The House of the Seven Tails

~ Sunday Salon ~

2012-01-29T16:26:00.000-05:00

I’m having a lazy Sunday after a kind of crazy week. Crazy with cats! I’ve been emailing, calling and talking with rescue organizations, shelters, veterinarians and their staff and foster homes. Several people have offered to help me get the 2 abandoned cats(Pip and Annie, thanks, Ti!) and the little guy (Edgar) who showed up last month, neutered and spayed, so we don’t add to the cat population problem. That's an issue that drives me nuts! Getting the cats fixed will probably help getting them placement or a home, too. Until then they’ll stay here...so I can get attached to them!

I wish we could keep them all. I think Pip and Annie will be happier in a home with a few less cats. Pip was the only cat in the home he lived in for almost a year and Annie doesn't seem to be a big fan of her own kind! She hisses and growls at other cats quite a bit. There are a lot of personalities here and some of the cats are having a little more difficulty adjusting than others. But most of the time I’m surprised and impressed by how well they’re all getting along. Pip and Annie are young and play with Edgar and Lola a lot. Sometimes some of the older cats, like Huxley and Magoo, join in which is great since they need the exercise!

I spent some rather mindless time today watching a couple of British detective shows on Netflix. They have some really good ones like Bird on A Wire and Rosemary & Thyme. I also discovered that Shameless, on Showtime now, was a British series about 8 years ago. Very funny. I also spent some time reading The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen today and I’m hoping to finish Norwegian Wood.

I hope you’re all having a wonderful Sunday!
Happy Reading!

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

2012-01-26T12:02:00.000-05:00

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Date Published: September 13, 2011
Publisher: Doubleday
Pages: 400
ISBN: 978-0385534635
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5

Book Summary: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

True love or not, the game must play out, and the fates of everyone involved, from the cast of extraordinary circus performers to the patrons, hang in the balance, suspended as precariously as the daring acrobats overhead.

My Thoughts: The Night Circus is an amazing book that engages all of your senses and impacts every emotion. I’ve read very few books with plots that involve fantasy and magic. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to read The Night Circus although I’ve always loved the circus. The reviews I read by bloggers and critics were extremely positive and then, one day while shopping in a bookstore, I saw a hardcover copy of this book for the first time. It’s a breathtakingly beautiful book with a gorgeous cover and very detailed graphics throughout the book. I didn’t hesitate to purchase a copy. When I read it, I discovered that the beautiful design of the book is lifted from the pages of this amazing story and Erin Morgenstern’s very detailed images of the circus.

Ms. Morgenstern transports you to a different world with her detailed, lush descriptions of every feature of the circus from the grass on which the circus tents sit to the food and drink available for the patrons. Reading this book was like having my most wondrous dream become a reality. It’s simply enchanting. The circus in these pages is called Le Cirque des Rêves, The Circus of Dreams because that’s what it is. Ms. Morgenstern’s alluring, lyrical and rich prose brings the vivid images of the circus to life enabling readers to ‘see‘ her vision in all its glory. Ever word feels specifically chosen to enhance Ms. Morgenstern’s amazingly creative vision I felt like I could see and smell the exhibits, the clothing and food detailed in these pages when I closed my eyes.

There’s a host of interesting, eccentric characters in The Night Circus. Many are developed only to the degree necessary for their role. Their secrets and mysterious nature serve to enhance the magical world of the circus. Celia and Marco, the main characters, are the most detailed, fully-developed. They are young children in the early chapters of the book when they are being educated and groomed to compete against one another. Marco is often evasive and remains a bit of an enigma for most of the book. There were several times in the story when I wasn’t sure he could be or should be trusted.

Celia is a sweet, smart young girl who grows into a mature, complex woman. She’s intelligent, kind, emotional, strong and reserved. Celia cannot separate her professional and her private life much as she’d like to. As her worlds become more hopelessly and inextricably intertwined, she struggles desperately to juggle what is required of her with what she desires seeking, as well, to avoid harming anyone. Celia knows something must be sacrificed to make everything work but she’s not sure what that is. Can she preserve the world of the circus and bring the competition to an end without anyone losing?

Le Cirque des Rêves is a world of beauty, elegance, laughter and light. But, as in many Sadness, worry, and uncertainly linger beneath the beauty and merriment heightening the suspense and mystery of the circus world. Ms. Morgenstern has searched the depths of her imagination to give us this captivating story thereby encouraging us to use our own imagination as we read The Night Circus. This is a book that must be read, experienced for anyone to fully understand the wonder and beauty in its pages. I highly recommend The Night Circus for everyone. You won’t be disappointed.

Erin Morgenstern’s website. Be sure to check it out!

~ ~ Wondrous Words Wednesday ~ ~

2012-01-25T09:16:00.000-05:00

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Bermudaonion's Weblog where we share words encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun (please do!) Be sure to leave a link to your post over at Bermudaonion's Weblog.

The following words are from No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie (ARC copy)

“The current, swift here as the river made its way towards the roar of the weir below Hambleden Mill, was a treacherous trap for the unwary or overconfident.”

1. Weir
: a dam in a stream or river to raise the water level or divert its flow
: a fence or enclosure set in a waterway for taking fish

“And if it meant leaving the Met, she would leave, but she would not be fobbed off quietly with a token gold watch and more hollow promises.”

2. Fob off
: to put (someone) off by deception or trickery
: to cheat someone by substituting something spurious or inferior; palm off

These words come from The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine

"She had grown up to be a snob, it was true. But she was only protecting what she thought was important. She had been officious even as a child."

1. Officious
: objectionably aggressive in offering one's unrequested and unwanted services, help, or advice; meddlesome

“If Amber had been rubbing their hands together and muttering how ‘umble she was, she could not have been more obsequious.”

2. Obsequious
: characterized by or showing servile complaisance or deference; fawning
" And on and on it went, this sycophantic barrage."

3. Sycophant
: A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential people; a fawning parasite

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~

2012-01-24T09:50:00.000-05:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. In this meme, share the opening paragraph(s) of a book you've decided to read based on the paragraph(s). There was no question for me that I wanted to review this book after reading an excerpt from it. I’m really looking forward to experiencing this promising debut. A few different passages from this book can be found on-line, if you‘re interested.

Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea and read Diane's selection this week and be sure to visit and read the contributions of other participants. Chances are you’ll find at least one book to add to your wish list!

Night Swim by Jessica Keener

Prelude

Mickey Fineburg’s email brings everything back again.

Hi, Sarah. Remembering those good ol’ days in the neighborhood. Saw your CDs online. Sampled the links. Wow! Impressive. How did you end up in California?

I kissed Mickey under a broken pool table in my basement. We were eight, his lips warm as play dough, pressing with earnest intention. I pressed back, happy and unafraid, oblivious to Mickey’s younger brother watching us. That night at the dinner table Mother looked stern and surprised. She said: Mickey’s mother called me. You’re too young to start, Sarah.

Start what? I wondered.

I do a quick search online. His company bio says he resides in Greenwich, Connecticut, after living in London for twenty-three years. Married with three children. I write Mickey back - “Thank you so much. I moved west after high school. Just read your company bio. Did you like living overseas?”

What are your thoughts about these 2 opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

~ Mailbox Monday ~

2012-01-23T10:11:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme originally created and hosted by Marcia of A girl and her books and hosted this month by Alyce of At Home With Books. Below are the titles I received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the course of the past week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists! I didn’t receive any review books this week but I did receive two books I’m really looking forward to reading!

Gillespie and I by Jane Harris (for review)
It would appear that I am to be the first to write a book on Gillespie. Who, if not me, was dealt that hand?

As she sits in her Bloomsbury home, with her two birds for company, elderly Harriet Baxter sets out to relate the story of her acquaintance, over four decades previously, with Ned Gillespie, a talented artist who never achieved the fame that she maintains he deserved.

Back in 1888, the young, art-loving Harriet arrives in Glasgow at the time of the International Exhibition. After a chance encounter, she befriends the Gillespie family and soon becomes a fixture in all of their lives. But when tragedy strikes - leading to a notorious criminal trial - the promise and certainties of this world all too rapidly disintegrate into mystery and deception.

Featuring a memorable cast of characters, infused with atmosphere and period detail, and shot through with wicked humour, Gillespie and I is a powerful and haunting second novel from one of today's most striking new voices.

Open City by Teju Cole (for review)
Along the streets of Manhattan, a young Nigerian doctor doing his residency wanders aimlessly. The walks meet a need for Julius: they are a release from the tightly regulated mental environment of work, and they give him the opportunity to process his relationships, his recent breakup with his girlfriend, his present, his past. Though he is navigating the busy parts of town, the impression of countless faces does nothing to assuage his feelings of isolation.

But it is not only a physical landscape he covers; Julius crisscrosses social territory as well, encountering people from different cultures and classes who will provide insight on his journey—which takes him to Brussels, to the Nigeria of his youth, and into the most unrecognizable facets of his own soul.

A haunting novel about national identity, race, liberty, loss, dislocation, and surrender, Teju Cole’s Open City seethes with intelligence. Written in a clear, rhythmic voice that lingers, this book is a mature, profound work by an important new author who has much to say about our country and our world.

~ Sunday Salon ~

2012-01-22T15:08:00.000-05:00

Happy Snowy Sunday! I woke up to snow falling from the sky yesterday morning. It looked beautiful. There’s just a few inches on the ground. It’s already started to melt a little bit.

I didn’t realize until earlier today, when I was looking at my blog, that I haven’t posted since Wednesday. Huh! I had doctor appointments in NYC Thursday and Friday. The apptointments always take longer than I think they will. And those days are always tiring particularly when my doctor is running late or access-a-ride is really delayed or when there are several stops on the way home. So, I'm very happy that this week, I don’t have any doctor appointments, tests or procedures! Yay! a free week...hopefully it stays that way!

I planned to “redecorate” my blog a little bit yesterday, work on some posts and reviews, visit blogs and other fun things like that. But, late morning two kittens (9 or 10 months) were found abandoned pretty much on the front doorstep. Several neighbors knew what had happened, who was responsible but no one wanted to work at finding a home or shelter for the cute little guys....well, guy and gal. Yep, a boy and a girl! They’ll have to be spayed and neutered soon or these little ones will have some little ones of their own! So I spent a lot of time yesterday emailing vets, shelters, cat adoption agencies and similar people and places. It shocks me that people can just abandon dependant, innocent animals without much thought or care...and in this cold weather, too. At least take them to animal care & control or a vet or shelter. I’m trying to come up with something to call them for now better than kitty or cat. Ugh! This really ticks me off! Wish me luck finding some where for these kitties to live permanently or temporarily.

I’m going to, hopefully, spend some time reading The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño and more of Norwegian Wood which is a thin book but I’ve been taking my time with it, enjoying Murakami’s writing. That’s about it for today!

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Happy Reading!

All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson

2012-01-18T11:25:00.000-05:00

All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan JepsonISBN: 978-0062081605
Pages: 320
Release Date: January 2012
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Historical Fiction; Literary Fiction
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Book Summary: For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires .
For Feng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household—a place of public ceremony and private cruelty—fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir. For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires.
The life that has been forced on her makes Feng bitter and resentful, and she plots a terrible revenge. But with the passing years comes a reckoning, and Feng must reconcile herself with the sacrifices and terrible choices she has made in order to assure her place in the family and society—even as the violent, relentless tide of revolution engulfs her country.

My thoughts: All the Flowers in Shanghai is the story of Feng’s life as she looks back on it and records her memories. This book is light on plot focusing primarily on the character of Feng and, to a lesser degree, the people closest to her. Feng recounts much of her life with honesty and integrity, an act which requires great courage since she was an angry, bitter woman out for revenge most of her life.

Feng spent her childhood days, outside of school, with her grandfather in the gardens by her home. He taught her all about flowers and plants and about her deceased grandmother. Feng’s mother was busy grooming her older sister to marry a wealthy man and thereby establish their family in society. This was a time consuming undertaking providing Feng much freedom to do as she pleased. Her life was very simple, quite the opposite of her Sister’s (Feng never gave her a name) which was filled with glamorous clothes, makeup, social events and suitors. Feng had no understanding of Sister’s life and viewed it as one of extreme “complexity and sophistication” and considered her sister to be “far above her”.

Wedding plans were soon being made for Sister. Marriage isn’t part of Feng’s future plans. As the second daughter, it’s expected that she will live at home and take care of her parents as they age. Feng accepts this, showing no interest in a life like Sisters. Feng seems much younger than Sister although only 5 years separates them. Feng is sweet, happy and childlike, without any of her sister’s arrogance or scheming, conniving mind, but she’s also immature and naive. Feng’s freedom has spoiled her while the companionship of her grandfather, who she loves dearly has infantilized her. I was quite surprised to learn that Feng was 17 at this time.

The tone of the narrative changes considerably when, much to her shock and dismay, as well as the readers, Feng is married off to a wealthy family. A situation arises making it impossible for Sister to marry (which I won’t reveal here). Feng’s mother is too desperate to be a part of wealthy society and insists that Feng marry in Sister’s place! Feng is given very little notice or time to prepare herself for such a monumental change. Feng’s life changes completely in a matter of days. Her pain and hurt are palpable particularly when her father and her grandfather, the two people who’ve always loved and supported her, don’t object to the arrangement or come to her defense. Feng feels betrayed and utterly alone. Her writing about her feelings at this time, is so stark and honest that I felt overwhelmed by her pain, sadness and dismay.

Feng’s last few days in her home are a whirlwind of activity. She’s an automaton going through the motions in terrible shock. Grandfather completely abandons her, leaving the house for several days. Suddenly, Feng finds herself glamorously dressed standing in a resplendent room in a huge house, tears running down her face as the three day wedding ceremony begins. The strange, unfamiliar surroundings intensify Feng’s already overwhelming pain and hurt. The seeds of anger that will mark her days for years to come, are already sprouting as she experiences her first truly cruel thoughts. They are directed at her family. Feng’s once light and carefree spirit is curdling in the pit of her stomach as the pain and hurt turn into anger and bitterness. Xiong Fa, her new husband, is a nice, kind man, if a little immature, and willing to make things work and even fall in love. But Feng has difficulty not viewing him as an enemy. She’s been provided a maid, Yan, who is kind and tender towards her and Feng relies on her these first days of her marriage.

Feng is soon unrecognizable as the young, simple girl she used to be. She has all the material things she wants and, aside from daily meals with the family, little is asked of her. But she’s miserable and truly angry. The pain and hurt she feels doesn’t lessen over time but grows as she harbors thoughts of revenge. Any new pain adds fuel to the fire. She tells about the families obsession with a male heir. Feng is expected to produce one as soon as possible. Feng knows this but has absolutely no idea how it’s accomplished. And she doesn’t like it at all when she finds out. Having no understanding about life and how to make things work, Feng behaves in ways that make life difficult and unpleasant for herself and her new husband. My thoughts and feeling were all over the place at this point in my reading. I wanted to shake Feng and slap some sense into her. But I also felt badly for her and just wanted to hug her. I found it infuriating that so much angst over the male heir could have been avoided if Feng’s mother or somebody talked to her about men and women and relationships.

Feng grows to appreciate many of the finer things her new family’s money can be. Xiong Fa gives her beautiful and generous gifts she enjoys. Feng soon loves the glamorous, rich clothes and accessories along with the respect and deference the public shows her. It’s not long before Feng understands the power that comes with this kind of wealth. She begins to behave in accordance, exercising her power, treating people from family members to servants with unkindness and disdain. Feng learns how to manipulate people as a woman with wealth, status and power. She also discovers how to use her body and sex against Xiong Fa. As the weeks, months and years pass, Feng becomes more selfish, cruel and ugly as intense anger and bitterness fester inside her. She exacts revenge whenever possible for perceived wrongs against her, behaving in truly reprehensible ways. She doesn’t grow as a person, mature or take responsibility for anything she says or does and she shows no respect for others. It was difficult to like Feng or to continue to understand why she was like this never mind sympathize with her. Feng looks at everything from the perspective of how it impacts her. Anger and bitterness has made her weak, self-centered alone.

I tried to believe in and root for Feng for most of the book but she really disappointed me the last six or seven chapters of the book. I thought she was courageous to record her life story for her family but when the time came to own up to her behavior once and for all, she took the coward’s way out. And, although I think she’s very honest about some parts of her life, I also think she doesn’t own up to everything that she did and left some things buried that she didn‘t want to face. For instance, I was hoping to learn more about her relationship with Yan, which changes and becomes more formal. Not surprisingly, Feng took care of this with a sentence or two failing to provide a truthful explanation.

This is an emotionally powerful and intense book. Duncan Jepson’s writing is engaging and this story captivated me from the first page even though there‘s only one major character and no real plot. I was intrigued to learn about marriage traditions and the role of women in 1930’s China. I thought it interesting that most of the male characters were quiet and meek, susceptible to manipulation or, in the case of Feng’s father-in-law, arrogant and pompous. I suppose this is because Feng didn’t think highly of the men in her life and this is her story. There’s little character development of any of the other characters which is, again, a symptom of this being Feng‘s story and, therefore, all about her. Feng’s behavior, when her friend Ming tells her she’s moving to America evidences how self-centered Feng is. She becomes irate, feeling that Ming is abandoning her and worries about who she’ll confide in now. She shows little concern for Ming’s welfare despite that she and her husband are leaving because they are worried about the state of China under Chairman Mao. Feng is a very damaged, stuck woman for most of her life but her story is absorbing and hard to ignore. I recommend this book to readers who enjoy strong mail characters with riveting stories to tell!

