Katiekrug's Climb to 75, Part the Third

Vernazza, part of the Cinqueterre, on the Italian coast
September 2010




Part the First is here
Part the Second is here

JANUARY
1. Still Life by Louise Penny
2. England, England by Julian Barnes
3. Still Missing by Chevy Stevens
4. Mirabilis by Susann Cokal
5. Trespass by Rose Tremain
6. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig
7. I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali

FEBRUARY
8. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
9. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
10. Down the Nile: Alone in a Fisherman's Skiff by Rosemary Mahoney
11. The Church of Dead Girls by Stephen Dobyns
12. The Awakening by Kate Chopin
13. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

MARCH
14. If I Stay by Gayle Forman
15. White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
16. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
17. The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
18. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie
19. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
20. Life Studies by Susan Vreeland
21. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
22. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
23. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
24. The Various Haunts of Men by Susan Hill
25. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King

APRIL
26. Something Missing by Matthew Dicks
-- Haunted Ground by Erin Hart (Did Not Finish)
27. In the Woods by Tana French
-- And I Shall Have Some Peace There by Margaret Roach (Did Not Finish)
28. My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
-- How To Be Cool by Johana Edwards (Did Not Finish)
29. Disquiet by Julia Leigh
30. Without by Donald Hall
31. Room by Emma Donoghue
32. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
33. Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey

MAY
34. Idyll Banter: Weekly Excursions to a Very Small Town by Chris Bohjalian
35. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
36. The Ideal Man by Julie Garwood
37. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett
38. Silk by Alessandro Baricco
39. Murder on Astor Place by Victoria Thompson
-- A Window Across the River by Brian Morton (Did Not Finish)
40. The Cinderella Deal by Jennifer Crusie
41. The Last Talk with Lola Faye by Thomas H. Cook
42. Animal Farm by George Orwell
43. The March by E.L. Doctorow
44. Soulless by Gail Carriger
45. The Lion by Nelson DeMille

JUNE
46. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
-- The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White by Doug Merlino (Did Not Finish)
47. The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
48. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
49. Eighteen Acres by Nicolle Wallace
50. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
51. The Outlaw Sea by William Langewiesche
52. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen
53. Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott
54. Amore and Amaretti by Victoria Cosford
55. The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

JULY
56. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie
57. Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan
58. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
59. The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill
60. Partitions by Amit Majmudar
61. The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig
62. Emma by Jane Austen

AUGUST
63. Bright's Passage by Josh Ritter
64. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
65. Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
66. The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

Welcome, welcome!

Love, love, love your picture! It brings back some lovely memories. I visited the Cinque Terre a few years ago and stayed overnight at a little hotel in Vernazza.

Oh my, first second visitor! Your introductory picture is gorgeous, Katie. I wouldn't be able to go to sleep in this beautiful place for fear of rolling out of bed and down the cliff into the sea. LOL!

Congratulations on your new position at work. I hope it still allows you plenty of time for reading.

I'm here! And congrats on getting the new position!

My friend did a Europe tour this past summer and one of the stops was Cinqueterre and she did she it was one of the most beautiful places she has ever seen. :)

I have your new thread starred. What a gorgeous picture to kick things off! I have never been to the Cinque Terre but have heard it is amazing.

Beautiful picture and congratulations on the new job!

Wow, what a beautiful photo! Nice new thread, and congrats on your new job!

Nice photo, I hope to go there next year, fingers crossed. And congratulations on your job as well!

Love the photo.

Congratulations on the new job, Katie!

Wow, lots of visitors! I love it!

Thank you all for your kind messages :) I am very excited to start a new challenge - and it will be a challenge, at least until I get my feet wet.

I went to Italy last year (for work) but took a few days off afterward with some friends, and one of the things we did was a boat tour up the coast, stopping at three of the villages of the Cinqueterre. The photo up top was taken at a bar perched way up high on the cliff where we collapsed after hiking up. The Cinqueterre is absolutely, amazingly gorgeous and I hope to go back to the area at some point.

Love the photo, Katie, and great news about the new job!

Shiny new thread with a wonderfully pretty photo. Add my congratulations on your new job to your collection!

Thanks, Stasia and Micky!

Wish I had some book news. I am still working on Mansfield Park. I am enjoying it but find it a more difficult read than P&P, S&S and Emma.

