Bookwormom

2011-07-28T21:31:00.000-04:00

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Harper Lee Comes Out of Hiding??

2011-04-30T12:46:00.000-04:00

Apparently a former Chicago Tribune reporter wrote a book about Harper Lee, the well known but very reclusive author, claiming to have had input from the author herself. The New York Times briefly mentions this in THIS ARTICLE. According to the NYT Ms. Lee has repudiated any involvement. Even Jezebel, the fashion & celebrity gossip site has picked up this story. Several newspapers & websites, the Chicago Tribune among them have picked the story up, and some articles claim Penguin (the new book's publisher) has insisted that Lee did indeed cooperate with Ms. Mills in the writing and researching of the book. According to the Tribune article linked to above, Penguin claims to have a letter stating that Lee did indeed cooperate.However, I've done a search on the Penguin Press website and can't find a mention of Marja Mills.

SO- who knows? Did Ms. Lee really cooperate with Ms. Mills? Or not? Will we ever know or will it be buried by the lawyers?

Personal Life Update

2011-04-13T19:48:00.000-04:00

Well you guys, I passed my 2nd exam in the computer class I'm taking. I totally screwed up the tabs (& thus the formatting) by neglecting to hit the set button before I hit ok..I passed, but my ego-such as it is, lol, is bruised. This was also a poignant reminder that I really do need to devote more time to this portion of the class. I'll cop a plea to being neglectful and a procrastinator.

What else? Younger son Maestro will be confirmed next Saturday, the Great Vigil of Easter. I love the Holy Week services, old and quiet and dark, almost primitive feeling. My husband will be reaffirmed at the same service. I hope family will come, but at this point I don't know who will or won't be be there.

More Links:

1. Happy birthday Beverly Cleary

2.Books that inspired author Elizabeth Moon

3.News about the Dragonriders of Pern movie adaptation

And in more erm..ADULT news, if you could call it that:

Iceland has a Penis Museum! Yes, I'm only 12 years old.

Links for Today

2011-04-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

The Orange Prize (an award for women) shortlist is out, list available HERE.

In other book news a 600 year old copy of The Nuremburg Chronicles has turned up in Utah, story available HERE. I'd love if it could tell us how it got there, that must be quite a story!

World Book Night tonight

2011-03-05T00:13:00.002-05:00

Tonight is the first annual World Book Night, held in the UK & Ireland. The participants will give away copies of 25 titles, link to list here. I'm ashamed to admit, I've read only 2 of the 25 listed: All's Quiet on the Western Front and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold. The about page for the site says some will be given to places like hospitals and prisons, so I think in honor of World Book Day I'll donate some books to a hospice facility in our area.

Today's Quote

2011-03-04T15:09:00.000-05:00

Writing eases my suffering..writing is my way of reaffirming my own existence.

~ Gao Xiangjian, author

Me too!!

No real news on the book front. I decided last week I will 'earn' my book money by going to the gym. 1 hour at the gym = $1 for books. Do you think I've been to the gym since then? NOT. LOL. I do have a big TBR pile to keep me going though. :)

Coming Soon

2011-03-03T00:51:00.001-05:00

I'm currently reading:

1. Blood Born by Linda Howard and Linda Jone I can't find an "official site" for Linda Howard, but here is the publisher page for herher.

2. The Book of Night Women by Marlon James.

Reviews next week. After that I don't know what I'll read.

Nothing to Read?

2011-03-02T06:03:00.000-05:00

Ok, I know I'm way behind in book news, after all I've been on hiatus for a year, but this is ridiculous. Really. The The Guardian is my favorite book site by far. Lots of info, reviews, news and more on a daily basis. Imagine that- not just once a week, but daily! Such luxury. Book pages in American pages are becoming as scarce as hens' teeth. ANYhow.

I normally read the Guardian book pages on my feed reader. Less content, but easier for my lazy butt to keep up with. Tonight I actually go the page &, lo & behold, I find THIS!!! Holy cow. Yes, I really am a dumb Yank. A page full of book stuff: reviews, news, crit, bios. Enough book things to keep me occupied for ages.

SO- if you have nothing to read quel horreur!!, go to the page linked in the paragraph above & your woes will be over.

You're welcome

Back to Your Regularly Scheduled Program

2011-03-01T11:30:00.005-05:00

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It has been a whole entire year since I've posted here. I can't believe it has been so long, yet I thought about my blog every day. Wistfully, you know? Remember when you were little and you wanted something just out of reach and no one was there to help you get what you wanted? I've felt that way about this blog for a very long time now. So here I am. I'm going to redo the look a little bit, with Maestro's help. Customize the template & patch up some old stuff. A lot of old stuff.

Meanwhile I've emailed an editor asking for a galley to review an historical set in pre WW I Britain. I hope I get a copy, despite being down for so long. The book sounds good & I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things here.

I hope the book blog world is still out there somewhere. I've missed wandering around and having impossibly long TBR lists.

Annus Horribilis

2010-10-18T10:45:00.005-04:00

You guys know that the title phrase comes from HM Queen Elizabeth, right? It means horrible year in Latin.

So much has happened this year- not much of it fun or happy, I'm afraid. I've not read a single book to the end. I've gotten about half way through & given up on quite a few. I associate my blog with happiness & fun but my personal life isn't matching up and I can't figure out how to blog here while 1) not reading and 2) feeling very unhappy & stressed. Thus I'm on hiatus.

I'm really sad. This is my 5th year blogging. I should be celebrating.

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2010-01-30T10:41:00.002-05:00

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Semester Hiatus

Due to my chronic inability to be organized enough to both post on the blog, take classes and maintain my sanity, posting here will be sporadic at best until the end of the semester, which is early May. I will post occasionally but generally I anticipate greatly reduced activity here until late spring. I'm sorry to do this but it's inevitable I'm afraid. See you then!

2010-01-15T22:33:00.000-05:00

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Therefore today's post will come tomorrow! :p

Best of 2009

2010-01-13T11:59:00.000-05:00

All of the authors and titles are hyperlinked to reviews I've written or author's pages. In the case of Georgette Heyer I've linked to pages that detail her work or the specific title I'm referring to. I hope 2009 was an enjoyable reading year for you too!

Best Book of 2009~

The Risen Empire and The Killing of Worlds; Scott Westerfeld

Best New to Me Authors~

1. Ariana Franklin
2. Georgette Heyer
3. Linnea Sinclair

Best Mystery~
Contemporary~ The Midnight Choir; Gene Kerrigan
Historical~ Mistress of the Art of Death; Ariana Franklin

Best Fantasy~ Scar Night, Alan Campbell

Best Science Fiction~

1. The Risen Empire, Scott Westerfeld (duology)
2. The Moon's Shadow; Catherine Asaro
3. The Ruby Dice; Catherine Asaro

Best Romance~ Hope's Folly- Linnea Sinclair

Best of the Rest~

1. Death Wore White; Jim Kelly
2. In Defense of Food; Michael Pollan
3. The War of the Flowers; Tad Williams
4. Devil's Cub; Georgette Heyer
5. Frederica; Georgette Heyer
6. These Old Shades; Georgette Heyer

2009 Annual Statistics

2010-01-11T19:04:00.000-05:00

And the grand total for the year is......65! Not too bad considering going back to school totally sank both my reading statistics and my blog. Not reading much romance these last few months, and these next few aren't looking great either, at least for romance reading. Vampires, though, are totally on the upswing.

2005~ 102 2006~ 104 2007~ 64 2008~ 88

General Fiction~

Chick Lit- 1
Children's Fantasy- 1
Christian Thriller- 1
Christian Women's Fiction- 1
Diet & Health- 0
Erotica- 1
Fantasies- 11
Fictionalized Memoir- 2
Historical Fiction- 1
Historical Mysteries- 2
Horror- 1
Humor-0
Literary Criticism- 1
Literature- 0
Manga- 2
Metaphysics- 1
Mystery, Contemporary- 5
Mystery, Historical- 4
Science Fiction- 4
Sociology- 2
Thrillers- 0
Travelogue/ex-pat adventure- 0
Women's Fiction- 2

Romances~

Contemporary Suspense- 0
Fantasy- 1
Historical- 13
Medieval- 1
Mythology- 0
Paranormal Vampire- 3
Science Fiction- 1
Time Travel- 0
Traditional Regencies- 2

YA Paranormal/fantasy- 1
YA romance- 0
YA Chicklet- 0

DNF- 6

I Heard a Bird Sing; Oliver Herford

2010-01-03T23:07:00.001-05:00

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

A magical thing

And sweet to remember:

"We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,"

I heard a bird sing

In the dark of December

December Monthly Synopsis

2009-12-31T16:39:00.004-05:00

This month I read:

1. Devil's Cub~ Georgette Heyer

2. Frederica~ Georgette Heyer

3. The Untamed Bride~ Stephanie Laurens

4. Quatrain~ Sharon Shinn.

5. Divine Misdemeanors~ Laurell K. Hamilton

6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo~ Steig Larsson

ETA: 7. These Old Shades~ Georgette Heyer

Notes:

I can't believe it has taken me so long to read Georgette Heyer, as much as I love traditional regencies. She's wonderful & I'm rapidly glomming the new Sourcebooks Casablanca qp size releases. Untamed Bride is a wonderful Laurens, kind of a historical romantic suspense. I plan to read the rest of the series. Sharon Shinn's book is a collection of short stories, each one set in one of her worlds. They're all quite good. The one set in Samaria finally convinced me to read that group. I've bought them all at the UBS. The LKH is fine, as far as it goes. It's an episode in Los Angeles, wherein Merry & her crew must solve a mystery & Merry must learn a little more the role of a ruler, as opposed to simply being the heir. Less carefree and more responsability and more choices between what she personally wants and what id best for the group or for Faerie as a whole. I read the Steig Larsson book earlier this fall, but forgot to list it.

Note, pt.2

These Old Shades is paired with Devil's Cub, I read them in reverse order (which I don't recommend, as subtle interactions are lost if you are unfamiliar with the characters). They do stand alone though, if you're interested in reading them. TOS made me cry & therefore earns an automatic place on my keeper shelves.

2010 Releases

2009-12-30T21:15:00.015-05:00

Below are a few books I'm looking forward to hunting down next year. I'm quite sure the to be bought list will grow significantly as the year progresses, but as of now this is it. List is linked to author's sites.

1. Rebels and Lovers~ Linnea Sinclair February

2. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms~ N.K. Jesmin March

3. Except the Queen~ Jane Yolen & Midori Snyder February

4. Shalador's Lady~ Anne Bishop March

5. Foiled~ Jane Yolen April Graphic novel about a teenage girl fencer!! How cool is that?!!

6. Naamah's Curse~ Jacqueline Carey June

7. Dark Peril~ Christine Feehan September

8. Cryoburn~ Lois McMaster Bujold No date available yet, possibly November This is a Miles book.

9. A Kiss at Midnight~ Eloisa James No month listed Described as a Cinderella theme

10-12. The Black Cobra Quartet~ Stephanie Laurens February, July & end of the year First title is The Elusive Bride

13. The Chalice of Blood~ Peter Tremayne July, UK release

Other News

Both Scott Westerfeld and Juliet Marillier are writing new books. Marillier's title is said to be Seer of Sevenwaters formerly Song of the Island, I couldn't find a pub date for it though. Westerfeld's new book is supposed to be titled Behemoth, second in the trilogy that began with Leviathan, and is currently being worked on.

October and November Synopsis

2009-12-26T05:00:00.000-05:00

Listed below are what I've managed to read between 1 October and November 30, none of which are reviewed or listed in the archives. I hope to slowly work my way through them and review them, but am not overly hopeful that I will be able to achieve this in any timely fashion.

1. What Remains of Heaven~ C.S. Harris

2. The Taming of the Duke~ Eloisa James

3. Kiss Me Annabel~ Eloisa James

4. On the Way to the Wedding~ Julia Quinn

5. Desperate Duchesses~ Eloisa James

6. The Disdainful Marquis~ Edith Layton

7. The Abandoned Bride~ Edith Layton

8. The Untamed Bride~ Edith Layton

2009-12-25T05:00:00.000-05:00

The angel Gabriel from heaven came, his wings as drifted snow, his eyes as flame;
"All hail," said he, "thou lowly maiden Mary, mostly highly favored lady", gloria!

"For know a blessed Mother thou shalt be, all generations laud and honor thee, thy Son shall be Emmanuel, by seers foretold,most highly favored lady," gloria!

Then gently Mary meekly bowed her head, "To me be as it pleaseth God," she said, "my soul shall laud and magnify his holy name." Most highly favored ,lady, gloria!

Of her Emmanuel, the Christ, was born in Behtlehem, all on a Christmas morn, "Most highly favored lady," gloria!

This is the text of a Basque hymn, one of my favorites, that our church plays during Advent although it is also appropriate for the Annunciation (March 25th). The painting is La Vierge au Lys by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. I love to hear it at this time of year.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T00:01:00.003-05:00

May God grant you the light in Christmas,
Which is Faith;
The warmth of Christmas,
Which is Love;
The radiance of Christmas,
Which is Purity;
The righteousness of Christmas,
Which is Justice;
The belief in Christmas,
Which is Truth;
The all of Christmas,
Which is Christ.

~Wilda English~

Found on the website of the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn Photo is from an album posted by fwz on Webshots

Dear Author's Top 100 Romances

2009-12-23T05:00:00.000-05:00

Click the link in the title above to go to the Dear Author page with the list on it. Often the discussions are well worth reading, no matter how long they are. Below I copied & pasted the list, bolded titles I've read, italicized titles I own but haven't read yet. I almost never read contemporaries, so that always colors my numbers. If my tallies are correct, I've read 17 and own another 12. What are your numbers?