Duncan Jepson’s website: All the Flowers in Shanghai

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review All the Flowers in Shanghai and to William Morrow for an ARC copy of this book.

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~

2012-01-17T09:28:00.000-05:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. In this meme share the opening paragraph(s) of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph(s). I’m participating in Orange January being hosted by Jill at The Magic Lasso. This book was nominated for the Orange Prize several years ago. I have read two other books by this author, one of which was fantastic, the other just okay. I’m interested to see what I think about this book which looks promising based on the premise!
Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea and read Diane's selection this week and be sure to visit and read the contributions of other participants. Chances are you’ll find at least one book to add to your wish list!

Digging to America by Anne Tyler

At eight o'clock in the evening, the Baltimore airport was nearly deserted. The wide gray corridors were empty, and the newsstands were dark, and the coffee shops were closed. Most of the gates had admitted their last flights. Their signboards were blank and their rows of vinyl chairs unoccupied and ghostly.

But you could hear a distant hum, a murmur of anticipation, at the far end of Pier D. You could see an overexcited child spinning herself into dizziness in the center of the corridor, and then a grownup popping forth to scoop her up and carry her, giggling and squirming, back into the waiting area. And a latecomer, a woman in a yellow dress, was rushing toward the gate with an armful of long-stemmed roses.

Step around the bend, then, and you'd come upon what looked like a gigantic baby shower. The entire waiting area for the flight from San Francisco was packed with people bearing pink- and blue-wrapped gifts, or hanging on to flotillas of silvery balloons printed with IT'S A GIRL! and trailing spirals of pink ribbon. A man gripped the wicker handle of a wheeled and skirted bassinet as if he planned to roll it onto the plane, and a woman stood ready with a stroller so chrome-trimmed and bristling with levers that it seemed capable of entering the Indy 500. At least half a dozen people held video cameras, and many more had regular cameras slung around their necks. A woman spoke into a tape recorder in an urgent, secretive way. The man next to her clasped an infant's velour-upholstered car seat close to his chest.

What are your thoughts about these 2 opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

Sunday Salon: Reading Weather!

2012-01-15T11:46:00.000-05:00

Winter has arrived, it’s not supposed to get above 28 degrees today! Time to hibernate! I don’t go out very much at all when it’s this cold. The crisp, clean air is refreshing in small doses but if I’m out in it for too long, it has an adverse effect on my lungs and breathing and also tends to make my bones hurt more. But so long as I’m not out for more than 15 or 20 minutes without a break from the cold it’s okay. And the cold provides a great argument for snuggling under a warm blanket...or a cat or two...with a cup of tea and a good book! I seem to be experiencing the opposite of a reading slump! I have a lot of books I’m really interested in reading now so much so that I’m having difficulty picking which one to read next! I’m not complaining, though, just relaying...this is much preferred to a reading slump!

The cold temps have brought the cats inside. On the really cold nights, like last night, a couple of neighborhood cats, confirmed nomads unwilling to commit to one home, wander in late looking for a warm spot to sleep. So I’ve got a full house of felines these days. I’ve been surprised by how well they’re all behaving, too. There have been a few hissing & ’boxing’ matches, a few dust-ups but considering how many of them are here and the mix of personalities, it hasn’t been bad. It certainly helps that they spend most of the time sleeping...with some snacking, too, of course! The new addition is fitting in well. He’s so cute. I hope to have some photos soon.

On the book front, I’m finally making a dent in the reviews I want to do...I still have quite a few to finish but I’m getting there. I hope to post reviews of The Night Circus and The Three Weissmanns of Westport this week, along with some others. I finished reading All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson. My review is due towards the end of the week. The main character is something else, very intriguing among other things! I’m really enjoying Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami. His writing is mesmerizing and engages me immediately. Some how Murakami makes even the most mundane of scenes interesting in the way he writes and through his descriptions. I find that he really makes me think about the characters and their lives. I’m participating in Orange January at Jill's blog, The Magic Lasso so I started reading Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deidre Madden. So far I’m finding the subjects the narrator talks about very interesting. I’m not very far into the book, yet, but so far there’s been almost no dialogue, just the narrator talking about Molly Fox. It’s different than many of the books I read and I like that.

So that’s about it from my quiet corner of Brooklyn. I’m planning to work on reviews today and continuing reading Norwegian Wood and Molly Fox’s Birthday.
What are your plans today? Are you reading something good? I hope so!

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Happy Reading!

~ Saturday Snapshot ~

2012-01-14T12:43:00.000-05:00

I was looking through some old photos the other day and came across these of Ophelia. She's no longer with us but I love these photos because they show how much she enjoyed life. She was a great cat with a big personality! Ophelia loved to sleep in funny positions, enjoyed playing hard but was also very sweet. She never simply walked into a room but she bounded in at high speeds and it looked as if she was applying the brakes (much like Wile e Coyote) so she didn't crash into a wall! I miss her and I'm happy I have wonderful memories of Ophelia.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at her blog, At Home with Books. It's easy to participate, just post a photo taken by you, a friend or a family member and link to the Mister Linky at the bottom of Alyce's post.

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

2012-01-12T12:43:00.000-05:00

The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta
Date Published: August 30, 2011
ISBN: 978-0312358341
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 368
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Book Summary: What if the Rapture happened and you got left behind? Or what if it wasn't the Rapture at all, but something murkier, a burst of mysterious, apparently random disappearances that shattered the world in a single moment, dividing history into Before and After, leaving no one unscathed? How would you rebuild your life in the wake of such a devastating event?
This is the question confronting the bewildered citizens of Mapleton, a formerly comfortable suburban community that lost over a hundred people in the Sudden Departure. Kevin Garvey, the new mayor, wants to speed up the healing process, to bring a sense of renewed hope and purpose to his traumatized neighbors, even as his own family falls apart. His wife, Laurie, has left him to enlist in the Guilty Remnant, a homegrown cult whose members take a vow of silence but haunt the streets of town as "living reminders" of God's judgment. His son, Tom, is gone, too, dropping out of college to follow a sketchy prophet by the name of Holy Wayne. Only his teenaged daughter, Jill, remains, and she's definitely not the sweet A student she used to be.

Through the prism of a single family, Perrotta illuminates a familiar America made strange by grief and apocalyptic anxiety. The Leftovers is a powerful and deeply moving book about people struggling to hold onto a belief in their own futures.

My Thoughts: The Leftovers is a fascinating novel and one I thought about long after I finished it. The story is set three years after the occurrence of a bizarre, Rapture-like event being called the "Sudden Departure" ('SD'). On the day of SD, people all over the world simply vanished. One second they were there, the next they were gone. There was no rhyme or reason to which people vanished either: people of all ages, races, religions, and ways of life, believers and non-believers, the good, bad and indifferent, disappeared. The people remaining, the "leftovers" are bewildered, dismayed, angry, jealous, despairing and embittered as they struggle to cope and make some semblance of a life for themselves in the years following this strange occurrence.

I didn’t know what to expect from this novel after reading the prologue. I wasn't particularly interested in a book about how our country and the rest of the world deal with the rapture-like event. I prefer more personal, character strong stories. I needn't have worried. Had I read more books by Perrotta, something I plan to do, I would’ve known he likes to scrutinize the hearts and minds of average middle-class individuals living in the suburbs. Perrotta most often focuses on assessing the reactions and behavior of indviduals in situations recognizable and bizarre. True to form, in The Leftovers Perrotta trains his keen eye on the Garvey Family: Kevin, Laurie, Tom and Jill, well-known residents of Mapleton, NJ. The Garveys are typical of many families living in the suburbs. Their familiarity made me feel like I was able to relate to them. The more I read about them, the more I card for the Garveys, even when they irritated me, and I became invested in what happened to them.

Perrotta’s talent for creating characters who are interesting because they are flawed, complex and dysfunctional. He has a keen eye for how people behave and the complexities of personality which is exceedingly evident in the Garveys. This family is very fortunate not to have lost anyone during the SD but you'd never know that from their behavior. In the years following the SD, Kevin, Laurie, Tom and Jill fracture and fall away from each other. Their family unit disintegrates instead of bonding and becoming stronger as the years pass. It’s not surprising that Tom disappears and cuts off contact with his family or that Jill questions everything in her life and rejects the way she was living before the SD given how their parents behave.

Laurie expresses concern about her children shortly after the SD but as more time passes she inexplicably distances herself from her family, finally leaving them to join a cult. Kevin seems to be coping well early in the book, taking things in stride. But as the novel progresses, I realized that he doesn’t act as if he’s all that upset about what’s happened to his family. Kevin doesn’t fight for his wife to stay home, he doesn’t search for his son and his fear that Jill will leave home causes him to stop parenting her, becoming more of a friend and roommate. The support and love Jill needs from her mother isn’t available and her father who is available to her, doesn’t offer her the love and support she wants. I hoped for a while that Kevin would sit down with Jill and talk to her, tell her he loved her and bond with her, until I realized this was never going to happen. For Kevin the SD offers an opportunity for a new life, a second chance. He gets a new job as mayor, goes out every night drinking and socializing and begins searching for a new partner while his wife, rather than risk the pain of suddenly losing her family one day, takes control of the situation and protects herself by abandoning them. Suffice to say the Garveys, apparently, are not the kind of family that grows closer and stronger in times of crisis.

The Garveys, their behavior, thoughts and actions are fascinating. I felt the same way about several other characters in the book, particularly Nora, a woman Kevin connects with and begins dating. I still don’t totally understand the Garveys and some of their friends and acquaintances but that's okay with me. Like human beings, they are complex, multi-faceted individuals with quirks, idiosyncrasies, good characteristics and faults. And I think this highlights Persotta's insightfulness and how brilliant, clever and astute he is at transforming these observations into parts of his ingenious characters.

The Leftovers isn't just grim and depressing. There are many scenes where Perrotta is witty and amusing and I particularly enjoyed his use of satire. Holy Wayne is an example of the charismatic preachers many people follow and believe in without question as Tom does but then express dismay when scandal follows. The Barefoot People, a group Tom latches onto when disappointed by Holy Wayne, exemplifies how ridiculous some of these cults are yet they proliferate because people are so anxious to belong to a group, to fit in. Perrotta looks at the darker side of some of these cults with the group Laurie joins, the Guilty Remnant. This cult requires members to take a vow of silence, wear white, smoke incessantly and stalk non-members on a nightly basis. Followers of groups like these, as Perrotta demonstrates with acerbic, disturbing wit, don’t question what the rules mean and the leaders rely on this blind adherence. In a pivotal scene, Perrotta shows the kind of reprehensible actions that can result from the ignorant mindlessness of followers just looking to belong. By the time Laurie is called on by the leaders of the Guilty Remnant, to take a major step as a member of the cult, she’s in too deep to turn back.

Identity and the idea that people aren't often who they purport to be, that there's more to them than meets the eye is one of the themes that threads its way through these pages. Perrotta touches on a myriad of other themes throughout The Leftovers including loss, survival, beliefs, loyalty, friendship, family, love and connection. I think I could talk about this book for hours and still barely begin to cover all of its facets. It wouldn't surprise me if everyone who reads this book gets a little something different from it. One thing I think everyone will agree upon is how fascinating, intriguing and enthralling are the characters and this story. I am looking forward to reading some of Perrotta's other books and am hopeful I’ll enjoy more of his insight into human beings and their personalities.

Tom Perrotta’s website

I won an ARC of The Leftovers from Jenners at Life...With Books.
Thank you so much, Jenners!!

Book Review: Carry the One by Carol Anshaw

2012-01-10T14:53:00.000-05:00

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw
Date Published: March 6, 2012
ISBN: 978-1451636888
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 272
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Publisher’s Book Summary: Carry the One begins in the hours following Carmen’s wedding reception, when a car filled with stoned, drunk, and sleepy guests accidently hits and kills a girl on a dark, country road. For the next twenty-five years, those involved, including Carmen and her brother and sister, connect and disconnect and reconnect with each other and their victim. As one character says, “When you add us up, you always have to carry the one.”

Through friendships and love affairs; marriage and divorce; parenthood, holidays, and the modest tragedies and joys of ordinary days, Carry the One shows how one life affects another and how those who thrive and those who self-destruct are closer to each other than we’d expect. Deceptively short and simple in its premise, this novel derives its power and appeal from the author’s beautifully precise use of language; her sympathy for her very recognizable, flawed characters; and her persuasive belief in the transforming forces of time and love.

My Thoughts: Carmen is practical and decisive although she sometimes doubts her decisions later. The book opens at Carmen’s wedding reception. She’s not an ebullient, giddy bride. Carmen’s unsure about the marriage and now sees Matt, her new husband, as a stranger. Meanwhile, her sister, Alice, a passionate and impulsive artist, is locked away in a bedroom with the bridegroom’s sister, Maude. And Nick, their brother, is in another bedroom with his girlfriend Olivia, introducing some younger cousins to the wonders of mushrooms. A brilliant astronomer, Nick loves exploring the universe while high on hallucinogens and opiates. When Alice, Nick and the others drive off at the end of the night, no one is focused on the road or in any condition to drive although they all told Carmen they were fine. A short time later young Casey Redman is dead and the lives of the siblings and others are forever changed.

Carmen, Alice and Nick are amazingly real and relatable. They’re intelligent and successful but also flawed and damaged. They harbor pain and anger from a tough childhood at the hands of a nasty, unkind father, Horace and a mother, Loretta, who always sided with him. Carmen, Alice and Nick are bonded by their childhood experience and now by the death of Casey Redman. They grieve for her and cope with her death in different ways but she’s never far from their thoughts. Everything that happens in the lives of Carmen, Alice and Nick, from that day forward, is touched by Casey’s shadow.

Carol Anshaw has written a seemingly quiet, casual story that turns out to be powerful and emotionally complex. It depicts the myriad of ways the relationships and lives of Carmen, Alice and Nick are impacted by their pasts and particularly, by the death of a young girl, as the three grow and change over the course of 25 years. Anshaw writes beautifully and the pages of Carry the One are filled with Alice’s passion and intensity, Carmen’s stoicism and Nick’s nutty genius and the wit and sarcasm they share. It’s clear that Anshaw understands how human beings tick and cope with life and this understanding is depicted in her fantastic, intriguing and lovable characters. This is an absorbing book that grabs you and holds your attention until the last word. I only wish it was longer! I highly recommend this novel.

Carol Anshaw’s website.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for an ARC copy of Carry the One.

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~

2012-01-10T10:19:00.000-05:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. In this meme, I share the opening paragraph(s) of a book I've decided to read based on the paragraph(s). I’m participating in Orange January hosted by The Magic Lasso. This is one of the books nominated for the Orange Prize that I plan to read. It’s received some wonderful reviews from other bloggers and I’m really looking forward to reading this book as well as several of the author‘s other books.
Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea and read Diane's selection this week and be sure to visit and read the contributions of other participants in this terrific meme.

The Night Watch by Sarah Waters

So this, said Kay to herself, is the sort of person you've become: a person whose clocks and wrist-watches have stopped, and who tells the time, instead, by the particular kind of cripple arriving at her landlord's door.

For she was standing at her open window, in a collarless shirt and a pair of greyish underpants, smoking a cigarette and watching the coming and going of Mr Leonard's patients. Punctually, they came — so punctually, she really could tell the time by them: the woman with the crooked back, on Mondays at ten; the wounded soldier, on Thursdays at eleven. On Tuesdays at one an elderly man came, with a fey-looking boy to help him: Kay enjoyed watching for them. She liked to see them making their slow way up the street: the man neat and dark-suited as an undertaker, the boy patient, serious, handsome — like an allegory of youth and age, she thought, as done by Stanley Spencer or some finicky modern painter like that.

After them there came a woman with her son, a little lame boy in spectacles; after that, an elderly Indian lady with rheumatics. The little lame boy would sometimes stand scuffing up moss and dirt from the broken path to the house with his great boot, while his mother spoke with Mr Leonard in the hall. Once, recently, he'd looked up and seen Kay watching; and she'd heard him making a fuss on the stairs, then, about going on his own to the lavatory.

"Is it them angels on the door?" she had heard his mother say. "Good heavens, they're only pictures! A great boy like you!"
Kay guessed it wasn't Mr Leonard's lurid Edwardian angels that frightened him, but the thought of encountering her. He must have supposed she haunted the attic floor like a ghost or a lunatic.

What are your thoughts about these 2 opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

~ Mailbox Monday ~

2012-01-09T09:58:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme, hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books for the month of January, originally created and hosted by Marcia of A girl and her books. Below are the titles I received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the course of the past week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists! I didn’t receive any review books this week but I did receive two books I’m really looking forward to reading!

Molly Fox’s Birthday by Deidre Madden (sent by a friend after she learned I am participating in Orange January)
It is the height of summer, and celebrated actor Molly Fox has loaned her house in Dublin to a friend while she is away performing in New York. Alone among all of Molly's possessions, struggling to finish her latest play, she looks back on the many years and many phases of her friendship with Molly and their college friend Andrew, and comes to wonder whether they really knew each other at all. She revisits the intense closeness of their early days, the transformations they each made in the name of success and security, the lies they told each other, and betrayals they never acknowledged. Set over a single midsummer's day, Molly Fox's Birthday is a mischievous, insightful novel about a turning point--a moment when past and future suddenly appear in a new light.

