had, if I remember correctly, three different sister-in-laws who had at least eleven children! Although not unusual in past history, it is not something that appears in the Austen novels so I hadn't thought about it concretely. I did think Pitkeathley did a good job portraying how unmarried women felt both distanced from and relieved by the burden of continual childbirth.

The discussions of women not involving themselves in business were also intriguing. Imagine being an author and not even having the rights or expectations to talk to the publisher yourself because it is unseemly?

If you're an Austen lover and you want to learn more about her and her relationships, you might enjoy Cassandra and Jane. But for the most part I would say, don't bother. Go watch Emma instead.

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

2010-03-17T11:00:00.003-04:00

A biologist friend recommended this book a number of years ago. She raved about it as one of her favorite sci fi books of all times. I had never heard of it, or of John Wyndham. I am not some huge authority on science fiction but my husband does have a healthy appreciation for classic sci fi works; he brings home new finds semi-regularly and hands them to me to read. So a brand-new author intrigued me.

I finally bought a copy of The Chrysalids with my Christmas money and devoured it in 48 hours (hey, that's quick when you consider I'm also parenting and working). It's every bit as good as my friend promised. And it has that exceedingly rare quality - it has aged well. Too often sci fi resembles the time in which it was written. Although Wyndham's book does reflect the post-World War II crises that dictate his storyline it is equally relevant and in no way dated today. The story revolves around a boy who lives in a small religiously and genetically pure community in Labrador (northern Canada/Greenland?). As he begins to question his father's doctrine he finds problems with the social and cultural norms he has assumed from childhood.

Having just taught the bombing of Hiroshima to my college students a week earlier I enjoyed engaging in Wyndham's dystopic, post-apocalyptic world. He is subtle in his treatment of nuclear fallout. He never names it but his descriptions are vivid and remain cogent 50 years later.

I also found Wyndham's treatment of religious orthodoxy fascinating. In today's world in which religion has begun to play a larger social role it was interesting to see how he envisioned religion, biology, and nuclear war to have interwoven.

In the tradition of 1984, Brave New World, and The Giver, Wyndham writes a story that speaks to a young audience and can be read by a young adult reader. But it is no less powerful to an adult who sees intriguing nuances in personal interplay.

I have since learned that Wyndham is well-known in Britain (and Canada) but has only been recently re-introduced to the American audience. After finishing The Chrysalids I would happily read his other famous novel, The Day of the Triffids. I passed this on to my husband and am eagerly waiting his perceptions so we can discuss certain character points in detail.

If you like The Chrysalids I strongly recommend:

The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Arthur Miller Jr.

Thai Die by Monica Ferris

2010-03-15T09:12:00.003-04:00

I returned to a familiar cozy series after finishing a book I didn't like (see below, if curious). I knew that Monica Ferris would not disappoint - and she didn't. Thai Die is the twelfth! book in the Needlecraft series (I think I may have missed a few in the middle as I can't remember eleven other stories). But for a cozy series to make it that long is a good sign of reader appeal.

One of the appeals of Ferris' books is the theme - needlework. Whether an occasional flurry of activity or a regular weekly hobby there are lots of people who knit, crochet, needlepoint, or cross stitch. Ferris' stories appeal to all of these individuals. And she is good to always acknowledge that needlework is not exclusively a women's hobby.

But I've been pondering more and more what the appeal of the cozy is in general. As odd as it may sound to someone who has never read a cozy:

They're innocent.

Yes, the main plot revolves around murder. However, there is no blood and guts. There is no incest and rape. The good guy always wins. The bad guy always gets caught. And somewhere in the middle of the book, you may actually learn a fact or two.

This particular story revolved around the theft of artistic objects from Bangkok. There were a few holes in the story. I would not describe Ferris' books as fine literature. But I doubt Ferris would either. That's not why she wrote them.

All in all a good escape.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

2010-03-08T12:27:00.002-05:00

My taste is eclectic, of that I have no doubt. But at times I do wonder about my likes and dislikes more than usual. Almost everyone I know who has read The Secret History has raved about it. They have rated it near the top of their book lists. Respecting those friends' suggestions, I picked up Donna Tartt's first novel and expected to be pulled in and blown away. Maybe that was mistake number one - too much information.

Honestly....

I despised this book!

It was 570 pages of navel gazing. How much self-reflection and psychoanalytic analysis of ones friends is necessary? What about the plot?

To give credit - the book is extremely well-written. Donna Tartt has a strong knowledge of literature and linguistics. She creates deep fully-developed characters. The world in which the characters move is believable and well-depicted. But there's still no plot!

The book revolves around five college friends, all studying ancient Greek. There's a murder. There's a need to cover up a murder. There's another murder. There's 200+ pages of guilt, recrimination, blame, and self-doubt.

I skimmed the last 250 pages because I wanted to be done. I hoped there would be some fascinating novel plot twist to change my opinion. There wasn't. The book got even more depressing and I liked the characters even less than when I started - which isn't saying much.

I had one friend ask if I didn't like it because it was too close to the academic world in which I reside. Maybe. But I sincerely hope that I have no students who spend so much time taking drugs, drinking to excess, and stealing prescription drugs when he can't get ahold of any cocaine. And while college is a period of stark self-reflection, self-doubt, and self-growth I sincerely hope none of my students live such an internal life that he can't see past the end of his nose.

I read the Reader's Guide at the end curious to hear Tartt's explanation of her own story. She's pompous. I'll leave it there.

One of the problems with The Secret History for me was that it read like every other boys' school book out there. Ever seen Dead Poets Society? Read A Separate Peace? Read Gentlemen and Players? Then you have no reason to add The Secret History to your list.

And I apologize to those who loved it. There's no accounting for taste ;-p

Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer

2010-02-22T12:17:00.003-05:00

Rice Krispie Treats -

undeniably a guilty pleasure.

They remind me of childhood - and grad school if truth be told. But imagine eating an organic rice krispie treat. All the flavor and memories, but none of the guilt (a bit of a stretch maybe, but you get the idea).

Wolf Who Rules is a guiltless guilty pleasure. But the cover makes me feel like I need to hide in shame when I am reading on the train or revert back to my dorky teenage self.

Wen Spencer's first novel in the Tinker series is fabulous. So fun and light and engaging. It is cyber punk meets high fantasy, elves and mechanics, Pittsburgh and Elfhome mixed into one. My husband picked up Tinker at a local bookstore and handed it to me after devouring it in one day. It has taken me 2 1/2 years to get to the sequel.

Wolf Who Rules picks up where Tinker ended. Pittsburgh is stuck on an elf planet, elfs are descending, the evil Oni are ready to invade and Tinker is prepped to save the world. Throw in some romance, some magic, and some high speed chases and you have the story.

There are no deep messages. There is not overriding theme to be discussed in a book group. The purpose of the book is entertainment and Spencer is very good at exactly that. The reason I call this book "guiltless" is Spencer's writing style. She's a good writer who tells a compelling story. I thoroughly enjoyed Wolf Who Rules and wish that Spencer would add more books to the series.

Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear

2010-02-18T15:09:00.002-05:00

World War II has long held fascination for Western audiences. Every year countless books and movies appear analyzing obscure facts about World War II history. Hitler and the Holocaust have been done and redone. An intriguing topic, undeniably. However, World War I has long gotten short shrift. If overarching impact on the Western world is the question, I would be hard pressed to state that one war had a greater impact that the other.

In the past five years I have noticed a growing shift. More and more people are writing, watching, and talking about World War I. Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series is an incredible addition to the field of World War I books. While the stories take place in the 1920/30s, each story further develops the impact of the War on the people of Britain. I am continually amazed at how well Winspear examines and understands the mores, expectations, and disappointments of post-War Britons. With each one of her books I feel as though my academic understanding of twentieth-century Europe is deepened by her work.

In Among the Mad, the most recent Maisie Dobbs novel, Winspear tackles psychological repercussions of war and depression in general head-on. I rave about all of her books but this one blew me away. Winspear is remarkably sympathetic to her characters who have all suffered from the War in some way. She brings back topics from earlier books to help demonstrate how unexpected events can return and cause psychological distress years later. The "criminal" in the story suffers from PTSD - although post-traumatic stress was not coined and recognized until generations later - and mental trauma due to World War I nerve gas exposure. Rather than criminalize the criminal, Winspear creates an empathetic character who has found himself in an unforgivable situation. Winspear's outcome brought up another excellent aspect of her books.

While writing about a period seventy years in the past, Winspear addresses very cogent contemporary debates. What role do scientists play in War? Who is responsible for military technology and how should responsibility for destruction at the hands of the war machine be handled? Does society have a responsibility to acknowledge the traumas of soldiers and how can those issues be reconciled? I walked away from Among the Mad pondering any number of current military/political situations. I can't say that is true about many historical or mystery books.

I think there is something for everyone to enjoy in Winspear's novels. She pens a great mystery. She is amazingly historically accurate. She addresses deep questions worth revisiting. A definite two thumbs up.

If you like World War I read:

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear - you should really read this series in order to appreciate and understand the characters

and see:

A Very Long Engagement - there are amazing trench scenes if you've ever wondered
Joyeux Noel

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

2010-02-12T10:08:00.003-05:00

There is no denying I'm a bibliophile. So I love the idea of introducing my kids to books. And now that they're getting a little bit older I am anxious to delve into the chapter books I adored as a child - as well as all the great new classics.

Unfortunately, my eldest has not been interested. He complains if there is not a picture on every page. He will listen to two or three chapters and then put a book aside for three months without asking for it. If we suggest returning to the book he complains and picks out a picture book. He's 6, he's justified. It will change eventually.

For Christmas, Eldest got the Roald Dahl box set. I know many of the titles although I never read any of them myself. Last month Eldest picked out Fantastic Mr. Fox - based purely on the fact that he had heard of the movie. He thoroughly enjoyed it, in part because Dahl's books have enough pictures to satisfy him but enough text to tell a real story. After finishing it he told me he no longer needs a picture on every page. He has not yet asked to see the film - which we won't see until he's a bit older. (It was not my favorite story, but I was thrilled to see him getting into a longer book.)

Three days ago he brought me Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. We curled up and read the first two chapters. He liked it. That night dad read chapters 3 and 4. Again, he sat quietly and listened. Over the next couple of days we read the next few chapters.

