Karen Blathers about Books

Death Comes to Pemberly

2012-02-14T08:57:00.000-05:00

Okay all you Janites.... erm, Austenians? This book is a MUST read! PD James takes us six years into the future after Elizabeth Bennet marries Fitzwilliam Darcy, and they are now living happily at Pemberly with their two young sons. Then on the eve of their annual ball, a carriage carrying Lydia Wickham comes careering up the lane, with Lydia screaming that Mr. Wickham has been murdered, and the trouble begins.

I don't want to give anything away. I'll say that there is a dead body, and there is a trial. I had some ideas of who was involved but wasn't really sure, and I had no idea about the reasons, so as a murder mystery the book doesn't disappoint.

But as a tribute to Jane Austen - and to her best-loved characters - the novel is a true masterpiece. James must be a true fan, and has obviously read most of Austen's work, because she really captures the Austen voice. She also does a wonderful job of giving histories and back stories to the important characters of Pride and Prejudice. And, she weaves in the mention of a few characters from other Austen novels as well (I won't name names and ruin the smile those will bring).

I have to say it again - a MUST read for any Jane Austen fan. I loved it!

Death Comes to Pemberly

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

2012-02-09T08:53:00.000-05:00

I have long been a fan of Catherine the Great - as an adopted kid I used to fantasize that I was a Romanov (go ahead, laugh - I always thought I looked more Russian than Irish). Of course Catherine herself wasn't a Romanov, but she was a smart, strong, and charming woman who became one of Russia's greatest rulers through intelligence and force of personality.

Catherine starts her life as a minor German princess named Sophia, who is brought to Russia by Empress Elizabeth as a wife for her nephew and heir, Peter III (who's also German). We all know this story, right? Peter's loony-tunes, possibly unable to have sex (certainly unwilling to have it with his wife), and he hates all things Russian and loves all things Prussian. Catherine, on the other hand, embraces Russia and it's people, and uses her natural charm and intelligence to create alliances with important and powerful people. When Elizabeth dies, Peter is not on the throne for long.

I admit that I stopped reading the book a little over half-way through. It's a long book, nearly 600 pages, and once Catherine became empress it got a little tedious for me. I enjoyed much more the intrigues prior to her becoming empress, and how she actually came to be ruler in a country where she had no legitimate claim to the throne.

Robert Massie is a really great writer, he tells the story like he knows Catherine very well (and I daresay the amount of research he's done makes him more knowledgeable than almost anyone). It may have been just a little too detailed for me, but I would still recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about the little German princess who brought the Enlightenment to Russia.

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Captive Queen: A Novel of Eleanor of Aquitane

2012-01-30T09:32:00.001-05:00

Once I got into it, I very much enjoyed this novel by Alison Weir about Eleanor of Aquitane. I did have a hard time warming to the characters - they initially seemed a bit too bodice-ripper and not enough historical fiction, but that was remedied after the first few chapters.

Eleanor was a pretty powerful woman for the 12th century. She was married to King Louis of France (Louis VII I think), but when they didn't produce any male heirs the marriage was annulled and she married Henry of Anjou, who would go on to become King Henry II of England. With Henry she had a slew of children, including two future kings of England. But this novel focuses most on the passionate and volatile relationship between Eleanor and Henry.

There's a lot going on in this novel, and we meet some historical heavyweights like Thomas Beckett and Richard the Lionheart. And it's a long novel - 500 pages or so. But I felt like I learned a lot about historical figures that I'm not really familiar with - I tend to focus more on British history a couple hundred years after this. And Weir writes a great afterword that nicely wraps up the novel. I'll definitely look for more of her work.

Captive Queen

Catching Fire

2012-01-16T08:01:00.000-05:00

This is the second book in the Hunger Games series, and I honestly think it's better than the first. I plowed through it in two days or so, I just had to know what happened next.

Katniss and Peeta won the Hunger Games in the first book, so now they're supposed to be happy and well-fed and never have to work again. But on their victory tour they see signs of unrest in some of the districts - and signs of the Capitol clamping down on that unrest. Most disturbing to Katniss is that it seems that she (and her mockingjay symbol) has been the spark that ignited the unrest.

The next Hunger Games is the Quarter Quell, a special version that happens every 25 years. When the announcement is made that this year the tributes from each district will be picked from the previous winners, Katniss knows that she and Peeta will be headed back to the arena. What happens then had me riveted.

I just put book three on reserve - can't wait to see how everything works out.

Catching Fire

A Fierce Radiance

2012-01-08T22:42:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have been off the grid. With the holidays and all, and I started reading The Art of Choosing but just couldn't get into it - though I think the author is one of the most amazing people ever - and I had a little family thing, but anyway. I loved, loved, loved this book! I admit it took me a bit to get into it - maybe a chapter or so - but once I did I couldn't stop pressing the button... er, turning the pages (sorry, read it on my nook). I had initially thought it was a non-fiction account of the development of penicillin but was pleased to find it was a novel centering on penicillin, and with a bit of romance and intrigue thrown in to keep the story moving

Claire Shipley is a photographer with Life magazine who is sent to do a story on a new medicine being tested at the Rockefeller Institute at the beginning of the American involvement in WWII. She meets the handsome doctor James Stanton and her life is never the same again. Both Claire and Jamie become intimately involved with the development of penicillin as they become more intimate with each other.

This isn't just a romance novel. There is murder, science, war, really a little something for everyone. The characters (fictional) are believable and likeable. And the non-fictional characters - Henry Luce, Clare Booth Luce, and New York City - are beautifully drawn, deeply detailed, and just wonderfully rendered. This is a great book, and I'm thinking it will make a great movie....maybe with Claire Danes as Claire Shipley???

A Fierce Radiance

The Lady of The Rivers

2011-12-19T09:41:00.000-05:00

This is another of Philippa Gregory's Cousin's War series (about the Wars of the Roses) and it does not disappoint. This novel tells the story of Jacquetta, who is Elizabeth Woodville's mother (Elizabeth's story is told in The White Queen). Jacquetta is a young French beauty who marries the much older Duke of Bedford, but upon his untimely death she stoops to marry her true love, Bedford's squire Richard Woodville. Jacquetta and Richard become close friends to King Henry VI and his Queen Margaret d'Anjou.

Of course that's not all there is to the story. Jacquetta is a descendant of the goddess Melusina and may or may not have the Sight. She and Richard survive a great deal with the upheaval and turmoil surrounding the early days of the Wars of the Roses. Henry VI and Margaret are incompetent rulers at best, murderous despots at worst, so there's a lot to be said for just surviving in those days.

Gregory once again shows that she is a true scholar, creating a fascinating story about a woman who, though she certainly played a pivotal role in British history, was a mere footnote in the history books. Obviously there is fictionalization, but the bones of the story are factual, which makes the fiction just that much more enjoyable.

The Lady of the Rivers

The Hunger Games

2011-11-30T08:26:00.000-05:00

I loved this book! Thank you Shari for the tip. I've already put the second book in the series on reserve at the library (Nook edition not available), and I'm looking forward to the movie.

Set somewhere in the future-former North America, Katniss Everdeen is a young lady from a poor district of Panem, and she winds up "playing" in the Hunger Games, a fight to the death between 24 young people that's televised across the country, and used as a way of making sure the citizens know who's boss. Yes, I know, sounds like a happy little book, doesn't it? Katniss is really likeable, and very believable, and this is just a really, really good story.

Okay, it's a young adult book, but so are the Harry Potter books. That doesn't mean it isn't thought-provoking and chilling, and it's a very deep book for young people. I'm not sure I would want my 12-year-old reading this... if she did, I would want to make sure I had read it first and we could discuss it.

The Hunger Games

The Next Always

2011-11-22T10:53:00.000-05:00

Nora Roberts is back with another trilogy, this one set in the very real town of Boonsboro, Md. The book is good, if rather typical Nora Roberts - strong protagonists, witty banter, quaint setting - and the added value of a teeny bit of mysticism.

That's not to say I didn't like the book - I obviously did, I read it in about 2 days. It was a nice palate cleanser after The Dovekeepers. I enjoyed the setting - made me want to book a room at the Inn. And I liked the main characters - Clare is nice without being too nice, and Beckett is charming without being smarmy. And Clare's 3 sons sound like real little boys, not mini-adults, so that's good writing.

As always, I'll look forward to book two, and I've pretty much already figured out who Nora is going to hook up with whom. These aren't deep reads, but very enjoyable.

http://www.amazon.com/Next-Always-Book-BoonsBoro-Trilogy/dp/0425243214/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321976800&sr=1-1

The Dovekeepers

2011-11-20T09:51:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while but this is a pretty long book - and a pretty deep read. Alice Hoffman tells the story of the last days of Masada through the eyes of four women - Yael, Shirah, Revka, and Aziza - the dovekeepers. The book is broken into sections, each told from one of the women's perspectives, beginning and ending with Yael.

I knew of Masada before I read this book, but I didn't know the entire story. I looked it up when I finished and Hoffman keeps quite close to the actual story, she just makes it a lot more personal, and gives back stories and histories for the people who were there. We in fact learn the story of how each of these women came to be at Masada in these last days, and how the Roman attacks all over the region impacted them.

This isn't exactly a happy story - if you know about Masada you know that. But it is a story with power, and it is a story of personal strength, of love, and of survival. I found it truly moving.

http://www.amazon.com/Dovekeepers-Novel-Alice-Hoffman/dp/145161747X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1321800190&sr=1-1

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

2011-10-28T10:55:00.000-04:00

This is a really amazing TRUE story of Kamila Sidiqi, who not only survived life in Afghanistan under the Taliban but started a successful home business that helped dozens of other women as well.

Kamila had just graduated school when the Taliban took power in Kabul and her life changed. When her parents flee to the north to avoid being prosecuted for their service in the previous regime, it is up to Kamila to support her family. But how does a woman who can't go out in public without a man, who can't interact with men, do that? She sets up a dressmaking shop in her home, and brings in other neighborhood women to help.

Kamila is an amazing woman who selflessly risks jail, beatings, or worse to support her family AND to help other women support their families. One doesn't really consider what the Taliban's view of women did to Afghan society: women couldn't work outside the home, couldn't interact with men outside their families, and weren't even allowed in public without a male escort. Afghan men were either pressed into service with the Taliban or left the country to avoid being pressed into service, so the economy basically collapsed. But Kamila is a tenacious, dedicated woman, and she does what she has to do.

I highly recommend this book... in addition to being an intriguing story, it was also an educational story.

http://www.amazon.com/Dressmaker-Khair-Khana-Remarkable-Everything/dp/0061732370/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319812267&sr=1-1

You Had me at Woof: How Dogs Taught me the Secrets of Happiness

2011-10-22T19:48:00.000-04:00

This is a really sweet memoir by Julie Klam, a Manhattanite who loves Boston Terriers. Over the course of the book she owns (and rescues/fosters) a number of Bostons, notably Otto, Beatrice, Moses, and Dahlia. If you are a dog lover this is really a must read.

I am a dog lover who has never owned a dog - most apartments don't allow them, so it's just never been a question - but I love other people's dogs, and one of the things I love most about Arlington is that it's a very doggy community. If I could have a dog I would have a French Bulldog or a Boston Terrier. Anyway, New York is different from Arlington, because apparently a lot of apartment dwellers in NYC have dogs - and Klam actually had FOUR in her apartment at one time, two of whom were puppies. She's a very good writer with a great sense of humor (I think that's a requirement for BT owners) and I really enjoyed her stories about life with her dogs. There are some sad moments, but there are far outnumbered by the by the funny stories.

I admit to crying twice, but I laughed twenty times, and that's a pretty good ratio in my opinion. I highly recommend this book even if you aren't a dog lover, just because it's a story that I think we can all relate to.

You Had Me at Woof

The Raven's Bride

2011-10-18T09:45:00.000-04:00

I thoroughly enjoyed this fictionalized story of Edgar Allan Poe and his child bride, Virginia "Sissy" Clemm. You don't really have to be a Poe fan to enjoy this novel, which is told by Virginia from her perspective. It is a beautifully written, a haunting tribute to Poe's writing, and a sad story of a great love.