1. To Have and to Hold by Patricia Gaffney
2. For My Lady’s Heart by Laura Kinsale
3. Black Silk by Judith Ivory
4. Naked in Death by J.D Robb
5. My Reckless Heart by Jo Goodman
5. The Dream Hunter by Laura Kinsale
5. Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase
8. The Windflower by Laura London/Tom and Sharon Curtis
8. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie
10. Delicious by Sherry Thomas
10. Forbidden by Susan Johnson
10. The Shadow and the Star by Laura Kinsale
10. Wild at Heart by Patricia Gaffney
14. Beast by Judith Ivory
14. False Colors by Alex Beecroft
14. Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin
14. The Changeling Bride by Lisa Cach
14. Dance by Judy Cuevas
19. Heart Of The West by Penelope Williamson
19. Practice to Deceive by Patricia Veryan
19. Reforming Lord Ragsdale by Carla Kelly
19. Tatiana And Alexander by Paulina Simons
19. The Bride Fair by Cheryl Reavis
19. The Outsider by Penelope Williamson
19. Uneven by Anah Crow
19. Bad Girl by Michelle Jaffe
19. Archangel by Sharon Shinn
19. The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe
29. As You Desire by Connie Brockway
29. Night in Eden by Candice Proctor
29. Fallen from Grace by Laura Leone
29. Seize the Fire by Laura Kinsale
29. Anyone But You by Jennifer Crusie
29. Crooked Hearts by Patricia Gaffney
35. Bound by Your Touch by Meredith Duran
35. Private Arrangements by Sherry Thomas
35. The Duke’s Wager by Edith Layton
35. Dream Man by Linda Howard
35. Ember by Bettie Sharpe
35. Mirrors and Mistakes by Kathleen Gilles Seidel
35. The Dream Thief by Shana Abe
35. It Had To Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
35. Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
35. Morning Glory by LaVyrle Spencer
35. Spring Fancy by LaVyrle Spencer
35. A Christmas Promise by Mary Balogh
35. Again by Kathleen Gilles Seidel
35. Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught
35. Company of Swans by Eva Ibbotson
35. His Lordship’s Mistress by Joan Wolf
35. One Good Turn by Carla Kelly
35. Shattered Rainbows by Mary Jo Putney
35. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
35. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
55. Lady’s Choice by Jayne Ann Krentz
55. Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale
55. Natural Law by Joey Hill
55. Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas
55. Out of the Blue by Sally Mandel
55. The Passions of Emma by Penelope Williamson
55. Written on Your Skin by Meredith Duran
55. A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
55. A Man to Slay Dragons by Meagan McKinney
55. Beloved Lord by Mallory Burgess
55. Butterfly Tattoo by Deidre Knight
55. Dearly Beloved by Mary Jo Putney
55. Devonshire by Lynne Connolly
55. Don’t Forget to Smile by Kathleen Gilles Seidel
55. Dream A Little Dream by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
55. Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
55. Duke of Shadows by Meredith Duran
55. Fireflower by Edith Layton
55. George and the Virgin by Lisa Cach
55. Jovah’s Angel by Sharon Shinn
55. Lady Gallant by Suzanne Robinson
55. Lily by Patricia Gaffney
55. Lion’s Bride by Iris Johanson
55. Mr. Impossible by Loretta Chase
55. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
55. Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann
55. Pure Sin by Susan Johnson
55. Scandal by Amanda Quick
55. Scandal by Carolyn Jewel
55. The Dominant Blonde by Alisa Kwitney
55. The Slightest Provocation by Pam Rosenthal
55. To Love a Dark Lord by Anne Stuart
55. Untie My Heart by Judith Ivory
55. Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan
55. Wild Sweet Ecstasy by Jo Goodman
55. Wildest Hearts by Jayne Ann Krentz
55. The Reluctant Heiress/Magic Flutes by Eva Ibbotson
55. “A House East of Regent Street” by Pam Rosenthal (novella in the anthology Strangers in the Night)
55. A Place to Call Home by Deborah Smith
55. Devil’s Bride by Stephanie Laurens
55. Heart Throb by Suzanne Brockmann
55. If Wishes Were Horses by Curtiss Ann Matlock
55. Lady Elizabeth’s Comet by Sheila Simonson
55. Rejar by Dara Joy
55. Weaver Takes a Wife by Sheri Cobb South
100. Beyond Breathless by Kathleen O’Reilly

Book Related News

2009-12-22T13:34:00.001-05:00

According to the Guardian newspaper, Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit series is being released with all new animation in 2011. The article says the new cartoons will be released around the world & all new merchandise will accompany it. Read all about it here.

Also found on the Guardian, for those of you who like to follow authors behaving badly, there has apparently been a huge troll fest over on Amazon involving an author named Candace Sams- who is apparently so upset she threatened to involve the FBI. Seriously. LOL I just can't imagine. Read all about it here.

On a personal note, I'll be posting more now that finals are over & grades are in. Updates coming soon, both family & reading lists.

Advent Blog Tour '09

2009-12-11T17:17:00.009-05:00

I thought I'd participated more years than 2006, but the only other Advent post I can find is this one. Click link in the title above to go to Marg & Kailana's Advent blog. You'll find lots of other folks who're writing. The Tour is a great way to find other book blogs, often from all around the world. Head on over there & check it out. This year I find myself in a more contemplative frame of mind than usual. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes here Chez Bookwormom, other than the absolute dearth of posting here, and it has affected my mood.

In an effort to cheer myself up I decided that I would decorate using a snowman theme. I already have several acrylic snowmen cavorting across the top of Pianist's new piano. A skiier, a caroler, a nurse (to tend the skiier who always falls over), a penguin riding an ice cube, a couple of glass Christmas trees. Silly, fun little charms, really. I found glass snowmen ornaments with glittery orange carrot noses (cheap, too!) and one that has a long striped hat streaming above his head. I dug out some old snowflake placemats. I bought a large package of hard Christmas candies & poured them in a bowl, the Hubby was surprised- I rarely buy candy to keep in the house.

What else? I wrapped the back door in bright red Christmas paper & ribbons, now it looks like a giant present. I'd not done that for a few years. I put a new purple cloth under my advent wreath. I think I need a cinnamon broom, I saw one the other day in the craft store but skipped it. There's nothing like scent to cheer you up and bring back memories. I put a giant pink-freckled poinsettia on the dining room table. I made the kids hunt down the giant pinecone wreath buried up in the attic & its on the front door now.

I don't normally like to associate Christmas with more shopping, more stuff, more more more!!! but somehow this year a little retail therapy goes a long way towards lightening my mood. Sorry this post is a little down, but I can't help it. This is the only place I can 'let my hair down a little' so to speak & you guys just have to listen. I'm glad I stocked up on romances last month, maybe subconsciously I knew I was going to need a surefire pick me up this month.

1,000th Post Giveaway is Here

2009-11-23T22:03:00.008-05:00

This is the 1,000th post! Remember?? From ages & ages ago? Whoever posted comments between August 7th and the 1,000th post would get to pick two titles from a list of books. Never did I think it would take me so long to get to 1,000 posts, but here we are at last!

If anyone still wants them here's the deal: I'll mail them to you, including overseas. There are 10 titles so let's say three winners? Email me your list of two titles & your address & I'll mail them to you. In the event of duplicate choices, the email with the earliest date & timestamp gets top pick, runners up can email back and forth with me as to which ones you want.

Email me at: bookwormomsterATgmailDOTcom no later than Sunday 29 November 2009 at midnight Eastern time US.

I think they've all been reviewed and can be found in my archives.

The choices are:

1. Cybele's Secret- Juliet Marillier

2. Ruby's Slippers- Leanna Ellis

3. Certain Jeopardy- Struecker & Gansky

4. Rooftops of Tehran- Mahbod Seraji

5. Dirt: An American Campaign- Mark LaFlamme

6. Twenties Girl- Sophie Kinsella

7. Four Wives- Wendy Walker

8. Make Ahead Meals- Jane Doiron

9. The Book of Unholy Mischief- Elle Newmark

10. The Prince of Midnight- Laura Kinsale
This is a 1990 hardcover edition complete with Fabio. If you're a romance lover who admires Ms. Kinsale & you posted this one is in nearly pristine condition.

Newest Treasures

2009-11-11T06:00:00.002-05:00

On Sunday I mentioned the last few romances I've read & mentioned that I've bought some new books. Almost all were found at my UBS & unfortunately they'll have to wait until the end of the semester before I can read most of them. Still, I love seeing them on my shelves & am anticipating some light and delicious reading in December.

This Duchess of Mine~ Eloisa James Desperate Duchesses group

Duchess by Night~ Eloisa James Desperate Duchesses group

When the Duke Returns~ Eloisa James Desperate Duchesses group

A Duke of Her Own~ Eloisa James Desperate Duchesses group

The Taming of the Duke~ Eloisa James Essex Sisters group: Imogen's book

Pleasure for Pleasure~ Eloisa James Essex Sisters group: Josie's book

An Affair Before Christmas~ Eloisa James Desperate Duchesses group

Broken Wing~ Judith James A book I decided I wouldn't buy unless it came to the UBS. The reviews really put me on the fence, but it finally showed up so I bought it. *shrug*

Bride Enchanted~ Edith Layton Starting to collect backlist

To Love A Wicked Lord~Edith Layton See above

A Rogue's Proposal~ Stephanie Laurens A Cynster family member, it has been ages since I've read their books.

A Rake's Vow~ Stephanie Laurens See comment above. I stopped reading this series once Laurens was finished with the original family tree.

The Frenchman's Plain Jane Project~ Myrna MacKenzie HQN Romance #4123 October; I love the 'plain Jane' plotline

Picture Perfect Christmas~Melanie Schuster HQN/Kimani Love the plot- very unusual & the smile on the cover model?? Delicious

I'm intrigued by the Duke Of Villiers in the Desperate Duchesses group, but his character thread runs through the entire group so I bought most of them so I could learn just what a rogue he is! He sounds yummy & delicious & in need of the love of a good wooman, I must say. LOL :) I needed Imogen's book because Rafe & Imogen both needed to straighten up. Josie I don't really give a damn about but Mayne needed his own book & this is it. Soooo...I still read the original Cynsters by Laurens. After Traditional Regencies died I needed something to take their place, but starting on HQNs has taken me a very long time. I'm dipping my toes in the water with these.

Access Romance

2009-11-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

My monthly post is up over at Access Romance. I'm talking about playing games as a method of courtship, especially in historicals. Come on over and say hi!

Glomming

2009-11-08T23:12:00.004-05:00

Sort of. I've spent the last week devouring romances. Avoiding homework and papers due in favor of going on a book buying and reading binge. I've read the following:

1.The Untamed Bride~ Stephanie Laurens her newest book, will write it up in a day or two

2. On the Way to the Wedding~ Julia Quinn

3. Desperate Duchesses~ Eloisa James

4. Kiss Me Annabel~ Eloisa James

5. The Disdainful Marquis~ Edith Layton

6. The Abandoned Bride~ Edith Layton

Five and six are a Signet traditional Regency double. Ms. Layton is one of the classic, standard setting founders of the genre. Until this week I'd never read anything of hers & now I'm planning a raid on the UBS for her backlist.

Impromptu Road Trip

2009-10-26T10:42:00.009-04:00

Last Monday (or Tuesday, I can't quite remember) Anime Queen, our teenage daughter, asked, "Which one of you is going out to Tiny College that Offers Japanese with me on Friday and Saturday?" Uh, what was that?? How long have you known about this road trip & not mentioned it to anyone?? Er.. since October 5th. Several dozen phone calls and a few last minute arrangements later, the trip was a go.

Also last week, more great news! Joy of joys, the Pianist has been given a new piano. A gift from a friend at church who is seriously ill and will be unable to play anymore. Can you guess what the only compatible day to pick up our new gift? Why Friday of course. The day daughter and I will be on the road. The older son called in sick and the younger one was exempted from school so they could help dad put the old piano in storage and the new one into the house.

I guess it all went well. I didn't hear any horror stories about moving the pianos or the joys of driving a small moving truck in heavy Friday traffic. No fingers or toes were accidentally crushed. The old one will be given away via Craigslist soon. I hope. At least it would be if one of us could remember to put the listing up.

Thursday night Anime Queen and I made it 'down the valley' to the tiny, picturesque town where her potential college is. Kids and parents have traveled from up and down the East Coast to be there so I feel less put out about AQ's lack of advance warning. I guess. She has totally fallen in love with it. I kind of wonder how much of a fit it'll be, but she can be stubborn and persistent when she wants to be, so we'll see.

I ended up driving all the way home Friday evening. I couldn't face spending the night alone in an economy hotel at a tiny crossroad beside the highway, so I drove 3+ hours home in pouring rain to spend the night in my own bed with my own sheets and my own hubby. Then I got up at 6 am Saturday morning and did it all over again. I don't care, it was worth the stress to be home in my own bed. However, I might have felt differently if I was psychic and knew ahead of time that it'd pour cats and dogs all the way down the valley and back again Saturday morning.

Of course, never mind the fact that I had a midterm to study for or a paper to do research for or a blog that is being seriously neglected. You know, teenagers think it's perfectly acceptable to drop and/or rearrange your entire life to accomodate them. Hubby's theory is that she miscalculated and thought that we'd automatically tell her 'no way, we can't go' because of the ridiculous time frame and get her off the hook. I don't know which one of us is right, but she ended up loving the place- which she told me she didn't expect.

We're back now and so far all is pretty much right with the world- that is to say, completely crazy and a total soap opera from start to finish. This particular storyline has to do with Pianist, but I'm too tired to tell that one today.

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

If You're on my Feed Reader

2009-10-21T20:40:00.002-04:00

Please be aware that as I now have well over 1,700 posts on my reader I am forced to delete them all and begin anew. At almost zero. :{ Am unhappy at the necessity of doing this but I've no time to physically sort through the posts.

Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms, Jane Doiron

2009-10-20T05:00:00.000-04:00

I guess the fact that I've posted all of three times in October versus roughly fourteen (which is still not great, BTW) in September qualifies me as a busy mom. So this was definitely the book for me to road test. Click the link in the title above to go to the book webpage. This review is part of a book tour sponsored by Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours. I received an ARC for this review.

TBH, I most likely would've purchased one of these from a bricks and mortar bookstore. I try very hard to be organized, and one of the keys is good tools to help you become and remain organized. This book is one of those tools. Funny observation- the dessert section is pretty early on in this book. To my way of thinking placing it there matches up pretty closely with how my days go sometimes- I just want to start with dessert and skip the main course entirely. IIRC Garfield agrees with me!

On a slightly more serious note, I appreciated the tips pages in the very front of the book the most. They helped keep me on track and out of the woods several times. The recipes themselves are as advertised: quick, familiar, and easy. Even your fussiest appetite will find something to love in here. Most of all the recipes use mainly pantry staples, which means no buying an unfamiliar ingredient that will then sit on your shelves unused. Which is always a plus nowadays with the economy being what it is.

Around my house the earliest bus pick up is 6:15 am. Obviously that means sleeping in until 5:45, racing through a shower and running out the door at 6:10. If I'm lucky this child remembers to grab the premade lunch & a quick yogurt or piece of fruit for breakfast. I tried some of Ms. Doiron's breakfast recipes, some of which can be 'bus stop friendly' or carpool friendly or what have you. Now, I tried them over the weekends, so we've yet to try and incorporate them into the am frenzy, but we're going to give it a try.