Solar by Ian McEwan (sent by the same great friend)
Michael Beard is in his late fifties; bald, overweight, unprepossessing – a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him. Trading on his reputation, he speaks for enormous fees, lends his name to the letterheads of renowned scientific institutions and half-heartedly heads a government-backed initiative tackling global warming. An inveterate philanderer, Beard finds his fifth marriage floundering. When Beard’s professional and personal worlds are entwined in a freak accident, an opportunity presents itself, a chance for Beard to extricate himself from his marital mess, reinvigorate his career and very possibly save the world from environmental disaster.

Solar is an engrossing and satirical novel which focuses on climate change. It is a stylish new work by one of the world’s greatest living writers about one man’s ambitions and self-deceptions.

Sunday Salon ~ Getting back to it in this new year!

2012-01-08T14:13:00.000-05:00

I’m slowly getting back into the swing of blogging regularly after being largely away from my computer for most of the last month or so. It’s a relief not to feel exhausted from trying to sit and hold my head up. Thinking back on it, it’s a little frightening how tired I felt from the pneumonia. It’s such a relief to feel well again. Now I just have to work the laziness - from forcing myself to continue to rest once I began to feel better - out of my system. It’s kind of amazing how quickly your brain - mine, anyway! - can get used to not thinking or being used!

I have a long list of reviews to finish and a shorter list of reviews that need to be written in full. I worked on several while recuperating but when I read what I thought was my finished review I didn’t like much of what I’d written! Ugh! I hate when that happens. So I figure I will post reviews of books I’ve read recently and intersperse reviews of older reads every few days or something like that. I’m trying to shorten my reviews a bit, too, a least while I have so many to work on.

I finished The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Shine which turned out not to be as light a book I expected. It’s very good and has some wonderfully flawed, dysfunctional characters! I also finished Carry The One by Carol Anshaw, also very good. My neighbor returned Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (yay!) so I am reading it again. I wasn’t that far into it before so I decided to start at the beginning. It’s so worth it, anyway! I’m also reading All the Flowers of Shanghai by Duncan Jepson. I’ve read several reviews of this book and, although I’m not exactly sure what to expect from this book, I know it’ll be an interesting reading experience! I signed up for a group read of The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolano hosted by Richard at his blog, Caravana de recuedos. I didn’t get to start reading the book last month like I wanted to because I was sick so I’m not sure I’ll finish by the end of January (700+ pages!) but I’m enjoying what I’ve so far read.

So that’s about it for now. Life’s been very quiet in my world the last couple of months, of course. I’ll leave you with this fun tidbit...there may be a new small, furry addition to our family! Stay tune as for updates as the situation develops...! lol

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Happy Reading!

~ Saturday Snapshot ~

2012-01-07T12:53:00.000-05:00

This is Hennessey. She's been with us since she was about 6 months old, about 5 years. She doesn't like living inside with other cats so she spends much of her time outside, dropping by frequently for meals and/or a cat nap. When the temperatures drop and it gets cold, she comes in for several days at a time. She hisses at the other cats frequently, not caring that she may have taken over their sleeping spot or simply because she thinks they're standing or sitting too close to her! She can be distracted by any toy. though, and loves to play with balls or string toys.

Hennessey, a small cat, is the only cat I've known who puts on 5+ pounds every winter, becoming noticeably chunky! When spring time comes around she slims down again! The two photos of her sleeping sort of show her normal size and then chubby. I'm going to try to get better photos of her now while she's a fatty!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce on At Home with Books. It's easy to participate, just post a photo taken by you, a friend or a family member and link to the Mister Linky at the bottom of Alyce's post.

Little Princes: by Conor Grennan

2012-01-04T11:34:00.000-05:00

Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan

Pages: 304
Published Date: December 27, 2011
Publisher: William Morrow
ISBN: 978-0061930058
Genre: Non-Fiction; Memoir
Rating: 5 out of 5

Book Summary: An astonishing testament to true courage, the transformative power of love, and the ability of one man to make a real difference.

In search of adventure, twenty-nine-year-old Conor Grennan embarked on a yearlong journey around the globe, beginning with a three-month stint volunteering at an orphanage in civil war–torn Nepal. But a shocking truth would forever change his life: these rambunctious, resilient children were not orphans at all but had been taken from their families by child traffickers who falsely promised to keep them safe from war before abandoning them in the teeming chaos of Kathmandu. For Conor, what started as a footloose ramble became a dangerous, dedicated mission to unite youngsters he had grown to love with the parents they had been stolen from—a breathtaking adventure, as Conor risked everything in the treacherous Nepalese mountains to bring the children home.

Little Princes is a true story of families and children, and what one person is capable of when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. At turns tragic, joyful, and hilarious, Little Princes is a testament to the power of faith and the ability of love to carry us beyond our wildest expectations.

My Thoughts: Conor Grennan didn't count on the powerful impact the children at Little Princes Children's Home in Godawari, Nepal would have on him when he initially committed to volunteer there for three months in 2004. His motivation for volunteering with the orphans of Nepal. Grennan also figured it was a good excuse for his year long trip around the world following his stint at the orphanage. The first few pages of Little Princes was difficult to get through because Grennan, although candid, is so obnoxious, arrogant and immature I wanted to throw the book across the room! In fact, when Grennan is dropped off outside the orphanage on the day he's supposed to start his volunteer work, he makes his reluctance to be with the children so clear, I wondered if he was going to bail on his promise. When he drags himself through the gate into Little Prince's property, it's the first inkling that there might be a decent guy at Grennan’s core.

Grennan becomes so fond of and connected to the children during his first three months at Little Princes he's reluctant to leave the night before he’s to depart for his trip around the world . One of the boys, Anish, asks Grennan when he will return to the orphanage. He initially tells them he doesn't know, maybe in a year. Grennan then realizes how sad he is to be leaving the children and how truly happy he's been in Godawari with them. He also feels as responsible to and for the eighteen children living in the orphanage as if he was their parents. Grennan tells Anish and the other children that he will return after a year. A promise he gladly keeps.

Grennan still believes that the children living at Little Princes Children's Home are orphans when he returns to volunteer for another 3 months in January 2006. Shortly after returning to Godawari, Grennan and his fellow volunteer and good friend, Farid, learn the children at Little Princes are not orphans when the mother of two of the children shows up at the orphanage looking for her boys, Nuraj and Krish. These boys and the other children believed their parents were dead. To Grennan and the other's total surprise, the parents of most of the children are actually living in their respective villages around Nepal. Their children were taken by a child trafficker who promised parents he would keep their children safe from Maoist rebels, who abducted children and forced them to fight against the government, in return for a large sum of money. The trafficker then pocketed the money, mistreated the children and abandoned them or sold them into domestic slavery. Grennan's dismay upon hearing the truth is evident as he relays the events of the day he learns the truth about the children. He also feels even more responsibile for the children after hearing how they were treated and deceived.

Grennan writes with a refreshing honesty and humility about his decision to try to find the families of the children living at Little Princes Children's Home. He is also concerned about seven children abandoned by the child trafficker with the mother of Nuraj and Krish, despite the fact that she has no means for feeding or clothing them. When he returns to Jersey City, NJ to get a job and make a life for himself, Grennan shares how difficult it was to move on with his life. He listened to news about the situation in Nepal constantly and emailed with several people he's come to know while in Nepal. While he's perfecting his resume and researching companies and organizations to interview with, Grennan receives disturbing news about some of the children in Nepal. He's forthright in relaying how clearly dismayed he is by the news as well as how strong a sense of responsibility he feels for these children. Grennan decides to return to Nepal. But unlike his often rash, impulsive self, Grennan realizes with the help of Farid, he'd be foolish to return without a solid, good plan of action on behalf of the children in Nepal. This leads to Grennan's idea to form a nonprofit organization, Next Generation Nepal (NGN) and to search for the families of the children at Little Princes and more.

Little Princes is a remarkable, heart-breaking and heart-warming book. Grennan tells the story of the children and NGN with honesty, humor and integrity that made me cry, laugh, feel intense anger and much sadness. It's also an inspiring story full of hope and promise, great kindness, selflessness and love. The children about whom Grennan writes with respect, admiration and love are simply amazing. They are unbelievably resilient and survivors of terrible loss and pain. They are heroes. The other star of this book is Conor Grennan. He is still slightly rash and impulsive by the end of Little Princes but he's a very different man than the one who initially volunteered with orphans in Nepal only in order to impress the ladies. Over the course of this story, Grennan grows into a mature, responsible, caring and selfless person who willingly risks his life to reunite the children of Little Princes Children's Home with the parents and families they never expected to see again. This well-written, emotional and candid book is one I recommend to everybody.

About the Author:
Conor Grennan, author of the memoir Little Princes, spent eight years at the EastWest Institute (EWI), both in Prague and the EU Office in Brussels, where he served as Deputy Director for the Security and Governance Program.

At the East/West Institute, Conor developed and managed a wide variety of projects focusing on issues such as peace and reconciliation in the Balkans, community development in Central Eastern Europe, and harmonizing anti-trafficking policy at the highest levels government in the European Union and the former Yugoslavia.

Conor left EWI in 2004 to travel the world and volunteer in Nepal. He would eventually return to Nepal and found Next Generation Nepal, an organization dedicated to reconnecting trafficked children with their families and combating the root causes of child trafficking in rural villages in Nepal. He was based in the capital of Kathmandu until September 2007 where he was the Executive Director of Next Generation Nepal.

Conor now serves on the Board of Next Generation Nepal, together with his wife, Liz. He is a 2010 graduate of the NYU Stern School of Business, where he was the President of the Student Body. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and son, Finn, and a soon-to-be baby girl.

See Conor's Website and his organization, Next Generation Nepal. Conor is also available on Twitter and Facebook.

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review Little Princes and to William Morrow for a copy of this book.

~ Mailbox Monday ~

2012-01-02T11:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books. Mailbox Monday is being hosted by At Home with Books this first week of 2012! Below are the titles I received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained last week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Night Swim by Jessica Keener (for review)

The Ruins of Us by Keija Parssinen (for review)

All I Did was Shoot My Man by Walter Mosley (for review)

The Lonely Polygamist by Bradley Udall (Gift)

The Last September by Elizabeth Bowen (Gift)

The Easter Parade by Richard Yates

2011-12-21T15:47:00.000-05:00

The Easter Parade by Richard Yates

ISBN: 978-0312278281
Pages: 227
Release Date: May 4, 2001 (first published 1976)
Publisher: Picador
Genre: Literature
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Book Summary: In The Easter Parade, first published in 1976, we meet sisters Sarah and Emily Grimes when they are still the children of divorced parents. We observe the sisters over four decades, watching them grow into two very different women. Sarah is stable and stalwart, settling into an unhappy marriage. Emily is precocious and independent, struggling with one unsatisfactory love affair after another. Richard Yates's classic novel is about how both women struggle to overcome their tarnished family's past, and how both finally reach for some semblance of renewal.

My Thoughts: Revolutionary Road is the only book by Richard Yates I've read until now. I thought it was such a captivating, well-written and thought-provoking book that I've always wanted to read more by Yates. I was fortunate to win two novels by Richard Yates in a giveaway at Bibliophile by the Sea, The Easter Parade and Disturbing the Peace! The Easter Parade is beautifully bleak and depressing as Yates, in his simple, bare-bones, honest prose style explores themes such as self-delusion, identity, regret, loss and loyalty.

Yates tells us on the first page, in the first line even, that neither Emily nor Sarah will have a happy life and suggests the problems may have begun with their parents' divorce in 1930 when the girls were still very young. Their parents never really explain the situation between them or the divorce to the girls. Sarah and Emily don't see their father very much and their mother is filled with plans for her independence that never come to fruition. She flits from one career to the next never finding something she enjoys or wants to do. She moves Sarah and Emily to a new home every few years and wants them to call her 'Pookie'. While the girls are still young, it becomes clear that the older Sarah is the very pretty, more social sister, while Emily is the smart one who is practical, insecure and also a worrier.

Sarah and Emily learn from living with Pookie and listening to her that she fantasizes about life and treats her fantasies as fact. They learn not to trust anything Pookie says. She's their mother, though, so they still want her approval. Sarah marries an attractive, charming man, Tony Wilson, approved of by both her parents, particularly Pookie. Pookie is quite taken with the entire Wilson family and fancies herself attached to Tony's married father. Tony turns out to be a blockhead and a drinker and Sarah finds herself stuck out on the North Shore of Long Island on an 8-acre estate in disrepair owned by Tony's family. It's not the glamorous life Sarah expected but she's learned from her mother to make her life sound better than it is. Disillusionment and despair become part of Sarah's life well before she's thirty. She deals with it by drinking like Tony and Pookie.

Emily, whose point of view the third person narrator focuses on, is a character many of us can identify with and recognize. She gets her college degree from Barnard, takes a job in an advertising firm in Manhattan and moves into an apartment in the city. Emily also begins dating. But she's unable to find a man or a job that truly makes her happy. She has a series of boyfriends and several different advertising jobs. Emily convinces herself she's happy for a while but always tires of the man she's dating after believing he's the one. She eventually feels the same despair for her work. She also tries writing an article several times about being a single woman in the city at that time but can't face the truth of the situation. She thinks she wants love, success, safety but she's never satisfied. Emily doesn't appear to know what she wants or who she is.

Yates characters in The Easter Parade are average people familiar to us. They don't know how to go out and make their lives what they want them to be. We hope Emily will learn from the example her family set for her with their sad, pathetic lives. Emily's insecure which we see when Emily learns in college that she's more intelligent than Sarah and it makes her feel as if she's betrayed her sister and in her general avoidance of Sarah. But Emily is also hopeful about what life has to offer. We root for her to create a life that will make her happy even when we know her hope is waning. The question is does Emily know what will make her happy?

This book, like Revolutionary Road, presents a bleak view of middle class life. Yates' narrative style doesn't include sentimentality or melodrama. He tells it like it is with no flowery or unnecessary language. I don't expect Pookie would care much for his style! It's elegant and simple in its sparseness and it sticks with you. Yates leaves us thinking about our own lives and if we have created something we can be proud of and enjoy. I highly recommend you read The Easter Parade and decide for yourself!

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~

2011-12-20T08:40:00.001-05:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. In this meme, share the opening paragraph (or two) of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph. This is a book I requested from TLC Book Tours to review for their January/February book tours after I read an excerpt of this book This book sounds sad and harrowing but very interesting with a compelling female character at the center of the story. I could not pass up this book!

Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea to read Diane's selection this week and be sure to visit and read the contributions of other participants in this terrific meme!

All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson

I still know your face. I see it clearly as it was at the very beginning, not how it was left after I had hurt you.

I did not see the brightness of new life in your eyes when you were born or cradle your warm fleshy body to my chest, and wish now that I had. I wish I had just looked… but I did not let myself because to me you were still-born. You were not a living person to me then, but an object of hatred, created merely to be beaten and scarred.

When I think back through the tiredness and hunger we have endured for years now, searching through the pages of my memory that still serve me faithfully, I know I saw your lovely face when I was a young girl. It was in 1932 while I was out walking with Grandfather in those public gardens adjacent to our house, now forgotten and laid waste like the rest of Shanghai. I am certain now that I have always known and loved your face, it was only terror and pain that held me back from you. But all that I suffered then seems nothing compared to the suffering now being inflicted across this country and I know that I should never have let anything stop me from loving you. I wish that all those years ago I’d had the courage just to look at you, to feel the need and unconditional love in your fragile little body.

What are your thoughts about these opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

~ Mailbox Monday ~

2011-12-19T09:26:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books. I haven't participated in this meme the last few weeks so I've listed below most of the books I received for review or purchased, or otherwise obtained this month. Mailbox Monday is being hosted by the Let Them Read Books this week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

The Little Princes by Conor Grennan (for review from TLC Book Tours)
An astonishing testament to true courage, the transformative power of love, and the ability of one man to make a real difference.
In search of adventure, twenty-nine-year-old Conor Grennan embarked on a yearlong journey around the globe, beginning with a three-month stint volunteering at an orphanage in civil war–torn Nepal. But a shocking truth would forever change his life: these rambunctious, resilient children were not orphans at all but had been taken from their families by child traffickers who falsely promised to keep them safe from war before abandoning them in the teeming chaos of Kathmandu. For Conor, what started as a footloose ramble became a dangerous, dedicated mission to unite youngsters he had grown to love with the parents they had been stolen from—a breathtaking adventure, as Conor risked everything in the treacherous Nepalese mountains to bring the children home.

All the Flowers in Shanghai by Duncan Jepson (for review from TLC Book Tours)
For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires.
For Feng, that means becoming the bride of a wealthy businessman in a marriage arranged by her parents. In the enclosed world of the Sang household—a place of public ceremony and private cruelty—fulfilling her duty means bearing a male heir. For every young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai, following the path of duty takes precedence over personal desires.
The life that has been forced on her makes Feng bitter and resentful, and she plots a terrible revenge. But with the passing years comes a reckoning, and Feng must reconcile herself with the sacrifices and terrible choices she has made in order to assure her place in the family and society—even as the violent, relentless tide of revolution engulfs her country.