I am also trying to get through an ER book from a few months ago. It's starting to get better so hopefully I can make some headway over the weekend....

found you!!

congrats on the new job position :) and what a breathtaking picture to start your thread off with!

have a great weekend Katie!

Thanks, Kara! Have a great weekend yourself - hope you get some time to relax!

Amazon sent me a gift today! Isn't that nice? I, of course, had nothing to do with it...

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes (based on Pat's -phebj - recommendation)
The True Deceiver by Tove Jansson (based on Darryl's - kidzdoc - recommendation; and it's a NYRB which I adore!)
A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz (there is an essay on each Austen novel and what it taught him about "love, friendship, and the things that really matter"; the idea of a male perspective on this fascinates me, and I plan to read each essay after I've read the correpsonding novel but I'll dig right in on Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice since I've already read them...)

Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

”She told me about a group of people in Guinea who carry the sky on their heads. They are the people of Creation. Strong, tall, and mighty people who can bear anything. Their Maker, she said, gives them the sky to carry because they are strong. These people do not know who they are, but if you see a lot of trouble in your life, it is because you were chosen to carry part of the sky on your head.” (p. 25)

Breath, Eyes, Memory is Danticat’s first novel, and while it suffers from some familiar flaws of first novels, it rises above those to tell a painful and beautiful story of family and women in Haiti. There are many layers to the story – the immigrant experience in New York, political violence in Haiti, maternal love, duty to family – and all are told in a rich prose that I imagine, were it tangible, would have the consistency of a thick, sweet caramel.

”Great gods in Guinea, you are beautiful,” {he} said… “I would crawl inside your dress and live there. I can feed on your beauty like a leech feeds on blood. I would live and die for you. More than the sky loves its stars. More than the night loves its moon. More than the sea loves its mermaids. Strike me, thunder, it’s no lie. We do not know one another, I know. Still I must tell you. You can be the core of my existence. The ‘I’ of my ‘We.’ The first and last letter of my name, which is ‘Yours,’…” (p. 93)

Sophie is twelve when she leaves the only home she has ever known – with her aunt in a village in Haiti – to go to her mother in New York City. But always there is Haiti, both a country and a legacy, which informs their lives and their relationship and whose traditions and superstitions cause a rift between mother and daughter. Eventually, Sophie returns to Haiti with her baby daughter, and this part of the novel with Sophie, her aunt, and her grandmother, was probably my favorite. We are treated to Haitian folk tales, religion, cooking, and other aspects of everyday life. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking.

The end of the novel was less successful for me, as it seemed Danticat felt the need to throw in as many “women’s issues” as possible – abortion, bulimia, suicide, female genital mutilation – in order to indicate the Importance of her story. Unfortunately, her story needed very little else than what it already had; what could have been a 4.75 or 5 star read for me suffered from this debut author’s over-enthusiasm. 4 stars

Other passages I liked:

“I felt broken at the end of the meeting, but a little closer to being free. I didn’t feel guilty about burning my mother’s name anymore. I knew my hurt and hers were links in a long chain and if she hurt me, it was because she was hurt, too. It was up to me to avoid my turn in the fire. It was up to me to make sure that my daughter never slept with ghosts, never lived with nightmares, and never had her name burnt in flames.” (p. 203)

”I come from a place where breath, eyes, and memory are one, a place from which you carry your past like the hair on your head. Where women return to their children as butterflies or as tears in the eyes of the statues that their daughters pray to. My mother was as brave as stars at dawn. She too was from this place. My mother was like that woman who could never bleed and then could never stop bleeding, the one who gave in to her pain, to live as a butterfly. Yes, my mother was like me.” (p. 234)

Wow, great review of Breath, Eyes, Memory, Katie. I loved those quotes so this book went right on my WL. I wish I could get to it for Darryl's TIOLI challenge this month but I doubt that will happen.

Lovely review, Katie. I may need to check that one out!

Hi Pat and Joanne - If you get a chance, do read it! It's powerful and so rich and lovely.

Wonderful review Katie! I really appreciated the quotes you included and I will be adding this to my list as well. :)
Thumbs from me of course!

#20: I have not read that one by Danticat yet. I must remedy that immediately! Thanks for the review - and reminder, Katie!

>20 katiekrug:: great review, and I agree with you about some of its flaws. Nevertheless I liked it, and I like her work generally.

#24 - Thanks, Valerie. I think you'd like it!