Another child despises standard breakfast fare and is known to eat hot chili or tuna salad in the morning before school. Make Ahead Meals came to the rescue for this child too, because the recipes I tried hold up quite well for reheating any leftovers the next morning. If you're lucky enough to have leftovers, that is. I don't always have those. The hubby is on a supervised diet, which the side dish and soup sections accommodated with only a few changes here and there.

Overall, Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms was a success for our house. The recipes are teen friendly (both to cook and to eat), fussy-eater friendly and sure to save your bacon in an emergency. Plan out a week's menu using this book, go to the grocery store and try it out. Ms. Doiron's book is a winner in the daily struggle to feed the kids and maintain some sanity.

Cover image found on Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tours

Chemistry in the Rain

2009-10-17T20:26:00.011-04:00

Friday was spent standing on a pebbly spit beside a stream in the middle of the woods surrounded by twenty five high school seniors (17 years old). The kids were testing the stream water for: fecal choliform (eewwww!), organophosphates, nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, two temperature readings, turbidity (cloudiness) & some other stuff. The park ranger says the stream is the standard for purity in our area because it flows through both the park and the military base beside it, which means the land around it is protected from development & thus protected from pollution. The weather was chilly and drizzly, made worse by pouring rain the all the previous day.

Fortunately I was dressed warmly and I made sure I stayed dry so it was fun. I love the woods. One of the boys nearly fell face first off of a log into the water trying to take the upstream temperature. I have to be honest here and say I laughed, although it would've been a serious issue if he'd actually fallen in. Stupid kids are always afraid of not looking the part or whatever, so only one of them was dressed warmly- the rest of them were in t shirts or other thin shirts and sweatshirts, no warm jackets or (heaven forbid) raincoats. No hiking boots or wellies for their feet, sneakers all around. They all spent the entire morning whining about how cold it was & how they couldn't wait to get back to school because it was warm!!

Luckily the teachers ignored this & wandered around making sure they finished all of their experiments. She only had one parent chaperone (ie: me), so she had to ask one of the administrators to accompany us so she didn't have to cancel the whole thing. The park doesn't have the funding to support this type of event, so a nonprofit called The Alice Ferguson Foundation steps in to provide an extra resource teacher/biologist and all of the equipment the kids used for the experiment. It was really neat watching her lead the kids along to recognizing that all of the development they enjoy can damage the environment and thus the water they drink, bathe in and cook with.

It was a relaxing if chilly way to spend the morning watching the kids play in the water & realize that in science, as in many other things, one must follow the directions to get optimal results or else start all over. LOL :)

Back Again

2009-10-15T22:42:00.004-04:00

Somehow I managed to catch a serious chest cold. Two days in bed, low grade fever for three days, went through two jumbo boxes of tissues and two packages of cough drops all by myself. Managed to worry everyone in my family, since I barely remember the last time I was so sick. I think the last time I got pneumonia- which was on Christmas Day when I had thirty people over for dinner- was nearly ten years ago. I'm generally a healthy person, thank heavens.

Anyhow, I had to get out of bed before I felt better to take an exam from a prof who refuses to allow test retakes. Then two days later I had to to turn in a paper to another prof who doesn't allow papers to be submitted via email (!!!!) the first time. So I ended up getting worse again & spent a few more days in bed. The hubby made some of the best ever chicken soup, which I've no doubt made me stronger sooner than I would have been otherwise.

Of course, college courses wait for no one and nothing short of the end of the world. Homework piled higher and higher- I was assigned another paper. If you please, "write a Socratic discussion between two Nobel Peace Prize winners with appropriate citations." Yes, folks you can just imagine how thrilled I was when I found out about that one. President Obama hadn't won when this was assigned. I also have to write a paper about the indigenous people of Sweden- the Sami, nomadic reindeer herders. That one's not due for another five weeks or so. I need to do some food history research for an 'ethnic food night' next week. You know the drill, give a 5 minute presentation & contribute a dish.

What about books you ask? I managed to finish Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. That will be a buddy review with Kailana over at The Written World. A doorstopper, for sure. Worth the time though, especially if you like 'locked room' mysteries and can tolerate business and financial details.

Out sick

2009-10-05T22:31:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the temporary hiatus- been in bed sick since Thursday last. Am now behind in my homework on top of everything else. :( Missed the reread. Double :( Back soonest.

Banned Books #3

2009-09-28T11:42:00.007-04:00

Walter Dean Myers

In support of banned books week, I've decided to read A Mercy by Toni Morrison. Ms. Morrison has several titles that regularly show up on 'challenged' book lists. I've also decided to read one of the young adult titles, probably one that's shelved in my local branch since I need to go down there to pick up a title I ordered via ILL to do research on for a term paper. The branch is little, but I'm hoping to find a book by Walter Dean Myers, who has several titles that show up in challenge lists.

Audiobook image found at Barnes & Noble. Image of Walter Dean Myers found on Random House

Most Challenged Books by Authors of Color

2009-09-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

From the ALA list (link in title above):

3. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

17. The Color Purple by Alice Walker

31. Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane

34. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

36. Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers

45. Beloved by Toni Morrison

69. Native Son by Richard Wright

73. The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende

78. Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya

84. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

85. Always Running by Luis Rodriguez

Also written by authors of color & challenged frequently:

Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry by Mildred D. Taylor

American Indian Myths and Legends by Richard Erdoes and Alfonso Ortiz.

Banned Books Week

2009-09-24T09:25:00.005-04:00

Banned books week rolls around again. This year it will be 26 Sept. through 3 Oct. Every year I promise myself I'll read one of the books on the list & post a review. I've yet to do that. :( This year isn't looking terribly promising for accomplishing that goal either. However, once again I will attempt this. I've not picked one yet, but I plan to read one of the most challenged books of

Banned Classics, top 50, according to the ALA, link at bottom of list:

1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
5. The Color Purple by Alice Walker
6. Ulysses by James Joyce
7. Beloved by Toni Morrison
8. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
9. 1984 by George Orwell
10. The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
11. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
12. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
13. Charlotte's Web by E. B. White
14. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
15. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
16. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
17. Animal Farm by George Orwell
18. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
19. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
20. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
21. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
22. Winnie-the-Pooh by A. A. Milne
23. Their Eyes are Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
24. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
25. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
26. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
27. Native Son by Richard Wright
28. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
29. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
30. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
31. On the Road by Jack Kerouac
32. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
33. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
34. To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
35. Portrait of a Lady by Henry James
36. Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin
37. The World According to Garp by John Irving
38. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
39. A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
40. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien
41. Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally
42. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton
43. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
44. Finnegans Wake by James Joyce
45. The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
46. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
47. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
48. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
49. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
50. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

To see the entire list click here.

YAY for Free Library of Philly!!

2009-09-21T13:20:00.003-04:00

Victory is at hand for those in Philadelphia who love libraries. According to Consumerist.com the Philadelphia libraries will be able to remain open. Verified by an article in Library Journal. Link to LJ found in Consumerist article.

2009-09-21T06:00:00.002-04:00

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Yeah, nothing new happening here re: regular 'pleasure' reading. I'm behind the scheduled readings for my Tuesday class. The Monday night class textbook won't be in until this morning, despite the fact that tonight's the second class meeting. :( Plus I've a H1N1 research project due Thursday, but this time I'm a little ahead of the curve and have actually completed more than half of the assignment already.

Tomorrow ma chere maman will visit most of the day so I'd like to be ahead of the curve if possible so I can relax and enjoy her company. :)

Off to the mines. Have a great day! :)

Riddle Me This

2009-09-20T00:05:00.001-04:00

1. Long legs, crooked thighs, little head and no eyes.

2. Black we are but much admired; men seek for us til they are tired. We tire
the horse, but comfort man: Tell me this riddle if you can.

3. Flour of England, fruit of Spain, Met together in a shower of rain, put in a bag and tied round with a string, if you tell me this riddle I’ll give you a ring.

4. Old Mother Twitchett had but one eye, and long tail, which she let fly; and everytime she went over a gap she left a bit of her tail in a trap.

5. I’ve seen you where you never were, and where you never will be, and you in that same place, may still be seen by me.

6. As I went through the garden gap, who should I meet but Dick Red-Cap! A stick in his hand, a stone in his throat, if you tell me this riddle, I’ll give you a groat.

Answers:

yrrech.6 rorrim ni noitcelfer .5 daerht dna eldeen .4 gniddup mulp .3 slaoc .2
sgnot .1

Midnight Secretary; Tomu Ohmi

2009-09-16T00:05:00.000-04:00

I first found Midnight Secretary via Smart Bitches. The author's name may also be found spelled Oumi and Oomi.Click title above for link to wiki page talking about this series. This is a josei manga (aimed at women)- click here for wiki page detailing what josei manga is and who it’s marketed towards. Originally published in Petit Comic magazine in Japan starting in 2006 and finishing in May of 2009, with 34 chapters and a few extras. It was serialized. I’m very grateful I found it near the end of its serialization. It would’ve been torture to wait weeks and months between chapters. This is the first manga I read and as a ‘newbie’ genre reader I had to get my daughter to explain some of the background and symbolism the genre comes with. If you are a new reader there are lots of resources out there on the internet to help you along.

Kaya Satozuka is what I think we here in the U.S. would call an executive secretary. She’s in her mid twenties and works for the Touma company. In the opening section Kaya has just been assigned to CEO Kyouhei Touma’s office as his only secretary. Not a prospect to be relished, since he goes through secretaries as others might use tissues. However, Kaya is no ordinary secretary either. Preternaturally organized and efficient, Kaya soon makes herself indispensible.

Kaya is a total workaholic, with little or no personal time. The only sticking point is that she’s frumpy. Dresses conservatively, wears glasses despite not needing them. Why this would be a problem given her competence otherwise I didn’t understand. Kyouhei complains about her unattractiveness at first although eventually he shuts up about it. Kyouhei is openly a womanizer, going so far as to instruct Kaya in scheduling and gifts to be given. Chasing Kaya off once in a while. He’s very open about it all- Kaya’s only his secretary after all. & really? Who cares what she thinks?

Everyone has a flaw though, and Kaya’s is curiosity. Eventually Kaya tires of juggling all these women for him. She wants to know just what the hell is going on with Kyouhei and his harem and all of the rules attached to their relationships. So what does she do? She sets him up for a fall by hiding during one of Kyouhei’s trysts. Is she prepared for what she’ll find out? What will the fallout be for her and for Kyouhei? Is everything really as it seems? Can Kaya balance work and her growing involvement with Kyouhei?

This was an eye opening introduction into the world of romantic, paranormal josei manga. The world created has unique features and Kaya has a viewpoint towards work and loyalty that I’ve never come across. Kyouhei is totally a type A dominant guy- will Kaya truly be able to tame him? Even just a little? Available to read here and here.

Image is copyrighted & is Tomu Ohmi's, from the series. This manga is currently scanlated onto these sites and is likely done illegally so far as I can tell. Yes, it's piracy and theft of copyrighted material and deprives the author of income. Yes, it's wrong. So far as I can tell it's not available in english anywhere at this time. If you have very strong feelings about supporting author's rights, fighting piracy etc. I recommend you find something else to read.

Medicus; Ruth Downie

2009-09-15T00:05:00.000-04:00

This is an historical mystery set in ancient Roman controlled Britain. Ms. Downie is a new to me author, there are two other titles in this series. The next one is Terra Incognita and the newest is Persona non Grata. The Hubby and I listened to this as we road tripped from home to mid-coast Maine and back again. Medicus was released in March 2007 by Bloomsbury.

Gaius Ruso, the eponymous medicus (doctor) has arrived in the wild and uncivilized territory called Britannica. He’s divorced, childless, originally from the south of France, and has served in the emperor’s army in rather warmer climbs. Ruso is his father’s oldest son, thus inheritor of the estate upon his father’s recent death. However, due to his father’s financial house of cards Ruso is forced to serve in the army to keep the estate afloat and to fund the upkeep of a large passel of relatives. Ruso appears to be a capable and caring physician, short tempered in the face of unyielding bureaucracy especially when it interferes with the good care of those soldiers who are injured.

Newly arrived in town, Ruso is out exploring and getting small errands done when he rescues a young female slave who is injured and being maltreated by her owner. Eventually Ruso ends up buying her with his last pocket money so that she will get treatment. Besides, he and his roommate Valens live in a filthy bachelor hovel that could use a little cleanliness. First he has to hide her & treat her and get her healthy.

Via performing an autopsy on a drowning victim, Ruso begins to poke around town asking questions about a few missing or murdered prostitutes. The prevailing attitude in the garrison, and even among some of the natives, is: “Who cares about some missing whores, really? Don’t you have better things to do?”Meanwhile, the hospital bean counter is making Ruso’s life hell, Valens is taking off at critical moments, and the female slave isn’t as grateful or compliant as Ruso thought she ought to be. Imagine that? LOL 

The critical thing to remember is that Ruso isn’t a detective, he’s a physician. That’s his worldview, his identity and the basis for all of his actions. What does this mean for the reader? It means that Ruso is slow and misses the obvious and is oblivious when suspicious things happen to him or others around him. Ms. Downie manages to find that delicate balance between shining a light on life in ancient Britain and not overwhelming the reader or the storyline.

As an audiobook, this worked quite well. The reader has a pleasant voice, although the accent made me wonder if a well traveled French military doctor would really have a British accent! Of course, I probably over think these things, so don’t mind me. Otherwise, we enjoyed this quite a bit. It’s funny, and some of the dialogue is very deft.

Image found on B & N

August Monthly Synopsis

2009-09-14T00:05:00.001-04:00

Listed in no particular order, those that have been reviewed are hyperlinked. Those that aren’t, will be reviewed ASAP and the links will be updated early in October.