Virginia is half Poe's age when they marry - 14 to his 28 - and his cousin. Their families are impoverished but mannerly and educated, and Virginia is a strong-willed young lady. Eddy, as she calls him (which I initially found a little jarring but soon got over it) is a troubled genius, with a dark imagination and deep sensitivity. The story follows them from Baltimore to Richmond, to New York, to Philly, and then back to New York. Eddy is always looking for the next great opportunity, and he seems to ruin every good opportunity he gets. When he does find literary success, there seems to be very little monetary success to accompany it.

I enjoyed reading about the reactions to Poe's writing during his lifetime, and seeing him as a real person, not the character that he has become in the century-and-a-half since his death. The author, Lenore Hart, was named for a Poe poem (she says in the afterword) so she obviously has some affinity and affection for her subject. I like the way she portrays Poe as, not an alcoholic opium-addict, but as a troubled soul who has troubled times. And I like that young Virginia, his child bride, is the one person who can keep him from going too deep inside of himself.

Lenore Hart made Edgar Allan Poe human for me, not just a name on a book jacket, and I very much enjoyed meeting him.

http://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Bride-Novel-Lenore-Hart/dp/0312567235/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318943923&sr=1-1

Stories I Only Tell My Friends

2011-10-10T09:26:00.000-04:00

I really, really enjoyed this memoir of Rob Lowe's - thanks Rhonda for recommending it. Lowe comes across as funny, smart, self-deprecating, and generally interesting. He accepts blame and doesn't point fingers (okay, maybe just a little). This is just a really well-written and enjoyable book.

If you are a person of a certain age (like me) who grew up watching Brat Pack movies, then you will really get a kick out of a lot of what Lowe writes about. If you are a film lover, then you will really get a kick out of the behind-the-scenes movie making stuff, especially Lowe's description of working on The Outsiders with Coppola. And if you are just into Hollywood celebrity insider info, then you will enjoy all the cameos and walk-on appearances.

With this book, I think, Rob Lowe proves that he is more like Sam Seaborne than he is like Billy Hicks - though he's definitely lived like both characters at one point in time, and that's what makes him who he is today.

Stories I Only Tell my Friends

Turn Right at Machu Picchu

2011-10-03T09:23:00.000-04:00

I saw the author of this book, Mark Adams, on The Daily Show, and he made me want to read his book. I am not one of those people who has always wanted to visit Machu Picchu, for adventuring or mystical reasons or whatever. It always seemed like an interesting place that would be very difficult to get to (and without things I enjoy, like showers and air conditioning). And it still seems like one of those places to me, and I have no greater desire to visit. But this was a really good book.

Adams basically tells the story of following the footsteps of the explorer who is credited with discovering Machu Picchu, Hiram Bingham. Along the way he learns about the history of the site (and other Inca sites), of the Inca empire, and of Peru. Adams is a really good writer, humorous, warm, and conversational. He is very good at bringing the landscape to life and, more importantly, bringing the people he meets to life. Because although this book is about Machu Picchu, I think it's equally about the people he spends time with, particularly John Leivers, his primary guide.

I highly recommend this book for travel buffs, history buffs, and anyone who has been or wants to go to Machu Picchu. It's just a really good read.

http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Right-Machu-Picchu-Rediscovering/dp/0525952241/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317647352&sr=1-1

Pillars of the Earth

2011-09-15T08:54:00.000-04:00

I've never read anything by Ken Follett before, but this book was recommended to me (by someone I don't know well). I tried to like it, I tried for about 100 pages, but I just couldn't get into it.The story is set during the 12th century in England, right around the time William the Conqueror dies. It focuses on a few different people - Tom the builder, Ellen (who might be a seeress), Monk Phillip, and some others. Everyone seems to be hungry and miserable, and there are a lot of mean people who want to hurt and/or kill other people. I wanted to like it, but it's just depressing.I'm usually a big fan of historical fiction, but I think this was just too... real for my tastes. Oh well, someone else out there might like it.

A Discovery of Witches

2011-09-12T08:53:00.000-04:00

This is a really neat (and deeply researched) novel about witches and vampires (and demons) living among us, and also about history, evolution, and love. Diana Bishop is a direct descendant of a Salem witch, but ever since her parents' death when she was a child she's tried to turn her back on her magical powers. She's made her life with her intellect, and is a now a well-respected historian. But her discovery of an ancient manuscript - long considered lost - awakens the magic all around her, and what's inside her as well.

Enter Matthew Claremont, a 1,500-year-old vampire. Diana and Matthew find themselves drawn to each other, despite the fact that witches and vampires are historically enemies. The action that develops is fantastic, intriguing, and exciting and makes for a book that's hard to put down. The characters are well-developed and interesting too, and likeable in their humanity (well, except most of them aren't humans, they're witches and vampires and demons). Anyway.

The author, Deborah Harkness, is a historian, so she brings a lot of detail to the story. I found it interesting that she tossed out some or our usual assumptions about vampires: they won't burn in the sunlight, and they don't have fangs. I found it a little bit of a stretch that Matthew interacted with so many noted historical figures, but it didn't make me enjoy the novel less. I can't wait for the sequel!

A Discovery of Witches: A Novel

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran

2011-09-05T16:47:00.000-04:00

If you are an 80's music lover - or just someone who came of age in the 1980's - then you'll really enjoy this book. The author, Rob Sheffield, is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and a guy who was born around the same time I was, so much of what he wrote about really resonated with me, and was downright funny too.

Each chapter is named for an 80's tune, but that's really just a jumping-off point to talk about a topic that's semi-related. For instance, his chapter named after Haysi Fantayzee is mostly about the concept of the one-hit wonder (and has this great line: "The gods of pop music are fickle bastards.").

Sheffield has a lot of great stories and I found myself, again, reading whole sections to Mike, and also almost laughing out loud on the Metro. He's way more into music than I ever was - obviously, it's his life work - but because of the era he's talking about that's never an issue. This is just a really enjoyable book about growing up.

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut

Broken Promises: A Novel of the Civil War

2011-08-29T09:16:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed this novel about the Civil War, which was told from a much different perspective than what I'm used to. And it was the perfect hurricane reading.

The novel is fiction but it revolves around some actual historical figures: Charles Francis Adams (son of John Quincy), who was the US Minister to Great Britain during the war, his son Henry, and various other British and American government types. The main fictional characters are Miss Julia Birch, a wealthy young lady who's father is helping the Confederates, and Baxter Sams, a Harvard classmate of Henry's and a Virginian.

Yes there is a love story, but it's really secondary. The main focus of the novel is the relations between America and Britain during the war.

Broken Promises: A Novel of the Civil War

Unbroken

2011-08-25T08:45:00.000-04:00

Wow, wow, wow, wow. This is an AMAZING book. First I have to thank Rita for recommending it, because I never would have picked it on my own. Unbroken is the true story of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic athlete who survived horrible experiences as a Japanese POW in World War II. I am not generally into books about war and suffering, but Louie is such a wonderful character, and Hillenbrand tells his story with such charm and humor and respect, that I just couldn't put this book down.

Change that: I put the book down several times to marvel at the cruelties perpetrated in the name of war, and to read Mike some of the more alarming statistics and some of the amazing examples of humor and heroism in the face of devastating degradation. This was by no means an easy read, and I found myself tearing up throughout.

I'm guessing they will make a movie of this book, as they did with Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit. But I'm not sure if I'll be able to bring myself to see it. But the book is truly a must read, and will ultimately make you feel good about human nature, though it often doesn't seem that way. Just trust me, it will.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

The Paris Wife

2011-08-22T08:42:00.000-04:00

Hello all you Hemingway fans - this is a must read! The Paris Wife is a fictionalized memoir of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, and their years together in Paris. Paula McLain really did her research, and she writes a compelling and believable account of the author and his wife's turbulent marriage.

If you have read A Moveable Feast, which is Hemingway's actual memoir of his time in Paris, then you will recognize the characters and events that populate this novel. You'll also recognize the actual people Hemingway based some of his characters on, particularly those in The Sun Also Rises. I even found a few of F. Scott Fitzgerald's characters on these pages... Anyway, if you HAVEN'T read A Moveable Feast I recommend it highly, and I'll even lend it to you - it's a good follow-up to this novel.

McLain is a gifted writer, and she really made me feel like this was Hadley's story. I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't a Hemingway fan, just for the way it captures a time and place in our literary history.

The Paris Wife: A Novel

Scarlet Nights

2011-08-15T08:38:00.000-04:00

I know, I know... that title just SOUNDS like a bodice-ripper, doesn't it? Well it's not. In fact I'm not sure how Ms. Deveraux came to give that title to her novel since Scarlet Nights plays very little role in the actual plot.

Anyway, this was a very nice love story/mystery focused on Sara and Mike. Sara is a resident of the small town of Edilean, which Deveraux created and uses in other novels. She's being targeted by some very bad criminals but we don't know why. Mike is the undercover cop who comes in to save her and capture the bad guys.

Sara and Mike develop a nice relationship and they are very likeable characters. In fact all of Deveraux's townspeople are interesting characters. I didn't catch on to the mystery until the end, and there was a nice change-of-pace with the ending too. I really enjoyed the book.

Scarlet Nights: An Edilean Novel

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being

2011-08-09T08:38:00.000-04:00

I liked this book, but I was also disappointed by this book. I liked it because it reminded me of my ODKM program - the terminology, the ideas, the academic feeling of it. And I'd come across Marty Seligman's name in that program and have enjoyed his writing. I also liked it because it's an interesting concept - that positive emotions can affect our health and well-being, and even our success.

What disappointed me about the book is that it didn't tell me the specific steps I can take to ensure that I live a flourishing life. Seligman talks about setting up his program at Penn, and creating a training program for the Army, but he doesn't tell me what I need to do. Yes there's a web site and quizzes, and they're very interesting, but all they tell me is how I actually AM, not how to BECOME someone who is flourishing. For instance there is a quiz that tells you your top strengths, but it doesn't tell you how to leverage those strengths in order to flourish.

I was looking for a self-help book, and came away with a theoretical history and sort of diagnostic tool. Almost half the book is end notes and appendix! But on the positive side, the web site is very interesting: www.authentichappiness.org. Check it out.

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being

The Clockwork Universe

2011-07-21T08:35:00.000-04:00

So I started reading this book, then I put it down to read Sookie Stackhouse, then I picked it up again, but now it's due back at the library, so I'm not going to finish it. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't recommend it, or that I didn't like what I read.

Dolnick's writing style is very conversational, it's not over-the-top academic at all, which makes for an enjoyable read. And what I read of the book was not really the story of Isaac Newton, but more the story of the circumstances of the world in the 1600's the allowed an Isaac Newton to come into being.

I'm not a scientific person, but I do love history, and I think people in both of those groups will enjoy this book. I may put it on hold again so I can finish it.

The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World

Dead in the Family

2011-07-20T08:35:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I read a Sookie Stackhouse book, but I was ready for something a little lighter. I really enjoyed this one, although I think I've skipped at least one book because I didn't recall all the events she talks about.

If you are familiar with the series, or watch True Blood on HBO (which is based on the books), then you know all about Sookie the mind-reader and her undead, two-natured, and Fae friends in Bon Temps, Louisiana. If you aren't familiar with the series but like fantasy (particularly vampires), then I recommend you start with the first Sookie book, Dead Until Dark. Harris writes very "real" fantasy, and the characters are super-likeable.

Reading the novel inspired me to put the first DVD of True Blood on my NetFlix (I don't have HBO). A friend told me that people who read the books generally don't care for the series, but we shall see.

Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 10)

The Happiness Project

2011-07-06T08:51:00.000-04:00

This is an interesting and insightful book in which Gretchen Rubin outlines her year spent trying to make herself and those around her happier. She admits up front that she isn't particularly unhappy when she starts the project, but she just feels that she and her family and friends could benefit from more happiness in their lives. Full disclosure, I haven't finished the book, I'm only up to July, but a library book I'd had on hold came in so I put this aside for the time being.

