The Avid Reader's Musings

The Illustrated Man

2012-01-30T04:26:00.000-05:00

The Illustrated Man
by Ray Bradbury
★★★★☆

Oh Bradbury, how I love your twisted imagination! After reading Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles Bradbury had already won a permanent place in my heart, but this one certainly secured that spot. I’m so glad I finally read it.

The book begins when our narrator meets a man covered in tattoos; each one moves and tells a story of things to come. Each of the tales is a brilliant short stories in its own right and I actually realized I’d read a couple of them in other collections in the past.

Every plot delves into the inner-workings of society; examining everything from religion, sanity, and discrimination to individual motivations and choices. The whole book is so wonderfully put together that each piece adds to the overall themes, exploring a new aspect.

A few that particularly stood out to me:

The Rocket Man – A young boy’s father returns from his most recent trip into space and thrills his family with anecdotes from his latest adventure. Yet all the while they know he won’t stay long and this dread hangs heavy in the air. So many science-fiction stories are about astronauts and the new planets they travel to. This one feels unique because we never hear about the family that’s left behind.

The Veldt – This was one I had read before, but it’s just as deliciously creepy the second time around. Two spoiled children are acting up and their parents decide to take away their most prized possession, a nursery room that brings your wildest dreams to life.

Marionettes, Inc. – A man buys a robot to take his place in his boring home situation. He wants to travel without his wife and decides this is the perfect solution, but nothing is ever that simple.

Zero Hour – Kids all over earth are playing a game called Invasion, in which aliens are trying to take over the earth. Their parents think it’s funny, but as the zero hour approaches they begin to think it might not be a game.

"There were differences between memories and dreams. He had only dreams of things he had wanted to do, while Lespere had memories of things done and accomplished. And this knowledge began to pull Hollis apart, with a slow, quivering precision.” -Kaleidoscope

Check out Let’s Eat Grandpa’s review for more thoughts.

Reading the States: Arkansas

2012-01-27T04:26:00.001-05:00

State: ARKANSAS

Fiction:
A Painted House* by John Grisham
True Grit by Charles Portis
Fallen Angels by Patricia Hickman
The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks by Donald Harington
Arkansas Traveler by Earlene Fowler

Nonfiction:
The Grail Bird by Tim Gallagher
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
My Life by Bill Clinton

Authors Known for Writing about the State:
Charlaine Harris (author of the Sookie Stackhouse series, her Lily Bard (Shakespeare) series is set in Arkansas)

Authors Who Lived Here:
John Grisham
Maya Angelou
Trenton Lee Stewart
Jenny Wingfield

Great Bookstores:
Paper Chase Book Store
WordsWorth Books & Co.

*Books I've Read

 Photo by moi.

The Worst Hard Time

2012-01-26T04:26:00.000-05:00

The Worst Hard Time:
The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl
by Timothy Egan
★★★★

Before reading this I thought I had a good idea of what the dust bowl was like. I’d read The Grapes of Wrath and knew about the Great Depression, but I had no idea just how bad it was. This nonfiction book tells the story of the farmers in the Great Plains and the tragedies they suffered during this time.

Egan has a wonderful talent for blending anecdotes with information. One that particularly stands out is the story of a woman who worked in a clothing factory. She was sewing a huge pair of overalls for a man who special ordered them and she couldn’t help but wonder about the man who would eventually wear them. She sewed a note inside the overalls for him to find, saying she said she wanted a “real man.” After reading it, the shy farmer decided to write back and eventually the two got married.

Another section talked about the prejudice towards German-Americans during World War I. It’s horrible to see one more example of Americans persecuting a specific race. We seem to have done that consistently throughout our history, with the Japanese-Americans during WWII with Middle Eastern people today, etc. Fear is what drives those actions, but it doesn’t excuse them.

In addition to those stories, there were many more that break your heart. During this time people were traveling from the east coast to the west coast to get “fresh air” to help their health. Instead, they found a dust filled sky that you sometimes couldn’t see through. There were babies who died because their lungs filled with dirt. Cows and other animals starved to death because their stomachs filled with dirt and they couldn’t fit any food in.

The reason I enjoy books like this one is because I feel like I’m learning about a piece of history. There was so much about this period that I didn’t know and it was truly inspiring to see what people can survive.

“The problem with history was that is was written by the survivors, and they usually wrote in the sunshine, on harvest day, from victory stands.”

Image from here.

Wordless Wednesday: Greenwich Village Fountain

2012-01-25T04:26:00.001-05:00

A beautiful fountain in Greenwich Village

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Top Ten Books I'd Want on a Desert Island

2012-01-24T04:16:00.004-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish is a freebie category. So I decided to give you my Top Ten Books I'd Want on a Desert Island. I’m going to preface this list by saying I’m counting series or “complete works of” as one book. That’s not cheating, right?

1) The Complete Works of William Shakespeare – Comedy, drama, tragedy, bawdy jokes, desperate love, Shakespeare has it all.

2) The Harry Potter series – I never get tired of reading these books.

3) The Shadow of the Wind – Gothic mystery, the cemetery of forgotten books, a Barcelona bookshop, yes please.

4) Dombey and Son – Or whatever Dickens novel I have yet to read when I’m about to be stranded.

5) The Complete Works of Jane Austen – I love these books more with each reread.

6) The Lord of the Rings – A tale of adventure, friendship and good overcoming evil; plus there are wizards and hobbits and epic battles.

7) Proust – because really, when else am I going to read all of In Search of Lost Time?

8) The Complete Works of Edgar Allen Poe – For when I’m feeling spooky.

9) The Time Traveler’s Wife – For when I need a beautiful love story.

10) The Anne of Green Gables series – When I’m feeling down about being stranded, I think Anne would brighten up my day.

Photo from here.

Shakespeare Reading Month: Othello and As You Like It

2012-01-23T04:26:00.004-05:00

Allie at A Literary Odyssey decided that January would be the perfect month to celebrate Shakespeare. I can never resist an opportunity to read more of his work and discuss him, so obviously I joined in. I read one tragedy and one comedy, a perfect balance of his work. I have now read 19 of his plays and never miss an opportunity to see them performed live.

My favorite comedies are Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and The Tempest. Favorite tragedies include Hamlet, King Lear and histories are Richard III and Henry V. I’d say the comedies are a great place to start if you’re new to Shakespeare, because his humor and clever streams of dialogue tend to be in full force in those.

As You Like It

by William Shakespeare

★★★★★

As You Like It follows Rosalind, the daughter of a Duke, as she escapes persecution in her Uncle’s court with her cousin Celia. They take refuge in the forest, waiting for a time when Rosalind’s father gains power. Before leaving however, she has just enough time to fall in love with Orlando, who fortunately ends up in the same forest.

I loved this one; it reminded me so much of The Tempest. There are two brothers who, just like in The Tempest, are both Dukes. Their daughters are central to the plot, falling in love for the first time, just as Miranda does in The Tempest.

The play includes so many of Shakespeare’s finest elements. There are women pretending to be men, women falling in love with those “men” and men confiding their love to those “men” without knowing who they really are. Confused? Don’t be, it’s all good fun.

In one section a young man goes on and on about how he’s in love. He tells the older man who is his companion that there’s no way he could possibly understand, because he’s so old. I love how Shakespeare often pokes fun at the naïveté of the young. They believe no one has ever gone through what I’m going through right now.

The play also includes the famous “All the world’s a stage” passage. I love reading one of his plays for the first time and stumbling upon one of those wonderful lines. It’s always a treat. I read this just after finishing Othello and it complemented the tragedy so well. It provided the comedic balance, cross dressing, falling in love, and mistaken identities that I craved after reading such a downer.

***One other bonus from this play, there is a character named Oliver! We named our puppy Oliver last year because of all the great literary references (and he just looked like an Ollie), but I didn’t even realize that it was the name of one of Shakespeare’s characters as well.

“Do you not know I am a woman? When I think, I must speak.”

Othello

by William Shakespeare

★★★★☆

Othello, a moor from Africa, is a well-loved and respected Venetian nobleman. After the beautiful Desdemona falls in love with him, the two wed in secret. Their blissful existence is thrown into chaos as Iago, Othello's personal attendant, begins to plant doubts of Desdemona’s faithfulness in Othello’s mind.

Iago is one of the most conniving and depraved characters I’ve ever read. His cold calculating nature is sociopathic. He feels that Othello has slighted him and sets his mind to destroying his life. He moves each pawn to further his plan, all the while maintaining his alleged devotion to Othello and poisoning his thoughts with rumors of jealousy. He does it in such a calm, unbothered way that it’s all the more disturbing.

The worst part of the whole things is that Othello is in the thralls of newly-wedded happiness. He and his wife Desdemona are so incredibly in love and then he acts as the tool for his own destruction. He is manipulated by someone else, but no one truly forces his hand. He allows himself to be persuaded to believe that worst about his wife and causes his own downfall by his lack of faith and trust.

I loved the character of Emilia. She’s Iago’s wife, but she’s also Desdemona’s hand maid. She asks as a conscience for the players, holding them accountable when they have committed a wrong. She stands up for her lady’s honor when others doubt it.

Othello pulls no punches when it comes to the issues it touches on. It deals with marital abuse, racism, trust, jealousy and more. It gives readers a lot to chew on and would be a great book to discuss. I’ve never seen this one performed live, but I’m sure it would be incredibly powerful.

As I mentioned in another Shakespeare post I’d highly recommend The Riverside Shakespeare if you are looking for a definitive edition with lots of extra info.

Also, I recently found a great book to introduce kids to the world of Shakespeare. It’s called William Shakespeare & the Globe by Aliki. It’s so much fun!

Reading the States: Arizona

2012-01-20T04:13:00.009-05:00

State: ARIZONA

Fiction:

The Bean Trees* by Barbara Kingsolver

Stargirl* by Jerry Spinelli

Waiting to Exhale by Terry McMillan

Mojave Crossing by Louis L’Amour

The Lament of Charlie Longsong by Roch Carrier

The Wailing Wind by Tony Hillerman

No Man's Land by G.M. Ford

The Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey

These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner

The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint: A Novel by Brady Udall

Nonfiction:

Half Broke Horses* by Jeannette Walls

Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon by Michael P. Ghiglieri

Authors Known for Writing about the State:

Terry McMillan

Barbara Kingsolver

J.A. Jance

Authors Who Lived Here:

Erma Bombeck

Stephenie Meyer

Diana Gabaldon

Great Bookstores:

Changing Hands Bookstore

*Books I've Read

Photo by moi.

A Monster Calls

2012-01-19T04:26:00.000-05:00

A Monster Calls
by Patrick Ness
★★★★★

A 13-year-old boy, Conor, lives alone with his mother and is trying to come to terms with her battle with cancer. One night a monster comes to his window. What follows is an eye-opening experience, for both the boy and the reader as the monster tells three tales and tries to explain their meanings.

Everyone was right about this one, it’s just beautiful. It feels so intimate and honest. For me the story of losing your mom to cancer as a tender teen is one that still opens a deep wound in my heart. It is a sensitive spot for me and invokes a visceral pain that never quite heals over. As I read this I was 13 all over again, seeing my mom's bald head for the first time, freshly bare from another round of chemo.

The book reminded me quite a bit of “The Book of Lost Things.” It’s a grown-up fairy tale in some ways. I loved the character of the Monster. He’s sort of a condescending, grumpy old man, saying things like, “You thought I walked across time to teach you about niceness?” Yet at the same time he manages to show Conor an understanding that he deeply needs.

I can't even describe how beautiful the illustrations are. They are just captivating; filled with dark shadows and twisting vines, a combination of both beauty and fear. They reminded me a little bit of the illustrated section in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.

If you haven’t read this one yet, I hope you’ll pick it up soon. It’s a powerful reminder that life is often not fair and the world holds much worse things than monsters. It looks at those dark truths and yet somehow provides some comfort in the midst of the sorrow.

"Villages grew into towns, towns into cities. And people began to live on the earth rather than within it."

“Stories were wild, wild animals and went off in directions you couldn't expect.”

All images from the book

Wordless Wednesday: Prague Old Town Clock

2012-01-18T04:26:00.001-05:00

Old Town Clock in Prague

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Top Ten Books I'd Recommend To Someone Who Doesn't Read Classics/Nonfiction/Graphic Novels

2012-01-17T04:26:00.004-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for the Top Ten Books I'd Recommend To Someone Who Doesn't Read _______. I decided to split mine and give 5 books for people who don’t normally read classics, 5 for people who don’t read nonfiction and a bonus 5 for people who’d like to check out graphic novels…

CLASSICS
They are considered classics for a reason people. No, you aren’t going to love every single one you read, but you’ll probably learn something from all of them.

1) Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – Our culture is so saturated with this story; it’s hard to find someone who has never heard of Mr. Darcy. Because of that, this can be a wonderfully accessible novel. People tend to know the basic story and reading the book introduces them to a whole new depth of humor and social comedy that the movies can’t quite capture.

2) Cannery Row by John Steinbeck – When people think of classics, they often (erroneously) think drama and tragedy. Steinbeck has a reputation for writing some particularly grim books (Lennie and his rabbits!), but this one is just delightful. It’s a great reminder that classics can be funny and light, they don’t have to end in death and destruction.

3) And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie – Classics can be scary! Who better to teach people this than the master of murder mysteries, Christie herself?

4) I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith – This enchanting story of a young woman who grows up in a run down castle is hard to resist. It’s a story of first love, growing up, family dynamics and more, all with humor and beautifully written characters thrown in for good measure.

5) Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger – The master of teen angst spawned generations of Holden Caulfields dissatisfied with the world. But before picking up Catcher in the Rye, I would check out his short story collection. It is provides wonderful examples of his writing and wicked sense of humor without some of the whining associated with Catcher.

NONFICTION
This genre includes such a wide variety of subjects. There are books on travel, self-help, history, personal memoirs, etc. Just like fiction, there are good and bad books in each of these categories. Here’s a few I would suggest if you’d like to dip your toes in the nonfiction water…

1) Assassination Vacation by Sarah Vowell – I love history and I love humor. Sometimes I think Sarah Vowell was created specifically for me. In this book she’s hilarious and writes about her trips to visit U.S. Presidents homes and graves in this wonderful book. Plus, you learn so much!

2) Zeitoun by Dave Eggers – I was a fan of Eggers before this, but I think this might be his best work. Here he tells the story of a man stranded in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina with such attention to detail that you both feel like you’re there and are so glad that you weren’t.

3) Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt – I know, I’m a broken record, but it’s such a great character study!

4) 84, Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff – This collection of letters reads like a novel. A woman in New York writes back and forth with a books seller in London. It might sound boring when described like that, but it’s wonderful. It’s funny and sweet and perfect for book lovers.

5) Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain – Something about the way he writes is so raw. He is like that friend you have who says the most inappropriate things, but everyone is thinking that anyway so you can’t help but laugh.

GRAPHIC NOVELS (bonus category)
This can be an intimidating genre, so let me give you the conversation I had with my husband.
HIM: So, they’re graphic as in violent content?
ME: No, they’re called graphic because there are illustrations.
HIM: So it’s a comic book.
ME: Yes, but it’s a whole book.
HIM: So it’s about superheroes?
ME: No, well it can be, but it doesn’t have to be. Just like any kind of book, it can be about anything.
HIM: … *goes back to watching Alaska State Troopers*

1) Maus – It won the Pulitzer Prize folks. In this presentation of a Holocaust survivor, Jews are mice and Nazis are cats. It’s just amazing.