1.Death Wore White~ Jim Kelly
2.20’s Girl~ Sophie Kinsella
3.Four Wives~ Wendy Walker
4.The Enchantment Emporium~ Tanya Huff
5.Medicus~ Ruth Downie
6. The Graveyard Book~ Neil Gaiman
7.Midnight Secretary~ Tomu Ohmi (josei manga)
8. Love Cruise~ Tomu Ohmi (josei manga)

DNFs

1.Prince of Midnight~ Laura Kinsale
2.Driving Like Crazy~ P.J. O’Rourke

The Last Leaf;

2009-09-13T06:00:00.000-04:00

by Oliver Wendell Holmes

I saw him once before
As he passed by the door
And Again
The pavement stones resound,
As he totters o’er the ground
With his cane.
They say that in his prime,
Ere the pruning-knife of Time
Cut him down,
Not a better man was found
By the Crier on his round
Through the town.
But now he walks the streets,
And he looks at all he meets
Sad and wan,
And he shakes his feeble head,
That it seems as if he said,
“They are gone.”
The mossy marbles rest
On the lips that he has prest
In their bloom,
And the names he loved to hear
Have been carved for many a year
On the tomb.
My grandmamma has said-
Poor old lady, she is dead
Long ago-
That he had a Roman nose,
And his cheek was like a rose
In the snow.
But now his nose is thin,
And it rests upon his chin
Like a staff,
And a crook in his back
And a melancholy crack
In his laugh.
I know it is a sin
For me to sit and grin
At him here;
But the old three-cornered hat,
And the breeches, and all that,
Are so queer!
And if I should live to be
The last leaf upon the tree
In the spring,
Let smile as I do now,
At the old forsaken bough
Where I cling.

The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman

2009-09-12T15:24:00.006-04:00

The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman
I listened to this in the audiobook version, cover opposite. Mr. Gaiman performs his book- incredibly well I might add. It truly was a performance as opposed to a simple reading. I highly recommend borrowing this version from your library even if you’ve read it. He’s that good. You won’t be sorry, I promise you. I’m probably going to buy this for my nephew for Christmas. The Graveyard Book was originally published by Harper Collins in September of 2008.

I love Neil Gaiman’s books. I’ve read most of his sci fi alternate reality titles aimed at adults. However, I’ve avoided most of the titles aimed at children. I don’t exactly have a reason, truth be told. I’m coming around to thinking that I need to add Mr. Gaiman to my (very short) list of authors whose work I need to read no matter what the plot is supposed to be, who it’s ‘aimed’ at, what type of fiction it’s categorized as. I should’ve known better than to skip it. I read children’s fiction and young adult lit. frequently and I’m well aware that these fields are full of highly talented authors who write smart, entertaining fiction for kids.

The plot is deceptively simple. An eighteen month old toddler happens to climb out of his crib and wander off exploring on the night his parents are murdered. Purely by happenstance he wanders into the graveyard near his home, in time to simultaneously be saved from the murderers and adopted by the graveyard residents once it becomes clear that this is what his mother’s ghost wants. After that the reader follows along as Bod grows up. Makes friends with his first live human. Watch him try to cope with a teacher he doesn’t like. Cringe as he falls in with the wrong crowd- literally. Bod learns the truth about what happened on that long ago night. He meets a person who I came to believe is the embodiment of the old poem “To see a fine lady upon a white horse; Rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, And she shall have music wherever she goes.”

A wonderful, unique story about a boy who survives and thrives against the fearsome odds arrayed against him from the very start of his life.

Prince of Midnight; Laura Kinsale

2009-09-11T06:00:00.002-04:00

I'm sure there are people who won't believe this, but this is a DNF for me. PoM fell flat on its face because the plot hit a hurdle that up until now I hadn't realized I have. In this review, I will be discussing things that happen up to page 100 or so & I may reference things that are or would be spoilers. Consider yourself warned. My copy is a hardcover put out by Avon in 1990 and has Fabio on the cover. The cover pictured here is a Sourcebooks cover, according to Amazon.

Prince of Midnight is set in late 18th century France amid the revolution. Leigh Strachan is a young Englishwoman running around France disguised as young man. She's looking for a legendary highwayman whom she wants to teach her swordsmanship. Ms. Kinsale turns a typical plot on its head by making Leigh the one who burns for vengeance. S.T. Maitland, despite being disabled by severe vertigo and deafness in one ear, is the highwayman Leigh is looking for. Let's just say that Leigh is a tad surprised when she realizes that Maitland is indeed who she's looking for.

Now, I love to read about women in disguise as young men, women who seek vengeance for a wrong committed against them or those they love. I liked the topsy turvy aspect of Maitland being the one who falls head over heels in love, no matter how improbable I found it. The problem I ran up against is that Leigh's desire for revenge is based on religious persecution of her family. The abuses could have been made as a power grab or for revenge or any number of other reasons.

I did a little investigating & found out that there was religious persecution of certain individuals in England during this time period and possibly in the place mentioned. This is all fine. All fiction has grains of truth embedded within it. However, I am tired of reading books wherein the main character's personal problems are rooted in active persecution of that person or their loved ones by religious functionaries. It may well be true- I have no argument with that truth. I am simply tired of reading about it. I am tired of reading fictionalized accounts of the abuses of religious authorities. Why is it so hard to find fiction that reveals the good things faith does?

*Sigh* I chose not to finish PoM. There is already too much authentic, serious, faith based controversy in the news for me to be able to set this aside in the fiction I read.

ETA: Corrected author's name in the title. My apologies to all! :(

Praise for M & B

2009-09-10T22:42:00.002-04:00

The Guardian published an article discussing contemporary M&B romances- it's great stuff. Click title above to read it. The article's author also writes an extract for a romance, click here to read. Great stuff. I wish she'd write & submit it to them- I'd read it. :)

OMG- where did the time go?!

2009-09-07T21:52:00.002-04:00

My first two weeks of classes has flown by! I can't believe it. Mostly because I also had to start prepping the kids for the beginning of school and it was our anniversary. My head is spinning so much I can barely remember my name. The kids are off for the first day tomorrow & our anniversary was this past Saturday. #22! Can you believe it? Neither can I.

That leaves school. It's intimidating to enter a classroom & realize that most of your classmates are young enough to be your children. :( Luckily for me the prof is a very genteel Southern lady who gives off what I call "nun vibes"-gentle and sweet looking on the outside yet very no nonsense when you scratch the surface. She wore the neatest raspberry colored suit the first day of class. Anyhow. The Husband bet me I couldn't keep my mouth shut even on the first day- I barely made it. What can I say? Idiots annoy me & teenagers who think they have the answer to it all are especially annoying. *shrug* I didn't have to whip out the mom voice until the second class, so I guess I won the bet. Problem is we can't remember the stakes. LOL :)

As for books I'm way way behind. What else is new? I have three books for the international relations class, one of which I'm supposed to have finished by Sept. 15th. Haven't read more than 75 pages out of 600+. LOL :) I can catch up pretty quickly- it's a Thomas Friedman, so it should go pretty fast once I really get going. Anime Queen somehow has me hooked on Fruits Basket. Why and how I really don't know, but FB has totally caught my attention. How much of a contest can there be, honestly- between T. Friedman and Fruits Basket?

So there you have it. My first two weeks of class, getting the kids prepped for school, our anniversary & remembering I have homework now. Very calm & quiet life I lead, huh?

Library Sale Finder!!

2009-08-31T00:00:00.001-04:00

Michele at Reader's Respite posted a link to this cool website that helps you find nearby library sales! Searchable by state and by date, you can sign up for reminder emails!! How fab is that! My bookshelves are pleading for mercy even as we sit here. LOL :)

Attention Michael Crichton Fans

2009-08-29T14:15:00.002-04:00

Rumors are going around that Steven Spielberg has optioned the rights to Mr. Crichton's unfinished novel Pirate Latitudes. The Guardian has published a story with more details, click here. According to the article the book will be published in November.

New Adventures

2009-08-25T19:33:00.004-04:00

I've signed up for two classes at our local community college. I took a computer class in the spring of '08 and I didn't do very well trying to juggle home and work and school along with a long commute. I've been out of the Supermom game for a while and it took a lot out of me. I enjoyed it though. So this time I'm taking international relations and 'culture and geography'. Should be interesting I think.

Post #975 in Giveaway

The Warded Man Movie Coming?

2009-08-24T12:02:00.002-04:00

According to the Del Ray Newsletter, author Peter V Brett has signed a film adaptation deal for his book The Warded Man aka The Painted Man. The same group who makes the Resident Evil movie franchise has taken on Brett's book.

Images found on Random House and Fantastic Fiction.

Post #974

The Enchantment Emporium; Tanya Huff

2009-08-21T12:45:00.007-04:00

Tanya Huff is a new to me Canadian author I found on the "fabulous new finds" shelves in my local library. This book was published this year by Daw. I searched for a book site for her without success, although she has a livejournal page, the title above links to a wiki page about her. ISFDB has a page for her. Ms. Huff has a huge list of work, none of which I'm familiar with- a condition many Canadian authors probably suffer with (ie: Americans being totally clueless about our good neighbors' literary work). I have managed to find one of her older works: titled Gate of Darkness, Circle of Light, which I look forward to reading sometime soon.

I have to say the title and cover sucked me right in- that the blurb sounded fascinating was a bonus. Ms. Huff has developed a detailed alternate reality version of Canada populated with well developed, articulate characters (in this case primarily women) who have what we would likely consider paranormal gifts. The Gale family is comprised almost entirely of women, the few directly related male members of the family are carefully portioned out to the other ladies 'to keep the bloodlines pure' according to the characters. Once I realized what that actually was, it squicked me out totally. Still does. Despite that Ms. Huff managed to pull me deeper into her story.

Alysha Gale is twenty four, newly unemployed and has been summoned across Canada by a mysterious letter mailed to her by her grandmother that opens: "If you're reading this I'm dead.." or something close to that. Allie has to go to her grandmother's antique shop and figure out what's happening. No one is totally sure if grandmother is dead or not, so Allie and her favorite cousin and their childhood friend Michael are ordered to figure out exactly what's going on. After that it's nonstop action: leprechauns, gates that allow powerful beasts into the mortal realm, mysterious spelled cell phones, baked goods that have spells and charms baked right in. Let's not forget the seventh son of a seventh son and yummy delicious bad guys that have this romance reader wishing the bad guys had books all their own.

I really enjoyed The Enchantment Emporium. I felt like I was dropped into a fully developed world, as opposed to enduring lots of world building. I'm hopeful Ms. Huff will write more books set in this world, preferably with more on stage action by the bad guys!

This is post #973 for those of you keeping track of my 1,000 post giveaway

Death Wore White; Jim Kelly

2009-08-18T00:05:00.000-04:00

I found this book by happy coincidence. I read about it via the Guardian book section and made a note of it, less than ten days later it was listed on our library 'new acquisitions' email. So I requested it- first one on the list! Here in the US this is a 2009 release from St. Martin's. It's a police procedural and puzzle mystery set in contemporary England. More on the procedural and characterization and less purely puzzle, but that element is still there. It is, in a word fabulous- go & read it.

Peter Shaw is a youngish veteran police officer (10 years) in a small British coastal town. His partner is George Valentine, who is significantly nearer to retirement age. George and Peter's father, Jack, were disgraced twelve years earlier. An event which led to Jack's premature death a year later and the near total ruination of George's career. Peter and George are on the beach looking for illegal barrels of toxic waste when the stumble upon a body in an inflatable boat rocking in the surf, shortly afterward they find a line of stranded vehicles most of which contain annoyed passengers- except for one, which contains a very dead passenger. The weather is prated on endlessly, blizzard conditions. Remember that, will you?

Peter is the kind of person who enters his father's profession to try and understand him better. He's also the kind of person who marries a woman the exact opposite of one his parents would approve of- a trait that endeared him to me, lol. :) Peter, naturally, feels compelled to revisit the scene of his father's last case and quizzes George about it. George is having some trouble adjusting to being ordered about by a stripling and doesn't seem inclined to change his methodology to make Peter's working life easier, not that he should anyway. George is a widower who has his routines that do nothing to hide his loneliness or rootlessness. He knows policing though, and Peter does well to remember that.

Despite being slow to start, once Mr. Kelly has a head of steam there's no stopping the momentum of his story. It's nicely balanced between figuring out the murders and exploring the personality and methodology and private lives of Peter and George. I'm hopeful that the next book moves a little quicker in the beginning since there is groundwork laid. Mr. Kelly has another series featuring sleuth Philip Dryden, the most recent one of which was released in paperback in September of 2008.

Summer Doldrums

2009-08-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's my turn over at the Access Romance Reader's Blog. All about how I need to be rescued out of a reading drought. Click link in title above to read the post.

Millions of Strawberries

2009-08-16T17:22:00.003-04:00

By Genevieve Taggard

Marcia and I went over the curve,
Eating our way down
Jewels of strawberries we didn't deserve,
Eating our way down,
Til our hands were sticky, and our lips painted.
And over us the hot day fainted,
And we saw snakes,
And got scratched,
And a lust came over for the red unmatched
Small buds of berries,
Till we lay down-
Eating our way down-
And rolled in the berries like two little dogs,
Rolled
In the late gold.
And gnats hummed,
And it was cold,
And home we went, home without a berry,
Painted red and brown,
Eating our way down.

NPR Listeners Beach Book Poll

2009-08-14T10:57:00.005-04:00

I stole this idea from Kailana at The Written Word. Books I've read are bolded. 34 of those. Titles I own but haven't read are italicized. 6 of these.

1. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
2. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
4. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding
5. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
6. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
7. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
9. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
10. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
11. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
12. Life of Pi, by Yann Martel
13. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
14. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
15. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
16. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
17. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
18. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
19. Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
20. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
21. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
22. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver
23. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
24. The World According to Garp by John Irving
25. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
26. The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
27. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
28. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
29. The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler
30. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
31. A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
32. East of Eden by John Steinbeck
33. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
34. Beach Music by Pat Conroy
35. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
36. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
37. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
38. Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
39. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
40. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
41. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
42. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
43. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
44. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
45. Empire Falls by Richard Russo
46. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
47. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
48. Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
49. I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
50. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
51. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
52. The Stand by Stephen King
53. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb
54. Dune by Frank Herbert
55. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
56. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
57. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
58. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
59. The Godfather by Mario Puzo
60. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
61. Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
62. Jaws by Peter Benchley
63. Good in Bed by Jennifer Weiner
64. Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner
65. Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
66. The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
67. The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
68. Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut
69. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
70. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
71. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
72. The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
73. Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns
74. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
74. Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe
76. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
77. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
78. The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher
79. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
80. Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett
81. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
82. The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve [tie]
83. All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy
84. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
85. The Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
86. The Road by Cormac McCarthy
87. One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
88. Shogun by James Clavell
89. Dracula by Bram Stoker
90. The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
91. Presumed Innocent by Scott Turow
92. Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger
93. The Secret History by Donna Tartt
94. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
95. Summer Sisters by Judy Blume
96. The Shining by Stephen King
97. How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan
98. Lamb by Christopher Moore
99. Sick Puppy by Carl Hiaasen
100. Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Treasures from the Library

2009-08-13T12:47:00.007-04:00

In a vain attempt to either: a) cut down in book spending b) take all of the best library books home so no one else can read them or c) increase my guilt at lack of reading by looking at my enormous library pile or possibly d) all of the above, I have approximately 25 titles checked out from the library.

