Archive for July, 2010
Friday, July 30th, 2010
I don’t know what I expected from this book but I didn’t get it.
Scratch that. I DO know what I expected. But I didn’t get it.
That’s not to say the book isn’t good. It is. It’s just much more serious than I expected.
In “The Lovers”, Yvonne returns to the place of her honeymoon as a widow hoping to immerse herself in happier times. Instead she finds herself plagued by memories and regrets. I opened the cover looking for a character to sympathize, grieve and remember with. Instead I found Yvonne. I spent the entire narrative alternating between pitying her and well, not particularly LIKING her. And yet – she’s much more real than the woman I anticipated. I didn’t encounter a glossy widow traversing a painful but sweet grieving process. No, Yvonne was displayed in all her neurotic, past dwelling, self centered glory.
I loved that she is a history teacher as it elegantly encapsulates her personality. Her thoughts and emotions occupy the past to the exclusion of many present realities – including her daughter’s growth into a self sufficient woman. She is unable to even fully understand herself. On one hand she complains that everyone sees and interacts with her through the filters of “history teacher, widow, mother, etc” without recognizing her depth and complexity. And yet, she never actually displays any complexity. It is only after a trip gone even more awry than my expectations of the book, that she shows any sign of moving beyond her self- imposed walls. In the end is the beginning of redemption and the journey there is satisfyingly bumpy.
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
I’ve heard of – and experienced – many kinds of guilt but recently I discovered a new one…reader’s guilt. This wasn’t my typical reader guilt spawned by the idea that I “should” be reading more intellectual/important/whatever novels. No. This came from the realization that I hadn’t picked up my “backup book” in awhile.
Do you have one of those – a book you keep stashed in case of unforeseen downtime that leaves you without whatever novel(s) with which you’re currently engaged? Mine is usually an easy read that I want to finish but am not fully engaged in it. (Although some of my backups have been known to become primaries once I’m into them.)
So. I realized I had not opened my backup in almost a week. And suddenly I felt guilty for abandoning a character at the height of his dilemma. I don’t know if this is more reflective of the writing or my neurosis. Most likely it’s pretty even. But how about you? Have you experienced Reader’s Guilt in any form or fashion?
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
- Grab your current read
- Open to a random page
- Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
- BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
- Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
“The Lovers” by Vendela Vida was released on June 22. Review coming soon!
“Lovely,” she said, examining the shiniest one. “Nice to see you” she added, unable to contain herself. She was so happy to be with him.
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Hardback fiction new releases:
07/27/10
Super Sad True Love Story: A Novel (Gary Shtenyngart)
The Pirate Devlin (Mark Keating)
One Flight Up: A Novel (Susan Fales-Hill)*
I Curse the River of Time (Per Petterson)
Dragongirl (The Dragon Riders of Pern) (Todd McCaffrey)*
The Dervish House (Ian McDonald)
The Clouds Beneath the Sun: A Novel (Mackenzie Ford)
The Reluctant Mage (Fisherman’s Children) (Karen Miller)
07/28/2010
More Church Folk (Michele Andrea Bowen)
The Four Fingers of Death: A Novel (Rick Moody)
Bunker (Andrea Maria Schenkel)*
The Iron Dragon’s Daughter (Michael Swanwick)
07/30/2010
Clementine (Cherie Priest)
07/31/2010
Peresus: A Novel (Richard Matturro)*
The Juniper Tree & Other Blue Rose Stories (Peter Straub)
*Added to my TBR list
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Here’s the weekly comparison of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times Top 5 bestsellers in Fiction Hardback.
| Wall Street Journal Top 5 |
New York Times Top 5 |
| The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Steig Larsson |
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Steig Larsson |
| The Search Nora Roberts |
Fly Away Home Jennifer Weiner* |
| The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Stephenie Meyer |
The Search Nora Roberts |
| Private James Patterson |
The Help Kathryn Stockton |
| Fly Away Home Jennifer Weiner* |
Private James Patterson |
*New this week
Friday, July 23rd, 2010
“The Scent of Rain and Lightening” by Nancy Pickard
Published May 4, 2010
The book starts with 26 year old Jody Linder watching her uncles park their trucks outside “her parents” house. Her parents have been dead (Dad) and missing (Mom) since she was three. She is immediately suspicious as the three ranchers are in clean clothes and have shown up unannounced. And in fact, they’re there to tell Jody that the man jailed for murdering her father 23 years before is being released.
