A Garden Carried in the Pocket

And Yet More Books in the Mail

2012-01-30T21:42:00.004-06:00

Well, I finished 1Q84 last night. I've thought about it off and on all day. Tomorrow, I'll try to order my thoughts and write a review. What to say? What to say? So very strange.

More of the books I ordered from the used book sellers at Amazon arrived:

A Visit to Vanity Fair: Moral Essays on the Present Age by Alan Jacobs. I really wanted The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction, but this seller didn't have it, so I took what was on offer. I read the review over at Of Books & Bicycles some time ago, and she included it in her Best of 2011.

Making a Garden: Reliable Techniques, Outstanding Plants, and Honest Advice by Rita Buchanan. It is time to begin thinking about gardening.

Moominpappa at Sea by Tove Jansson. I've wanted to read something by Tove Jansson for some time, and I saw that this seller had a couple from the Moomin children's series. The seller didn't have The Summer Book (also recommended by Of Books and Bicycles) or A Winter Book by Jansson; I'll get to them eventually.

So...more books to add to the stack by the reading chair.

More Books in the Mail

2012-01-29T10:15:00.000-06:00

So what has arrived lately?

Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck. Recommended by Nancy (Pomegranate Trail)

Kathereine Neville's The Eight. This was one of Annie's (Buttery Books) choices of books to give. I know I've read other positive reviews, but Annie's mention reminded me.

Cara Black's Murder in the Marais (first in Aimee LeDuc series). Recommended by Teresa, who doesn't have a blog, but should because she reads, crafts, and is involved in so many interesting activities including her neighborhood restoration organization and working with children.

Mary Gostelow's A World of Embroidery and Mary Gostelow's Embroidery Book...because over at Bayou Quilts I've slipped into that embroidery cycle again with a vengeance. The reason I'm not reading so much right now is because I'm spending my time with needle and thread. Way too much time.

I ordered all of the above through the used books sellers at Amazon; most of the cost less than $1.00, some as little as one cent. Plus shipping, of course. Certainly a bargain!

These join about 10 others that are on the table (and floor) by my reading chair, next to the overflowing bookcase.

Black Diamond by Martin Walker

2012-01-28T13:32:00.001-06:00

Black Diamond is the third of the Bruno Courreges series. Bruno, the beloved Chief of Police in the small village of St. Denis, has such charm. I'm glad to continue this series, although I haven't read the first one, I really enjoyed The Dark Vineyard, reviewed here.

The black diamond, or winter black truffle, is often referred to as the Perigord truffle. Bruno is an avid truffle hunter and is establishing his own "truffle orchard" with the help of his expert friend Hercule. When he is asked to investigate some irregularities in the truffle market, he finds himself learning more about the economic and political influence of truffles.

Where to start on this novel? There are several sub-plots that Walker manages to connect with great skill: corruption in the truffle market, the murder of his good friend, Asian gangs, illegal immigration and human trafficking, environmental, political, and cultural differences.

Yet it all works and flows together sensibly. In addition to all of the above, there is some fascinating information about truffles and some interesting French history (from Viet Nam to Algeria to Bosnia) easily incorporated. And...the food! Oh, I'm not a gourmand, but Bruno and his friends are, and the meals delight to the point of making my mouth water.

Good characterization, an interesting plot--I'm more a fan of Bruno, Chief of Police than ever.

Fiction. Mystery/Crime. 2011. 320 pages.

In the Mail

2012-01-24T14:47:00.001-06:00

The Pub Across the Pond by Mary Carter. From a Bookish Librarian--Thanks, Deborah! A disillusioned young woman buys a raffle ticket to own a pub in Ireland...and wins. Sounds like fun!

ARCs:

If You Ever Need Me, I Won't Be Far Away by Bruce Farrell Rosen; a memoir of award-winning writer Bruce Farrell Rosen--some very positive reviews.

A Place of Secrets by Rachel Hore; will be released for sale Jan. 31; a mystery-- an appraiser of books for an auction house, an old estate in Norfolk with a wonderful library and some very valuable books on astronomy to be evaluated. Yes, I like all of the elements!

Bring Me One of Everything by Leslie Hall Pindar

(I've begun this one--I've already flagged a couple of pages for quotes! Love her writing.) Canadians might be especially interested in this one. "The title of the book is based on what the management of the Smithsonian is said to have demanded when sending ethnographers to native villages to gather artifacts for its collection: "Bring me one of everything."

Mr. Langshaw's Square Piano: The Story of the First Pianos and How They Caused a Cultural Revolution by Madeline Goold; nonfiction; "A handwritten note inside a neglected Broadwood square piano built in 1807 leads Madeline Goold on a quest to uncover the remarkable history of these now almost forgotten musical instruments."

I've also ordered a few used books from Amazon that have been on my wish list for a while. Oh, and there are still library books that I haven't gotten through.

What books are in your TBR pile?

The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler

2012-01-23T16:02:00.001-06:00

The Hypnotist is a Scandinavian crime novel by a husband and wife team. Reviews on the book are pretty evenly divided. While I had several problems with the book, I still read through it avidly.

The book opens with a gruesome triple murder and the only survivor is so severely injured that he may not survive. Detective Joona Linna asks Dr. Erik Bark to hypnotize fifteen-year-old Josef to get some information about the killer. The information gleaned from Josef gives the case a surprising turn.

One of the problems with the book is that one of the plot lines feels abandoned (and was never quite clear on certain details) when the second plot line takes over. The protagonist doesn't have much of a role in the first half of the novel, and several plot elements seem over-the-top. Details of police procedure seem haphazard and unlikely, as do certain hospital details. The book "feels" like it was written by two different people, and perhaps should have been two separate books. Some writing teams manage to make everything coalesce; other aren't quite as successful.

Nevertheless, I did find the book a page turner. I liked Joona Linna, the detective, and would have preferred that he play a larger role throughout the book. The main characters were well-drawn, and although Josef and his sister Evelyn were a pretty thin, Erik Bark, his wife, son, and father-in-law develop nicely (if not entirely believably).

If the author(s) would tone down some of the violence and shock value stuff, give Joona Linna more attention, and tighten up the plots, I would enjoy seeing this become a series. As it is, it doesn't meet the standards set by other translated Scandinavian crime novels.

Fiction. Scandinavian/Crime/Police Procedural. 2011. 528 pages.

Now, I Can Begin a New Reading Year

2012-01-21T18:15:00.000-06:00

Ahhhh, it feels better to have finally finished reviewing all of the 2011 reads. And my reading this month is picking up after a long January dry spell.

Still reading 1Q84 by Murakami, reading Black Diamond by Martin Walker, and re-reading The Dyer's Hand and Other Essays by W.H. Auden after reading Stefanie's posts (and enjoying it as much as the first time).

Finished The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler, another Scandinavian crime novel. It has some problems, but it certainly kept my interest!

Started The Lantern by Deborah Lawrenson, but it wasn't keeping my interest, so I set it aside for a while. I know a lot of people really liked it, so I'm sure eventually it will get my full attention.

I'm going to fix myself a cuppa and read this evening. Sounds like a plan to me. :)

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

2012-01-20T12:54:00.003-06:00

Clockwork Prince is the sequel to Clockwork Angel (which I reviewed here). A little steam punk (in the best way--there are real characters and a plot--which much of the steam punk fiction I've read simply fails to provide), action, romance, mystery, literary references, and Victorian atmosphere blend well in Clare's latest installment in her Infernal Devices series. The Shadowhunters continue to battle evil and are darn cute while doing it.

When Benedict Lightwood seeks to unseat Charlotte as head of The Institute, everyone must step up to prevent her replacement. Charlotte has been given two weeks to locate the Magister, and in the search for this arch villain, we learn more about Will's background and see Tessa and Jem grow much closer. Will begins to open up and let his defenses down just as Tessa and Jem are beginning a romance. Oh, those pesky triangles.

I could do with a little less emphasis on the romance--don't get me wrong, it is crucial to the dynamics of the story, but in a Victorian society, I think there would be fewer situations in which a young woman would risk so much. So... there were a few minor details that were a bit annoying (Tessa's admiration for Will's looks gets repetitive; I have to admit that Will sounds gorgeous, but Jem is nothing to sneer at either).

Nice touch-- the Warlock Magnus Bain and the connection to the Aesthetes. There are plenty of references to books and poetry, and Will's love of books and reading increases my regard for this bad boy.

The series is YA fiction, but I've enjoyed it very much so far and look forward to the newest addition due out in 2013. That's a long wait, folks.
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Last review of books read in 2011! Finally!

Fiction. YA, Steam punk, Fantasy. 2011. 528 pages.

Wicked Autumn by G. M. Malliet

2012-01-19T20:34:00.013-06:00

Wicked Autumn is a cozy mystery featuring Max Tudor, a former MI5 agent turned Anglican priest. Sound intriguing? I wish I'd found it so, but I didn't even find it very interesting.

Few of the characters come to life. There are quite a few characters as almost everyone in the village has had some kind of conflict with the bossy, manipulative Wanda Batton-Smythe, who is so annoying that it is hard to work up any sympathy concerning her demise. If you don't care about the victim, then it is even more important to care about the other characters, but I couldn't drum up much enthusiasm for any of them either.

_____________
Next to last review of 2011 books! Almost done!

Fiction. Mystery/Cozy. 2011. 320 pages.

Where the Shadows Lie by Michael Ridpath

2012-01-16T14:59:00.001-06:00

Where the Shadows Lie offers lots of Icelandic atmosphere. When Magnus Jonson, a Boston police officer, finds himself the target of a drug cartel, his boss seconds him to the Iceland police force which has requested someone with experience to aid them with their own rising drug and gang related crime. Magnus, born in Iceland, and with duel citizenship, fits the bill. The assignment would also keep him safe from the cartel's attempts to eliminate him before he can testify at the trial that would seriously damage the cartel.

On his arrival in Iceland, he is assigned to the recent murder of a professor of Icelandic myth and legends. Magnus doesn't exactly fit in with the Icelandic force and makes mistakes, but does find himself involved with a beautiful woman who has a definite connection to an ancient Icelandic saga that her family has kept secret for generations and, through her father's friendship with J.R.R. Tolkien, a link to the reason for the professor's murder.

Lots of interesting details about the myths and sagas of Iceland (that Tolkien studied and admired and used in his own LOTR work). Myth and murder and Magnus' personal quest to find his father's murderer all intertwine.

"One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them. In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie...."

LOTR fans will find this one interesting for more reasons than the mystery aspect.

Fiction. Mystery. 2011. 352 pages.

The Cuckoo's Child by Marjorie Eccles

2012-01-16T07:23:00.010-06:00

The Cuckoo's Child is a historical mystery set in 1909. When Laura Harcourt is offered a position cataloging a library in a small Yorkshire village, she accepts partly because she needs some time to consider what her own direction in life is to be. Laura comes from a wealthy family, but longs for a life of independence and purpose; a removal from her current life might give her time to determine her own path.

When Ainsley Beaumont, the elderly man who hired her, is murdered, Laura discovers that he has left her a small fortune in his will. Laura realizes that her employment was much more deliberate than she had imagined and sets out to discover why Ainsley Beaumont hired her in the first place. (Well, of course, we have a definite clue from the title, but Laura must discover the truth of her situation for herself.)

Some history must be unraveled for Laura to find the answers she needs, and she already has one clue in a partial manuscript that she had discovered in Beaumont's library. At first it was a matter of general curiosity, but after Beaumont's death, Laura recognizes that the manuscript has personal significance.

Fiction. Historical Mystery. 2012. 240 pages.

2012-01-14T10:13:00.003-06:00

:) So this is what they get up to!

Thanks, Nancy!
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Recently watched When Paris Was a Woman, a documentary of the literary and artistic scene in Paris between the two World Wars:

"Between the World Wars, Paris was the world's artistic capital, attracting cultural titans like Gertrude Stein and others. Through home movies and intimate storytelling, this documentary re-creates the mood of this unique female artistic community."

One particularly interesting aspect was the information about Shakespeare & Company (the original bookstore opened by Sylvia Beach in 1919, not the later one opened by George Whitman). Another thing that was interesting was the flourishing of the lesbian community in Paris in the twenties and thirties. Who'd a thought.

The behavior of James Joyce surprised and disappointed me, but many of the most influential writers of the time found support at Shakespeare & Company and many supported the book store in return.
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Two more reviews down, but I still have a few more 2011 books to review and hope to finish them by tomorrow.

The Moon Maze Game by Larry Niven & Steven Barnes

2012-01-13T22:09:00.000-06:00

The Moon Maze Game is the third in the Dream Park series. A detail that I wasn't aware of when I added the book to my library bag. I have enjoyed previous Larry Niven books, even some he wrote with other authors--not this one, however.

The plot centers on live action role playing, as previously described in earlier books in the series. I don't know if those books were better written and/or had better plots and characterization because I haven't read them. From the beginning I found the skipping around from the characters on earth and those in the lunar colony a distraction, jumpy in a way that felt unnecessary and lacking in continuity. From the less than compelling beginning...it moved into a less than compelling middle and end.

There are almost two plots. Almost--because the plot about the designer of the game and his goals peters out almost immediately. The plot about the kidnappers who enter the game setting was supposed to be exciting, but was actually tedious and lacked suspense.

I would read a little and then put it aside and read another book, then come back to it, but I finally finished it (when I'd run out of other books to read) without ever becoming involved with plot or characters.

Fiction. Science Fiction. 2011. 368 pages.

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

2012-01-13T22:05:00.000-06:00

Me Before You was an ARC from Penguin, UK.

I've been unable to find a good way to describe the book, so I'll begin with a product synopsis:

Synopsis

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

All the way through the book, I enjoyed the characters and their experiences, marveling at the way Moyes balanced an accurate description concerning details of a quadriplegic's life and the struggle Lou has in her attempt to improve Will's situation. Plenty of light moments offset the grimness of certain aspects of Will's life, and Moyes manages to include both humor and grim reality without becoming maudlin or sentimental.

Let's face it, the life of a quadriplegic is a struggle for survival with so many medical issues in play. Will is often angry and sarcastic and depressed, but Lou's presence in his life keeps him interested. Moyes handles the subject with sensitivity and tackles some serious issues concerning freedom of choice.

Lou and Will are characters worth meeting, their stories are interesting, and although there may be tears, overall, the novel is uplifting.

Fiction. 2012. 481 pages.

Long Absence

2012-01-11T09:44:00.002-06:00

I still haven't reviewed the rest of the books from 2011. It has become a challenge, and I'm determined finish those reviews before the week is out.

In the meantime, I haven't finished a single book in 2012. Nearly two weeks without finishing a book! Almost unheard of around here. I have been reading 1Q84 and enjoying it, but it sits alone and neglected most of the time; the new year is certainly getting a slow start. Last year, I read 160 books, a new record for me. This year, however, I hope to read fewer books, read better books, and read more nonfiction. That is the goal at least.

So what have I been doing that has taken up reading time? Making prayer flags, eco dyeing, embroidering (while watching the UK version of Being Human and Stephen Fry's Kingdom), and sculpting or finishing up a couple of dolls.

Autumn is finally finished. She languished half dressed for at least a month, maybe more, before I made her trousers.

Getting ready to make prayer flags. The strips are 5 x 11", then the top is folded down to make a passage for the twine to pass through. Finished size is 5 x 8" -- I have 8 in progress now. Check out the Prayer Flag Project for more information about prayer flags and check here to see examples. Jotted down possible embroidery designs on an envelope; I'm using some of my eco dyed fabrics, linen, and muslin for the flags -- raw edges, unsophisticated style.

eco dyed blues from, of all things, red cabbage

This lady now has a cap and white hair.

Experimenting with fly stitch and blanket stitch variations on Prayer Flag #1.

I've also been taking some Yang style tai chi classes. Haven't done tai chi in several years and learned Wu style originally; the differences may be small, but are difficult. My body wants to convert movements to Wu style and needs frequent reprimanding, but I'm enjoying the larger, looser movements of Yang.

After a long holiday break, I'm also trying to get back to my yoga classes. Both tai chi and yoga are good for both body and spirit, and I always feel lighter after classes.

Fee and I went to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy this past weekend. It has been so long since I've read LeCarre that all I could remember about the novel were George Smiley and Karla--not a bit of the plot. Of course, I read it in the late 70's or 80's and when I can barely remember what I wore yesterday, it isn't surprising that the plot seemed brand new!

OK - back to my original thought: I will finish reviewing last year's books by the end of the week. Fingers crossed.

Mind's Eye by Hakan Nesser

2011-12-30T21:53:00.000-06:00

Mind's Eye , translated by Laurie Thompson, is the first in the Inspector Van Veeteren series by Nesser; so now I've read three novels in this series.