No Mark Upon Her by Deborah Crombie (for review from BookBrowse)
New York Times bestselling author Deborah Crombie makes her mark with this absorbing, finely hued tale of suspense—a deeply atmospheric and twisting mystery full of deadly secrets, salacious lies, and unexpected betrayals involving the mysterious drowning of a Met detective—an accomplished rower—on the Thames.
When a K9 search-and-rescue team discovers a woman's body tangled up with debris in the river, Scotland Yard superintendent Duncan Kincaid finds himself heading an investigation fraught with complications. The victim, Rebecca Meredith, was a talented but difficult woman with many admirers—and just as many enemies. An Olympic contender on the verge of a controversial comeback, she was also a high-ranking detective with the Met—a fact that raises a host of political and ethical issues in an already sensitive case.
To further complicate the situation, a separate investigation, led by Detective Inspector Gemma James, Kincaid's wife, soon reveals a disturbing—and possibly related—series of crimes, widening the field of suspects. But when someone tries to kill the search-and-rescue team member who found Rebecca's body, the case becomes even more complex and dangerous, involving powerful interests with tentacles that reach deep into the heart of the Met itself.
Surrounded by enemies with friendly faces, pressured to find answers quickly while protecting the Yard at all costs, his career and reputation on the line, Kincaid must race to catch the killer before more innocent lives are lost—including his own.

Holy Ghost Girl: A Memoir by Donna M. Johnson (win from Melody at Melody and Words)
Donna Johnson was three years old when her mother signed on as the organist for Brother David Terrell, a hugely popular apocalyptic tent preacher during the 1960s and 70s. As a member of Brother Terrell's inner circle Donna had a front row seat for the miracles, exorcisms, KKK face-offs and betrayals of the flesh that were common under the tent. As the faithful followed their prophet to backwaters across the South to await the end time, Donna left the ministry for good at age seventeen.
Recounted with deadpan observation and surreal detail, Holy Ghost Girl bypasses easy judgment to articulate a rich world where the mystery of faith and human frailty share a surprising and humorous coexistence.

Love and Shame and Love by Peter Orner (win from Vicki at I’d Rather Be at the Beach ~ Thank you!)
Alexander Popper can't stop remembering. Four years old when his father tossed him into Lake Michigan, he was told, Sink or swim, kid. In his mind, he's still bobbing in that frigid water. The rest of this novel's vivid cast of characters also struggle to remain afloat: Popper's mother, stymied by an unhappy marriage, seeks solace in the relentless energy of Chicago; his brother, Leo, shadow boss of the family, retreats into books; paternal grandparents, Seymour and Bernice, once high fliers, now mourn for long lost days; his father, a lawyer and would-be politician obsessed with his own success, fails to see that the family is falling apart; and his college girlfriend, the fiercely independent Kat, wrestles with impossible choices.
Covering four generations of the Popper family, Peter Orner illuminates the countless ways that love both makes us whole and completely unravels us. A comic and sorrowful tapestry of memory of connection and disconnection, Love and Shame and Love explores the universals with stunning originality and wisdom.

The Wapshot Chronicles by John Cheever (purchase)
When The Wapshot Chronicle was published in 1957, John Cheever was already recognized as a writer of superb short stories. But The Wapshot Chronicle, which won the 1958 National Book Award, established him as a major novelist.
Based in part on Cheever's adolescence in New England, the novel follows the destinies of the impecunious and wildly eccentric Wapshots of St. Botolphs, a quintessential Massachusetts fishing village. Here are the stories of Captain Leander Wapshot, venerable sea dog and would-be suicide; of his licentious older son, Moses; and of Moses' adoring and errant younger brother, Coverly. Tragic and funny, ribald and splendidly picaresque, The Wapshot Chronicle is a family narrative in the tradition of Trollope, Dickens, and Henry James.

Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue (from a friend ~ thank you!)
Born to rough cloth in working-class London in 1748, Mary Saunders hungers for linen and lace. Her lust for a shiny red ribbon leads her to a life of prostitution at a young age, where she encounters a freedom unknown to virtuous young women. But a dangerous misstep sends her fleeing to Monmouth and the refuge of the middle-class household of Mrs. Jones, to become the seamstress her mother always expected her to be and to live the ordinary life of an ordinary girl. Although Mary becomes a close confidante of Mrs. Jones, her desire for a better life leads her back to prostitution. She remains true only to the three rules she learned on the streets of London: Never give up your liberty; Clothes make the woman; Clothes are the greatest lie ever told. In the end, it is clothes, their splendor and their deception, that lead Mary to disaster.
Emma Donoghue's daring, sensually charged prose casts a new sheen on the squalor and glamour of eighteenth-century England. Accurate, masterfully written, and infused with themes that still bedevil us today, Slammerkin is historical fiction for all readers.

~ Persephone Secret Santa Gift ~

2011-12-16T12:45:00.000-05:00

Today is the day we reveal the gift we received from our Persephone Secret Santa. I opened my gift this morning - it's been sitting on the shelf tormenting me!

Christy from the blog, A Good Stopping Point, sent me The Making of a Marchioness by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I'm thrilled! Thank you you Christy! I have wanted to read this book for a long time.

This is the picture on the front of the Classic Persephone, my copy is the beautiful Persephone dove-grey and from the website:

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886) and The Secret Garden (1911) are enduring bestsellers, but this 1901 novel is many people's favourite: Nancy Mitford and Marghanita Laski loved it, and some US college courses teach it alongside Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre.

Part I, the original Marchioness, is in the Cinderella (and Miss Pettigrew) tradition, while Part II, called The Methods of Lady Walderhurst, is an absorbing melodrama; most novels end 'and they lived happily ever after' but this one develops into a realistic commentary on late-Victorian marriage. 'Delightful... A sparky sense of humour combined with lively social commentary make this a joy to read' wrote the Bookseller. Kate Saunders told Open Book listeners that she was up until two in the morning finishing this 'wildly romantic tale whose 'hero and heroine are totally unromantic' (Daily Telegraph); the Guardian referred to 'a touch of Edith Wharton's stern unsentimentality'; the Spectator wrote about the novel's 'singular charm'; and the Daily Mail stressed the 'sharp observations in this charming tale.'

My book is lined with this beautiful tulip print and came with a matching bookmark!

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~

2011-12-13T10:26:00.000-05:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. Share the opening paragraph (or two) of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph. I requested an ARC of this book from the publisher through Shelf Awareness after I read about the story and then an excerpt. This is a novel about several flawed characters and their dysfunctional relationships over a period of years. These kind of books always interest me and the opening paragraphs grabbed my attention.

Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea to read Diane's selection this week and be sure to visit and read the contributions of other participants in this fun meme!

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw

So Carmen was married, just. She sat under a huge butter moon, on a windless night in the summer of 1983, at a table, in front of the remains of some chicken cordon bleu. She looked toward the improvised dance floor where her very new husband was doing the Mexican hat dance with several other large men, three of them his brothers, other Sloans. Matt was a plodding hat-dancer; his kicks threw the others off the beat. In spite of this lack of aptitude, he was waving her over, beckoning her to join in. She waved back as though she thought he was just saying hi. She was hoping to sit out this early phase of her marriage, the mortifying dances segment.
“Don’t be discouraged. Everything will get better from here.”
This was Jean Arbuthnot, who sat next to Carmen, tapping the ash of her cigarette onto her rice pilaf. Jean and Alice, Carmen’s sister, were among the artists who had taken over this old farm in the middle of Wisconsin. Jean played and recorded traditional folk music in a workshop on the edge of the property. Alice painted in a studio that occupied half the barn.
“Bad dancer doesn’t mean anything else, does it?” Carmen said. Matt was now doing a white-guy boogie to a bad cover of “Let’s Get Physical,” shooting his hands out in an incoherent semaphore. “Like being bad at parallel parking means you’re bad in bed?” She pushed back her chair. “I’ve got to pee. This is apparently a big part of being pregnant. I didn’t know that before.”

What are your thoughts about these 2 opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

~ Sunday Salon ~

2011-12-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

Hello! Some of you may have noticed my blog has been very quiet the past week. Late last Sunday night (after watching the Jets win, yay!) I felt really tired suddenly and got a headache which is unusual for me, and a very sore throat. I figured it was the start of a cold. By Monday morning it was pretty obvious to me it was not just a cold. I woke up feeling kind of awful although I had a pretty cool raspy, sexy voice, apparently, due to a bit of laryngitis! lol A trip to my pulmonologist revealed pneumonia. ugh! And he wanted to put me in the hospital so the doctors could monitor my lungs etc. etc. double ugh! I talked him out of that by promising to stay in bed and only rest and if I felt worse, I would go to the hospital. It always amazes me how tired, like bone-weary, difficult-to- walk tired effect pneumonia has...on me sometimes anyway. A few times during the week when I thought I felt better, I checked my email and visited some blogs until realizing I couldn't hold my head up. I wish I had a laptop this week. {Others around here (who shall remain nameless) disagree and argued this was a reason why we shouldn't have a laptop because I wouldn't rest if I had one!} I’m feeling better, stronger but still tired and weak.

I have so much catching up to do with reading and reviews! I had a lot of trouble focusing while trying to read this week but I didn’t realize, at first, that it was actually the words on the page that were the problem. Thinking it was the kind of book or the story, I kept trying different books until I finally realized, after reading the first few chapters in six different books, that it was the size of the words on the page that were making my eyes cross and giving me a headache! So I read some of The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston but even that was difficult after a while. I wish I’d had some graphic novels. I listened to some of When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson a little bit, too! Now I have bits and pieces of all these different books swimming around in my head! I need to get book organized as soon as I feel up to it and finish up some of the lighter books and then focus on the others.

Today I am going to try to finish The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine which is good but I prefer Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. I’m also just about finished Family Album by Penelope Lively - I started this a long time ago and put it aside for some review books I needed to read. I picked it up again this week having forgotten what a good book it is. Finally I’m enjoying Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, although some of it is a little slow. I’ll also be rooting for the Jets this afternoon just because it‘s fun!
I hope you all have a fun, relaxing Sunday ~ any good plans or good books to read today?

Happy Reading
Enjoy your Sunday!

~ Saturday Snapshot ~ The Art of Relaxing!

2011-12-10T11:35:00.000-05:00

I've been sick all week with pneumonia so I've been taking it easy and sleeping as much as possible. I haven't achieved quite the level of relaxation of some of the cats, but I'm working on it!

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at her blog, At Home with Books. It's easy to participate, just post a photo taken by you, a friend or a family member and link to the Mister Linky at the bottom of Alyce's post.

~ Sunday Salon : A Tropical December in the Northeast! ~

2011-12-04T11:33:00.000-05:00

December 4th and it's almost 60 degrees outside! It's a little bit like Bizarre-o World! If not for the Christmas decorations popping up everywhere, I think I'd forget it was December! I'm not complaining, honest...I think this is awesome! My wheels don't move so well in snow and slush and being able to get out and go on my own is the best. At least once every winter after a storm, I've had to be rescued by passers-by when my wheels get sucked into a deeper-than-it-looks pile of snow and slush. lol It would be great if the days surrounding Christmas were a little more wintry but it's no big deal really.

This is the kitty-cats ideal weather. Some of them have energy to spare. Some, like Big Bob, still sleep the day away! Mr. Magoo spends the nights running outside to play and then back in, resting for 20 minutes and running back out again to play! Lola wakes up in the morning in play mode and seems to run everywhere, jumping up and twisting around every couple of feet! I was in the kitchen the other morning putting the cat's food out and I heard this weird scratching sound from the other room. Lola found an old cat toy underneath some piece of furniture or other and dragged it out to play with - it's a round plastic ring with a ball inside of it. The ball spins around the ring, while the cat to tries and get it by sticking their paw into the ring. What Lola doesn't realize is the ball will never come out of the ring! Lola's been playing with this toy all week. She gets so into trying to catch the ball and she's so focused on what she's doing, she ends up dragging the entire ring across the floor, it's very funny to watch!

Today is review day for me (I hope!) I'd like to draft several reviews and finish up a few that I left unfinished. It's getting to the point where I'm stressing too much about these reviews I haven't done and if I wait much longer, the reviews are going to become an unpleasant task I have to get done rather than something I enjoy doing. So I'm on a mission! The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta and The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern are two of the books on m review list! I'm hoping to finish The Lotus Reader by Tatjana Soli which I've been taking my time with and spend some time with The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles by Haruki Murakami!

Happy Reading!
I hope you have a great Sunday!

~ Saturday Snapshot ~ Some Rescue Cats!

2011-12-03T13:00:00.000-05:00

These are some of the cats we've rescued and adopted in the last couple of years!

Gidget and Lola. We found these two outside in the freezing cold, dead of winter sleeping in a large ceramic flower pot on top of each other.

Finnegan. Finny is one of the happiest, easy-going cats I've ever known.

Elliot. He looks a lot like Mr. Magoo but isn't cross-eyed...he has a similar disposition, too.

Moses. He was a kitten and loved to play hard until he was exhausted...he used to just suddenly fall asleep while playing. The first time it happened I thought something was wrong, but nope, he simply exhausted himself!

Casey. He's a big, muscular tom cat who loved being petted!

Rascal (he looks a bit like a racoon!)

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at At Home with Books. It's easy to participate, just post an original photo, one taken by you, a friend or a family member and link to the Mister Linky at the bottom of Alyce's post.

~ ~ Wondrous Words Wednesday ~ ~

2011-11-30T11:06:00.000-05:00

The following words are from The Easter Parade by Richard Yates

" The public relations photographer did his job well, and so did the editors of the rotogravure section of The New York Times."

1. Rotogravure
: (Roto or Gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process; that is, it involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinder because, like offset printing and flexography, it uses a rotary printing press (the images to be printed are curved around a cylinder). Once a staple of newspaper photo features, the rotogravure process is still used for commercial printing of magazines, postcards, and corrugated (cardboard) product packaging. (from Wikipedia).

"It's not just a bore," she said once of a tiresome eighteenth-century novel, "it's a pernicious bore."
2. Pernicious
: highly injurious or destructive, deadly;
: archaic, wicked
(**this is one of those words that refuses to stick in my head!)

" There were small carbuncular knobs on the back of his neck and out across his shoulders, but if she squinted very slightly she didn't see them."

3. Carbuncular
: a painful local purulent inflammation of the skin and deeper tissues with multiple openings for the discharge of pus and usually necrosis and sloughing of dead tissue.

" But the messy stack of manuscript was there waiting for her in the morning, after a fitful sleep; and she had to acknowledge, with an editor's gelid eye, that it didn't read well at all."

4. Gelid
: extremely cold; icy

These words are from Volt: Stories by Alan Heathcock

" From high in his combine, Winslow eyed the dormant train, the engine far to the west, the coal cars deep into the eastern woods. "

1. Combine
: a harvesting machine for cutting and threshing grain in the field.

" From the corner of his eye, Winslow noticed a flash of white in the crop, then a crouching man sprang and dashed in front of the harrower. "

2. Harrower
: an agricultural implement with spike-like teeth or upright disks, drawn chiefly over plowed land to level it, break up clods, root up weeds, etc.

" Miriam heard something. A breaking in the swale. "

3. Swale
: a low place in a tract of land, usually moister and often having ranker vegetation than the adjacent higher land.
: a valleylike intersection of two slopes in a piece of land.

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~

2011-11-29T11:44:00.000-05:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. Share the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph. I received this book many months ago and it's been catching my eye at least once a day ever since. I wanted to read it when I received it and I want to read it even more now! The author is very well known and highly praised for her short stories. There have been many very positive reviews about this novel, too. My BBAW interview blogger match, Gayle, Everyday I Write the Book, named it as one of her top five favorite books of 2011, too!

Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea and read Diane's selection this week and be sure to visit and read the contributions of other participants in this terrific meme who can be found in the comments!

The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson

The bride and groom had two wedding receptions: the first was in the basement of the Lutheran church right after the ceremony, with punch and cake and coffee and pastel mints. This was for those of the bride's relatives who were stern about alcohol. The basement was low-ceilinged and smelled of metallic furnace heat. Old ladies wearing corsages sat on folding chairs, while other guests stood and managed their cake plates and plastic forks as best they could. The pastor smiled with professional benevolence. The bride and groom posed for pictures, buoyed by adrenaline and relief. There had been so much promised and prepared, and now everything had finally come to pass.

By five o'clock the last of the crowd had retrieved their winter coats and boots from the cloakroom and headed out. It was January, with two weeks of hard-packed snow underfoot and more on the way, and most of them had long drives from Grenada, over country roads to get back home. The second reception was just beginning at the American Legion hall, where there would be a buffet supper, a bar, and a dance band.

What are your thoughts about these 2 opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

Mailbox Monday!