2) French Milk - For anyone who loves to travel, especially to France, loves good food or is stressed about growing up and joining the “real world.”

3) Watchmen – This was my first graphic novel. It’s perfect for the inner nerd in all of us, who is a fan of superheroes, but still wants a solid story and character development.

4) Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood - A woman writes about growing up in war-torn Iran, but manages to infuse the whole book with her clever wit and defiance as well as her struggle to adjust to the difficult life.

5) The Invention of Hugo Cabaret – This book was just made into a movie (Hugo) and I can’t believe I still haven’t seen it. Illustrated in shades of gray, the story follows a young orphaned boy through the streets of Paris and his home in a train station.

Photo from here.

The Fault in Our Stars

2012-01-16T04:26:00.005-05:00

The Fault in Our Stars
by John Green
★★★★★

Hazel is a 16-year-old girl with terminal cancer. Her life is limping along until she meets Augustus Waters, an unexpected lightning bolt that refuses to be ignored. There are hospitals and poems, reclusive authors and picnics; and together the try to navigate some of life's most difficult questions.

I've been a John Green fan since reading Looking for Alaska and Paper Towns a few years ago, so my expectations for The Fault in Our Stars were high and yet he managed to exceed them. Soon the internet will be filled reviews of TFIOS. Many will discuss the fascinating elements in this novel (check out Ana's brilliant thoughts here) and I can't wait to see what everyone has to say about it. But this time I'm going to leave that to others and just stick to just talking about why this novel rang true for me. My reasons are threefold.

First, one of my close friends just lost her sister-in-law to cancer. She was incredibly young and left behind a husband and a four-year-old son. Only a few hours before I started the book, my friend and I were talking about how people tend to turn the deceased into saints. We forget about out silly arguments with them and the fact that sometimes they were rude or cranky. Instead, we think only of their best moments and in doing so we do them a disservice. We stop thinking f them as real people and so we're no longer remembering them, we are remembering a perfect idea of them.

So just after this conversation I started reading TFIOS and it talks about this issue in detail. It was just one of those moments when it feels like the universe is conspiring to teach you something. The timing was so perfect.

"The dead are visible only in the terrible lidless eye of memory. The living, thank heaven, retain the ability to surprise and to disappoint."

"The thing about dead people,... the thing is you sound like a bastard if you don't romanticize them, but the truth is... complicated, I guess."

My second reason is a geographic one. The majority of the book is set in Indianapolis, which happens to be my home town. No one ever writes fiction set in my city, seriously, no one. There are scores of novels set in London, New York and Paris and when I read them I sometimes recognize places the authors mention and feel a little thrill thinking I've see whatever the characters are looking at. But it's different when you actually live in the city.

Green mentions the farmer's market in Broad Ripple, which is held across the street from where I used to live. I would go there on Saturday mornings and buy apples and honey. He talks about the Castleton mall, where I hung out in high school and Holliday Park, whose ruins I have marveled at, just like Hazel does. When Hazel and Augustus have their picnic in a park by a museum, I knew exactly where it was and headed there to see Funky Bones for myself. After sweeping the snow off the top of the whole thing I took a few pictures, (see above), and then reread that section of the book. I can't explain how much I loved reading about my own city through the eyes of these wonderful characters.

Finally, I loved this book because of Green's writing. He writes in a way that is infinitely relatable. He does not shy away from difficult issues. Instead, he turns a story about cancer, death and the desire to be remembered into one about living and first love and favorite novels. He can take a subject as big as cancer and make us feel like we are talking to a friend about it.

He has the unique ability to say profound things in a simple way. For example, "It all felt very Romantic, but not romantic." I think anyone who has received red roses or a sappy box of chocolate can relate to that. The things that are suppose to feel romantic never convey that feeling half as well as those moments when you and your partner can't stop laughing at something silly or struggle through a difficult time together. Green takes moments like that and strings them together to create novels that feel so real. By the end of the book you care so deeply about Hazel, Augustus, Isaac and their parents, that you just want to stay in their world a little longer. And that is truly the highest praise I can give any book.

"Grief does not change you, Hazel. It reveals you."

"You gave me a forever within the numbered days, and I'm grateful."

"The marks humans leave are too often scars."

Photos of Funky Bones by moi.

New Year's Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-14T04:13:00.004-05:00

I love lists and I love attempting to improve my life, so I'm all about New Year's resolutions. I'm going to try to do the following things for at least 100 days. We'll see how it goes (especially the exercising part).

1) Make re-reading a major priority this year.

2) 10 Frugality tips to stick to:
• Go to the grocery store with cash and a calculator instead of using your debit card.
• Take inventory before going to the grocery store to avoid buying repeat items.
• Consolidate errands into one trip to save on gas.
• Look for used 1st - If you need something try to find it used before buying it new.
• Eat out less
• Use a 30-day list - When you want to buy something, (not a necessity), put it on a list with the date you added it, reevaluate the list after 30 days to see if you still want/need to buy it.
• Find free entertainment
• Alcohol in moderation.
• Eat less meat
• Don’t go shopping unless you NEED something

3) Don’t buy anything that you don’t absolutely need for 100 days. Attempt to not buy clothes at all this year (I'm in a wedding in May and anything for that will be an exception).

4) Choose one food that constantly sabotages your efforts to eat healthier and go cold turkey for the next 100 days. – (Lays Potato Chips and Pretzel M&Ms)

5) Eat from a smaller plate to help control portion size.

6) Get at least 20 min. of exercise at least 3 times a week.

7) Actively look for something positive in your partner every day, and write it down.

8) Practice active listening

9) Keep reminding yourself that everyone is doing the best that they can.

10) Drink more water/tea every day

Obviously on top of this list I'm planning on completing all of my reading challenges and participating in as many read-alongs as possible. I'm also hoping to host my very first read-along this year, Cloud Atlas in March, even though I'm nervous no one else will join in.

Here's to a fantastic 2012!

Photo by moi.

Reading the States: Alaska

2012-01-13T04:26:00.008-05:00

State: ALASKA

Fiction:
- The Call of the Wild* by Jack London
- The Yiddish Policemen's* Union by Michael Chabon
- Aleutian Sparrow by Karen Hesse
- Drop City by T.C. Boyle

Nonfiction:
- Into the Wild* by Jon Krakauer
- Coming into the Country, by John McPhee
- Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska by Timothy Treadwell
- Big Alaska: Journey Across America's Most Amazing State by Debbie S. Miller
- Klondike: The Last Great Gold Rush by Pierre Berton
- Coming Back Alive: The True Story of the Most Harrowing Search and Rescue Mission Ever Attempted on Alaska's High Seas by Spike Walker
- On the Edge of Survival: A Shipwreck, a Raging Storm, and the Harrowing…
by Spike Walker

Authors Known for Writing about the State:
Jack London
Spike Walker

Great Bookstores:
The Homer Bookstore - According to their website, they are the oldest independent bookstore on the Kenai Peninsula, and is very likely the longest  running general bookstore in Alaskan history.

*Books I've Read

Photo by moi.

Moby Dick Readalong: Part One

2012-01-12T03:26:00.000-05:00

I made it through the first section of Moby Dick for the readalong hosted by The Blue Bookcase! I have been meaning to read this one for years and this provided the perfect motivation to kick me into gear.

Here's the reading schedule...

Jan 12: Chapters 1-28

Jan 19: Chapters 29-55

Jan 26: Chapters 56-93

Feb 2: Chapter 94-epilogue

I'm going to keep my thoughts to a minimum because I feel like I'm still getting acquainted with the book and the characters. So far I've really enjoyed it. Each chapter is incredibly different, but interesting. Allie at A Literary Odyssey gave me some great advice when she said to think of each chapter as a short story. That allowed me to stop trying to force the plot to progress and just enjoy Melville's wander tangents more.

A couple things I enjoyed in this first section:

- Our narrator Ishmael's terrified night anticipating his "pagan" roommate at a boarding house. Then he and said pagan, Queequeg, ended up becoming fast friends.

- People keep screwing up Queequeg's name. They called him Hedgehog and Quohog.

- Everyone is giving some fascinating accounts of Captain Ahab, but we don't actually know him yet.

- I had no idea Ahab had a wife and kid. I always pictured him as a crazy loner with a whale obsession. The family aspect makes him much more relatable.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the first quarter of the book.

"With other men, perhaps, such things would not have been inducements; but as for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts."

Wordless Wednesday: Northern California

2012-01-11T04:26:00.003-05:00

Wine country in California.

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Top Ten Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book

2012-01-10T04:26:00.003-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for the Top Ten Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book. They can be debut authors, authors who seem to have taken a hiatus, OR for those who read classics authors you wish would have written another book before they passed. Here’s my list…

1) Jane Austen – Of course she tops my list! She was only 41 when she died and had completed only six novels and a few shorter pieces. She showed such wisdom and depth in her writing at such a young age, one can only imagine what she would have written if she’d had more time.

2) John Berendt – He has written two nonfiction books (including Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil) and both have been wonderful in their own way. He captures the cities he writes about (Savannah and Venice) in such rich detail that I know I’ll read whatever he decides to write next.

3) Edgar Allan Poe – He was 40 when he died! He created the world’s first detective novel, wrote the infamous poem “The Raven” and has chilled souls for decades with stories like The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado. I wish he’d had another decade and a few more bottles of cognac to fuel his writing.

4) Douglas Adams – The author of the hilarious Hitchhiker series died when he was only 49. I can picture him growing even funny with old age.

5) Harper Lee – Only one book and it’s one of my all-time favorites. Who knows what brilliance could have been found in a second book?

6) David James Duncan – The Brothers K was such an epic novel and I wonder if Duncan’s next book will have a similar scope or would be something more focused. Either way, I bet it will be great.

7) E.M. Forster – He didn’t die at a young age, in fact, he made it to 91, but I still would have loved another book from him. Howards End, A Room with a View, A Passage to India, each of his novels is written so beautifully. I could read 10 more books from him if I had the chance.

8) J. D. Salinger – The reclusive writer published only four books. I’ve read three and have been dreading reading the final one because I know it’s the last new book I’ll ever have from him.

9) David Benioff – I was surprised by how much I enjoyed City of Thieves. Benioff hasn’t written much else, but that’s because he’s busy writing HBO’s Game of Thrones and a few little movies, like Troy and X-Men: Wolverine.

10) Kathryn Stockett – The Help was just wonderful, as just about everyone and their mother (and grandmother) know by now. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s next from the debut author.

101 Dalmatians

2012-01-09T04:16:00.000-05:00

101 Dalmatians
by Dodie Smith
★★★★☆

The main reason I wanted to read this one is because it’s written by the author of I Capture the Castle, which I love. Pongo and Missis, a married pair of Dalmatians have a litter of 15 puppies that are kidnapped. Using the Twilight Bark system to contact dogs all over England, they search for their missing pups.

It was interesting to see the differences between this original story and the Disney adaptation (which I watched about a million times when I was little). The main two dogs are Pongo and Missis, Perdita is a completely different dog. When Missis has a huge litter, the owners decide to find a foster mother (Perdita) to help nurse the puppies. Also, Pongo’s master works in the financial industry, as opposed to being a musician. Obviously, finance isn’t as conducive to an animated musical as being a song writer is. I was surprised that Cruella De Vil is described almost exactly as she appears in the film, all the way down to her hair, half black and half white.

I’m so glad I read this after getting a dog. It was a lot more fun to hear how the dogs think while picturing my own pup. I love Pongo thinking about how he “owns” his human, instead of vice versa. He comments on how sometimes the humans were so clever they were almost canine.

Read this if you loved the movie and are in the mood for a sweet story. It’s not complicated or trying, it’s just a good little story. I also think it’d be a perfect book to read aloud to your kids or nieces and nephews.

1001 Books to Read Before You Die Challenge

2012-01-07T04:26:00.001-05:00

Here are the books I completed for the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die Challenge hosted here. I do this every year just on my own and I love it. I don't make a list in advance. Instead, at the end of December I get out my giant 1001 Book and a highlighter. I go through the whole thing and check off all the books I read that year. It's fun because I'm usually surprised by a lot of the books that are in there. Turns out I completed the top level, PHd: 16+ books. I've discovered so many great books from this list.

I've now read 141 books from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.

Here's my completed list from 2011:
Robinson Crusoe
David Copperfield
War & Peace
Middlemarch
The Portrait of a Lady
King Solomon’s Mines
The Yellow Wallpaper
Jude the Obscure
The Invisible Man
Kim
The Hound of the Baskerville
The House of Mirth
Babbitt
The Garden Party
Tender is the Night
Absalom, Absalom!
A Home at the End of the World
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin
The God of the Small Things
The Blind Assassin

Reading the States: Alabama

2012-01-06T04:09:00.007-05:00

Welcome to the first post of my Read the States series! Every Friday I will be posting books and authors that are great representations of a different state. If you have any additional suggestions for this week’s state or any other states, leave them in the comments!

Alabama is known for the Talladega Speedway and the Civil Rights movement, but there are some wonderful literary connections as well. F. Scott Fitzgerald lived there while writing Tender is the Night. Harper Lee and Truman Capote grew up side-by-side in the tiny town of Monroeville. A state so rich with famous authors provides some fascinating reading possibilities.

State: ALABAMA

Fiction:
- To Kill a Mockingbird* by Harper Lee
- Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café* by Fannie Flagg
- Other Rooms, Other Voices by Truman Capote
- Forrest Gump* by Winston Groom
- Crazy in Alabama by Mark Childress

Nonfiction:
- All Over but the Shoutin’* by Rick Bragg
- The Story of My Life* by Helen Keller
- Scout, Atticus, and Boo* by Mary McDonough Murphy

Authors Who Lived Here:
Harper Lee
Truman Capote
Zelda Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald

Great Bookstores:
Alabama Booksmith - Known for its first edition club.

*Books I've Read

Photo by moi.

In the Garden of the Beasts

2012-01-05T04:26:00.004-05:00

In the Garden of the Beasts
Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin
by Erik Larson
★★★☆

I’ve really enjoyed Larson’s other nonfiction works. The Devil in the White City was interesting (and is being made into a movie) and I loved Isaac’s Storm. His newest, In the Garden of the Beasts, details Hitler’s rise to power in the 1930s. There are some remarkable details about this era and those carried bits of the book, but as a whole it felt slow.

I think my main problem with this book was the lack of sympathetic characters. This is nonfiction, so that’s not the author’s fault. Obviously you won’t be feeling sorry for any Nazis or for Hitler himself, but there were few others who were worthy of those feelings. The American family, the Dodds, is made up of a strange group. The father is painted as a miserly, self-important man. No one, even his co-workers, seemed to like him very much. The daughter, Harriet, was apparently fascinated by the Nazis and was passed around like a call girl. Despite being married, she had relationships with multiple Germans in the party and someone even tried to fix her up with Hitler.