Rubin is a good writer with an accessible style. She does a nice job of interspersing personal anecdotes with research about the causes and consequences of happiness. She doesn't set herself up as any paragon of perfection and she is forthcoming about her mistakes and shortcomings.

I've read a little over half the book and I will definitely finish it at some point in the near future. I've also already checked out Rubin's blog (http://www.happiness-project.com) and signed up for the Moment of Happiness daily email. Although I doubt this book will cause any epiphanies for anybody, it's a book that makes you want to try to improve your outlook on life, even if just in little ways, and that's a pretty positive thing.

The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

The Peach Keeper

2011-06-27T09:03:00.000-04:00

Loved, loved, loved this book! The characters, the setting, the story are all wonderful, and it's got just enough mystical realism to make it interesting. But at bottom it's the story of relationships between people: Willa, Colin, Paxton, Sebastian, and Georgie and Agatha.

Allen is a beautiful writer, she writes some of the best scenic descriptions I've ever read. She also writes intriguing characters: these are not one-dimensional archetypes, these are real people with real failings and quirks and feelings. Perfect Paxton doesn't think she's perfect, and boring Willa has no idea of the inspiration she's given to others. That's what made this story so charming.

But I also enjoyed the small southern town feel, the stuff your grandma told you about ghosts, and the sense of a mystical land separate from the rest of the world. I keep coming back to this author again and again and am never disappointed.

The Peach Keeper: A Novel

The Search

2011-06-24T08:58:00.000-04:00

Okay, let's see... I've said it before and I'll say it again: I like Nora Roberts, I really do, but I feel like she's gone Danielle Steele formulaic on me. I purposely waited a while to read another of her books, but it seems that not much has changed. Once again we've got a spunky-almost-beautiful heroine and a gorgeous-but-rough-around-the-edges hero reluctantly falling in love and facing a horrible situation together. The only thing that really sets this novel apart from Roberts' others is the dogs.

Fiona is a dog trainer and a search-and-rescue leader, and Simon has a new puppy named Jaws who needs a bit of training. Throw a serial killer and the wilderness of the Northwest into the mix and the only thing that makes this novel stand out is the dogs and dog training stuff. I admit that Fiona and Simon are likable characters, but all of Nora's lead characters are likable.

Having said all that, I did read the novel in about 3 days, and I did enjoy it, but it didn't challenge me. But I'm sure I'll still return to Nora in the future.

The Search

Island Beneath the Sea

2011-06-21T08:47:00.000-04:00

This novel by Isabel Allende is quite different from most of her novels that I've read - there's really no mysticism to it - but it's really very good. It's the story of Zarite (called Tete), from her days as a young slave girl on Sainte-Domingue (now Haiti) to her emancipation and life as a free woman in New Orleans.

We follow Zarite's life from the age of about 11, a few years before the slave rebellions in the late 1700's, to about age 40 in New Orleans, several years prior to the civil war and abolition. She has a difficult life - she is a slave for most of it, after all, though luckily not in the cane fields - but she also makes some good friends along the way and finds love and a family.

I have to say I knew pretty much nothing about how Haiti came into being, and that was an interesting part of the book. Also interesting was the attitude of the New Orleans Creoles towards "Americans", and their distaste after the Louisiana Purchase of being forced to speak English. There was also a rigid caste system in both Sainte-Domingue and New Orleans among upper class whites, working class whites, and free people of varying amounts of color.

The best part of the novel for me, though, was the personal relationships between Tete and her friends and family, and the way she used what she learned, in combination with her spirituality, to overcome setbacks and create a good life for herself and her children.

Island Beneath The Sea: A Novel

The 19th Wife: A Novel

2011-06-15T21:50:00.000-04:00

Really interesting (and slightly creepy) novel about the practice of polygamy in the Mormon church, the far-out sects that still practice polygamy, and the people who are caught up in it. This is a long book that jumps around a bit, but it's really worth the read.

There are basically two stories going on concurrently. One is the modern-day story of Jordan, ex-communicated by the "Firsts," a sect of Mormons who still practice polygamy, whose mother has been arrested for the murder of his father. Her name is BeckyLyn and she is, of course, the "19th wife".

But the other "19th wife" is Ann Eliza Young, an actual historical person, who was considered to be Brigham Young's 19th wife (yes, that Brigham Young), and who's apostasy from the church and following writings and lectures were considered to have helped end polygamy in the Mormon church. Ebershoff includes chapters from her "memoir" interspersed with Jordan trying to help his mom beat her murder rap.

I thought it was a really great story. Jordan is a really, really likeable character, who is trying to do something he feels is right despite having every reason to run as far from it as possible. And setting his story against a quasi-historical backdrop of the Mormon church points out how some people can pervert a set of religious beliefs for their own purposes.

The book has made me want to do a few things: check out the real story of Ann Eliza and Brigham Young, and see if the Firsts really exist. I also found out there is a Lifetime movie based on the novel, but I'm guessing they've taken all of the interesting stuff out and made it a love story, so I doubt I'll be watching it. But I definitely recommend the book!

The 19th Wife: A Novel

Bookends

2011-06-05T19:45:00.000-04:00

This is a very enjoyable novel by Jane Green, about a group of friends in London who met their first year at university, and now at age 31 are dealing with all that adult life has to offer. The main character is Cath, a likeable, self-depracating, successful single who's really not interested in relationships. But when Cath and friend Lucy decide to open the bookstore/cafe that Cath has always dreamed of, life takes a turn.

This novel made me think of the cast of Friends, near the end of the show. Lucy is married to Josh and they have a kid, Cath is single but seems okay with that, and Si is always thinking the next man who comes a long is THE ONE. They've been friends forever, have a routine together, and share way too much information with each other. But they're all likeable enough.

This is not great literature, but it's a nice read - perfect beach or poolside read. The group does deal with some serious issues, and I liked the way Green handlded those. My only real complaint about the book is that Green used "and I" when she should have used "and me." A LOT. I wonder if it's a British thing?

Bookends: A Novel

Cutting for Stone

2011-06-02T08:53:00.000-04:00

I have to admit that I resisted reading this novel, despite all the great things I heard about it. It got great press, it was on the best seller list, I had friends recommend it... but I thought it would be depressing. I figured it was just another Kite Runner or Slum Dog Millionaire, and I just wasn't in the mood. I am glad to say that I was wrong.

Verghese writes an epic novel, ranging from 1940's India and Africa to present day America. It's the story of Marion and Shiva Stone, identical twins born to Carmelite nun Sister Mary Joseph Praise (the best name for a nun EVER) at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa in 1954. Marion narrates the story of himself and his brother, their parents Hema and Ghosh, and their extended family and friends, as they grow up to be doctors. There are of course twists and turns and troubles along the way, that make for a real page-turning read.

Verghese is both a writer and an actual doctor, and he has a lot of medical detail in the novel. I thought at first that I'd skip over that, but it isn't overwhelming, and it really does serve to move the story forward. Verghese also has a way of bringing characters to life, so I felt I knew a lot about even some of the more minor characters, and I really felt that I knew Marion, Shiva, Hema, and Ghosh.

I'm really glad I read this novel, in fact it was hard to put down almost from the first page. I highly recommend it.

Cutting for Stone

A London Home in the 1890s

2011-05-23T19:17:00.000-04:00

This third and last installment of Molly Hughes' enjoyable memoir sees Molly finally marry her Arthur and start a family. This book also has its share of downers, but Molly and Arthur generally seem to get through life with wit and humor.

I'm saying goodbye now to my Victorian friend, and I am going to miss her. But I thoroughly enjoyed our brief time together - I bet Molly was a lovely person to have known.

A London Home in the 1890s

A London Girl of the 1880s

2011-05-16T08:17:00.000-04:00

This is Molly Hughes' second book in her trilogy of memoirs, and it's just as interesting as the first. Most of this book is about Molly's schooling and her training to become a teacher. Again I was struck by the depth of learning, even for "just a girl." I mean, she drops Latin phrases like we're all supposed to know what they mean! We are also introduced to the man who Molly will eventually marry, Arthur Hughes.

I was also struck by Molly's and her mother's ability to make do with what they have, and to never seem to resent the things others have that they don't. For instance, as far as I can tell, Molly never has more than three dresses at any given time, and that seems to be the exception rather than the rule. Can you imagine anyone today (at least anyone who has the means to read this blog) surviving on just three outfits?

This book, like the first, ends rather abruptly and with a sad event. But I guess Molly considered those to be natural ending points, when her life changes. I've already started the third book, and I'm looking forward to see how it goes.

London Girl of 1880'S

Update on Suzanne Somers Diet

2011-05-13T13:50:00.000-04:00

As promised, I followed Suzanne Somers' diet tips this week and I said I'd let you know how I did. Guess what? I LOST 2 POUNDS!! Yep, that's right. Now, for full disclosure, I didn't follow the diet exactly. I did cut out all "funky foods" except caffeine (I figure one cup a day doesn't hurt). And I did once or twice have carbs with dinner. Also, I had my usual Greek yogurt every afternoon and I'm not sure what kind of food that is - it's protein, nonfat, but with fruit - is it funky? I can't find any mention of it in the book or online.

Anyway, I also did my usual hour at the gym every day. But I think these are some valid guidelines if you want to lose some weight, and it wasn't terribly depriving, although I was definitely hungry when mealtime rolled around. I can see myself doing this diet during the week, but not on the weekends - I gotta have my wine on the weekends ;-).

Happy Friday!

A London Child of the 1870s

2011-05-10T10:05:00.000-04:00

What a lovely little book! Thanks to my friend Shari for lending it to me (and the sequels, so more to come). This memoir by Molly Hughes recounts her childhood in Victorian London, the youngest (and only girl) of 5 children. She's very clear from the start that they are a normal family, no one is famous, they're just regular, real people.

What's most interesting to me is how keen for knowledge Molly and her brothers all seem to be. With no television or video games, they are all extremely well-read and learned in a variety of subjects. Even Molly, who is schooled at home by her mother, learns Latin and history and geography in addition to reading whatever books she seems to be able to get her hands on, and all this before the age of twelve.

If you are into the Victorian Era, or just enjoy learning what life was like in the past, I highly recommend this book. I've already started the sequel and am enjoying that just as much!

A LONDON CHILD OF THE 1870S

Suzanne Somers' Eat Great, Lose Weight

2011-05-09T08:37:00.000-04:00

First, I have to admit that I just skimmed the book. I didn't read any of the "success stories" or the recipes. I just wanted to get the gist of what Suzanne and her endocrinologist think you should do to lose weight. And I'm going to share it here with you!

1. Eliminate all funky foods.
2. Eat fruits alone, on an empty stomach.
3. Eat proteins/fats with veggies.
4. Eat carbos with veggies and no fat.
5. Keep proteins/fats separate from carbos.

So it's low carb, but it's also about food combining. And funky foods include some surprises, like avocados, nuts, and bananas, in addition to the obvious alcohol, potatoes, and white flour.

I'm going to try it this week and see what happens. Based on comments on internet diet sites, some people lose 5 or more pounds the first few weeks of this diet (what the hell are they eating before the diet?). I'm going to weigh myself Friday and see if I've lost anything. I'll let you know.

Suzanne Somers' Eat Great, Lose Weight

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

2011-05-01T19:29:00.000-04:00

I know, I know - not more Jane Austen. But I have to tell you, if you are a Jane fan you have to read this book, it is that fabulous. The author, Syrie James, does such a great job of capturing the tone and feeling of Austen's work that I had to keep reminding myself that this isn't a REAL memoir written by Jane herself.

The memoir covers most of Jane's early 30's, prior to publishing her books, during which she has a secret love affair. Now in reality there is no record of Jane having any affairs - there were one or two male "friends" and one proposal but no great loves. But I think there must have been one... for how could a woman who never knew great love have written about it the way she did? I think that is James' point too, and why she wrote a great love for Jane in her "memoirs."

James really weaves in the characters, locations, and events in Jane's novels, making it seem that Jane was inspired to write certain things based on true-life events. I guess that's why makes this made up memoir feel so real.

Okay, I promise, no more Jane Austen for awhile.