2011-11-28T10:02:00.001-05:00

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books. I've missed a couple of weeks of Mailbox Monday so, below are some of the titles I received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained. Mailbox Monday is being hosted by the Mailbox Monday Tour blog this week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

The Night Sky: A Journey from Dachau to Denver and Back by Maria Sutton (for review from the author)

This extraordinary and unflinchingly honest memoir takes us on a riveting journey into the hearts and souls of three enigmatic people whose destinies are forever changed by the events of World War II. The secrets of misguided love and passions are revealed as the author journeys between the past and the present to solve the mystery of a handsome Polish officer with piercing blue eyes and sun-colored hair. Maria Sutton takes us to the dark green hills and valleys of the ancient Carpathian Mountains in Ukraine, where the woody fragrance of birch trees and new-mown hay fills the fresh, crisp air after a heavy rain. Vicariously, we see a sunrise over Poland obscured by brightly colored swastikas on warplanes and then we will be taken into suffocating cattle cars, lice-infested stalags, and to the Dachau death camp. Further down a country road, the hearty laughter and beer steins clinking with each salute to the Fuhrer’s astonishing victories can be heard. As Maria takes us on this odyssey to solve a decades-long mystery, she learns the family secrets of untold heroism, quiet courage, and a mother’s love — and of tragedy, disillusionment, and heartbreak. At the end of her long journey, Maria uncovers a shattering and painful truth. But the secret, however heartbreaking, would also become the greatest gift she would receive.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo (from the publisher)

In this brilliantly written, fast-paced book, based on three years of uncompromising reporting, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human. Annawadi is a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport, and as India starts to prosper, Annawadians are electric with hope. Abdul, a reflective and enterprising Muslim teenager, sees “a fortune beyond counting” in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away. Asha, a woman of formidable wit and deep scars from a childhood in rural poverty, has identified an alternate route to the middle class: political corruption. With a little luck, her sensitive, beautiful daughter—Annawadi’s “most-everything girl”—will soon become its first female college graduate. And even the poorest Annawadians, like Kalu, a fifteen-year-old scrap-metal thief, believe themselves inching closer to the good lives and good times they call “the full enjoy.” But then Abdul the garbage sorter is falsely accused in a shocking tragedy; terror and a global recession rock the city; and suppressed tensions over religion, caste, sex, power and economic envy turn brutal. As the tenderest individual hopes intersect with the greatest global truths, the true contours of a competitive age are revealed. And so, too, are the imaginations and courage of the people of Annawadi. With intelligence, humor, and deep insight into what connects human beings to one another in an era of tumultuous change, Behind the Beautiful Forevers carries the reader headlong into one of the twenty-first century’s hidden worlds, and into the lives of people impossible to forget.

Carry the One by Carol Anshaw (from the publisher via Shelf Awareness)

This stunning, break-out achievement has already been hailed by Emma Donoghue, bestselling author of Room, for presenting “passion and addiction, guilt and damage, all the beautiful mess of family life. Carry the One will lift readers off their feet and bear them along on its eloquent tide.” Carry the One begins in the hours following Carmen’s wedding reception, when a car filled with stoned, drunk, and sleepy guests accidently hits and kills a girl on a dark, country road. For the next twenty-five years, those involved, including Carmen and her brother and sister, connect and disconnect and reconnect with each other and their victim. As one character says, “When you add us up, you always have to carry the one. Through friendships and love affairs; marriage and divorce; parenthood, holidays, and the modest tragedies and joys of ordinary days, Carry the One shows how one life affects another and how those who thrive and those who self-destruct are closer to each other than we’d expect. Deceptively short and simple in its premise, this novel derives its power and appeal from the author’s beautifully precise use of language; her sympathy for her very recognizable, flawed characters; and her persuasive belief in the transforming forces of time and love.

Love at First Bark by Julie Klam (from publisher, Penguin, for review)

The bestselling memoirist shows how saving a dog can sometimes help you save yourself. Julie Klam writes about dogs with a rollicking wit and a radiating warmth-as no other writer can. In her bestselling memoir You Had Me at Woof, she shared the secrets of happiness she learned as an occasionally frazzled but always devoted owner of Boston terriers. Now, with the same enchanting, pop culture-infused amalgam of humor and poignancy that reached the The New York Times and the Today show and won the hearts of readers across the country, she returns with more humorous insight into life with canine companions. Klam focuses here on dog rescue, and its healing power not only for the dogs who are cared for and able to find good homes, but also for the people who bond with these animals. Klam became involved with rescue after years as an owner of purebred dogs. She was looking for a way to help and participate in a community, but she never imagined just how much she would receive in return. The dogs she has rescued through the years have filled her life with laughter and contentment, sorrow and frustration, and they have made certain that she never has a dull moment. Along the way, she has collected stories from friends who have also found that guiding dogs to nurturing homes made their own lives richer. These experiences, which show us that even in our smallest gestures we can make a big difference, inspired Love at First Bark.

The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston (win from Kaye, Pudgy Penguin Perusals Thank you!)

Frankie’s dreams of becoming a writer, she must forgo a scholarship to a prestigious women’s college to help her widowed mother. But when a mysterious Captain James sweeps her off her feet, her mother finds a way to protect Frankie from the less-than-noble intentions of her unsuitable beau. Through a kaleidoscopic array of vintage postcards, letters, magazine ads, ticket stubs, catalogue pages, fabric swatches, candy wrappers, fashion spreads, menus and more, we meet and follow Frankie on her journey in search of success and love. Once at Vassar, Frankie crosses paths with intellectuals and writers, among them “Vincent,” (alumna Edna St. Vincent Millay), who encourages Frankie to move to Greenwich Village and pursue her writing. When heartbreak finds her in New York, she sets off for Paris aboard the S.S. Mauritania, where she keeps company with two exiled Russian princes and a “spinster adventuress.” In Paris, Frankie takes a garret apartment above Shakespeare & Company, the hub of expat life, only to have a certain ne’er-do-well captain from past reappear. But when a family crisis compels Frankie to return to her small New England hometown, she finds exactly what she had been looking for all along.

The Snow Whale by John Minichillo (win from Serena at Savvy Verse & Wit Thank you!)

When John Jacobs, a mild-mannered suburban office worker, takes a DNA test and discovers that he is part-Inuit, he so embraces his new identity that he declares it his Inupiat tribal right to set forth on a whale hunt. So begins this postmodern satire, a seriocomic, quirky adventure set in the oldest continuously settled town in North America, in the North Slope of Alaska, on the frozen Chukchi Sea, literally at the top of the world, where the inhabitants and their ancestors have depended on subsistence whaling for thousands of years. Minichillo cleverly dishes out a resounding twist on Melville’s classic that re-examines identity, race, and our connection to nature, all while poking fun at our contentment with heated socks in an era defined by global warming.

Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago (from a friend)

On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This of course causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially celebration—flags are hung out on balconies, people dance in the streets. They have achieved the great goal of humanity: eternal life. Then reality hits home—families are left to care for the permanently dying, life-insurance policies become meaningless, and funeral parlors are reduced to arranging burials for pet dogs, cats, hamsters, and parrots. Death sits in her chilly apartment, where she lives alone with scythe and filing cabinets, and contemplates her experiment: What if no one ever died again? What if she, death with a small d, became human and were to fall in love?

Sunday Salon ~ Reading, Reading, Reading...and some other stuff....!

2011-11-27T16:14:00.000-05:00

I meant to post my Sunday Salon much earlier today. And then the day just got away from me! We're having beautiful weather here, almost 70 degrees the last 2 days. I couldn't not take advantage of it especially knowing the weather will probably change to winter kind of weather one of these days! The cats are loving the warm weather and having a bounce in their step and want to play, always a lot of fun!

I didn't do much shopping this weekend. I hate shopping the Friday after Thanksgiving. I probably wouldn't have shopped at all but yesterday in NYC it was "Small Saturday" so we shopped some small stores in a few different areas of Brooklyn. Along with some gifts, I bought some delicious truffles at Jacques Torres, 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami and The Redbreast and Nemesis by Jo Nesbo!

Whenever possible this weekend I've been reading. On Friday afternoon, I was organizing some books. I picked up The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and decided to put it on my nightstand so I'd remember I had it and planning to read it as soon as I could. Like I often do, I flipped through the first few pages and then I read the first page, so aptly titled "Anticipation" and I was gone! I'm not quite finished but I'm hoping to finish The Night Circus tonight. I had no idea how really good this book is despite the positive reviews I read. I didn't think I would like it that much. It's fantastic. I feel badly that I ignored the books I was already reading, (lol) but, oh well, I'll get back to them.

This afternoon I've been watching the Jets playing the Buffalo Bills. It's a relief to see the Jets can still play some decent football. Of course, this is a nail-biter and they're taking it all the way to the end....

Have a wonderful Sunday!
Happy Reading!

Giveaway: Happy Haul-idays from Chronicle Books!!

2011-11-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

Chronicle Books is hosting their 2nd annual Happy Haul-idays event and this year they have added a great element that captures the meaning of the Holiday Season: not only will one lucky blogger and one commenter on the winning blogger's post win $500 worth of books from Chronicle, but the winning blogger will be able to choose a charity to win $500 worth of books from Chronicle!

Here's How to Enter:
1) Write a blog post with a list of Chronicle books valued at up to $500 that you’d like to haul in. Please post about which charity you’d choose and why.
2) Remind your readers that if you win, you get to choose one lucky commenter on your entry post to win the same haul of books.
3) Fill out the quick form on the Chronicle Books giveaway page.
4) Tweet about the giveaway, to increase your chances, using #happyhaulidays and get one extra entry per day.

My charity is the Brooke Jackman Foundation, a non-profit organization working to improve literacy among at-risk children in the New York area. This non-profit was set up by the family of Brooke Jackman after she died in the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. Brooke was only 23 when she died. She loved to read and was interested in helping children so her family started this foundation to honor her.

The books I'd love to win:

(To find out more about the book, click the title)

Don't forget to leave a comment if you want a chance to win my giveaway if I win!

The Commonsense Kitchen
500 Recipes Plus Lessons for a Hand-Crafted Life
By Tom Hudgens
6-7/8 x 9-1/2 in; 608 pp;
2-color illustrations
Hardcover
Published in July, 2010

Time for Dinner
Strategies, Inspiration, and Recipes for Every Night of the Week
By Pilar Guzmn,, Alanna Stang,,and Jenny Rosentrach
7-1/2 x 9 in; 272 pp;
250 color photographs
Hardcover
Published in July, 2010

Sunday Soup
A Year's Worth of Mouthwatering, Easy-to-Make Recipes
By Betty Rosbottom,Photographs by Charles Schiller
8-3/4 x 8 in; 168 pp;
32 color photographs
Paperback
Published in July, 2008

The Exquisite Book
100 Artists Play a Collaborative Game
By Julia Rothman,, Jenny Volvovski,,and Matt Lamothe,Foreword by Dave Eggers
7-1/2 x 9 in; 152 pp;
color images throughout, shrink-wrapped, accordion binding
Hardcover
Published in August, 2010

This Is NPR
By Cokie Roberts,, Susan Stamberg,, Noah Adams,, John Ydstie,, Renee Montagne,, Ari Shapiro,,and David Folkenflik
7-1/4 x 9-1/4 in; 256 pp;
100 color images & photographs, jacketed hardcover with audio CD
Hardcover
Published in October, 2010

More Things Like This
By the Editors of McSweeney,Introduction by Michael Kimmelman,Foreword by Dave Eggers
8-3/4 x 8 in; 224 pp;
289 full-color and b/w images throughout
Hardcover
Published in September, 2009

The Garden at Night
Private Views of Public Edens
Photographs by Linda Rutenberg,Essay by Christopher Dewdney
11 x 13 in; 176 pp;
160 color photographs
Hardcover
Published in September, 2007

The Watercolor Sketchbook Kit
Materials, Techniques, and Projects
Text and illustrations by Curtis Tappenden
7 x 7-1/4 x 1/2 in; 144 pp;
full-color illustrations throughout
Other
Published in June, 2002

Learn to Meditate
A Practical Guide to Self-Discovery and Fulfillment
By David Fontana, PhD
6-1/2 x 9-1/4 in; 160 pp;
130 color illustrations
Paperback
Published in February, 1999

City Walks Architecture: New York
By Alissa Walker,Maps by John Spelman
4-1/8 x 6-3/4 x 1-1/4 in; box with lid, 25 2-panel cards, tri-fold intro card, 25 color maps, 25 color photos
Other
Published in August, 2009

Why Did I Buy This Book?
Over 500 Puzzlers, Teasers, and Challenges to Boost Your Brainpower
By Lynn Brunelle
7 x 8 in; 376 pp;
one-color illustrations throughout
Paperback
Published in March, 2009

The Art of Pixar
The Complete Color Scripts and Select Art from 25 Years of Animation
By Amid Amidi Foreword by John Lasseter
11 x 9 in; 320 pp;
Hardcover
Published in October, 2011

Ernie
A Photographer's Memoir
By Tony Mendoza
8 x 6 in; 80 pp;
52 b/w images
Hardcover
Published in February, 2001

Cats Are Weird
And More Observations
By Jeffrey Brown
6-1/2 x 6-1/2 in; 108 pp;
color and b/w illustrations throughout, die-cut cover with stamping
Hardcover
Published in July, 2010

Drinking, Smoking and Screwing
Great Writers on Good Times
Edited by Sara Nickles,Introduction by Bob Shocochis
5-1/2 by 8-1/2 in; 224 pp;
Paperback
Published in August, 1994

Writer's Workshop in a Book
The Squaw Valley Community of Writers on the Art of Fiction
Introduction by Richard Ford,Edited by Alan Cheuse,and Lisa Alvarez
5-1/2 x 8-1/2 in; 224 pp;
Paperback
Published in May, 2007

This Is My Best
Great Writers Share Their Favorite Work
Edited by Kathy Kiernan,and Retha Powers
5-1/2 x 8-1/4 in; 448 pp;
Paperback
Published in April, 2005

Any Bitter Thing
A Novel
By Monica Wood
5-1/2 x 8 in; 384 pp;
Hardcover
Published in May, 2005

Moleskine® 2012 Daily Planner Red Large Hard Cover
Published in April, 2011

Birch Forest Flexi Journal
By Lisa Congdon
5 x 7-1/2 in; 192 pp;
flexi-binding, color illustrations
Paperback

Sunblooms Bound Journal
By Amy Butler
5 x 7-1/8 in; 224 pp;
color illustrations
Paperback

Native Flowers Mini Journals
By Jill Bliss
4-1/8 x 5-3/4 x 1-1/2 in; four journals: paperback with flexi binding, 4 x 5-1/2, 96 pages each
Paperback

Book Review: Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees

2011-11-23T09:40:00.000-05:00

Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees

Publisher: Harper Perennial
Publishing Date: November 1, 2011
Pages: 336
ISBN: 978-0062015860
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Book Summary: The news arrives in a letter to his sister, Nannerl, in December 1791. But the message carries more than word of Nannerl’s brother’s demise. Two months earlier, Mozart confided to his wife that his life was rapidly drawing to a close . . . and that he knew he had been poisoned.

In Vienna to pay her final respects, Nannerl soon finds herself ensnared in a web of suspicion and intrigue—as the actions of jealous lovers, sinister creditors, rival composers, and Mozart’s Masonic brothers suggest that dark secrets hastened the genius to his grave. As Nannerl digs deeper into the mystery surrounding her brother’s passing, Mozart’s black fate threatens to overtake her as well.

Transporting readers to the salons and concert halls of eighteenth-century Austria, Mozart’s Last Aria is a magnificent historical mystery that pulls back the curtain on a world of soaring music, burning passion, and powerful secrets.

My Thoughts: Classical music has been a part of my life since I was a child. My mother listened to Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, and Mozart on a daily basis. I also share my birthday day with Mozart. I don't know a lot about the lives of these composers, although, or what kind of men they were. So, when I saw Mozart's Last Aria on TLC Book Tours list, I jumped at the chance to read this book. Unfortunately, this book isn't at all what I expected or hoped. Readers who loved Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code, which I did not, will probably enjoy this book much more than I did.

Mozart's sister, Madame Maria Anna Berchtold von Sonnenburg aka 'Nannerl' travels to Vienna from her home in Salzburg upon receiving a letter from her sister-in-law, Constanze, informing her of her brother, Wolfgang Mozart's, death. Nannerl and Mozart have been estranged for at least three years which makes his death all the more painful for Nannerl. She was a talented piano player as a child but Mozart was a genius. When she arrives in Vienna, Nannerl, is asked to perform at a concert given in honor of Mozart. I enjoyed Matt Rees descriptions of Vienna and of Mozart's music as well as of the Mozart family history. As the story progresses, although, it becomes bogged down with melodrama and too many characters as Nannerl tries to ferret out the mystery of Mozart's death. And Nannerl herself becomes a tedious and annoying character.

The mystery of Mozart's death is linked to a secret Masonic society of which many of his friends and patrons may or may not have been members. As Nannerl meets the various characters in Mozart's life, such as the actor Karl Gieseke who seems suspicious of everyone and sleazy, the very smooth actor and singer Herr Schikaneder, patron Prince Lichnowsky and Mozart's fan and friend, Baron van Swieten, she tries to subtly determine what they knew of Mozart's life and death and the secret society. Beyond their names and a few minor details, none of these characters are developed in any major way. As a result, we can not relate to, understand or identify with any of them in any significant way making them and their importance in Mozart's life forgettable.

I found the pace of Mozart's Last Aria frequently schizophrenic. At times, such as when Nannerl is talking with her sister-in-law, thinking about her childhood with Mozart or an aspect of Vienna is described the story flows smoothly, moving at an enjoyable pace. At other times, though, when the secretive Masonic society is brought up or the brewing revolution, the story gets bogged down in confusing details that aren't explained well or sorted out. It almost feels like there are two different stories being told and forced together. Additionally, some scenes that should take barely a page go on for many pages because of crying, hand-wringing and other similar melodrama. But some questions and issues raised by Nannerl that I wanted to know more about, aren't explored in depth but are ignored, even, it seems, forgotten. The result is the mystery of Mozart's death feels contrived and manipulated to make an entertaining, highly dramatic, story.