Yesterday he and I were still stuck inside thanks to the everlasting snowstorm. I suggested he bring his book down. We curled up on the couch and I started reading. We got through chapter 10 and I kept going. In chapter 11 Charlie finds the Golden Ticket. Eldest's legs began to twitch. Then they began to bounce. When Charlie found the ticket Eldest jumped up and gave me a giant hug. "Keep reading, keep reading, keep reading!"

His next questions, "What time do we have to pick up Youngest? Can we read until then?"

At bedtime last night we started Chapter 17. This morning I woke up to Eldest standing over me grinning with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory thrust in my direction.

Thank you Roald Dahl!

Passage by Connie Willis

2010-02-09T11:41:00.003-05:00

I ADORE Connie Willis' books. She is an amazing writer. I could wax poetic about her incredible ability to juxtapose believable science fiction with incredibly witty humor - and not in the punny Piers Anthony style either. As a rabid er avid fan, I picked up Passage and anxiously started reading.

It's... different.

In so many ways.

I enjoyed Passage but it is truly a strange book.

The book revolves around death. What happens when you die - or nearly die. The main character is a psychologist studying near-death experiences. She begins working with a medical doctor who is medically inducing near-death experiences in order to study how the brain chemically reacts. Both characters hope that by understanding such experiences they will be able to help victims who have cardiac arrest. Willis points out in witty terms that it is NOT a retelling of the move Flatliners.

The plot takes 800 pages to unravel. One person described it as a medical procedural which is accurate as there are moments of plodding scientific experimentation, rejection of ideas, repeated testing and final proof of hypothesis. Willis is unfailing in her ability to prove her ideas convincingly. But for once I wished she had hurried a bit. I felt the story lagged in the middle as the characters ran back and forth reasserting their beliefs and disagreeing with one another about motivations. In the middle of the characters rambling, Willis does introduce a number of memorable characters who are worth getting to know.

After finishing Passage I searched out Willis' website. I figured there had to be some motivation for her to have written the book. In a Locus excerpt, she explained that after her mother died she found grief texts to be horrible and unhelpful for the grieving individual. Her book is an attempt to respond to the lack she found. I'm not convinced she succeeded - it would never occur to me to hand Passage to someone dealing with grief. However, I can imagine how writing the novel helped Willis herself.

In an aside, Willis has an extremely novel take on Alzheimer's patients. She suggests an interesting premise on *where* someone from Alzheimers goes when they lose track of current reality. It is Willis' ability to convincingly create realities like this one that makes me appreciate her books so much. It also made me guess she has personal experience with Alzheimers based on how she wrote.

If you like Connie Willis and haven't read Passage it is worth a read. But do not expect to feel uplifted while reading.

If you liked this book, I would recommend:

To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis - her best in my humble opinion
Coma by Robin Cook - horror but medical procedural

Cairo Modern: an Arabic Novel by Naguib Mahfouz

2010-01-26T15:19:00.004-05:00

A number of years ago I happened upon The Cairo Trilogy and fell in love with Naguib Mahfouz and the Egyptian world he created. The series made me want to pick up and move to Cairo - well, the historical Egypt created by Mahfouz at any rate. Mahfouz had an incredible way of introducing readers to the subtleties and intricacies of social and political life in Egypt.

When my mom handed me Cairo Modern I was thrilled to revisit the world of Mahfouz.

A couple of initial thoughts:

Why is this "an Arabic novel"? The subtitle is extremely odd. Is any book about Egypt Arabic? Or is Arabic synonymous for Muslim? Is it only the American edition that adds that subtitle? Why?

What happened to bring this book to the American audience in 2008? Given all of Mahfouz's works, was there something in particular about Cairo Modern that interested American publishers now?

Cairo Modern is not nearly as accessible a story as Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy. The main character in this story is not sympathetic and hard to engage with. While writing a story about his plight as a university student hampered by poverty is laudable, Mahfouz sets up a protagonist who is unlikable. In addition, for an American audience, the plot is very limited. The story revolves around a very small set of choices and outcomes.

Hmm.. that's not really true, I suppose. But it seems like the story circles on itself and spends significant time reflecting on minute details.

Despite my criticisms and questions, I think Mahfouz's book has a valid role as an academic source. Mahfouz has written a pointed caricature of Egyptian society in the early 1930s. From the story it is clear that Mahfouz finds the social changes occurring in the era to be corrupting and problematic for the Egyptian people - in particular the college educated who are expected to thrive in this bifurcated, confused society.

I think a study of women in Cairo Modern, as in Mahfouz's other novels I have read, would be a worthwhile venture. The new choices for women in the "modern" unveiled world, as described by Mahfouz are in no way laudable. I would argue that Mahfouz would have preferred the "anti-modern" or maybe "a-modern" world of the pre-World War I era.

I am glad I read Cairo Modern. But, I'm glad I read it as a scholar who teaches Middle Eastern History. There are very few people I would recommend this book to (not because it is a bad book AT ALL but because it has an extremely narrow scope), and most of them would be scholars, not fiction lovers.

If you liked Cairo Modern I would recommend:

Women and Gender in Islam by Leila Ahmed
The Dessert Queen by Janet Wallach

The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

2010-01-15T10:19:00.003-05:00

I read The Book of Ember this summer and thoroughly enjoyed it. With my Christmas gift card I bought the second book in the series, The People of Sparks (Somehow I find it easier to pay full price for kids books because I know they will get read by multiple members of my family).

I read the book in twenty-four hours. Then I sat down to review it.

I'm torn.

As a reader, I really liked DuPrau's continuation of the Ember series. As a parent, I have trouble with this as a young reader book. I may need to reconsider my definition of "young reader" but I will leave that topic for another post. Suffice it to say, I will not be reading this book to my six-year old son anytime in the next two to three years.

Post-apocalyptic stories have fascinated me since junior high. I am continually intrigued by how an author envisions the future. DuPrau has done a good job: Lina finds a Monopoly game and a magnifying glass, characters use "wagon-trucks" (old trucks with their engines removed) as oxen-pulled vehicles. The world above ground has no electricity, in contrast to the Ember world of the previous book which had electricity but no trees or animals.

The main story in the book revolves around the intersection of these two societies as they try to work together to move forward. However, it is exactly this post-apocalyptic theme that disturbs me given that this is a children's book. I am uncomfortable explaining to my son why a bunch of characters die in the first twenty pages or why war is a recurring theme in the story.

In addition, DuPrau has a limited space to tell her story. She does a good job of continuing to flesh out her characters. She delves into moral questions that are appropriate for a young reader to consider. But, because she is constrained by page count, the book feels very heavy and very dark throughout. DuPrau does not take enough time to stop and smell the flowers, literally. I would have liked a bit more character exploration of this brand-new world full of flowers, trees, birds, and bugs.

Would I recommend this book, yes. But with reservations. Some kids could handle it. Others I think would have trouble reconciling the debates. I could read the book in 24 hours but spending a week or two going through the story it would have felt very heavy.

If you liked The People of Sparks /post-apocalyptic books (and you're an adult) I would recommend:

The Gunslinger Series by Stephen King
A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr. (a CLASSIC sci-fi read)
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

The Sultan's Seal by Jenny White

2010-01-13T09:49:00.003-05:00

Wow!! This is one of the most amazing first in a series novels I've read in a long time. The information and accuracy is incredible. Unlike certain unnamed academic authors, White does not fall into the trap of telling information she knows just to prove how smart and knowledgeable she is. Every gleam of detail is necessary to forward her story. Just wow! I'm in love.

Author Jenny White is a professor of Anthropology and has written academically about the Ottoman Empire. Her knowledge of Turkey, the complicated workings of the political system, the debates surrounding nationality and identity, the innerworkings of power in the harem, and the political maneuvering of the European nations all combine to make this a historically accurate but also well-developed murder mystery.

The main character Kamil Pasha is a Turkish magistrate who trained at Cambridge. As such he straddles his familiar Turkish world and the modernizing British scientific method world. He wants to see his country survive and flourish but he does not ascribe to some of the "traditional" organization of Turkey.

The plot revolves around the discovery of a young British woman who is found drowned. She is wearing a locket that ties her to the sultan's palace. Kamil Pasha works with the daughter of the British ambassador to attempt to discover the identity of the woman and learn how and why she was killed. The story is twisted and interwoven. It is not straight-forward and at the end the resolution is not a neatly tied-up package. White leaves a lot of questions to be answered, which I think is more honest than many mystery novels.

After reading the book I found myself thinking about a criminal investigation in such a society. When men have no access to most women how are they expected to investigate the death of a woman? He had to have the assistance of someone who could breech the inner circle.

One review I read suggested the British character was too flippant and well, dumb. I didn't see that. I thought that White painted a stereotypical character for the time. She used Sybil as a representative Brit who wanted to understand Turkish society but could not divorce herself from her Britishness.

There are two very nitpicky things I disliked about the book:

The chapters with Kamil Pasha were in present tense. Personally I prefer reading books written in past tense. But I understand her literary choice as it separated those chapters from the ones written from another character's perspective that were often about past events.

I would have liked one more chapter to wrap up the story. I felt that she ended a touch too quickly. There is the obvious motivation of having the reader pick up book #2. Yet, I still wanted a little resolution. What happened when the sun rose?

All in all, a big thumbs up. If you like historical mysteries and have any interest in the Middle East - an amazing read!

If you liked The Sultan's Seal, try these books:

The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
The Aimee Leduc mysteries by Cara Black
The Far Pavilions by M. M. Kaye (not a mystery but a classic British imperial novel)

About a Boy by Nick Hornby

2010-01-07T22:01:00.004-05:00

A friend gave me her copy of About a Boy with the caveat, "it's not a very good book." She described Hornby's book as fluffy and meaningless. I decided to read it anyway - there's never anything wrong with occasional fluff.

While I would not describe About a Boy as award-winning or worth writing home to mom about, I enjoyed reading it. It is relatively fluffy and yet it had a good message.

The plot is largely identical to the movie of the same name staring Hugh Grant. The ending of the novel is different and better than the movie. There are heavy themes involving depression and suicide so I would not hand this book to all readers.

What I appreciated about the book was the point of view and the choice of main character. As a reader it is hard to like Will, the protagonist. He's shallow, he's self-absorbed. And yet Hornsby keeps you reading despite your frustration with Will. In some ways Marcus is as frustrating a character as Will, but as an adult I had distinctly more sympathy for this poor wandering twelve year old. Intermixing the two characters allowed me to read through the Will chapters to get back to Marcus until their lives intertwined.