My favorite part of the book was learning about the Jewish resistance in America. When we look back on World War II it’s so easy to ask why no one did anything to stop it, but in reality, there were many people who tried to stand up against Htiler’s regime. Even if they weren’t able to bring an end to the horrors before they got out of control, at least they recognized what was happening and stood up in opposition to it.

It’s not Larson’s best work, but I did learn more about Hitler’s rise to power and I’ll look forward to his next book. If you’ve never checked out his account of the Galveston hurricane in 1900, Isaac’s Storm, I would highly recommend it as a good place to start with his books if you like nonfiction.

Image from here.

Wordless Wednesday: Edinburgh

2012-01-04T04:26:00.000-05:00

Edinburgh, Scotland

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Outlander

2012-01-03T04:26:00.002-05:00

Outlander
by Diana Gabaldon
★★

A nurse, Claire Randall, is vacationing in Scotland with her husband Frank in 1945. While hiking around some ancient stones, she touches one and is transported to 1743. Trapped 200 years in the past, Claire must learn how to survive in the midst of the feuding English and Scottish. After meeting a Scottish warrior, Jamie Fraser, her life becomes even more complicated.

I really struggled with this one and it’s suppose to be a “fun” book. It’s a bit of time-travel and a bit of historical fiction, two things I really enjoy. It also has a big dose of romance thrown in and that’s not really my thing, but so many people love this series that I thought I’d give it a shot. I read the first 200 pages and just couldn’t get into it. Finally I made it to the middle and took Sandy’s suggestion to listen to the audio instead. Honestly, that’s the reason I finished the book. The audio version helped and I enjoyed it a bit more.

**Spoilers ahead, don’t read if you plan on checking this book out**

Here’s the thing, I just felt myself rolling my eyes over and over again. Claire is wrestling a wolf, really? Everyone is trying to rape Jamie and no one seems to think that’s a problem? Every few minutes someone seems to get kidnapped or thrown in prison or attacked in some way or another. Wait, what’s that? Oh, it’s the Loch Ness Monster… seriously, I’m not kidding.

The only part of the book I really connected with was the section where we meet Jamie’s sister. Everything calms down a bit and we get some time to stop worrying about who is about to be beaten next.

**SPOILERS OVER**

So, all-in-all, I’m glad I finished it, because now I know what all the fuss is about.I won’t be reading the rest of the series anytime soon though, it’s just not for me. Maybe if I’d started it a few years ago, maybe if I hadn’t become so spoiled by excellent writing recently, who knows. It’s certainly not the worse thing I’ve ever read and I do understand the appeal. If you love romance, have a stomach for some brutal descriptions of violence, this one might be for you, but it was a miss for me.

Case Histories

2012-01-02T03:42:00.001-05:00

Case Histories
by Kate Atkinson
★★★★☆

There’s something about chilly winter nights that just calls out for reading mysteries. This book is a particularly good choice if you’re looking for one this season. Instead of the typical private investigator fare, the book could more accurately be described as literary crime fiction.

Case Histories feels like an anomaly in the mystery genre. There aren’t the usual detective clichés or cheesy lines. Instead it is distinctly literary, focuses on excellent writing instead of just the case at hand. But it also has a can’t-put-it-down plot that made me read the whole thing in 24 hours.

The plot follows three separate cases, all from different years. They are unrelated, but Jackson Brodie, a private detective, is the common-thread. Because there are three separate mysteries, plus a few side-plots with the detective, there are continuous reveals through out the book. It never becomes a tedious wait for the big finish and by the end the author wraps everything up beautifully.

Mysteries are usually so plot-driven, but the characters in this book are amazingly well-drawn. The first three chapters explain the different cases and each one feels like a short story that could stand on its own. Within a few pages I was completely sucked into each characters’ story. I loved how the they were told from multiple view points. It gives each case an added depth to see the situations from so many different angles. Atkinson also includes parenthesis throughout the book, which I loved. Each one gives extra insight into the characters’ thoughts.

The three cases include a wide variety of characters. There’s a man, Theo, and his sweet daughter Laura; Victor and Rosemary, two people who are incredibly ill-suited for parenting, and their daughters Sylvia, Amelia, Julia and Olivia. Then there’s Michelle, her husband Keith and their baby Tanya. Each family experiences a tragedy that rocks the very foundation of their world.

Jackson’s own issues work their way into the story as well. He and his ex-wife Josie are trying to find a balance, in their newly separate lives, in raising their 8-year-old daughter Marlee. You would think that such a diverse cast of character would be confusing, but each one is so unique that they hold their own spot in your mind as you read each chapter.

If you love a good mystery, but appreciate great characters and writing, don’t miss this one! I’ve already ordered the sequel, One Good Turn, from PaperbackSwap.

"Theo wondered if those people who were destined to die young had some kind of premonition of the shortness of the hours and that gave their life an intensity, a seriousness like a shadow."

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T04:45:00.002-05:00

It's been a wonderful year.
I'd like to end it with some wonderful words from Neil Gaiman.
I hope those things for all of you.

Poster from here.

The Paris Wife

2011-12-30T04:26:00.002-05:00

The Paris Wife
by Paula McLain
★★★★

I was fascinated by this book. I’ve said before that I’m not the biggest fan of Ernest Hemingway. I enjoy his short stories, but most of his novels just don’t work for me. In A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls, the women come across as empty pictures of one man’s idea of what a perfect woman should be. Hemingway himself was as chauvinistic as they come and that doesn’t appeal to me.

Yet despite my mediocre reaction to those books, I’ve always been intrigued by his life. When I read his nonfiction memoir about his time in Paris, A Moveable Feast, I was completely in love with it. It was the first thing I’d read of his that rang true for me. I adore reading about Paris in the ‘20s. I would have loved to visit the City of Lights when some of the great authors and artists of the century were gathered together there. So when I heard about this novel, a fictionalized account of that same time period from his wife Hadley’s point-of-view, I couldn’t wait to read it.

I think that it was because of all the background that I enjoyed this book so much. There were constant references to his novels and it helped that I had already read them. Hadley’s view of Hemingway, as her husband and closest friend, softens him a bit in my eyes, but at the same time I just wanted to smack him. His actions are so selfish and cavalier, it’s hard to watch him break her heart. It must have been so difficult to share your life with someone so volatile. He was such a child in so many ways. He needed to be coddled and loved, but never discouraged.

I can’t imagine how lonely it was for Hadley. Think about living with a group of friends made entirely of artists and writers, but to not actually be one of them. You’re always on the fringes, not quite up to their level of talent. I think Hemingway also made her feel that way and over time she began to lose her feelings of self-worth.

There was never a question in my mind on how it would all end because I’d read a biography on him before and knew of his multiple wives. So it was a bit like watching a train wreck in slow motion. I read it more to see it all unfold from a new angle. The writing was beautiful and even though I don't see myself in Hadley, I still felt connected to her.

I don’t think this one is for everyone, but if you liked A Moveable Feast, you should definitely read this. If you haven’t, you should read that first. Also, if you like that book or this one, check out Woody Allen’s latest movie, Midnight in Paris. It’s so much fun.

“We clung hard to each other, making vows we couldn’t keep and should never have spoken aloud. That’s how love is sometimes.”

“To marry was to say you believed in the future and in the past, too—that history and tradition and hope could stay knit together to hold you up.”

Perfect Fifths

2011-12-29T04:26:00.004-05:00

Perfect Fifths
by Megan McCafferty
★★★★

This is the fifth and final book in the Jessica Darling series. I’m not going to spoil anything about this book, but I’d skip this review if you haven’t read the rest of the series.

This series perfectly corresponded with my personal timeline. I graduated from high school in 2002, just like Jessica. I have always been sarcastic and snarky and felt like I finally found a character who was the same way. She was smart and funny, when so many teenage or twenty-something "heroines" are ditzy or struggling with shopping issues or how to talk to the cute boy next door. Obviously our lives are very different, but there was something about her personality that I immediately connected to.

In this final book, which came out in 2009, we are the same age and I love that. I don't know if I would have become so attached to this series if I hadn't read each book around the same time Jessica was going through the same things I was. I read the first book my senior year of high school and each time a new one came out I read it immediately. We finished high school at the same time, went to college, graduated, started real jobs, watched our friends marry, etc.

Jessica and Marcus have a long and complicated relationship. They’ve been on and off and then finally, in the fourth book, they broke up for good. Now, a few years later, they run into each other in an airport and we readers get to reconnect with the unlikely pair. The scales are tipped a bit as Marcus realizes just how badly he wants to reconnect with Jessica and that gives an added sweetness to the books.

I didn’t love this one as much as the earlier books, but I really wanted closure and that’s what I got. If you aren’t a fan of the series, obviously you don’t need to read this one, but if you love Jessica and Marcus in all their quirky brilliance, this book is a must.

"...writing those editorials when I was sixteen, seventeen... it was the first time I found the courage to speak aloud about issues that were important to me."

Top image from Write Meg.

Wordless Wednesday: Golden Gate Bridge

2011-12-28T04:26:00.000-05:00

The Golden Gate Bridge, shrouded in fog of course.

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Christmas is Awesome

2011-12-26T04:26:00.007-05:00

I don't know about you guys, but I had a wonderful Christmas! Santa was amazing! An Out of Print t-shirt, bookstore gift cards, vintage books with gorgeous covers, a lovely edition of Sense and Sensibility, the Annotated Phantom of the Tollbooth, I'm feeling ridiculously spoiled.

This photo is of a lamp my sister-in-law to be (my brother is getting married in May) made me! She used old book pages and created the coolest library lamp I've ever seen. I saw some examples of that project on Pintrest, but it looks so much better in person.

My sister got me book earrings made by a woman in Italy! They're beautiful and so tiny, I love them. With all that loot I can't help but be grateful, not just for the amazing gifts, but for friends and family members who know me so well. I feel so blessed. My Christmas weekend was filled with fun get togethers, too much food and so many wonderful people. I hope all of you had great holidays as well.

What was your favorite Christmas gift this year?

Photos by moi.

Christmas Movies

2011-12-23T04:26:00.002-05:00

Tonight I'll be having wine and cheese with a few good friends and watching my favorite Christmas movie of all time, It's a Wonderful Life. There is just something about Jimmy Stewart, with his earnestness and desperation that makes it irresistible for me. It always makes me cry and I'm not a big crier. I can't wait to watch it again.

I'm a big fan of Elf, Love Actually, Home Alone and White Christmas too. The Huz loves Christmas Vacation. What is it about the holidays that brings out the sap in all of us?

What's your favorite Christmas movie?

Image from here.

Chaos Walking Series

2011-12-22T04:26:00.001-05:00

So here’s the thing, I’ve been dragging my feet on writing reviews for this series because there are so many great ones out there already. I don’t want to repeat what everyone has already said, so here’s what I’m going to do. I’m writing one big post about the whole series. I read all three books, plus the short prequel story in one nonstop stream and so they felt like one book to me anyway. I’m also not going to do a recap explaining the whole premise behind the books. I think just about everyone knows that at this point (if you don’t, Google it and you’ll find a million summaries).

If you haven’t read the series yet, I would recommend not reading these reviews. I’m reviewing the whole series in one post, which makes it almost impossible not to spoil something along the way. For you guys, let me just say that the series is good. It has some flaws, but it’s incredibly engaging and readable. If you like dystopian novels or coming-of-age in the midst of war style books, I would highly recommend it. Now stop reading this so I don’t ruin it for you.

The Knife of Never Letting Go (Book One of the Chaos Walking trilogy)
by Patrick Ness
★★★★

I had incredibly high expectations for this series and I was a bit nervous going into it. I wasn’t sure the talking animals and casual dialogue would work for me and at first it was hard to adjust to, but then I was hooked. I’m not even sure when it happened, somewhere around the time Viola started talking or when we started to learn a bit more about the real story behind Prentisstown.

Todd Hewitt, who lives in Prentisstown, is the youngest boy in the village. There are no women at all. The entire first book is told from his point of view. He ends up on the run, trying to escape Mayor Prentiss and the crazy priest, Aaron. Along the way he meets a girl, Viola Eade, which throws a wrench in his whole world, because he’s never met a girl in his entire life.

Todd’s dog, Manchee, is the first example we have of the planet’s speaking animals. He sounds exactly like any dog would sound, “Squirrel, hi Todd, hungry Todd.” As silly as that sounds, you fall in love with him and just want to take him home with you… then Ness kills him off. Seriously, it was one of the most shocking moments of the entire trilogy for me.

The 1st book’s main theme is really protecting the innocence of youth. This continues throughout the series, but it’s especially important in Knife. Ness also brings up questions about the value of self-sacrifice, blindly trusting authority, and the roles of men and women in society. There are a lot of big issues and nothing is resolved by the end. Instead we are left with a cliff-hanger and an emotionally draining climax. That’s not a bad thing, but I’d hate to have had to wait for the next book.

The Ask and the Answer (Book Two of the Chaos Walking trilogy)
★★★★☆

The Ask and the Answer was my favorite book in the trilogy. We were already immersed in the characters’ stories, so we skip a lot of introduction. We also got to know The Mayor, Viola and 1017 better, but they were aslo still a bit of a mystery. By the final book I was a little burnt out on aspects of their stories.

This book rotates back and forth between Todd and Viola’s points of view. I loved getting to know more about Viola and hearing what she was thinking. I also thought Mayor Prentiss became a much more fascinating villain in this installment. He’s not just a big bad guy, he’s one of those delicious creeps who walk the line between kindness and cruelty. There’s no doubt that he is evil, but he does his dirty deeds with a smile on his face, while shaking your hand.

The Mayor’s son, Davy, is one of the series most intriguing characters. He's not good, but he's also a product of his environment. You have to wonder how you would turn out if you were raised by such a cold, calculating father. His development throughout this book was so well-done. It's rare to have a character start off so detestable and then gain your sympathy so quickly.

I also loved 1017, a Spackle (the planet's native race), when he was an enigma in Book 2 more than I did in Book 3 when we got to know him. I loved seeing him only through Todd’s eyes and having to wonder what he was thinking.

The second book is masterfully paced. We are given bits and pieces of information, but never enough to understand everything. Seeing the world through both Todd and Viola’s is confusing, but in a good way. They don’t always know who they can trust and so neither do we.

There isn't just one good guy and one bad guy. You have to look not only at everyone’s actions, but at the true motivations behind those actions. Then Todd and Viola are left to try and determine where their allegiances lie.

Monsters of Men (Book Three of the Chaos Walking trilogy)
★★★★

The third and final book of the trilogy is even darker than the first two. There are some aspects of the book that I loved, like the addition of a few crew members from Viola’s ship, but at times the plot felt repetitive. Just as they defeated one enemy another would present itself. There was an endless stream of fighting, which left less time for character development.

I also struggled with the ending. All of you who have read it will know what I’m talking about. I felt so emotionally invested in the characters and the end twist felt like Ness was pulling the rug out from under me. I understand not wanting to give them a cheesy happy ending, but I felt like the challenges Viola and Todd faced in re-establishing a new society and maintaining peace with the Spackle were more than enough to keep things complicated. For me, the ending cheapened the struggle they'd survived for three books.