I'm currently reading 2:

Death Wore White by Jim Kelly

The End of Overeating by David Kessler

I have 2 more on request and just received an email saying the one I wanted most is available for pick up:

Mastered by Love by Stephanie Laurens

This is post #968 for those readers interested in participating in my 1000 post giveaway, click here for information. If you would like to be entered in the giveaway please leave a comment on any post starting with the August 7th announcement and ending with the 1000th post.

Four Wives; Wendy Walker

2009-08-10T00:05:00.000-04:00

Ms. Walker is a new to me author published by St. Martin's Griffin. Full disclosure: I received this title as an ARC from Phenix Publicity for the purpose of this review. This title sparked much conversation between the Hubby and myself, with different reactions from both of us. It would be a fabulous title for a book discussion group.

This is a story of four women who start off the story playing in the shallow end of life's pool and end up in the deep end. How they went from shallow to deep and how they rescued themselves (most of them anyway) and each other. Superficially Four Wives is centralized around planning a charity fundraiser. However, IMO Four Wives is actually a character study of these women, their marriages & the superficiality that infects them all to one degree or another.

There is Janie the Barbie wife, who has all of the fabulous and perfect Barbie accoutrements (house, kids, car, trainer, servants, plastic surgery, husband), except maybe she doesn't love her husband anymore and sex with him is icky now. Ooops. Then there's Marie, a Harvard trained lawyer who gave up an exciting & thriving career in New York City to live the suburban lifestyle she was supposed to want. Poor Marie didn't realize just how much suburban living would suck the vitality out of her. Love is the doctor's wife, but she's too stressed, too anxious, too guilt ridden to truly enjoy her children, her husband or the storybook life she's created. But what is she hiding? Last is Gayle, the old line New York family member, wealthy in her own right. She's everyone's guiding light. Gayle is way too much of a control freak, way too reserved to throw her social weight and influence around too much. So- what is Gayle keeping at bay with all of those pills she takes?

These women, these characters, provoked very strong reactions. The conversations between Hubby and I were animated and thought provoking. Ms. Walker paints true to life people and places them in a complex social and moral situation and then stirs the pot, leaving the reader to eagerly devour the pages wondering just how will everything fall into place at the end. The dynamic of one woman who makes a moral judgement that may have serious repercussions throughout her life is placed alongside another woman who is so self absorbed that she doesn't consider anything other than what she wants and how to get it. Alternatively there are women who play out life scripts written for them when they were children. Which ones of these ladies will triumph?

One quote stood out for me at the end, a quote that I think is representative of the novel as a whole. In my book it's on page 353:

"She had done a lot of thinking about the state of affairs between men and women and the attempts they made to share one life, one home. Was there ever really harmony without one person's submission?"

All I can say is wow. Four Wives is wonderful: thought provoking, conversation stirring, exciting. My hubby has borrowed it and plans to read it. If he wants to write a review I will post it and link the two reviews. Ms. Walker has another book out titled Social Lives which comes out September 1st. Run out and buy or borrow Four Wives, you won't be sorry.

Twenties Girl; Sophie Kinsella

2009-08-08T13:18:00.010-04:00

Twenties Girl is my very first Sophie Kinsella book. I know, I know I must be the very last woman on earth who hasn't read the Shopaholic series. I've been living under a rock reading other stuff, I guess. I will be up front and say I received an ARC from Random House for the purpose of this review. Link to Ms. Kinsella's site in the title above. Honestly, I probably wouldn't have picked this up on my own- and I would've missed a fabulous, funny book.

Twenties Girl is the story of two young women, Lara and Sadie, who have opposite temperments using their individual strengths and weaknesses to help the other cope with and transcend the vagaries of life. That sounds very serious, but truly Ms. Kinsella has a deft touch for comic yet true to life situations that would curl your hair if it was you, but are somehow hilarious when it happens to someone else. In a way I think this is also Lara's coming of age tale. By helping Sadie Lara must let go of preconceived notions and castles in the air and learn to be assertive and cope with life as it is, not life as she wishes it would be. For Sadie's part, well- she needs to learn to put others' needs ahead of her own, to be more forgiving.

Lara Lington is a mid twenties age Londoner who gave up her job to open an executive search firm with her 'best friend' Natalie. Lara's problems result from impulsivity and a pronounced tendency to be chameleon-like in the face of even the barest criticism. Sadie is Lara's long ignored elderly aunt. Rather, Sadie's ghost is haunting Lara. In her own mind, at her death Sadie is twenty three. At the height of her beauty and happiness, feeling as though she's at the top of the world. Except she's actually one hundred five. And very dead. Sadie wants Lara to find her favorite necklace and she threatens to haunt Lara until and unless she finds the necklace and returns it to Sadie.

Lara and Sadie are hilarious and heartbreaking. I found Sadie the more compelling character despite the book's primary focus on Lara's arc. Sadie manages to prod, drag and hound Lara into clarity of purpose and determination via Sadie's compelling need for a missing art deco dragonfly necklace. Throw in a smarmy coffee chain magnate uncle and his family, parents who know something's wrong but who won't corner Lara into honesty and the reader has a mixture of plot and character that are sure to keep you laughing as you devour the story.

Laughter's a formidable weapon in Ms. Kinsella's arsenal as she leads readers into a superficially shallow, fun storyline that has at it heart, a compelling narrative about family, love, and self respect. Full of fun anecdotes about life in the roaring twenties I loved reading about, Twenties Girl makes for a laugh out loud, "oh no she didn't" kind of read sure to make you smile.

P.S. The funeral at the end was a unique and touching tribute to Sadie! Just the right send off, I think.

Image found on Random House Library.

1,000 post celebration coming

2009-08-07T15:00:00.002-04:00

This post makes my 965th post, in celebration of my up coming 1,000th post I've decided to give away books I've recently reviewed to commmenters who leave a brief "hi there" in the comments. I'm willing to ship overseas as long as you're patient enough to wait for regular mail not airmail. Winners will be able to choose any two titles from the following list, which I plan to amend with more titles as time goes by. I'll chose enough winners to get through the list, at the moment it's 3 but will rise as I read more. Whichever winners contact me first via email get first pick, I'll use the timestamp on the email to decide who get which ones. :)

Questions?? Email me: bookwormomster AT gmail DOT com

All books reviewed & listed in my archives except as noted.

1. Cybele's Secret- Juliet Marillier (hardcover) review pending

2. Ruby's Slippers- Leanna Ellis

3. Certain Jeopardy- Struecker & Gansky

4. Rooftops of Tehran- Mahbod Seraji

5. Dirt: An American Campaign Mark LaFlamme

6. Twenties Girl- Sophie Kinsella

7. Four Wives Wendy Walker

July Monthly Synopsis

2009-08-07T12:53:00.005-04:00

Hardly read anything this month, truth be told. Well, hardly finished anything. The "reading mojo" as CindyS calls it seems to have gone on vacation. Which really annoys me since I've tons of great books around here begging to be read, but I've a shorter reading attention span than a two year old who needs a nap.:(

1.The Book of Unholy Mischief; Elle Newmark

2 DNFs~

Both explained in post

1. Iron Angel, Alan Campbell

2. Trading in Danger; Elizabeth Moon

Read earlier this year, but somehow forgotten in the monthly synopses, neither reviewed:

The Shadow Queen~ Anne Bishop~ Fantasy

Midnight Secretary~ Tomu Ohmi~ Josei Manga, click here for definition

Reviews for these coming soon. I hope.

Cheaper Sony E-Books & Readers

2009-08-06T12:00:00.000-04:00

According to the NYT, Sony is slashing prices on their ebooks & is also introducing new, less expensive readers. Good news for those of you waiting for prices to fall before making the jump over to ebooks. Link in title.

New Vorkosigan??

2009-08-06T00:05:00.001-04:00

According to Lois McMaster Bujold's MySpace page there will be a new Miles book late next year. Found via...someone on my feed reader. Apologies for not remembering which blogger, will try better next time. :(

M&B Retro Covers

2009-08-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

According to the Guardian (link in title above) M & B is redoing cover styles across their lines to emulate their 70's era look. Kinda neat, huh? I'm not sure how to find the new covers on their website, but click here for the site. I don't read much HQN/M&B, so maybe someone else out there figure out how to find the new covers?

Guardian running a contest

2009-08-05T00:05:00.000-04:00

From now until 9 August readers can nominate books for the Guardian's Not the Booker Prize contest. Rules listed here. Prize is a mug. Sounds like tremendous fun. I'm off to hunt up a possible entry. I desperately need more mugs. LOL :)

Back Now-

2009-08-04T20:13:00.003-04:00

Vacation was fabulous. Just the Hubby & I. No kids, no animals. No worries. Or at least nothing worth fretting over while we were gone. You know, it was the first time we'd gone away alone in...five years. Maybe four. Can't remember. That was only a long weekend. This time we took a whole week. What luxury- an entire week. Needless to say I didn't read anything. No newspapers, no magazines, no books, nothing. Honestly, I can't say I missed it either. Yes, I'm shocked too. But really- I left most of my life behind for a week & I enjoyed it. Now that I'm back, though, I'm refreshed & ready to go. Maybe. HAHAHAHA :)

I Meant to do my Work Today; Richard LaGallienne

2009-08-02T00:05:00.000-04:00

I meant to do my work today-
But a brown bird sang in the apple tree,
And a butterfly flitted across the field,
And all the leaves were calling me.

And the wind went sighing over the land
Tossing the grasses to and fro,
And a rainbow held out its shining hand-
So what could I do but laugh and go?

UK Romance Novelist Dies

2009-07-30T00:05:00.000-04:00

Ms. Jane Aiken Hodge, well known UK romance author, died in her home last month. It sounds like an understandably painful moment in her family life, I hope the issues revolving around her method of death are resolved favorably n her family's best interest. I've not read any of her work myself, but her name comes up occasionally in online discussions. Her writing life was prolific & I'm sure her fans will miss her. Link in title above to article referencing her death, click here for wiki article about her life and work. Her family certainly had their share of writing gifts, her sister is children's writer Joan Aiken.

New PG Wodehouse Found

2009-07-29T12:00:00.000-04:00

According to The Guardian a literary expert specializing in PG Wodehouse and Arthur Conan Doyle has discovered four new short plays written by PG Wodehouse and a collaborator approximately one hundred years ago. I dearly hope they will be collected together and published, I would love to have them! Direct link to article in title above.

Why Romances are Fabulous

2009-07-27T00:05:00.001-04:00

Romance author Teresa Medeiros has written a lovely post about why she writes and reads romances. The post is on her group website Squawk Radio, and is titled 'Teresa Says it Loud and Says it Proud'. Smart Bitches, Trashy Books site co-owner Candy takes time out from law school madness to mull Ms. Medeiros' arguments. Candy doesn't pop up much anymore, obviously, due to her schedule, so go & read what she has to say before she submerges again into the depths of law school insanity.

My favorite quotes from Ms. Medeiros:

"..In a society gutted by cynicism, we have found the courage to stand up and proclaim that hope isn’t corny, love isn’t an antiquated fantasy, and dreams can come true for women still willing to strive for them.

Probably the most subversive thing we dare to do is to make the woman the hero of her own story..

Our heroines don’t just “stand by their men”, they “stand up to them.” And guess what—their men love it! We celebrate both a woman’s softness and her strength and introduce her to a man capable of recognizing the value of both.."

The Land of Story Books; Robert Louis Stevenson

2009-07-26T00:05:00.001-04:00

At evening when the lamp is lit,
Around the fire my parents sit;
They sit at home and talk and sing,
And do not play at anything.

Now, with my little gun I crawl
All in the dark along the wall,
And follow round the forest track
Away behind the sofa back.

There, in the night, where none can spy,
All in my hunter's camp I lie,
And play at books that I have read
Till it is time to go to bed.

These are the hills, these are the woods,
These are my starry solitudes;
And there the river by whose brink
The roaring lions come to drink.

I see the others far away.
As if in firelit camp they lay,
And I, like to an Indian scout,
Around their party prowl about.

So, when my nurse comes for me,
Home I return across the sea,
And go to bed with backward looks
At my dear land of storybooks.

RIP: E Lynn Harris

2009-07-25T00:05:00.001-04:00

According to Essence Magazine, link in title above, author E Lynn Harris has died. My condolences to his family and his fans. Mr. Harris is one of those authors who were perennially on my 'need to read someday' list. My bucket reading list, so to speak. Now he's gone & I'm sad that we'll only have the eleven fiction titles, one memoir & an anthology already published (list here). Next time I'm in a bookstore or the library, whichever comes first, I'll buy one of his books. No more procrastinating. Another author always on my TBB list, Eric Jerome Dickey. Gonna find one of his books too. ASAP.

2 DNFs

2009-07-24T15:22:00.003-04:00

Couldn't finish Alan Campbell's Iron Angel, mostly related to other problems in the previous book. Specifically, the timing and pacing continued to worsen, primary characters introduced in the previous novel were shunted aside in favor of a whole new issue. In truth I wonder if some of the problem isn't editing. If the parts had been organized differently the flow would've been better & I would've happily stuck with the story no matter what. An altered focus, different pacing. Unfortunately none of those things happened. I'm very regretful, truth be told. I really really liked Scar Night & I had high hopes for this one but I simply couldn't keep wading. From all accounts online, the third one has its fair share of problems all its own too, so I think I'm gonna pass. However, Mr. Campbell is permanently on my list of authors to watch.

Trading in Danger by Elizabeth Moon suffered from..I don't know. Just general waning interest. Lack of being a female Miles Vorkosigan. Actually, what I plan to do in this case is borrow another one in the series a little further along to see if I like them better. Why? Because there would be nothing better than a girl trader sailing across space having adventures. We'll see how it goes.

Seen at Le Tour de France 09

2009-07-23T11:30:00.015-04:00

1. Generously built woman jumping up and down along the side of a road barely wearing a bikini. A small bikini. lol :)

2. People wearing various furry costumes: gorilla, pink rabbit, yellow & red something or other & chickens.

3. Fans in Barcelona waving bits of yellow paper all along the route in their region.

4. Inflatable kangaroos & flamingos wearing straw hats & sunglasses. Also small stuffed Camargue bulls.

5. Male fan wearing a knight's costume & waving a sword & shield.

6. Group of fans wearing green shorts & neon yellow wigs running alongside the cyclists & cheering.

7. Cowboy in full "old west" riding outfit, including lariat & hat, riding a western saddle & holding in his stirrup a huge flag streaming behind him.