I give Hornsby credit for writing a non-sympathetic character that I enjoyed reading. His characters felt more real than many books; there were multi-dimensional and flawed.

If you liked reading About a Boy...

I would be curious what else you would recommend. Hornsby's book does not fit the mold of my typical reading so I don't have other similar suggestions

The Lecturer's Tale by James Hynes

2010-01-05T09:41:00.004-05:00

Last year I read Moo and thoroughly enjoyed it. The descriptions and the ridiculousness of academia were well displayed in Jane Smiley's book. When I finished, a friend recommended The Lecturer's Tale. I finally found a copy and happily devoured it over the holiday break.

Anyone with a graduate degree in the social sciences/humanities should read this book. Especially if you found some of the graduate school theory ludicrous, ridiculous, or otherwise downright weird. James Hyne's novel is satirical, slightly eccentric, and in certain sections ... yep, downright weird. But I laughed loud and hard and identified with a lot of what he wrote.

The basic plot: Nelson Humboldt is fired from his contract composition teaching gig at a (fictional) Ivy League University. Leaving the English building his hand gets run over by a bike and he loses a finger. He discovers that with his reattached finger he can force his will on others. In short order, Humboldt uses his power to get his job back, secure his apartment, and help his friends. However, he gets power hungry. If it sounds weird, it is. But the point of the power is to show how manipulative and power-driven academia can be. Hynes portrays that extremely well.

Hynes has an incredibly witty and deadly accurate portrayal of life in academia. He uses jargon and sexual innuendo and the ridiculous to paint a terribly pointed picture. While reading one night I was convulsing in laughter. I tried to explain what was so funny to my husband. I eventually said, "It's really not funny at all. It's just too true." Although exaggerated the scene in question (in which a flustered lecturer tries to deliver a paper on gender/queer theory to the tenured professors in the English department) could have happened in my program.

There is a point near the end of the book when Hynes jumps off the deep end. The plot gets really weird and slightly nonsensical. I was not overly found of the out-of-body type experience of the characters. Nonetheless, in order to complete his study of university life he needed a farcical denouement. He returned to the satirical depiction of university life and ended the book on a good note.

I will definitely read more work by Hynes. I would recommend this book to anyone who was heartily invested in academia - and is willing to laugh at it and themselves. However, I cannot imagine The Lecturer's Tale has a wide appeal. He purposely overuses all of the theoretical jargon that academia loves which won't make sense to some readers.

If you liked The Lecturer's Tale try:

Moo (that's what introduced me to this)
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (a personal favorite: sci fi, but academic)
Faculty Towers: The Academic Novel and Its Discontents (the bibliography in this book lists other academic novels. I haven't read this yet but a friend recommended it based on my reading of Hynes)

The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson) by Rick Riordan

2010-01-03T21:45:00.005-05:00

I'm behind in my posts. It's time to try and catch up.

With the end of the semester and a sick son I needed something light and mindless to read. The second book in the Lightning Thief series seemed like a perfect go-to. In this book Percy ends his otherwise uneventful school year with a dodge ball game against monsters bent on killing him.

On the run from the monsters, he and his friends make it to Camp Half Blood only to discover that the borders are open to the outside. Percy puts himself up for another quest which he does not get chosen for, but ends up doing anyway.

I enjoyed Sea of Monsters. It was a fun light read. It was a good continuation of the Percy Jackson series. I think it would have appeal to a tween. For whatever reason I did not enjoy this book as much as the first - it could be the shorter length. While I found myself wholeheartedly invested in The Lightning Thief this one finished to quickly to get lost in the story.

I will keep reading the series. It is a fun series. I will hang on to it for my son in a couple of years. All in all, not a bad modern boy's adventure series.

The Greatest Christmas Present for a book lover

2009-12-25T21:08:00.003-05:00

This year for Christmas my parents gave my husband and I each a $50 gift certificate to the bookstore. Glee! This afternoon we sat down with the computer and put together a list of all the books we have been wanting that are not easily accessible from the library. We decided to go online rather than in the store because too often we can't find the books we want when we're shopping (I could go on a rant about bookstores becoming gadget, toy, and stuffed animal stores rather than bookstores, but I'll save that for another day).

Aaanyway...

I started by pulling books off my Goodreads to-read list. Those are books that I have added over the past year when friends have recommended them. Here is our list:

Winter in June (Rosie Winter #3) by Kathryn Miller Haines - part of a good 1940s mystery series
Chrysalids by John Wyndham - classic sci fi recommended by a friend
Passage by Connie Willis - sci fi by one of my all-time favorite authors
Sleep, Pale Sister by Joanne Harris - fiction by the author of Chocolat; a great author
The People of Sparks (Book of Ember #2) by Jeanne DuPrau - second book in kids fantasy series
Wolf Who Rules by Wen Spencer - second book in the light, fun fantasy series
(a handful of heavy sci fi picked out by hubby that I may read depending on his recommendations)
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest - steampunk
Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart - mmmm, baguettes...

Woo Hoo!!

Thanks to the friends who have recommended the above books. And keep your eyes posted to this page (because I know you live and die by my blog) for reviews of my Christmas book list.

The Winter of Her Disontent by Kathryn Miller Haines

2009-12-20T21:10:00.003-05:00

I recently read Kathryn Miller Haines' first novel in the Rosie Winter Series and enjoyed it. A touch of film noir spiced up with theatre and cozy-mysteryness all added up to a fun light diversion. I picked up The Winter of Her Discontent after putting down Inkheart and found that the second novel in the series is even better.

As a hopeful aspiring writer, I enjoy reading the first book in a series. I am curious how authors set up their characters and their worlds. The descriptions that they employ and the worlds that they create capture my imagination. In many cases I think the first book in the series is the best. Authors work so hard to set up a world that they too often rest on their laurels and the books quickly go downhill and become derivative. However, in the gap between first and worst, there are great mysteries and Haines' second Rosie Winter story is one of those.

One of the best changes in the two books is Haines' willingness to drop the excessive use of film noir slang. While I liked her accurate terminology in War Against Miss Winter I did want her to stop using "jawing" and occasionally write, "she said." In this novel she does just that. Haines incorporates the occasional slang to liven up the story and remind the reader that it is 1943 New York City. But the occasional dab is significantly more effective than the excessive glop from the first novel.

In addition, I read until page 380 before I knew the whole plot. It is rare for a regular mystery reader to not have a decent clue whodunit and why within the first half of the novel. I admit, I had a good sense of who was overly suspicious, but I didn't find out until Rosie did exactly what the mystery entailed. I liked having the gasp of understanding that a good mystery creates.

Last, but most assuredly not least, I respect Haines for putting out there the negative aspects of World War II on the homefront. So many movies and stories have appeared in the past ten years which show the horrors of the war and the optimism of the homefront that I can't keep track of them. Haines shows the horrors of the homefront. Life was not pleasant. Everyone was not perfect. People took advantage of their fellow man and their government. And Haines does a good job showing the complicated world of navigating patriotism, greed, and practicality.

All in all, if you like historical mysteries, a good read and a good addition to the mystery genre. Now I'm going to have to add the third book to my to-read list.

* * * * *

If you would like more Historical Mysteries try:

Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series
Rhys Bowen's Her Royal Spyness series
Anything by Anne Perry (she has multiple GREAT series)

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

2009-12-17T15:01:00.005-05:00

Snore!

Harry Potter proved that young adults could read books of longer than 200 pages. It created a new world for young adult literature that is longer and more detailed. Inkheart emerged onto the scene playing heavily on the appeal of J. K. Rowling. And in my opinion, fell flat on its face. What a boring book. Cornelia Funke accomplished in 520 pages what she could have accomplished in 250. Rarely would I suggest an abridged version of a book, however in this case the only way I would give the Inkheart series to a child was if it were heavily shortened and tightened. This book will not encourage most readers and is not a good choice if trying to instill a love of reading in a youngster.

I feel guilty being that negative. I SO wanted to like this series. And I have specifically held off watching the movie until I had read the book. But in this instance I think cutting out all the extraneous unnecessary description to create a tight screenplay will improve the work.

Part of my hope for the series was that it revolves around a father and daughter who love books. They love to read. They are wholeheartedly invested in the world of stories and literature and losing oneself in a new world. How can all of that be bad?

When it goes nowhere.

The plot spins in endless circles with very little forward motion until I finally put Inkheart down and begged my husband to tell me what happened.

I am curious about one thing: Is this my failing as an American reader who has fallen into the trap of expecting action in every chapter? I hadn't initially realized that Inkheart is a German novel (although it helps to know that in the beginning. Otherwise the lack of setting up a locale is slightly disconcerting). I haven't read much German literature and would like to know if this is stereotypical. Do German novels focus on heavy description and move forward at a slower pace than an "average" American book? If anyone has any insight, please share.

* * * * *

If you would like more books like Inkheart try:

Maybe overly obvious, but I can't not include Harry Potter
Because Funke references it in Inkheart The Princess Bride
Anything by Garth Nix (he can be dark but Inkheart has dark tones too)

The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

2009-12-11T22:40:00.004-05:00

I should have read The Elegance of the Hedgehog with a highlighter in my hand (Not that I'll tell the librarians that I seriously considered defacing their property). I needed a highlighter because there were amazing one-liners I would love to have now. But of course looking back I can't pinpoint them immediately. They were the type of statements that you write out in pretty script and attach to your bedroom mirror to ponder on rising in the morning.

Alas, no quotes. Instead I will have to remember this book through its themes and totality. I requested Elegance of the Hedgehog because of a book group but had to wait nearly three months to get a copy. It is a popular book, but also a slow read which meant a long wait. I put the book down in the middle and considered returning it to the library without finishing it myself. I'm sooo glad I chose to keep reading.

It's important to understand that Barbery is French and the book has been translated into English. The translation is sound however the plot is so very French that it might put a reader off. The story has very little action and a lot of navel gazing. It's philosophy like most French literature. It discusses post-structuralism and Proust and Tolstoy. It is not a book to be read at the beach while keeping one eye on kids playing in the sand. It is a book that has to be read with both eyes and one's mind fully focused on the text.

The two main characters are Paloma a twelve-year old genius who finds her family ridiculous and beneath scorn and Renee a fifty-something concierge who waters plants and cleans brass doorknobs for a living but reads "transcendalist idealism" for fun. The two live in the same building and would never interact were it not for the introduction of a Japanese man named Kakuro who moves in.