The New World (prequel short story from Chaos Walking trilogy)

I loved this brief glimpse into Viola’s life before she landed on the planet. She seems so much younger and more carefree. She’s worried about the things any teenager would worry about, missing out on something fun, what her friends think of her. War forces her to grow up so quickly. I’m so glad Ness allowed us a chance to meet her before that happened.

Chaos Walking Trilogy
by Patrick Ness
★★★★

In the end, I would definitely recommend the trilogy. It is a fascinating read. I did have a few complaints, but overall it was the characters that made the journey well worth it. I would read them all over again for a chance to spend time with Ben, Wilf, Manchee, Viola, and even the vicious Mayor Prentiss. They are characters that stay with you, whether it’s because you love them or love to hate them. I gave the individual books their own ratings, but I would give the whole series 4 stars. It really was wonderful to read, but aspects of the first and final installments left me a bit frustrated. But, there’s something to be said for an author that can make you so emotionally invested in his characters that you feel protective of them.

Three books + one short story
1st book: 496 pages, 2nd book: 519 pages, 3rd book: 603 pages, Prequel: 23 pages
= 1,641 pages total

Wordless Wednesday: Merry Christmas!

2011-12-21T04:26:00.002-05:00

The tree and the pup. Merry Christmas guys!
More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

2011-12-20T04:26:00.004-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for 10 books you're dying to get for Christmas.

1) Underdogs by Markus Zusak

2) Sense and Sensibility: The Bath Bicentenary Edition by Jane Austen

3) A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

4) Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

I adore the Penguin Hardcover series and have been slowly collecting them over the last couple years. I would love to add a few more to my shelves.

5) Lady Chatterley's Lover (Penguin Hardcover Classics) by D. H. Lawrence

6) Northanger Abbey (Penguin Hardback Classics) by Jane Austen

7) Bleak House (Penguin Hardback Classics) by Charles Dickens

8) Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol

9) The Adventures of Robin Hood (Puffin Classics) by Richard Green

10) Out of Print clothes - I know these aren’t books, but the final bookish thing on my wishlist is T-shirt from Out of Print. I’m completely enamored with them, especially the new Women’s Catch-22 and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.

Image from here.

Jane Austen Made Me Do It

2011-12-19T04:26:00.002-05:00

Jane Austen Made Me Do It
Original Stories Inspired by Literature’s Most Astute Observer of the Human Heart
Edited by Laurel Ann Nattress
★★★

This collection contains more than 20 original short stories by many well-known authors. Some are set in modern day; others pick up the threads where they left off in one of Austen’s beloved classics. The book was edited by Austen fan Laurel Ann Nattress, creator of Austenprose.com.

The subject matter covers almost everything Austen wrote. We see what happens to Emma and Mr. Knightly after they marry and have to take care of her father. We learn about Mr. Bennet’s youth, before he married Lizzy’s exasperating mother. Persuasion’s Anne and Captain Wentworth retell the story of their romance to friends in “Waiting.”

Even though I did enjoy some of the pieces, I never found myself reaching for the book. Instead it sat, untouched, until I reminded myself that I really needed to finish it. I’d pick it up, read a few stories and by the next day I had all but forgotten them.

My problem with the collection is the same one I have with most Austen fan fiction. The stories either return to one of Austen’s original characters or the main character is obsessed with Austen’s work. They try to add a new element to the story or make some reader fantasy come to life. Either way, the stories tend to make me want to re-read the original books instead of the new one. They always feel a little weak or empty compared to Austen’s work and when you write fan fiction you can’t help but set yourself up for that comparison.

I did enjoy Syrie James’ story, which provides a nightmare scenario where all of Austen’s characters confront her with their complaints about how their stories unfolded. “Jane Austen and the Mistletoe Kiss," by Jo Beverley, was another one that worked well for me.

Interestingly, the book closes with Laurie Viera Rigler’s story "Intolerable Stupidity." The premise is that Darcy is suing authors of Pride and Prejudice spin-offs and films because their stories are affecting his everyday life. In other words, he’ll grow vampire fangs in the middle of dinner with his wife or walk down the street and realize his shirt is soaking wet. The reason this story was ironic, in my opinion, is because it’s criticizing the very category of fiction that it falls into. Obviously, by the end it justifies these stories and shows their importance, but I can’t say I was convinced.

I agree that fan fiction has made Austen more popular, but is that really a good thing if the people who are introduced to it never read the original books? I know many people who have read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies but don’t intend to ever read the original. In fact, they now think they already know the story, so they don’t need to and that’s truly a shame. I know many others read the fan fiction because they already love the originals, which is great, but it has never worked that way for me.

If you adore Austen fan fiction, you’ll probably love this. If you love Austen and have read all of her major novels, you might enjoy this one. If you have dabbled with a few books, but aren’t sold on her, this probably isn’t for you.

Other reviews:
Devourer of Books
Iris on Books

Also, here’s an interview with the editor done by Write Meg

I received my review copy from Laurel Ann Nattress.

2011 End Of Year Book Survey

2011-12-17T04:26:00.000-05:00

Who’s ready for a fun end of 2011 survey from The Perpetual Page-Turner? My answers cover all the books I read, definitely not limited to 2011 releases.

 1. Best Book You Read In 2011?
David Copperfield – There were so many great ones this year and my top ten list will be up soon, but I think this one grabs the top spot by a narrow margin. It feels so much more honest than Dickens other work and it’s packed to the brim with fantastic characters. There’s a good balance of humor and drama and I just really enjoyed reading it.

2. Most Disappointing Book?
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen – To be fair, I had a feeling I might hate it after reading The Corrections, but it managed to surpass even my expectations by making me like it at first and then taking a rapid nose dive.

3. Most surprising (in a good way!) book of 2011?
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell – I know I’ve said it before, but Jesuit priests in space, I can’t believe how much I loved it.

4. Book you recommended to people most in 2011?
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman – This book is so hilarious. I found myself mentioning it to so many people, especially those who share my love for the Hitchhiker’s Guide trilogy.

5. Best series you discovered in 2011?
Persepolis – I suppose that it’s really just a two-part book, but there’s a whole series of connected graphic novels by the author, Marjane Satrapi, like Embroideries and Chicken and Plums

6. Favorite new authors you discovered in 2011?
• Kate Morton
• Carolyn Parkhurst
• Patrick Ness

7. Most thrilling, unputdownable book in 2011?
Case Histories by Kate Atkinson and The Woman in Black by Susan Hill – Both books are mysteries; one a detective story, the other a ghost story. I loved the pace and style of both books and I couldn’t’ put them down!

8. Book you most anticipated in 2011?
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy – Obviously it wasn’t released in 2011, but I knew I was going to read it this year and I was really excited (nervous) about it.

9. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2011?
A Passion for Books – I love covers with pictures of books on them.
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children – Super creepy, especially when you look at it closely.

 10. Most memorable character in 2011?
Actually I have two and they happen to have the same name. First, Lily, who was a real person, not technically a character, from Half-Broke Horses - She was so strong and unapologetic about her life. Second is Lily from The House of Mirth – Another strong woman, but in a very different way. She’ll stay with me for decades.

11. Most beautifully written book read in 2011?
The House of Mirth – The writing, oh my gosh, it was just lovely.

12. Book that had the greatest impact on you in 2011?
The Long Goodbye by Meghan O’Rourke – Turns out reading a nonfiction work about a woman losing her mother can be incredibly difficult if your own mother died. O’Rourke’s memoir is so raw I couldn’t help see my own grief reflected back at me.

13. Book you can't believe you waited UNTIL 2011 to finally read?
The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith – I read constantly as a kid and this was one of my favorite movies. How did I miss this book when I was growing up?

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Café by Fannie Flagg – I loved this movie as well and the book sat on my shelf for years until my trip to Alabama prompted me to pick it up.

14. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2011?
“No one knows how greatness comes to a man. It may lie in his blackness, sleeping, or it may lance into him like those driven fiery particles from outer space. These things, however, are known about greatness: need gives it life and puts it in action; it never comes without pain; it leaves a man changed, chastened, and exalted at the same time – he can never return to simplicity.” – Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck

“Reading was my escape and my comfort, my consolation, my stimulant of choice: reading for the pure please of it, for the beautiful stillness that surrounds you when you hear an author’s words reverberating in your head.” – The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster

15. Book That You Read In 2011 That Would Be Most Likely To Reread In 2012?
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan – I don’t know if I’ll re-read this one so soon, but I think I’d like to. There are so many threads to follow. I think I would get even more out of it the second time around.

16. Book That Had A Scene In It That Had You Reeling And Dying To Talk To Somebody About It? (a WTF moment, an epic revelation, a steamy kiss, etc. etc.) Be careful of spoilers!
Jude, The Obscure by Thomas Hardy - Oh my gosh, that scene! Father Time and his completely unexpected actions, seriously, I was so shocked.

How about you guys? How was your 2011 reading?

Photo from here.

Shakespeare and Comapany Bookstore

2011-12-16T21:01:00.003-05:00

(The shop during my visit there)

I just wanted to say that yesterday's death of the owner of the Shakespeare and Company bookstore filled me with both sadness and joy. It breaks my heart when anyone who loves books that much passes away, but it's also wonderful to remember that people like him exist in the world. George Whitman created a place where readers and writers could reveal in the joys of the written word.

My visit to the Shakespeare and Co. Bookstore was one of my very favorite parts of my first trip to Paris in 2005. That shop is filled to the brim with treasures and you can't help but feel a thrill when you think of the authors that have wandered through those shelves. Right now I'm actually reading my copy of A Room of One's Own that I bought there. So anyway, thank you Whitman, for creating such an amazing haven for book lovers.

“I wanted a bookstore because the book business is the business of life,” - George Whitman.

p.s. If you want to read more about the shop, I'd recommend a memoir written by Jeremy Mercer, a writer who lived there for awhile. It's called "Time Was Soft There" or "Books, Baguettes and Bedbugs" depending on where you get it.

Photo by moi.

And the Pursuit of Happiness

2011-12-16T04:36:00.000-05:00

And the Pursuit of Happiness
by Maira Kalman
★★★★★

This book is a graphic novel, illustrated poem, love letter to democracy, etc. Call it what you will, I just loved it. It’s a sweet look at our government and the world around us. It’s simple and joyful. The goal is not to give you a history lesson, but it manages to share some wonderful bits about our fore father in a playful way. The hefty book is over 400 pages, but it’s mainly illustrations and so it’s a quick afternoon read.

Kalman seems to find joy in the simplest things, like the funny quirks of the people she meets or the signs she sees above a public restroom in the Capital building. Her drawings and thoughts are so endearing. She talks about the food she ate on her trip and the people she met, even if they aren’t essential to what she’s saying. She gets sidetracked, but that’s part of the charm.

The book is split into 12 chapters, one devoted to each month of the year. It explores the lives of a few of our well-known presidents (Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington), including tidbits about their marriages and personal lives. The whole thing is done in such a lovely, whimsical way that each page is a treat.

p.s. For some reason I thought the drawing on the front was suppose to be some Russian guy, it’s not, it’s Ben Franklin.

p.p.s. This one was especially perfect for the Dewey Read-a-Thon. I hit a wall after about 12 hours of reading and this book acted as a palette cleanser, giving me a much-needed boost of energy.

You’ve Gotta Read This had this to say... “It makes you feel good about our country, about determination and confidence, and about finding happiness in the smaller things in life.”

The Great Bridge

2011-12-15T04:26:00.004-05:00

The Great Bridge
by David McCullough
★★★☆

I’ve always had a strange fascination with the Brooklyn Bridge. Long before I saw it in person, I thought it was one of the most beautiful architectural structures in the world. Like the Taj Mahal and Rome’s Colosseum, images of the Brooklyn Bridge have always made me stop dead in my tracks with awe. I can’t explain it. It only got worse when I was able to walk across the actual bridge. There’s something so majestic about those gothic arches and images of it have become iconic. So when I saw a book about the story behind the bridge, written by the famous presidential biographer McCullough, I knew I had to check it out.

The book tells the epic tale of the building of the bridge. It begins with the plans created by John A. Roebling. Unfortunately, he died early in the project. He was injured on the site, but was so stubborn that he resisted care until it was too late. He even tried to tell his doctor how he should be taking care of him. His son, Washington Roebling, took the reigns and was the driving force behind the completion of the project.

The bridge broke all the moulds on how bridges had been built in the past. It was more ambitious and in the end, more successful than most bridges that were created before it or that have been created since. One interesting aspect of the story was the surprising part that “the Bends” played in the building of it. The disease, caused by rapid changes in pressure, was almost unknown before this. Many men died from the condition while working on the bridge and because of that, some of the earliest reported cases came from this construction project.

It gets a little dry in the middle. I love learning about the people behind the bridge, but hearing the specifics of the timber and structure beams got a bit old. I did love the way McCullough mixed in bits about the history of Brooklyn and the way the bridge changed the destiny of the New York borough. I also was surprised and delighted to find out that Washington’s wife Emily played a big part in managing the project once her husband became ill and was confined to his home. How wonderful that a woman played a role in the creation of such a beautiful structure.

“The towers, the ‘most conspicuous features,’ would be identical and 268 feet high. They would stand on either side of the river, in the water but close to the shore, their foundations out of sight beneath the riverbed. Their most distinguishing features would be twin Gothic arches – two in each tower – through which the roadways were to pass. These arches would rise more than 100 feet, like majestic cathedral windows, or the portals of the triumphal gateways.”

“True life is not only active, but also creative.” – John A. Roebling

Image from here.

Wordless Wednesday: Garmisch-Partenkirchen Picnic

2011-12-14T04:26:00.000-05:00

A picnic from the market in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

A Study in Scarlet

2011-12-13T04:26:00.007-05:00

A Study in Scarlet
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
★★★★

Years ago I was on a Sherlock Holmes kick and I think I might have read this, but it's been so long I just wasn’t sure. The cases all sort of jumble together in my head, so it was time to read it again.

This is the very first Sherlock Holmes adventure. Watson, a doctor who served in India and Afghanistan, is in need of a roommate. A mutual friend introduces him to Holmes and soon they are renting a flat on Baker Street and the fun begins. Sherlock is called in to consult on a murder and takes Watson with him. Soon the clues are piling up and Sherlock’s keen eye is catching things that every other detective seems to miss.

The book is written from Watson’s point-of-view and I love the descriptions he gives of Sherlock. He's surprised by how much he knows, but also by how little he knows on certain subjects (like literature and astronomy). Sherlock explains that he can't clutter up his mind with hundreds of details; instead he must fill it only with that which he believes will be useful to him. I also thought it was interesting that even early-on Watson that Sherlock might be addicted to a narcotic (in later books we learn he smokes opium).

Watson also notes that Sherlock's method of deduction reminds him of Edgar Allen Poe's fictional detective, Dupin. To which Sherlock, in his classic condescending style, says he thinks Dupin was a very inferior fellow.

The book takes a really strange turn in the second half. The first half follows Sherlock and Watson as they try to solve the mystery. At the end of part one Sherlock catches the killer, but then part two starts and we are in Utah years earlier. The story introduces brand new characters, including crazy Mormons who kidnap women settlers and force them into marriage. It’s an odd way to plot the story. It all makes sense in the end, but it took me a minute to figure out what was going on.