So begins a classic mystery with an emotional undertow of a raging river. Jody is an intriguing character: independent yet fiercely family centered, strong yet suspiciously wary of good times. She grew up sheltered by her grandparents but simultaneously in the fishbowl of a small farming community where her family’s tragedy was the biggest scandal…ever.
Pickard draws out the story and its players beautifully. After the initial scene, the story flashes back to the events leading up to the murder/disappearance. It then proceeds linearly until catching back up to present day and moving into the resolution. Although the facts seem clear cut, the fate of Jody’s mother infuses the pages with a suspense that seeps into other aspects. I found myself questioning everything…and being wrong with every theory. The end was completely unexpected without any hint of contrivance.
I’m very glad I picked up “The Scent of Rain and Lightening”. Fair warning – once you pick it up, you’re not going to want to put it down.
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
I’ve always considered myself a fairly prolific reader. There have been times in my life when time wasn’t available to read. There has even been the rare phase when I lacked inclination. But for the most part when left to my own devices I tend to inhale books in rather quick succession.
That’s not to say I’m a very “sophisticated” reader. I’m drawn towards those stories that contain supernatural elements or futuristic ideas. Give me a wizard throwing a fireball at a dragon or a spaceship piloted by a woman with a telekinetic connection to her cat. If I run out of those I’m happy with a good mystery or horror. It’s only recently that I’ve begun to regularly venture outside those “safe” genres. I was just looking over my TBR list and noticing what I’ve read, and what I’ve added, lately. I find that more and more I’m leaning towards historical fiction and just straight up good stories with nary a spell book to be found. I’m not sure if that means I’m maturing as a reader (or maturing in general) or if it’s just another shift in taste – kind of like when I discovered I actually like broccoli now.
So what about you? How have your tastes changed through the years? Do you find that you “crave” different genres in different phases of your life?
Monday, July 19th, 2010
Here’s the weekly comparison of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times Top 5 bestsellers in Fiction Hardback.
| Wall Street Journal Top 5 |
New York Times Top 5 |
| The Search Nora Roberts* |
The Search Nora Roberts* |
| The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Stephenie Meyer |
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Steig Larsson |
| Private James Patterson |
Private James Patterson |
| The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest Steig Larsson |
Sizzling Sixteen Janet Evanovich |
| Sizzling Sixteen Janet Evanovich |
The Help Kathryn Stockton |
*New this week
Hardback fiction new releases:
07/20/10
Hemingway Cutthroat: A Mystery (Michael Atkinson)
The Blood of Lorraine (Barbara Pope)
Caper (Stanley Hastings Series #17) (Parnell Hall)
The Bird of the River (Kage Baker)
Suck it Up (Brian Meehl)*
Star Wars: The Old Republic: Fatal Alliance (Sean Williams)
A Brush with Death (Elizabeth J Duncan)*
The Anatomy of Wings (Karen Foxlee)*
The Rembrandt Affair (Daniel Silva)
Wanting Shiela Dead (Gregor Demakrian Series #25) (Jane Haddam)
No Place for Heroes (Laura Restrepo)*
Dead in the Dregs: A Babe Stern Mystery (Peter Lewis)
The Past is a Foreign Country (Gianrico Carofiglio)
A Spider on the Stairs (Cassandra Chan)
Shadow Play (Rajorshi Chakraborti)
Internecine (David J Schow)*
Shadow Zone (Iris and Roy Johansen)*
Troublemaker, Book 1 (Alex Barnaby Series #3), Vol 3 (Janet Evanovich)
Power Slide: A Darcy Lott Mystery (Susan Dunlap)
People of the Longhouse (W Michael & Kathleen O’Neal Gear)
07/22/2010
The Doctor and the Diva (Pamela Dorman Books) (Adrienne McDonnell)
*Added to my TBR list
Friday, July 16th, 2010
Published 06/22/2010
As you may have guessed, the movie “16 Candles” plays a rather significant role in this book, shaping the lead character’s view of her life and the world. This is where I must disclose that I’ve never actually SEEN the movie. However, I don’t believe that omission lessened my enjoyment of the book at all. Key scenes are described in enough detail that I almost feel like watching it now would be a waste of time.