More than anything what kept me going were the great satirical comments made by the two characters. They have incredibly unique views of the world and have no qualms about voicing their dislike of modern society, class-based society, hierarchy... Coming from two very different worlds they reach similar conclusions about the lack of depth in many of the people with whom they interact. But the book is in no way a farce. I cried reading it too.

I wholeheartedly recommend Elegance of the Hedgehog if you are looking for social commentary and have the time and attention to invest in the novel. Do not get frustrated in the middle and stop reading - believe me it is tempting. Keep pushing until Kakuro arrives and then the story picks up.

* * * * *

If you liked Elegance of the Hedgehog try:

Marguerite Duras The Lover - one of my favorite French novels
Vikram Seth A Suitable Boy - a tome about Indian identity in a post-colonial world
Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner - a story of modern day Afghanistan

The False-Hearted Teddy and The Crafty Teddy by John J. Lamb

2009-12-02T10:21:00.008-05:00

I rarely read two books in the series back to back. I like to try and vary my book choices. But a holiday bout of the flu left me on the couch and ready to read the next two Bear Collector mysteries by John J. Lamb. I finished The False-Hearted Teddy and picked up The Crafty Teddy next. Lamb's series has been described as a police procedural cozy. Those two terms seem at odds for a conventional cozy mystery reader. But after reading The Crafty Teddy I better understand the designation.

It is refreshing to read a cozy mystery written by a man. I would argue that the vast majority of cozies are written and read by women. Lamb's stories add a fun twist with a sarcastic, punny, ex-cop for the main character. He loves to insert sexual innuendos and groan-worthy puns throughout the story - characteristics that I haven't found in the typical cozy.

As the series progresses the stories have become more police procedural as the main characters become involved with the local sheriff's office and work in an official capacity to assist with criminal investigations. But, given that the plots revolve around the teddy bear making world the stories are firmly entrenched in cozy-land.

The False-Hearted Teddy takes place at a bear show in a hotel in Baltimore. Brad and Ash Lyons have set up shop to sell their homemade bears when one of the other vendors is murdered. Confrontational cops cause Brad to investigate on his own. By the middle of the book he allies forces with the police and the book becomes a more familiar police procedural with rules and regulations, car chases, and witness interviews making up the bulk of the story. However, Lamb convincingly remains wedded to the cozy style of writing and does not fall into too much heavy police lingo.

I like this story, but it wasn't my favorite. I found the good cop/bad cop a bit heavy handed. And the transition to allies was too easy. Nonetheless, it was a fun, light read. Oh, and a pet peeve, the blurb on the back cover. In this case, it was flat out wrong. It says the cops thing the murder was not a murder - which is not true. Who writes those things?

In The Crafty Teddy Brad and Ash are back at home in the Shenandoah Valley. The book opens with the theft of two of their antique bears. In a seemingly unconnected fashion three Japanese Yakuza (gangsters) show up in town to visit the local history museum. Brad, questioning the motives of Japanese businessmen being interested in quaint Virginia history, he follows them and finds a dead body.

Lambs explanation for the presence of the Japanese is an amusing twist in cozy-land. I found myself smiling at the image of a Japanese gangster wandering through Boyds Bears in Pennsylvania picking out cute teddy bears.

In this book Lyons becomes an employee of the local sheriff's office and the percentage of police focus in this book has grown exponentially since the first. He successfully blends the two styles by giving weight to the investigation and legitimacy for the characters to have guns and be tramping through suspects homes. Yet he interjects a light fun air and a focus on teddy bear making that places the series firmly in cozy land.

My only complaint about this book is Lamb's description of the UVA History department. But that could be because I know too much about that particular school and faculty.

I have to say, while I originally dismissed a teddy bear making series as bad fluff in the world of cozy mysteries this has actually become a preferred series. I will happily recommend it to other mystery readers.

* * * *

If you liked the Bear Collector Mysteries try:

The Monica Ferris Needlecraft Mysteries (another craft series)
The Rita Mae Brown Sneaky Pie Brown Mysteries (another Shenandoah Virginia series)
Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilt Novels (not mysteries, but about quilting and also take place in nearby Pennsylvania)

An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear

2009-11-28T20:48:00.004-05:00

I have waxed poetic more than once about Jacqueline Winspear. She is one of my favorite mystery authors. No, she is one of my favorite authors, genre notwithstanding. Winspear does incredible research when writing her books to create one of the most accurate and realistic settings for a novel that I have read. As an author of historical fiction she has a better ability to create 1930s England than any author who was not writing during the 1930s.

The plot in this novel was easier to deduce than some of the other Maisie Dobbs stories. Nonetheless, the plot was no less fascinating for the easier deduction of the plot. In this story Maisie is researching a small town's brickworks that a client hopes to purchase. There is something off about the town which leads Maisie into a search of the towns past. Like her other stories the mystery resides in World War I. As with her other stories Winspear has an ability to get to the heart of the War and the difficulties it created for the European population. (I will openly admit, I have used situations in Winspear's books to create a plausible and identifiable setting in my history classes before. That's how genuine her research is.)

This is one of the first books in which Winspear sets up the coming world - although book four I believe also alluded to growing concerns on the Continent. While her stories continue to focus on World War I, she is beginning to allude to the growing problems in Germany. I am curious to see if in future books Winspear begins to incorporate fascism and Nazism into the stories. I would love to read her perceptions of right-wing politics in 1930s England. I have no doubt she will create an undeniably accurate and realistic world.

There is one more Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs book on my shelf waiting for me to read - Among the Mad. There is another to-be-published in 2010, The Mapping of Love and Death. I try not to read them too quickly as they are like candy - best savored over time.

The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1) by Rick Riordan

2009-11-22T13:20:00.004-05:00

I have mentioned before the I adore young adult fantasy. There is nothing more enjoyable than picking up a well-written, well-plotted fantasy that is fun and light without excessive violence, death, or sex. The Lightning Thief fulfills this exact category. It is engaging, a light read, and teaches something as well.

I would guess that Riordan had an idea for a book and discovered the mass appeal of the Harry Potter series. He took his idea and ran with it recognizing that a market existed. Trying to not sound like Harry Potter, there are moments when he set himself up as too obviously different. Instead of fleeing his family during the school year, Percy Jackson flees during the summer. Instead of no parents and evil extended family, Percy has the perfect sweet mother. Those moments don't take away from the book, but they did catch my attention.

Percy Jackson has ADHD and dyslexia - appropriate quirks for today's middle school reader. I like that Riordan describes those characteristics as signs of half-blood relationships to the Greek Gods. It's novel and a fun take on an old issue. Oh yeah, and if you haven't read the book - the main premise is that Percy Jackson is half Greek God.

Which brings up the main plot of the book. Riordan introduces his readers to a whole slew of classic Greek mythology: Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite, Medusa. Although these are less relevant in today's world, I think its noble to introduce this world to kids. Knowing who Hermes is makes the FTD symbol at florist shops suddenly make sense. Riordan takes the classic tales and adapts them to the modern world. It's fun.

As far as appropriateness of this series for the kids themselves? My son's only six and he's too twitchy to listen to a story this long yet. But, I think it is a great series for boys - a group who has been ignored as readers until recently. I've been told that the further in the series the more death and destruction that occurs so parents may want to pre-read depending on their child's interests.

For me, I'm anxiously awaiting for the rest of the series to show up in my kids Scholastic flyers.

Mansions of the Dead by Sarah Stewart Taylor

2009-11-15T18:27:00.003-05:00

Mansions of the Dead is the second Sweeney St. George mystery. Taylor has created an extremely unique premise for her series. The main character is an art history professor who studies funereal art. She spends significant amounts of time in cemeteries studying the gravestones.

This book, unlike the first O Artful Death, takes place in a university setting. The murder victim is a student of Sweeney's who is taking her funeral art course. He also happens to be the son of an extremely well-connected Boston family causing distinct problems for the police. The family throws up roadblocks left and right to keep their own lives private.

Taylor crafts a good story. She gives significant detail without drifting into telling facts just to show off what she knows. She inserts historical tidbits that are pertinent to the story without being too heavy-handed. Her main character is a complex person with a past and foibles that are realistic. The policeman in the story has depth and flaws without being the stereotypical useless cop. Boston is an important third character in the novel with the city's personality and quirkiness playing into the character's interactions.

Like the first book, I feel like the university setting gives the character a reason for knowing history without being the most realistic depiction of life in a university. Sweeney St. George grades an entire set of papers in a short hour span. Any professor knows how long a set of papers really takes to grade. And she seems to be able to drop in and out of class at will and drops in on student dorms without anyone so much as wondering about his professor's presence at his doorstep.

Taylor also likes to give her characters a lot of alcohol which is not unrealistic. Except that two of the characters who drank quite heavily in this book both have alcoholic parents. From what I've seen of the world (which is not comprehensive by a long shot, but still...) children of alcoholics tend to be particularly careful about what, when, and how much they drink.

Do these minor flaws destroy the story? Not in the least. I find myself engaged in the characters and the plot in Taylor's books. They are a nice addition to the world of historical, academic mysteries.

Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson

2009-11-09T21:24:00.004-05:00

Diane Mott Davidson is the queen of the the cozy. She was one of the early authors to include recipes tied directly to the plot of her book. I was lucky enough to attend a few of her early book signings that included a full dinner made up of recipes from her books. She was fun to listen to, very *real*, and all around a good influence for a future aspiring writer-to-be. Since those days I have read nearly every Goldy's Catering mystery.

Since I'm writing a nano cozy mystery of my own this year it seemed logical to pick up a classic example of the cozy. Fatally Flaky called to me from the bookshelf. I have to say, I was disappointed. I feel as though Davidson has fallen into the pit of knowing that her books sell based on her name and therefore are less well-developed and less well-written than they used to be. To see this book was fluffy is an understatement.

The story revolves around a bridezilla and Goldy's attempt to cater her wedding. Forty-eight hours before the wedding the venue, the menu, and the number of guests change causing Goldy to rush to accommodate the bride. A brand new character appears on the scene, Goldy's godfather. Another character reappears for Goldy but is brand-new to the reader. While I realize that continuing a series into its 15th book means introducing new characters to get victims and murderers is a challenge. However, it is hard to believe in characters who are seemingly so important to the main character have never been mentioned before.

Likewise, Tom (Goldy's husband) likes the godfather on one page, dislikes him on the next, and tolerates him on the third. Davidson can't seem to remember her own interpersonal relationships.