When Janek Mitter awakens one morning with a serious hangover, he finds the bathroom door locked from the inside. His wife doesn't answer, so Mitter uses a screwdriver to open the door and finds his wife drowned, face down, in the bathtub.

Although he vehemently denies having murdered his wife, Mitter has no memories after a certain point in the previous evening. Van Veeteren thinks it is likely that Janek Mitter is guilty, but he admits that he isn't completely convinced. Van Veeteren attends Mitter's trial, still vaguely bothered about the crime, and although Mitter is convicted and sentenced to a mental institution, Van Veeteren remains uneasy about the man's guilt.

When someone stays after visiting hours at the mental institution and murders Mitter, Van Veeteren enters the investigation with renewed determination.

Why was Eva Mitter murdered and what prompted the killer to wait so long to murder Janek Mitter, when he could have done so at the same time he killed Eva? The answers lie in the past and Van Veeteren's only clue is a letter Janek Mitter wrote shortly before his death.

In order of their original publication (although not in order of English translations):

Mind's Eye
Borkman's Point
The Return
Woman with a Birthmark
The Inspector and Silence

I've read the titles in italics and look forward to reading Borkman's Point and The Inspector and Silence which have also been translated.

Fiction. Crime/Mystery/Police Procedural. orig. publ. 1993. Eng. trans. 2008. 277 pages.

The Hand that Trembles by Kjell Eriksson

2011-12-30T20:56:00.015-06:00

The Hand that Trembles is translated by Ebba Segerberg and features Swedish Inspector Ann Lindell. I've read one other novel by Eriksson that features Lindell, The Princess of Burundi and didn't have any strong feelings one way or the other about it (I read it in 2006). I liked this one better.

The Hand that Trembles begins in 1956 with the relationship between the boy Sven-Arne Persson and his Uncle Ante who fought the fascists in Spain. The relationship is unusually strong, but not always easy.

As a middle-aged adult, Sven-Arne has become a county commissioner with the reputation of a man to watch for further political achievement. Then one day, he walks out of a meeting and disappears. The case remains unsolved, but no reason for suicide, kidnapping, or just abandoning his wife is uncovered. Twelve years later, the son of a neighbor recognizes Sven-Arne in Bangladore, India.

Back in Sweden, Ann Lindell is disturbed that her mentor in the police department has become old and discouraged after surgery for a brain tumor. She tries to interest him in the Sven-Arne case when the reports of his sighting in India become known. Berglund remembers the case, but isn't terribly interested. He decides to delve into one his own unsolved cases involving the murder of an old man in a wheel chair, a cold case that has continued to haunt him.

In the meantime, Lindell is assigned to an investigation involving the discovery of a severed foot in a lonely rural area where the few inhabitants know each other well, yet remain somewhat isolated from each other. Her investigation meets a lack of response from the inhabitants, who deny knowing of any missing woman in the area. The foot definitely belonged to a small woman, but how did it end up in this small rural community, who was she, and who killed her?

In the midst of the different investigations, Ann Lindell attempts to come to grips with her own life as a single mother, with her sense of abandonment by her mentor who is not recovering emotionally as quickly as she would like, and with some differences in views among her colleagues.

The various strands and investigations are eventually tied together or resolved separately according to the situation. There are a quite a few threads to this novel, many involving the sense of separation and aloneness that the characters are experiencing. Whether or not they are physically isolated, many of the characters are emotionally isolated in some way.

Fiction. Mystery/Police Procedural/Crime. 2011. 310 pages.

I have one more Scandinavian author to review (Hakan Nesser's Mind's Eye), a mystery set in Iceland by an English author (Where the Shadows Lie by Michael Ridpath), a historical English mystery (The Cuckoo's Child by Marjorie Eccles), and an ARC that I'm not sure how to classify (Me Before You by JoJo Moyes). Then I'll be finished with this year's reviews!

Until Thy Wrath Be Past by Asa Larsson

2011-12-29T08:46:00.001-06:00

Until Thy Wrath Be Past by Asa Larsson; translator: Laurie Thompson, who has translated Henning Mankell, Hakan Nesser, and Ake Edwardson. Another Rebecka Martinsson mystery, Until Thy Wrath Be Past begins with seventeen-year-old Wilma describing the day she and Simon died.

Wilma's voice is so charming that I couldn't help but form an attachment to her character immediately. Although the supernatural element could have presented a problem, Larsson manages to weave it into the story effortlessly, making it feel entirely appropriate and necessary.

Rebecka Martinsson, who has recovered from her last awful outing, has left her old firm and become District Prosecutor for Kiruna, the rural area where Martinsson grew up. In a period of transition in both her work and her personal life, Martinsson finds herself resisting the pleas of her lover to return to Stockholm. She knows she has choices to make, but she isn't ready to make them.

When Wilma's body is discovered, Wilma has the strength to move about and is no longer confined under the ice of the river in which she was found. In keeping with her character, Wilma has plans for solving her murder. This is never stated implicitly, but Wilma's behavior is obvious. She visits Martinsson in a dream and tells her that she didn't die in the river where she was found.

The next day when Martinsson is informed about the discovery of Wilma's body, she visits the pathologist and "wonders" if Wilma actually died in the river. A test of the water in the girl's lungs determines that Wilma died elsewhere and was moved to the river.

The characters are all three-dimensional and the novel has a psychological aspect that works easily in tandem with the supernatural element. Familiar characters from previous novels appear and gain substance, and Larsson's portrayal of one of the bad guys creates a surprisingly well-developed character.

Another engrossing thematic thread is one that appears over and over again in Swedish crime fiction--the Swedish collaboration with the Germans during the war. It appears in the work of Henning Mankell, Jo Nesbo, Steig Larsson, Asa Larsson, and others. Sweden's conflicted/ambiguous position during the war appears to be an unresolved and pervasive issue in Swedish society.

The novel provides some unexpected turns. Not surprising plot twists that leave you with your mouth open, but rather interesting developments that digress from a straight-line plot sequence. I did have a quibble about a segment of the resolution, but found it easy to overlook.

Larsson's debut work Sun Storm (original title, The Savage Altar) received the Swedish Crime Writer's Association's prize for best debut novel. The sequel, The Blood Spilt was chosen as Best Swedish Crime Novel of 2004. As with all Scandinavian crime fiction that I've read, there is a particular darkness to Larsson's work, but I enjoy them.

Originally, I had titled this post "Three Scandinavian Mysteries," but the review of Until Thy Wrath... became longer than intended (and still just skims the surface), so I'll review the others separately, too.

Fiction. Crime/Mystery/Police procedural. 2011. 256 pages.

Revenger by Rory Clements

2011-12-28T11:09:00.002-06:00

Revenger is a historical mystery set in the Elizabethan period. The novel casts John Shakespeare (Will's older brother) as an "intelligencer" for Sir Francis Walsingham, the great spymaster who gathered intelligence both at home and abroad that might help protect and strengthen Queen Elizabeth's reign. Walsingham's intelligencers provided information that helped prevent several domestic plots against the queen and also proved extremely useful in foreign diplomacy.

After the death of Walsingham, John Shakespeare retired from the game and now runs a school for boys. Robert Devereaux, the Earl of Essex, recruits John to locate a young woman who may be Elizabeth Dare from the vanished Roanoke Colony. If it is Elizabeth, how did she survive the fate of the rest of the colonists and return to England?

Robert Cecil, who replaced Walsingham as Elizabeth's Secretary of State, then approaches John and requests that John keep a close eye on the Earl of Essex, who may have some dangerous plans of his own. Cecil and Essex have a personal rivalry, but Cecil has specific suspicions regarding Essex's current activities.

The Catholic/Protestant divisions have a great deal to do with the uncertainty of the times, and Clements addresses the danger of being a Catholic or even having Catholic sympathies during Elizabeth's reign. Clements also covers many other unpleasant elements of the period: the double-dealing and intrigue, the use of torture, the violence, the poverty, and the political machinations. While many of the situations are purely fiction, they give insight into Elizabethan political and social conventions.

Although the explanation about what happened to the Roanoke Colony and about the Earl of Essex's marriage plans are speculative fiction, the novel includes plenty of actual events.

Fiction. Historical Fiction/Mystery. 2011. 448 pages.

The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley

2011-12-27T12:52:00.012-06:00

The Rose Garden is both a time travel novel and chic lit. As much as I love the idea of time travel, I find a lot of fantastical things --magic, fairies, and colonies in outer space-- much easier to accept. For some reason, I always quibble with time travel. Not when I read about the possibilities that quantum mechanics hypothesizes; I'm ready to entertain the real possibility, but I find fictional accounts impossible to reconcile.

I liked the setting and liked the characters (almost too many characters were very likable). If the Cornish smugglers felt a little gentlemanly for their trade, that was OK, too. And if so many romances worked out well, I can enjoy a few happy endings once in a while.

However, likable as some of the characters are, they felt like placeholders, and the romances were a bit conveniently coincidental. The time travel simply had too many discrepancies--or too few "logical" explanations.

Go ahead and make up a "logical" explanation for what causes the slippage, for the differences in the amount of time spent in past and present, for the arrival in a particular period or location--something more than the house being built on ley lines--and maybe I could suspend my disbelief.

I had no problem reading it, no place that I wanted to walk away without finishing, but neither was it a particularly memorable experience.

Fiction. Chic Lit. 2011. 430 pages.

3 Mystery/Police Procedurals

2011-12-21T22:26:00.001-06:00

A Restless Evil - Ann Granger - from Library Journal: "About 20 years ago, the woods at Lower Story were frequented by a still uncaught serial rapist. Now, shortly after a hiker discovers skeletal remains in the woods, a female churchwarden meets her untimely end in the local church: could the two events be connected? Supt. Alan Markby (Shades of Murder) thinks so, especially since he failed to find a perpetrator in the earlier case. With assistance from lover Meredith, he delves into the rumors and facts surrounding both cases, hoping for a break. This is a rock-solid British village procedural, complete with detailed setting, slightly degenerate denizens, and ongoing personal conflicts. "

Not bad. I enjoyed it enough to be interested in other Mitchell & Markby mysteries, especially since other reviewers indicate that this is not the best in the series. If A Restless Evil kept me interested and it wasn't the best, then maybe I'll enjoy others in the series, too.

Fiction. Mystery/Police Procedural. 300 pages. 2002.

Among the Departed - Vicki Delany. A constable Molly Smith novel. When bones are discovered in a wilderness hiking area, an old missing persons case comes back into play. As it turns out, the bones belong to the father of one Molly's childhood friends. Brian Nowak's disappearance fifteen years earlier has left the Nowak family weird and dysfunctional. Many had written Brian's disappearance off as an escape from his wife, but the bones prove otherwise.

Nicky Nowak returns home for the funeral, and the small town of Trafalgar, BC must look again at a disappearance that is now classified as a murder.

Fiction. Mystery/Police Procedural. 277 pages. 2011.

Woman with a Birthmark - Hakan Nesser. This is the second Inspector Van Veeteren mystery that I've read; only four of his 20 Van Veeteren novels have been translated into English. I read The Return earlier this year and plan to read all English translations in the series.

Hmmm. Just discovered that there are several films based on Nesser's books. Will be adding to Netflix que.

If you enjoy Scandanavian crime fiction, do give this series a try. Woman with a Birthmark finds Van Veeteren and his crew confronted with a strange murder and no indication of a motive. Then another similar murder, and Van Veeteren, Reinhart, and the other detectives begin searching for any connection between the two men. And then another murder....

Fiction. Mystery/Police Procedural. 1996. Trans. 2009. 336 pages.

Two to Skip

2011-12-21T10:21:00.001-06:00

Brainrush - Richard Bard - a 99 cent Kindle read. Product description: "When terminally ill combat pilot Jake Bronson emerges from an MRI with extraordinary cognitive powers, everyone wants a piece of his talent--including Battista, one of the world's most dangerous terrorists. To save his love and her autistic child, Jake is thrust into a deadly chase that leads from the canals of Venice through Monte Carlo and finally to an ancient cavern in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan--where Jake discovers that his newfound talents carry a hidden price that threatens the entire human race.

An original weave of current events bound by colorful locations and cutting-edge technology, Bard's novel is a must-read for fans of Michael Crichton, James Rollins, Clive Cussler, and Brad Thor. A dynamic mix of fast-paced action and thought provoking soul, this book challenges the reader to keep pace with every sharp turn and shocking twist. Acclaimed by fans of action, sci-fi, and political thrillers alike, Brainrush is one of the most innovative and entertaining books of the year."

Started out fine, but quickly went downhill. It has gotten great reviews and was OK for the price (almost free), but the characters had no depth and were sterotypical, the plot was too fantastic and too wide-ranging--from newly discovered brain capabilities to international terrorists to love story. Oh, yeah, a deeply moving love story based on a few hours acquaintance. And by the way, the product review mentions the love interest's autistic child, but she has no children. There are autistic children being experimented on, however, to turn them into terrorists. blah.

A Dozen Deadly Roses -- Kathy Bennett. Another 99 cent Kindle. Oh, when will I learn! Another superficial and silly disappointment. Product Description: "Los Angeles Police Officer Jade Donovan is being hunted. There’s the lieutenant who’s out to get her, the psycho who’s stalking her and leaving dead roses at her door, but most frightening of all, she’s been assigned to partner with her son’s father, Mac Stryker. Mac doesn’t know he’s Donnie’s dad, and Jade will stop at nothing to prevent him from finding out and possibly taking away her son. She will protect and defend him at all costs."

Although, once again, the majority of the reviews are positive, read the 2 star reviews to get a better idea of content.

The Tin Ticket: The Heroic Journey of Australia's Convict Women by Deborah J. Swiss

2011-12-18T15:01:00.009-06:00

The Tin Ticket is an enthralling examination of the lives of women convicts who were sentenced to deportation to Van Dieman's Land (modern Tasmania) and who, along with the many male convicts, became part of the founding generations of Australia.

The book focuses on four women convicted of minor crimes and sentenced first to the horrors of Newgate prison (Ludlow Tetter's young daughter accompanied her to prison and to Van Dieman's Land), then to the four month sea journey in disgusting conditions, to arrive in Van Dieman's land and be incarcerated in the House of Corrections where they endured hard labor and shocking abuses.

The treatment of the poor in general and poor women and children in particular, the ways in which they were exploited and mistreated may come as a surprise even to Australians who are well aware of the convict past that helped populate the land. What passed for justice in the UK was often a way to remove the poor from their doorstep and deposit them where slave labor was needed. "Under the Transportation Act of 1718, 162,000 women, men and children were exiled to Australia from 1788 to 1868." At least 25,000 exiles were women.

The sentences were generally for seven years. Seven years of hard labour, mistreatment, sexual abuse, separation from their children, and more, for crimes of petty theft or forgery. Stealing a loaf of bread to feed one's children could easily mean not only imprisonment, but exile.

My only complaint is the way the author tries to "novelize" certain segments, but her research is thorough and well-documented, the book is informative and fascinating, and the ultimate triumph that many of these women achieved is amazing given the circumstances.

The following video shows some interviews with descendants of some of the women.

This book is another book that I read during October/November and am just now getting around to reviewing.

The Tin Ticket was an ARC from Jocelyn Kelley of Kelley and Hall. Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book.

Nonfiction. History. 2011. 352 pages.

The Affair by Lee Child

2011-12-16T22:03:00.001-06:00

The Affair is the latest in Child's Jack Reacher series. I read this back in October or November, and as anyone who reads this blog knows, Jack Reacher is one of my favorite characters. Lee Child writes great action-packed adventure and never fails to keep me wanting more Jack Reacher.

The Affair flashes back to Reacher's days as an elite MP and gives insight into the reasons Reacher leaves the military and begins his Paladin-like career as a wanderer. Sent undercover to find out who murdered a young woman and to do damage control if necessary, Reacher ends up in a small Mississippi town near an army base. Looking into the current murder, he discovers that it wasn't actually the first by this killer (how the authorities fail to connect murders of young women in a fairly short period of time in a small town seems a leetle bit incompetent, but there you go). Yes, there are certainly elements that recur from book to book and no, the plots aren't always plausible, and yet Lee Child continues to captivate his audience.

This was not my favorite by any means, but it was still a page-turner.

Fiction. Action/Adventure/Mystery/Suspense. 2011. 416 pages.

Hey girl.

2011-12-11T10:02:00.000-06:00

I fell in love with the Handmade Ryan Gosling site only to discover that there is also a Literary Ryan Gosling site and a Librarian Ryan Gosling site!