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

The Remedy

2011-04-25T21:13:00.000-04:00

I started reading this novel, then put it down to read Committed, and now I've just finished it. I have to say that, after a bit of a slow start in my opinion, I really enjoyed the novel and even was a bit surprised by it.

The Remedy is set in Venice and London of the late 18th century, and I think one of the things the author does best is capture the sense of both of those cities. The places and characters feel very real and of of-the-moment, without feeling stereotyped in any way. The characters who most concern us are Mimosina Dolcezza and Valentine Greatrakes, a Venetian actress and a London underworld businessman, and their interesting and convoluted relationship.

Of course Mimosina isn't JUST and actress, and that isn't her real name, and she's got quite a bit more of a past than Valentine is aware of, and there's his ward, Pevanche, daughter of his murdered friend Tom, getting in the way of things, and well... it's all very complicated. The author also has alternating sections told from the perspective of Mimosina and Valentine (and Pevanche gets a say too), and that adds to the sense that we aren't sure who is being totally honest and who we can really trust. And that makes for a fun and intriguing story.

I sort of had an inkling of the mystery that's revealed at the end, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable. I also liked how the author shows that the "commoners" can be the higest minded people, and the "aristrocats" can have the lowest inclinations. It was an enjoyable - if long - read.

The Remedy: A Novel

Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage

2011-04-20T07:53:00.000-04:00

Any of you who have been reading this blog for a while - all 3 of you (thanks!) - know that I am a Liz Gilbert fan. I loved Eat, Pray, Love. So when I got the notice that my hold was available I put down the other book I was reading so I could read this sort-of-sequel to EPL. I'm glad I did.

Liz and Felipe are in love, and want to spend the rest of their lives together. They don't particularly want to get married though. But then the Department of Homeland Security gets involved, and they learn that in order for Felipe to live with Liz in the US they will have to be married - but only after the US government decides that it's okay. So Liz has some time to come to terms with the idea of remarrying, and she uses it wisely.

Like EPL, this is a really well-written book about Liz's travels around the world - mostly in Asia - meeting people and talking to them about the the things that concern her, in this case, marriage customs. But unlike EPL, Liz does a bunch of research too, on stuff like the history of marriage. So the book is a nice blend of feelings and facts. I learned, for instance, that the Christian church was totally against marriage at its inception: we were all supposed to commit to Jesus, not to other people, and new Christians came through conversion, not birth. But now marriage is a holy sacrament, and Liz explains how that came to be.

Anyway, this is just a really good book. I'm not saying it's necessarily going to change anyone's mind about marriage, but it might make you think about why we get married, and what kind of relationship we want to have with our spouse. I would recommend it to all Elizabeth Gilbert fans, and to anyone who is engaged to be married.

Committed: A Love Story

I See Rude People

2011-04-07T08:56:00.000-04:00

First, a hat tip to my friend Shari for lending me this book. I basically read the whole thing on a plane from Vegas to DC. REALLY amusing but also quite interesting, and also really well-documented.

Amy Alkon is a syndicated advice columnist and blogger, who seems to have made it her mission in life to take down rude people one at a time. She is (it seems) not afraid to confront anyone about their rude behavior, and does so in some clever ways. For instance, she often takes notes on loud cellphone talkers and either calls their phone and leaves them a message (amazing the number of people who shout out their cell numbers in public places), or posts the content of her notes on her blog. She also takes pictures of rudeness and posts those on her blog. She's courageous, if a little intense.

There's a lot to like about this book. First, Alkon has a really warm, approachable voice - she writes like she's talking to you, which I really like. She's also very funny and self-deprecating. And I like that she backs up her stories with research. For instance, she explains why hearing just one side of a conversation is much more annoying and invasive to us than hearing both sides. She also, to be honest, does a lot of stuff that I totally applaud (she bills telemarketers for interrupting her at home!).

This was a good, quick read, and I went back through the book after I finished it to write down some web sites and other info that I want to check out. I'm also going to check out Amy's blog. So I'd say I really enjoyed this book.

I See Rude People: One woman's battle to beat some manners into impolite society

What Would Jane Austen Do?

2011-04-06T08:45:00.000-04:00

This is a really cute novel. If you like Regency romance, time travel, and Jane Austen, this is the book for you.

The main character is Eleanor, a costume designer traveling in the English countryside. At her inn she encounters the ghostly Cracklebury sisters and soon finds herself transported back to the time of Jane Austen. There she meets the living Cracklebury sisters, their family, and the very sexy Lord Shermont. She also gets to meet the real life Jane Austen! Although Eleanor has no one to guide her in the manners of the period, she is luckily a huge Jane Austen fan so, when faced with a dilemma about how to act, she simply asks herself, "What would Jane Austen do?"

I really liked this book, particularly the couple of plot twists as the end that I really didn't see coming. I'll definitely look for more books by the author, Laurie Brown.

What Would Jane Austen Do?

The Red Garden

2011-03-27T17:43:00.000-04:00

I am a HUGE fan of Alice Hoffman, and her latest book does not disappoint. Beautifully written, evocative, mystical... The Red Garden is all of those things. The novel is really almost a series of short stories, all connected by the Massachusetts town in which they occur from it's beginnings to the present day. The garden of the title is an area in the yard of the founder's house where everything that's planted grows red - lilacs, green beans, cucumbers, all red. It plays a role in several of the chapters, and it acts as a sort of frame for the novel.

Sure, there's some stretching of reality - that's what Hoffman does. But if you're a fan of the genre, you'll love this book. The characters are well-written and very representative of their era (though I found the town overly peopled with gorgeous men and beautiful women... isn't anyone just average looking?), but I love the strength of Hoffman's female characters, and the ladies of Blackwell do not disappoint.

The Red Garden

Blindspot

2011-03-21T21:34:00.000-04:00

This is an historical romance novel written by two well-regarded historians. So there is a LOT of historical detail, which is great, but it also makes a long novel (500ish pages). But it's a good novel, so that shouldn't be a deterrent.

What I like about this novel is that it combines some of my favorite elements: American history, murder mystery, hidden identity, and a sexy Scot (who wouldn't like that combination?). The characters are interesting and likeable, and the murder mystery had me fooled until the very end. Some readers might balk at Jameson's interactions with his young male apprentice, but knowing the apprentice's secret made it less creepy than it might otherwise have been.

If you like historical romance but don't like bodice rippers, this is the book for you. And I love the background the authors give at the end of the novel, it really enhanced my enjoyment of what I had read.

Blindspot: A Novel (Random House Reader's Circle)

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

2011-03-13T19:46:00.000-04:00

I read all of the Little Women books as a child - more than once - so I'm a big fan of LMA. This novel does a fabulous job of humanizing her and showing the passionate, vital person behind the books. The author writes in her afterword that she figured there must be some passion in the woman who created Jo March so she created a love affair for her.

These are great characters, and I love all of the similarities between Louise and her sisters and the girls of Little Women. But even if you aren't a fan of LMA, I think you'll still find this to be a really good story about a 19th century woman who doesn't want to lead the kind of life a woman is expected to live, and who wants to be the person she is.

This novel makes me want to go back to all of the old LMA books, and it makes me want to check out some of the "not for young girls" stuff the author mentions in her afterword.

The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott

The Rules of Engagement

2011-03-04T09:07:00.000-05:00

Don't confuse this book with the television sitcom, because there is nothing comedic about it. I'm not really even sure that it's a likable book. I enjoyed it, but don't think I'll be seeking out any more of Brookner's work any time soon.

This is the story of Elizabeth and Betsy, two girls born in 1948 who start school on the same day, and who wind up being friends the rest of their lives. Elizabeth and Betsy are born at just the wrong time - too late to be the perfect 50's housewife, too early to be the hippies of the 60's. There lives run parallel but rather differently - Elizabeth carefully follows the rules (mostly), whereas Betsy lives a freer life... although neither one seems to be all that happy.

The novel is VERY cerebral - it is narrated by Elizabeth and takes place almost entirely in her mind - there is very little action. It is one of those novels that some readers will think about for a while afterward, and learn new insights in the process. Other readers won't get past the first chapter. I'm obviously not the latter, because I finished the book. But I'm also not going to spend a lot of time contemplating what I read. It was rather too depressing.

The Rules of Engagement: A Novel (Brookner, Anita)

The Girl Who Chased the Moon

2011-02-21T13:17:00.000-05:00

Southern mystical realism with barbeque and cake - what's not to like? This is a really sweet novel about Emily, a teenager who comes to live with the grandfather she didn't know she had - who's a giant - in the small town her mother left in shame 20 years earlier. There she finds a room where the wallpaper changes to reflect her mood, and plenty of secrets - plenty.

Emily also meets some really nice people who have issues with their own pasts, including Julia and Sawyer. She also is drawn to Win Coffey, with whom she shares a past of which she is unaware, but who also is hiding a secret of his own.

The characters in this novel are all pretty likeable, even those who have made mistakes and kept secrets. I like that there is a lot of gray area - people are made up of good and bad elements, as regular people are. I also like that there is some obvious struggles to resolve issues and mysteries - nothing is handed to the reader all neatly tied up with string. There is a definite arc to the story, a getting to the end, which I enjoyed.

I also enjoy that the author ends the novel with a germ of a new novel - that's always fun.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon: A Novel

The Year of Disappearances

2011-02-16T08:47:00.000-05:00

This is book two in Susan Hubbard's "ethical vampire" series, and it was okay. I like the third book better. It's really my own fault, I read the third one (The Season of Risks), then the first one (The Society of S), then this one, all within a few months, and I think I just overdosed on ethical vampires.

This novel did answer some questions for me that were raised by reading the third book first, like how Ari came to go to college so young, and what the heck was going on with those crazy Nebulists. But the plot line just wasn't as engaging for me as The Season of Risks was. But I do like how Hubbard shows the characters developing, particularly Ari, and I look forward to reading more of her novels in the future.

I do this to myself too much - I read a novel by an author that I like, and then I go and get everything else s/he has written, and it's like eating too much chocolate - nice, but just too much. I need to pace myself.

The Year of Disappearances: An Ethical Vampire Novel (Ethical Vampire Novels)

Bitter in the Mouth

2011-02-09T18:07:00.000-05:00

WOW! I love this novel! It's like a combination of Like Water for Chocolate, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. I swear.

Linda Hammerick can taste words. Her name, for instance, tastes like mint. The word "mom" tastes like chocolate milk. Linda doesn't share her secret sense with very many people (obviously) and she spends a lot of time finding ways to lessen the "incomings." Tobacco, alcohol, and sex seem to do the trick, but that's not what this story is about.

Linda is a typical small-town southern girl growing up in North Carolina in the 1970's-80's. That she is different from everyone else is obvious, but she gets along fine, has a best friend and a boy who likes her. Yes, there are some very bad experiences, but Linda grows up to attend Yale and become a lawyer, and to have a pretty good life. The only thing that makes her different, we think, is her ability to taste words.

But we learn at the very end of Part One of the novel that we're wrong: there is something else that makes Linda very different from everyone she grew up with, and the second part of the novel deals with her journey to find out where she really comes from. But it's more that: it's also about discovering what constitutes a family.

There are some great southern characters in the novel - I adore Baby Harper - and many typical southern scenarios (the town gets all their gossip from the beauty shop). But the language and structure take this from mass market novel to literature: I just loved it.

Bitter in the Mouth: A Novel

The Reader

2011-02-04T17:08:00.000-05:00

I have to admit, I had no idea what this book was about before I started reading it. I read it because it was on a list of great novels, and because the movie was on a list of great movies. I am SO glad I read it. It's a truly moving novel.

While on the surface this is the story of a young man who reads to, and falls in love with, a mysterious older woman, it is so much more than that. It is a story of forgiveness, and redemption, and deception, and a number of other moral issues. And I am not sure that the characters - or those of us who read the book - ever come to any real kind of resolution.

In a larger way, it is about how an entire country, an entire population, is able to - chooses to - move forward following a nationwide atrocity. It is in a way specifically about how the German people dealt, or didn't deal, with the shame of the Holocaust - and even how some of them didn't feel any shame. For such a simply and beautifully written short novel, it packs a lot of punch.