I would say this isn’t my favorite of the Sherlock books. That’s mainly because of the huge section in Part 2 that he is completely absent from. I still really enjoyed it, but that part just threw me for a loop.

I loved reading this after seeing the BBC version of Sherlock, which begins with the episode "A Study in Pink." The showed stayed remarkably close to the original story (minus the Mormons), mainly changing the time period and a few case details. If you haven’t already watched that series (seen above) you should! It's so good.

p.s. This was my 15th and final book for the Victorian Literature Challenge hosted by Subtle Melodrama. I reached the top level, Desperate Remedies, yay!

Bottom image from here.

The Grey King

2011-12-12T04:26:00.004-05:00

The Grey King
by Susan Cooper
★★★★☆

This is the fourth book (out of five) in The Dark is Rising series and so far, one of my favorites. Will Stanton is young boy on the outside, but he’s also one of the “Old Ones,” who are in the midst of fighting a continuous battle against the dark forces that try to corrupt the world. In my opinion, the later books do not work well as stand alones. You really need to read the earlier ones to understand who the Old Ones are and grasped the overall story, so start at the beginning.

In this book Will gets sick and his family sends him off to Wales for a little R&R with some extended family. Once there he makes friends with Bran, a kind albino boy, and his faithful dog Cafall. Bran is a wonderful addition to the stories mythology and I love watching his story unfold. I was also glad to see Merriman make an appearance as well.

I will admit that I’m sure I would have loved this series even more if I’d read it when I was younger. A mystery, good vs. evil, a bit of fantasy, it would have been right up my alley. That’s not to say I still don’t love it, it’s just different when you can read a series with a certain innocence. Your mind isn’t already saturated with hundreds of books and each new addition is startlingly new and wonderful.

As it has been with the other books in this series, the best part of the plot comes as things are wrapped up in the end. There’s always a little twist or new bit of the story revealed and I particularly loved this one. I won’t give anything away, but I am really looking forward to reading the final book in the series.

Here are my reviews of The Dark is Rising and Greenwich (the 2nd and 3rd books in the series).

Books Lead to More books

2011-12-09T04:39:00.001-05:00

(Gratuitous puppy pic because I love my dog)

One of my favorite things about reading is the crazy way books connect. Every time I read a book it tends to lead to another one. Sometimes it’s because an author of novel is specifically mentioned in the book. Other times it’s because it’s a book inspired by something else or a re-telling of a classic story, etc.

For example, just after finishing Robinson Crusoe, I started Kindred, in which the main character reads parts of Robinson Crusoe to another character. I love those unexpected connections. You find them frequently in books where a character is a bookseller or an avid reader, but they pop up other times too.

In When You Reach Me, the main character talks about her favorite novel, A Wrinkle in Time. Also, her mother tells her she's named after a character in The Tempest. In The God of Small Things the characters read books by Rudyard Kipling.

I love it every time that happens. It makes it feel like all the books in the world are somehow connected, like a giant game of Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon… but with books.

Has this ever happened to you guys? If so, with what books?

Photo by moi.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

2011-12-08T04:26:00.001-05:00

Will Grayson, Will Grayson
by John Green and David Levithan
★★★★

To begin, I’m a big fan of John Green. I read Looking for Alaska and fell in love with his writing. I read Paper Towns and was captured by his characters. I watched the nerd fighter vlogs he makes with his brother Hank and I felt like he was someone I’d love to grab a beer with. I love he and his brother’s sense of humor. They can joke about things, while at the same time talking about something real. All that to say I'm a big fan.

I’ve only read other collaborative works by David Levithan, including two (Nick and Norah and Dash and Lily) that he did with Rachel Cohn. Each time I really enjoyed the books, but I don’t know how much of that was because of Cohn and how much was him. I’ve never read a book solely written by Levithan.

Will Grayson, Will Grayson is collaboration between Green and Levithan. They wrote alternating chapters about two teenage boys, both named Will Grayson. Green’s Will is a straight kid with a chip on his shoulder and a flamboyant gay best friend named Tiny Cooper. The other Will is gay and struggles with depression. Their paths cross one night in Chicago.

It’s hard to explain exactly why this book works so well, but a big part of it is the cynicism of the two Will Graysons. Both characters are so jaded that it balances Tiny’s optimism and enthusiasm. Without that balance the story would have felt like getting punched in the face by sunshine every time Tiny spoke, but it never feels that way. Instead Tiny is the anomaly. He’s the exception to the sarcastic rule and because of that it’s so refreshing for everyone in the story to have someone in their life that’s encouraging and joyful about life, despite whatever hardships he’s going through.

At first I didn’t love the second Will Grayson’s chapters. His whole section is written only in lowercase and that drove me nuts. He is so pessimistic and kind of mean, but he grows on you. I don’t think it’s any coincidence that I began to enjoy the 2nd Will’s story so much more after Tiny becomes a part of it. You quickly realize that Tiny brings out the best in almost everyone.

The first Will Grayson’s father adds so much to the story. Parents tend to be absent in YA books, but his Dad makes a brief appearance here and it reminded me how important good parents are. Sometimes just being there or saying I love you can make all the difference in a child’s life and I loved the quiet scene Will and his Dad shared.

It’s truly a story about friendship and connection, there’s no other agenda being pushed. The real love story is one between best friends. Because it’s written by two authors I’m going to allow myself to rate them separately. I gave it an overall 4 stars, but I think Green’s sections really earned 4.5 and Levithan’s earned 3.5.

“Love is the most common miracle.”

Wordless Wednesday: NYC, old and new

2011-12-07T04:31:00.001-05:00

I love how big cities, like NYC, perfectly blend old and new.

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Top Ten Childhood Faves

2011-12-06T04:26:00.004-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for our Top Ten childhood faves. I spent so much of my childhood up a tree with a book and so looking back at some of my favorites was so much fun. I became a lifelong reader as a kid and these are some of the books I read over and over again.

1) From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs Basil E.Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

2) Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic by Betty MacDonald

3) The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster

4) The Mystery of the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks

5) Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

6) Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien

7) The Littles series by John Peterson

8) Sideways Stories from Wayside School and other Louis Sachar books

9) The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden

10) Midnight in the Dollhouse by Marjorie Stover

Bonus: I also loved everything by Shel Silverstein and Roald Dahl. There are just too many great books to list.

*Me as a kiddo, too young to read these books, but I was getting there.

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

2011-12-05T04:26:00.002-05:00

I Am Half Sick of Shadows
by Alan Bradley
★★★★☆

Christmas at Buckshaw is just what I wanted. Only Flavia de Luce would think of flooding an entire portrait gallery to create an indoor ice skating rink. The amateur chemist and detective is back for a holiday adventure. Her overly-logical brain has worked out a plot to “catch” Santa with a sticky chemical solution applied to the roof. She’s so clever it’s easy to forget that she’s still a little girl, wondering if Santa exists.

As the de Luce family’s finances dwindle, Flavia’s father decides to rent out their home, Buckshaw, to a movie studio as a filming location. An entire crew, including the director and aging movie stars arrive in the small English town and set things buzzing.

Instead of having Flavia flit about the town of Bishop’s Lacey, as she has in the other novels, the entire town heads to Buckshaw. The actors agree to perform a scene from Romeo & Juliet to raise money for the local parish and the villagers brave the snow and head to Flavia’s home for the show. A blizzard ensures that they won’t be leaving anytime soon and the novel takes on the feel of an Agatha Christie novel. When an unexpected murder occurs, all of the suspects are confined to one location. Throw in a few crabby sisters, some fireworks and an on-going battle of the wits with local Inspector Hewitt and it’s the perfect holiday treat.

I would say the pacing is very similar to the first three books. If you loved those, like I have, you’ll probably love this one as well. Many feel unsatisfied with the books thus far and I would say that this one isn’t a deviation from the previous ones. There are bits and pieces revealed about the main characters, but nothing huge. I would think that most of us know if we like a series or not by the fourth book, so go with your instincts.

Dogger has always been one of my favorite characters in the series. Even if he’s not in the spotlight, he’s always standing quietly in the background, loyally waiting to provide whatever is needed. This book sheds more light on why he is the way he is and I was so glad to get to know him a bit better.

The restricted setting really worked for me. I loved having all the characters in one place. I think it helped move things along quickly. The murder mystery is always a background for the bigger story of the de Luce family itself and setting the entire book in their home helped hone that focus.

It boils down to this, if you love Flavia and the whole crazy de Luce household, this is a must for the holiday season.

“Impertinent children ought to be given six coats of shellac and set up in public places as a warning to others.”

“There are those of us who create because all around us, things visible and invisible are crumbling.”

My reviews of the first three books in the series can be found here: one, two and three

This book is a review copy provided by LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer program.

The House of Mirth

2011-12-02T04:26:00.000-05:00

The House of Mirth
by Edith Wharton
★★★★★

This turn-of-the-century novel tells the story of Lily Bart, a beautiful woman caught between what her heart wants and she thinks she should want. When Lily is orphaned as a young woman, an aunt provides for her, leaving her cared for, but never wealthy. At age 29, Lily is still hoping to marry well, despite her financial problems. Yet every time she seems close to making a match, something causes her to withdraw a bit from her pursuit.

I’ve read Wharton’s The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome and with each books I was impressed with the writing and restrained portrayals of the characters, but never more so than with this book. For me, The House of Mirth made me love Wharton, instead of just appreciating her.

Wharton finds the most eloquent way to say things, but still manages to keep it simple and not overly-flowery. It’s not like Dickens, who I do love in a different way, but the man was wordy! She’s not writing to fit more words in each paragraph, instead it feels like things have been pared down until what’s left is only what is necessary to tell the compelling story.

I read it slowly, savoring each line instead of barreling ahead. I didn’t want to miss anything and I found myself highlighting so many lines that I connected to. It felt like she had chosen each word so carefully and so in turn I wanted to make sure I gave each word its due as I read it.

Lily Bart is a character so caught up in trying to attain what society tells her is the perfect life, that she completely denies her true feelings. She ignores what makes her happy and focuses all of her intelligence and planning into finding a wealthy husband of the right social standing. At a young age, her mother taught her that this was what was important in life and Lily never quite let go of that mindset.

Lily has been raised to believe she needs a life of riches to be happy, but when she’s put in a position where those things might not be available to her anymore she doesn’t know what to do. She’s desperate and believes that her only choice is to sacrifice the life she thinks she loves or her happiness. It’s Madame Bovary without the selfish abandon in decision making.

This is the quote that sums it all up for me…
“…sometimes I think it’s because, at heart, she despises the things she’s trying for. And it’s the difficulty of deciding that makes her such an interesting study.” –Mrs. Fisher

The scenes between Lily and her friend Seldon are electric. They are sprinkled throughout the book and so each time you stumble upon one it breathes new life into the story, just as it does in Lily’s own life. Their chemistry radiates off the page. There are so many men who want Lily and yet Seldon is the only one that makes her feel alive. She refuses to acknowledge even to herself, that she feels anything for him.

“She knew herself by heart too, and was sick of the old story. There were moments when she longed blindly for anything different, anything strange, remote and untried; but the utmost reach of her imagination did not go beyond picturing her usual life in a new setting.”

The few moments when she is truly happy are tucked away in her memory. She never allows herself to dwell on those moments of joy. Instead she focuses on whatever problem is at hand, financial or social. She believes her problems don’t exist if she escapes to another setting, so she’s constantly trying to run away from them. The transition that she goes through from the beginning of the novel to the end is startling. She’s so carefree and hopefully at the start. Her playful nature begins to drain away as her circumstances become direr.

I loved the fact that despite having no idea how to achieve happiness in her life, she’s not helpless. She plans and schemes, often at her own expense, to solve her problems. She doesn’t wait around for someone to fix everything. She doesn’t make excuses for herself or allow herself to wallow in self-pity. She accepts the consequences of her actions, even if they sometimes seem unfair and I respect that. She’s proactive in her life and when she runs out of options, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to survive.

I loved the character of Lily and the story grew on me as I read it. By the end I didn’t want to put it down and I know I’ll be returning to it in the future.

“What Lily craved was the darkness made by enfolding arms, the silence which is not solitude, but compassion holding its breath.”

“It had always seemed to Seldon that experience offered a great deal besides the sentimental adventure, yet he could vividly conceive of a love which should broaden and deepen till it became the central fact of life.”

The End

2011-12-01T04:26:00.001-05:00

** There are no spoilers of Book 13, but this review assumes you’ve read the first 12 books in the series.

The End (Book 13, the final book)
by Lemony Snicket
★★★★

We have come to the end… finally. For me, this was a long time coming. I loved this series at the beginning, but after 6 or 7 books it felt repetitive to me. I stayed with it though, reading only two or three of the books each year, because I wanted closure.

As I mentioned in my review of the 12th book, I had high expectations for this final installment. I’ve had a mixed reaction to some of the books in this series, but to me, this was one of the better ones. I loved all of the literary references to Moby Dick and The Tempest. I thought the “Call me Ish” bit was particularly funny.

I do think that there were still quite a few unanswered questions and that was a bit of a disappointment. There was such a big build up to the finale, I guess I thought there would be a lot more about the past and what led everyone to this final point. There was some of that, but not quite enough.

Here are a few things I wish were different about the entire series:

1) I understand that 13 is an unlucky number, but there didn’t need to be 13 books. The first 4 are great, books 5-10 have some good moments, but they are also incredibly repetitive. I think the series would have worked better if it had been condensed to about 10 books.

2) There are a few moments in the final book where the orphans think back on sweet memories they shared with their parents. I really wish there had been more of those throughout the whole series. There are very few times when we learn what their parents were like and I think I would have been more invested in the kids if I’d known more about their life before they became orphans.

3) I wish the book provided more closure for different characters. We never got to see the Quagmire triplets again. The books alluded to one of the Baudelaire parents possibly being alive, but unless I missed it, we never find out if that’s true or not. I just wish there had been a bit more information across the board.

Overall, I’m glad I read the series and there are so many things I loved about the way it was written. It was clever and funny. I think it would be a perfect read for preteens and a great vocabulary lesson for young readers. There are things I disliked and things I wish were different and because of that I can’t say I loved the series. But I’m glad I stuck with it and I would definitely read it with my niece and nephews one day if they were up for it.

“It's almost as if happiness is an acquired taste, like coconut cordial or ceviche, to which you can eventually become accustom, but despair is something surprising each time you encounter it.”

“It is a well-known, but curious fact that the first bite of an apple always tastes the best.”

Wordless Wednesday: Frankfurt

2011-11-30T04:34:00.000-05:00

Frankfurt, Germany

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Top Ten Books On My TBR List For Winter

2011-11-29T04:26:00.004-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks what are the top ten books on your TBR List for winter?

1) Little Women – I’ve been meaning to re-read this one for years and since it begins with Christmas, I think that’d be a good time to pick it up.

2) Case Histories – I can’t wait to start this mystery. Nymeth has said good things about it and that’s enough for me.

3) Monsters of Men – I’m reading The Ask and the Answer right now and this one is next.

4) Outlander – I read the first 200 pages of this back in February and just couldn’t get into it. I’m going to give it another shot before the end of the year.