Veil of Lies by Jerry Westerson (Merely Mystery Challenge)

2011-12-09T09:55:00.001-06:00

Veil of Lies is a medieval mystery set in the same period as Cassandra Clark's Sister Hildegard series (The Red Velvet Turnshoe, Hangman Blind, The Law of Angels). In 1383, Crispin Guest is a disgraced knight, stripped of rank, lands, and possessions after being implicated in a plot against Richard II. His mentor, John of Gaunt, managed to save his life, but for political reasons abandons Guest to his fate.

Guest has established himself as a man who finds things and has earned the title "The Tracker," but his skills just barely keep him in food and lodging. In this debut novel, Guest has been hired by a wealthy merchant, but before he could report back, the merchant is found murdered in a locked room.

For various reasons, Guest pursues this new conundrum and finds puzzle after puzzle to pursue. Crispin Guest is full of flaws and is having serious difficulties connecting with individuals who are so far below his previous rank. His previous friends (including John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancaster, and Geoffrey Chaucer) are no longer available to him because of his connection to the treasonous plot against the king. Associating with them would put them in danger.

Chaucer is actually a mere mention, but I have hopes that his character will become more important in the next two novels in this series.

I enjoyed the mystery, and even if I have some criticisms, I look forward to the next one in the series.

First in the Merely Mystery Challenge.

Fiction. Historical Mystery. 2009. 288 pages.

Merely Mystery

2011-12-07T13:30:00.003-06:00

A mystery challenge at Musings of a Bookish Kitty is right up my alley. Find out more about the Merely Mystery Reading Challenge 2012. Check it out and join in!

I love all kinds of mysteries, and this challenge will be a great excuse to indulge myself. Not that I wouldn't be reading mysteries anyway, but it sounds better if there is a reading challenge to give it gravitas.

5 More Catch-up Reviews

2011-12-05T09:04:00.002-06:00

I have gotten so far behind on reviews that using product descriptions, etc. and grouping them together seems the only way to get back on track.

The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen was a Kindle bargain buy.

from Booklist: When Olivia Keene arrives home to find her father strangling her mother, she picks up the nearest blunt object and bashes him on the head. Fearing that she will be charged with murder, Olivia, with her mother’s help, flees. While en route to a potential position with an old friend of her mother’s, Olivia finds herself caught up in a series of dangerous adventures culminating in her arrival at Brightwell Court, where she accidentally eavesdrops on a conversation between Lord Edward Stanton Bradley and his father, the Earl. Realizing that the information the now speechless Olivia unknowingly possesses could ruin him, Edward insists that she accept a position in his family’s nursery, never expecting that the silent new governess might be his one hope of salvation. Klassen expertly infuses her Regency-set inspirational tale with a gothic atmosphere, resulting in a sweetly intriguing romance worthy of Victoria Holt. --John Charles

My opinon: :) I have to say that I enjoyed this romance. It was a fun read.

A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch was another Kindle bargain read.

from Publisher's Weekly: Set in England in 1865, Finch's impressive debut introduces an appealing gentleman sleuth, Charles Lenox. When Lady Jane Grey's former servant, Prue Smith, dies in an apparent suicide-by-poisoning, Lady Jane asks Lenox, her closest friend, to investigate. The attractive young maid had been working in the London house of George Barnard, the current director of the Royal Mint. Lenox quickly determines that Smith's death was a homicide, but both Barnard and Scotland Yard resist that conclusion, forcing him to work discreetly. Aided by his Bunter-like butler and friend, Graham, the detective soon identifies a main suspect, only to have that theory shattered by that man's murder. Finch laces his writing with some Wodehousian touches and devises a solution intricate enough to fool most readers. Lovers of quality historical whodunits will hope this is the first in a series. (June)

My opinion: Yep! I liked this one, too. I will look for more in this series. Light, but entertaining.

The Sunday Philosophy Club -Alexander McCall Smith-

Amazon description: Introducing Isabel Dalhousie the heroine of the latest bestselling series from the author of the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Isabel, the editor of the Review of Applied Ethics and an occasional detective, has been accused of getting involved in problems that are, quite frankly, none of her business. In this first installment, Isabel is attending a concert in the Usher Hall when she witnesses a man fall from the upper balcony. Isabel can’t help wondering whether it was the result of mischance or mischief. Against the best advice of her no-nonsense housekeeper Grace, her bassoon playing friend Jamie, and even her romantically challenged niece Cat, she is morally bound to solve this case. Complete with wonderful Edinburgh atmosphere and characters straight out of a Robert Burns poem, The Sunday Philosophy Club is a delightful treat from one of our most beloved authors.

My opinion: I did NOT find it a delightful treat. I found it annoying and am surprised it didn't go into the DNF file, but I hung in there until the bitter end.

No Trace by Barry Maitland-- a Brock and Kolla mystery.

Amazon description: Cited as one of the top ten crime novels of 2006 (Kirkus Reviews), No Trace is the finest novel yet by one of best crime novelists of our time.

In a London neighborhood known for its artists and bohemian style, six year old Tracey Rudd is abducted from her home without any warning, or sign of violence. She is the third child abucted under similar circumstances in recent weeks. But this case is different. She is the daughter of notorious contemporary artist Gabriel Rudd, best known for the grotesque "Dead Puppies," a work centered around his wife's suicide five years earlier. While Rudd exploits Tracey's abduction as an inspiration for a major new work in his upcoming exhibit, D.C.I. David Brock and Detective Sergeant Kathy Kolla hunt for the missing girls' kidnapper, who is suspiciously connected to the eccentric community of artists, dealers, and collectors in the neighborhood.

My opinion: Some very tense moments in this one. I'll be giving another one in the series a try.

Silent Mercy by Linda Fairstein is an Alexandra Cooper novel.

Publishers Weekly:

In Fairstein's exciting 13th novel to feature New York ADA Alexandra Cooper (after Hell Gate), a middle of the night call brings Alex and NYPD detectives Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace to Harlem, where the decapitated body of a young woman has been burning on the steps of the Mount Neboh Baptist Church, originally a synagogue until the neighborhood changed. Initially, the authorities suspect a hate crime until another dead woman turns up at a cathedral in Little Italy a few days later. A religious motive emerges, especially since both victims were considered "outcasts" because of their uncompromising demands about the role of women in organized religion. Meanwhile, Alex is prosecuting a defrocked Catholic priest accused of molesting boys, a high-profile trial that a politically connected bishop wants stopped. Fairstein excels at describing New York's complicated religious history as well as the vagaries of the city's legal and religious politics. 12-city author tour.

My opinion: I usually enjoy Fairstein's novels and this one was no exception. I always like the historical information about New York that she includes.

OK, I'm making headway on reviews. Trying to catch up on some blog reading, too.

Sewing, Dyeing, Surface Design

2011-12-03T16:30:00.000-06:00

For the last month, I've done a lot less reading of fiction because I've been busy with the following books and with dyeing fabric, embroidering, and doll-making.

I've still got several fiction books to review, but I'm grouping all of these non-fiction books together as they easily fit into one broad category. Many of them I read in August and September.

Sew Wild - Alisa Burke - Various techniques of painting, stamping, stenciling, and other surface design techniques for fabric. Not exactly my style and nothing really new, but informative, and I can adapt some of the techniques for some projects.

Create with Transfer Artist Paper - Lesley Riley - I still haven't tried this, but am eager to. I have some of Riley's transfer paper and plan to use it in some of my projects, but have been too busy with the eco dyeing and eco printing.

Stitch Alchemy - Kelly Perkins - More surface design techniques. As with the previous two, I've read them and intend to use them, but haven't yet.

Plaster Studio - Stephanie Lee, Judy Wise - Using plaster in mixed media projects. I really like this book, and it will be useful when I get around to actually trying the techniques.

The Art of Manipulating Fabric - Colette Wolf - I didn't find this one particularly useful, but it will be a good reference.

Three-Dimensional Embroidery - Janet Edmonds - not exactly what I wanted. Not useful for me, although certainly might be for others.

Hand Dyeing Yarn & Fleece - Gail Callahan - a good dyeing reference, although right now I'm interesting in eco dyeing, rather than synthetic dyes.

The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing - J.N. Niles - haven't actually finished this one, but the dyes in this one call for some mordants that are toxic, and I don't want to fool with disposal. Some dye recipes might be useful, though, if I use other mordants.

And My Favorites:

**Eco Colour - India Flint - I've had this since the summer, have read it twice all the way through, and consult it frequently. India Flint is an inspiring resource for eco dyeing and printing.

**The Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes - Sasha Duerr - Another inspiring book on natural or eco dyeing. Very useful.

Some dyed with acorn dye, some with a leaf mixture dye, and some with cranberry. Also some leaf prints from bundling and steaming. Fabrics: some habotai silk, some muslin, some flour sacking.

Habotai silk embroidered, gathered, twisted.

Several dolls in progress.

More progress.

As a Mystery Lover

2011-11-04T08:59:00.001-05:00

I am interested in this book:

James Morton
The First Detective: The Life and Revolutionary Times of Vidocq: Criminal, Spy, and Private Eye (2004; Overlook Press 2011) is an entertaining biography of the inspiration for both Gaboriau's Lecoq and Poe's Dupin. Eugene-François Vidocq (1775-1857) led an amazingly complicated life. His adventurous "career" began with ripping off his parents and going on the lam, although his mother repeatedly bailed him out and followed him around France. Vidocq enlisted in the French army at an early age, where he engaged in many a fencing duel before deserting. His military career was typified by repeated enlistments and desertions. Frequently imprisoned, he demonstrated his innate abilities by quickly adapting to the prison power structure, while also acting as a snitch. Vidocq was also a talented escape artist; when the authorities managed to catch him, they had a difficult time holding onto him. When Vidocq tried to go straight, he had to fend off his former associates, but also found jobs for many of them as police or private detectives. Ultimately, his fame rests on his dual role as founder of the Brigade de Sûreté (undercover police detective force) in 1811 and as creator of the first private detective agency (Bureau des Renseignements) in 1833, as well as inspiring Poe, Gaboriau, and other authors. His 1827 ghost-written autobiography and other memoirs are unreliable, but Morton has sorted through the historical records and provides a densely detailed account, with interesting asides reminding us of the wild and crazy criminality and chaos of Vidocq's time. Footnotes abound in this relatively brief and highly readable biography. (via SYKM newsletter)

And as a Historical Mystery lover, I was saddened to learn that there will be no more in The Mistress of the Art of Death series featuring Adelia Aguilar.

Ariana Franklin's (Diana Norman) obituary.

The Law of Angels by Cassandra Clark

2011-11-03T09:58:00.003-05:00

The Law of Angels is the third book I've read in this medieval mystery series, and Cassandra Clark has created another vivid view of the events of 1385. Tying together the strands of her story with the historical events, Clark manages to involve the reader in the life of Sister Hildegaard as she attempts to protect two young charges from the danger that threatens them , and at the same time, give insight into the political issues of the time.

Historical novels always intrigue me because I love reading about what might have happened to individuals in the midst of another historical era. Cassandra Clark's Sister Hildegaard series provides interesting mysteries and characters that continue to develop as they face the difficulties of the 14th century--the personal (even if fictitious) touch. Some elements that interested me concerned the Miracle or Mystery Plays of the time, Wycliff's Bible, the papal schism, and of course, there are still the after-effects of Wat Tyler's murder and the John of Gaunt/ Richard II political turmoil.

Thumbs up.

Other Reviews/opinions: Genre Go Round, anyone else?

Fiction. Historical Mystery. 2011. 368 pages.

A Dead Man's Tale by James D. Doss

2011-11-01T11:03:00.002-05:00

A Dead Man's Tale is one of the strangest mysteries I've read. It is part of a series that I'd never heard of, but will investigate again.

Charlie Moon (all seven feet of him) is a Ute rancher whose household includes his eccentric Aunt Daisy Perika (also a Ute Indian, shaman, and possibly, a witch). On a normal, run-of-the-mill day, "...Daisy would commit a fresh outrage sufficient to shock a deranged Nazi storm trooper." An outrageous old woman, Daisy insinuates her way into quite a few things she shouldn't. She also has an occasional visit from a raucous crow who might be the deceased Debra Darkwing, an old friend.

The plot centers on millionaire Samuel Reed's remembering of a future (?) that entails his own murder. This unusual ability may have a lot to do with his success on Wall Street. Samuel gives Charlie Moon and Moon's best friend Police Chief Scott Parrish the date and time of his murder and makes a wager that the two can't keep him alive. It is a bet that Samuel Reed wants to lose.

It takes a little while to adjust to the manner in which the tale is told. Doss sometimes goes over the top, but overall, I really enjoyed the bizarre and unorthodox story, the quirky characters, and the wisecracking.

Recently, I read Nymeth's post On Ambivalence (something I often feel about a book), and this novel fits that description. Doss may go a bit too far at times, but there was plenty that kept me involved and amused, and Aunt Daisy is worth disregarding any flaws.

Other Opinions: The Cataloger's Reading List, Murder by Type, My Favorite Mystery

Fiction. Mystery. 2010. 296 pages.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Graham-Smith (R.I.P)

2011-10-31T11:55:00.006-05:00

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is another book that I hoped to like, but instead found tiresome. It isn't that I dislike mash-ups. I do like them--or some of them. Last year I read Shakespeare Undead for the R.I.P. challenge and found it great fun.

I love Jane Austen and P & P in particular. I've re-read the novel many times, and it has never failed to make me chuckle and to marvel at Austen's insight into human nature.

I like zombies. Serious and scary zombies and zombie parodies, both. Loved seeing How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse (a zombie boot camp) when we were in Edinburgh.

So...what went wrong (for me) with P & P & Z?

1. Elizabeth in P & P & Z is NOT the witty Elizabeth Bennett of the original. E. B. in this pastiche is simply unpleasantly blood-thirsty and offensive. The humor concerning the zombies is forced and crude compared to Austen's sophisticated satire.

2. The zombies are a gimmick. In spite of the frequent zombie attacks, they are not frightening. Or maybe I just wanted the zombies to go ahead and eat the brains of all of the characters--the entire clans Bennet, Darcy, Collins, Bingley, etc.) --preferably in the first chapter.

3. I read the whole damn thing. It took forever, and I probably read 5 or 6 other books during the same period. Finishing the book is not a feat of which I'm proud. I kept hoping that it would really engage, and when it didn't, I plowed ahead anyway. Masochistic.

My last book for the R.I.P. challenge.

Fiction. Mashup/Pastiche/Parody/Supernatural. 2009. 317 pages.

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian (R.I.P.)

2011-10-27T23:55:00.001-05:00

The Night Stranger promised to be thrilling and suspenseful, and at times it was. It really was a good choice for an R.I.P. read; I just wish I'd liked it better.

It draws some characteristics from several hallmark novels of witches, paranormal, and frightening books, but I was mostly reminded of Rosemary's Baby, a genuine classic in paranormal suspense. The Night Strangers does not come close.

Although the suspense (that vague, unspecified threat) hangs in the air from the beginning, there are portions that are very slow, especially those dealing with Captain Chip Linton's disastrous final flight. Aftert the first third of the book, the suspense has lost its impact.

I found the second person voice of Chip Linton annoying. Not just the use of second person, but the voice itself was annoying. The family's complete and utter failure to have a normal reaction to their new "friends" in the small town gave me the willies. The attempt to justify their lack of perception by bringing up Chip's trauma and survivor's guilt (over and over) didn't work for me. Chip and his wife were almost scarier to me than the "herbalists" (with an unhealthy interest in the couple's twin daughters) that befriend them .

A great deal of time is spent on the old house the couple buys, and its oddities, but truthfully, except for the door in the basement, none of the other oddities have any purpose or genuine connection to the story. It is as if the author couldn't decide who or what was the real threat in the novel.

I've put off reviewing this because I was so disappointed in it, but one more detail (Spoiler Alert!!!) -- nobody in town noticed that some of the individuals didn't age. I was OK with this for a while, but when at the end, it was revealed that some of the characters were over 100...I just threw up my hands.

Other Opinions: Night Light Reviews (loved it), The Bookish Librarian (loved it), Whimpulsive (liked it),
Scott William Foley (finally someone who had similar thoughts!), and Fancy Terrible (again, similar opinion to mine)

I had a hard time finding anyone who shared my opinion. Most of the reviews were extremely positive.

Fiction. Supernatural. 2011. 400 pages.

The Girl on the Cliff by Lucinda Riley

2011-10-27T11:51:00.001-05:00

The Girl on the Cliff was an ARC. It will be available in the Kindle addition on Amazon as of Oct. 27. (Since I'm just now getting around to posting this, I realize that is today!) The copy I received is a paper back.