#25 - You are quite welcome, Stasia :)

#26 - Thanks, Laura. I am planning to read more of Danticat's work.

#27: I have only read one of Danticat's books, but it was an excellent one: Brother, I'm Dying.

Great review of Breath, Eyes, Memory, Katie! I'll probably read it next week.

I agree with Stasia; Brother, I'm Dying was excellent.

Stasia - I've added Brother, I'm Dying to my wishlist, along with a couple of other Danticat titles.

Darryl - Thank you! I think you'll like the book.

Aggravating Sunday: I am completely unmotivated to do the work I need to get done, our washer has decided not to wash, I broke a wine glass, and the dog decided to dig up a flower bed. Hopefully, the day will be redeemed by a Mavs win over the Heat tonight!

>28 alcottacre:: yes, I liked Brother, I'm Dying a lot; I rated it 4 stars vs. 3.5 for Breath, Eyes, Memory.

I was curious about my ratings for the Danticat books I've read. Exactly the same as Laura's in Post 31! I've also read The Farming of Bones and rated it 4 stars. It was in my Top Ten for 1999. Hmmm, wondering if Danticat has anything new(er) that I can read. Like I need more books. ;-)

>30 katiekrug:: Sorry you are having a bad day, Katie. Good luck to the Mavs. I'll admit I had to Google it. I had no idea that basketball was still going on! I thought you were referring to the heat in the Dallas weather, but couldn't figure out how Mavs could affect it. Duh!

#31 - It does look very good, Laura.

#32 - Good to see you, Donna! I wouldn't mind the heat down here subsiding a bit, but at the moment the Miami Heat outranks it on my "Do Not Like" list.

>32 Donna828:: well that's quite a coincidence Donna!

Breath, Eyes, Memory I read a long time ago and your great review brought it all back to me :)

hope today is better then the Aggravating Sunday you had

Thanks, Kara!

The washer is fixed thanks to my awesome husband, but I think our a/c is about to die. It is currently 98 here in lovely Dallas, so I am a bit concerned...

And Dallas lost the game last night :(

The Hustle: One Team and Ten Lives in Black and White by Doug Merlino

This was an ER book, and the second work of non-fiction I've received from the program. I think I will stop requesting non-fiction from unknown authors. It is a difficult genre to do well, and Merlino does not seem up to the task. I'm about halfway through this book and have decided to abandon it.

The premise of The Hustle is interesting but I don't think there is enough of a story here. To fill pages, Merlino discusses the settling of Seattle, the city's economy, and the beginning (and end) of the dot com bubble. The center of the story is supposed to be a youth basketball team in 1986 that drew players from the inner city and an exclusive prep school. The idea was that boundaries would be crossed, opportunities provided, lives changed, etc., etc., etc. None of that really seems to have happened, and the story is pretty shallow. It just could not hold my interest.

The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny

Another very good entry in the Inspector Gamache/Three Pines mystery series. Penny continues her strong characterization and dry humor in this one, and the creepy suspense is well-balanced by the charm of the village and its denizens. There is a lot of depth to this series; don’t be fooled by the “cozy” façade. 4 stars

As an aside, I own a copy of the book, but after reading so many great reviews on LT of the narration by Ralph Cosham on the audio version, I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed and very much enjoyed listening to this one.

Oh yay! Another fan of Ralph! Glad to hear you liked both the book and the narration.

One bad book balanced by one good book :)

#39 - He was fantastic!

#40 - Seems fair, right? They can't all be stellar.

Hi Katie, glad to see you will be on the bus to Three Pines with the rest of us Penny fans. I'm anxiously awaiting the 7th book which is coming out in August.

#42 - Hi Bonnie! I am trying to pace myself with Three Pines, but it's been difficult...

I won't be on LT much for a few days - work tomorrow, and then I am flying up to NY for my high school reunion. It's pretty much in the boonies, so I don't expect to have much internet access. But I do have several books on the Kindle to bring with me and hope to get some reading done.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Have a great time, Katie!

Have a great time at your reunion. I will be looking forward to your review when you get back. :)

This would be a great time to read The Red Garden or Kings of the Earth, both set in the boonies of upstate New York. Have fun, Katie!

Have a good time at your High School Reunion.

Thanks, Pat, Valerie, Donna and Judy! I made it back last night - just in time to hear the end of the Mavs basketball game on the radio in the car :)

It was a good trip and I'll have a couple of reviews to post tonight. Right now, my mind is reeling at the amount of catching up I have to do on the threads!