There are many references to specific pieces of Mozart's music which was wonderful. Several times I listened to some of the named piece on You Tube. In some ways, this made the novel even less satisfactory for me because hearing Mozart's music made me wish for a less entertainment-oriented more solid novel about the life and death of Mozart. Readers who enjoy high drama, embellishment and stories manipulated for entertainment will probably enjoy this book more than I did. In the back of the book, Rees tells about the story behind Mozart's Last Aria and how he came up with this fictional tale. Rees researched quite a bit for this book and the historical details are true but the crime story is his own theory for the most part. I wish I'd known this before I began reading this book. But I now have a desire to know more about Mozart's life and hope to find the time to do some research of my own!

Matt Rees' website

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review this book and to Harper Perennial for a copy of the book.

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros: A Visit from the Goon Squad ~

2011-11-22T10:57:00.000-05:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. Share the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph. I have wanted to read this book for far too long! It first came to my attention when I saw it displayed on a table in Barnes & Noble shortly after it was published. When it came out in paperback this year a lot of book bloggers read it and are reading it. I've read many reviews raving about this unique, creative story that sounds different from almost any other book. It has also won many awards for better or worse! I just know I'm really looking forward to reading this book!

Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea to read Diane's selection this week and be sure to visit and read the contributions of other participants in this terrific meme!

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Found Objects

It began the usual way, in the bathroom of the Lassimo Hotel. Sasha was adjusting her yellow eye shadow in the mirror when she noticed a bag on the floor beside the sink that must have belonged to the woman whose peeing she could faintly hear through the vaultlike door of a toilet stall. Inside the rim of the bag, barely visible, was a wallet made of pale green leather. It was easy for Sasha to recognize, looking back, that the peeing woman's blind trust had provoked her: We live in a city where people will steal the hair off your head if you give them half a chance, but you leave your stuff lying in plain sight and expect it to be waiting for you when you come back? It made her want to teach the woman a lesson. But this wish only camouflaged the deeper feeling Sasha always had: that at, tender wallet, offering itself to her hand-it seemed so dull, so life-as-usual to just leave it there rather than seize the moment, accept the challenge, take the leap, fly the coop, throw caution to the wind, live dangerously ("I get it," Coz, her therapist, said), and take the fucking thing.

"You mean steal it."

What are your thoughts about this opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

~ Sunday Salon ~ Thanksgiving, Cats, Blogging and Books!

2011-11-20T13:39:00.000-05:00

In five days it's Thanksgiving! I think here in NYC we're going to copy Floridians and grill or barbecue our turkeys. It's over 60 degrees here today! (Never mind that it was in the 30s a few days ago!) This is shorts! I recall past Thanksgivings that were so cold I chose to watch Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on TV rather than stand outside and freeze! Of course, the weather has been so wacky and indecisive, we could have a blizzard come Thursday! lolol Whatever the weather is for turkey day is fine but for Christmas I like a little snow...just a little bit, it makes the days that much more festive!

Anybody who visited my blog this week noticed that I didn't post any new content. I joined Molly of The Bumbles Blog and a few other bloggers for the first Reclaim Your Reader week. Unfortunately the week didn't work out for me quite as I hoped. I spent most of the week with my doctors as they dissected the results of the procedure I had a few weeks ago, finally deciding what new meds I should take. My body seems to enjoy being a challenge, though, so, of course I had a reaction to the first medication! The 2nd medication is fine, so far so good! So, I may still be stressed about not having the time and energy to read all of the blogs I want to while also posting on my blog but hopefully I'll feel better and have more time to work on both issues! lol And I'll probably try another week of Reclaiming my Reader in a few months.

The cats are all doing well. Many of them are filling out with winter coming. They tend to eat more and sleep more as the winter months approach. Not only does their fur get thicker and even softer, but some of them get fatter! Hennessey is a white female with a few grey spots, a grey tail and ears. She's small and slim, at least in spring and summer. Henney spends most of her time outside, she just loves wandering, but she always visits at least twice a day for some food! A couple of years ago, Henney got very round and chubby during the winter (I thought she was pregnant even though she’d been fixed!!). We figured she was also eating somewhere else. But when summer came around she was small and slim again! Ever since, her size and shape completely fluctuates with the changing seasons! What’s really weird about it is it doesn’t look like a gradual change, it's more instantaneous! Henney seems to go from slim to adorable, fluffy butterball almost over night! And she slims down again just as quickly! !

I didn’t do a lot of reading this week, either. Ugh! I was distracted and had difficulty focusing because of the medical stuff. I’m reading Mozart’s Last Aria by Matt Rees which is not what I expected. I’m reviewing it this week and then I will sit down and finish The Lotus Reader by Tatjana Soli and The Easter Parade by Richard Yates two great books. I’m also reading Volt by Alan Heathcock, a collection of short stories . This is his debut and the stories are fantastic. The author is available at Goodreads this entire month answering questions about the stories and anything related to writing and being an author. He’s very accessible and enthusiastic. I won Volt from a Goodreads giveaway hosted to highlight the author and his debut and I’m so happy to have won Volt.

Have a wonderful week!
Happy Thanksgiving!

~ Saturday Snapshot ~

2011-11-19T13:17:00.000-05:00

I was looking through some old photos yesterday and came across these. They're from a few years ago - it actually took me a few minutes to place them - but I just love how fascinated this kitten (I think it's Frankie, hard to tell from the back!) is by what's on the TV!

Sunday Salon - A week off...sort of!

2011-11-13T16:55:00.000-05:00

Around this time of year, I tend to feel like I blinked and lost a month or something because it always surprises me when Thanksgiving is almost here and Christmas is less than two months away. It sneaks up on me! I realized how close Christmas is when I watched a segment on the Today Show recently, about the tree - where it came from and how it was found - that will soon be put up in Rockefeller Center and lit on November 30th.

Macy's is unveiling their Christmas windows this Thursday the 17th! Personally, I think Macy's should wait another week. I hate when retailers rush the season. I prefer to make December all about Christmas rather than starting all kinds of Christmas-related things in November or earlier. Of course Macys is trying to encourage people to come to the store in hopes they'll go inside and shop after viewing the decorated windows. I stay as far from the stores as possible in the weeks before Christmas - on-line and mail order shopping works just fine for me! I don't mind going to some stores to walk around and browse but I prefer not to be shopping for anything, it adds pressure and stress and the lines are so long! My favorite time to see the holiday-themestore windows in NYC is late at night: 9 or 10 p.m., even later if they're still lit up. It's not crowded and for some reason it's more exciting, almost magical!

I didn't get a lot of reading done this week. Everyday it seemed like little things kept coming up that had to be taken care of...little things that take a lot of I had to work on, too. So I'm still reading The Lotus Reader by Tajana Soli. I could have rushed through it just to finish it but I decided I didn't want to do that because it's too good a book. I was only able to read a little bit of it this past week. I'm hoping this week I'll get a chance to sit down and really put some time into it! I'm really enjoying The Easter Parade by Richard Yates. His writing is phenomenal. It's one of those books that feels a little weird to say I'm enjoying it because it's not a happy book but it's so very good. I'm also reading Volt by Alan Heathcock. This book is a collection of short stories involving themes such as civilization vs. wilderness, grief, tragedy, remorse, law and lawlessness, forgiveness, judgment and loyalty. Some of the stories are intense and very emotional. They're all intriging so far.

This week I'm participating in Reclaim You Reader, an idea Molly of The Bumbles Blog came up with. Molly came up with this idea due to her frustration with not having the time to both write posts on her blog and visit other blogs to read the posts of other bloggers. This week is, therefore, dedicated to visiting other blogs and commenting on posts! I'm looking forward to the chance to catch up on many of the blogs that I don't often have the opportunity to read as often as I'd like! For all of you who entered The Winters in Bloom giveaway, I will be announcing the winners on Saturday the 19th!

Tonight the Jets are playing the New England Patriots...again. I'm hoping for a different outcome this game!

I hope you're having a wonderful Sunday and have a great week!
Happy Reading!

~ Saturday Snapshot ~

2011-11-12T14:17:00.003-05:00

Bob was feeling a little left out since he hasn't 'starred' on my blog for a long time so here's Bob doing two of the three things he excels at (playing, sleeping and eating!)

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce at her blog, At Home With Books. It's easy to participate, just post a photo taken by you, a friend or a family member and link to the Mister Linky at the bottom of Alyce's post.

Book review: Chosen by Chandra Hoffman

2011-11-09T12:59:00.000-05:00

Chosen by Chandra Hoffman

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Published Date:  November 8, 2011
ISBN: 978-0061974311
Pages: 320
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Book Summary: Chosen features a young caseworker increasingly entangled in the lives of the adoptive and birth parents she represents, and who faces life-altering choices when an extortion attempt goes horribly wrong.

It all begins with a fantasy: the caseworker in her “signing paperwork” charcoal suit, paired with beaming parents cradling their adopted newborn, against a fluorescent-lit delivery room backdrop. It’s this blissful picture that keeps Chloe Pinter, director of The Chosen Child’s domestic adoption program, happy juggling the high demands of her boss and the incessant needs of parents on both sides.

But the job that offers Chloe refuge from her turbulent personal life and Portland’s winter rains soon becomes a battleground itself involving three very different couples: the Novas, college sweethearts who suffered fertility problems but are now expecting their own baby; the McAdoos, a wealthy husband and desperate wife for whom adoption is a last chance; and Jason and Penny, an impoverished couple who have nothing-except the baby everyone wants. When a child goes missing, dreams dissolve into nightmares, and everyone is forced to examine what they really want and where it all went wrong.

My Thoughts: Chloe Pinter is a sweet, thoughtful woman who tries to find the good in everyone. She loves her job at the Chosen Child adoption agency where she represents both sets of parents in the adoption process. Chloe believes she's creating families, the part of her job she finds most rewarding.  A birth mother has to give up the baby in order for Chloe to create a family for another couple. Chloe doesn't initially grasp how emotionally painful this can be for the birth parent(s) despite the sadness, stress and anger often exhibited by the biological mother. Penny and Jason, a young couple pregnant with their first child, sign on with Chloe to create an adoption plan for their first baby. Jason and Penny are young, uneducated, unemployed and broke. Jason chooses Francie and John, an older, very wealthy couple to adopt their baby. Francie became close friends with Eva who, with her husband Paul, was trying to adopt a baby with Chloe's help when Eva became pregnant. During the months Chloe works with and is in contact with these couples, her life changes dramatically. Chloe learns some difficult, devastating lessons and does some things that surprise even her as her life and the lives of these three couples are changed forever for better or worse.

Chosen is a compelling page-turner. Chandra Hoffman foreshadows the disturbing incident that happens to one family early on in the book. The tension builds as the story progresses, with periodic hints throughout the narrative, some subtle others more blatant, of this unsettling incident, until it feels like the book itself will crack in two. When the climactic event finally occurs, it's not so shocking or disturbing for me as it was a relief because I'd been waiting for something big to happen for most of the novel. When I started reading Chosen, I knew a child would go missing since this is in the book summary. I didn't know which parent(s) or couple were involved or whose baby goes missing. This information is provided in the foreshadowing, along with other information, in too many of the chapters. By the time the child went missing, I felt as if I already knew too much of the story already.

Chosen is divided into chapters each dedicated to a specific character. The chapter headings include the name of the character thereby informing us whose story we'll primarily be reading in that chapter. Francie, one of the parents trying to adopt a child with Chosen Child's help, isn't one of the characters whose name heads a chapter. Some of her story is told through emails she writes and many posts she writes on adoption message boards. Francie's posts and emails are tacked on at the end of chapters devoted to other characters which I found a little bit confusing and odd. I thought this was an indication that Francie's not a very important secondary character, but the storyline doesn't support such a supposition.

Francie is an intriguing and irritating character who is desperate, insecure and troubled. She's wanted a child for a long time and she and John tried years of infertility treatments, finally deciding to try adoption. They signed up with Chosen Child and were finally chosen by Jason and Penny to be parents for their baby. Tact isn't one of Francie's strong traits. She's also rather clueless about the impact her words, often carelessly spoken or written, can have.  Jason is an angry, volatile, greedy and abusive man. Penny is better, but not much. I hoped to learn more about these characters, particularly their past and what may have occurred in their lives to make them difficult and unpleasant. Penny, for instance, was brutally raped at one point, but we aren't told much more about this traumatic incident.  Penny and Jason remain until the end of the book, virtually impossible to like or feel sympathy for which made me feel baffled when Chloe does an extremely kind act for them towards the end of the novel.   I was able to feel some empathy for Francie in the second half of the book and understand her a bit more. I'd hoped after she discovers something that deeply impacts her life, Francie would open up and become a woman many readers could identify with and relate to but Francie remained a two-dimensional character

I have similar but bigger issues with Chloe. I feel as if this fascinating character was introduced but we never got to know her all that well. Ms. Hoffman provides hints about Chloe's past life, tantalizing us with tidbits, such as a once close relationship with her father or the twin step-sisters she doesn't want to live too far away from but these relationships are never developed and we never meet these family members. Chloe lives with her boyfriend, Dan, whom she loves but it's hard to understand why except that he's good-looking. Dan's unemployed, frequently crabby and not very supportive of Chloe. I'd hoped to learn more about the history of their relationship and therefore Chloe but we learn little more about them except that Dan is quite self-centered. Chloe doesn't seem to see thisbut, since they're almost always arguing, she's often anxious about going home at the end of the day so why she stays with him is confusing. I hoped to learn more about Chloe and to be able to relate to her better as the book progressed. Instead, despite being the main character in Chosen, I understood Chloe less by the end of the book than I did in the first half of Chosen.

Chandra Hoffman doesn't shy away from providing the wonders and pitfalls that accompany the process of adopting a child in this country with the assistance of a private agency. It's an intense, harrowing situation that can be a terrific experience or parents, the costs involved and who gets paid and how much, rules and regulations of adopting domestically, which vary a bit from state to state, and also the intensity and emotional complexity of adopting a child. Ms. Hoffman weaves this information into the narrative effectively through Chloe's job and experience at Chosen Child and so well that it's an absorbing part of the storyline rather than a dry recitation of facts. Only when I finished Chosen did I realize how much I'd learned about the actuallyadoption process.

Chosen is a fast-paced, page-turning reading experience. On one level it's a fascinating, intense and emotional story. It was only when I finished the book and thought about it, that I realized I had many questions and few answers to my questions. I thought, hoped, I'd rushed through the book looking for the harrowing incident I knew was coming. I wanted it over with and resolved, hopefully in a good way. I went through Chosen, again, not explicitly reading it but reviewing and skimming what I'd read, thinking that in my enthusiasm to know the outcome of the story, I'd missed or forgotten detailed information about Chloe, Francie and other characters. Unfortunately, I didn't find answers to my questions.

Chandra Hoffman's debut novel is well-written and it's apparent she knows how the adoption process works and the emotional experience it can be for all involved. I think seven characters, almost all of whom are integral to the story, is awfully ambitious for a first-time novelist and may be partly why some fall short of the mark. I recommend Chosen for anyone who likes an informative, intense and engaging book that, once you start reading it, is difficult to put down.
Chandra Hoffman's website and blog

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review Chosen and to Harper for a copy of the book.

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~

2011-11-08T10:33:00.000-05:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. Share the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph. I've been a fan of Jane Austen since before college so this modern tribute to Sense and Sensibility has been on my wish list since shortly after it was published.
Don't forget to drop by Bibliophile By the Sea and read Diane's selection this week and be sure to visit and read the contributions of other participants in this terrific meme who can be found in the comments!

The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine

When Joseph Weissmann divorced his wife, he was seventy-eight years old and she was seventy-five. He announced his decision in the kitchen of their apartment on the tenth floor of a large, graceful Central Park West building built at the turn of the last century, the original white tiles of the kitchen still gleaming on the walls around them. Joseph, known as Joe to his colleagues at work but always called Joseph by his wife, said the words “irreconcilable differences,” and saw real confusion in his wife’s eyes.
Irreconcilable differences? she said. Of course there are irreconcilable differences. What on earth does that have to do with divorce?

In Joe’s case it had very little to do with divorce. In Joe’s case, as is so often the case, the reason for the divorce was a woman. But a woman was not, unsurprisingly, the reason he gave his wife.
Irreconcilable differences?

What are your thoughts about these 2 opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

~ Mailbox Monday ~

2011-11-07T10:16:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books. Below are the titles I received for review, won, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the course of the past week. Mailbox Monday is being hosted by the Mailbox Monday Tour blog this week. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Three Weeks in December by Audrey Schulman (from Europa Editions for review)

Mozart's Last Aria by Matt Rees (from Harper Perennial for review)
.

Out of Oz by Gregory McGuire (from Harper Collins for review)

The Informationists by Taylor Stevens (from Random House for review)

The Books of Simon Van Booy (win from Beth Fish Reads):

Everything Beautiful Began After

The Secret Lives of People in Love: Stories

Love Begins in Winter: Stories

The Storm in the Door by Stefan Merrill Block (win from Diary of an Eccentric)

Book Review: Fathermucker by Greg Olear

2011-11-04T11:07:00.000-04:00

Fathermucker by Greg Olear
Publisher: Harper
Published Date: October 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-0062059710
Pages: 320
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.0 out of 5

Book Summary: A day in the life of a dad on the brink: Josh Lansky—second-rate screenwriter, fledgling freelancer, and stay-at-home dad of two preschoolers—has held everything together while his wife is away on business . . . until this morning’s playdate, when he finds out through the mommy grapevine that she might be having an affair. What Josh needs is a break. He’s not going to get one.