Product description: Why has a secret from 1914 caused a century of heartache?Troubled by recent loss, Grania Ryan has returned to Ireland and the arms of her loving family. And it is here, on a cliff edge, that she first meets a young girl, Aurora, who will profoundly change her life. Mysteriously drawn to Aurora, Grania discovers that the histories of their families are strangely and deeply entwined . . .From a bittersweet romance in wartime London to a troubled relationship in contemporary New York, from devotion to a foundling child to forgotten memories of a lost brother, the Ryans and the Lisles, past and present, have been entangled for a century. Ultimately, it will be Aurora whose intuition and remarkable spirit help break the spell and unlock the chains of the past.Haunting, uplifting and deeply moving, Aurora's story tells of the triumph of hope over loss.

It really wasn't my kind of book; although there were many parts that kept me interested, I had a critical voice in my head throughout. The secret that goes back to 1914 isn't revealed until almost the end of the book.

The voice at the beginning was my first problem. Then each time I felt myself sort of entering into the story, something would throw me off. The conclusion bothered me as well.

Other Opinions: The Book Jotter (she loved it), Curtis Brown (loved it),

Just so you know that my opinion is always questionable, the two reviews I found were overwhelmingly positive. What about you? Have you read it?

Fiction. Romance? 2011. 560 pages.

All Hallow's Read

2011-10-24T08:13:00.000-05:00

Neil Gaiman promotes a new tradition: The All Hallow's Read. Give someone a scary book!

I really must review my recent R.I.P. Reads.

Catching up is hard to do.

Mist Over Pendle by Robert Neil R.I.P.

2011-10-22T14:36:00.002-05:00

Mist Over Pendle was an excellent choice for the R.I.P. Challenge.

Squire Roger Nowell is summoned to investigate a death and takes his new charge, niece Margery, with him. A complication arises when it turns out that three women reputed to be witches were involved in a confrontation with the dead man. Richard Baldwin, a Puritan, believes strongly that the women are witches and must be punished accordingly. Squire Nowell, however, requires proof and refuses to use torture to elicit a confession.

Because of political and religious alliances, most people have to be careful of what they say. King James I believed in witches and had been persecuting them even before he became England's king, but there did exist some legal qualifications to be met. Depending on one's beliefs these qualifications could be easily overcome; Roger Nowell insisted that the qualifications be met. Catholics were also frequently persecuted and priests, when discovered, executed. Punishments were often cruel and unjustified; the novel is set in turbulent times.

There are several other curious and threatening situations involving the Demdyke and Device women, and perhaps, a connection to the wife of a well-to-do local man. Alice Nutter appears charming and good-hearted to most of her neighbors, but she chills Margery.

The first few pages are a bit slow, as they establish the Puritan outlook of so many individuals of the period, but after Margery joins her cousin Roger Nowell in Pendle, the story picks up immediately.

The characters are well-drawn, the relationships between the various characters are interesting, details of the time period are incorporated smoothly, and the dialogue is well done, with enough of the archaic to give atmosphere, yet not difficult to read. The question of whether or not real witches at work or simply evil-tempered, bitter old women, who are too vocal, continues to build throughout. There is no doubt that the women are hateful and that they perhaps believe in their abilities to cause harm, but can they actually do so?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as fiction. When I discovered that it was based on actual events, it gave me pause. Taken strictly as fiction, Mist Over Pendle is a fine book and a great read for R.I.P.

The Rivendale Review - some lovely and haunting photographs of Pendle Hill and the surrounding countryside

Other reviews: What Kate's Reading,

Fiction. Supernatural/Mystery/Historical Fiction. re-published 2011. 416 pages.

Midnight Magic and Twilight Magic by Shari Anton

2011-10-22T12:49:00.004-05:00

Midnight Magic and Twilight Magic are the first two in a trilogy by Anton.

About Midnight Magic from Booklist: Gwendolyn de Leon had no choice but to surrender Camelen Castle to Alberic of Chester. Gwendolyn's father and brother, supporters of Queen Maud, had been killed in battle by Alberic, who had been given Camelen as reward by King Stephen. Fortunately, Gwendolyn has one hope for not only reclaiming what her family has lost, but also of ending the bloody civil war that is ruining England. For centuries, one de Leon woman in each generation has held the key to a powerful spell that, if invoked, would recall King Arthur from Avalon. The only problem is that she needs the de Leon ring, which now belongs to Alberic. Gwendolyn will do anything to get the ring back, but she never imagined she would fall in love with the enemy. A sharp-tongued heroine clashes romantically with an honorable warrior in Anton's latest entrancing medieval historical, in which the author expertly adds a hint of magic to a powerfully passionate love story. John Charles

Twilight Magic from Booklist: Lady Emma de Leon simply could not let an innocent man be executed, especially when one of Emma's visions foretold that one day he would be her lover. So, when Darian of Bruges is charged with the murder of Edward de Salis, Emma swears to King Stephen and his court that Darian could not have committed the crime, since he was with her the entire night. As the daughter of a traitor, Emma's reputation is already tattered beyond repair, but she never thought that, as the result of her announcement, King Stephen would force Darian to wed her. The last thing either Emma or Darian wants is to remain married, but the idea of an annulment becomes much less appealing the longer the two remain wed. Anton adds a generous measure of danger and intrigue--along with a sprinkling of magic--to her latest expertly crafted, utterly beguiling medieval romance, the second in her de Leon sisters trilogy. John Charles

I also didn't initially realize that these were romance novels; from the titles, I was kind of thinking "witchy" --which would have made them good choices for R.I.P.

They really didn't turn out to be good R.I.P. choices, however; not much magic and nothing really witchy going on.

They are nice little historic and romance YA novels. Quick reads.

Fiction. Historical Romance/ YA.

This and That

2011-10-20T08:23:00.059-05:00

Sam posted about public bookshelves in Germany and Portugal. What a great idea.

Still working on the books for the R.I.P. Challenge. Not as much success this year, but I have finished two more books that I need to review: The Night Strangers and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Some of this year's Halloween crafting:

Black cat sculpted from air drying clay and standing on an old rusted grater.

Terracotta pot with Mod Podged napkins, a pumpkin poppet made last year, a bat from Michael's, and fall foliage from Michael's.

Fabric flowers and another black cat head that never got a body.

Bitter and Boo--cloth and clay dolls and fabric and burlap pumpkins.

Rag garland ( just strips torn from Halloween fabrics) with skeletons from Michael's.

I love Halloween!

Murder on Sister's Row by Victoria Thompson

2011-10-19T17:50:00.001-05:00

Murder on Sister's Row is a Gaslight Mystery with 13 titles and featuring Sarah Brandt, a midwife, and Sgt. Frank Malloy. The setting is 19th c. New York. This is the first one I've read: I pulled it from the new book shelf at the library.

Sarah Brandt has been summoned to deliver a baby at what she first assumes to be a private home, then believes to be a rooming house for young ladies, and finally realizes is an upscale brothel. The mother manages to confide in Sarah that she wants to leave, but that leaving is dangerous, so she prevails on Sarah to take a message to a wealthy society woman who helps women escape from prostitution.

Sarah does deliver the message and ends up becoming slightly involved with the attempt to rescue the young woman and her baby. The "slightly" comes back to bite her, and just as the house was not what it originally seemed, many of the characters, including the young mother are not what they seem.

The writing and dialogue at the beginning was simplistic, but did improve. The characters are a little thin--especially Sgt. Malloy whose role is definitely limited.

About a C in a grading scale. I didn't mind reading it, but it wasn't terribly involving.

Fiction. Historical Mystery. 2011. 289 pages.

www:wonder by Robert J. Sawyer

2011-10-19T06:37:00.000-05:00

www: wonder is the final installation in this trilogy about Caitlin Decter, Webmind, and the spontaneous emergence of a consciousness or artificial intelligence.

The U.S. government continues to seek a way to shut down Webmind, but Webmind has his own friends and allies who do their best to prevent this from happening.

Although I enjoyed this installment, I wasn't as pleased as I was with the first two in the series, www:wake and www:watch. Some of Caitlin's choices seem out of character (as presented in the first two volumes) and more for the purpose of getting across some of Sawyer'spersonal opinions. The usually logical and immensely intelligent Caitlin becomes more of a dodgy teenager more suitable for an entirely different kind of novel. Sawyer has some issues he wants to discuss, and Caitlin becomes more a tool for bringing those issues to the forefront and less an genuinely evolving, maturing adolescent.

Another part that bothered me was the "Other." There are some serious and frightening implications here that seem to be brought up and dismissed without consequence.

Nevertheless, although it is difficult to discuss this novel without spoilers, the third and final volume wraps up series pretty effectively. The trilogy contains a mixture of genuine science and speculative science, real people and fictional characters, and presents quite a few ethical and philosophical dilemmas. It is at times thought-provoking and at times didactic.

Good science fiction takes scientific advances and imagines what might be a next step and/ or how the advances will affect both individuals and society. The www series certainly does this.

I do recommend the trilogy in its entirety, despite having a favorite volume. Aside from the story line, the history of the web and its creators and the sidelines on autism and on primate intelligence and communication are fascinating.

Fiction. Futuristic/ Science Fiction/ Ya. 2011. 352 pages.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

2011-10-18T20:34:00.000-05:00

The Mysterious Benedict Society is a book for young readers at the upper elementary to middle school levels. It offers some unusual and endearing characters, suspense, and a criminal mastermind.

Reynie Muldoon lives in an orphanage when he sees an add in the paper reading, "Are you a gifted child looking for Special Opportunities?" Reynie has never really fit in at the orphanage and decides to show up for the exams. The exams are certainly unusual, but finally Reynie and three other children are the only ones who have made it through all of the exams.

Reynie, Kate Weatherhill, Sticky Washington, and Constance Contraire are introduced to the unusual Mr. Benedict who informs them that, if they choose, they may take part in an important and dangerous mission to save the world. The four all agree to the challenge, form The Mysterious Benedict Society, and prepare to infiltrate The Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened.

Our heroes must employ the unique skills they possess and must work together to defeat the insidious Mr. Curtain who plans to take over the world.

An excellent book for the target age group, The Mysterious Benedict Society would be a great read aloud book for both parents and children. It provides good fun and adventure, and there are more: The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma.

Other Reviews: Framed and Booked, Remarkable Reads, Madigan Reads,

Fiction. Adventure. 2007. 486 pages.

Murder at Beechlands by Maureen Sarsfield

2011-10-18T05:39:00.004-05:00

Murder at Beechlands didn't do too much for me--even though I love the cover. It took me forever to read it, and I must have read 3 or 4 books in between beginning and finishing this one.

I left it at the table outside where I often sit and read, but it dragged. And dragged. Still, I wanted to know who did it, so I read other books, but kept going back and spending a little time with this one.

Here is the synopsis form Powell's Books:

Inspector Lane Parry of Scotland Yard finds himself on a busman's holiday when he forced to take refuge from a heavy snowstorm in a country hotel while traveling in Sussex in January 1948. At first, he mistakes the guests for inmates in a lunatic asylum until the body of Wing Commander Lawton (Lawty) Lawrence is found in the snow. First pubished in 1948 in the U.K. as A Party for None and in the U.S. as A Party for Lawty. It is the second book of the Parry duet. The first, Murder at Shots Hall, is also available from TheRue Morgue Press.

Fiction. Country House Mystery. Original publ. date, 1948. 187 pages.

Previous R.I.P. Reads

2011-10-15T12:55:00.001-05:00

I've tried to corral some of my previous R.I.P. Challenge books. They are in no particular order.

Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner
The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson
The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins
The Wyvern Mystery by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
Death in the Garden by Elizabeth Ironsides
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (a reread, and just as good as the first time)
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
The Keep by Jennifer Egan
A Coldness in the Blood by Fred Saberhagen

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
The Loving Huntsmen by Sylvia Townsend Warner
Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert
The last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney
The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins (another reread)
New Moon by Stephanie Meyer
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott
Dissolution by C.J. Sansom
The Sisters Grimm Book One by Michael Buckley

Renfield: Slave of Dracula by Barbara Hambly
Homebody by Orson Scott Card
Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
Bat Wings by Sax Rohmer
Souless by Gail Carriger
The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer
The Society of S by Susan Hubbard
The Blackstone Key by Rose Melikan
The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Dark Celebration by Christine Feehan
Four and Twenty Blackbirds by Cherie Priest
Shakespeare Undead by Lori Handeland
The Haunted Abbot by Peter Tremayne
The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu by Sax Rohmer

I had to really hunt for these because I didn't label all of them as R.I.P. books. Some were excellent, some were not. This year I'd already read a lot of Gothic or Supernatural books that I should have saved for the challenge. I'll add this years books to the list when the challenge is over.

Secret of the White Rose by Stefanie Pinthoff

2011-10-13T18:54:00.001-05:00

The Secret of the White Rose is the third in Pinthoff's series about Simon Ziele. Somehow, I missed the second in this series and will have to go back and pick it up.

Set in the early 1900's, the novel mixes detective work and psychology. Simon Ziele, a police detective, became involved with Alistair Sinclair, a law professor and criminologist, in the first book in the series In the Shadow of Gotham.

In The Secret of the White Rose, a judge in a high profile trial is found with his throat slashed, and the widow calls in his old friend Alistair Sinclair, who makes sure that Detective Simon Ziele is involved in the case. Another lawyer and old friend is murdered, and suddenly Sinclair begins withdrawing from Ziele and his own daughter-in-law, Isabella. Sinclair obviously recognizes some of the symbols left by the murderer, but eventually refuses to engage further with Simon Ziele in the investigation.

As in the first book, real historical characters and events are mentioned and give the novel a kind of verisimilitude.

Pinthoff has been compared to Caleb Carr (The Alienist), but she isn't as dark as Carr even though both use the study of the criminal mind in their plots. Jeb Rubenfield also uses the same device and historical setting.

Although, I didn't enjoy this one as much as In the Shadow of Gotham, it was still a good read.

other reviews: walk with a book, Stewartry,

Fiction. Mystery/ Historical Fiction. 2011. 384 pages.

The Devil's Puzzle by Clare O'Donohue (R.I.P.)

2011-10-12T14:25:00.002-05:00

The Devil's Puzzle is a Someday Quilts Mystery and an ARC from Penguin's Plume Division.

The small town of Archer's Rest is preparing to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the town's founding. Named for the grave of John Archer, a man who may have established the town because he was seeking a quiet place to practice witchcraft, Archer's Rest is full of legends that are a result of many embellished retellings.

Nell and Oliver are planning to surprise Nell's grandmother by replanting a rose garden in Eleanor's neglected garden, but the discovery of a skeleton derails the surprise. The skeleton threatens the security of someone in the small town, and even Eleanor is a suspect. As the investigation proceeds, curious acts of vandalism and threats against prominent citizens threaten the big anniversary celebration.

This is a cozy mystery, but one with a little more complexity and more defined characters. I really enjoyed the mystery and the interesting characters in this novel.

other reviews: dru's book musings,

I'm using this for Carl's R.I.P. challenge because of the witchcraft connection; even though it is a light read and not really scary, it is an entertaining novel.

Fiction. Mystery. 20ll. 276 pages.

Old Magic by Marianne Curley (R.I.P.)

2011-10-11T17:40:00.000-05:00

Old Magic is a YA novel about Kate, who is training to be a witch, and Jarrod, who has no idea about the powers he possesses. Jarrod's powers can be dangerous, especially since he doesn't believe in them, and therefore, has no control over them.

Kate is something of a social outcast, and Jarrod wants desperately to fit in with the high school clique--or just about anywhere, for that matter, as his family has been on the move most of his life. The two are thrown together because Kate recognizes Jarrod's powers and wants him to realize the importance of acknowledging and controlling them.

There is a family curse, some time travel, a wicked illegitimate sorcerer.

other reviews: Fyrefly Books, Mind Reading?, Witchy Books,

R.I.P. Challenge.

Fiction. YA/ Paranormal/Time Travel. 2009. 400 pages.

Murkmere by Patricia Eliot

2011-10-10T10:50:00.002-05:00

Murkmere was a fun read--a little magic, a little Gothic, a little mystery, a little take-off on the Selkie myth.

Aggie is a village girl who takes a job as companion to the rich ward of the local Master and must go to Murkmere to live. She is so impressed by the grand old mansion, that she doesn't initially notice its state of disrepair. The Master is kind, but crippled, and heavily influenced by his steward. He also carries a deep grief over the loss of his young wife, from which he has never recovered.

Leah, the petulant ward, doesn't want Aggie there and escapes from her presence when she can. When she must endure Aggie, her tongue is sharp and sarcastic. It is particularly hurtful when Leah makes fun of Aggie's religious beliefs, calling them superstitious.