I've put the movie on my Netflix, at the top. I'm not sure how much I'm looking forward to seeing it, but I really want to see it. Does that make sense?

The Reader

Dream When You're Feeling Blue

2011-01-31T10:04:00.000-05:00

Have you ever started reading a book and thought, haven't I read this before? I felt that way about this novel, like I had started it at some point but not finished it. I knew what was going to happen. I even knew how it would end, sort of.

I liked the book - I read it in 2 days, so obviously I liked it. I've enjoyed other books by Elizabeth Berg as well. This was a very sweet novel about a big family in Chicago during WWII, particularly the 3 daughters (the "dreamy" sisters). It focuses primarily on Kitty, the oldest daughter, and how she is changed by her experiences and her relationships during the war.

I like all of the period detail that Berg gives - the styles and brands of dresses, the music, the slang. And her characters are likeable (Kitty's father Frank is an Irishman straight out of central casting) if slightly superficial - Kitty is the most well-developed. But it was a nice read, and I will continue reading Berg's work in the future.

Dream When You're Feeling Blue: A Novel

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

2011-01-29T13:04:00.000-05:00

This is a really interesting book that covers a wide range of subjects, all held together by the author's home in the English countryside. Moving from room to room in the house, Bryson basically takes us through a history of the Industrial Revolution and how it affected everything from the food we eat to the clothes we wear to the diseases we get.

It is a long book - 400-plus pages - and I admit to skimming some of it (I pretty much skipped the part about bugs and other creepy crawly things). But Bryson tells a story well, and he has a sense of humor I enjoy, so it was pretty fast reading. Bryson also obviously did a great deal of research, and tells about the real inventors of various household items and the real stories behind why we wear or don't wear certain things. For example, I now know why every business suit has those totally useless rows of buttons on the sleeves.

Even if you aren't a big history buff, this is just a really interesting book. I think everyone will find something in it that makes them say, "gee, I wondered about that." And that's pretty cool.

At Home: A Short History of Private Life

The Help

2011-01-17T20:34:00.000-05:00

This is a fabulous novel. And, it feels kind of appropriate that I read the whole thing over MLK weekend.

I know you've all heard of this novel - it's been on the NYT best seller list for months. It's the story of a number of African-American maids and the white families they work for in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960's. It's a really beautifully written story about the close and complex relationships between the rich white families and "the help."

I have to admit I was a little put off at first by Stockett's use of dialect, but I got used to it very quickly and I think it adds to the novel. The characters seem very real, there are no pure angels here (though there is one outright devil), there is good and bad among both the whites and the blacks. And there were some characters who actually surprised me, which doesn't often happen in novels.

Ultimately this is a story about people and relationships, and the changes they go through. I'm so glad I spent my MLK weekend with all these folks in Jackson, I think it was a very good use of my time.

The Help

Leonardo's Swans

2011-01-14T09:14:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed this novel about the lovely 15th century D'Este sisters, Isabella and Beatrice. As you know I am a fan of historical novels, but I usually go more for the British stuff, not the Italian. So I have no idea how true to history the story is, but it's still a very good story.

Isabella is the older, more beautiful, and more accomplished sister, but she is promised in marriage to a lesser noble to strengthen the family's position. Beatrice is a year younger, more headstrong, less learned, but she is destined for the powerful Duke of Milan. There is a great deal of intrigue between the sisters, between Isabella and Beatrice's husband Ludovico, and with Ludovico and almost everyone in Italy (and some people in France and Germany).

The affairs of state don't excite me - Italy was basically a bunch of separate nation-states during the time period, who would only ally together against an outside enemy like France - but I love the personal intrigues. I also love that these women are smarter, and better equiped to handle what life throws at them, than the men around them. And I love that Leonardo DaVinci is an important character in the novel - and that he is portrayed as a rather vague and scattered genius, something of a curiosity to the people around him, because you know he must of been just that.

Leonardo's Swans: A Novel

Great Wine Made Simple

2011-01-07T08:54:00.000-05:00

This book was recommended by a sommelier in an online chat I read, and she was so right. This book is perfect for the person who knows nothing about wine, but also great for the knowledgeable wine drinker who wants to improve their ability to maneuver a 25-page wine list and find a wine they like, at a price they like.

Immer's style is very accessible - she's no wine snob. And what's great about the book is that you can use it as a basis for a wine club tasting schedule, because she pretty much wants you to not take her word for the wines, but to taste them for yourself. And she lists wines at every price point, so you can pay what you are comfortable paying and know you are getting a decent wine.

I haven't read the whole book - just kind of been skimming and jumping around - but the number one piece of information I've come away with so far is Immer's flavor map, and I'm going to share it with you now. In a nutshell, if you think about the various wine regions around the world and the FRUIT that grows in them, it will give you an idea of what to expect from the flavor and intensity of the WINES. It sounds simplistic but it really makes sense, and it's something that's easy to remember the next time you are faced with a list of wines you have never heard of.

As I continue to read it I may post about this book again, because I foresee it as being a source I will consult on a regular basis and from which I will continue to learn.

Great Wine Made Simple: Straight Talk from a Master Sommelier

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky

2010-12-28T09:17:00.000-05:00

This is one of those books that, you look at the description and think, "that sounds interesting, but I'm not sure I'm up for that." But I picked it up anyway (on my Nook, on Sunday morning, online!) and I am glad I did.

Set in 1980's Chicago and Portland (OR), this is the story of Rachel, a young girl of mixed race who is the sole survivor of a horrible tragedy. Rachel's mother is Danish and her father is African-American, and after the accident she goes to live with her father's family in Portland, where she experiences the black community for the first time. There she learns that, to other people, she is not just a girl - she is a black girl who isn't "black" enough.

The novel is written from varying first-person perspectives - Rachel's mostly, but also her father's, her mother's, and most touchingly, the young boy who saw the accident happen and was deeply affected by it. If you like Toni Morrison I think you will find Durrow's work to be similar, and equally provocative. I am glad I didn't pass this one by.

Heidi W. Durrow'sThe Girl Who Fell from the Sky [Hardcover](2010)

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree

2010-12-26T09:01:00.000-05:00

I picked up this novel because it was the first library book I saw that was available for my Nook. Yes, I have a Nook now - it was a gift. It's really sweet, and I no longer have to shlep all the way across the street to the library - I can find books online and download them. Cool, huh?

Anyway, this book was quite good. It isn't the happiest of novels, being that it is the story of Rachel and her family trying to make a life for themselves in the Badlands, just after the turn of the 20th century. There's drought and death and no end of hard work, all with no running water or electricity - not my idea of fun. But Rachel is a really well-written character, and I finished the novel with a great deal of respect for her strength.

Now I'm going to go check out the library web site to see what I want to read next.

The Personal History of Rachel DuPree: A Novel

Last Night at Chateau Marmont

2010-12-14T08:17:00.000-05:00

Lauren Weisberger (of The Devil Wears Prada fame) does this sort of "fish out of water" genre better than just about anybody, and her newest novel does not disappoint. Brook and Julian Alter are a happy New York couple - he's a singer/songwriter, she's a nutritionist. She works 2 jobs to support his musical career, but she loves him and doesn't begrudge him a thing. Then Sony gives him a record deal, his first album debuts at number 4 on the charts, and they are instantly thrown into a life for which they are utterly unprepared.

What I love about this novel is that I feel like Weisberger is giving me the inside scoop on "celebrity" and all that goes with it. The preparation instructions for Brook just to attend the Grammies are priceless, as is the hours long primping and dressing just to walk down the red carpet. And the supporting character - the managers and PR people - all have a believable sliminess and hardness. And I love that Brook tells her friend that all of the celebrities look, "thinner, and invariably older" in person.

This novel is an entertaining peek into a world I will never be part of, and that's what makes it enjoyable. And I can totally see a movie being made, with Amy Adams playing Brook... not sure who would play Julian though.

Last Night at Chateau Marmont: A Novel

The Outer Banks House

2010-12-10T08:48:00.000-05:00

This novel, about a young lady coming of age in post-Civil War North Carolina, is much deeper than it appears on the surface. Abigail Sinclair is the oldest daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, but things haven't been going to great since the war ended three years ago. Abby's daddy has built a house right on the beach in Nags Head, one of the first, and the family heads there for the summer to relax.

While in Nags Head, Abby begins to tutor local boy Ben, and soon develops feelings for him. But Ben and Abby really are from two entirely different worlds, and both have a lot still to learn about the world. When they get mixed up with the local freedman's community, and Abby's father's Klan activities, the tragedy that strikes could rip them apart.

I was expecting a sweet little novel about a girl falling in love with an unsuitable boy while on summer vacation - let's face it, who hasn't that happened to? But what I got was a much deeper story about figuring out what's really important in life, and learning to stand up for the things that really matter. It was a really good book.

The Outer Banks House: A Novel

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

2010-12-05T10:17:00.000-05:00

This is a really sweet and touching novel about Rose, a girl who can taste people's emotions in the food they make. It's a little reminiscent of Like Water for Chocolate, but not quite as mystical.

Rose is a really great character - interesting, warm, funny, touching. She starts tasting her mother's emotions in food - baked goods are the most intense - when she is 8 years old. Over time she can identify where the oranges and eggs and chickens come from, and whether the farmer who provides them is happy in his work or would rather be doing something else. Initially she is not sure about sharing her extra sense with others, but she eventually learns to accept it and to live with it, and even to use it when it suits her.

Her brother is much less social than she is, and his extra sense is much stranger. I actually found Rose's sense to be much more believable than her brother's, whose sense didn't really seem to be related to hers. I'm not going to say what it is because that would give away a big part of the book.

If you are a fan of mystical realism this is a great book. If you aren't, then this probably isn't a book you would care to read. But I thought it was a lovely story.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2010-11-30T08:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this actually more of a movie review. On Friday morning I went to see the move (Part 1), and then I read the entire book over the weekend, finishing last night. Normally I would have reread the book prior to seeing the movie, but this time I just wanted to experience the movie, and then read the book again to see what might have been different.

I have to say, the movie held very true to the book. They changed some things from narrative to action, and the kids didn't spend nearly as much time in Grimmauld Place in the movie as they did in the book, but for the most part they kept almost everything. I guess that's why the movie was 140 minutes long or so. But it was definitely not too long, and they ended it at a good place.

Based on my reading the whole novel, I think most of Part 2 will be the final battle at Hogwarts. And that will make for a very exciting and action-packed movie.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

The Society of S

2010-11-27T15:07:00.000-05:00

This is the first in the series of Susan Hubbard's ethical Vampire novels, and I did not like it as much as I liked The Season of Risks. I think that is because in this one, Ari is just learning that she is a Vampire, and all that goes with it, so it's kind of... young, I guess. Plus Ari is younger in overall experience than she is in the later novel, so her adventures are more childish, at least to me.

That's not to say that this isn't a good book - it is. There's some interesting ideas about Vampires, and some good humor, and Ari's father is a much more important character in this novel than in the third one. I particularly like that subject matter he feels it's important to educate her about and the things he doesn't - at 13 she can recite Poe poems but she can't ride a bike. I also like that he goes to Baltimore for Poe's birthday every year - after all, Poe was "one of us."

I would probably have liked the novel more if I had read it before I read The Season of Risks, but I still liked it. It's definitely a good Vampire novel.

Society of S, The

The Swan Thieves

2010-11-21T18:40:00.000-05:00

This was a beautifully written novel that I did not fully understand until the very end - all 560 or so pages of it. Elizabeth Kostova writes deep, rich, intriguing characters, as anyone who has read The Historian knows. But she also writes with a great deal of mystery - I honestly had no idea that things would turn out as they did.

Robert is a troubled artist, seemingly obsessed with a woman long dead. Marlow is the doctor at the sanitarium who will seemingly do almost anything to help him. I didn't particularly like Robert, although he is certainly an intriguing character. He's just almost too... everything - self-absorbed, moody, unpredictable, and often dishonest. Marlow on the other hand is more my style - smart, quietly humorous, solicitous. Not that the novel is entirely about these two men, but it's impossible not to compare them.