My Thoughts: I felt a little bit like I was on a roller-coaster ride while reading Fathermucker. My feelings veered between loving this book, laughing out loud at it and, at one point, almost giving up on the book and refusing to finish it. Josh Lansky drove me nuts during this story: he's funny, intelligent, creative, irritating and an idiot...just your typical man! Granted, he’s got a lot on his plate and he’s surrounded by bored moms, some of whom are a little bit manipulative.

The truth is once you start reading this book, you want to finish it to know what happens. I was rooting for Josh and his family from the beginning. Josh is a stay-at-home dad (SAHD) to 5-year-old Roland and three-year-old Maude. He's also a struggling screenwriter. He sold a script not too long ago that was almost made into a movie starring George Clooney but, in the end, it didn't happen. He’s been dealing with writer’s block ever since. His wife, Stacy, is the breadwinner, working in marketing at IBM. Stacy has been away from their home in New Paltz, NY on business for five days, making Josh's life more difficult than usual.

Josh has been struggling the last few months, feeling uninspired and coping with one of those low periods that’s just a part of life. He's also felt disconnected from Stacy during these low months, a 'bad patch' in their marriage. When one of the mom's at Maude's play dates delivers some shocking news, that she thinks Stacy's having an affair, Josh considers it a very real possibility. In the midst of children playing, running, wailing, and slurping juice boxes, Josh learns his marriage may be in trouble.

Josh is a smart, funny and creative guy who loves his wife and adores his children. He's a great dad and, although he sometimes feel a little insecure about being a SAHD, most of the time he's fine with it, particularly because it should permit him the opportunity to write. Unfortunately, Josh has been simply going through the motions the last few months. He's found it nearly impossible to muster interest in anything. As a result, he knows he 'botched' Stacy's 40th birthday celebratio. He wasn't surprised when their marriage hit a new low for weeks afterwards. He now actually believes he may have blown it for good. Like many men, Josh doesn't easily distinguish his wife's irritation and anger with him from something much more serious, such as Stacy no longer loving him. In typical guy fashion, Josh doesn't try to communicate with Stacy to clear things up immediately. Instead, he decides to try and ferret out the truth on his own in between caring for his children and keeping a semblance of order in the house. Stupidity, confusion and poor judgment may cause Josh to do something he'll very much regret. Our hope is that he comes to his senses before it's too late.

Greg Olear has written a very creative and current book about a dad trying to juggle play dates, school trips and nap time with house hold chores and a flagging freelance career while, at the same time, trying to determine if his marriage is in jeopardy. It's enough to make anybody's head spin, hence, Josh feels he's about to lose his mind. This is especially evident in the screenwriting scenarios he imagines that have Stacy cheating on him with various individuals...each more ridiculous and entertaining than the last!

One of the things I enjoyed the most in Fathermucker are the pop-culture references of which there are many. Josh is well-informed about current music and movies and celebrity relationships...he's obsessed with US magazine! He’s also a big fan of Facebook. He begins every day by checking his Facebook account. It seems the parents in the Lansky's social circle as well as their friends from all over, use Facebook to keep up with each other. Josh is also well-versed in Dr. Seuss and provides a hilarious rundown on the happenings among all of the couples they know in New Paltz using Dr. Seuss language from One fish two fish red fish blue fish and other fantastic well-known titles!

Fathermucker isn't all lightness and fun entertainment as Josh tries struggles to get through the fifth day of Stacy's absence as well as cope with the rumors she's having an affair. His son, Roland, was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome. Olear does an admiral job of showing how Asperger's might manifest in a five-year old with out getting too intense and going over-board. In a chapter titled "Asperger's: A Chronology" Olear gives the history of Asperger's while interspersing, with some wit and humor, Roland's own diagnosis and history of Asperger's. Josh also shares how stressful it has been for he and Stacy coping with Roland's Asperger's since, like most parents, they want his life to be the best it can be.

I read more books by women authors than men. I've been trying to make an effort to read more books by men. But when I first saw this book on TLC Book Tours list I didn't see the author's name...I was attracted by the title and the red lollipop on the cover. I hoped both meant this was a book written with wit and humor. Then when I read the summary for this book and realized it was about a family and, specifically, a dad in crisis, I definitely wanted to read it. I've read many books similar to this one but from the woman's point of view. I was excited to get the man's perspective on a day in the life of raising children, keeping a marriage strong and cultivating a career. I wasn't at all disappointed by this book. Fathermucker was light and entertaining as well as intense and complex. This book has stuck with me since I finished it over a week ago. I've thought about Josh, Stacy, Roland and Maude quite a bit. I'm looking forward to reading more by Mr. Olear and I highly recommend this book to women and men!

Greg Olear's website and blog, Healy Gates.

Thank you so much to TLC Book Tours for the opportunity to read and review Fathermucker and to Harper for a copy of this book.

Book Review: Wings by Karl Friedrich

2011-11-02T11:36:00.000-04:00

Wings by Karl Friedrich

Publisher: McBooks Press
Published Date: April 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-1590135709
Pages: 340
Genre: Non-Fiction; Historical Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Book Summary: Sally Ketchum comes from dirt-poor farm folk. She has little chance of bettering her life until a mysterious barnstormer named Tex teaches her to fly—and becomes the first person worthy of her love. But Tex dies in a freak accident, leaving Sally to make her own way in the world. She enrolls in the U.S. military’s Women Air force Service Pilots (WASP) program, and in a special school located in West Texas begins learning to fly the biggest, fastest, meanest airplanes the military has to offer. She also reluctantly becomes involved with Beau Bayard, a flight instructor and aspiring writer, who seems to offer her everything she could want. But many people see no place for a “skirt” in the cockpit, and Sally soon finds herself pitted against a high-powered Washington lawyer who wants to disband the WASP once and for all. Their battle is a story of extraordinary women who broke society’s rules and became heroes, and of men who stood in their way.

My Thoughts: Wings is absorbing fictionalized account of the very real US military's Women's Air force Service Pilots (WASP) program that operated from September 1942 until December 1944. Civilian women with pilot's licenses enrolled in WASP to be trained by the military for routine, non-combat flying jobs which primarily involved delivering military aircraft to bases around the country and occasionally abroad. The purpose of this program was to free up men in the military for combat by employing women to do the non-combat missions.

Wings is a riveting account of a handful of the female pilots who enroll in flying school in Sweetwater, Texas following an invitation from Jacqueline Cochran, the head of the WASP program. In accessible and simple prose style, author Karl Friedrich informs, through some fascinating female characters that, although the women attending Avenger Field, the flying school, were trained by the US military, they were civilians and remained civilians. Women were only accepted for WASP if they had their pilot's licenses and, at least, 36-hours flying time. Under these regulations, Sally Ketchum, the main character in Wings, easily qualifies having earned a living for several years as a barnstormer working with her boyfriend Tex. Sally enrolls in the flying school after a terrible tragedy that ended her barnstorming days but didn't lessen her love of flying planes.

Sally is an intriguing woman whom, it seems in the early chapters of the book, we are going to come to know quite well. I was really looking forward to getting to know Sally and, through her, the WASPs, because she's a cpativating woman: smart, intense and eager to learn but also quick to anger and often judgmental. It becomes relatively clear why she's like this after we learn she was raised by an alcoholic, bible-thumping father who made her life miserable. We are privy to many of Sally's fits and outbursts, as the story progresses. She quickly and easily becomes irate when she thinks she's not being treated fairly, which happens often to women in the WASP program. Unfortunately, the walls Sally built to protect herself while growing up never come down completely as she seems to see, in almost every man, elements of her dead father.

Sally has experienced so much disappointment and pain in her short life that it's badly impacted her. She reveals that she's longed for, since she was a little girl, someone to love and protect her. I was still surprised when, instead of becoming stranger and more sure of herself, Sally unexpectedly gets romantically involved with her initial training pilot, Beau Bayard, a military man and a terrible pilot who wants to be a writer. On second thought, my hope that Sally would follow a different path was simply a hope since this aspect of the storyline was foreseeable from Bayard's first appearance in the book. I was disappointed that we don't get the chance to identify with Sally. Despite this, Sally's story doesn't follow the stereotypical path similar to several of the other characters like Geri, the nasty, rich one and Dixie, the stunning, superficial women well aware of her power over men. The military men are, of course, all skirt-chasing, horny guys.

Sally remains somewhat of an enigma personality-wise, but there's no mistake about her flying ability. Her talent as a pilot doesn't go unnoticed at the flying school where she's gained a name for herself and a reputation that results in admirable comments from some of the top military men at the school. She's not loved by everyone, though. An egomaniacal, nasty attorney, Ira Waterman, has been sent to Sweetwater by Congress to find a reason to shut down the WASP program. Apparently there are many powerful men in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in the USA who cannot fathom the idea of women leaving the home to fly planes. Mr. Friedrich adds a tantalizing secondary storyline in which Sally has incurred the wrath of Waterman who has made it his mission to destroy her.

Kurt Friedrich has written a captivating story about the WASP program. Despite some issues I have with the book, Wings is an immensely readable story and enjoyable particularly because much of it is true. It's hard to stomach the way women were treated at this time in our country. The military needs their help desperately, yet there are many men in positions of power in the 1940's who, it seems, would rather lost the war than be assisted by women flying planes! It would be laughable if it wasn't so horrendous and painful. The female pilots who attended flying school were given no advantages or benefits and the rumors spread about them were sickening. Many of the residents in Sweetwater believed the female pilots were actually whores for the military!

I highly recommend this book to everyone. It's a fast, entertaining read that's also informative. I was completely unaware of the WASP program before Lisa who co-runs TLC Book Tours asked me if I wanted to review Wings. The WASP program was disbanded in December 1944 and, finally in 1977 the WASP were awarded veteran status. It's sad that it took this long, but at least it happened. In 2009 WASP women were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, a long overdue honor. I'm grateful to Mr. Friedrich for writing this book and shining a light on a brief but remarkable program and time period in our country's history. It's difficult to understand the thought processes and attitudes that resulted in the behind the scenes controversy caused by the WASP program. I wish Wings was longer and Sally was a women we could identify with strongly and were able to relate too, but this is still an important book that should be read by everyone!

Karl Friedrich's website

Thank you to TLC Book Tours for giving me the opportunity to review this book and to McBooks Press for a copy of Wings.

~ First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros ~

2011-11-01T11:09:00.000-04:00

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros is a weekly meme hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea every Tuesday. The idea is to share the opening paragraph (maybe two) of a book you've decided to read based on that paragraph. This book is by a fantastic author whom many of you will know, if not by name, then by the title of his most well known book, Revolutionary Road. I was fortunate to win the book I'm highlighting today, along with one other title by the same author, in a giveaway hosted by Diane, the creator of the wonderful blog hosting this weekly meme! As I say much too often, I have wanted to read all of the other books written by this author for a long time! I haven't yet had a chance too because there are so many books that I want to read therefore, it takes me a long time to get through the various lists of authors and books I have everywhere and anywhere. Hopefully this book is the beginning of spending many months reading, savoring this author's works. Be sure to visit Bibliophile By the Sea and read Diane's selection this week and those of the other participants in this meme!

The Easter Parade by Richard Yates

Neither of the Grimes sisters would have a happy life, and looking back it always seemed that the trouble began with their parents' divorce. That happened in 1930, when Sarah was nine years old and Emily five. Their mother, who encouraged both girls to call her "Pookie", took them out of New York to a rented house in Tenafly, New Jersey, where she thought the schools would be better and where she hoped to launch a career in suburban real estate. It didn't work out - very few of her plans for independence - and they left Tenafly after two years, but it was a memorable time for the girls.
"Doesn't your father ever come home?" other children would ask, and Sarah would always take the lead in explaining what a divorce was.
"Do you ever get to see him?"
"Sure we do."
"Where does he live?"
"In New York City."
"What does he do?"
"He writes headlines. He writes headlines in the New York Sun." And the way she said it made it clear they ought to be impressed.

What are your thoughts about these 2 opening paragraphs? Would you read this book based on these paragraphs?

(Bibliophile by the Sea doesn't have power due to the freak snow storm so if you visit her blog there isn't a meme entry for today - hopefully Diane will be back tomorrow)

Review: The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian

2011-10-31T17:17:00.000-04:00

The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian
Publisher: Crown
Published Date: October 4, 2011
ISBN: 978-0307394996
Pages: 400
Genre: Mystery; Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Book Summary: In a dusty corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire, a door has long been sealed shut with 39 six-inch-long carriage bolts.

The home's new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin ten-year-old daughters. Together they hope to rebuild their lives there after Chip, an airline pilot, has to ditch his 70-seat regional jet in Lake Champlain after double engine failure. Unlike the Miracle on the Hudson, however, most of the passengers aboard Flight 1611 die on impact or drown. The body count? Thirty-nine – a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door. Meanwhile, Emily finds herself wondering about the women in this sparsely populated White Mountain village – self-proclaimed herbalists – and their interest in her fifth-grade daughters. Are the women mad? Or is it her husband, in the wake of the tragedy, whose grip on sanity has become desperately tenuous?

The result is a poignant and powerful ghost story with all the hallmarks readers have come to expect from bestselling novelist Chris Bohjalian: a palpable sense of place, an unerring sense of the demons that drive us, and characters we care about deeply.

The difference this time? Some of those characters are dead.

My Thoughts: I don't often purchase newly published contemporary fiction but the past few months many enticing books have come out that have been receiving wonderful reviews in the book blogging community and elsewhere. The Night Strangers is one such book. I have been reading and enjoying Chris Bohjalian's books for years. I haven't read all of his books yet but I have read many of them and I've never been disappointed. So when I read about The Night Strangers I couldn't resist buying it and I'm very happy I did.

The action and suspense in this novel begins almost as soon as you start reading. Mr. Bohjalian doesn't ease his readers into this story but begins with a bang as we read about a harrowing plane crash had by pilot, Chip Linton. It's the stuff of nightmares even for those of us simply reading about it. Anyone even vaguely familiar with current events and fascinating 'happenings' of the last few years will recognize the plane crash in The Night Strangers opening scenes. Chip Linton's crash isn't the same as the one in the news a few years ago but Mr. Bohjalian does a terrific job paying homage to the heroic pilot of that crash while making Chip Linton's his own. This nightmarish tragedy changes not just Chip's life but the lives of his entire family forever.

Chip and Emily decide to move their family, pre-teen, twin daughters Hallie and Garnet, to the small town of Bethel, New Hampshire. Moving from an urban area to suburbia is always a big change, requiring adjustments and the time to get used to a different way of life. That's an understatement in the Linton's case. The family not only has Chip's crash and its impact on him as well as on their lives to cope with, but, within a short time of moving into the 3-floor Victorian house they bought, the Linton's lives seem to go from bad to worse as strange things begin happening around them. They also discover some unsettling facts about the family that owned and lived in the house before them. And Chip finds a small door in the basement bolted closed with 39 bolts, the same number as passengers who died in the plane crash.

Unbeknownst to the Linton family, they've moved to a town populated by a large group of women who call themselves 'herbalists'. Residents of the town who aren't part of the 'herbalists' cadre think the women are more like witches...but few residents of the town will talk about the herbalists to anyone. Half the town seems petrified of these women and convinced harm will come to them and their families if they say a bad word against the 'herbalists'. These herbalists seem quite taken with the Linton family. Many of the women stop by unannounced, frequently, bringing baked goods and dinners, particularly Anise who seems to be the leader of the group. Little by little, these women and some others infiltrate every aspect of the Linton's lives before they know it.

Meanwhile, Chip Linton seems to be losing his mind. Nightmares, hallucinations or something more sinister is going on with him and within him. As the story progresses, it seems as if there are two Chips because he behaves so differently one minute to the next. Some of the herbalists are very interested in Chip just as some are focused on the twins. Could these women be manipulating Chip, causing his breakdown. But why would they want to do this?

Bohjalian does a masterful job of giving us hints about what's happening in Bethel to the Linton family by providing glimpses here and there of conversations between the herbalists regarding things they've done in the past and why they are so interested in the Linton family. It's not difficult to figure out these women are up to something but whether good or bad is not easy to determine nor is their motivation. When I finally understood what was happening in the book I gasped out loud.

This is an unnerving, creepy story with many of the hallmarks of good ghost stories. In addition to the various points of view, Bohjalian's writing gives us vivid descriptions and creates an atmosphere that's tense, suspenseful and creepy. I read this book late into the night reluctant to put it down but I also wanted to be sure I didn't rush through it. The ending really took me by surprise, too. I lost count of how many times I reread it and several pages prior to it. I'm still not quite sure what I think about it...but I love that Bohjalian took me by surprise so much!

The only issue I had with The Night Strangers was Emily Linton's willingness to allow these women she barely knew into her family's life as if they were old and trusted friends. She even allowed them to care for the twins every day after school. But I also question how I feel because I think these women 'herbalists' (witches!?!) may very well have been manipulating the thoughts and behavior of all of the Linton's. When they weren't wining and dining the family, they were filling their refrigerator with all kinds of food so....

I highly recommend you read this book! You won't be disappointed, especially if you enjoy creepy, suspenseful stories.

Chris Bohjalian's website and blog, Idyll Banter

My Sunday Salon...all kinds of stuff & the winner of my Literary Blog Hop!