Eventually, the two girls manage a better relationship, and Aggie comes to believe that her "religion" is not only superstition, but a superstition imposed by the government to keep the populace under control. Aggie has access to books that the Protectorate had forbidden through Leah, and the girls' friendship advances until....

The novel is a kind of dystopian novel, in that some great change has resulted in a devolution of science and industrial advancement, but set in a quasi-Victorian setting. I really liked the change-up of the Selkie myth and look forward to the next novel in the series, Ambergate.

This one is for Carl's R.I.P Challenge.

other reviews: The Geranium Cat , Bookgeek Reviews,

Fiction. YA/Gothic/Fantasy. 2007. 352 pages.

Among Others by Jo Walton

2011-10-07T13:25:00.022-05:00

Among Others is a YA novel. It is an interesting read and will be especially appealing to those who love science fiction because Morwenna is a prolific reader and her favorite genres are SF and Fantasy.

In many ways, the novel is a reading list of SF and Fantasy titles from the 1970's and earlier. Mor's discovery of a reading group becomes a sort of lifeline for this teen who must endure life in an unpleasant boarding school after losing her twin sister.

Not limited to a fondness for SF and Fantasy, Mor also loves T.S. Eliot's Four Quartets and is thrilled when she is able to buy her own copy which she reads on the train as she returns from Cardiff.. She says that she "got drunk on the words." (Eliot can do that--make you drunk on words.) She goes on to say:

"I'm so glad I have my own copy. I can read them again and again. I can read them again and again on trains, all my life, and every time I do I'll remember today and it will connect up. (Is that magic? Yes, it is a sort of magic, but it is more just reading my book.)"

Damn, I love that quote! And I love T.S. Eliot!

The novel contains magic, but a strange kind of magic that Mor explains as being very different from that in her favorite books. More primitive, more elemental; less understandable. And is the magic that of fairies or witches, or is the magic in this novel more symbolic of growing independence?

The book is a bit slow and digressive. It is a coming of age story with an emphasis on the importance of books (and of sharing beloved books with other sympathetic readers). The novel can't be taken literally, and yet, many of us will recognize the truth it contains with a powerful resonance.

I don't think I liked it as much as some have; at least, not in relation to the plot. What I did love was the recognition of loving the same books and acknowledging the crucial role these books have played in enduring and rising above the difficulties in life. Books are a haven for many of us just as they are for Morwenna.

-------------
There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we spent with a favorite book.
--Marcel Proust

---------------------

Other reviews/ opinions: Of Books and Bicycles., The Written World, Beauty Is a Sleeping Cat, Things Mean a Lot, The SF Site Featured Review,

Fiction. Coming of Age/SF/Fantasy/YA. 20ll. 304 pages.

www.watch by Robert J. Sawyer

2011-10-06T11:43:00.001-05:00

www:watch follows www:wake, which I recently reviewed.

Tiny review of Wake: Caitlin Decter, a sixteen-year-old blind girl, receives an implant that gives her sight in one eye, and also, inexplicably, enables her to see the world wide web. She senses something else in the web, a consciousness; at the same time, this emerging consciousness finds a connection with Caitlin. Caitlin, learning to accommodate herself to a sighted world (for example, she must learn the alphabet and to read visually, rather than using Braille), begins first inadvertently, and then deliberately, nurturing the consciousness that she calls Webmind.

The emerging consciousness of Webmind comes to the attention of the U.S. government, and understandably, the powers that be are concerned about a consciousness that can handle the information that Webmind can--for many reasons.

In a technological world, Webmind can access just about anything. His opponents feel that if a consciousness that expands exponentially is allowed to continue, it will become smarter than any human. The President and his security advisers realize the potential for terrorism and corruption and fear the possibility that Webmind could enslave mankind.

The decision is made to shut Webmind down before this possibility can occur. However, terminating Webmind proves difficult, and the first attempt fails. Webmind and Caitlin (and his other friends) must come up with a defense before the next attempt manages to succeed.

Although this trilogy is for a YA audience, the study of human nature, the information about mathematics, physics, language, and cyber technology is abundant and engrossing.

This is not a trilogy than should be read out of order. The emergence of Webmind in www.wake, the characters, and initial plot lines are necessary for www:watch to be appropriately enjoyed.

I'm definitely a fan of this series.

---sidenote---
In Sawyer's 1999 novel Flash Forward, he predicted the naming of this year's Nobel Laureate. Not terribly surprising, I guess, since he is so knowledgeable about the world of physics, but interesting. Here is a link to his recent blog post.

Other reviews: Bookish, The Guilded Earlobe, Rhapsody in Books,

Fiction. Science Fiction/Futuristic/YA. 2010. 368 pages.

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

2011-10-05T14:36:00.025-05:00

The Sandalwood Tree is the story of Martin and Evie Mitchell. Martin, a veteran of WWII, returns home emotionally damaged, and Evie has difficulty relating to the man her young husband has become. When Martin wins a Fulbright Scholarship, Evie and their young son accompany him to India.

Evie is hoping that their time in India will rekindle their relationship, but instead, finds herself again shut out. Fascinated by a packet of letters Evie discovers hidden in their little bungalow, she finds herself keeping the letters secret.

Frustrated with her inability to understand Martin or to re-establish their connection, Evie becomes obsessed with researching the two young women whose letters from the 1850's intrigue her.

In 1947, India is at the cusp of partition. Nearly 100 years earlier, India was on the verge of the Sepoy Rebellion. In some ways, nothing has changed, both are dangerous and historic periods where cultures clash. Ellemark does an excellent job of setting the scene, engaging the reader in the sights and smells of India, its history and culture-- to reinforce certain similarities of these epic periods.

Martin and Evie must each learn something about themselves, about each other, and about the times they live in. Will their marriage survive what they discover?

Other reviews/ opinions: Reading Fueled by Tea, Daisy's Book Journal,

Fiction. Historical Fiction. 2011. 368 pages.

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

2011-10-05T12:43:00.000-05:00

At first, I thought I was going to love The Borrower, but in the end, I didn't.

The beginning was interesting and quirky, but the story and some of the characters were ultimately...just disagreeable.

Here's a bit from Kirkus Review:

A children’s librarian in Hannibal, Mo., finds herself on a long, strange trip in Makkai’s ruminative first novel.

Lucy Hull feels sorry for Ian Drake, the most devoted attendee of her read-aloud on Friday afternoons. Ian’s reading is severely circumscribed by his mother’s fundamentalist strictures, which rule out everything from Roald Dahl to Harry Potter. Lucy is further appalled when she learns that Ian—whom everyone assumes is gay, though he’s only 10—is forced to attend weekly classes with Pastor Bob, who specializes in rehabilitating “sexually confused brothers and sisters in Christ.” So when Lucy finds Ian hiding in the library one morning with a knapsack, she decides to help him run away.

I found the book irritating and heavy-handed. I only finished because at the time, I'd run out of library books and didn't have anything really calling to me.

Fiction. 2011. 336 pages.

Just for Fun Bookish Links

2011-10-04T15:39:00.001-05:00

Now this is a costume I like! The Book Fairy from Lilliedale:

And how about, Nesting Place's 20 Ways to Decorate with book pages?

Word Up, Nerd Up is at it again with a Banned Books Banner! And a tutorial :)

What kinds of bookish craftiness or decorating have you seen lately?

Ashes of the Earth by Eliot Pattison

2011-10-03T15:34:00.007-05:00

Ashes of the Earth is a dystopian novel. I'm going to make this a short review for two reasons: I read it over a month ago, and I was disappointed in it.

I've read three of Pattison's political thrillers about Tibet. I loved each one. They were complex and educational and exciting and full of adventure in the Tibetan mountains. The novels are about a former Chinese investigator who looked too closely at situations he should have overlooked and ends up exiled to a "gulag" in Tibet. As a prisoner, he becomes influenced by the Buddhists Monks who are his fellow prisoners and also condemned to forced labor. The Skull Mantra begins the series, and I loved each of the three books in this series that I have read.

For this novel, however, I'm going to resort to a canned review from Publisher's Weekly:

Having successfully portrayed both modern-day Tibet and Colonial America in two series, Edgar-winner Pattison (Eye of the Raven) launches a third with this brilliant if grim mystery set in the 21st century 25 years after global mega-acts of terror have destroyed all U.S. government entities and almost all infrastructure. Hadrian Boone, one of the cofounders of the struggling colony of Carthage, located near the Great Lakes, is one of those who remembers the former world, as the time before the apocalypse is referred to, but he's on the outs with the community's leaders and on the verge of being exiled. The chance discovery of a body triggers a series of events that reintroduces murder and other crimes to a community reliant on 19th-century technology. Boone's efforts to find the truth and what it implies for Carthage's future put him in harm's way time after time. Pattison blends the bleakness of The Road with a well-crafted whodunit plot for another winner.

I didn't really like the feel of the novel and found the protagonist Hadrian Boone too difficult to believe in.

On the other hand, I'm reminded of how much I admired the Tibetan series. These novels are long and involved, complex, frightening, thrilling...and show the horrors inflicted on Tibet as the Chinese try to eradicate the Tibetan culture.

Other opinions: King of the Nerds, Mystery Maven Blog, --these and other reviews I found are all positive. I'm odd-man-out.

Fiction. Post-apocalyptic, Dystopian. 2011. 400 pages.

100 Best Nonfiction Books

2011-10-01T13:00:00.006-05:00

Another great list--100 Best Nonfiction Books -- over at The Unruly Reader. As soon as I work myself out from under all of the reviews and TBR stacks I need to catch up on, I'm going to begin working on this list!

I know I've written about Studs Terkel's book Working before and about the wonderful songs in the musical version, but here are some versions of the songs:

This version has Rita Moreno serving Studs Terkel in the Waitress song.

When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

2011-09-29T13:32:00.019-05:00

When She Woke was an ARC from Algonquin Books.

Hannah Payne is a chrome; chroming is the punishment for all sorts of crimes in Hannah's world. A method has been devised to color the skin of those who have been found guilty of crimes ranging from theft to murder, with different colors assigned to each transgression

Hannah's crime is abortion, considered murder in this dystopian world, and to make matters worse, Hannah will reveal neither the father of the child nor the doctor who performed the abortion. Hannah is chromed red and, because of her refusal to reveal the father and the doctor, given a longer sentence. When released back into the world, Hannah (as are all other chromes) is a pariah, easily recognized and vulnerable.

Connections to the Scarlet Letter? Definitely, down to the initials of the protagonist and of the fundamentalist minister who fathered child.

The premise is fascinating, and the novel has its high points. Ultimately, however, the novel does not live up to its promise, and the conclusion feels unnatural and incomplete.

I would still recommend the novel because it offers some interesting concepts and raises some questions. It isn't as if I didn't enjoy it, because I did, but I feel as if the most interesting portions didn't receive enough time and attention.

I have to agree with Kailana, there are some things that didn't work for me, but still...a worthwhile read.

Other Reviews/ opinions: Bookfoolery and Babble, Kailana

Fiction. Dystopian/Speculative Fiction. 2011. 352 pages.

In the Mail

2011-09-27T14:36:00.001-05:00

Steplings - an ARC by C.W. Smith
Plaster Studio: Mixed Media Techniques by Stephanie Lee &amp Judy Wise (I'm loving this one)
Stitch Alchemy by Kelli Perkins

Happy Returns by Angela Thirkell - ARC from Beaufort Books (I remember seeing positive reviews of Thirkell,so when offered copies, I gladly accepted!)
Enter Sir Robert by Angela Thirkell - Also from Beaufort Books
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can by Barbara Gordon - Another one from the nice people at Beaufort Books

Murder at Beechlands by Maureen Sarsfield - I ordered this after seeing the review at In So Many Words

I'm going to have to forego the library for a while....because there are more ARCs and Amazon orders on the way.

Fall Crafting

2011-09-26T10:28:00.012-05:00

I love these tea towels from Word Up, Nerd Up!

Aren't they great?

I'm thinkin' bookish quotes on pillows would be great, too!

Not reading as much lately because I've been busy crafting. Since I'm so behind on book reviews, not reading as much helps me trim down the back list of reviews.

Here's what I've been up to:

Some old-fashioned Izannah Walker inspired dolls.

A cage doll. I made a Santos style cage for her and have just finished her.

Some new Halloween fabrics, a paper mache skull, a circle cut from burlap with a gathered strip of Halloween fabric.

Just finished a scrap and skeleton garland for the fireplace and am working on two Halloween dolls. I've half a dozen more projects in mind, but don't know if I'll get to them all.

More craftiness at Bayou Quilts.

Time to get out all the previous Halloween's crafts and begin decorating. I love this time of year, don't you? Cooler weather, fall color, Halloween.

Although I made the bobble head and the witch on the log, I've had the "Nalloween" sign for
several years. I didn't notice when I bought it that there was a slight problem with the letters!

I've ordered a few books that I can use for the R.I.P. Challenge,
some on fabric art, and some mixed media books.
Looking forward to quite a few welcome deliveries.

The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill

2011-09-24T09:29:00.000-05:00

I love Reginald Hill. I love Dalziel and Pascoe. The Woodcutter, however, is a stand-alone novel and not part of the Dalziel and Pascoe series.

Wolf Hadda comes from a pretty common background, then there are several missing years. When he returns, he gets the girl he wants, a Knighthood, and becomes very, very rich.

His perfect world comes apart one morning when the police storm his house and accuse him of having child pornography on his computer. Absolutely certain that he doesn't, he gives them permission to comb through his computer, where...of course, they find pornography.

An unbelieving Wolf (a man with a short temper at the best of times) lashes out at the policeman in charge. Things go from bad to worse when his attorney (and supposed friend) proves to be more hindrance than help.
His life continues to deteriorate, partly from his own actions, and Wolf ends up badly disfigured and crippled from an accident, and eventually convicted crimes he didn't commit.

A reviled man, he spends seven years in prison. When a new psychiatrist arrives at the prison, she eventually manages a break-through in Wolf's claims of innocence and gets Wolf released on a British version of parole. Wolf Hadda (who had done some reading about denial and about the psychiatrist) is determined to discover who was involved in setting him up and why. Pay back, is in order.

I was glued to the pages. So different from the Dalziel and Pascoe novels (which I adore), The Woodcutter is an excellent novel!

Other reviews/opinions: Auntie Em, Kittling: Books, My Shelf Confessions,

Fiction. Drama/Mystery/Thriller. 2011. 528 pages.

To Be Sung Under Water by Tom McNeal

2011-09-23T09:09:00.004-05:00

to be sung underwater is an ARC from Blue Dot Literary, LLC. I've struggled for a long while trying to decide what to say about it. For some reason, it has been difficult to put into words my perception of the book.

Tom McNeal writes beautifully of Judith Whitman, a woman who realizes that she is disconnected from her life--from her husband, her daughter, her mother, her friends, her work. She has everything she thought she wanted, but now, Judith seems to be having a mid-life crisis.

Her way of dealing with this realization is to withdraw even further, to return to memories of her adolescence, her parents divorce, and her father's move to Nebraska. As she allows these retreats into memory more space in her life, she begins to focus on Willy Blunt, her first love, and eventually decides to get in touch with him.

This is a compelling story of a woman who wants, at least temporarily, to return to an earlier time in her life, to have the feeling of possibilities.

I thought of John Greenleaf Whittier's poem Maud Muller, and these lines:

God pity them both! and pity us all,
Who vainly the dreams of youth recall.

For of all sad words of tongue or pen,	105
The saddest are these: "It might have been!"

When Judith contacts Willy Blunt, he asks her to come see him. She returns to Nebraska for a brief interlude with Willy, not a sexual assignation, but a kind of reunion and possibly a rapprochement. In the end, however, Judith is not sure of Willy's purpose and there is no sense of resolution for Judith.

I loved Tom McNeal's voice and the lovely language of the novel, and as I mentioned, I was quickly engrossed in the story. However, it does have distinct echos of a longer, more complex, and definitely better-written Bridges of Madison County. Maybe that is one reason why it has taken me so long to get to this review; I loved reading it, but the after-thoughts aren't quite as positive as the process of reading.

The thing that saves it, perhaps, is the ambivalence at the end. Willy's actions, the plan he set in motion, leaves Judith in an emotional limbo. She can never know his intentions for having Malcolm there.

Other review/ opinions: S. Krishna's Books, Book Chase, Pamela Leavy,

Fiction. Contemporary Fiction. 2011. 436 pages.

Heaven Is High by Kate Wilhelm

2011-09-21T12:47:00.000-05:00

Heaven Is High is the latest in the Barbara Holloway series that I've been reading for years. There are 12 in the series, and I haven't read them all, just the ones the library has, but I enjoy these legal mysteries. This novel isn't a courtroom drama, really, so the cover is misleading, but Barbara Holloway is a lawyer, and her cases all involve mystery and suspense.