#49: my mind is reeling at the amount of catching up I have to do on the threads!

Just catch up as you can. The threads are not going anywhere :)

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

I approached Mansfield Park with a bit of trepidation, as most Austen fans I know consider this the worst of the lot. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the book. I think the key is to go in with an open mind and to not compare it too closely to Pride and Prejudice or any other work. The writing is excellent and Austen’s humor is very present, especially in the descriptions, dialogue and actions of the secondary characters.

Mansfield Park is different from the other Austens I’ve read (P&P, Sense and Sensibility and Emma) in that it is more serious in its concerns and more of a commentary on morality. But far from boring or preachy, Austen strikes a nice balance between those concerns and the humor and social observation included in her other works.

While I did wish Fanny Price had more spunk in some situations, the circumstances of her childhood and her being brought to Mansfield are such that her rather timid and retreating nature were understandable. Since Mansfield Park is not, to my mind, intended as a romantic work, the lack of chemistry between Fanny and Edmund also makes sense. Austen is less concerned with them as lovers than as moral figures whose interior compasses bring them inexorably together.

This is definitely not my favorite of the Austen novels I’ve read, but it is still entertaining and perhaps more thought-provoking. 4 stars

Great review of Mansfield Park Katie. I am definitely learning a greater appreciation for the classics since I've joined LT. Even if they are not my favourite reads, it is really interesting to see other peoples reactions to the books.

Thanks, Valerie. I enjoy the "classics" but know they're not for everyone. I admire your keeping an open mind!

Eighteen Acres by Nicolle Wallace

This was a fun, fast read that I devoured on an airplane. It tells the interconnected stories of three women – the first female President of the United States, her White House Chief of Staff, and a network reporter covering the White House. While some of the plot developments force one to suspend disbelief in order to succeed, it was a surprisingly good page-turner for a debut novel. There is a lot of drama, some humor, and excellent behind the scenes details about working and living on the 18 acres of the White House complex.

The author is a former White House and campaign staffer and knows of what she speaks (full disclosure: I worked at the White House at the same time as the author, but I don’t think we ever met.). There were a few details that were flat-out wrong, but I think Wallace was trying to advance the story in a coherent way. For instance, a WH Chief of Staff would never have the role in a campaign that the character in this book has; it’s illegal! All in all, though, a good read, especially for a recovering political junkie like me. 3.25 stars

Glad you enjoyed Mansfield Park. It's definitely not my favourite of all Austen's works, but she is my favourite author so I do still love it.

Eighteen Acres looks interesting but I have issues with any fictional White House that isn't The West Wing. :)

Nice review of Mansfield Park, Katie!

#55 Micky - I definitely wouldn't suggest running out and grabbing a copy of Eighteen Acres. It served its purpose when I needed it to!

#56 Thanks, Stasia. I think it was originally your idea to do the Austen-a-thon, so I must thank you as I'm not sure I would have ever gotten around to MP...

Nice review of Mansfield Park, Katie. While it is definitely not my favorite Austen, I wouldn't say it's my least favorite either (That goes to Northanger Abbey.) I just reread MP last year and I quite enjoyed it.

#57: The Austenathon was originally my idea, but since I did a bunk in February, Ilana has been running it (with my ever-lasting gratitude.)

#58 - Thanks, Anne! I have not yet read Northanger Abbey but views seem very mixed. I look forward to seeing which side I come down on.

#59 - Ilana is doing a great job but it was still your idea so my thanks go to you :)

Well, it is nice of you to say so, Katie.

Hi Katie! Glad you had a good time at your reunion! I really enjoyed your reviews, particularly of Breath, Eyes, Memory and Mansfield Park.

Thanks, Anne!

Just checking in... I haven't gotten much reading done as I prepare for a business trip next week. But I should finish All Quiet on the Western Front today. Not sure what I'll pick up next - I was going to do the G.R. of The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet but I want to be able to give it a lot of attention and that's not going to happen just now. My trip is to Monterey, CA to a hotel right on Cannery Row, so I thought I might do Steinbeck. Or, I could try to clear something off my Kindle... decisions, decisions...