8. Man, why is is almost always a man??? wearing a red spandex outfit-not AT ALL flattering- with a purple cape & yellow wig.

9. "The Devil", an older man with mostly white hair who wears a red and black outfit & carries a trident. This man is a tradition & has been seen at every TDF for years and years.

10. A European version of what my husband & I call 'drunken bubba syndrome', bubba being Southern American slang, click here for in depth explanation. A fat, shirtless, tanned man wearing shorts hanging off of his genitalia & exposing his butt cheeks holding a canned beverage and jumping up & down in the grass so vigorously I was afraid I was about to see all of his equipment.

11. Always amazes me how much some people can pack into tiny cars: tents, folding tables, folding chairs, tarpaulins, costume paraphenalia, flags, beverages.

12. Speaking of tents, some of my favorite tv shots are of the mini tent villages that spring up in the smallest verges along the roads. Adorable colorful tents sprout like bright mushrooms & disappear just as soon as the Tour goes by.

13. Living near & regularly traveling along one of the busiest interstate highways in the US, I thought that mostly Americans and Canadians were obsessed with recreational vehicles (RVs), aka camper vans or caravans. Images & terms found here, if you're unsure what I'm nattering on about. I'm completely out of the loop though, because apparently Europeans love them too. Complete with satellite tv dishes. LOL :) However, there are hoards of them along the TDF route.

The Book of Unholy Mischief; Elle Newmark

2009-07-22T00:05:00.001-04:00

All I can say is yummy. From beginning to end: yummy. Elle Newmark's newest book is an historical thriller wrapped in a delicious disguise as a tour of a 15th century Venetian kitchen. I was invited to review this novel by Pump Up Your Book Promotion and received a (signed!!yay!!) review copy. The image here is of the audiobook, but the cover is the same. Via Simon & Schuster. I spent most of this book hungry. I warned you. lol :) If you are a fan of Ariana Franklin's work, this is definitely one to try.

The plot is deceptively simple: the Doge's chef rescues a near starving street urchin named Luciano & makes him the chef's apprentice. Luciano, along with most of Venice, becomes obsessed with a fabled book that is rumored to have recipes not only for making gold, but for immortality itself. And wealthy Venetians want it. The apprenticeship is a huge opportunity for an uneducated bastard who'd been on the streets of Venice since he was five. Hints are placed carefully so that soon you realize there is significantly more happening to this story than you thought there would be. Venice herself, that grand lady, as well as the food, the cuisine, and most especially her politics are all characters who play a part.

Adjective upon adjective wells up in my mind when thinking about The Book of Unholy Mischief. Lush, sensual and decadent are only three of them. Feast for the senses, 'purple prose' for epicures, to use a romance cliche in the best sense of the phrase. The relationships are complicated by lust, greed, curiosity, furtiveness, revenge and the need for secrecy. Knowledge is power. Venetians, running a shipping empire, know this more than others. For some the quest drives them ever higher, ever onward. But who will pay the price?

The narrative is nonlinear and Ms. Newmark leads the reader along by the stomach, which is entirely pleasant, I assure you. There are a few words and phrases in Italian (also French and Spanish) which are translated at the author's website, here. I realize this review is short, but in my defense I have to say I honestly found very little to critique in The Book of Unholy Mischief, indeed very little to quibble over. For me this is a book to savor much like a ripe peach- sweet, intense, full of delicious juices and you're sorry when it's done. Like homegrown tomatoes, Ms. Newmark's book is the best of the bunch. Is that enough food metaphors for you? This is a book I would have purchased on my own- run out and buy one yourself. It's worth it's weight in ripe peaches! Or homegrown tomatoes. lol :)

PS~ Ms. Newmark has a blog where she discusses book signing in Venice and her age as well as a video walking tour. Click here.

Apologies

2009-07-18T17:00:00.000-04:00

College Student has been visiting this week, so I've been visiting with him as opposed to blogging and reading. Sorry for the lack of posts. :) Am also incredibly behind with my reading schedule! Gotta buckle down & get moving.

Yesterday's schedule: Taking the Pianist out to camp in Shenandoah then taking College Student back to his digs at Grandmere's. Then off to visit the Outlaws (lol) so Hubby can talk to his aunt & uncle. Uncle has very serious form of cancer & wants someone to translate "doctor-speak" into Plain English. My heart goes out to them, he was a farmer for years & farmers are thought to have higher incidences of certain cancers.

American Creationism

2009-07-18T10:11:00.003-04:00

In the beginning, God created the
Heavens and the Earth and populated
the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower and
spinach, green and yellow and
red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and
Woman would live long and healthy
lives.
Then using God's great gifts,
Satan created Ben and Jerry's
Ice Cream and Krispy Creme
Donuts. And Satan said, "You
want chocolate with that?"
And Man said, "Yes!" and
Woman said, "and as long as
you're at it, add some
sprinkles." And they gained
10 pounds. And Satan smiled.
And God created the
healthful yogurt that
Woman might keep the
figure that Man found so
fair. And Satan brought
forth white flour from the
wheat, and sugar from the
cane and combined them.
And Woman went from
size 6 to size 14.
So God said, "Try my fresh green
salad." And Satan presented
Thousand-Island Dressing,
buttery croutons and garlic toast
on the side.
And Man and Woman unfastened
their belts following the repast.
God then said, "I have sent you heart
healthy vegetables and olive oil in
which to cook them." And Satan
brought forth deep fried fish and
chicken-fried steak so big it needed its
own platter. And Man gained more
weight and his cholesterol went through
the roof. God then created a light, fluffy
white cake, named it "Angel Food
Cake," and said, "It is good." Satan then
created chocolate cake and named it
"Devil's Food."
God then brought forth
running shoes so that His
children might lose those extra
pounds. And Satan gave cable
TV with a remote control so
Man would not have to toil
changing the channels. And
Man and Woman laughed and
cried before the flickering blue
light and gained pounds.
Then God brought forth the potato,
naturally low in fat and brimming
with nutrition. And Satan peeled off
the healthful skin and sliced the
starchy center into chips and deep-
fried them. And Man gained pounds.
God then gave lean beef so that Man
might consume fewer calories and still
satisfy his appetite. And Satan created
McDonald's and its
99-cent double cheeseburger. Then said,
"You want fries with that?" And Man
replied, "Yes! And super size them!"
And Satan said, "It is good." And Man
went into cardiac arrest.
God sighed and created
quadruple bypass surgery.
Then Satan created HMOs.

Found in my inbox this week. Don't know original source.

Last Anne of Green Gables Coming

2009-07-13T11:14:00.003-04:00

According to the Guardian.co.uk book section the last L M Mongomery book will be published at the end of October. I couldn't find it anywhere except on Amazon Canada's website. Supposedly there was an abridged version released in the 1970's but this one will be the full text. Read the article linked to above for more details.

Image found on wikimedia.

6 Month Statistics

2009-07-13T00:05:00.000-04:00

Here are my monthly statistics, organized a little differently this time around. All reviews, including the DNFs, are hyperlinked within each month listed below. After that they're all listed by subgenre. As always, my goal is to read 100+ titles per year, although I've not managed that since traditional regencies have pretty much gone out of print.

January

February

March

April

May

June

Total Books Read~ 41

Books by Subgenre

Chick Lit, paranormal- 1
Christian Thriller- 1
Christian Women's Fiction- 1
Diet- 0
Fantasy-8
Fictionalized Memoir- 2
Historical Fiction- 0
Horror- 0
Humor- 0
Literary Criticism- 1
Metaphysics- 1
Mystery, Contemporary- 3
Mystery, Historical- 4
Science Fiction- 4
Sociology- 2
Women's Fiction- 1

Romances

Contemporary Suspense- 0
Fairytale- 0
Fantasy Anthology- 0
Fantasy- 1
Historical (Incl. long format Regencies)- 3
Medieval-1
Mythology- 0
Paranormal- Vampire- 3
Paranormal- Faery- 0
Paranormal- Mythological Being- 0
Science Fiction- 1
Time Travel- 0
Traditional Regencies- 2

YA Vampire Romance- 1

DNF~ 2

Historical Fiction, WW I- 1
Historical fiction, Mythological character- 1

June Monthly Synopsis

2009-07-12T16:46:00.003-04:00

I suppose June was more productive than I previously thought. I managed to catch up all of my reviews! I can't believe it. Still a slow reader, though, and it's not looking like it'll pick up anytime soon either.

1. The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns; Elizabeth Leiknes

2. Hidden Honor; Anne Stuart

3. Ruby's Slippers; Leanna Ellis

4. Midwinter; Matthew Sturges

5. The Moon's Shadow; Catherine Asaro

6. The Ruby Dice; Catherine Asaro

The Ruby Dice; Catherine Asaro

2009-07-11T00:05:00.001-04:00

The Ruby Dice was published in 2008 by Baen, written by Catherine Asaro. It is the second novel in what I consider a duology. The first novel is The Moon's Shadow, reviewed here. These novels are set in Asaro's Skolian Empire world and are basically straight science fiction. If you are a romance reader looking to branch out into others of Asaro's worlds be aware that these novels are very different from her novels published by Luna. Honestly, I think one of the biggest problems SFF has is awful covers! They are so terrible. It can be very off putting. Her stories grab my attention and don't let go, but the covers..jeez. :(

Primarily The Ruby Dice is the story of how Kelricson Valdoria Skolia and Jaibriol Qox manage to drag their respective empires to the peace table. Unknown to Kelric, he and Jai are uncle and nephew, which adds a unique flavor to the storyline. Secondarily the story details the political and personal struggles each ruler has while trying to bring the desired treaty to fruition. This episode takes place nine years after the events in The Moon's Shadow. If you prefer to read these stories in internal chronological story order, the list is here.

It's hard to discuss this novel without including spoilers of the previous one, but I'll try. Kelric was thought dead, killed in action basically, for eighteen years until Jai set him free from the Eubians (previous novel). Ms. Asaro alternates between telling some of Kelric's back story with current political realities,linking them both to his desire for peace. Meantime, Jai has his own motivations for pushing for peace, albeit very carefully. Jai discovers that perhaps he has other, more personal motivations for wanting peace.

The Ruby Dice presents peace making between large governments as achievable via personal relationships between the two rulers. A hoped for solution, perhaps, but unrealistic as far as I'm concerned. I was reminded of the conferences and photo ops over the Cold War years: pretty to look at, nice to read about but they don't really achieve much. Peace isn't unwanted, mind you, but isn't achievable in the manner the author wishes the reader to believe. Other political machinations within each respective group seem to be believeable, the complexity of motivation, the unwieldy bureaucracy, the seeming inbred opposition for opposition's sake, etc.

Leaving that aside, I liked watching Jai and his wife interact, learning how they've built a relationship, how they work together towards goals Jai has for the Empire. Jai seems to spend most of his time suspecting his wife's motivations and goals. He's more of an idealist, while she's more capitalistic and pragmatic. He doesn't appear to recognize that someone behind the scene sometimes has to set the stage for future victories. He's become cynical and more aware that the personal price he will pay is much higher than he originally thought. Inevitable changes for one in his position. Meantime some of her actions proved, to me at least, that she deeply cares for him aside from his position and her subsequent power, although her ability to compartmentalize her roles often keeps Jai off balance. Then too, Eubian culture isn't his native culture and some of their behaviors probably continue to keep him off kilter.

Kelric's family story is unique and interesting and is central to the Skolians' efforts at peacemaking, but is very hard to talk about here without revealing major plot point. His story is also found in the book The Last Hawk. I'm very hopeful that Ms. Asaro will write books about the newest members of Kelric's already large family.

One of the most intriguing elements of The Ruby Dice are the dice themselves. Quis is a dice game played with multiple players using multiple dice. It's kind of a storytelling three dimensional chess game, click here for wiki article explaining chess variants. Kelric has a set and uses them to think through some of the problems presented to him. Quis is an essential element on the planet where Kelric was hidden. I like the concept of a culture that both forms and was formed by a game.

An enjoyable and satisfying episode in the Eubian-Skolian saga, all in all. The familial backstory and the to-ing and fro-ing of more intimate relationships was most interesting to me. Jai and his wife and their situation, personally and politically fascinate me no end & I'm hoping to see glimpses of them in the future.

Need a laugh?

2009-07-10T18:44:00.002-04:00

Click here and read this. Someone on this site took my Catherine Asaro The Moon's Shadow entry & either ran through a translator & put the translation up or attempted to translate it themselves & put it up or..?? I don't know. Maybe it's a Catherine Asaro fan who feels I wasn't complimentary enough?? A troll who has nothing better to do? Kinda funny though! :)

The Moon's Shadow; Catherine Asaro

2009-07-10T00:05:00.003-04:00

The Moon’s Shadow was published by Tor in 2002. I categorize it as science fiction with romantic elements. If you’re a romance reader, be aware that this has romantic elements only, unlike the novels Ms. Asaro has written for Luna. This novel is the first part of what I think of as a duology, the second part is The Ruby Dice, to be reviewed shortly. They are a continuation of the story of the same man, Jaibriol Rockworth Qox told with a nine year gap (within the story) between novels. This book is a coming of age tale. It’s set in the same world as her Skolian Empire series depicting a member of the Eubian Concord, the Skolian’s despised enemies.

Jaibriol Rockworth Qox, aka Jai, is seventeen and has grown up isolated and sheltered. His parents were mortal enemies who fell in love and were killed trying to reunite when Jai was young. Their story is told in the book Primary Inversion. At least I think that's the right one. If I'm wrong, please let me know. Jai knows neither his mother’s family nor his father’s. That they were intergalactic scions and rulers of most of the known universe between them all, is about all he knows. As The Moon’s Shadow opens Jai trades himself to the Eubian Concord in exchange for an uncle who doesn’t know who or what Jai is. You see, Jai will inherit the throne of the Emperor of the Eubian Concord as well as being a Ruby Telepath, the rarest of all gifts, inherited from his mother’s family.

As the saying goes, Jai leaps from the frying pan into the fire. He reckons the price worth it despite knowing only a smattering of Eubian culture and some of the language. Of course he’s only seventeen. At seventeen we humans invariably think we know everything (and we’re always right!). As a newcomer Jai sees everything with fresh eyes, perhaps he will be able to take the Empire to new places because of that. If he survives, that is.