Starting in January I’m going to dig into my list of challenge books for 2011

5) Bleak House by Charles Dickens – For the last few years I’ve read one new Dickens book every winter. It’s my new favorite reading tradition. Something about his rambling prose and huge casts of characters fit perfectly with winter reading for me.

6) Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand – Seabiscuit was great and my book club picked this one.

7) Silver on the Tree – I’ve really enjoyed the first 4 books of this series and I think the final one should be great.

8) Cloud Atlas – I think I’m going to be co-hosting a read-along for this one with Care of Care’s Online Book Club in March next year. I’ll post more about that later, but I think it’ll be a great one to discuss with others. Anyone interested in joining the fun?

9) Forever by Maggie Stiefvater – This is another series I’m about to wrap up.

10) In the Woods by Tana French – This might be the perfect series to curl up with on freezing cold nights.

Image form here.

Back to the Classics Challenge 2011 - Completed!

2011-11-28T04:24:00.001-05:00

I have officially completed the Back to the Classics Challenge for 2011, which was hosted by Sarah Reads Too Much. Here's my complete list with my posted review. Yay for reading classics!

1) A Banned Book - The Chocolate War (1988)

2) A Book with a Wartime Setting – War and Peace (1869)

3) A Pulitzer Prize (Fiction) Winner: A Visit From the Goon Squad

4) A Children's/Young Adult Classic – Heidi (1880)

5) 19th Century Classic – David Copperfield (1850)

6) 20th Century Classic – Tender is the Night (1934)

7) A Book you think should be considered a 21st Century Classic – Persepolis (2000)

8) Re-Read a book from your High School/College Classes – Pride and Prejudice (1813)

Scout, Atticus, and Boo

2011-11-25T03:42:00.000-05:00

Scout, Atticus, and Boo
A Celebration of To Kill a Mockingbird
by Mary McDonough Murphy
★★★★

The author created both a documentary and a book compiling the thoughts of authors, teachers and celebrities about the wonderful classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. She included everyone from Oprah to Harper Lee’s own sister to the actress who played Scout in the movie. The book chronicles people’s favorite scenes, their questions, their first experience reading it and the reasons why they love it.

People all over the world have been touched by the book because of the issues it addresses and the young characters’ unique points-of-view. Lee could talk about racism or a morphine addiction without it seeming too dark, because Scout and Jem were so innocent. Their questions don’t feel preachy because they ask them out of true spirit of curiosity. Lee also made the wise decision to set the book a few decades earlier than it was published, in the 1930s, so people in the south were able to look at the issue of racism while distancing themselves from the issue.

(Me and Harper Lee in the Monroeville Courthouse)

So many people in the book talk about how they wanted to know exactly what was fact and what was fiction. I never wondered about that. I suppose I always assume an author can’t help but put themselves in their novels in one way or another, but it doesn’t affect me too much as the reader.

One thing I loved discovering was that Harper's sister Alice was such a B.A. She worked for the IRS, then as a journalist, then as a lawyer, and even in her 90s, she still practices in Monroeville. She bucked the norms and worked in male-dominated fields, never backing down from a new challenge.

Many people compared the book to Gone with the Wind and there are some amazing similarities. Both are set in the south, deal with racism, were written by women, were the only novels written by their authors, etc. They are such different books, but it’s interesting to think about the threads that connect them.

The fact that Harper Lee withdrew from the public eye has always been a point of interest for people. One person in the book suggests that she may have done that after seeing what happened to her friend Truman Capote when he embraced his fame. It would be horrible to watch your friend self-destruct in that way. I’ve always had such respect for Lee’s choice to withdraw from the limelight. She knew she didn’t want that spotlight on her for the rest of her life; so instead, she went and lived a rich life with her friends and family in Monroeville.

I read this during my recent road trip through Alabama, while we were on our way to Monroeville to see the town and courthouse that started it all. I’m sure that played a huge part in why I enjoyed this so. I already felt immersed in the South and in that story, so reading others thoughts on it fit right in.

If you don’t adore To Kill a Mockingbird, this book isn’t for you, but hopefully that’s pretty obvious. For the rest of us, it’s a chance to revisit a favorite book and to look at it through a dozen different pairs of eyes.

*Photo by the Huz and from here.

Wordless Wednesday: Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T04:26:00.000-05:00

What I'm thankful for this year: the Huz and the pup.

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Top Ten Authors I'd Love To Have At My Thanksgiving Feast

2011-11-22T04:26:00.000-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for the Top Ten Authors you'd love to have at my Thanksgiving feast. I don’t know if we’re allowed to include dead authors in this, so I’ll do half and half. I decided to pick authors that not only have books I love, but that I think would be hilarious or fascinating conversationalists.

Authors that are still living:
1) Neil Gaiman

2) Nick Hornby

3) John Green

4) David Sedaris

5) Margaret Atwood

Authors that have died:
6) Douglas Adams

7) Jane Austen

8) Roald Dahl

9) Oscar Wilde

10) Dorothy Parker

Image form here.

Middlemarch

2011-11-21T04:26:00.001-05:00

Middlemarch
by George Eliot
★★★★☆

The small, fictional town of Middlemarch is a tight-knit community filled with people who are kind, pious, romantic or devious. In other words, it’s just like any other small town. Everyone has their own secrets and money problems and everyone knows everyone else’s business. The book looks closely at marriage, especially between two people who are not well-suited.

Now for the meat of the story, spoilers and all...

The main focus of the book is on three separate couples in Middlemarch, but unlike many books, the majority of the story happens after they’re married instead of during the courtship.

First, there’s Dorothea, a young idealistic woman and Edward Casaubon, the scholarly older man she marries. She believes he will do great things and wants to be his helpmate in that process. Unfortunately, he’s not the great man she hoped he would be and she quickly finds herself in a lonely marriage. Then she meets his cousin, Will Ladislaw, and feels an instant connection.

Then there’s the town’s doctor, Tertius Lydgate, who’s bursting at the seams with new ideas for the hospital and experiments to improve the healthcare offered. He falls for the sweet face of Rosamond Vincy and before he knows it, he’s married and she’s spending money faster than he can make it. Rosamond may be beautiful, but she’s also selfish and conniving, always looking for the next angle that will benefit her.

The final couple, Mary Garth and Fred Vincy, tends to be everyone’s favorite. Fred is immature and constantly gets himself into financial troubles. Mary loves him, but refuses to marry him until he gets his life together and finds an occupation that he loves. I loved that Mary wasn’t willing to settle and her decision helped build a happier life for both of them.

The three very different couples show a wide view of marriage. They offer both cautionary tales and sweet love stories. They remind us that you don’t always fall in love with the person you should and that sometimes people aren’t who they seem to be on the surface.

I love classics, but to be honest it usually takes me a little bit it get into them. Once I adjust to the language and get to know the characters, then I’m good to go. This one was completely different. From the first chapter I felt like knew Dorothea Brooks. I didn’t agree with all of her choices or connect to her on every level, but I felt like I “got” her. Her noble aspirations and idealistic nature act as both main strength and weakness. I was rooting for her from the beginning and the final scene between her and Will is one of my absolute favorites.

Sometimes, I felt so involved in Dorthea’s story that it was hard to switch gears and hear about the other people in Middlemarch, like Bulstrode of Dorothea’s sister Celia and her husband, Sir James.

Parts of the story are slow. It’s hard to avoid that when you have 800 pages of provincial life. But I really loved the intricacies of the characters’ lives. Nothing is laid our in black or white. Each character does both good things and bad things, sometimes for the right reasons and sometimes not. Everyone has flaws and makes mistakes. Even our two idealistic heroes (Dorothea and Lydgate) make horrible choices when they pick their spouses. Those flaws make the characters feel very real and relatable, which is what made the book work for me.

So, dig in and be willing to stick with the story, even if it gets slow, and you’ll be rewarded. The story is worth it, but don’t expect quick, constant drama.

“…and had been inclined to regard of himself as a general favorite. We are all apt to do so when we think of our own amiability more than of what other people are likely to want of us.” Middlemarch

“For Rosamond’s discontent in her marriage was due to the conditions of marriage itself; to its demand for self-suppression and tolerance and not the nature of her husband.”

Other reviews…

A Thousand Books with Quotes: “I was astounded as to how much this classic, which explores the many facets of marriages in the provincial town of Middlemarch amazingly parallels the different marriages that still exist today…”

It’s All About Books: “I loved the crazy parts, and suffered through the boring ones.”

ProSe: “At first blush one has this sense of simply being immersed in a rather quiet and pastoral story, but there's really very much more going on here as one turns the pages. …it is the story of human beings, and what it means to be human.”

My book club is awesome

2011-11-18T04:00:00.003-05:00

You guys, I love my book club. For years I tried to find a good book club, but every time I joined a new one I would once again be disappointed. Each time I quickly discovered that “book club” was mom code for “get out of the house and hang out with people.” Which is great except, I didn’t know those people well enough to want to talk about their kids for 30 minutes, I wanted to talk about the book! We rarely even got around it, which is just not cool.

So time and time again, I realized that every book club made up of 20 and 30-somethings was not for me. Believe me, I have nothing against sitting around and drinking wine or coffee and chatting. It’s just I’d just rather do that with my friends than with a group of people I don’t know well.

After years of this, one of the women in my United We Read program invited me to her book club. This was about two years ago and I have been a member ever since. During my first meeting they showed me a list of books they’d read and rated over the past decade and the vast majority were ones that I either loved or had on my TBR list.

I’m the youngest member in the group by 30 years and it’s perfect. It’s a small group, but one that’s very committed to reading the book and showing up for the meetings. Our difference in age and personalities allows for a diverse reaction to books and great discussions. Each year we try to read at least one mystery, nonfiction and classic in addition to various fiction.

Here’s the list of books we’ve picked for 2012:
January: The Paris Wife
February: The Forgotten Garden
March: Case Histories
April: Cold Comfort Farm
May: Unbroken
June: Life is so Good
July: The Liar’s Club
August: Middlesex
September: The Madonnas of Leningrad
October: Clara and Mr. Tiffany
December: Cutting for Stone

Of the books we chose, I’ve only read Middlesex and The Forgotten Garden, both of which I loved.

So how about you all, are you in a book club? If so, do you love it or what would you change?

Image from here.

2012 TBR Pile Challenge and Finishing the Series Challenge

2011-11-17T04:26:00.003-05:00

A challenge that encourages me to tackle the massive stacks of books on my To Be Read shelves, I'm in. Adam at the Roof Beam Reader is hosting the 2012 TBR Challenge. You can sign up to join here and see a complete list of the details.

The basic idea is to pick 12 books (and two alternates) that you've owned for at least a year, but have not yet read. I decided to pick a variety of books, including classics, modern lit, fantasy and sci-fi. I also included a particular Salinger book in honor of our host. It's a travesty that I haven't read it yet, but I'll admit, I've been saving it because it's my last unread book by the author.

Here is my complete list ...

1) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
2) The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh
3) Raise High The Roof Beam Carpenters by J.D. Salinger
4) Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams
5) Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
6) Bleak House by Charles Dickens
7) Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
8) The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood
9) Affinity by Sarah Waters
10) The Quiet American by Graham Greene
11) The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
12) Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson

ALTERNATES:
1) Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo
2) That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy) by C.S. Lewis

Here are the details ...

The Goal: To finally read 12 books from your “to be read” pile (within 12 months).

Specifics:

1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2011 or later (any book published in the year 2010 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

2. You must write an original review/response (it doesn’t have to be anything fancy) for each book, to help us ensure you are actually completing the books you say you are.

3. The link you post in the Mr. Linky below must be to your “master list” (see mine below). This is where you will keep track of your books completed, crossing them out and/or dating them as you go along, and updating the list with the links to each review (so there’s one easy, convenient way to find your list and all your reviews for the challenge).

I'm also going to attempt the Finishing Series Reading Challenge hosted here. I'm going for the top level, 3 or more series.

Level 1 - Complete 1 series.
Level 2 - Complete 2 series.
Level 3 - Complete 3 or more series.

I'd like to complete the following series...

The Dark is Rising series - Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
The Wolves of Mercy Falls series - Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
Anne of Green Gables series - Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery
The Space Trilogy - That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

*Photo by moi.

Wordless Wednesday: Castello di Amorosa

2011-11-16T04:31:00.002-05:00

Castello di Amorosa in Napa Valley

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Ten Books That Have Been On My Shelf For The Longest But I've Never Read

2011-11-15T04:26:00.002-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for Ten Books That Have Been On My Shelf For The Longest But I've Never Read. There might be a few that have been on my shelf longer, but these have all gathered some serious dust.

1) The Master and the Margarita - I've been told a million times that I should read this, but the crazy plot summary has always made me wary.

2) Sometimes a Great Notion - I read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and I heard this is even better.

3) The Magician's Assistant by Ann Patchett - I loved Bel Canto and bought everything she wrote after that. Unfortunately I haven't read everything she's written quite yet.

4) Cloud Atlas - I want to read it, but then another person describes it as "dense" or "complicated" and somehow that's made me view it in a negative light.

5) Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov - I read Lolita and the writing was so gorgeous. I don't know why this one hasn't made it off the shelf.

6) Any books by Tracy Kidder - Not even joking, I have 5 books by this author on my TBR shelf (let's be honest, I have multiple shelves) and I've never read anything by him. His books always sound good and I always find them at book sales, but somehow I never pick them up to read them!

7) The Mists of Avalon - This is one of those books I've heard about for years. I do love Arthurian legend books.

8) The Stand (or any other massive King book) - I've read a few short story collections, his nonfiction "On Writing" and even my first novel of his "Carrie," but I've never read any of King's epic work. I think I'm always worried it'll be too dark for me.

9) Travels with a Tangerine (and a dozen other travel memoirs) - I do love reading this genre, but I like it more when I'm traveling a lot. When It's been a year or two since my last venture abroad, it's sometimes hard to read about someone else's great adventures.

10) Small Island by Andrea Levy - It's been on my shelf forever, then they made a BBC miniseries and I wanted to read it even more. I just never seem to get to it. In my defense, I read a lot of WWII fiction.

So, which of those books is an amazing must read? Are there any that have sat unread for too long?

Photo from here.

Lending of books (aka my babies)

2011-11-14T04:25:00.000-05:00

I feel exactly like this. There are some people I trust and will always lend to. There are others that I know will have the book for 3 years and never read it. And that's ok, I just buy them a used copy and "lend" it to them, so that way I don't stress about getting it back.

I have a couple vintage copies of books and a few editions that are special to me because of my own marginalia and I won't lend those out to anyone. But if someone wants to read a book of mine that falls into that category I will buy it for them if I'm positive they'll actually read it.

How about you guys? Happy to lend out your books or hesitant?

Image from Bookfessions.

Alabama Slammer

2011-11-11T04:31:00.003-05:00

Our October road trip to Alabama was just fantastic. There’s so much to see there, who knew? I’ve included a few fun photos from the trip and a brief description of what they are below. Seriously though, road trips are the best. You never know what you’ll find along the way.