I read these books because my mother passes them on. However I doubt that I will be jumping up to read more of this series anytime soon. I have much more inviting, better written, better plotted books on my shelf waiting my attention.

The War Against Miss Winter by Kathryn Miller Haines

2009-11-07T17:08:00.003-05:00

Mysteries have so many sub-genres that it is impossible to classify many of the books. I enjoy historical mysteries but with reservations - I generally don't read stories that happened more than two hundred years ago - a personal preference. If there is a time period I lean towards it is the 1920-1940s. I love World War books. And Haines story is a quintessential World War II Americana story. I have also found that I really enjoy reading the first mystery in an ongoing series. I am intrigued to see how an author crafts the world for a repeat character who will be solving crimes again and again.

I met Haines at a book signing when The War Against Miss Winter first appeared and I chose not to buy the book. I don't remember my logic at the time. Most likely it had more to do with more growing stack of 20 plus books that I had already bought than any particular disinterest in her book. Anyway, my mom bought the book instead, read it, and passed it on to me. And I'm glad she did.

Haines, an actor, sets up the story of a down and out actor who works for a private eye in World War II New York. Familiar with the genre of the era, Haines uses a lot of slang. It gives the story authenticity and a film noir feel. However, there are points when I feel like Haines overdoes the jargon. There are times when it is fine to say "walking" rather than repeat "legging" for the tenth time. Haines has also done her homework. She depicts the life of civilians during the War well quoting propaganda posters frequently to demonstrate the emotion being supplied to the Americans by the government. The world of chorus girl, hopeful actresses gives the story another level of intrigue. Haines uses famous plays for the title of each chapter and quotes Shakespeare from time to time adding to the character's believability but also giving credence to Haines' background.

The crux of the story revolves around a missing play and a dead playwright. If you read carefully Haines lays out exactly what the solution to the mystery is - although the whodunit is less straight forward. But she crafts the plot well enough that it is not overly obvious rendering the book unpalatable.

I have the second installment of the Rosie Winter saga waiting for me on my bookcase. I will happily dive into it one of these days. The gumshoe, "long-legged dame" feel is a light sub-genre that I don't read frequently and probably would not pick up first. But I enjoy the time period and the main character enough to absorb the style for what it is.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

2009-10-29T18:42:00.003-04:00

It feels like everyone I know has been watching and commenting on HBOs Tru Blood. I am curious but rather than jump into the show I decided to go straight to the source and read the first Sookie Stackhouse novel by Charlaine Harris that created the show. The book had a huge waiting list at the library and I finally picked it up this week after three months waiting for it.

And can I just say:

How can anyone who has read Twilight honestly think that that book is remotely novel, unique, or otherwise inspired?

Okay so vampires are done, overdone, and redone lately. But the story in Dead Until Dark has so many similarities to Twilight that it is unbelievable!

A couple of examples:

Vampires "glow" but more so to the main character
Vampires can do "glamors" to calm people down and make them less tense
Vampires overall are scary and kinda evil, except our vampire. He's strong and sexy, and REMARKABLY protective
One of the main characters can read minds - of everyone except the other main character
The main character has a friend who shockingly is a shapeshifter and must turn into a dog during the full moon

Does no one else see this? Stephanie Meyer started Twilight in 2003. Dead Until Dark first appeared in 2001.

I will say, I think Charlaine Harris' book is a MUCH better story than Twilight. For one, Harris is a much better writer. Second, it is funny and off-color and doesn't take itself very seriously. Third, it sets up a world that is apparently just made for television. There is also some interesting vampire sex - somewhere between Anne Rice and Stephanie Meyer.

If you are standing at the bookstore staring at the overwhelming number of vampire books on the shelves today, pick one of the better books. Pick up Charlaine Harris. Put down Twilight and back away. I imagine I will read more of this series. It's light and fluffy, really quick to read, but amusing. One of these days I may even watch Tru Blood

Mitla Pass by Leon Uris

2009-10-26T10:26:00.002-04:00

I read Exodus about 18 months ago (check that, exactly two years ago, oddly enough) and found it fascinating. It was my first Leon Uris book; I looked forward to reading more. So, when I found Mitla Pass at the library book sale I picked it up. After reading some light fluffy novels I was ready for something a bit heavier and picked up Uris.

Like Exodus, Mitla Pass tells the story of Israel: the 1956 Sinai War with Egypt. But, in true Uris fashion, the character involved in the War is merely a backdrop to tell the story of Jews emigrating and trying to find complete lives in the first half of the twentieth century. All of the characters whose stories are told are the ancestors of Gideon Zadok, a Jewish novelist who has published an incredible bestseller and attempts to write a second.

The Zadok plot has the feel of an autobiography. Reading about the depths of involvement in writing and the emotions surrounding publication and searching for the next great novel intrigued me. If not autobiographical in the strictest sense, I could still see Uris using his own experiences strongly to make this character deep and believable. As an endeavoring author, I found Zadok's trials... inspiring sounds cheesy and over-stated. But honest, maybe. Writing is not a breezy past time, it is remarkably hard work. Uris demonstrates that extremely well.

The majority of the story centers on a variety of characters who are searching for a better life. They start in the Pale of Settlement and immigrate to Israel and the United States. Few of the characters ever find happiness. Few escape the trials of past Jewishness. Certain characters are catty and malicious. Others are deeply unhappy and bitter. It was hard to love Uris' characters in Mitla Pass. Does Uris do a good job showing the horrific plight for many of the worlds' Jewish population between the 1870s and the 1950s?

Undeniably.

That is what makes Uris great. But I had trouble engaging with and keeping focused on the plight of surly, miserable individuals who seemed to revel in their unhappiness.

I am glad that I read Mitla Pass. I feel better educated about Uris' world and the lived experiences of the Israelis. I would not necessarily recommend this book to others though. It is not one of his best. It drags and the characters are hard to relate to.

Scone Cold Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett

2009-10-11T21:41:00.003-04:00

A fellow bibliophile gave me the most amazing birthday gift: a book-of-the-month from her local mystery book store. She told the store owner what type of books I enjoy and every month the owner picks out a book that she thinks will fit my interest. Is that the coolest gift ever, or what? A book chosen just for l'il ole me from an indie bookstore. But I digress...

The first book I received was Scone Cold Dead by Kaitlyn Dunnett - a new author to me. My only minor complaint is that it is the second book in a series. My mom has trained me to start books from the first in the series and there is a bit of back story I would have enjoyed reading. But that's a very minor sticky-wicket.

In Scone Cold Dead, Liss, the main character is a retired Scottish dancer. When her troupe comes to town trouble arises due to the death of the troupe's manager - inhalation of mushrooms. Wanting to keep her friends free of suspicion, Liss begins to investigate the death and solve the murder. The location of the book in Moosetookalook, Maine is a fun setting. The plot revolving around a traveling dance troupe is also different enough to feel novel. I liked hearing about a world that is unfamiliar to me. The actual plot was not particular difficult to unravel. The murderer gives him/herself away pretty early in the story. It is not something I probably would have thought to buy for myself. But, I enjoyed it and was glad to be introduced to a new author.

However, I have a beef - and this probably comes out of my own desire to write and maybe eventually get published. The old adage is "write what you know," but we can't all know everything. Does a woman really know what it feels like to be a man? No. But that doesn't mean she doesn't include male characters. So where is the fine line between writing what we haven't personally experienced and just writing inconsistent characters?

I would bet a small sum of money that Kaitlyn Dunnett does not have children and is (by default) not a mother. Why? The one child in her book is poorly fleshed out. The age really did not ring true based on her actions. At times she acts much older than her age but then there are moments than she acts much younger - in unrealistic ways. And no mother would ever (I would hope) act like the mother in the novel. I cannot imagine a single mother willingly running out the door at the drop of a hat repeatedly to help her friend and leave her toddler son behind. I can appreciate the concept of suspension of disbelief in novels. After all, no one chases down murderers and solves crime willy-nilly in the middle of their day job. But I do want my characters to be believable in their interpersonal interactions. And, although they were side characters, these two figures leapt out at me for their inconsistency and unrealistic actions.

The character flaws are not a sufficient reason to avoid this book. They are more the other side of my brain reading the novel like a critic rather than an avid book-lover.

A Life of Her Own The Transformation of a Countrywoman in 20th-Century France by Emilie Carles

2009-10-02T21:32:00.003-04:00

Although I am an academic by training, I don't often pick up a non-fiction book just for fun. I prefer to keep my reading light and unencumbered. When I do read non-fiction I find myself straying and often skimming. Not so with Carles' book. I really enjoyed reading it and found myself reading much more carefully than I sometimes do.

Carles lived through all of the most important historical events in the twentieth century. As a rural Frenchwoman she had a unique perspective that sheds light on how people viewed significant moments in history. What impacted her was not the big moments it was the small day-to-day goings on. The World Wars were important insofar as her family had to fight and live with soldiers occupying their small village. But the large political debates affected her not at all.

As I read I found myself wanting to copy passages for every modern history student I have taught. The personal trials that Carles underwent towards modernization defy imagination. In the early part of the century her pregnant sister refused to allow a doctor to examine her out of puritan prudishness. She died. Carles describes inexplicably astounding stories about the people that live in her valley - drunkenness and abuse and lack of care and love. That is not to suggest that the people were horrid. Instead Carles attempts to show how small and insular her world was and how removed from modern life. Much of her book revolved around her attempts to educate not just her school children but her society.

Whether you agree with Carles' socialist-leaning political ideology or not, her passion for her world make for a fascinating read. Near the end of the book, Carles does begin to preach to the reader about the problems that she sees with the France of her era. While it is interesting to see her perspective, it does not add to the strength of the story.

Chronicling the life of a rural French mountain peasant from pre-World War I until the late-1970s, this book encompasses so much. I will definitely keep A Life of Her Own on my shelf and can imagine using anecdotes if not excerpts in my classes in the future.

Pride & Prejudice & Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

2009-09-30T11:57:00.003-04:00

I tried. Really I did. I can employ suspension of disbelief and allow someone to take one of my favorite authors and bastardize her classic into a modern humorous zombie book. Really, I can.

But I still couldn't get all the way through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Now my husband is giving it a go.