I think these quotes sum things up nicely:

"I should so like to make the stars safe for those I love.." and then, four pages later, "..it may be desirable, sometimes, to act in benefit of Eube [the empire] rather than of oneself." Pages 456 & 460.

The Eubian Concord is a culture where everyone is injected with new and powerful nanomeds (tiny cell like machines) whose primary job is to hunt for poisons and to repair injuries and illnesses and other defects. Why? Because you can’t trust anyone, including members of your own family. Royalty, the universe over, since time immemorial, is always a target. Someone else is after your job because they can do it better, because they hate you, because they think you’re weak, because a ruler breeds enemies like dogs collect fleas.

Culturally, Eubians have bred out almost all feelings since feelings are often perceived as weakness. And Eubians despise all weakness. Eubians exist in a kind of symbiotic relationship with other humans the Eubians call ‘providers’ and everyone else calls slaves. The gap left within by the lack of feelings has to be filled with something though. The providers are the ones to fill this, forced by the Eubians. How can you force someone to feed you their emotions? Why, by torturing them of course. When inflicting pain upon a psychically gifted person a Eubian will feel euphoria (and other positive emotions). Eubians have a kind of ‘sixth sense’ about people who are or could be ‘providers’ and Eubian law and culture treats these people as belongings with very few rights.

What does this have to do with the new Emperor Jaibriol? As I mentioned above, he’s a Ruby Telepath. The Eubians don’t know this though. How can a provider rule the empire undetected? Aside from the fact that he’s only seventeen and practically untutored, that is. You’ll have to read The Moon’s Shadow and find out!

I love the books set in this world. I’ve read The Ruby Dice a review of which is coming in a few days. I also borrowed Ms. Asaro’s newest book, Diamond Star, from the library & plan to read (& review) it very soon. There is almost no physics or technological jargon in this book, which is either a plus or a minus depending on your point of view. As a character centered reader I view this as a plus. I was most interested in watching Jai maneuver in this new world he dropped himself into. Sci fi oriented readers may disagree. I wish that Ms. Asaro's website listed the series books in internal chronological order like Ms. Bujold's site does. I like to read the books by the internal chronological order, which I had to look up on wikipedia, unfortunately. A listing that includes short stories is here.

Image found on B&N.

Virus begone! Also- some summer fun :)

2009-07-08T21:26:00.010-04:00

I hope anyway. It was quite a battle. Two different security programs & we were still sucked under. We've been reloading & cleaning & polishing & scrubbing & whatnot for days it seems. I hope to goodness we're all ok now.

We spent the 4th (Independence Day) cooking out with the neighbors. Beef ribs, chicken wings & drummettes, 'burgers & hotdogs. Salads, beans. I swear, you've never seen so much food. It was so relaxing. Especially after spending so many damn days fretting with and fighting over the computer. Someone down the street had driven up to West Virginia and bought giant boxes of fireworks, then spent almost three hours setting them off (some time was spent hiding from the cops because lots of them were illegal!). So I didn't have to cook much & didn't have to drive anywhere for fireworks- it was great. The neighbor has a brand new screen house & we all sat in there and gossiped the night away.

Yesterday we drove out to Shenandoah Valley looking for a swimming hole. The weather was perfect for a drive, sunny & warm. We were about ten or twelve miles south and west (I think) of the little town of Sperryville not far from the famous Skyline Drive. We saw two black bears out there across the stream!! Honest!! A group of summer camp kids coming back down the trail from the swimming hole was so excited it was all they chattered about. A fisherman warned us to be careful since bears like to swim. The pair of them were gorgeous. Soaking wet. Avoiding the annoying humans, I suppose.

Not my photo. This is from Webshots. This is the type of bear though.

Midwinter; Matthew Sturges

2009-07-03T21:28:00.012-04:00

Somehow this year I ended up with two books written by authors who are primarily visual storytellers. This novel was written by a DC Comics writer trying his hand at novel writing. The other being Alan Campbell's Scar Face, reviewed here. Oddly enough both novels feature floating cities! Midwinter was published by Pyr this past March in QP format. It was faced-out on a shelf in my local bookstore & the cover completely caught my attention. No, it wasn't the oh so phallic sword in the male elf's hand. For me the image is atmospheric I suppose: ruins, snow, an armed woman whose pose suggests strength yet vulnerability. So I read the first chapter & that was enough. I was hooked.

Mr. Sturges' version of Faerie has different worlds (of which the reader's reality is but one) stitched together similar in feel to Patricia McKillip's Solstice Wood. These worlds felt 'stitched together' partly as a function of their existence and partly due to their inhabitants' efforts. From the Faerie side at least, they are aware of each others' existence although Faeries are obviously superior! Titania and Mab each rule different Faerie kingdoms originating from a father's inability to refuse a son's request even knowing the consequences of acceding to the son's request.

Midwinter is a classic quest plot. Mauritaine, a loyal, formerly highly placed soldier in the Queen's military is imprisoned. Purane Es, his enemy, succeeded Mauritaine and arrives at the prison with orders to embark upon a top secret, deniable quest for his Queen. It goes without saying this is a nearly impossible quest for an unknown object. Mauritaine must build a little band of adventurers and bring this object back to Titania within strict time requirements. The reward? Depends on the person involved, but for Mauritaine means a pardon.

Who are the band members? Mauritaine is the leader, wrongly imprisoned due to political vengeance stemming from his rival Purane Es'overhwelming ambition and lack of morality. Members of Mauritaine's team include: Perrin Alt, imprisoned because of his mother's belief in the wrong faith; Brian Satterly, a human theoretical physicist caught in Faerie while looking for his niece; Raieve, an ambassador from the country of Avalon seeking help to keep her country unified; Honeywell (proper name: Geluna Eled) Mauritaine's loyal lieutenant who followed him into prison and Grey Mave, the prison guard who lost his job due to Mauritaine. Together this merry band of former prison misfits embarks on what could be either their last adventure while alive or the adventure that could lead to the biggest payoff of their lives.

I have to say that the object of the quest wasn't what I expected. I loved the curse the gypsy girl put on Perrin Alt & his subsequent actions. The storyline was standard quest fare and the characterization is a little flat, but to me Midwinter is surprisingly visual and unique enough that the twists kept me interested. I have to be honest and say that I'm unlikely to buy another one of these in QP size unless it's considerably fleshed out. There isn't cliffhanger at the end, but there is certainly potential for further storyline and character development in future novels. Mr. Sturges' blog implies that he is still working for DC Comics, and while I certainly hope that is so, I also hope he finds enough time to write more in this world.

Image found on B&N

Scar Night; Alan Campbell

2009-07-01T21:39:00.006-04:00

Recently I’ve added several UK and Canadian science fiction (and its attendants subtypes) review blogs to my feed reader. It’s via one of these, Fantasy Book Critic, that I found Alan Campbell. Scar Night is the first in his trilogy about the city of Deepgate. It was published by Bantam Dell in the UK in 2006, US publication was 2007. This is his debut title. I like to read the short little biographies I find in the back of books and on some review sites, it turns out Mr. Campbell was a video game software designer for such games as Grand Theft Auto. It shows very clearly in this book. Scar Night is extremely visual which is central to the atmosphere and the setting of the story.

Thematically, several things stood out for me. On a large scale: exploration of how individuals and groups cope with death, vengeance, how geography helps form the perceptions of whole peoples. How gullible we humans can be when we dearly want to believe what we are told. Mr. Campbell has created a reality where the entire world is the playground of the Gods, where human beings are pawns without worth, where angels are weapons of war. It’s a fascinating and complex world.

The plot is obliquely approached: it was hard to get a handle on it due to uneven pacing and elements that were helpful to understanding what was happening were placed late in the book. Basically we have a city ruled by fear of things that go bump in the night, a city whose entire existence is due to the angels’ war eons ago. Over a period of time, things don’t add up- not all of the bodies found can be attributed to “the thing that goes bump in the night”- the angel Carnival. Once a month Carnival drains one victim of blood & leaves the body behind. Carnival is several thousand years old. Her body is almost completely covered with scars. This has continued for as long as anyone can remember. No one can stop her.

One night a young woman named Abigail Nettle is found dead, dead and drained of blood. This means that she can’t be buried in the traditional manner approved by the church. Mr. Nettle goes on a one man crusade to find his daughter. Meantime, a young angel named Dill is being kept in isolation at the cathedral in the city. Purposefully raised with very little contact with others, Dill is practically a prisoner. One day the Presbyter in charge of the cathedral, seemingly of the very religion, assigns Dill a bodyguard/tutor/babysitter named Rachael Hael. Dill is the only child of one of the last angels. Rachael was in training to become one of the church’s military members, an emotionless automaton titled a ‘Spine’, however, her brother Mark refuses to give his permission for her to undergo the final examination. The reader follows Dill, Rachel, Mr. Nettle and a selection of church members as events unfold in Deepgate.

Let me say first, before I go into the issues I have with this book, and they were several and serious, that I find Mr. Campbell’s voice compelling & I care about these characters. Rachael and Carnival and Arch Chemist Devon are absolutely my favorite characters. Carnival in particular is worthy of her own book. Rachael and Carnival together as fighting pair would have been incredible. I’ve already borrowed the second book.

The biggest problem is uneven pacing. Passage of time within the story felt like it was in super slow motion . It took over one hundred pages to move thirty six hours. Then you get one sentence where several days or more pass and then we’re onto more or less normal time. The second problem I had was placement of certain storyline information late in the book. It made Scar Night unnecessarily complicated and opaque until late in the story. Third, the backstory of and relationships between certain characters wasn't fully explored. Devon and Sypes come to mind, as do Rachael and Dill. Carnival. In terms of Rachael and Dill readers are asked to believe that they somehow come to care for each other despite the fact that a) they get very little face time and most of that is action packed, not in a romantic way and b) the story itself takes place over roughly a month. In fact, Dill seemed pretty much superfluous for a while. Fourth, and this is related to number one, just as the narrative builds momentum the book is over.

So, yeah, for me Scar Night has flaws, flaws that interfered with my enjoyment of the story. However, Mr. Campbell is absolutely compelling. Mr. Nettle, Carnival and Rachael totally suck you and refuse to let go. I’m looking forward to Mr. Campbell’s future writing and I hope that he’s prolific. And available here in the US!

The Midnight Choir; Gene Kerrigan

2009-06-29T12:51:00.010-04:00

I think I found this in my feed reader while browsing through the Guardian online book section. Mr. Kerrigan is or was a journalist for a newspapers and magazines in Ireland. I’ve read one other title written by an actively working journalist. Generally, I find the quality of the writing to be high & the narrative compelling. The edition I read was published in 2006 by Europa and had a drab green cover. Yes I know I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover- I ordered this from interlibrary loan without seeing the cover. Recently though I’ve found other covers on the internet.

What I didn’t realize in my first forays into crime fiction, if I can call it that, is that certain subtypes are harder edged than others. And that crime fiction, like all genre fiction is often underestimated by those who are unfamiliar with it. Yes, I am one of those people. Crime fiction has within it other subtypes. Police procedurals are told from the point of view of the police although the perpetrator is usually known to the reader from the start. Noir fiction is often told by the criminal or someone intimately involved with committing the crime and is known to be unsentimental and unsparing in its look at society’s underbelly.

I have to admit my ignorance here. I’m primarily a romance and science fiction/fantasy reader, with a sprinkling of straight up fiction thrown in. My knowledge of police procedural and whodunit crime mysteries has been limited to characters like Sherlock Holmes, Sano Ichiro, Miss Marple and Sister Fidelma. Through watching Maigret and Wallender and a German detective series called Tatort in German (Scene of the Crime by our local tv station) my interest turned to similar literature. After I finished reading The Midnight Choir it occurred to me that there are distinct similarities between D.I. Synott and to characters in the US tv series The Shield and to the movie The Secret Window.

The Midnight Choir is set in modern Ireland. The narrative takes place over the course of a week, starting on Wednesday. Point of view swings between characters depending on what case is at the forefront. Mr. Kerrigan masterfully demonstrates to the reader that the assumptions you make regarding the protagonist, in this case Detective Inspector Harry Synott, are not necessarily the truth. To be clear, these are things that it appears Det. Insp. Synott believes about himself, thus inducing this reader to believe them too. I suppose that my inherent cynicism regarding motivation in actual human beings doesn’t always translate over into fiction. No matter. When I recognized the trend things were taking, it spurred many conversations between the Hubby and I regarding power, corruption, and the slow deterioration of the demarcation between right and wrong. Not that the line was ever clear and bright and unmistakable.

Despite my own initial misunderstanding of what this book might be labeled, The Midnight Choir grabbed me from the start and didn’t let go. I’m hopeful I can find more of his work, although I think it’ll have to be via interlibrary loan as his work is in neither my local library nor the local bookstores. Excellent read.

The Magician's Guild; Trudi Canavan

2009-06-28T00:05:00.002-04:00

I think I’m late getting on the Trudi Canavan bandwagon. If you’re not already aboard, you’re missing a great storyteller. The Magician’s Guild is the first novel in Ms. Canavan’s Black Magician’s Trilogy. The second book is The Novice and the third is The High Lord both of which are available. Her newest title is __________ out in hardcover, I believe. Just a minor little rant here. I borrowed this via interlibrary loan. After I read it I requested the other two titles. They could only find one. The third one. I mean, really? What use is reading only the first and the third book in a three book series? I ended up buying the second one, so now I own only one of the set. Annoying! Yes, I’m a little OCD about my books. Why do you ask?

Imardin is a socially stratified citystate, ruled by King Merin. Most of the citizenry are nonmagical folks of every class. Dwells are ordinary everyday folk, thieves control the underground (both literally & criminally) and crafters are skilled laborers. You have House and Rogue magicians, who, once they are identified, seem to be automatically elevated into the highest class. Only the aristocracy, known as aristos, can become magicians. They’re the crème de la crème. Then you have your vagrants, society’s dregs. Homeless, jobless, uneducated & without prospects, they live in dread of being caught in the annual purge. What’s that you ask? Why, it’s when the magicians drive as many of the vagrants out of the city as they can.

Sonea is a teenage vagrant and former street gang member whose family aspires to become crafters. Parted from her friends by her family’s financial needs, she comes across some of her former pals during what turns out to be a purge. In an effort to warn her friends Sonea is caught up and her future becomes dire in the blink of an eye. For Sonea is a natural born magician, something that the Magicians haven’t seen in many many years and some thought didn’t exist at all. For a slum dweller to be a very powerful magician? Unheard of, and for some, unwelcome.