Barbara is a courageous and compassionate advocate for her clients. In Heaven Is High, Barbara is attempting to block the deportation of Binnie, a young woman and a mute to Haiti. The more she discovers about the case, the more suspicious she becomes about the reasons and individuals behind the tips that brought Binnie to the attention of the Immigration Service.

Time is short, and Barbara decides to go to Belize to attempt to persuade Binnie's grandfather to establish that Binnie is not a native of Haiti. Once there, however, she discovers that the grandfather has recently been murdered . Her next step is to locate Binnie's aunt, but Barbara discovers that she herself is in danger.

These are not cozy novels, but neither are the hard-edged, darker type of authors like Jo Nesbo.

I was not aware that Wilhelm also wrote SF and has won a Hugo and 3 Nebula awards. Will have to look into this side of the author.

Other reviews/opinions: Genre Go Round,

Fiction. Mystery/Legal thriller. 2011. 304 pages.

Tomorrow is World Alzheimer's Day

2011-09-20T15:25:00.000-05:00

Put Your Loved One on FaceBook

World Alzheimer's Day is Wednesday September 21st. Please change your FaceBook profile picture to a photograph of a person who has/had Alzheimer's that you wish to honor and remember on September 21st and always.

Please include this statement in your status update:

I support the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative at www.AlzQuilts.org

If you make a $5 donation (below) to the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative before midnight on Wednesday post the invoice number generated by your donation to the AAQI FaceBook Page*, we will capture the image of your loved one from your profile picture and add it to the 2011 AAQI Virtual Wall of Remembrance where it will remain for one year. Names will not accompany photographs.

If you are not on FaceBook, or wish to make multiple donations to honor more than one person, email one photograph of each of your loved ones and the invoice number generated by your donation ($5 per photograph) to Diane at diane456@gmail.com. Pictures may be cropped and sized to fit the wall.

As it is somewhat time consuming to snag and post your profile picture, please do not change it until you see it appear on the "wall" on the AAQI Update Blog. It may take several days to keep up! We'll do our best.

*If you've never been there before, you may have to click the "LIKE" button. What's not to like?!

Read more: http://www.alzquilts.org/putyolooneon.html#ixzz1YWDf7d5v

All donations to AAQI go directly to AD research. The entire organization is made up of volunteers. I don't know any other charity that does this.

I've donated in memory of my father, 1924-2010. His birthday is coming up, so it is nice to be able to celebrate World Alzheimer's Day in his birth month.

Hell Is Empty by Craig Johnson

2011-09-19T16:43:00.013-05:00

I' d only read one other book by Johnson (The Cold Dish -- you know, revenge is a dish best served cold), but I liked it a lot, and Hell Is Empty ("Hell is empty and all the devils are here." The Tempest) only made me eager to read more.

The Cold Dish was the first book in the series and the setting was a blizzard and an arduous journey. Strange that I've read the first and the latest in the series and that both have the weather as almost another character. Now, I've got to seek out five books published after the The Cold Dish and before Hell Is Empty.

Walt Longmire is the sheriff of Absaroka County in Wyoming. When several murderous convicts escape during a transfer to the FBI, killing several FBI Agents and taking two hostages, Longmire goes after them. The trail leads higher and higher into the Big Horn Mountains in the midst of a blizzard. Cold as hell seems an apt description.

I missed Henry Standing Bear's presence (he has only a small role in this novel), but I liked Virgil quite a lot. The novel has suspense, endurance, and mysticism

One of the minor characters, Sancho (a Basque deputy) has been reading Dante, and his copy of The Inferno (yall know I love The Inferno) plays a role in Longmire's hunt for the convicts. Here we have hell featured once again.

In the back of the novel, Craig Johnson includes the reading list that has been given to Sancho. Walt Longmire, Henry Standing Bear, Victoria Morelli, and several other characters each added 10 books to the list. It is interesting to see the books each character deems important. I'm always curious about what other people recommend, even fictional people.

As with the first in the series, I found Hell Is Empty to be a page turner. Now, I've got to go back and try to pick up the other books in the series, hopefully in order.

Other reviews/ opinions: Unruly Reader, My Random Acts of Reading,

Fiction. Mystery/Western. 20ll. 320 pages.

Around the Blog World

2011-09-19T10:18:00.002-05:00

I first saw Thomas Allen's work on Sam's Book Chase blog. What fun!

This one is a favorite.

Carl's R.I.P. Challenge is going on and this is the first year since it started that I haven't participated. At least so far. Must do something about it. I've read a number of books this year that would have qualified for this challenge--now I wish I'd held back on some of them. I need some new gothic-type titles.

You can turn your blog into a book. Jeez, I wonder what that would cost for those of us who have been blogging for years?

We all love creative bookshelves, but this older idea is such an easy DIY.

These are amusing:

I love the way I can explore the creative world from right here at home!

The Return of Captain John Emmet by Elizabeth Speller

2011-09-18T12:47:00.001-05:00

The Return of Captain John Emmett was a pleasure to read. It is Speller's first novel and is beautifully written and skillfully plotted with well-rounded and interesting characters.

The setting is London, 1920, in the aftermath of the Great War. All of England is still reeling from the loss of life and the domestic tragedies that have ensued. Laurence Bartram has pretty much isolated himself from the world, associating almost exclusively with his friend Charles, who is also a veteran. Charles is social and full of interesting gossip, providing Laurence with a connection to a society he mostly avoids.

When Mary Emmet writes him a letter asking for his help in discovering why her brotherCaptain John Emmett committed suicide after surviving all the horrors of the war, Laurence finds himself intricately involved in asking questions that lead him to more questions. With the help of Charles, Laurence determines that not only Captain John Emmett has died after returning from the war, but so have several other veterans who have ties to Captain Emmett.

As Laurence searches for answers, he also begins to come to terms with his own war experiences.

A compelling novel. I recommend it!

Other reviews/ opinions: A Work in Progress,

Fiction: Mystery/ Historical Fiction. 2011. 442 pages.

www: wake by Robert J. Sawyer

2011-09-17T03:02:00.002-05:00

w w w: wake is an unusual book. It is the first in a trilogy about...the awakening of the web.

Young Caitlin Decter is young, a math prodigy, web savvy, and blind. When offered a new and experimental implant that might help her see, she is thrilled and jumps at the chance. The implant, however, provides a view into the web realm, and she discovers (as it is discovering her) something else, another consciousness.

Many well-known specialists in the fields of neuroscience, linguistics, mathematics, and web science and computer geekdom, become part of Caitlin's reading and studying: Steven Pinker, Julian Jaynes, Stephen Jay Gould, Stephen Wolfram, Claude Shannon, and Doug Lenat of Cycorp. Fascinating stuff and intricately woven into the story.

Or stories, I should say, because there is more than one story going on here, and although they involve different people in different countries and different fields, the relationships become more and more evident.

Robert J. Sawyer has won all three of the world's for science-fiction: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award -- only one of seven writers ever to do so. He has, in fact, won forty-one national and international awards for his fiction.

The library is holding the next book in the series for me now. Yes!

Other reviews/ opinions: Starmetal Oak Book Blog, Rhapsody in Books, The Great Geek Manual,

Fiction. Speculative Fiction/ SF. 2009. 354 pages.

A Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

2011-09-15T16:18:00.001-05:00

A Lesson in Secrets adds another episode in the life of Maisie Dobbs, and I always enjoy a new Maisie adventure.

In the 8th book in the series, Maisie finds herself, for the first time, more than financially comfortable. Maurice Blanche, Maisie's mentor and dear friend, made her the chief beneficiary in his will.

The series began in the aftermath of WWI, with all the problems England faced having lost almost a generation of young men. Recently, Winspear has been incorporating hints about the problems in Germany, and A Lesson in Secrets sees the threat of WWII being manifested in Germany and England.

Maisie is approached by the British Secret Service for help in keeping an eye on individuals with a leaning toward Communism. She accepts a job as a philosophy teacher at a college in Cambridge, and she finds that what alarms her is not Communists, but students who are leaning toward the Nazi party.

When the head of the college, a man who wrote a remarkable children's book with pacifist themes during the Great War, is murdered, Maisie wants to find out who and why. Her brief remains unchanged by the Secret Service, but Maisie intends to follow her own feelings concerning the murder and the Nazi influence.

Other reviews/opinions: A Work in Progress, Of Books and Bicycles, Daisy's Book Journal, The Reader of the Pack,

:) Lee Child (of Jack Reacher fame) interviews Jacqueline Winspear at Amazon.

Fiction. Mystery/ Historical Fiction. 2011. 336 pages.

Interpreting Classics :)

2011-09-15T11:27:00.000-05:00

Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries, interprets literary classics...

Three More Reviews

2011-09-14T10:30:00.029-05:00

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink has a great cover, but offered little else. I'm using a canned review for this one.

Lia and Alice buried their father on a rainy day in the fall of 1890. His death was sudden, and strange happenings are keeping the twins from resuming their wealthy, well-educated lives. Lia begins to dream of flying and Alice, while reserved, does not appear to mourn her father. Lia's boyfriend, James, uncovers an ancient tome that cryptically tells of two sisters, one the Gate and one the Guardian. One has the power to return Satan to Earth, the other the responsibility to keep her sister in check. As Lia investigates the prophecy, a fortuitous trip to a fortune-teller, Sonia, unlocks new doors. With school friend Luisa joining in the adventure, the cast of characters is complete. Lia, Sonia, and Luisa band together to solve the riddle while preventing the increasingly malevolent Alice from discovering their findings. Zink's choice of first-person present sadly emphasizes her lack of character development. None of the perils the heroines face invoke fear or sympathy, as they are all half-explained and resolved too quickly for real concern to set in. Pass this title over for better historical fantasy fare.—Cara von Wrangel Kinsey, formerly at New York Public Library

Fiction. Supernatura/YA. 2009. 352 pages.

Dark Fever (Book 1) by Karen Marie Moning- I don't think I'll continue with this series, either. One review on Amazon said the heroine's IQ was "slightly above that of a rutabaga." The sexual elements were a bit disturbing, especially since you can't imagine the barbie doll heroine having enough sense to make decisions. Not that she always has the choice of making decisions...
Fiction. Supernatural. 2007. 384 pages.

The Medusa Amulet by Robert Masello. Sounded good; fell flat. An art historian, a missing artifact, some supernatural, mystery, and adventure--but the plot is contrived, the adventure difficult to believe, and the characters shallow. Even Benvenuto Cellini and the supernatural element fail to provide real interest. All ends happily.
Fiction. Supernatural. 2011. 464 pages.

Please remember these are just my personal opinions of these books. Many others, without doubt, found them thrilling.

Tripwire by Lee Child

2011-09-13T14:30:00.000-05:00

Tripwire is another Jack Reacher novel, and I love me some Jack Reacher. This was the third in the series, and the last "catch up" novel for me. Now, I've read all of the 15 novels in the series and eagerly await the imminent release of #16 this month.

Who is Jack Reacher? At 6'5", he is a giant of a man, an ex MP, and a current vagrant of sorts. After leaving the army, he moves from city to city at will, never staying very long in one place, and owning only what he wears and can carry.

He is quiet and slow to anger, but has a propensity for violence when called for, as his villainous opponents discover to their chagrin. He has a strong moral sense, and although it often is more personal and immediate than the legal system, his moral code has a sincere sense of justice.

Reacher's skills include terrific hand-to-hand combat techniques, the ability to know time without referring to a watch, an unusual awareness of his surroundings, great reflexes; he is also a skilled marksman. He is a sort of superhero whose feats are pretty remarkable and whose adventures are suspenseful and exciting.

He is a sort of Paladin. (Remember Paladin?) Not as fancy a dresser and not a "gun for hire," but a good man to have on your side when fighting the bad guys.

Trip Wire, the third in the series, is a case involving Leon Garber, his former commanding officer. Garber, before his death, was looking into something that made him curious (and suspicious) for the elderly parents of a young soldier whose death in Vietnam the military won't confirm. Garber sends for Reacher, but dies before Reacher arrives, and Reacher is determined to get to the bottom of the puzzle his friend and mentor was trying to solve.

Fiction. Action/Adventure. 2000. 432 pages.

Reviewing, etc.

2011-09-13T08:49:00.000-05:00

I'm still trying to finish all the reviews left undone in July and August. Like everyone else, I get distracted from the reviews by life and current reading.

If only I would write the review as soon as I finish the book, all would be well. Of course, I don't. And from reading your blogs, you all have the same problem and frequently find yourself way behind in the reviewing.

Then, of course, you can't quite catch up because you have continued reading, working, and living! Blahhhh.
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Two of the activities that are important to my version of living are doll-making and quilting. I've made several small art quilts for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative.

We all hope that research will help find a preventative, a cure. In fact, this morning, I heard that insulin in a nasal spray showed promising results in slowing the slow deterioration of the brain.

We carry the hearts of our loved ones with us whether they remember us or not.

When Laddie was in assisted living and then a nursing home, patients would frequently approach me to ask if I would take them home. I wanted "home" to be cheerful, even if I couldn't take them.

These will be sold at an AAQI auction and the proceeds donated to Alzheimer's Research. My quilts have been sent, but are not yet assigned.

The organization is all volunteer, all quilts are donated, and all proceeds are donated.
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Some of my most recent doll finishes are Izannah Walker inspired. Harriet and Matilda are cloth and clay with weighted bottoms.

Very old-fashioned ladies. I have two more in the works.

The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

2011-09-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1) is an excellent venture into fantasy. I didn't want it to end, but at least I knew I had the second one in the series waiting.

The story is told in three days. On the first day, an unassuming innkeeper rescues a biographer called the Chronicler. The Chronicler realizes that the innkeeper is none other than the famous Kvothe (pronounced Quothe), The Bloodless. He wants to record Kvothe's story, but Kvothe who has abandoned his former life and lives anonymously in a tiny, secluded village insists that the tale be told his way. And his way may contradict all the famous stories, legends, and myths about himself.

He begins with his childhood because, as is true of all of us, our childhoods and upbringings have much to do with the way our lives develop. I fell deeply into the novel, and although it is long, was eager to get to the next volume in this trilogy.

Fiction. Fantasy. 2007. 662 pages.

The Wiseman's Fear (Kingkiller's Chronicle, Day 2) continues the story of Kvothe's life and adventures. I continued to be engrossed. Only as I came closer and closer to the end of the book, I became more and more despairing that the third book has yet to be released.

Loved both books. Loved the world-building, the characters, the adventures. There are flaws, but I can easily overlook them because I became so immersed in these two books, it was almost as if I lived there.

Fiction. Fantasy. 2011. 1008 pages.

Other reviews the Kingkiller Chronicles: Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings, Fyrefly's Book Blog,

If you've read one or both let me know, and I'll add you to "other reviews."

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

2011-09-11T15:11:00.000-05:00

Oh, gosh. I never published this review!

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand is the story of Louie Zamperini, U.S. track and field star and a participant in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, who hoped to run in the 1940 Olympics. The war, however, put an end to dreams of the 1940 Olympics, and eventually, Louie found himself a bombardier in the Army Air Corps.

In May, 1943, Louie was part of a mission searching for a missing plane when the engines failed, and his own plane went down in the Pacific Ocean. Only three men survived the crash, and Louie and his two companions spent a record-breaking 47 days adrift, threatened by a lack of fresh water, a lack of food, and circled by sharks. The story of the survival of Louie and the pilot, "Phil" Philips (the third man did not survive) is remarkable enough, but not the end of this tale of courage and endurance.

Louie and Phil were captured by the Japanese. The Japanese POW camps were notorious for the cruelty, and Louie and Phil were separated and sent to different camps. From interviews with Louie, Phillips, and other Japanese prisoners, Hillenbrand is able to depict the hell in which these men found themselves. The Japanese did not abide by the Geneva Conventions, and the camps were a place where minds, emotions, and bodies of many prisoners were broken beyond repair.

The perseverance, the tenacity of these men is inspiring. The camps in which Louie was held were harrowing for their brutality and cruelty.

Even after surviving the camps, many men were unable to return to civilian life without great trauma. Those who survived the Japanese camps had a much, much higher rate of suicide than those held in German camps. On his return after the war, Louie tries to deal with his nightmares with alcohol. Just when he is about to lose everything, he manages to pull himself out and redeem his life--once again.

Unbroken is a great read and a great testament to the endurance of the human spirit..

Nonfiction. Biographical. 2010. 496 pages.

Another Tabby

2011-09-11T12:02:00.002-05:00

After seeing Bookfool's Fiona pics and Annie's Homer the Office Cat, I must post a picture of our Tabby -- Edger the Purrfectly Magnificent.