I had to at least reflect on why I didn't like it. After all, Graham-Smith is not disparaging Austen or her work. He is just updating and enhancing it. Giving it a tongue-in-cheek humorous twist. I can imagine it was really fun to write. How does one take Regency-era dialogue and add in zombies. That didn't bother me. My frustration was with the subtle changes that he made to Austen's work. The appeal of Austen is that she is so terribly nuanced. The turn of the head and the aside remark are what make her books amazing. The subtlety of the relationship between Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy - even if you know exactly what the outcome will be - is what keeps you reading. In his rendition Graham-Smith took away all of those nuances. He made the plot too in-your-face.

It is a funny book. I appreciate Graham-Smith's effort. But this Austen fan just couldn't get past the destruction of a classic (which says more about me than it does about the book).

Bombay Ice by Leslie Forbes

2009-09-19T22:06:00.004-04:00

India has always intrigued me. I would love to visit India. But the sad reality is that I would love to visit India in the mid-1860s. If only it was possible to see the world described by M. M. Kaye. Leslie Forbes' Bombay Ice was one of the first books I have ever read about current-day India. I have read books about Indians who leave India for Britain or the United States. But, unless my memory is favoring me, (which is entirely possible) I can't think of anything else that I have read which describes the current political and social situation in India - particularly in Bombay.

Which brings up a common question in my reading world. How accurate was this book? I would like for someone who lives in Bombay to read this book and tell me what they think. From the dust jacket it doesn't look as though Leslie Forbes has any personal experience with India so what led her to write this unusual novel? And more importantly, is her portrayal of Bombay true for everyone? true for a small minority? heavily exaggerated? The world she creates is depressing and dark. Do people really live like that on a daily basis in Bombay, India?

I will admit, the focus on Bollywood captured my attention. I have seen a few movies and remember a friend from college who had grown up on Bollywood so it is a world I would love to know more about. I liked how Forbes detailed the links between Hollywood and Bollywood, the focus on recreating Western classics, the continued interest in long-dead actors.

When all is said and done, I don't necessarily think I liked this book very well. It was a bit dark for my taste. I read more than my fair share of murder mystery, but I tend to lean toward the cozy side of things. Some of the imagery in this book was gag-worthy. The underworld that Forbes described thrives on gore in a way that I would rather not read about. But the excessive blood and guts was actually less bothersome than the distracting over-symbolism.

All books have some kind of symbolism, I suppose. Whether consciously written or created by literary criticists (or is it criticizers?) down the road I figure symbolism is just a part of literature. However picking two really detailed themes - meteorology and Shakespeare's The Tempest and returning to their connections to the novel ad nauseum got tiring. I finally hit a point that when monsoons, history of Chaos Theory or quotes about Prospero I began to skim. And I am not usually a skimmer. Had Forbes chosen one theme or another, I think I would have been okay. But choosing both together meant a lot of stream of consciousness style meandering while the main character considered her own belly button.

For die-hard mystery fans, a good mystery. For those interested in contemporary India, also worth a read. But for anyone just somewhat curious about the genre or the place this book will not hold your attention. I felt reading was slog-worthy which is relatively unusual for me.

Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs

2009-09-11T12:48:00.003-04:00

I have read and enjoyed all of Laura Childs Tea Shop mystery books and her entire Scrapbooking Mystery series. Both are light, fun, enjoyable cozy mysteries.

(Ya know, every once in a while I have to stop and wonder that the books I describe as light and fun and enjoyable revolve around murder and violence.... But if you read cozies you know what I mean. Someone is dead, but there's not a lot of incest, or abuse, or difficult medical decisions involving the death of a family member. They're all about 'innocent' murders :-) Okay, ignore that aside. I just felt that it needed to stated.)

Anyway, my mom sent me the newest book in Childs' most recent series: the Cackleberry Club mysteries. Eggs in Purgatory is an interesting twist on the recent phenomenon of themed murder mystery series. Many books revolve around a central focus - knitting, cooking, dog shoes, bear collecting... you get the idea. The Cackleberry Club seems to combine a half a dozen different themes into one coherent story. The three main characters - middle-aged tough but lovable women - run a restaurant/bookstore/yarn shop. The restaurant serves tea and scones along with down home eggs and grits. They purchase locally produced products from the neighboring farm community. They have book and knitting groups and are planning a cake decorating contest.

Confused? Overwhelmed? Yeah, that's kind of how I felt. The jumbling together of every contemporary popular theme seemed a bit forced to me.

Nonetheless, I liked the characters. They were a bit grittier than the typical Miss Marple style sleuth. They had real problems and didn't hesitate to wield frying pans at ex-husbands and swear at obnoxious customers.

Oh wait. The point of the book is to solve a mystery in the middle of all of this cooking and book sorting. Yes, there's a mystery. Personally when the murderer stepped forward my first response was "who's that?" I appreciate leading the reader on different plausible paths to divert from the real killer but I was so completely diverted that the actual murderer hadn't made enough an impression on me to even be remembered.

All in all, diverting. But not one of Childs' best books.

The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff

2009-09-03T10:03:00.004-04:00

It feels like a long time since I last posted about a book that I read. Which is not because I haven't been posting. Nor is it because I haven't been reading. The book I was working on was just a really slow read for some reason. Enjoyable, but not the light fiction I had envisioned when I first picked it up.

I read about The 19th Wife in, of all places, the monthly Costco magazine. The subject matter - part mystery, part religious history - struck a chord and I went on a hunt to find the book. My mom found it first and read the copy before I could get to it. She enjoyed it, I think, but significantly less than I did. For her, she was tired of the subject matter. For me, the subject matter was completely unfamiliar and therefore fascinating.

So, what is the subject matter? Polygamy and the Mormon Church. The story follows two timelines: the mid-1800s during Brigham Young's lifetime and today. In both timelines there is a 19th wife, a woman who is one of a number of sister wives. The historical story revolves around a real individual who married Brigham Young then later divorced him and brought polygamy to the attention of the American public and the American government. The present day story revolves around a member of the Firsts (the polygamous cult in the Southwestern US who made national news two years ago) accused of killing her husband.

I was deeply fascinated because the book made me realize I know absolutely nothing about the Latter Day Saints, really. I am curious how a practicing Mormon would respond to Ebershoff's book. He does not paint historical Mormonism in an uplifting light but he does portray current day Mormons much nicer (that seems like a very blanket, blah term but it seems apropos). He spends a significant amount of time attempting to explain the schism between the Mormons and the Firsts and acknowledging that the two groups are far from the same. Yet, because of the history he tells there is an obvious shared timeline.

I also found the organization of the story unusual. The contemporary timeline reads like a traditional novel. But thrown in between are chapters that read more like historical sources that a scholar would use to do research - including a very apt Wikipeda entry. On the one hand, it slows the book down because there is a continual jump in character and style of writing between the past, the present, the scholarly, and the novelistic. On the other, it gives a weightiness to the story because it is very obviously based in fact.

Ebershoff does admit that his historical sections are fictional recreations based on fact as opposed to historical "Truths". As I said earlier, this book made me want to read more. I would love to take his story and weigh it against other scholarly sources to see how they compare. And, I would love to get an 'insider's' impression of what Ebershoff has depicted of the history of Mormonism.

The Super Hugos Presented by Isaac Asimov

2009-08-19T22:26:00.003-04:00

I have been having an ongoing conversations with friends about a good example of representative science fiction. There are so many suggestions, so many types of science fiction, so many great authors out there. Nailing it down to one or two stories that would represent the entire field is a near impossibility.

In the midst of chatting a friend told me about a book of hers (or maybe her husband's), The Super Hugos, a compilation of ten or so of the best science fiction stories ever written. The stories were voted on by science fiction fans who chose the best of the Hugo Award winners over the years. (Among the many awards given in science fiction every year, the Hugo is the only award that is voted on by the readers.) Isaac Asimov was slated to introduce each of the stories. Unfortunately, he passed away before he could write the introductions.

I had heard of most of the authors. A handful of the stories were familiar, either because they had been turned into movies or because I had reason another version of them in the past. But there were some completely unfamiliar stories and at least one new author which is always a bonus considering the huge amount of science fiction my husband knows and has read.

I enjoyed the variety of stories in this compilation. There was familiar fantasy - the first Dragonriders of Pern story written by Anne McCaffrey; familiar sci fi - "Enemy Mine" made famous with the movie staring Dennis Quaid; a bit of horror - "Sandkings" by George R. R. Martin; and infinitely famous - the first rendition of "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes. And truthfully a dated story that I just didn't feel has held up to the test of time.

I am so glad my friend gave me this book. But, I will say, it was a hard read consecutively. Each story entered a brand-new realm with all the requisite descriptions of the people, the world, the traumas. It was a lot to wrap my head around every night.

And the final question - were there one or two stories in this compilation that could be described as representative science fiction? In a way, yes. I think the short Arthur C. Clarke story was incredible. That is a story I would recommend. I think McCaffrey has had such an incredible influence on the fantasy world that her story is classic. "Flowers for Algernon" is obviously a well-known representation of the impact of science on the everyday. But one story? I have come to realize, with the help of The Super Hugos, that there is no such thing as one story or book that can define the genre of science fiction.

The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, and the Rise of the Environmental Movement by Mark Hamilton Lytle

2009-08-18T21:26:00.003-04:00

For the first time in a number of years I feel like I have the energy, the time, and the interest to read something vaguely academic. In the search for an academic topic, I realized that my growing interest in environmental history did not yet have an academic basis. Limited to the local public library and without a syllabus in hand to guide me, I went for a familiar name to direct my research. Living where I do, the name Rachel Carson has come up more than once, so that's where I started.

I picked up Mark Lyttle's The Gentle Subversive to be honest, because of its relatively small size compared to some of the other Rachel Carson biographies. I'm thrilled that I did, not only because it was short enough to get through (I'm an academic but that doesn't mean I'm a glutton for reading 300+ page scholarly works on a regular basis) but more importantly, it was extremely well-written and engaging - not always true in scholarly works. Moreover, it was a good academic book written by a well-respected environmental historian. As a result the facts were well-researched and comprehensively described.

In the afterword Lyttle admitted that he focused on Carson as a writer, in part to differentiate himself from the other books written about Carson previously. That focus appealed to me as an aspiring writer myself. Reading about her frustrations with writing and her attempts to get published gave me hope about writing. But I also found her personal struggles as she grew increasingly despondent with lack of government response to harmful pesticides intriguing. Never having read any environmental history, I found Lyttle's attention to the growing public discontent gripping.