- The National Annual Shrimp Festival on the beach in Gulf Shores (which we just happened to stumbling upon)

- Noccalula Falls, a 90 ft. waterfall in Gasden

- A Japanese moon bridge in the Asian section of the Bellingrath Gardens

- The wall separating the lots of Truman Capote and Harper Lee’s childhood homes in Monroeville

- Mini golf at a cheesy putt-putt place with The Huz (it’s his favorite)

- Lots of seagulls on our ferry ride from Dauphin Island

- Margaritas, essential to any good trip

- The Alabama Booksmith book store in Birmingham

- The courthouse in Monroeville that Harper Lee based To Kill a Mockingbird on (it’s now an awesome museum)

- The Huz at the Parthenon in Nashville, TN (There are almost no photos of him, because he hates having photos taken, so unfortunately I end up in every picture).

- The Irondale Café, the inspiration for the Whistle Stop Café in Fried Green Tomatoes

- F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald’s home (now a museum) in Montgomery

- Dreamland BBQ in Birmingham (tangy deliciousness)

- Our tiny tent and such at one of our camping sites

- The Civil Rights Museum in Montgomery

It was a great trip and if you're ever headed to the Alabama area, I'd be more than happy to give you a few suggestions of places to stop. I still think that ever single state has so much to offer if you're willing to do a bit of research and exploring.

*All photos by moi or the Huz

Tender is the Night

2011-11-10T04:27:00.001-05:00

Tender is the Night
by F. Scott Fitzgerald
★★★★☆

When we first meet Dick and Nicole Diver, a glamorous married couple living a life of leisure in the south of France, we know nothing about who they truly are. We see them only through the eyes of Rosemary, a young actress who becomes completely infatuated with them. As she falls for Dick, we see the story begin to spiral towards disaster, but we aren’t quite sure what’s going to happen.

The second section of the book takes us back to the beginning of the story. We learn how Dick, a psychoanalyst, met Nicole because she was his patient. I think this is essential for the success of the story, because it’s important for the reader to understand that Dick knew what he was getting into when he married her. I didn’t become completely attached to the book until that second section. I need the back story in order to feel anything but distant interest in the characters. Once I was hooked I couldn’t looked away from the doomed love story.

(The Fitzgerald's home where F. Scott wrote part of Tender is the Night)

I’ve read The Great Gatsby, This Side of Paradise, and most of Fitzgerald’s short stories, but this one has a level of rawness and beauty that really struck a chord with me. Some of the lines are just so lovely. For example, read the following and just try to tell me that isn’t the most eloquent way to say that someone liked to look in the mirror…

“He was enough older than Nicole to take pleasure in her youthful vanities and delights, the way she paused fractionally in front of the hall mirror on leaving the restaurant, so that the incorruptible quicksilver could give her back to herself.”

This novel was so fascinating because it’s so autobiographical. Fitzgerald talks about Dick drinks too much and Nicole “ruins” his genius and ambition. These are elements seem to come directly from his own life. That’s exactly how Hemingway described what Zelda did you F. Scott. It’s strange to think about writing a book that’s clearly a thinly veiled reference to your own dysfunctional life.

Apparently there are two versions of this book. The original was published in 1934, while Fitzgerald was alive. The revised version was created by a friend of Fitzgerald’s, Malcolm Cowley, using the author’s notes. It was published in 1951. I’m not sure how I feel about that. It’s strange to think of multiple versions of the same book being out there.

A few elements seem to spring from nowhere, but maybe I just missed something. There were a few references to Lanier and Topsy and at first I didn’t realize that they were their children. Also, their alcoholic friend Abe North’s story seemed to peter off until he only merited a mention later.

(A facsimile edition of the original galley proofs of The Great Gatsby
and me inside the Fitzgerald museum in Alabama)

Regardless, it is full of more brilliance than anything else. The writing completely captured me and in the end, that makes the book well worth reading. I think this may be my favorite Fitzgerald novel because it helps explain the tragedy of his own life.

“There were other letters among whose helpless caesuras lurked darker rhythms.”

“I am a woman and my business is to hold things together.” – Nicole

“A schizophene is well named as a split personality – Nicole was alternately a person to whom nothing need be explained and one to whom nothing could be explained. It was necessary to treat her with active affirmative insistence, keeping the road to reality always open, making the road to escape harder going.”

p.s. While we were in Alabama last week we got to visit the Fitzgerald's home, which is now a museum, see pictures above. Tender is the Night was written there.

*Photos by me and the Huz

Wordless Wednesday: St. Mark's Basilica

2011-11-09T04:26:00.001-05:00

St Mark's Basilica in Venice

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Ten Books That I Read That Were Outside Of My Comfort Zone

2011-11-08T04:16:00.006-05:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for Ten Books That I Read That Were Outside Of My Comfort Zone (whether you liked them or not)

I don’t read a lot of memoirs, self-help books or books about politics or economics. I don’t read these because I’ve learned that I usually don’t enjoy them. There are a few exceptions, but usually books about modern politics/economics bore me. Memoirs seem self-indulgent and gossipy and self-help books just aren’t my thing. Sometimes though, you stumble into new territory and you’re thrilled with what you find.

1) Freakonomics – I was expecting this to be really hard to follow and dry as toast, but it was surprisingly entertaining.

2) Watchmen – My very first graphic novel. A friend convinced me to try it and I was skeptical. Aren’t graphic novels basically just comic books? Nope, they’re amazing.

3) The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court – I do love learning about new things, but I might not have picked this one up if it hadn’t been for my United We Read committee. It was a wonderful read.

4) The Sparrow – A priest in space, doesn’t sound like my cup of tea, but it was SO good!

5) Cesar's Way - Cesar Millan’s books were really valuable to me this year as a brand new dog owner, but they definitely aren’t something I normally would gravitate towards.

6) Ender’s Game – The book that made me realize Science Fiction could be so incredibly fantastic. I love this book.

7) Twilight – Vampires, teen drama, swooning and such, not my style. But I got completely hooked on these, even though they are fluff books, and read the whole series.

8) Glenn Beck's Common Sense – A family member talked me into this one. It’s just not for me.

9) The Art of Racing in the Rain – I don’t do sappy books from animals’ points-of-view. I shouldn’t have made an exception for this one. If I’m going to read something from an animal’s POV I would rather it be Watership Down, because I couldn’t stand this one.

10) How Starbucks Saved My Life – My book club picked this one. It was fine, but it falls it reminded me that I don’t really like those books to begin with.

Image from here.

Back to the Classics 2012

2011-11-07T03:26:00.000-05:00

I'm excited to once again participate in the Back to the Classics challenge in 2012. I'm all about the classics and I'm all about making lists, so this is perfect for me. Sarah Reads Too Much is hosting and there's plenty of time to sign up. The challenge runs from January to December in 2012 and so you have loads of time to complete it.

I decided to at least get an idea of what I'd like to read for the challenge, so I picked a book or two for each category. Here's my possible list...

1) Any 19th Century Classic: Moby Dick (1851) or Bleak House (1853)

2) Any 20th Century Classic: Cold Comfort Farm (1935)

3) Reread a classic of your choice: Gone With the Wind or To Kill a Mockingbird or Sense & Sensibility

4) A Classic Play: A Streetcar Named Desire (1948)

5) Classic Mystery/Horror/Crime Fiction: The Moonstone or Something by H.P. Lovecraft

6) Classic Romance: Lady Chatterly’s Lover or My Antonia

7) Read a Classic that has been translated from its original language to your language: The Count of Monte Cristo

8) Classic Award Winner - To clarify, the book should be a classic which has won any established literary award: The Yearling (won the Pulitzer in 1939)

9) Read a Classic set in a Country that you (realistically speaking) will not visit during your lifetime: The Painted Veil (set in China, published in 1925)

p.s. My post on completing the 2011 challenge will be up in a couple weeks.

Here are the other details from Sarah:

1. Challenge runs from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012. Books started before January 1st do not count, and all links/reviews/comments for each category must be posted in the correct place by December 31st. Feel free to join in at any time, but the end date is December 31.

2. Please feel free to use books in this Challenge toward any other Challenge you may be participating in. However, you must read a different book for each category of this challenge. Audio and e-books are allowed.

3. Please sign up for the Challenge using the linky list (or comment section if you do not have a blog/website). If you would be so kind, please spread the word about this challenge by creating a post on your blog/website and link back to this sign up page.

4. Once the Challenge has begun, you will see a new bar on the left hand side of this blog. This will list the places for you to link/comment your reviews of the book you have read for each category as well as a "wrap up" page. I will not be doing monthly check-in posts this year. I will probably do a "Half Way" post in June. These will be important because....

5. THERE IS A PRIZE THIS YEAR! People who complete the challenge (and I will check that all categories are completed!) will be entered into a random drawing for $30 worth of books (Book Depository will be used for an International Winner). I may have other prizes as well.

John Green is Pretty Awesome

2011-11-04T04:12:00.005-04:00

(Horrible iPhone photos of Green signing my book and speaking)

On Nov. 1st I got to go see John Green speak in Indianapolis. One thing I learned was that the man has some serious teenage groupies, which on one hand is wonderful because he’s reaching a whole new generation of readers. But, on the other hand, it’s annoying to have to sit next to dozens of giggling piles of hormones. Anyway, that’s beside the point and even though I’m only 27, it makes me feel old to say that. What I really want to talk about it the author himself.

So here’s the thing about John Green. Yes, I think his vlogs are hilarious and I really love his books, but seeing him talk in person leaves me with a different reaction. I feel like he’s just a normal guy who I could grab a beer with and I love that. I feel like I could run into him in Indy and have a great conversation about life or books, etc. There are some authors that are so intimidating for one reason or another, but Green isn’t one of them, and that’s a good thing. I think that’s also why his writing is so accessible. You can relate to what he’s saying.

The talk was great, aside from a few awkward audience questions, like “Will you give me a hug?” Really people, that’s never an appropriate question to ask a stranger who is on a stage in front of hundreds of people. I loved hearing him read from his new book, The Fault in Our Stars, though I wished I could keep reading it instead of waiting until I get my pre-ordered copy in January. I got two more books signed by him afterwards and I was reminded of just how much I love hearing authors talk about their work. It always gives me a deeper insight into their work. Just hearing them talk about their lives or writing process allows me to connect a bit more with the work.

One thing that he said has really stuck with me. He referenced a well-known quote about how dogs have it so easy because they know how to be dogs. Then he talked about how people don’t really know how to be people and everyday we have to try to figure out what we’re doing and what the point of it is. It was much more profound when he said it. So, if you haven’t read anything by him, you definitely should. Looking for Alaska or Paper Towns would both be great places to start.

The Marriage Plot

2011-11-03T04:16:00.007-04:00

The Marriage Plot

by Jeffrey Eugenides

★★★★☆

When I read summaries of The Marriage Plot it doesn’t sound that interesting to me. Three Ivy League college kids in the ‘80s graduate and try to figure out what to do with their lives. First there’s Madeleine, a clever girl, except when it comes to love. Then there’s Leonard, the passionate, but troubled man she falls for. Finally we have Mitchell, the intellectual who struggles with the question of faith and his unrequited love for Madeleine. It just doesn’t sound to original. Then I remember who the author is: Jeffrey Eugenides, who wrote Middlesex, which I loved! Suddenly the book is a must read and I know that however simple the plot sounds on the surface, they’ll be a whole different level of depth reached by the end. I’m so glad I Brenna at Literary Musings sent her copy my way!!!

So here’s the things about the summary, it doesn’t capture anything about why the book is good. It misses all of the nuances when you smack a “troubled twenty-somethings” label on it or reduce it to another love triangle book. Sure, there’s a love triangle, but the reason it is interesting is because it’s not really about the love or the triangle, it’s about the people caught up in it and what they’re thinking about life in general, not just love. You’re doing the book a huge disservice if you try to put a simple label on something so complicated. Imagine calling Middlesex a coming-of-age story and thinking that covered it!

The book rotates between all three characters’ lives. I particularly loved Mitchell's parts, where he's traveling and trying to figure out what he believes. I’ve found that when I travel on my own I learn a lot about myself. You have so much more time for internal dialogue and you’re put in situations outside of your comfort zone that test you in different ways. His experiences rang true for me. I also loved reading about Madeleine’s literary pursuits. Eugenides manages to weave dozens of references to classic books and to make those century old plots relevant in the story.

I didn’t love this one as much as Middlesex, but I loved so many aspects of it. I also love reading a book that gives me something to chew on. There were a few parts that became repetitive or lagged a bit, but the amount of literary eye candy I got was enough to balance it out for me. After just reading Middlemarch and The Portrait of a Lady this year, I loved reading a book that paralleled those in some ways.

The book doesn’t have the same epic scale or sense of humor as Middlesex, but it also doesn’t have the same disconnected aloof style of The Virgin Suicides. It feels like a book written by an author who may have found his groove. He can capture characters beautifully and lay them out in a way that is both interesting and accessible. In The Marriage Plot he has created a world that is easy to connect to, but also gives you so much to ponder. His story is about trying to figure out who you are, both in relation to other people and to the world at large. It’s about the unexpected paths your life can take and the people who you didn’t know would one day be important. I know that I’ll be reading whatever he writes next, even if it takes another decade.

"She thought a writer should work harder writing a book than she did reading it."

“There were some books that reached through the noise of life to grab you by the collar and speak only of the truest things.”

p.s. On a side note, I wish the book had a different title or cover because I read this on vacation and it looked like I was reading a marriage self help book. I was reading it while we were waiting to be seated at a restaurant and a waiter came up and asked what I was reading. I told him and he said the title made it sound like a Disney movie about kids trying to keep their parents together.

For some other great thoughts on this one, check out A Thousand Books With Quotes, Literary Musings, Things Mean A Lot, Nomadreader, and Farm Lane Book Blog

R.I.P. Challenge - Complete!

2011-11-02T08:32:00.002-04:00

I completed the Peril the First and finished the following books...

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

More Early Horror Works by H.P. Lovecraft

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness

That's about the order in which I enjoyed them as well, with my favorites at the top. A huge thanks to Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings for hosting the R.I.P. Challenge. This was so much fun and I can't wait to participate again next year!

Wordless Wednesday: Bethesda Fountain

2011-11-02T04:28:00.000-04:00

Bethesda Fountain in New York City

More Wordless Wednesday here.

Photo by moi.

Top Ten Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About

2011-11-01T03:37:00.003-04:00

This week's Top Ten from The Broke and the Bookish asks for Top Ten Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About (cry, laugh, hurl across the room, etc.)

1) One Day – If you’ve read this, I’m pretty sure you can figure out what part made me want to throw it across the room.

2) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – I read this one back in 2005 and it really resonated with me. It was easy to connect with some of Egger’s experiences and it just felt so raw and honest to me.

3) The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – Oh my gosh, this book gutted me. It’s so beautiful, but it’s also incredibly tragic.

4) The Handmaid's Tale – This one gave me an overwhelming feeling of fear. It’s terrifying to think the future could end up like this.

5) Truth & Beauty – Author Ann Patchett talks about her real-life friendship with Lucy Grealy, the author of Autobiography of a Face. Grealy’s life was filled by a continuous battle against a cancer that disfigured her face and the emotional problems that her disease led to. I just felt so sad for both Lucy and Ann.

6) Harry Potter 5, 6 and 7 – I cried when Sirius, Dumbledore and Dobby died. I know people have to die in a war, but it still broke my heart.