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque

”The war has ruined us for everything.” (page 87)

I am a realist, both in everyday life and (as a former student of political science) in my thinking on international affairs, as well. So I don’t buy into the whole “If only our leaders knew what war was like, there would be no more war” argument. There will always be war, plain and simple, like it or not. And some wars are good and useful (yes, I said it). So with all that out in the open, all I can say with regards to All Quiet on the Western Front is “Wow.”

I’ve read other books about war (fiction and non-fiction), seen movies, talked with veterans, etc., etc., etc. But I have never experienced anything like this book. It is real and visceral and haunting and so beautiful. Remarque brings a poetic rhythm to his description of life in the trenches of World War I (the War to End All Wars – HA!). He writes movingly of the sense of loss, of comradeship, of universality amid the everyday horror and terror.

”At once a new warmth flows through me. These voices, these quiet words, these footsteps in the trench behind me recall me at a bound from the terrible loneliness and fear of death by which I had been almost destroyed. They are more to me than life… they are the strongest, most comforting thing there is anywhere: they are the voices of my comrades. I am no longer a shuddering speck of existence, alone in the darkness; I belong to them and they to me; we all share the same fear and same life, we are nearer than lovers, in a simpler, a harder way; I could bury my face in them, in these voices, these words that have saved me and will stand by me.” (page 212)

The narrator, a 20-year old German soldier, leads us through life at war – the stretches of boredom punctuated by intense fear during an attack, the hunger and deprivation, the pain of bullets and shrapnel and gas, the reality of death and suffering, the discomfort and alienation at going home, the sense after a while, that the only place one will ever belong and feel right is at the front. Remarque is strongest when describing the narrator’s growing sense of futility and common cause with all the young men of his generation, whether friend or foe. The war connects them in ways no one else could understand though they may stand on opposite sides.

The novel is full of dichotomous passages that use beautiful prose to describe unspeakable things:

”No longer do we lie helpless, waiting on the scaffold, we can destroy and kill, to save ourselves, to save ourselves and to be revenged. We crouch behind every corner, behind every barrier of barbed wire, and hurl heaps of explosives at the feet of the advancing enemy before we run. The blast of the hand-grenades impinges powerfully on our arms and legs; crouching like cats we run on, overwhelmed by this wave that bears us along, that fills us with ferocity, turns us into thugs, into murderers, into God only knows what devils; this wave that multiplies our strength with fear and madness and greed of life, seeking and fighting for nothing but our deliverance.” (page 114)

An elegiac, haunting testament to the horror of war that deserves to be read, pondered and re-read even if it changes nothing. 4.75 stars

I also thought it an excellent and haunting book.

All Quiet on the Western Front is a haunting book. I read it many, many years ago and it still lingers in my mind. One of the best anti-war novels ever written. Thumbs Up on your review Katie.

Amazing review, I really want to read this quite soon now. Thanks, I gave you a thumb as well.

Bravo on an excellent review of All Quiet on the Western Front Katie. Bonnie's recent review put this on my radar but yours makes me want to read it as soon as possible.

I don't know if you've seen the thread Darryl and Deborah started on the group Reading Globally called War and Regions in Conflict. People are posting their reviews there too. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out and post your excellent review:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/112108

OK, I really really need to read this. Cushla was the first to recommend it, and yours is the second fine review I've read in a week. I think I'll make a note to read it in November, around Remembrance Day.

Hi Morphidae - Thanks for stopping by!

Hello Judy - Thanks for the thumb! I can't believe it took me so long to read it.

Hola Kiwi - Thanks so much for the kind words and the thumb :)

Hey Pat - Thanks! I will check out that link, and I hope you get to AQotWF soon.

Bonjour Laura - That would be a perfect time to read it.

Oh, wow -- great review of All Quiet on the Western Front! I read it years and years ago, but clearly need to pick it up again. Thanks!

Terrific review of AQotWF, Katie!

Thanks, Anne and Stasia! It's the kind of book where you know any review can't do it justice but you want to try....

After going out to dinner last night, the hubby announced he wanted to go to Frye's (an electronics store) and CompUSA (computers). I told him he could either go out of his way and drop me off at home first, or give me $50 and drop me off at the Barnes & Noble on the way. Out of this little arrangement, I came home with The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna and Great Night by Chris Adrian :)

>65 katiekrug:. Great review! I read All Quiet on the Western Front a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it.

>75 katiekrug:. I applaud your cunning. That is a tactical move that I'm going to remember for future reference when the husband wants to spend an hour or two in Lowe's!