By the end of The Gentle Subversive I realized that I definitely want to read Silent Spring, Carson's chef d'oeuvre about the harm of pesticides on nature (which is currently sitting on my desk). I also feel continually encouraged to work towards a greener, healthier earth. Finally, unlike some dry books, I did not walk away disengaged with academia. Instead I was anxious to find something more to read.

If you are looking for a book to stir your environmental juices, pick up Lyttle's The Gentle Subversive. It is well worth the time.

Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer

2009-08-05T15:35:00.002-04:00

Initial Thoughts:

Better than New Moon
Too Long
Secondary characters' backstories are unnecessary

I read Eclipse over the weekend. First, it's a quick read, even at 600+ pages. Second, it is highly requested at the library so I thought I would try to return it quickly for the next person in line. Third, I have so many good books in line to read that I wanted to get through this one quickly and get back to better literature.

So why did I read it at all?

Sheer curiosity. I am still intrigued by the incredible appeal of this series. And most of my intrigue is at the women my age who are so gaga over it. The teenagers I can understand, it's a simple love story, with vampires and werewolves thrown in. But why does it capture everyone's imagination?

I still don't know. It's definitely not the writing.

**Spoiler Alert** (Everyone probably knows the plot by now, but just in case.)

This story picks up very shortly after the end of New Moon. Bella is getting ready to graduate and is desperate for the day when Edward will turn her into a vampire. Charlie, her dad, is annoyed at Edward and Bella is grounded for the events of the previous book. Jacob, the werewolf, is annoyed at Bella and won't return her phone calls. And behold... the first 200 pages of the book. Really.

Then everyone discovers that a bunch of vampires are killing people in Seattle. The vampires and the werewolves ally to take out the bad vampires. Jacob hits on Bella a lot (she finally goes to see him and they reconcile quite easily.) while Bella keeps refusing his advances. After all, she's in love with Edward, the love of the millennium. And there you have the next 200 pages.

Jacob kisses Bella. She kisses him back. She loves them both! How could this happen! Trauma. Edward is ever understanding. Jacob gets hurt. Bella feels remorse. Edward remains handsome and understanding. The End.

Can someone PLEASE explain the appeal of this series to me?

Finding Nouf by Zoë Ferraris

2009-08-03T10:36:00.003-04:00

Undoubtedly one of the best books I have read in months. Maybe even years. However, I have NO doubt that not everyone will agree with my assessment of Finding Nouf. For me the book was fascinating because I was allowed an inside look into a culture that I am imminently curious about.

Finding Nouf is a murder mystery set in modern day Saudi Arabia. Zoë Ferraris, the author, is an American who was married to a Bedouin and lived in Saudia Arabia for a time. Therefore, she has an American's knowledge and perspective but an insider's view of a world that is rarely open to Americans. The thing that I appreciated the most, given that background, was that Ferraris was NOT condemnatory towards the Saudis. She does acknowledge problems within the society, but she never suggests that the choices the Saudis have made are across the board wrong. Peopling her book exclusively (aside from two very small tertiary characters) with Saudi citizens, she show the variety of beliefs and lifestyles within a very closed world.

The main character Nayir, is a pious Saudi (Palestinian) man who believes in the rules of his society. When a friend's daughter disappears he agrees to help search for her in the desert. Questions arise about her death and he cannot reconcile himself to the answerless questions that remain. He continues to investigate and through unusual circumstances enlists the help of his friends fiancée. The resolution to the crime is interesting, but not overwhelmingly novel.

The relationships between Nayir and his friends and family really make the story for me. Nayir lives in a world in which looking at a woman is a sin and speaking with a woman who is not his wife is a crime. As the book progresses, the reader begins to unravel the frustrations he has because he has no access to women at all. He would like to marry but has no social openings available to allow him to interact with women. Ferraris does a good job of not suggesting that this social realm is wrong; it just *is*.

As Americans we have such strong opinions about the Islamic world. And the information that we have about Saudi Arabia is so heavily influenced by politics and the media that finding a book that gives an honest insight into the Saudi world is difficult, if not impossible. I can't think of a non-fiction book that I could read which would give me as genuine an understanding of Saudi Arabian life as Finding Nouf. I recognize that it is still fiction. But, from my limited experience, I would like to suggest that it is a fictional story in a real world.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who wanted to better understand the conservative Islamic world without getting a negative spin on the choices the people have made (or had made for them).

The Ladies' Lending Library by Janice Kulyk Keefer

2009-07-25T20:53:00.003-04:00

I wonder what attracts an editor/publishing company to a book. What exactly is the quality that this particular manuscript has that makes someone say, "Yes, this will be a great book. We can sell hundreds (thousands?) of copies."

In particular, what was it about Keefer's story that attracted her agent? I found myself more curious about this book than I am about most, which might have something to do with where I am in my life, but I think it also has to do with the plot of The Ladies' Lending Library.

I picked up this story cold at the public library. I was intrigued by the cover art and the blurb on the back. Sadly, the blurb and the title did not accurately portray the story between the covers. That always frustrates me. Yet another of my lingering questions:

Who writes the blurbs? And how hard is it to describe the story that has actually been written?

The blurb suggests that the book will focus on the summer beach book group of a collection of women in 1968. In fact the book group is only very tangential to the story.

Despite my frustration with the difference in the proposed plot and the actual plot, there were things I really did appreciate; but I would have preferred knowing ahead of time what I was going to read.

In fact, the story revolves around the difficulties of life for Ukrainian ex-pats and their children who are trying to grow up all-American in the end of the innocent 1960s. The parents all suffer from memories of their life pre-United States that color their relationships with their children, their spouses, and their friends. The story is told from a large variety of perspectives which I enjoyed; getting inside the heads of the kids, the husbands, and the wives really created a believable world in which these people functioned.

Getting back to my first point: I think this book had incredible promise. As an editor, I could see picking up the excerpt and wanting to read more. In particular I found Keefer's descriptive voice engaging and extremely vivid. I only wish I knew how to incorporate her poetic flair without sounding phony.

However (and this is a big however for me), the plot really dragged. The lending library was a terribly small part of the plot and the story never picked up any pace. The laid-back pacing was logical, I suppose, given the plot of a lazy summer at the beach. But I did not find myself wanting to pick the book up and keep reading. And the story wasn't lacking for drama, it just wasn't written in a way to engage the reader. So, how do publishers encourage an author to rework the story in a way to give in oomph? (And is it necessary?)To push the book from being good to being really excellent?

Enclave by Kit Reed

2009-07-16T09:50:00.003-04:00

Odd book. Very.

I read a newspaper book review of Enclave and got very excited. I can't remember the exact wording, but it made me think of China Miéville whose Perdido Street Station was an incredible, if completely left-of-center book. It introduced me to the world of cyberpunk which I can take in small doses and enjoy when I do. So, I've spent the past couple of months hunting down Reed's Enclave. And imagine my delight when the author blurb on the cover was written by Connie Willis, another of my favorite authors. Now I knew this was going to be an amazing book.

Having read it, I just don't know. I can't even really categorize the subject. It's not science fiction, but it's closer to sci fi than any other genre. Given Reed's other books, I might classify it as literary fiction.

Anyway, the plot involves a military officer, the purported end of the world, and a bunch of rich tech-savvy kids who need boarding school to save them from themselves. It is two parts Lord of the Flies, one part Clueless with a pinch of Heart of Darkness thrown in for good measure. One of the appeals of Reed's story is how in touch she is with current pop culture and internet lingo. The kids in the story worry about their World of Warcraft characters and discuss the number of hits their YouTube videos had.

There is a lot of promise, I just don't feel that the book delivers everything is has set itself up to be. The review and the dust jacket were so promising. The set up was engaging. But about 100 pages in, I just got bored. I kept waiting for that big surprise and it never came. The characters didn't really develop from their experiences. The coda at the end could have offered more, but as it was it seemed really pat given the rest of the story.

My husband loves unique books. He enjoys novel twists and unthought of storylines. When I grabbed this book at the library I fully intended to have him read it after I had finished. I'm glad I finished Enclave or I would have been forever curious. But, as it stands, I took the book back today without offering it to him. It just didn't have enough to make it worthwhile.

The Mournful Teddy (A Bear Collector's Mystery) by John J. Lamb

2009-07-08T21:07:00.003-04:00

A cozy mystery about teddy bears? Really? People will write about anything. And more importantly, people will BUY anything!

I fully admit, this was my first thought when I picked up the new Bear Collector's Mystery series. I had seen Lamb at a book signing two years ago but hadn't gotten his book at the time. It looked cute - come on, it's about teddy bear collecting. What other word would you use to describe the series?

Instead, my mom bought it later and sent me the first three books in the series. The one thing that had made me curious when I first saw him was the mere presences of a male author. Cozy mysteries are notoriously written by women, the sleuths are women, and the majority of the characters are often women (think Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote. It is the epitome of cozies if you've never read one).

To my great and pleasant surprise, this book is really quite good. It is 100% cozy - no gruesome death scenes, no gory details, cute theme. But, Lamb's background created a more detailed story. The main character, like the author, is an ex-cop who has full knowledge of police procedure and insight into the criminal mind. Lamb has managed to combine a police procedural which gives technical credence to his book with the fluffiness (pun intended) of a good cozy mystery. Plus, Lamb has a witty sense of humor that is slightly off-color. He isn't afraid to be a guy, which is a nice twist in a genre that often describes men as either bohunks to be drooled over or clueless, tasteless duds to be divorced.

In addition, Lamb and his wife are teddy bear collectors. So, on top of the accuracy of the criminal side of the novel, Lamb does include all of the necessary fact building about a particular niche/hobby that has become de rigeur in the cozy mystery world. Rather than wrinkling my nose at the other two Lamb books on my shelf, I will happily pick them up to read in the next couple of months.

Songs in Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris

2009-07-06T10:32:00.002-04:00

I am officially done reading books recommended by Oprah's Book Club.

I don't need to cry or question humanity every time I pick up a book. While from time to time I enjoy the opportunity to question someone's motives, I don't want to be depressed whenever I'm done with a novel. Likewise, while I appreciate that not everyone has an uplifting life and that many people suffer daily hardships just to make it until bedtime, that doesn't necessarily mean that I want to spend my days reading about their suffering.

I picked up Morris' book at a library book sale in part because it was recommended by Oprah's book club and I thought it was at the least going to be a well-written book. I took it with me on an trip because I knew it was not something that I would pick off my bookshelf given all the other things I'm dying to read. And yet, I still put the book down less than 1/3 of the way through and chose not to finish it. It's just depressing. And I could handle depressing if I found the characters engaging or cared enough about their plight to unearth the outcomes in the novel. But I didn't.