“32 Candles” is written from the perspective of Davie – a young black woman who spends her first fifteen years in rural Mississippi. She’s the abused daughter of the local…um…floozy. After a particularly brutal beating at the age of 5 she vows to quit speaking – a decision that hardly makes her loved among her class mates. It’s a vow she keeps until she runs away from her mother’s, and peers’, abuse. She lands in LA under the tutelage of a rough edged but kind(ish) club owner where she blossoms. Throughout the book, there is a common element behind everything Davie does or says. James, the unattainable love of her life, isn’t always at the forefront but the twisted relationships she had with him and his sisters (or the lack thereof) are a constant driving force.
The tone of this book is frank and honest. I often felt as if sitting with a good friend and listening as she confessed her life story. And what a story it is! It’s impossible not to feel a bit of sympathy – and a lot of pride – for Davie. But when “behind the scenes” plots are revealed three quarters of the way through, they reveal a side of her that suddenly complicates those feelings. It’s as if Carter reaches into the soul of every woman ever rejected or scorned and displayed their hidden fantasies. On the surface is a sense of appropriate horror at the revelations. But beneath glows a fierce pride for what Davie does – and sympathy for when things turn ugly in her life. When she comments that she’s been “handed an invitation to Crazy”, it’s easy to nod in complete understanding.
“32 Candles” is definitely chick-lit. I can’t think of any men in my life that would enjoy it. But it is one of my favorite books so far this year. Even the ending – despite being cliché – wraps up the book with a satisfying sweetness. Normally I would have been frustrated with the last few pages but honestly, it works perfectly this time. This is a must read. I’d dare say this is even a re-read.
Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher to review; however, I did not receive any compensation for this review….unless you count the book!
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Selling used books may be a necessary evil for those with boxes and cases and stacks of unwanted books. They collect dust and take up valuable space that can be used for something other than storage. The market for used books is an exploding online industry. In the past few years, several sites specializing in used books have become very successful, garnering a loyal customer base. If you have unwanted textbooks, paperbacks or hard cover books collecting dust in a corner, now is the time to see how much they are worth and to reclaim that space.
Many people form a close attachment to their books and hesitate to part with them while others read a book once and never open it again. Regardless of which category you fall into, if you have ever read a book, chances are there are several cluttering your home. At one time, unwanted books were primarily sent to landfills, wasting space and filling them unnecessarily. Now there are plenty of opportunities to recycle the books, especially textbooks, for someone else to use or enjoy. Before you box them up and drop them at a local library or charity, you should know that selling used books can be profitable.
For the most competitive pricing, the majority of people use an online service that specializes in buying and selling used books. There are a few things to keep in mind when choosing one of these services. Each vendor will determine whether the books are in “good”, “fair” or “poor” condition when they are received, based on their own definitions. This may negatively affect the price originally quoted for the book. Once a book is received and processed, very few sites will send the book back if you change your mind, or are unhappy with the new price quote.
Many sites buying or selling used books provide a label that covers basic shipping charges and offers the option of sending payment via check or to a PayPal account. The check may take seven to ten days to be received. The PayPal account can be debited sooner, but may carry transfer fees. A little research can help you decide which method is right for you. The entire process takes approximately fifteen business days. For best the results, read the FAQ’s and customer comments before deciding which site to use.
For more information on this topic, visit our web site at www.ckybooks.com. And happy de-cluttering!