But at the heart of the novel is the story of Beatrice de Clerval, one of the greatest woman Impressionist painters, who mysteriously stopped painting at the tender age of 29. What is the connection between Robert and Beatrice, and why is he obsessed with her? I had all sorts of ideas about, but came nowhere near figuring out the truth. And that is Kostova's gift.

I highly recommend this book, whether you liked The Historian or not. It's just a fabulous (if hard to carry) story.

Kostova's The Swan Thieves A Novel (The Swan Thieves: A Novel by Elizabeth Kostova)

The Season of Risks

2010-11-15T09:01:00.000-05:00

Yes, this novel is part of a vampire series - "ethical vampires" - but it's really quite different from the other Vampire series I have read, and I very much enjoyed this book.

These vampires live among humans - though they may or may not make themselves known. They mostly subsist on synthetic blood and food - oysters are an excellent nutritional source. They lives fairly normal daily lives, and don't explode in the sun (though they are highly susceptible to sunburn). They can also read people's thoughts and turn invisible, which is pretty cool.

Ariella is actually a hybrid - half vampire, half human - so she often feels like she doesn't fit in. In order to have a real relationship with Neil Cameron, the man she is in love with, she decides she wants to take the artificial aging drug Septimal, which will age her 7 years, taking her from 15 to 22. What happens after that is strange, confusing, confounding, and highly entertaining.

I really enjoyed this book. Author Susan Hubbard writes wonderful characters - we really like the ones we're supposed to like, and we really dislike the ones we ought to. She also writes believable "vampireness," without the sticky Southern sweetness of the Sookie Stackhouse books. I'm definitely going to go back to the beginning and read The Society of S, the first novel in the series.

The Season of Risks: An Ethical Vampire Novel

Gourmet Rhapsody

2010-11-10T09:09:00.000-05:00

I loved Muriel Barbery's first novel, The Elegance of the Hedgehog. At least I thought that was her first novel... turns out she wrote this one first, but Hedgehog was the first one translated for an English-speaking audience.

This novel is about the great French food critic Pierre Arthens, who is on his deathbed and searching for that elusive "flavor" that gave his life meaning. Through brief chapters we are taken back through Arthens' memories, as well as the thoughts and memories of family-members and friends. I had difficulty getting into the novel - the story and characters just didn't grab me the way those in Hedgehog did, and I found the back-and-forth between Arthens and others a bit tedious at first. But I stuck with it, and I wound up really enjoying the story.

I think what I liked best was the marvelous descriptions of food, and the way food can be experienced. None of the characters ever wound up grabbing my sympathy - we don't really spend enough time with any of them, except Arthens, and he is a pompous, nasty old man. But the food - and drink - are almost their own characters, and well worth the read.

Gourmet Rhapsody

Savor the Moment

2010-11-04T08:50:00.000-04:00

I like Nora Roberts - I'm a fan. I liked this book, I did. And I read the first two books in this series, and I liked them. They are great beach reads, or time-passers for the Metro or the dentist's office. But deep and meaningful, great literature? Absolutely not.

It's a really nice story about great friends, falling in love, and being happy. But it's just SO FAR REMOVED FROM REALITY. I mean, seriously, there is a group of four women friends who all work and basically live together, and they never seem to argue? And they are all beautiful (though in different ways of course) and sexy and love their jobs and are fabulous at what they do? And the men in their lives are all gorgeous and well-employed (some even wealthy), and they all have deep feelings that they SHARE? I'm sorry, but please tell me what planet that is, because it isn't like anything I have ever experienced on Earth.

As I said, it's a nice escape, a good read, but it's just too... unreal. If I were an 18-year-old girl reading these novels I would fall into a serious depression, wondering what the hell was wrong with me and my life. C'mon, Nora, let's write something that normal people can identify with, OKAY?

Savor the Moment (The Bride Quartet, Book 3)

Becoming Jane Eyre

2010-10-28T08:55:00.000-04:00

I am about 80 pages into this novel by Sheila Kohler and I think I have pretty much had it. It's not that it's a bad book - it's just not my style. The novel seems to be a well-researched fictionalization of Charlotte Bronte's life, but there's the thing - I was never a huge fan of any of the Brontes. I don't believe I've ever read an entire novel any of them wrote, although I know I've read some of their poetry. I know, I know, that makes me a bad woman-English major, but all their stuff was just so... melodramatic, and dreamy, and... girly.

To Kohler's credit, this novel reads like a Bronte novel, and I assume that was her intention. As I read I often felt like I was seeing the action through a mist, moving from vignette to vignette as wading through a fog... it just isn't my style of writing. But those of you who loved Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights will probably love this novel, so I would recommend it to you. It just isn't for me.

Becoming Jane Eyre: A Novel (Penguin Original)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

2010-10-25T09:30:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed this debut novel by Mark Haddon. Christopher Boone is an autistic boy who discovers his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, killed with a garden fork. He decides to investigate the murder, despite protests from Mrs. Shears (Wellington’s owner) and his own father. Along the way the story becomes much less about the dead dog, and much more about Christopher’s journey as a person.

I don’t know any people with autism, but from what I do know, I think Haddon does a remarkable job of illustrating the workings of an autistic mind, while still making Christopher a sympathetic human being. Although new places, people, and experiences overwhelm Christopher, he copes by doing math problems. He likes animals better than people (he keeps a pet rat), because animals can’t lie to you. I actually liked Christopher better than I liked his father or his mother, who both seemed selfish and not really interested in making the sacrifices necessary to parent a special-needs child.

This is a quirky, funny, touching, sad, and entertaining novel. I have to thank my friend Shari for suggesting I read it. I’ll definitely look for more work from this really engaging author.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

My Name is Memory

2010-10-18T09:27:00.000-04:00

WOW! For all you mystical realism fans out there, this is a wonderful novel! If you don't already believe in reincarnation, after reading this novel you just might.

Daniel is a very old soul, who has been reincarnated for hundreds and hundreds of years. However, unlike most souls, he remembers every single one of his lives. He also remembers the other souls he meets - both those he loves, and those he doesn't. Lucy is the current reincarnation of Daniel's great love, but she doesn't have his memory, and so she is scared by her experience and feelings with him. Thus begins an intriguing story of romance, mystery and drama that kept me turning the pages all weekend long.

I love how Brashares gets Daniel, and Lucy, from A to B, and I love her explanations of birthmarks, karma, and children's internal worlds. I am enough of a believer that it all makes sense to me. And I love the way she leaves it kind of open in the end... I sense a sequel! Definitely a great read, I highly recommend it - best novel I've read in awhile.

My Name Is Memory

A Matter of Class

2010-10-14T09:24:00.000-04:00

This was a cute little novel. I read it in about 2 days. It's a typical period romance (not a bodice ripper) but with a bit of a twist. I have to admit, I didn't see the twist until almost the very end, and I kind of liked it. The characters are likeable if a bit trite and broadly written.

I would recommend this novel if you are looking for something entertaining but not at all heavy or challenging, and it's a really easy read.

A Matter of Class

The Red Queen

2010-10-10T16:10:00.000-04:00

Philippa Gregory continues to amaze me with her detailed historical knowledge. This novel, which sort of parallels her novel The White Queen, tells the story of Margaret Beaufort Tudor Stafford Stanley, mother of Henry VII and matriarch of the Tudor dynasty.

Like The White Queen, there is a lot of intrigue and machinations and changes of loyalty. But unlike that novel, the subject of The Red Queen is NEVER queen. Yes, Margaret has ambitions, but they are almost entirely for her son. And she does work tirelessly to achieve them.

My only real complaint about the novel is that once the end came, it came quickly. It was almost anticlimatic. But history already told us what it was going to be, so I suppose Gregory couldn't have done much more. At least she didn't make King Richard say, "my kingdom for a horse." That would have been just too trite.

The Red Queen: A Novel (The Cousins' War)

Alice I Have Been

2010-09-30T07:45:00.000-04:00

First, I have to confess, I never loved Alice in Wonderland the way some people do. I just never got into it. And this novel by Melanie Benjamin did not make me want to read Alice in Wonderland. But it's a great novel about the woman who supposedly was the inspiration for Alice.

Benjamin does a nice job taking the bones of history and fact, and creating a story and characters that are compelling and multidimensional. And there's the mystery: what REALLY happened between young Alice and Charles Dodgson that ended his relationship with the family? And why did a 30-year-old man enjoy spending time with a 10-year-old girl? And what was it with those photographs he took?

Despite the mystery -- and it does inform most of the story -- I really liked Alice the person. In Benjamin's hands she comes across as funny, smart, and irreverent, and someone I would enjoy having a cup of tea with. Definitely a worthwhile read.

Alice I Have Been: A Novel

Paradise Lane

2010-09-23T14:48:00.000-04:00

I initially had difficulty getting into this novel by Elizabeth Gill, but I stuck with it, and I'm glad I did. It's a really nice story about learning what's really important in life, and also about forgiveness and starting over.

The story is kind of old fashioned, and it's set in turn-of-the-century England - that's 1900's, not this century. Annabel learns that her parents are not who she thought they were and goes off in search of her real family. Along the way she learns to look out for herself - though not without some help, particularly from the kindly Mrs. Hatty and the adorably un-gentlemanly Ned.

I really like the contrast between newspaper-owner Ned and "gentleman" Tom. There is a great line about Tom's white hands and how he's not really fit to be in "regular" society - but of course he looks down his patrician nose at "regular" society so he couldn't care less.

Both Annabel and her sister Millie grow up over the course of the novel, and learn about the true meaning of "quality" when it comes to people. It was a very enjoyable read.

Paradise Lane

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

2010-09-20T09:06:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed this book about the space program. Mary Roach writes in a super-accessible style about all of the techy stuff that goes into space flight. I am not a science fiction or outer space person at all, but Roach brings a very human perspective to the subject matter, and that made for a great read.

This is one of those books that, as I read, I kept finding passages I wanted to read aloud to whoever was around me. I also spent most of a one-hour car ride telling Mike about the logistics of going to the bathroom in zero-gravity - pretty exciting stuff. That's what made the book so great for me: it isn't ultimately about the technology, it's about how to ensure that people can survive and function in an atmosphere that is completely different from the one we are designed for.

I highly recommend this book, both to science geeks and non-geeks alike. It's just a really good read.

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void

Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens

2010-09-13T13:32:00.000-04:00

I really enjoyed this second book in Kate Emerson's Tudor series. The main character is Anne (Nan) Bassett, a beautiful and intelligent Maid of Honor to Jane Seymour. When Jane dies from childbirth a month into Nan's tenure, Nan has to do what's necessary to maintain her place in court - and gain influence to advance herself and her family.

Like Emerson's previous novel, this one is more historical than romantic, and it gives a lot of detail about the intriques of the court. But unlike the previous novel, King Henry VIII is definitely on the down-slide into obesity and old age, and that made the novel kind of sad for me. He was such a vibrant and exciting young man, and Emerson's portrait of him as a manipulative and whiny old man made him rather pitiable.

But the character of Nan is wonderful, though from Emerson's endnotes it seems she is mostly imagined. Emerson based her novel on the correspondence of Nan's mother, Lady Lisle, so she obviously takes a lot of literary liberties. But I enjoyed the story, and will definitely look for the next in the series.

Having said that, I am taking a break from Tudor fiction. Just started a nonfiction book about the space program that has really grabbed me...

Secrets of the Tudor Court: Between Two Queens

A Murderous Procession

2010-09-12T12:13:00.000-04:00

This is the next book in the "Mistress of the Art of Death" series, and I enjoyed it immensely. Adelia is still a wonderfully likeable character and her new adventures are as exciting as ever.

In this novel Franklin takes Adelia and her group (except for Allie and Gyltha) on the voyage of Princess Joanna from England to Palermo to marry the prince of Sicily. Of course there are many adventures along the way, and of course someone wants Adelia dead. I have to admit, I figured out who that was pretty early on, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the novel.

I liked the descriptions of the various parts of England and the European continent, and the people Adelia meets. And the story definitely held my interest. I continue to enjoy this series and will certainly look for next book in the future.