He does have a few bad habits--like jumping up into the cabinets above the computer desk if the door is left open.

The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

2011-09-08T16:03:00.001-05:00

Ahhh, a steampunk novel that I really did enjoy! I've not had much luck with liking most steampunk fiction, but this one is a worthy exception. The Clockwork Angel is the first in the Infernal Devices trilogy.

When Tessa Gray arrives in Victorian London to meet her brother Nate, she is met by two strange women who say Nate sent them to accompany her to him. In reality, the two are members of the Pandemonium Club and have their own sinister plans for Tessa. She is held in their home and forced to confront and develop a talent Tessa was unaware of possessing.

Finally, realizing the purpose of her confinement by the Dark Sisters and that the mysterious Magister plans to use her for her skill, Tessa decides to escape. Fortunately, a group of Shadowhunters have chosen to rescue her and arrive to do just that.

After an exciting rescue that reveals more about the sinister Dark Sisters, Tessa is ensconced in the London Institute where she must come to terms with a world she has never imagined.

Good characterization, exciting plot. A fun read! I'll be sure to get the next one!

Fiction. Steampunk/Supernatural/YA. 2010. 496 pages.

Hangman Blind & The Red Velvet Turnshoe by Cassandra Clark

2011-09-07T15:32:00.000-05:00

Hangman Blind by Cassandra Clark. A medieval mystery set in 1382 and featuring Sister Hildegard, a Cisterian nun.

Sister Hildegard wants to establish a small priory with funds she retains from her marriage. (After her husband death, she has spent 7 years with the Cisterians.) In order to establish her priory, she must receive permission from Abbot Hubert de Courcy.

The historic setting is during the time of the peasant revolt and the murder of Wat Tyler and during the Great Schism in which there were two rival popes, one in Avignon and one in Rome. Loyalties were problematic and dangerous. Who to trust? Where do loyalties lie?

I really enjoyed this first in the series and am glad I decided to read this one before reading The Red Velvet Turnshoe.

The Red Velvet Turnshoe is the second novel in this series featuring Sister Hildegard.

As civil war threatens as a result of the rival popes, Sister Hildegard must make the long and hazardous journey to Rome to retrieve a religious artifact. The danger mounts as a murderer follows.

I like the characters in these books, the personalizing of historic events, and the intrepid Sister Hildegard.

Fiction. Historic Fiction; Mystery.

Multiple (and Brief) Reviews

2011-09-06T20:08:00.002-05:00

Since I haven't posted reviews in about a month, I'm doing some short ones of a sentence or two.

Chelsea Cain: evil at heart &amp - the over-the-top, weird, gruesome kind of murder mystery; The Night Season - not as bad, but not really my kind of book. I checked both out at once, but no more Chelsea Cain.

Jan Burke: Disturbance - I like Jan Burke's mystery series featuring Irene Kelly.

Peter Orullian: The Unremembered - Fantasy that definitely needed an editor. Almost abandoned it, but found myself more involved as I went along. Didn't change the fact that it needed a ruthless editor for, among other things, length and repetition. First in a series.

Andrew P. Mayer: The Falling Machine (Book One of The Society of Steam) - Another steam punk disappointment.

Graham Thomas: Malice on the Moors - Not bad. I enjoyed this one.

Peter Robinson: Playing with Fire - I always enjoy Peter Robinson.

Deanna Raybourn: The Dead Travel Fast - Oh, no. Don't bother.

Edinburgh

2011-08-21T14:28:00.000-05:00

On the Royal Mile, all kinds of performances are advertised by the actors in costume. We saw this one for Hamlet: House of Horror, and we loved the music, took a flyer, and planned to attend.

The girls dancing to the music had just given a preview for another show, I think. They were having a great time!

Hamlet: House of Horror was one of the best shows (and that isn't an easy choice as we enjoyed all of them!) shows we saw in Edinburgh. It was a thrilling musical adaptation of Hamlet that was fascinating from beginning to the tableaux at the conclusion!

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After the show, we were having a drink in the courtyard. After a while, two of the cast members, Claudius (George Rowell) and Hortatio (Hugh Pickering), and George's mother came down for a drink, too. We asked if they minded if we took some pictures, and they were so sweet and friendly! Below, George rolled down his sleeves and fastened the cuffs, and Hugh prepared to take out the ponytail and fluff his hair straight up. We weren't asking to disrupt their comfortable evening, but they insisted.

Then they volunteered to pose with Erin and Amelia, who-- grown women that they are-- were as thrilled as teenagers.

They were all trying to look evil. The show is an active one and the makeup (which takes hours to apply) has a bit of a melted look.

Hugh and George stayed and had a drink with us, filling us in on a lot of stuff about the show. Hamlet (Louis Lunts) stopped by for a minute on his way out. The show was wonderful, but it was especially nice to know that the cast is wonderful, too!

We saw The Curse of Macbeth on our last night; it also had interesting staging, but somehow, just missed the mark. Not that we didn't enjoy it, but despite the intriguing use of the mirrors and the witches, the actors didn't seem to relate to each other. It was adapted and directed by Max Barton, who played the ghost in Hamlet: House of Horrors. The play was innovative and creative, and we liked the music, too.

We saw ten shows, maybe eleven in all. The Real MacGuffin's Skitsophrenic was very funny and included audience interaction.

How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse, another audience participation piece, was a lot of fun. An hour long interactive training seminar teaching ways to survive the imminent Zombie Apocalypse, the "seminar" involved choosing the correct answer to questions. I survived longer than Erin and Amelia, but only by one question. We were woefully unprepared for the Apocalypse, but we did learn a few useful tips. Overall, a great time! Although, we did wish that we had survived....

The Kidnapper's Guide was entertaining and funny, with some charming actors.

Poor Jerry-- when incompetent kidnappers discover that no one wants him back, Jerry takes over the kidnapping.

The acting was more natural and the actors were all cute and funny (I especially liked the saucy salsa senorita, Carmen!). We thought they were American, their accents were so good, and we were surprised to discover they were from the University of Birmingham.

We arrived too late for dinner at the Sheep's Heid Inn, but enjoyed a half pint of Tennant's!

All in all, a great trip with some great shows, a tour of the underground vaults, a visit to the National Museum, and some wonderful meals!

The Nightspinners by Lucretia Grindle

2011-08-10T10:28:00.007-05:00

The Nightspinners is the story of the link between twin sisters Suzannah and Marina deBreem, who as children developed their own wordless language, communicating telepathically by what they called nightspinning.

Suzannah and her sister are no longer close when Marina is murdered. About 18 months later, Suzannah begins dealing with some strange events: her car door is vandalized, she receives flowers from an anonymous admirer, she is accosted in the laundry room when the lights go out.

Discovering that her sister was stalked in a similar manner before her murder, Suzannah fears the killer may have transferred his interest to her and begins her own investigation.

Definitely suspenseful, there are almost too many people who could be guilty. Suzannah find it difficult to trust anyone and because she doesn't know the motive, both Suzannah and the reader have difficulty eliminating suspects.

Suzannah is not always sympathetic, but the novel is a quick read and entertaining. I recently read a positive review of Grindle's The Faces of Angels, but the library didn't have it. I'll look for more by Grindle.

Fiction. Mystery/Suspense. 2003. 288 pages.

The Diviner's Tale by Bradford Morrow

2011-08-06T11:28:00.003-05:00

The Diviner's Tale is the story of Cassandra Brooks, a dowser (or diviner) who uses instruments such as a forked branch to locate water.

"The dowsing rod is a simple instrument which shows the reaction of the human nervous system to certain factors which are unknown to us at this time." -Albert Einstein

"Dowse \Dowse\, v. i. To use the dipping or divining rod, as in search of water, ore, etc.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

“Dowsing (Water Witching, Divining, Questing, Doodlebugging ... ) is the ancient art of finding water, minerals and other objects that seem to have a natural magnetic, electromagnetic or other perhaps unknown energy.”

Source “Letter to Robin” by Walt Woods

Cassandra is dowsing for water when she sees the body of a girl hanging from a tree, but when she returns with the local authorities, the body has vanished. On a return visit the next day, a dazed and confused girl wanders from the woods. She is not the girl Cassandra saw, but she is a girl that has been reported missing, and the Sheriff is able to contact her family.

Suspense, supernatural, and mystery are all rolled into one. The information about dowsing is interesting, the mystery is reasonably involving. Nice for a stormy night (which I would certainly appreciate about now).

In his Acknowledgements, Morrow mentions V.S. Ramachandran's A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness (Ramachandran is a neuroscientist whose works are part of the cannon of brain and neuroscience) and Andrew Lang's Custom and Myth (Lang [1844-1912] is the author of The Red Fairy Book, The Blue Fairy Book, etc., revered among those who love and study fairy tales; he contributed to the fields of anthropology, folklore, and myth; he was also a Homeric scholar and contributed to various translations of The Iliad and The Odyssey).

As is often the case, the sidelines are as interesting as the story.

Fiction. Supernatural/Suspense. 2011. 309 pages.

Drink the Tea by Thomas Kaufman

2011-08-05T21:00:00.006-05:00

Drink the Tea by Thomas Kaufman won the PWA Best First Private Eye Novel Competition. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, but I found that I liked it very much as I continued reading.

Willis Gidney is a former foster child who is an expert liar and scam artist, but as an adolescent, his association with Shadrack Davies of the D.C. Police teaches him a thing or two about ethics. Gidney's homelessness and childhood traumas still haunt him, but he becomes a private investigator, albeit a struggling one.

When asked to find the daughter of a friend, he becomes involved in a much more serious and dangerous case than the ones to which he is accustomed. Gidney's back story is skillfully woven into his current adventures, and he becomes more intriguing with each page.

The characters are flawed, but engaging, and none more so than Gidney himself. As I mentioned, at first, I wasn't not too taken with the novel (a bit hard-boiled), but the development of Gidney's character and the humor lightened the flavor of the book as it progressed. As I read, the book wormed its way into my good graces, and I look for more from Mr. Kaufman and the rather unusual, but endearing Willis Gidney.

Fiction. Mystery/Crime. 2010. 294 pages.

Mysteries

2011-08-05T08:06:00.005-05:00

Some new mysteries of interest from Stop Your Killing Me:

The Red Velvet Turnshoe by Cassandra Clark; Sister Hildegard is on a secret mission to Italy in 1383-- set during the dangerous period of the Hundred Years War and the Black Plague.

Out of the Dawn Light by Alys Clare; a fourteen-year-old diviner (who can find lost things and dowse for water) is convinced to find a mysterious object. The first in a series set in 1087. I like the period.

The Worst Thing by Aaron Elkins; Brian is a former abductee who is skilled at designing hostage negotiations. He still has panic attacks and nightmares and relies on Xanax to live a normal life. A psychological thriller.

Mind's Eye by Hakan Nesser (I recently read one of the Chief Inspector Van Veeteren novels and enjoyed it)
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This is the hottest summer. EVER! At least in my memory. Days of 109 degrees; the ground has heated up so much that it doesn't even cool down much at night. And no rain. We are in the midst of pretty serious drought in north Louisiana, not as bad as Texas, but bad. Burn bans, heat advisories, low water reservoirs.

Reading is an escape!

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

2011-08-01T09:37:00.017-05:00

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children is a peculiar book. The unusual vintage photographs from his photo collector friends add such an odd and mysterious element to the story that a great deal of time can be spent just looking at the photographs, again and again.

I think I first read about this on Carl's blog, although I've seen reviews on several blogs since then. The book is interesting for its use of the weird vintage photographs (only a few have been altered) that form the basis of the story, a great concept because almost everyone can identify with the curiosity engendered by such photographs.

Who were these people, what did they do, who were their family and friends, what eventually happened to them? Using the photographs to weave a story that relates such unusual images is a nice feat of the imagination, and Ransom Riggs manages to do this.

The book reminds me of both Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock and The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick because the visual aspect is as important (or more important) than the story itself. The illustrations, whether drawings or photographs, are inseparable from the narrative in any of these works.

I finished this a couple of weeks ago and am finally getting around to the review.

A boy who worships his grandfather, Jacob eventually comes to doubt the truth of the fantastic stories with which his grandfather regaled him throughout his boyhood. However, when his grandfather is killed under mysterious and dreadful circumstances, Jacob discovers how awful it is not to be believed.

Eventually, Jacob decides to follow up certain clues he feels his grandfather has left him and determine whether or not the tales of adventure Jacob loved as a small boy had more than an element of truth.

I love the premise of the novel, the photographs, Miss Bird, the peculiar children. I was not as thrilled by the feeling of a rushed conclusion and a bit of a cliff hanger. More time spent with the peculiar children, bringing each one to life and letting us linger a bit more with them, would have pleased me.

While I am glad to have a copy of this book (which is printed on fine paper and full of the interesting photos), I'm not sure that in retrospect, it lived up to my expectations.

Other Reviews: Stainless Steel Droppings, Fyrefly's Book Blog, An Adventure in Reading,

Fiction. Fantasy/Adventure/YA. 2011. 352 pages.

2011-07-29T23:54:00.000-05:00

A trip to the library yesterday means there are a lot of novels in the book bag. I'm trying not to dive in because I've got two books in progress that need to be finished.

I've also been downloading a bunch of light reading (mysteries, etc.) to my Nook for the trip to Edinburgh. In addition to the fiction, I've downloaded The Ballad of Dorothy Wordsworth: A Life by Frances Wilson after reading Dorothy's review. I should be more than set for the long, long flight, any spare time while in Edinburgh, and the longer flight home. Coming home is always longer, isn't it? It doesn't much matter how far you've traveled, the trip there is always full of anticipation, and the trip home is always full of exhaustion.

I love my larger Kindle for reading at home when I've exhausted my interest in the TBR pile. However, the Nook is better for travel, and a Nook the size of a paperback book can hold so many titles, so many entertaining hours.

Another Three Reviews

2011-07-28T15:00:00.000-05:00

Envious Casca by Gerogette Heyer is one of her mysteries, not a Regency novel. I have to admit that I didn't have the same feeling about this novel as I have about some of her Regency Romances which delighted me as an adolescent. A Manor House mystery: a Christmas celebration turns disastrous when the irascible host is murdered. Although there are a number of red herrings, the guilty party seems obvious from even before the murder. I didn't find the characters as charming as in some of the Regency novels and the repartee wasn't nearly as witty. Which doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it--just not as much as I hoped.

Love the cover, though.

Fiction. Mystery. Originally published in 1941; current 2010. 396 pages.

Outwitting Trolls by William Tapply is part of the Brady Coyne series, and the first in the series that I've read. Coyne, a Boston attorney, finds himself hired by the wife of an old friend who has been murdered. Although a fast read, I wasn't much impressed. My favorite part is when a character is described as having a "meandering nose." Not enough to tempt me to read more in the series. The descriptions of Henry the dog's trips to do his business got old quickly. The book is very short, and an alarming percentage of the text has to do with Henry. I love dogs, but frankly, if the dog is discussed mainly in terms of his feeding and bathroom habits, I'm just not interested.

Fiction. Mystery. 2010. 273 pages.

The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi is another "new to me" author. While the book had an interesting detective and a mythic undercurrent, I didn't find it all that entertaining. Zouroudi does an excellent job of describing an insular society on a small Greek island, but I found the culture (and the opinions about women) too oppressive to get much pleasure from the mystery. I really liked the idea of "detective" Hermes Diaktoros, but somehow his character never really worked for me.

Fiction. Mystery. 2007. 324 pages.

Well, I am beginning to catch up with some of my reviews.

Just Some Thoughts...

2011-07-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

What bothers me and what I consider a flaw in many current mystery/crime novels is the weird and gruesome manner of the murders. Trying to make each murder more profane than the last is becoming a bit hackneyed in so many mystery/crime novels now, especially those dealing with serial killers. Novelists seem to be in a kind of (excuse my crudeness) pissing contest for unusual and obscene murders.

After a while, the graphic mutilations and weirdness become overdone in novels and on television. Let it rest a while. I love mystery/crime novels, but prefer to have technique, plot, and characters (especially characters) take the forefront. Maybe it is just me, but I don't read mystery/crime for the weirdness of the murders. How about you? What do you like best in this genre? Favorite authors?

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Currently reading two excellent nonfiction works: Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand. Unbroken is on loan from my SIL; both she and my brother loved it.

Nonfiction is always slower reading. There is no feeling of rushing to a conclusion, and absorbing information slowly is much easier when the reading is slowed down.
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I've been letting my yoga and my walking slide. Skipping my morning sadhana at least every other day and not attending night classes. Boo! I need to get back to at least every day with my personal practice...just because I feel so much better when I'm consistent.