Thanks, Amanda! The tactic worked like a charm, since my husband loathes going out of his way for any reason...

>75 katiekrug:: oh, nicely done Katie! I have to remember that trick. Too bad there isn't a bookstore near our local Lowe's.

Great review Katie!

I haven't heard of this book before but I will definitely be looking this one up now. :)

I love your little ploy with the hubby. I will have to stash that in my brain for future use against my own little gadget lover!

Hope you like it when you get to it, Valerie! And hope the trick works for you, too ;)

Fine review of All Quiet on the Western Front Katie. I was happy for your TIOLI Challenge so that I could read this as I had picked it up after I read Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth, another great WWI book.

Thanks, Bonnie. I had moved it up on my TBR pile after reading your review. And I am on the lookout for a copy of Testament of Youth.

An update:

Currently reading The Sugar Queen which is okay. I have about 80 pages left and so far, it's a 3-star read for me.

I am leaving tomorrow for 5 days in beautiful (and cool!) Monterey, California. It's supposed to be 30 to 40 degrees cooler there than here in Dallas, so I am very much looking forward to it.

I plan to bring Cannery Row with me, along with my Kindle which has many good options loaded on it. Unfortunately, the trip is for work so I likely won't get too much reading done.

So that's it. I'll probably be lurking a lot for the next several days, but will try to do a review of The Sugar Queen at some point.

Happy Reading, all!

Have a great trip Katie. Monterey is one of my favorite towns. Hope you get a chance to walk on their beautiful beach.

Whoops, I actually think Carmel is the one with the beautiful beach. Monterey has Cannery Row - great restaurants and shopping!

Oh too bad The Sugar Queen isn't as good of a read for you Katie. I read it earlier this year and really liked the book. I will be curious to see what your review and final thoughts are on it.

Thanks, Judy. The hotel is right on Cannery Row overlooking the water. One of my colleagues arrived there today and emailed that it was "heaven on earth." Can't wait to get there!

Valerie, I'm enjoying it a bit more. It's just not what I expected, I think.

Katie, I hope you have a safe and happy trip!

Thanks, Anne!

Have fun in Monterey!

I am also nearing the end of The Sugar Queen and I am in agreement with you about the three stars. Well, I would probably give it 3 and 1/2 stars. It just isn't striking a strong chord with me either.

You're reading Cannery Row while staying on Cannery Row? What a perfect plan.

#90 - Well, it was supposed to work out that way, but I forgot to pack Cannery Row :( I was in a bit of a rush yesterday morning...

I have three books needing reviews, which I hope to find some time to do today - The Outlaw Sea by William Langewiesche, The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen, and Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott (which I read on the plane).

This hotel (the Intercontinental Clement Monterey) is beautiful - right on the water, decorated in calming shades of sea green and grey... I wish I could stay here for the next four days just reading...

Hi Katie. Just checking in. Sounds like you're going to enjoy Monterey!

Hi Katie : ). Wonderful review of All Quiet on the Western Front.

passing through and trying to catch up!

have a nice trip...relax as much as you can :)

I have had The Sugar Queen on my list for awhile now...so I will wait to see what you thought of it :)

Hi Pat, Nancy and Kara! Thanks for stopping by.

Monterey is lovely, though I have mostly just seen the inside of the hotel. We are going to a winery in Carmel for dinner tonight, so that should be nice. I still have two more full days of meetings and then back home on Monday. I miss my dog (and my husband)!

Great review of All Quiet. I really have to get to that one since so many whose opinion I respect love it. Enjoy Cannery Row when you get home - it's a good one.

Thanks, Joanne!

I hate the feeling of being behind on reviews, so I will do some quick ones for my last three reads while I sit in a really boring meeting on a gorgeous sunny day in Monterey, CA.