A Murderous Procession (Mistress of the Art of Death)

A Creed for the Third Millennium

2010-09-01T15:41:00.000-04:00

I am currently reading - or should I say trying to read - this Colleen McCullough novel for the second time (the first time had to have been 10 years ago). I'm not digging it. I don't know if it's because I've been reading historically for the last little while, and this book is set many years in the future, or if it's because McCullough's 1985 style of writing isn't doing it for me... I'm just finding it to be a bit of a slog.

There's definitely a lot of creativity at work, and I'm happy that McCullough sees the future as colder (as in impending ice age - take that all you global warming wackos!). And I think it's almost prescient that she has the Pope named Benedict. But I'm just not finding it the page-turner I remembered it being.

So, I don't think I'm going to finish this one. It's 350 pages long, I'm on page 40, it's due back at the library on Saturday, and I leave for vacation on Monday. It just isn't a vacation book. Maybe I'll try again during the winter...

A Creed for the Third Millennium

The White Queen

2010-08-30T09:08:00.000-04:00

I am a big fan of Philippa Gregory's historical novels, and this one did not disappoint. In The White Queen Gregory tells the story of Elizabeth Woodville, a commoner who became Queen of England when she married Edward Plantagenet. Elizabeth is an intriguing character - smart, strong-willed, ambitious, and possibly a witch.

This is Gregory's first book in a series about the Wars of the Roses, the period that pre-dates the Tudors. There is plenty of intrigue and excitement to spare, with courtiers switching sides as often as they take a bath (smile). Elizabeth plays a central role in many of these intrigues, as Edward is seemingly always leading an army somewhere.

Gregory notes at the end of the novel that she fictionalized very little of it, though obviously records were not as readily available for events in the 15th century, and because winners could (and did) quickly become losers, many records were likely lost. But she does include one of the greatest British mysteries of all time, that of the princes in the Tower. The boys were Edward's and Elizabeth's legitimate heirs to the throne, who mysteriously disappeared but whose bodies were never recovered. Whether one of those boys was a changeling is entirely Gregory's imagination, but she presents a compelling argument for it.

This was a really good book, and I'm looking forward to reading more of the series. But I'm thinking I'm going to leave ancient history for a bit and come into the present (or possibly future) for at least one book. I just need a little palate cleanser.

The White Queen: A Novel (Hardcover)

Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace

2010-08-19T09:04:00.000-04:00

This was a great historical romance, and I liked that it was more historical than romantic. I'm a fan of the Tudor period and enjoy reading about Henry VIII when he was young, handsome, and vibrant. In this novel Kate Emerson gives us the fictionalized story of Jane Popyncourt, a real person who was basically raised in the courts of Henry VII and VIII, and who was a close friend to Henry's sister Mary.

What makes this novel a bit different from other historical romances is that the plot doesn't center on romance - it centers on mystery and intrigue. Some of the intrigue is part of the regular goings-on in a royal court, but much of it comes from Jane's lack of knowledge about her family background. When she grows to adulthood and tries to unravel that mystery, what she learns is very interesting!

Emerson provides charts at the beginning of the novel, and a note at the end of the novel about what's history and what's fiction. Even without those helpful markers, this was just a really good read. I'll definitely look for the next book in the series.

Secrets of the Tudor Court: The Pleasure Palace

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet

2010-08-08T20:48:00.000-04:00

This is not your mother's Colleen McCullough novel, though it is a far cry from The First Man in Rome. But I just ate up the very clever novel that takes us 20 years into the future after the end of Pride and Prejudice. Darcy, proud as ever, is a Member of Parliament, Elizabeth is his unhappy wife, Lydia is a drunken sleeze, Kitty is a wealthy widow, and Jane is a baby factory. Mary, a spinster, is an independent woman now that her mother has died, and she wants to do something "useful."

Yes, there are parts that stretch the imagination - Father Dominus and his Children of Jesus were hard for me to believe - but I think McCullough does an excellent job of capturing the personalities of Austen's very interesting characters.

The title belies the action of most of the book - let's just say that Mary isn't entirely "independent" for a large section of the novel - but that doesn't detract from this being a really great story. And McCullough is nothing if not a great storyteller.

Now I'm either going to reread some of my Austen favorites, or I'm going to reread some of my McCullough favorites... or both.

The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet: A Novel

Days of Gold

2010-08-03T08:48:00.000-04:00

This was a great summer read - I read it in two days. The author, Jude Deveraux, has been around a long time, so I was glad to see this new book of hers in the library. I would have enjoyed it more only if I had been at the beach while reading it.

No, it's not a deep book, and it doesn't require a lot of concentration. But it's a great historical romance with very likable characters. Edilean and Angus, the main protagonists, have great chemistry and have the sort of typical historical romance relationship (love/hate/misunderstanding/passion/etc.), and they seem to be thwarted by circumstances at every turn. I found the supporting characters to be more interesting, particularly Harriet and Malcolm. Sure, it was a little predictable, but I still enjoyed the story.

I have to admit, I like Deveraux's time-travel stuff better (A Knight in Shining Armor is a favorite) but this is a nice, light, read.

Days of Gold: A Novel (Edilean)

The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson

2010-07-30T09:48:00.000-04:00

I'll preface this post by saying that I am not a poetry fan, nor am I a fan of Emily Dickinson. But, I loved this novel. Jerome Charyn amazingly inhabits the character of Emily, writing in her voice, and realistically imagining her reactions to the events of her life.

Charyn admits to taking some liberties with her biography -- mainly by adding a few fictional characters -- but those characters serve to add depth and spice to the story, and serve as a foil to showcase Miss Dickinson's inner life. And what a rich inner life she has. For a 19th-century never-married lady, she is portrayed as having an active sexuality (which is possibly entirely imagined by the author).

Yes, she was quirky and eccentric, but she was also smart as a whip and had a wonderful sense of humor. I like that Charyn doesn't include any poems in the novel, because it seems that Emily was rather private about her "scribblings". And now I may pick up a volume of her poems to see if I find a hint of what Charyn imagined in Emily.

The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson: A Novel

The Weaver and the Factory Maid

2010-07-16T10:09:00.000-04:00

First, a shout out to my friend Shari for letting me know about this series by Deborah Grabien. I wisely decided to start with the first book, which was published a few years ago. In the series Grabien uses folk ballads as a basis for mysteries, and in this story we have the ghosts of the title song to deal with.

I have to admit, I had a hard time getting into the story at first. The characters are so VERY British, with their, "Ta, love, ever so much," that I didn't really like them at first. But Ringan and Penny grew on me. And you know I like fantasy, so I really enjoyed the ghost story, and looked forward to how it would resolve.

Grabien kept my interest to the end, and resolved the story very nicely. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series, and hope that she involves the secondary characters of Liam, Matty, and Albert more - they seem like fun.

The Weaver and the Factory Maid (The Haunted Ballad Series)

Medium Raw

2010-07-10T16:14:00.000-04:00

Hello all you No Reservations fans, Tony is back. This is an awesome follow-on to Kitchen Confidential, better even I think than The Nasty Bits. Yes, Tony has gone a little soft - he's happily married and has a daughter now - but he is still foul-mouthed and still brutally honest about how he feels about people and things (and the Food Network).

Tony is still SO very quotable. It seemed like almost every page I wanted to read something out loud to Mike (or whomever was near by) but had to stop myself. For instance, I will from now on call every mediocre, mass-production, unhealthy, "family" restaurant, "TGI McF*#&wad's". And I love "the 'Grandma rule' for travelers. You may not like Grandma's Thanksgiving turkey... But it's Grandma's turkey. And you are in Grandma's house. So shut the f*#& up and eat it."

A definite must read for fans and foodies alike. And I will never look at Sandra Lee the same way again.

Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook

The Hour Between

2010-07-05T11:45:00.003-04:00

This is a really nice coming of age novel about a bunch of rich kids at a wacky boarding school in Connecticut. The author, Sebastian Stuart, writes very likeable characters who are imperfect, quirky, funny, and interesting. It's set during the late sixties, and he does a good job incorporating the free love drug culture. And even though the kids come from backgrounds I could never imagine, they still struggle with the same issues all kids struggle with as they enter into adulthood.

My only disappointment with the novel was the ending. I wanted more. Stuart ended his story without giving me the information I wanted, but I think he did that on purpose. He gave me everything I really need to know.

The Hour Between: A Novel

The Serpent's Tale

2010-07-01T09:43:00.002-04:00

Okay, so this is book two in the Mistress of the Art of Death series. I read it quickly - in about 5 days - but it's probably my least favorite of the three. I'm not sure exactly why. The characters are all great, and I had basically NO clue who the murderer was until Adelia revealed it, and then I said, "Oh, of course, how did I miss that?" I think probably I just read all three books in too close succession, and burned myself out on Adelia and her Old English adventures.

To be clear, I didn't NOT like the book, I just didn't like it as much as the other two. But there are always weak links in series, aren't there?

Happy 4th everyone!

Mistress of the Art of Death

2010-06-25T09:51:00.002-04:00

This book was delicious! I gobbled it up in about 4 days, and it's not a short book. This is the first book in the series by Ariana Franklin, where we meet Adelia (the title Mistress) when she comes to England to find out who is killing the children of Cambridge - and why the town's Jewish citizens have been framed for the murders.

Again, the characters are all beautifully drawn, particularly Adelia; the boy Ulf; Adelia's companion Master Simon; and Sir Rowan Picot, King Henry II's "fixer". Plus there's a whole cast of interesting townspeople who seem very Shakespearean to me - they are minor characters who are finely wrought. Plus the mystery just pulls you along - I had some ideas of who the murderer was, but I wasn't sure until he was revealed.

There is also some serious commentary on the treatment of Jews throughout time. For instance (and I have no idea how true this is), it seemed that prior to Henry II, there was only ONE Jewish cemetery in England, and that was in London. That meant that any Jew who died in England had to get to London pronto in order to be buried within the proper time frame. Burial was not permitted in a Christian cemetery. King Henry changed that (or so the author would have us believe).

Historically true or not, this was another great story from a gifted author. And I started the second book in the series on this morning on the train...

Grave Goods

2010-06-21T10:28:00.002-04:00

I have found a new historical fiction series! This book is actually the third in a series by Ariana Franklin (who is really Diana Norman). I liked it so much that I picked up books one and two at the library yesterday.

Set in 12th century England under King Henry II, these books tell of the adventures of Dr. Ariana Aguilar. Trained in Salerno, Ariana is one of the very few female doctors of the time, and she is also one of the few trained in the "art of death" - she's the Quincy of her time. The research that went into the story is awesome, but it never feels cumbersome. And I like that the author uses relatively modern language (I imagine the language of 12th century England would have been like Greek to the modern English-language reader).

But aside from that, these are great characters with great adventures. In addition to Ariana we have her companions Mansur (an Arab eunuch, who pretends to be the doctor to avoid accusations of witchcraft), Gyltha (her servant/friend/nanny), and Allie (her daughter). In this book Ariana and Mansur are asked to identify two very old corpses at Glastonberry Abbey, to determine if they are the remains of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere. Henry II REALLY wants them to be, but Ariana is all about finding the truth. Along the way to finding the truth she has all sorts of interesting adventures.

I highly recommend the book, but I would have started with the first one (Mistress of the Art of Death) if I had known it was a series. But I'm already about 100 pages into that, so I'll be posting again soon.

Tell Me Something True

2010-06-12T10:59:00.003-04:00

The descriptor on the front of this novel by Leila Cobo says, "What if everything you believed about your family was a lie?" But the novel didn't really live up to that for me. The main character, Gabriella, does find out something about her mother that she didn't know, and that changes her perception of her mother (who died when she was 5 years old), and about what real love means, but it doesn't change EVERYTHING.

Aside from that, I LOVED this novel. I just couldn't put it down. The characters of Gabriella, Angel, and even the deceased Helena, are so beautifully written, and so multi-faceted, that I could really see them. And the love story between Gabriella and Angel is both the kind of romance that one can only dream of, and a real relationship fraught with misunderstandings and trepidation.