Sonea is traumatized and afraid of what is happening to her. She doesn’t know who to trust or where to turn. Her friend Ceryni (Cery) takes her under his wing. Together they embark on a whirlwind, frightening tour of the seamier side of Imardin in an effort to hide her from the magicians. The magicians of the Guild are looking for Sonea because untrained Magicians can cause great harm to the populace and the city if they don’t learn to control their gift. So the magicians want to get to Sonea before she..explodes, sort of. To either help her learn to control her gift or to bind her gift in such a way that she can never use it. Sonea and Cery don’t know any of this, though . Cery’s father was Thief and Sonea’s family are slum dwellers. Neither of them trust Magicians or Aristos at all.

That’s the basic set up: girl with strong and powerful gift tries to evade the (mostly male) Guild authorities. The end third or so of the book sets up internecine strife within the guild and potentially within Imardin. The book isn’t told in first person, but is primarily from Sonea’s point of view spliced in with one or two of the magicians who are looking for her.

I have to say that my first reaction to this book, other than “Wow, this is fantastic, I have to order to the rest of these” was “this is what I wish Sarah Monette’s book Melusine , link to my review here, was more like.” I can’t quite fully explain that impression except to say that I wish Felix’s personality was more similar to Sonea’s, that he was less damaged or that Mildmay was the protagonist. This book also had echoes of Sharon Shinn’s Thirteen Houses series. Anyhow, I recommend The Magician’s Guild for anyone who likes character centered fantasy with strong female protagonists. I already have the nest two books in the trilogy.

Cover image found on TRudi Canavan's website, link in title above.

Computer problems

2009-06-27T12:57:00.003-04:00

Posting may be iffy for a while, the home pc has picked up a horrible illness & I'm having to post from either the hubby's laptop (which is only here at home sporadically) or from the library. Unfortunately I'd written up several posts & saved them-on the other computer. :(

$1 ebooks

2009-06-23T08:00:00.002-04:00

Orbit books, probably best known for science fiction & fantasy, has started a new site where they're offering one free ebook per month. The site doesn't say how long the promotion will run, but they do say that each title will be available for one month only. This month it's Marie Brennan"s Midnight Never Come.

Next month it'll be:

Brennan cover image found on Orbit

Kindle owners beware??

2009-06-23T00:05:00.001-04:00

If you're a kindle owner, you might want to click over to Consumerist.com to read a little article about hidden limits on how many times you can download a title. I'm not sure how new this actually is, but I thought someone out there might like to know. Consumerist is pretty widely read but not everyone stops by. The article has the details. Go read. Might be something you want or need to know before buying. Link in title & in post. Cheers all. Onwards towards total Amazon domination! lol ;)

Ruby's Slippers; Leanna Ellis

2009-06-22T00:05:00.000-04:00

Ruby’s Slippers by Leanna Ellis is a contemporary Christian women’s fiction novel set primarily in California. This is the second title I’ve read by Ms. Ellis, which was sent to me for review by B&H Publishing. While acknowledging that two titles is hardly a large enough soap box from which to preach, it seems to me that Ms. Ellis writes of women who are at a major turning point in their lives. A time when the confluence of events and people impel a woman to assess who she is and where she is going.

Ruby’s Slipper’s is such a novel. As both the title and the cover imply the novel follows a similar path, both literally and symbolically, as the characters in the Wizard of Oz: fellow travelers have a mission to accomplish, their path is replete with peril and misinformation, the exact destination & outcome are unknown. I have to say that while I enjoy the movie significantly more now than I did when I was a child, it is not something with which I’ve more than a glancing familiarity. I very much enjoyed figuring out which book character matched up with which movie character.

The plot is deceptively simple. Two sisters, whose mother has been deceased only a year, own a small family farm in rural Kansas. Their father disappeared when the girls were barely out of toddlerhood. The younger sister, Abby, is an actress in California, the older, Dorothy, a teacher who cared for their mother in her waning years. The farm has been a bone of contention between them ever since she died. Until the day a major tornado hits the tiny town and flattens the Meyers homestead, inflicting a head injury on the oldest daughter. Abby brings Dottie to California to recover. After that everything changes.

Ms. Ellis’ plot doesn’t go quite where this reader rather thought it would. It was fabulous! I became quite fascinated with unraveling the various threads in my mind and then reweaving them once I realized that I was quite wrong after all. LOL  As for theme, you’ve your pick of several. One, that there are two sides to every story and it’s best to try and learn what they both are. Two, fear and anger are often bedfellows and frequently feed each other. Three, the dawn must come eventually no matter how dark and menacing the night may be. And four, it’s always possible to begin anew.

A wonderfully fun insightful read. Excellent for the summer.

Free Lara Adrian book

2009-06-21T11:56:00.002-04:00

Via PBackwriter, one of Lara Adrian's books is available free for download from Random House. Click here to go to their page, PBwriter says it's available only for a short time so don't wait!

Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

2009-06-19T11:55:00.008-04:00

I was first made aware of this title by Pianist's French teacher (he was in 7th grade at the time) in an email. She wanted him to read it. Unfulfilled expectations and all that. This review isn't about him, though. So the day I read the email I put myself on the library waiting list for this book. I was number forty seven. Bummer. It took five months before it was our turn. In the meantime, I watched Charlie Rose's interview with Mr. Gladwell.

In America, the mythos of the self made man is a deeply entrenched, beloved belief that is in some ways central to our culture. Generally, we're supposed to believe that here in the US anyone, from anywhere, from any background can rise to the top of our society through their own hard work & very little else. Like cream rises from milk. Unbidden & naturally. We like to pretend such things are practically guaranteed by the constitution, for heavens' sake! Or so the thought goes.

IMO, it's quite easy to sum up Outliers: it's a thoughtfully written, soundly defended debunking of the myth of the self made man. Mr. Gladwell's position is that preferential treatment can be based on such arbitrary measures as birth dates, generational size and parenting style. He argues that coincidental circumstances and arbitrary random sorting of children often boosts one group over another. Success, according to this position, results from cumulative advantages & isn't merely the result of native ability.

Mr. Gladwell reveals that parenting styles may differ by economic class- and that these seemingly inconsequential differences can ultimately have a serious impact on how much better one child may do as opposed to another. In other words, socialization training taught in the home can have more impact for better or for worse on a child's trajectory than many parents may be willing to admit.In young children an age difference as little as four or six months can make a huge difference in academic and athletic outcomes. He uses the Canadian hockey training system and American kindergartners as effective examples. In other words, future achievement is predicted better by family involvement, location, culture and cumulative advantages that started early in life- not necessarily intelligence quotient, work ethic and other nebulous characteristics.

Mr. Gladwell discusses such vagaries as how Asian language structures inherently confer advantages on their young learners that English does not- giving their children a strong and enduring boost up the ladder that lasts through their childhood into their adulthood. Gladwell shows how it may take a few generations for a family or group to boost itself out of one economic class into another and he tells us how much effort that entails & what the rewards and sacrifices may be.

Outliers isn't a book I'd've necessarily picked up on my own and for that I'm grateful to the French teacher. Anyone who is interested in the sociological origins of success and how various factors impact each individual should pick this up. It's a fascinating read.

Ebooks vs. Actual Books

2009-06-18T13:27:00.002-04:00

I posted a column over at Access Romance discussing my love for actual physical books despite the inevitable coming digital publishing revolution. Click title above to go to column directly.

TBR Challenge: Hidden Honor, Anne Stuart

2009-06-17T00:05:00.001-04:00

One of my all time favorite keepers is an old book by Anne Stuart, Lord of Danger. Click title above to go to challenge webpage. Click here to go to author's webpage. So when this month's TBR Challenge rolled around & I looked up the theme I was thrilled. After all, Anne Stuart's heroes are often unique and push the boundaries of what an acceptable hero is. And I just happen to have four of Ms. Stuart's historicals in my TBR. Lucky me! So I chose this one. For those who wonder about cover accuracy: the cover accurately portrays Elizabeth's hair and dress! It's a nice touch, I think.

So, Hidden Honor is a 2004 Mira release set in early thirteenth century England (near as I can tell). For romance readers familiar with the terms, this is a combination road & in disguise romance. Young Elizabeth (17) is being sent to a convent by her widower father as she's too skinny, too ugly and too stupid to get a husband (dad's words, not mine). It just so happens that the bastard son of King John, one William Fitzroy, is traveling to the Shrine of St. Anne to confess and do penance for (accidentally) murdering a well born young woman. Fearful of an ambush on his life, an elaborate role switch takes place among William's retinue. William is disguised as a monk named Br. Matthew, a monk named Br. Peter takes William's place & yet another young nobleman named Adrian is also along pretending to be a monk, albeit using his own name.

You can see where this is going right? Peter, pretending to be William, falls in lust with Elizabeth. Elizabeth is kept in the dark as to who is whom, and her father sends her on her merry way with this group since she is to join the convent at the Shrine. Understandably squicked out by the attention the murderous William pays to her, Elizabeth is confused by her intuition, which tells her that William (in truth, Peter) means her no harm. Along the way they pick up a cookie cutter 'wise whore with a heart of gold' named Joanne so that she can impart some words of wisdom to young Elizabeth along the way.

Really, this could've been an excellent read. I mean, Ms. Stuart's rep is for truly out there heroes. Peter's past history with William is only slowly revealed & late into the book- but plays a crucial role in what unfolds. I think Peter could've been, should've been, edgier. He is portrayed as remorseful, penitent, guilty over what passed between himself and William, but he never seems to question his judgement. And what transpired between them should've raised quite a few questions regarding his own judgement and morality and responsibility. Aside from wishing Peter was edgier & sharper, I really enjoyed the secondary romance between Joanne and Adrian. Elizabeth annoyed me, to be truthful. I had to constantly remind myself that she's only seventeen & what can you expect from a teenager after all?! I would've been happier if Elizabeth was older, more experienced, to match Peter's issues better. I mean, really, a seventeen year old?

So, yeah, kinda disappointed here. Not quite up to par, IMO. Good but not quite there. :( Aw well, we can't always be at the top of out game, can we?

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns; Elizabeth Leiknes

2009-06-16T00:05:00.000-04:00

This is, I believe, Ms. Leiknes' debut novel published by Bancroft Press out of Charm City (aka Baltimore MD), up the road a bit from Bookwormom Central.Link to author's website in title above. I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. The flap lists this as romantic comedy, my assessment is that it's paranormal chick lit- a subgenre that's currently selling well & is popular. I like the voice & the pacing & the story is cute and hides its deeper meaning pretty well. I wish Ms. Leiknes much success & future book deals.

The plot is your classic Faustian bargain: as an eleven year old Lucille Burns' older sister is hit by a truck and is hospitalized with a coma. Lucy writes a letter 'to whom it may concern' and promises that if Ellen is ok she will 'be forever in your debt' and put the letter in their magic mailbox. The next morning Ellen is miraculously healed. In the magic mailbox a note appears, "it's a deal..I'll be in touch."

Fast forward nineteen years: Lucy has had to give up her family and forgo personal relationships with men because her job requires her to be on the down low all the time. What is her job? Lucy's a facilitator for the Devil. She's to ensure that evil people get to their final destination. To do this she's given a few paranormal powers, a magic basement that leads to hell, and a type of were-dog that's alternately a normal scruffy mutt and satan's minion. She has inhumanly perky breasts and never breaks out during her period. She can eat lots and lots of chocolate and never gains weight.

For all of the her superficiality and her physical perfection, Lucy is unfulfilled and lonely. Although she's good friends with the earth mother neighbor and her kids next door Lucy misses her sister and really wants a steady man in her life. Kids of her own maybe. None of which are available to her unless she can figure out how to break the contract she made as an eleven year old. The turning point comes when the earth mother neighbor takes Lucy to a concert to see Lucy's favorite easy listening idol perform.

The novel hangs together tightly- which I loved. Sometimes story elements are unevenly treated in shorter novels, but the author avoids that this time around. Ms. Leiknes touches on some deeper themes than your usual genre novel: the disconnectedness of modern life, wish fulfillment vs. personal development, morality, ambiguity, and others. I did have some problems with the narrative, mostly to do with characterization and plot details and the too neat wrap up at the end. Mostly minor, and not enough to stop me dead in my tracks. The story fit well for the length of the book (only 167 pages). The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns is a light quick read- good poolside or beach umbrella reading. Or, if you prefer, it can be a meditation on modern life,moral ambiguity and easy listening lyrics! Enjoy!

Image found on B&N.

15 Books, 15 Minutes

2009-06-14T23:01:00.004-04:00

Found on Annie Kelleher's blog, writers and witches and words oh my, a quick game where you list 15 books that made an impact on you, but you can only take 15 minutes to list them:

1. Summer Lightning, PG Wodehouse

2. Edgar Allen Poe's short stories

3. To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee

4. Robert Louis Stevenson's children's poems

5. Book of Nursery and Mother Goose Rhymes, Marguerite d'Angeli

6. Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

7. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

8. The Great Sermon Handicap, PG Wodehouse

9. A Lesson Before Dying, Earnest J. Gaines

10. Breath, Eyes, Memory; Edwidge Danticat

11. The Strangeness of Memory, Lydia Minatoya

12. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

13. Moreta, Anne McCaffrey

14. Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

15. The Ocean Between Us, Susan Wiggs

Shameless Plug

2009-06-13T21:53:00.007-04:00

I've been following this blog for years, Random Acts of Reality, written by a London native who goes by Tom Reynolds. MBMS&ACOT is based on Reynolds' work based blog & is, in fact, his second book. It's great stuff if you're into behind the scenes medical realities all too often glossed over. My hubby's a nurse, many's the time when I've bookmarked a post & made him read it later. Or I've handed him the laptop demanding "read this!!"

Reynolds' book, titled More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea, linked here to Amazon page. Need a review? The Guardian has a combo review interview up, click here to read (can't remember if you have to register, sorry). Click here to read Harper Collins page.

As I mentioned, I've lurked on his blog for years & love to read his stories. I'm not a shill, I've not received an arc or a free box of latex gloves for mentioning his book here. Simply put: I like to cheer on fellow bloggers who've successfully made it into print. Reynolds has a deft way of delineating both the light and the dark sides of humanity. Please try it out, it's well worth it.

London Ambulance Service vehicle image found on policeblue999's Flickr photostream

Cover image found on Harper Collins UK.

Simon & Schuster & Scribd.com News

2009-06-12T09:54:00.004-04:00

Via the New York Times, Simon & Schuster & Scribd.com have signed a deal to make S&S titles available on Scribd.com. Good news for ebook lovers!