The story takes place in a small town in the 1960s. The main characters lives revolve around the town drunk - his kids who suffer from embarrassment at his antics, his ex-wife who can barely make ends meet, his mother who is suffering from dementia and still thinks he is a little boy, and his sister who is trying to take care of her dying mother and alcoholic brother. Sounds uplifting, no?

Is it a well-written book?

It's not bad.

Is it a story that is worth telling?

Undoubtedly.

Is it something that I want to spend my free time interacting with?

Yeah, not really.

The Gilded Chamber: a Novel of Queen Esther by Rebecca Kohn

2009-07-04T23:26:00.005-04:00

The Gilded Chamber is a current book club book. I don't know that I would have picked it up had a friend not handed me her copy after she finished. Reading the blurb it didn't capture my attention - it is a retelling of the Biblical story of Esther. Once I had it, I figured I might as well give it a go. I read the whole book on two airplane flights which is not the most focused reading.

Possibly because of where I read it, I find myself remarkably ambivalent about this novel. I am having a hard time coming up with enough thoughts to say anything either positive or negative about the story. It was light and entertaining. It was a well thought-out, detailed rendition of a Biblical character. But I didn't find myself particularly moved as I read. I did pass it on to my mother-in-law who I think will enjoy it, but I don't know that it would occur to me to recommend this book to many readers.

A few fleeting thoughts about the book in no particular order:

1. Why does the cover art depict a brunette? An important aspect of the story is dying Esther's hair blond so she will look more like the goddess Ishtar. Throughout the book her hair is continually dyed. There is nothing in the story that makes me look at this picture and identify it with the Esther as described by Kohn. It is an overtly sexualized depiction of the harem as perceived by American audiences.

2. Can this book be described as historical fiction? In the interview at the end Kohn spends a fair amount of time describing the research that she underwent to write the novel. And while she did a lot of work, I think it is presumptuous to assume that we can guess what life was like in Esther's time. I think Kohn did as good a job as could be hoped for, but I still would like people to think of this novel more as fiction and MUCH less as history. There is just too much fantastical recreation to suggest that it is accurate.

3. What about feminism? This question in the interview with Kohn about feminism really threw me for a loop. Was Esther a feminist? How can you describe a woman who lived over 2000 years before the concept of feminism as a feminist? That is giving her too much power over her situation. While Kohn depicted her as a strong woman, she was clearly a woman of her time. And in that same vein, Kohn admitted that her depiction of life in a harem was tenuous as there is little well-done research into this very private world. So to even suggest that we can use Kohn's book as an accurate portrayal of women's lives in this era is problematic.

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2009-07-02T13:57:00.003-04:00

In college I decided to read The Great Gatsby. I didn't feel I could consider myself a well-read American having never read any Fitzgerald. At the time (and really to this day), I didn't get the appeal. The light at the end of the dock never did anything for me. I never liked Gatsby or any of the other characters. The book stood out as nothing more than one of those Classics that everyone was supposed to read and love because they were told to, not because they genuinely had any affection for the storyline. (I'm not saying people who really enjoy Fitzgerald are wrong, I'm just saying I never got the appeal).

More recently I have wanted to learn more about life in 1920/30s America. As such I have picked up a handful of novels about the interwar era written by authors of the time. I find I get a much better sense of the people and the time with a novel than with a history text. One such book was Tender is the Night. I read it on a plane on the assumption that it would be good for me, but I wouldn't really enjoy it. Happily, I was wrong. I REALLY liked Tender is the Night and for the first I time understand and appreciate Fitzgerald as a classic, worthy American literary author.

Tender is the Night revolves around a psychiatrist and his schizophrenic wife who travel around Europe chasing happiness. While the characters might not seem to resemble Fitzgerald and Zelda, the book is largely autobiographical. Fitzgerald used a number of events in the story that really happened to his family. It is the honesty of life for American ex-pats in this book that I enjoyed. Fitzgerald really captured the aimlessness of the people living in that era who flitted from city to city searching for meaning.

More than the plot, however, I found Fitzgerald's writing style dynamic and engaging. He has a descriptive ability that I find lacking in many modern authors. He can say in one or two words what takes many authors a full sentence, if not a paragraph. After reading Tender is the Night, I would like to pick up more Fitzgerald to analyze his descriptive talent.

Moral of the story: don't assume every book by an author is bad (or good, for that matter) based on the "Classic" that is over-used, over-quoted, and force fed to school students. Some of the other books might be much better.

The Book of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

2009-06-21T19:48:00.003-04:00

If I have an all-time favorite sub-genre of literature it is young adult science fiction. I eat the stuff up. I loved Philip Pullman's Dark Material's Trilogy long before The Golden Compass got made into a decent (but not great) movie . I'm a sucker for books like Lois Lowry's The Giver. One of the books on my to-read list is The Lightning Thief. So when my husband picked up The Book of Ember, I had no doubt it would make it to my reading list sooner rather than later.

I started The Book of Ember on Friday night and finished it Saturday afternoon. It is, after all, a children's/young adult book. But it is also a good engaging story that captures the imagination and encourages devouring the book. One of the appeals of young adult sci fi is that it has to be relatively fast-paced to appeal to a young reader. Plus, the stories tend to be shorter which leaves less room for the much more detailed description that science fiction authors often use to flesh out their storylines.

But shorter does not mean less well-developed. DuPrau has created an interesting and novel world for the first book in her trilogy. The great mystery of the world is not that difficult to figure out. The city of Ember lives in darkness aside from the electric lights that are run by a generator. But the lights are failing, supplies are in short supply, and the mayor is corrupt. Lina and Doon are some of the only citizens who seem to want to fix the problem and find a solution.

The characters in DuPrau's novel remind me of Lois Lowry's characters in The Giver - they question their world and no that something is amiss. They have a greater curiosity than normal which allows them a greater understanding of the world.

I will happily read the rest of the series. My husband asked if it was a good book to read to our 5 1/2 year old son. For some kids I think it would be: it's not too scary, there's nothing inappropriate. My son doesn't love chapter books yet, so I think we'll hold off for a while.

The Lost Quilter: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini

2009-06-20T20:07:00.003-04:00

Remember back in the day when you would crawl up on your grandma's lap (insert other relevant adult figure here), get comfortable, look up and say, Tell me a story? And grandma would settle in and tell you about her life as a child, or her experiences at work. Some days the story was infinitely familiar; you could have filled in details that grandma missed that day. Other days the story was startlingly fresh and new: "I never knew you jumped out of an airplane grandma?" And once in a while grandma told a story that didn't particularly catch your attention. But no matter what, you loved the stories because it was grandma telling them and she had a certain cadence and rhythm to storytelling that you admired. And the stories were familiar and warm.

Jennifer Chiaverini's novels are like listening to grandma tell a story. When you pick up one of her books you want to curl up on the couch with a cozy quilt (of course), a cup of hot chocolate, and a sweet treat and read from beginning to end. There are only a few authors I have found who have that quality and I will always pick their books immediately off my shelf because I know I will enjoy reading them.

The Lost Quilter is no exception. The story, like all the Elm Creek Quilts novels, splinters off from the basic narrative of Sylvia Bergstrom Compson, master quilter and founder of a quilting haven in Pennsylvania. The stories jump back and forth in time through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, but always return to the foundational contemporary characters. This particular book picks up where the plot of The Runaway Quilt left off. Only in this novel, Joanna, a runaway slave who had found a haven at the Bergstrom farm in pre-Civil War slavery America, is the main character.

I will say, this was not one of my favorite quilt books. I prefer the stories that spend more time with the contemporary characters - in this novel they only make an appearance during the prologue and the epilogue. In addition, I felt that Chiaverini could have focused more attention on the quilts - always integral characters in her books. I understand why they did not play a significant role in this story, but I missed that aspect of the plot. Despite my minimal frustrations, I found myself putting the book down with tears in my eyes. Chiaverini has a great way of pulling at the heartstrings without being overly dramatic or sentimental.

If you are new to Chiaverini, I would strongly encourage you to start from the beginning of the series. It isn't absolutely necessary. However, character development in the course of nearly a dozen books leads to a more nuanced understanding of the interactions between characters. All in all, two big thumbs up.

A Deadly Brew by Susanna Gregory

2009-06-19T22:00:00.002-04:00

I have discovered that most mystery readers have sub-genres that pique their interest. There are:

historical mysteries
cooking mysteries
hardboiled crime novels
vampire mysteries...

to name but a few. I read a variety of types but am always on the lookout for a good academic mystery. There are a handful of good series based on the workings of academia. For the most part I have focused on contemporary academia, but a friend introduced me to Susanna Gregory's Matthew Bartholomew books. The stories take place in a fourteenth-century English university and the main characters are the lay Brothers who teach there.

Gregory's fourth book in this medieval series recreates an extremely realistic world through her use of visceral imagery about life in pre-modern England. After reading the book I'm really, really glad that I live in the modern world. Brothers Matthew and Michael spend much of the book hungry, cold, and wet: and they are relatively privileged characters. Gregory's research about life in this era demonstrates an eye for detail and a focus on accuracy about an era which is harder to recreate than a more modern one (eh, maybe that's debatable - a more well-researched contemporary era assumes a greater attention to accuracy. Anyway...).

The plot of the novel is intricate and woven together with cunning examples. It revolves around poisoned wine which has killed a handful of academics at the university where Matthew is a physician. The many interconnected plot points necessary to unravel all of the storylines effectively create a nuanced story. Gregory convincingly weaves together the seemingly unconnected events to create a good book.

I have two minor sticking points with A Deadly Brew. The first is both the failure and the success of a good mystery series. Not having read the previous books in the series, I found myself annoyed from time to time when she continually referred to events that had happened in other books. It's nice that her stories are laced together and it made me want to read more. However, at times I did wish that she did not feel it necessary to refer back to other works.

The second might be a stylistic choice of Gregory's (I'll need to read more to be say for certain.) Unlike some authors who uncover the murderer and then write, The End, Gregory solved most of the mystery with 100 pages left in the book. She continued to unravel more of the story in the remaining pages, but I found myself losing interest once I knew who had poisoned the wine and why.

All in all, a good discovery. I will keep my eyes open for further Susanna Gregory mysteries.