Also, need to be watching my diet which has taken a turn for the worse this summer. I've been indulging in way too much ice cream!
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Three Reviews

2011-07-26T19:45:00.001-05:00

The Final Reckoning by Sam Bourne (pseudonym of Jonathan Freedman) was mainly interesting because it was informative about events in Lithuania during WWII.

From Booklist:
Despite his thorough disenchantment with the law and the UN, former human-rights attorney Tom Bryne agrees to return to his former workplace to handle some damage control. Headquarters security has killed an elderly British tourist, Gerald Merton, and with the UN already in the spotlight because of the arrival of a new Secretary General, officials want a quick, quiet resolution. The question on everyone’s mind: Was the victim a terrorist, or was it all a horrible mistake? It doesn’t take long for Tom to figure out that finding the answer won’t be easy: a Holocaust survivor, Merton kept shocking secrets about himself and the Nazis that some very powerful men don’t want exposed. Bourne (pseudonym for an award-winning British journalist) brings some lesser-known history into focus here, integrating brutal descriptions of Nazi terror into his modern-day thriller. If his plotting runs somewhat amok, his prose is sharp and clear, especially when he’s dealing with history. It’s also no stretch to imagine some readers diving for the history books or the Internet to find out more about the real endeavors that fueled the fictional Gerald Merton’s life. --Stephanie Zvirin

It IS the history behind the novel that is so intriguing. In the Author's Note, Bourne gives a little more information about the group of Holocaust survivors who sought revenge following the end of the war. Mostly resistance fighters from the ghettoes, about 50 men and women formed a group known as the Nokmim, the Avengers. Bourne (Freedman) also mentions nonfiction books about the group that I may decide to seek out.

While the novel is fiction, it has a factual basis that is both informative and fascinating concerning several real incidents and real people. Perhaps the most interesting thing for me was the Jewish photographer George Kadish who took clandestine photographs (often through the buttonhole of his jacket using a small concealed camera) of the Kovno ghetto in Lithuania and the horror of the Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing squads) that came to the concentration camps formed from the Jews of Kovno and "shot thousands of Jewish men, women, and children, primarily in the Ninth Fort, but also in the Fourth and Seventh forts. Within six months of the German occupation of the city, the Germans and their Lithuanian collaborators had murdered half of all Jews in Kovno."

By way of fiction, we often learn of historical incidents that we were previously unaware of. The novel was a "thriller" in some ways, but lacking in something story-wise; it is the fact that so much is based on real events and people that make me value the reading of the novel. I learned a lot, some of which was very surprising.

Fiction. Historical fiction, Contemporary fiction, Thriller. 2010. 423 pages.
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The Fourth Day by Zoe Sharp is an action-packed thriller. My first thought was that Charlie Fox (Charlene Foxworth) was a female Jack Reacher--a mythic kind of figure.

From Publishers Weekly:
In Sharp's adrenaline-packed follow-up to Third Strike, Brit Charlie Fox, a close-protection specialist (or bodyguard) now working for a Manhattan company, seeks to extricate schoolteacher Thomas Witney from Fourth Day, a cult in the desert near Los Angeles. Thomas infiltrated the cult five years earlier because he believed that Fourth Day's charismatic leader, Randall Bane, was responsible for the death of Thomas's college-age son, Liam, who perished during an ecoterrorism protest. While Charlie and her lover, Sean Meyer, manage to get Thomas out, they're unprepared for either his complete about-face on Bane or the intense interest that Homeland Security suddenly has in the cult and Thomas's insider knowledge. The relationship between Charlie and Sean has always been fraught with tension, but a startling personal revelation and Charlie's decision whether to keep this information to herself as she prepares to go undercover into Fourth Day considerably raises the emotional stakes.

Definitely a fast-paced novel, suspenseful and entertaining, yet, I have forgotten why I turned the pages so quickly! I'd read another in the series if I happened on it, but don't think I'd seek it out.

Fiction. Thriller. 2011. 448 pages.
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Trespasser by Paul Doiron was OK. I didn't dislike Mike Bowditch, nor did I particularly like him.

Product Description:

In Paul Doiron's riveting follow-up to his Edgar Award-nominated novel, The Poacher's Son, Maine game warden Mike Bowditch's quest to find a missing woman leads him through a forest of lies in search of a killer who may have gotten away with murder once before.
While on patrol one foggy March evening, Bowditch receives a call for help. A woman has reportedly struck a deer on a lonely coast road. When the game warden arrives on the scene, he finds blood in the road--but both the driver and the deer have vanished. And the state trooper assigned to the accident appears strangely unconcerned.

The details of the disappearance seem eerily familiar. Seven years earlier, a jury convicted lobsterman Erland Jefferts of the rape and murder of a wealthy college student and sentenced him to life in prison. For all but his most fanatical defenders, justice was served. But when the missing woman is found brutalized in a manner that suggests Jefferts may have been framed, Bowditch receives an ominous warning from state prosecutors to stop asking questions.
For Bowditch, whose own life was recently shattered by a horrific act of violence, doing nothing is not an option. His clandestine investigation reopens old wounds between Maine locals and rich summer residents and puts both his own life and that of the woman he loves in jeopardy. As he closes in on his quarry, he suddenly discovers how dangerous his opponents are, and how far they will go to prevent him from bringing a killer to justice.

Fiction. Mystery/Crime. 2011. 320 pages.

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It feels good to get these out of the way. Combined and shorter reviews will help me catch up.

Oops, Forgot to Post the Winner

2011-07-26T12:45:00.000-05:00

The winner of The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge was Rebel. Easy enough, as there were only two people who posted by Friday night. I wrote Kailana on one and Rebel on the other and let Edgar bat them around a bit, then picked one.

Let me know where to mail it, Rebel!

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Bybee, you would really enjoy this one. It is a fascinating look at the brain and what can now be done with new technology! Doidge knows how to keep you interested even when it gets technical.

I'm still reading Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks (pretty much "the brain on music") and find that my lack of musical knowledge is a drawback, but love the remarkable way people can describe the way music can affect the brain.

We went to Baton Rouge this weekend for grandson Max's birthday. We all had a great time, especially the Birthday Boy!

Time for a Give Away (STICKY POST)

2011-07-22T21:32:00.000-05:00

When I ordered my copy of The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, I didn't check the receipt closely and received not one, but two copies. Originally, I read this as a library book, and I wanted my own ...just not two copies! You can read my review of the book here.

Therefore, the second copy is up for grabs. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me something you've read lately (or are currently reading) that you've really liked.

I'll use the Random Number Generator on Friday, July 22 to determine the winner.
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Tomorrow night, I'll do the drawing. Pretty easy, so far. Only two people seem interested!

In the Belly of Jonah by Sandra Brannon

2011-07-20T12:04:00.001-05:00

In the Belly of Jonah is the first in a series featuring Liz Bergen and FBI Agent Streeter Pierce. When the body of Jill Brannigan, one of Liz's summer interns, is discovered brutally murdered and mutilated, Liz becomes involved in the investigation because one of the FBI Agents is a college friend.

Because she so badly wants the killer brought to justice and because FBI Profiler Lisa Henry is someone she knows well, Liz offers her home as a place to stay when Lisa and Streeter Pierce are unable to find hotel rooms. This puts Liz close to the investigation, but not really included. However, because of her knowledge of the victim and certain aspects of mining technology, she is able to make some observations that pan out well for the investigators.

For a first novel (and the first in a series), the author does a good job of setting up the characters. Although Agent Streeter Pierce will evidently feature strongly in successive novels, his role here is somewhat limited. Brannon concentrates her attention on the development of Liz's character.

What worked best for me was the establishment of Liz's life, both her family involvement and her work background, including her friend Joe. This information is not terribly detailed, just enough to give you a sense of Liz's work, friends, and family that can be detailed more fully in future books. I don't think Liz is nearly fully-formed yet, but don't you think that is part of the pleasure? Watching a character evolve?

One of the best things about discovering a new author with a debut book is knowing that you can watch the author continue to develop and refine techniques, plots, and characters.

I'm not especially thrilled by the weirdness of the murders. Have you noticed how often current mystery/crime novels have strange, gruesome, fantastic murders? Maybe this one bothered me a bit more because I liked the victim, despite the little we get to know about her.

Next in the series is Lot's Return to Sodom. This may be one that I'll download as an e-book for the trip to Scotland.

Oh, ho! I take that back...Amazon Kindle is offering Lot's Return to Sodom as a FREE download. Said and done! Can't beat that.

Kay (thanks again, Kay!) sent me her copy and now I get the next book for free, too!

Other Reviews: Kay's Random Acts of Reading, Hopelessly Devoted Bibliophile, Book Visions

Fiction. Mystery/Crime. 2010. 252 pages.

Oliver Sacks

2011-07-19T09:22:00.001-05:00

I just started Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks. I ordered this book a while back, then lost it in the stacks, and had pretty much forgotten about it. Yesterday, I was packing up library books, sorting books that I need to review, and looking for something I really wanted to read...and there it was.

Seizing it up, I took it outside to read when taking breaks from working on the little Alzheimer's quilts (and, for brief periods, doing a bit of housework). The preface held me fast. All of a sudden, I wanted to write down everything in the preface to share with you! How silly and time-consuming that would be, but there will be a few hints.

My interest in "brain books" has taken me through some fascinating reading over the last couple of years and there are certain names (Stephen Pinker, Stephen Jay Gould, William James, Simon Baron-Cohen, Darwin, Gerald Edelman, Daniel Levitin, William Penfield, V.S. Ramachandran, and more) that crop up again and again (which is how I came to Oliver Sacks in the first place).

My "brain books" are for the lay reader; they are case studies of interesting phenomena and never fail to engage me. Now, I've found a new favorite.

Some excerpts from the preface:

"...for virtually all of us, music has great power, whether or not we seek it out or think of ourselves as particularly "musical." This propensity to music--this "musicophilia"--shows itself in infancy, is manifest and central in every culture, and probably goes back to the very beginnings of our species. it may be developed or shaped by the cultures we live in, by the circumstances of life, or by the particular gifts or weaknesses we have as individuals--but it lies so deep in human nature that one is tempted to think of it as innate...."

"Listening to music is not just auditory and emotional, it is motoric as well: 'We listen to music with our muscles,' as Nietzsche wrote."

"...it [music] may be especially powerful and have great therapeutic potential for patients with a variety of neurological conditions."

"Some of these patients have widespread cortical problems, whether from strokes or Alzheimer's or other causes of dementia; others have specific cortical syndromes--loss of language or movement functions, amnesias, or frontal-lobe syndromes. Some are retarded, some autistic; others have subcortical syndromes such as parkinsonism or other movement disorders. All of these conditions and many others can potentially respond to music and music therapy."

I'm already engrossed.

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Don't forget to comment on this post, if you'd like a copy of another great "brain book" by Dr. Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Science.

Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander

2011-07-18T08:47:00.001-05:00

Dangerous to Know is the 5th in the Lady Emily Hargreaves series of light historical mysteries. I liked it better than Tears of Pearl, but didn't find it much more believable.

The mysterious Sebastian continues to be the most interesting character--much more interesting than Lady Emily and her husband Colin. The first three books in the series were fun, but these last two haven't been nearly as much so.

Tasha Alexander had been compared to Laurie King and Deanna Raybourn, but King and Raybourn are much better at plot and characters.

Fiction. Historical Mystery. 2010. 306 pages.

Perfect Alibi by Sheldon Siegel

2011-07-16T08:30:00.000-05:00

Perfect Alibi is a Mike Daley mystery, but this is the first book I've read in the series.

Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez used to be married, but now they are both law partners and life partners without marriage. When their sixteen-year-old daughter's boyfriend is arrested for murdering his father, Mike and Rosie have a vested interest because their daughter is the boy's alibi. Mike takes the case when asked, although he has reservations and recommends another lawyer because of the family's connection to the defendant.

I wasn't that impressed with this novel. It was interesting, but not compelling, and I found both teenagers annoying. They are obviously keeping some things back, which seems pretty silly considering the seriousness of the charges.

Is Bobby Fairchild guilty of killing his father? Is Grace an accomplice? Or can Mike and Rosie discover the real murderer and motive?

Fiction. Mystery. 2010. 359 pages.

2011-07-14T14:18:00.000-05:00

The heat is just oppressive...and a bit depressing. This has not been a stellar garden year with so little rain and such high temperatures. We did get a little rain last night...the first in weeks, but we are way behind in rainfall for the last two years.

Knowing that they would be cooler, I checked the temperatures for Edinburgh, and right now the temperatures are in the high 60's! I'm so looking forward to the Fringe Festival. Erin, Amelia, and I will be there in August!

Books to be reviewed:

In the Belly of Jonah by Sandra Brannon (Kay sent me this one!)
Miss Peregrines' Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (loved the old photos)
Fourth Day by Zoe Sharp (Charlie Fox is like a female Jack Reacher)
Trespasser by Paul Doiron (new to me mystery author)
Dangerous to Know by Tasha Alexander (Lady Emily hasn't been as interesting in the last two books)
Perfect Alibi by Sheldon Siegel (not that great)

Currently Reading: The Final Reckoning by Sam Bourne

Amelia recommends The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler (which was already on my list) and The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston (which she says makes her doubt the verdict in the Amanda Knox case). Preston and crime reporter Mario Spezi wrote this nonfiction best seller, and George Clooney will play Douglas Preston in the film version. Now, that should be worth watching.

Although Preston and Spezi were originally trying to determine the identity of the Monster of Florence, interesting facts concerning those who participated in the Monster of Florence investigation seem to make the Amanda Knox case worthy of renewed interest and doubt.

Ten Beach Road by Wendy Wax

2011-07-12T19:17:00.000-05:00

Ten Beach Road is an ARC sent to me by Joan Schulhafer and a great little beach read. It is definitely chic lit, but one that I enjoyed.

When Malcolm Dwyer's Ponzi scheme falls apart, the victims include three women from different backgrounds who find themselves left with nothing but shared ownership in an old mansion in desperate need of repair. The setting is a beautiful Florida beach, but the magnificent house is in no condition to bring the deserved asking price.

The new co-owners meet to view the house and discuss what they can do to re-coup a little of their lost savings. Strangers to each other, they finally take advice that includes them camping out in the mansion and doing much of the repairs themselves. As the three throw themselves into the hard, sweaty work of restoring Bella Flora to its original beauty, they develop skills and endurance that they didn't know they had. And their growing friendship surprises them all as they become a strong support system for each other.

Madeline Singer's husband has lost everything in the Ponzi scheme and his job as well. His depression leads him to the couch and avoidance of any effort to recover, so Madeline is the one who must make the attempt.

Avery Lawford, part of a husband/wife team with a television show focusing on home remodeling, finds herself forced out of the show. Having already opted out of the marriage, she has depended on the inheritance from her father to see her through, but her father was also a victim of the scheme, and Avery has no back-up finances.

Nicole Grant, owner of a successful match-making company, also finds that she has lost everything, and while she has no experience with the kind of mundane world that will be hers as she toils through the heat, humidity, and grime of house restoration, she, too, does her best.

There are some secrets that will eventually come to light, but the story isn't a mystery, it is about the relationships, successes, and failures that all three encounter during their months at Bella Flora.

If you are headed on vacation or just want a book to help combat the heat, Ten Beach Road will fill the bill, taking you away to a lovely location where others do all the hard work.

Fiction. Chic Lit. 2011. 404 pages.

The Return by Hakan Nesser

2011-07-09T14:27:00.001-05:00

Hakan Nesser's The Return is an Inspector Van Veeteren mystery, a police procedural set in the fictional town of Maardam with an irascible, but intuitive Inspector as the protagonist.

When a body is discovered missing head and hands, the first difficulty is to discover who the victim is. Eventually, it is determined that the corpse is that of a man who disappeared the day he was released from prison.

Inspector Van Veeteren does much of the piecing together from his hospital bed as he recovers from surgery. (I was making the comparison to Josephine Tey's Daughter of Time and Inspector Alan Grant when Inspector Van Veeteren mentions that his condition reminds himself of that very novel and situation.) And just as Grant comes to the conclusion about Richard III's innocence in the death of the two princes, Van Veeteren comes to believe that Leopold Verhaven was also innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted.

So...if Verhaven wasn't guilty, who actually killed both the two women and Verhaven, himself? When Van Veeteren discovers the real murderer, he faces an ethical question.

I think I'll be looking for more of Hakan Nesser's work. In the first 5 novels, Detective Inspector Van Veeteren is still with the police force; in the last five he is retired from the force and owns an antiquarian bookstore, but he occasionally aids investigations

Fiction. Mystery/Police Procedural. 2007. 322 pages.