The end of the novel made me sad, but only added to the non-romance feeling of Gabriella's and Angel's relationship, and Gabriella's growth through her experiences in Cali. I will definitely be looking for Cobo's next novel.

BTW, I STARTED reading The Scarlet Letter, but the language is so old-fashioned, I put it down after a chapter or two. I may try again later...

Hester: The Missing Years of the Scarlet Letter

2010-06-04T09:54:00.002-04:00

First, an admission: I never read The Scarlet Letter. Shameful, I know, but my excuse is that I went to an all girls Catholic school, and they probably felt that assigning that novel would be overkill. At any rate, I think I will be picking it up at the library this weekend, because I want to see what I missed.

Hester, as written by Paula Reed, is a really likable character. She has intelligence, spirit, and spunk, at a time when women were obedient and subservient to their Puritanical male betters. And Pearl is a lovely young lady, wise beyond her years, who I think learns the opposite lesson from Hester's situation than what Hester would probably like, but that just adds interest to the story.

Is is the best novel ever? No, but it's not bad. I found the story a bit contrived - it's not a stretch to believe that Hester and Pearl go to England thanks to Pearl's inheritance from Hester's elderly husband, but it is a stretch to believe that Hester gets so involved in the politics of the day. But I do love the intrigues of historical fiction, and 17th century England is a favorite, so I allowed myself to be swept up in the story.

However, for as strong as Reed's writing and story were, I was disappointed by the ending. I felt like she just sort of wrapped everything up with a nice little ribbon in order to get Hester back to New England to jibe with The Scarlet Letter, and it felt a little forced. But aside from that quibble, it was a thoroughly enjoyable novel that I would definitely recommend. And I really am going to read The Scarlet Letter.

The Piano Teacher

2010-05-25T09:42:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure I particularly liked this first novel by Janice Y.K. Lee. I initially found it a bit hard to get into - the narrative switches back and forth between 1952/53 and 1941/42, but with most of the same characters. Once I got into the rhythm of the story I found it gripping, but I wouldn't call it enjoyable.

The Piano Teacher of the title is Claire, newly arrived with her civil-servant husband in Hong Kong in 1952. The 1940's part of the story involves British ex-pat Will and his Eurasian girlfriend Trudy, just before and during the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during WWII. In 1952, Claire becomes the piano teacher for Locket Chen, daughter of Victor and Melody Chen, who are Will's employers, and Trudy's distant cousins. That is how Claire comes to meet Will, and to become involved in all that has gone on with him, Trudy, the Chens, and others who have been in Hong Kong since before the war.

It's a complicated story, full of intriguing twists and turns. But it's also full of questions: In a time of war, what is courage? What is honor? Is it cowardice to do what you can to keep yourself and others alive, or is it heroism? Is patriotism a valid excuse for treacherous actions? There is rich fodder for discussion here, but I'm still not sure I would call it an enjoyable read.

Day After Night

2010-05-14T10:26:00.001-04:00

I really enjoyed this novel by Anita Diamant, which tells the story of four Jewish refugees in an internment camp in Israel just after WWII. These four women, Shayndel, Leonie, Tedi, and Zorah, all survived the Holocaust in different ways, but all are dealing with similar feelings of loss and guilt.

The characters are very real, and very likeable, and I enjoy how they relate with one another and, through their relationship, help each other deal with their feelings in order to start the healing process. Although these are four very different women, they all have their share of courage, and vulnerability, and humor - none of them is one-dimensional. The fact that they are multifaceted makes them real, and makes it that much easier for the reader to become involved in their story.

Aside from being the story of how four women help each other through a difficult time, Day After Night is also the story of the rescue of 200 detainees from the Atlit prison camp. I have to admit my ignorance, I had no idea the Brits detained Jews who immigrated to the newly-created Jewish state as “illegal,” unless they had papers or could prove they had family there. The Brits even tried to prevent non-European Jews from entering Israel: when a group of Iraqi Jews enters the state across the northern border, they are imprisoned separately from the others, with the assumption they will be sent back to Iraq.

This is a beautifully told story, well-written, and hard to put down. I highly recommend it.

The Widow's Season

2010-05-08T11:56:00.002-04:00

I really enjoyed this first novel by Laura Brodie. It's the story of Sarah, a 39-year-old woman whose husband, David, is lost in a storm and presumed dead. It seems that David is haunting Sarah... or is he actually alive?

Brodie really takes the reader inside Sarah's head, and I think does a very good job describing the feelings that a widow goes through, coping with the loss of her husband - particularly when no body has been found. The fact that I went back and forth a few times about whether David was actually dead or alive is an indication of how well-written this novel is. She had me going right up until the very end.

This was a quick read, because I wanted to get to the end, and the truth. It was also a good story about interesting characters, and the movement of the action through the seasons of the Shenandoah Valley drew me along as well. I would definitely recommend this novel.

A Catch of Consequence

2010-04-26T08:56:00.002-04:00

I love historical novels, and A Catch of Consequence is one of the best I've read in a long time. Diana Norman tells a page-turner of a story about the adventures of Makepeace Burke, a Boston tavern keeper who catches herself a new life when she fishes English nobleman Philip Dapifer out of Boston Harbor.

Makepeace is a very likable character, and her entourage of younger brother Aaron, former slave Betty, and Indian Tantaquidgeon are an interesting group. Philip Dapifer is really a secondary character, whose main role seems to be getting Makepeace from Boston to England, where she learns some very hard lessons about what's really important in life.

This book is not an historical romance. Yes, there is some romance, but mostly we follow Makepeace as she makes her way through the events of Boston and then England in the latter part of the 18th century. It's really a very good novel.

Nothing very exciting...

2010-04-19T08:07:00.002-04:00

I guess they all can't be great books. I just finished reading The Diary by Eileen Goudge. It was okay, but pretty formulaic and trite. Definitely chick lit, and the characters weren't all that appealing; I just didn't care very much who Elizabeth decided to marry and why.

I also read part of The New ME Diet by Jade and Keoni Teta. Turns out I'm a muscle burner - who knew? Anyway, it's stuff I know - don't eat a lot of starches, fill up on vegetables and fruits, eat healthy protein every day, avoid alcohol. Their workout plan is that you do hybrid moves that work more than one muscle, and you work without stopping for 20 minutes. I guess it's sort of like Curves. Anyway, I will probably try the eating plan, but I like my Body Pump classes at Gold's.

The Thirteenth Tale

2010-03-30T09:32:00.001-04:00

For anyone who has ever had any aspiration to be a novelist, THIS is the book that will make you say, “That’s the kind of novel I want to write.” Mystery, romance, crazy relatives, windswept moors, creepy old houses – this book has everything and then some. And the fact that it’s a novel about a biographer/bookstore employee/avid reader invited to write the biography of a best-selling author makes it that much more appealing to booklovers like me.

I think the aspects of the book I like best are the ambiguities. The narrator, Margaret Lea, is an unmarried adult woman who works for her father in his bookstore, but I am not quite sure how old she is. Is she 25? 30? A 40-year-old spinster? It’s never clear to me. And the era is unclear as well. There are telephones and trains, but not a computer or cell phone in sight, and the author, Diane Setterfield, gives us no historical markers like wars to judge by. Margaret could be writing Miss Winter’s biography anytime between 1960 and 2010.

But those ambiguities serve to enhance the eternal nature of Miss Winter’s story of the Angelfield family, and I believe that is the point. It doesn’t matter when it happened, what matters is that this is a timeless mystery of family secrets and half-told tales, one I found almost impossible to put down.

Women, Work & the Art of Savoir Faire

2010-03-29T11:25:00.002-04:00

I am admittedly not much of a nonfiction reader, but the title of this book by Mireille Giuliano caught my eye, and it has been a while since school ended, so I thought I would give it a read. It's a nice book. No, there is nothing really new here, but Giuliano has an easy writing style and she tells some good stories. I would recommend this book to new college graduates, both women and men, for an accessible and not-so-dry introduction to what the business world expects from them. And when is the last time you read a how-to-succeed book that had recipes in it? It's worth reading for that reason alone.

The Wild Things

2010-03-21T15:17:00.004-04:00

This book was interesting; I can't really say that I loved it or would even recommend it, but it was interesting. I picked it up because I enjoyed the only other book of Dave Eggers' that I have read, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. I admit to having never read Maurice Sendak, and to not having seen the movie version of Where the Wild Things Are.

I didn't really like the main character, Max, who has a very vivid imagination and who doesn't seem capable of thinking before he acts (granted, he is about 8 years old, but would an 8-year-old REALLY dump 7 buckets of water all over his sister's room without even thinking about it before - or during?). When he winds up on the island of the wild things he finds a bunch of big hairy animals who have a similar problem of acting before thinking, along with other problems like fear of "the void." And none of the animals were that likeable either - they all seemed to be one-note adult problems.

I understand that the story is about Max dealing with his parents' divorce and his sister's entry into adolescence; I would have to be an idiot NOT to. There is nothing subtle about Eggers' writing, and that's what kept me from liking this book. If he had not bopped me over the head with who/what everything represented, I would have enjoyed the book a lot more.

Commencement

2010-03-15T13:15:00.002-04:00

It rained all weekend, so I finished this book in less than 48 hours. Definitely chick lit, definitely light reading, but a satisfying way to spend a rainy weekend just the same. J. Courtney Sullivan tells the story of four housemates from Smith College, as they start their adult lives and deal with all the stuff that entails.

The women are likable enough - though I didn't really care for April. But I don't think I was necessarily supposed to, and that may speak to the quality of Sullivan's writing. I enjoyed Sullivan's descriptions of the lifestyle and traditions at Smith. I went to an all-girls high school, so I have some idea of the weirdness of an all-female environment, but what she described at Smith was beyond any of my experiences (you may infer from that whatever you like).

She tosses in a mystery near the end, and I admit that I figured it out pretty easily, but it was still a nice plot twist. Overall, I thought it was a nice book. Perfect for the beach, or a plane, or a rainy weekend in March.

Infinity in the Palm of Her Hand

2010-03-13T13:34:00.002-05:00

This was a really cool novel in which Gioconda Belli imagines the real story of Adam and Eve. I think she does a wonderful job of describing the Garden of Eden, the TREES, their experiences with the serpent, and all the other stuff in the Bible. However, she also describes what Adam and Eve (mostly Eve) think and feel about what is happening to them and around them.

Aside from the Bible story, this was a good read about people who are trying to figure out their world. I mean, think about it: they had no one to tell them anything. They had to figure out that when the sky went dark at night it wasn't going to stay that way forever; they had to figure out that when the temperature dropped and the plants died that they better have enough food to last awhile. Sure, God (called Elokim) gave them fire, but they had to figure out how to control it. And Belli does a nice job of describing all of that.

I think what I like best is that Belli gives Adam and Eve sons AND daughters. Because, you know, you need both to populate the whole world... yes, a little icky with brothers and sisters, but she figures out a way to make it work in the end.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

2010-03-10T13:23:00.002-05:00

I wasn't sure I would like this novel - the title is just a little too cute, and I've never been a big fan of epistolary novels. I am glad to say I was wrong. What a charming story! The characters are all likable, warm, and accessible, especially the main character, Juliet, a celebrated author. And all of the personal stories are believable and interesting.

I had no idea that Guernsey Island - supposedly so close to France that you can see the cars on a clear day - was occupied by the Germans during WWII. This novel takes place just after WWII, when the Germans have left and the evacuated children have returned. One of the members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society finds Juliet's name in a used book, and impulsively sends her a letter. She is so charmed by him that she responds, and soon develops a correspondence with all of the members of the Society (and some of the other Islanders). Deciding this is wonderful material for an article, or even a book, Juliet moves temporarily to Guernsey to get to know everyone a little better.

This book spoke to me on a number of levels. First, the experiences during the occupation are touching and sometimes sad. Second, the relationships between the Society members, and those Juliet develops with them, feel genuine and loving. And last, the relationship of everyone to the books they read are so personal and deep, just like the relationships many of us have to the books we love the most. And the surprise appearance of one Oscar Wilde make this a not-to-be-missed novel for all lovers of great British literature.