2011-10-30T13:59:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! I hope nobody is snowed in or without power. A friend of mine and her family live in NJ and lost power late yesterday and are still without it. We got several inches of snow here which is already melting. Some areas in NJ and more upstate NY got walloped by a major snowstorm. The kind of snow was very wet and heavy and, as a result, branches and limbs broke off trees in many spots causing power outages and general mess and chaos. Sheesh! I hope this isn't a sign of what's to come for winter...the Southwest is looking really nice right about now! lol

My youngest and smallest cat, Lola, sat at the window yesterday just watching the snow fall. A few times she pawed at it so I opened it for her. Lola stuck her head out, pulled it right back in, shook and then looked at me and uttered this high-pitched, long, whiney & sad sounding meow - I felt guilty as if the storm was my fault! lolol By late afternoon, 3 cats were sitting around the window staring outside in disbelief that they still couldn't go out. As you can guess, my home is empty of cats today...the sky is blue, the sun is shining and warm and there's not a feline in sight!

I'll be happy to see October come to an end, though. It hasn't been the best month for me health-wise. I had a right heart catherization on Tuesday...what a looooong day it was! I have a fantastic, sweet as-can-be cardiologist who adores her patients and treats each of us like we're her only patient. She's also an excellent doctor. Of course, this means she's in high demand and always busy. As a result, I waited over 2 hours before I was even put in a room and prepped for the procedure and once I was ready and in a mini-OR (I hate those rooms) we waited for her some more...apparently this was partly due to a miscommunication from her staff of 4, all of whom thought the other one had let my Dr. know we were ready. (Grrrrr!). The procedure itself went fine but the results weren't great. I came home exhausted, a little stressed and down. My doctor contacted in the following days to let me know what medicine she had ordered for me and when it arrives at her office, I'll go in and they'll tell me all about it For the first few months of taking it, I'll have to have monthly blood draws etc. Ooooo, does the fun ever end?!! lol Her office is well-situated, since it's in Union Square, quite close to a B & N and, even better, The Strand! Wonderful retail therapy galore!

I think I was more stressed and upset than I realized because I had difficulty sleeping the few nights after the procedure. But I also had difficulty focusing so I didn't get much reading done either which irritated me! Then on Friday night, I fell asleep at 8:30 and woke up 12 hours later! Yay! I'm finally feeling good and well-rested and, most important, back on track reading!

I had hoped to be, if not finished with, at least three-quarters of the way through Tatjana Soli's The Lotus Eaters by Friday for the readalong at Caroline's blog, Beauty and the Sleeping Cat but that didn't happen. It's taken me a little while to get into the book but I'm really enjoying it now. I'm about 5 pages from the end of The Leftovers by Tom Perotta, a very interesting book! I am three-quarters of the way through Don't Breathe A Word by Jennifer McMahon and having difficulty continuing with the book because it's half fantasy, faeries and the shadow people. This isn't the kind of story I really like unless it involves children playing which it does...sort of. I'll finish it to see what happens, hoping there's an explanation for all of it! I'm really enjoying Wings by Karl Friedrich which I'll be reviewing later this week. I have plenty of reviews to post and write, too! And, since The Jets have the weekend off, I don't have the excuse of football to distract me!

I realize I never posted who won my Literary Blog Hop Giveaway! Sorry about this!

The winner of a copy of The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar is Mama Munky of the blog, Babies Books and Signs. Congratulations!
Mama Munky was emailed with the good news & already sent me her address. Soone she will have a copy of this fantastic book which I hope she enjoys!

What book/books are you enjoying this weekend?
Have a great Sunday!

~ Saturday Snapshot ~

2011-10-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

It's snowing outside right now! Holy cow, Halloween hasn't even come yet! A day like today is a great day for getting cozy and reading! Jojo and, especially, Addie (the black & white kitty) have been very mushy and attention-seeking the last few weeks . Whenever Addie and Jojo come in from outside, they run up to me, Addie meowing the entire time, and when they reach me, they rub their heads all over my hands, arms, legs, and, if I'm reading, all over my book! They also like to sit on me or right next to me, if they can, when I'm reading. Neither Addie nor Jojo is a fan of being held, as you can see in the photo where I'm holding Addie, or trying to!, but otherwise they adore being petted and fawned over.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce, At Home With Books. It's easy to participate, just post a photo taken by you, a friend or a family member and link to the Mister Linky at the bottom of Alyce's post.

Review: In the Woods by Tana French

2011-10-27T14:18:00.000-04:00

In the Woods by Tana French

Publisher: Penguin Books
Published Date: May 27, 2008
ISBN: 978-0143113492
Pages: 464
Genre: Mystery; Detective Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Book Summary: As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children, gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled shoes, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox – his partner and closest friend – find themselves investigating a case with chilling links to that long-ago disappearance. Now, with only snippets of buried memories to guide him, Rob has the chance to unravel both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

My Thoughts: I cannot believe I waited so long to read this book. Tana French is a super star in the genre of mystery and detective fiction especially considering this was her debut, a fact which still takes me by surprise. A multi-layered plot, terrific character development and top-notch suspense make this book an edge-of-your-seat, can't-put-it-down read!

There's just about something for everybody in In the Woods. It's mainly a mystery with an intriguing murder that comes to light early in the book and involves a riveting investigation. Possibly linked to this is an unsolved case from many years ago that serves as a secondary story-line. There is also a relationship, and potential romance, story-line that's captivating and extremely well-written with some of the best chemistry of any book, TV show or movie I've experienced! Ms. French has filled the pages of her debut with an enticing, magnetic story of many parts that kept me treading well into the night and not regretting a minute of the sleep I sacrificed!

Detective Rob Ryan and Detective Cassie Maddox are the fascinating stars of In the Woods and will keep you engrossed until the very end. Maddox is tough and up to proving she can play with the big boys and beat them at their game. Many of the detectives in the murder squad, all men, don't believe it's a place for women and that includes Maddox's boss, O'Kelly. Ryan doesn't have the same opinion as his colleagues, especially when the woman is Detective Cassie Maddox. Ryan and Maddox become a great pair, equally engaging and likeable, at least in the beginning. Ryan, it seems, has some pretty intense secrets from the days of his childhood. When they come to light and threaten his spot in the investigation of the young girl's murder, he asks nicely, or manipulates, depending on your point of view, his partner Maddox into keeping his secret. This decision could prove detrimental to both their careers and it's at this point the story takes on a little extra intrigue!

I became slightly suspicious and wary of Ryan at this point! I couldn't decide whether or not Ryan could be trusted. I also wasn't sure if Maddox was a weak woman, afraid to assert herself, or if she trusted Ryan and believed he had integrity and her back. Clouding these issues was the growing chemistry between Maddox and Ryan. One minute they were definitely just good friends and partners, the next their relationship was much more intimate. With every chapter Ms. French developed Ryan and Maddox a little more with facts and details about their lives and characteristics of their personality until, by the end of the book, I felt as if I knew them both, Maddox in particular.

The primary characters might take up a lot of the space in this story but Ms. French is too good a writer to ignore her secondary characters. Rosalind Devlin, for instance, is an intense, beguiling character who won't be dismissed as simply an interested party in the case. When Rosalind's around the air crackles with tension. Det. Ryan's behavior and his ability as a detective is undeniably questionable when Rosalind is around. This was another reason, in a growing list, of why I doubted Ryan's integrity and professionalism. Ms. French adds further intrigue by permitting Ryan to narrate the story. He has a healthy ego, like many men, and is rather self-absorbed. He can be kind and thoughtful if he so chooses and quite cruel if he doesn't. He's judgmental and doesn't often consider other's opinions or points of view, valid. He's intelligent but he refuses to admit that he's lonely and troubled until it's obvious to everybody that he's losing his mind.

Ms. French kept me on the edge of my seat, as the novel progressed. I was trying to figure out not only who was the murderer, but if the old and new cases were connected. There are subtle, as well as more obvious suggestions regarding possible suspects sprinkled throughout the story that had me choosing first one person and then another as the perpetrator. Eventually I figured it out, partially. Just as this wasn't a straightforward murder investigation, there wasn't a simple, straightforward resolution. Readers probably could figure out the result but Ms. French keeps things complex and intense similar to real life. This isn't a case of point A to point B and when you get there, you've got your man. As in real life, the road is curvy and some of those curves are hair-pin turns. There are many side roads with plenty of dead ends. A person needs to keep their focus on the case, something most detectives learn and can apply, the good ones, anyway. It's easy to get distracted by some of the tangents and Ms. French puts plenty of interesting tangents in our way!

Ms. French's writing flows beautifully from one page to the next and draws you in to the story. At various points the story is intense, riveting and suspenseful but it's also fun, entertaining and funny. and I totally enjoyed the many references to current pop-culture such as South Park's "Who killed Kenny?" If you haven't read any of Tana French's books yet, I highly recommend you start as soon as possible. I've read some grumblings about the ending of In the Woods although I had no problems with it. I think that Ms. French seemed to run out of steam a bit in a few of the chapters leading up to the end as the story line got a little clunky and inelegant but that's also me being picayune. If you enjoy great mysteries and detective fiction you cannot go wrong with the Edgar Award Winning In the Woods by Tana French.

Tana French's website and Facebook page

Wondrous Words Wednesday!

2011-10-26T09:44:00.000-04:00

Wondrous Words Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Bermudaonion's Weblog where we share words that we’ve encountered in our reading. Feel free to join in the fun (please do!) Be sure to leave a link to your post over at Bermudaonion's Weblog.

The following word comes from In the Woods by Tana French

"Few people would have considered her beautiful, but my tastes have always leaned towards bespoke rather than brand name, and I took far more pleasure in looking at her than at any of the busty blond clones whom magazines, insultingly, tell me I should desire."

1. Bespoke
: bespoken, custom-made; tailor-made, made-to-order (commonly used to refer to clothes)

" It was one of the things that first fascinated me about the job - that and the private, functional, elliptical shorthand: latents, trace, Forensics."

2. Elliptical
: (of speech or writing) expressed with extreme or excessive economy; relieved of irrelevant matter

' "So after the tea break Mark told me and Mel to go up there and mattock it back while the others did the drainage ditch." '

3. Mattock
: an instrument for loosening the soil in digging, shaped like a pickax, but having one end broad instead of pointed.

" But those lost, liminal pockets of time are usually solitary; there is something about the idea of a shared one that makes me think of twins, reaching out slow, blond hands in a gravity-free and wordless space.. "

4. Liminal
: (from the Latin word līmen, meaning "a threshold") is a psychological, neurological, or metaphysical subjective state, conscious or unconscious, of being on the "threshold" of or between two different existential planes (from Wikipedia)

~ Mailbox Monday ~

2011-10-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a weekly meme created by Marcia from A girl and her books. Below are the titles I received for review, purchased, or otherwise obtained over the course of the past week. Mailbox Monday currently is on tour in the Book Blogging Community. This month’s host is Serena of Savvy Verse and Wit. Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists!

Chosen by Chandra Hoffman (for review)
Chosen features a young caseworker increasingly entangled in the lives of the adoptive and birth parents she represents, and who faces life-altering choices when an extortion attempt goes horribly wrong.
It all begins with a fantasy: the caseworker in her “signing paperwork” charcoal suit, paired with beaming parents cradling their adopted newborn, against a fluorescent-lit delivery room backdrop. It’s this blissful picture that keeps Chloe Pinter, director of The Chosen Child’s domestic adoption program, happy juggling the high demands of her boss and the incessant needs of parents on both sides.
But the job that offers Chloe refuge from her turbulent personal life and Portland’s winter rains soon becomes a battleground itself involving three very different couples: the Novas, college sweethearts who suffered fertility problems but are now expecting their own baby; the McAdoos, a wealthy husband and desperate wife for whom adoption is a last chance; and Jason and Penny, an impoverished couple who have nothing-except the baby everyone wants. When a child goes missing, dreams dissolve into nightmares, and everyone is forced to examine what they really want and where it all went wrong.

The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli (purchase)
In the final days of a falling Saigon,The Lotus Eaters unfolds the story of three remarkable photographers brought together under the impossible umbrella of war: Helen Adams, a once-naïve ingénue whose ambition conflicts with her desire over the course of the fighting; Linh, the mysterious Vietnamese man who loves her, but is torn between conflicting loyalties to his homeland and his heart; and Sam Darrow, a man addicted to the narcotic of violence, to his intoxicating affair with Helen and to the ever-increasing danger of his job. All three become transformed by the conflict they have risked everything to record.
In this much-heralded debut, Tatjana Soli creates a searing portrait of three souls trapped by their impossible passions, contrasting the wrenching horror of combat and the treachery of obsession with the redemptive power of love.

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh (win from Adam, Roof Beam Reader)
This is the most nostalgic and reflective of Evelyn Waugh's novels, Brideshead Revisited looks back to the golden age before the Second World War. It tells the story of Charles Ryder's infatuation with the Marchmain family and the rapidly disappearing world of privilege they inhabit. Enchanted first by Sebastian at Oxford then by his doomed Catholic family, in particular his remote sister, Julia, Charles comes finally to recognize his spiritual and social distance from them.

Volt by Alan Heathcock (win from TNBBC:The Next Best Book Blog)
A blistering new collection of stories from an exhilarating new voice.
One man kills another after neither will move his pickup truck from the road. A female sheriff in a flooded town attempts to cover up a murder. When a farmer harvesting a field accidentally runs over his son, his grief sets him off walking, mile after mile. A band of teens bent on destruction runs amok in a deserted town at night. As these men and women lash out at the inscrutable churn of the world around them, they find a grim measure of peace in their solitude.
Throughout VOLT, Alan Heathcock’s stark realism is leavened by a lyric energy that matches the brutality of the surface. And as you move through the wind-lashed landscape of these stories, faint signs of hope appear underfoot. In Volt, the work of a writer who’s hell-bent on wrenching out whatever beauty this savage world has to offer, Heathcock’s tales of lives set afire light up the sky like signal flares touched off in a moment of desperation

~ Post-Readathon Sunday Salon! ~

2011-10-23T13:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Dewey's 24-Hour Readathon. It was a lot of fun! Thank you to everyone who left me messages of encouragement and cheer. I didn't get as much reading done as I hoped too. I have one of those colds where your head feels like it weighs 500 lbs. Every time I picked up a book and started reading it was great for 15 or 20 minutes and then Zonk!...zzzzzzzz! And there went another 45 minutes or an hour. lolol It seems I can't get enough sleep. I decided to start cheering a little earlier than I planned to during the readathon. I had a lot of fun visiting readathon participants blogs and encouraging and cheering them on! This was the first time I participated as a cheerleader and I thought it was really fun! If I cheer at the next readathon - I probably will - I think I'd like to come up with a few rhymes or cheers to make it easier to know what to say...and faster! And I think it's a good way to get readers excited.

Between my cold and 'losing' Dopey I forgot to post a few reviews I have ready and haven't quite complete by review of In the Woods but I'd like to post it before the end of the week and include it in the R.I.P. Peril Challenge. I finished reading The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian. What a book. I'm still thinking about it a little bit, especially the ending. Can't decide what I think of it! I'm reading The Leftovers by Tom Perotta, The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli , a great book, and Don't Breathe A Word by Jennifer McMahon, which I'm having a little trouble getting into and I'm not sure why.

I'm watching the Jets play San Diego and I'm beginning to wonder if it's a good idea. ugh! lolol
We're having beautiful weather here today. I hope you are, too, wherever you're signing on from!
Hey, did you all hear that Tim Burton is designing a balloon for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Pretty cool!

Have a great Sunday!

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon: Update!

2011-10-22T18:06:00.000-04:00

Read-a-Thon Update: Hour 10

This is a brief check-in mostly because I don't have a lot to report. After my initial readathon post this morning I read for a while and then fell asleep! After a 45 minute nap, I decided to get on-line and do some cheering. It's a lot of fun although a little time consuming! I posted a few cheer comments on twitter, too. I hope I did it correctly! I've visited about 40 blogs so far, commenting & cheering! Then I took a break from cheering to read a little more. Oh, yes & feed the kitties. They're feeling a little neglected which I realized when Mr. Magoo & Addie climbed on me at the same time...they're usually not big on sharing!

Pages read: 110
From what books: The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta and The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli
Time read: 1 hour 50 minutes
Blogs visited: 41

The Readathon Begins!

2011-10-22T09:21:00.000-04:00

Read-a-Thon Hour 1

1) I am reading from Brooklyn, NY this sunny, chilly morning!

2) I am addicted to coffee; I love working crossword puzzles even though they sometimes make me feel dumb!; and, since somebody exclaimed over this a couple of days ago ~ I'm very short, as in I wish I was 5 ft. tall!

3) My TBR pile for the Readathon contains 8 books, not because I expect to read 8 but because I'm never quite sure what I'll feel like reading

4) My goals for the Readathon changed this morning because I am sick. I started getting the symptoms of a cold Thursday afternoon and by this morning I've got a terrible headache, sore throat, bad cough etc. I was sick a couple of weeks ago & I guess I didn't completely shake it. So today I just want to get some reading done. I signed up to be a cheerleader for part of the marathon and I want to make sure I do my share of cheering for bloggers participating in the Readathon.

5) In past Readathons, I've found that once you get on-line to update how you're doing during the Readathon, compete in some of the Readathon challenges and visit some other blogger readers and wish them luck, lots of time can pass eating into your reading time. My advice is to be mindful of that and, if your goal is to get a lot of reading done, limit your internet time. But above all, make sure you have Fun!