7) Everything by Jonathan Franzen – Ugh, his books just aren’t for me. They make me want to punch someone in the face and scream at the characters to stop whining!

8) A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – This book overwhelmed me with feelings of love and nostalgia for the characters. It made me think of my obsession with reading as a child.

9) The Black Dahlia – I just hated this book. I don’t know why I finished it, but it definitely gave me a strong feeling of disgust the whole time.

10) Of Mice and Men – Again, this book will seriously break you heart into a million pieces.

Image from here.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

2011-10-31T04:12:00.002-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone! In honor of the holiday I decided to post on a great spooky read.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle
by Shirley Jackson
★★★★★

"My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance."

So begins the short novel the has become one of my new favorite October reads. The Blackwood sisters live with their crazy uncle on the outskirts of a small town. They're social pariahs, cast out of polite society, though at the beginning we don't know why. It has a bit of a Grey Gardens feel to it, but with more of the tragedy and less of the humor.

This story unravels so beautifully, giving you just enough new information with each page. Jackson has such a flair for maintaining suspense. If you haven't already read her short story "The Lottery," go do so immediately. Then you'll understand what I'm talking about when I say she can walk the line between disturbing and thought-provoking, while at the same time giving you some serious chills.

The creepy factor is high. The ending in incredibly satisfying. The writing is fantastic. I can ask for nothing more from a gothic story.

This was my final read for the R.I.P. Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings.

For more R.I.P reviews visit here.

Wherever You Go

2011-10-30T03:36:00.004-04:00

Wherever You Go
by Joan Leegant
★★★☆

Three disconnected stories of Jewish Americans in Israel culminate with a tragic event. Each of the three main characters has family issues that, in one way or another, convince them to travel to Israel. Mark Greenglass, a former addict who turned his life around and because a Talmud teacher, Aaron Blinder, an academic failure and the son of a successful author and finally, Yona, a New Yorker who loses herself in meaningless relationships and denies her true passion: art.

Mark's family has a hard time accepting his new beliefs. Aaron has a hard time accepting his father's work and fame. Yona hurt her sister deeply ten years earlier and is now trying to reconcile with her. The three individuals are incredibly different and remain separate for the majority of the book. At times I felt like I didn't get to know them as well as I would have liked because it does bounce between the stories so quickly.

Leegant focuses on the role religion plays in a person's life. Should it justify any behavior? Should it come between personal relationships? What are the driving motivations behind our actions that we often attribute to faith? All of which are fascinating questions, though I don't think the books' goal is to answer any of them.

At times, the story reminded me of Nicole Krauss' Great House or Everything Beautiful Began After. Both books feature multiple characters who are, at first, unconnected and are brought together by a major event. The difference, for me, was the writing. Both of those books rely heavily on beautiful prose and that's what made me connect to them in the end.

So, overall, an interesting read and one that's perfect for anyone who's particularly interested in Israel or looking at the role religion plays in your life. I wish I could have connected more with the main characters, but I'm still glad I read it.

I received a review copy of this book from the author and I read it as part of the Read-Along hosted by Books and Movies and she reads and reads.

Here's Part One of the discussion.

A Letter: A Discovery of Witches

2011-10-28T04:35:00.002-04:00

A Discovery of Witches
by Deborah E. Harkness
★★★

Dear A Discovery of Witches,

When I heard you were “Twilight for adults” I was skeptical and a bit hesitant to pick you up. Then you were available as a Kindle library loan and I thought what the heck.

When I started reading you, you reminded me more of The Historian than Twilight and I thought the Oxford setting and academia references were interesting. But then you had a vampire who sparkled and a yoga class for “creatures” and I was became wary. Really, the vampire is going to get mad if someone asks what he likes to eat for dinner when they are cooking for him? I think that’s a pretty valid question, even if he has been answering it for centuries.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed reading parts of you, but I do wish you had avoided some of the Edward/Bella clichés. I don’t care if the vampire can’t get over some woman’s smell and I get that a vampire’s skin is going to feel cool against the “hot skin of a warm blood.” Also, it’s actually a bit creepy (not sexy) to have him hunting/stalking her, even if he is “falling” for her.

Look, it’s not you, it’s me. I’m just a bit sick of the vampire thing to be honest. I don’t want to read the word chiseled to describe another gorgeous vampire. I don’t want two paragraphs on how someone smells like cloves… in every single chapter.

I really did like some of your supporting characters. You had some great sassy women (I’m looking at you Sarah) and I loved how the house became a character in its own right. But frankly, it wasn’t enough to make me really like you. There were too many repetitive plots and when I reached the end and realized I had just read 600 pages not knowing you weren’t going to resolve ANYTHING I was more than miffed. If you want to have a sequel, that’s fine, just give me some sort of heads up next time.

Sincerely,
Burned out on vampires in the Midwest

I read this for the R.I.P. Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings.

For more R.I.P reviews visit here.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

2011-10-27T04:01:00.001-04:00

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
by Tom Franklin
★★★★☆

I rated this one shortly after finishing it, now almost two months have passed and I hadn’t reviewed it yet (bad book blogger). As I started to write the review I was second-guessing my rating, but the more I thought about the book, the more I remembered why I liked it so much.

The beauty of the book lies not in the twists or the turns of the plot, though those are wonderful, but in the characters themselves. The main two characters are both incredibly flawed and you aren’t sure how you feel about them. Your opinion of them may vary as more details are revealed, but you’re still left feeling deep sympathy and attachment to them.

Silas and Larry meet as young boys. Silas is black, Larry is white and they live in Mississippi during the 1970s, but somehow they form a bond. Their lives are taken in drastically different directions as they grow up. Larry was accused of kidnapping and murdering a young woman while he was a teenager and though he was never convicted, the shadow of the accusation has tainted his entire life. Silas, on the other hand, left town for college, returning to his hometown years later to live a respectable life as a constable. He hides the fact that he and Larry used to be friends.

This story has layers of secrets and the descriptions of the south are perfect. It moves quickly and is incredibly hard to put down. It’s not a thriller, it’s just wonderfully paced. It's a great read for anyone who loves well-drawn characters or a just a good, dark story.

Here are a few more reviews of this southern gem…

books i done read
Books and Movies
Eclectic/Eccentric

I read this for the R.I.P. Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings.

For more R.I.P reviews visit here.

More Early Horror Works: H.P. Lovecraft

2011-10-26T04:16:00.001-04:00

More Early Horror Works
by H.P. Lovecraft
★★★★

How have I never read H.P. Lovecraft before? Seriously, this is just wrong. One of the first authors I ever fell in love with was Edgar Allen Poe. I remember reading The Black Cat and realizing that not all books were like the happy-go-lucky Babysitters’ Club series. It was a wonderful thing to discover. After that I read all of Poe’s work and developed a deep love for dark tales.

Yet, somehow, even though people speak of Lovecraft in the same breath as Poe, I’ve never read anything by him. Thank goodness I finally picked up this short collection. It gave me just the taste I needed to know I want to read more.

This collection includes The Alchemist, The Picture in the House and The Tomb. The Alchemist was my favorite. I have a feeling this isn’t Lovecraft’s best work. The sheer fact that it’s called “More Early Horror Works” suggests there are better selections to be hard. But after really enjoying these, I’m hopeful I’ll love his other works.

Have you guys read H.P. Lovecraft and if so, what should I read next of his works?

I read this for the R.I.P. Challenge hosted by Stainless Steel Droppings.

For more R.I.P reviews visit here.

The Nobodies Album

2011-10-24T04:04:00.000-04:00

The Nobodies Album
by Carolyn Parkhurst
★★★★☆

A widowed author, a rock star son, a murder mystery, unresolved family issues, this book kind of has it all.

The story bounces back and forth between the main plot, which follows author, Octavia Frost, whose adult son, rock star Milo, is arrested for murder of his girlfriend and a secondary plot. Those portions are chapters from the author’s novels and are part of a collection called The Nobodies Album, which contains the rewritten endings of her books.

At first it was jarring (at least on the audio) to switch between the fictional stories and the author’s life, but after awhile you get into each of the stories within the larger story. It’s really beautifully told. I found myself forgetting that Octavia isn’t a real author and I wanted to read some of her books, particularly The Human Slice.

Part of me, the cynical side I suppose, thought maybe this was a way for the author to fit a bunch of ideas for books into a single book. But even as I say that, I realized that it still worked. It doesn’t feel forced, it just feels like an author reflecting on her books, her “children.” These things that she created and now wishes she could change. It’s about so much more than changing books though; it’s about living a life of regret and realizing you can’t change what’s already happened.

I’ve never read anything by Parkhurst before, but I kept thinking about what an engrossing voice she has. I went back and forth on my rating, because though I really enjoyed it while I was reading it, I think I’ve grown to like it even more in the past few weeks. I keep thinking about new elements of the story and how they say so much more than they seem to at first. It’s almost like the book is just trying to tell a story, but it can’t help but be profound. It was an incredibly satisfying read.

"Why do we think that knowing the events of someone's life gives us insight into the person they are? Certainly we react to the things that happen to us, we are not unchanged by them, but there is no format to it. You may know that a cascade of water can wear away stone, but you can't predict what shape the rock will take at any given moment."

Check out Sandy’s review, which convinced me to read this one in the first place.

Dewey Update

2011-10-23T03:00:00.001-04:00

***New update at the beginning of hour 20***

Pages Read: 1,096 (I broke the 1,000 mark!)
 Books Finished: 3 (75% through the 4th)
Breaks Taken: I made a cup of tea to keep me going
(last time: I slept. I wanted to take a "quick nap" and I've been asleep for almost 2 hours. Fail.)
 Coffee Consumed: 3 cups + 2 Starbucks Doubleshots
Music Listened To: The Head and the Heart, Cat Power , Death Cab for Cutie, Max Bruch
Current Location: My chair in my library and the front porch swing.
Biggest Distraction:  My snoring husband and the desire to go to sleep
(Past times: Sleep, oops. My dog, who thinks it's hilarious to grab a corner of my blanket and run with it. Also visiting other people's blogs and tweeting.)
Mini-Challenges Completed: 11

(The books I read and finished, plus my kindle, which has A Discovery of Witches, which I am 78% done with)

Pet Hour 19 Mini-Challenge, hosted by A Buckeye Girl

My dog Oliver is only 10 months old, so he still has that puppy energy, despite his giant size. He has been, by far, my biggest distraction during the read-a-thon. He wanted to play tug-of-war with my blanket and he wanted me to take him outside to play fetch. But he also curled up with me and took a nap and kept me warm. The distraction is definitely worth it!

Re-reading Hour 16 Mini-Challenge, hosted by The Blue Stocking Society...

My top 5 favorite re-reads are as follows:
1) The Harry Potter series - These books never fail to get under my skin
2) Pride & Prejudice - Each time I read it the experience is deeper and I take away something new.
3) The Book Thief - A WWII story told from death's point of view, sounds creepy, it's not.
4) The Time Traveler's Wife - This story is just beautiful and never fails to make me cry.
5) Tuck Everlasting - I don't know what it is about this book, but it is bittersweet and wonderful.

(Ollie finally fell asleep - Yay, but then I did too - boo)

I got my groove back guys! I put down both of the books I'm in the middle of, because they were just not doing it. Then I picked up And the Pursuit of Happiness and it was so freakin' good! It got me through my slump and now I'm back in the game. Woo hoo!

Mid-Event Survey:
1. What are you reading right now? A Discovery of Witches
2. How many books have you read so far? Only finished 1, boo
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Um, "And the Pursuit of Happiness"
4. Did you have to make any special arrangements to free up your whole day? No
5. Have you had many interruptions? Too many, usually my dog
How did you deal with those? Asked my husband to please, please take him outside.
6. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I haven't read as much as the last one.
7. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? No, I love how it works!
8. What would you do differently, as a Reader or a Cheerleader, if you were to do this again next year? Have more caffeinated beverages in the house.
9. Are you getting tired yet? I just accidentally took a 2 hour nap, so yes.
10. Do you have any tips for other Readers or Cheerleaders, something you think is working well for you that others may not have discovered? Read short books.

Publish Post

Here's my book title sentence for the Hour Nine mini-challenge hosted by Midnight Book Girl.

"In the time of butterflies a good man is hard to find in the woods."

Hanging in there so far, but this morning has been way too full of distractions (aka a dog dropping a tennis ball in my lap ever 5 seconds). Here' my first mini-challenge though.

Mini Challenge #1 Character Photo: From Alyce at At Home With Books

I'm currently reading "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and so I took a picture of an old Fisher Price Castle.

Photos by moi*

The Avid Reader's Musings

The Illustrated Man

Reading the States: Arkansas

The Worst Hard Time

Wordless Wednesday: Greenwich Village Fountain

Top Ten Books I'd Want on a Desert Island

Shakespeare Reading Month: Othello and As You Like It

Reading the States: Arizona

A Monster Calls

Wordless Wednesday: Prague Old Town Clock

Top Ten Books I'd Recommend To Someone Who Doesn't Read Classics/Nonfiction/Graphic Novels

The Fault in Our Stars

New Year's Resolutions for 2012

Reading the States: Alaska

Moby Dick Readalong: Part One

Wordless Wednesday: Northern California

Top Ten Authors I Wish Would Write Another Book

101 Dalmatians

1001 Books to Read Before You Die Challenge

Reading the States: Alabama

In the Garden of the Beasts

Wordless Wednesday: Edinburgh

Outlander

Case Histories

Happy New Year

The Paris Wife

Perfect Fifths

Wordless Wednesday: Golden Gate Bridge

Top Ten Favorite Books I Read in 2011

Christmas is Awesome

Christmas Movies

Chaos Walking Series

Wordless Wednesday: Merry Christmas!

Top Ten Books I Hope Santa Brings

Jane Austen Made Me Do It

2011 End Of Year Book Survey

Shakespeare and Comapany Bookstore

And the Pursuit of Happiness

The Great Bridge

Wordless Wednesday: Garmisch-Partenkirchen Picnic

A Study in Scarlet

The Grey King

Books Lead to More books

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Wordless Wednesday: NYC, old and new

Top Ten Childhood Faves

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows

The House of Mirth

The End

Wordless Wednesday: Frankfurt

Top Ten Books On My TBR List For Winter

Back to the Classics Challenge 2011 - Completed!

Scout, Atticus, and Boo

Wordless Wednesday: Thanksgiving

Top Ten Authors I'd Love To Have At My Thanksgiving Feast

Middlemarch

My book club is awesome

2012 TBR Pile Challenge and Finishing the Series Challenge

Wordless Wednesday: Castello di Amorosa

Ten Books That Have Been On My Shelf For The Longest But I've Never Read

Lending of books (aka my babies)

Alabama Slammer

Tender is the Night

Wordless Wednesday: St. Mark's Basilica

Ten Books That I Read That Were Outside Of My Comfort Zone

Back to the Classics 2012

John Green is Pretty Awesome

The Marriage Plot

R.I.P. Challenge - Complete!

Wordless Wednesday: Bethesda Fountain

Top Ten Books I Had VERY Strong Emotions About

We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Wherever You Go

A Letter: A Discovery of Witches

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

More Early Horror Works: H.P. Lovecraft

Top Ten Books To Read During Halloween

The Nobodies Album

Dewey Update