The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

This was a solidly enjoyable read that I initially wasn’t crazy about because I expected something different. Nice bits of magical realism counter-balanced the somewhat heavily caricatured main figures in the story. I will try more of Allen’s books, but will borrow them rather than purchasing. 3.25 stars



The Outlaw Sea: A World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime by William Langewiesche

I listened to this on audio, read by the author himself. It was a random pick from the library, though I am somewhat familiar with the author’s work for Vanity Fair. In reading other reviews once I finished, I learned that the books was really a collection of articles Langewiesche wrote for The Atlantic. I would not have guessed that, as it was pretty seamless, though more interesting in some parts than others. Langewiesche recounts various episodes of crime, piracy and tragedy on the high seas (especially moving was the account of the sinking of The Estonia, a ferry between Talinn and Stockholm which sunk in 1994). The overarching concern of the book seems to be the effects of economic globalization on the safety and health of the world’s oceans. 3.5 stars



Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott

A somewhat fictionalized account of Alcott’s time as a nurse in Washington, DC during the Civil War. At times humorous, eye-opening and very moving, I was much more engaged in this read than I expected to be. It is a short work that stands the test of time. 4 stars

I will come back to share some of my favorite passages from Hospital Sketches when I have my Kindle handy (and am not in a meeting!).

Yikes--a meeting on a Sunday afternoon. Must be an intense conference (or maybe not if you can squeeze in reviews on LT).

I'd actually really like to read Hospital Sketches but can't seem to locate it at my library in book form. You're about the 4th person on LT who's recommended it. Hope you enjoy the rest of your California trip.

Great job knocking off those reviews Katie. Hopefully your work related travelling will be over soon so you can get back to the comforts of home and hubby. :)

I was thinking of The Sugar Queen and realized that she is my definition of "fluff" reading and in terms of the light reading, I would much prefer her over some other books that I've read which really had no content. But I guess it's hard to say in general because I've only read one of her books, but I will have to try the other ones to make a more firm decision.

>98 katiekrug:. I just finished reading Allen's Garden Spells and had a similar reaction. It was cute and predictable and made for nice at the lake vacation reading, but it lacked some substance. I have The Sugar Queen on the shelf, but I think I'll wait a bit before reading it. I think it could be easy to OD on Allen's work.

I had a similar reaction to Hospital Sketches, Katie. Until others here mentioned it, I had no idea that Louisa Alcott had done anything like this. That made the book even better imo.

I'm reading Trespass now. It's dark but I'm lovin' Tremain's writing.

You are in such a beautiful part of the country. I personally think work conferences should be held in boring places like... like... Springfield, MO (I didn't want to upset any LT members so I chose my location) where the summer weather isn't great and there isn't that much to do. It's cruel to put you in a lovely locale and expect you to focus on business.

I have heard so many raves about Hospital Sketches that I just couldn't hold out any longer. I was thrilled to download the complete works of Lousia May Alcott for, I think, about $1.00. Now I have Little Women etc. ready whenever I feel the need for a re-read.

Wow, look at all these visitors!

Pat, I couldn't find a hard copy of Hospital Sketches at the library or any of the used bookstores I frequent, so I had to get it on my Kindle. The meetings I attend are often over the weekend, as our Board members have "real" jobs that make it difficult for them to get away during the week.

Valerie, I am back home now - got in yesterday evening and promptly collapsed :) I agree about The Sugar Queen - it is a step above a lot of "chick lit" and good escapism.

Amanda, Too much Allen at one time could send one into sugar shock! I have Garden Spells on the library list to check out when I need something not too taxing.

Donna, Glad you are enjoying (?) Trespass. It remains one of my favorites of the year so far, but you are right - very dark. Some of my colleagues think my job is so exciting because I travel, but often all I see are airports, airplanes and hotel interiors, so it's not that great. But I have been to some neat places, so I can't really complain and have lots of lovely stamps in my passport :) I am getting nostalgic because I start my new job next week - still some travel, but probably not to as exciting places...

Judy, That is indeed a good bargain! I am still going to look for a hard copy of Hospital Sketches as I would like to have it in my library. I have the copy of Little Women I read when I was 10 or 11, I think, and I recently picked up a copy of Under the Lilacs which I have never read.

I have another review to do this evening (love that reading time on the plane!) for a NetGalley book, and I should finish The Return of the Soldier by tomorrow... And I am eagerly awaiting the new TIOLI challenges. There are some other good challenges here on the 75ers and on Club Read, Reading Globally, and Reading Through Time, so I hope to have a good variety in the next month or so.

Amore and Amaretti by Victoria Cosford

"It is as if the food is just a symbol, an expression of everything that inspires, animates and activates a part of me that ceases to exist when I leave. As if I am two people, or simply a more complete woman."

This was a somewhat disjointed but adequately written memoir of the author’s several sojourns in Italy, focusing on her relationship with a charismatic but temperamental chef. I didn’t find much depth in Cosford’s reflections, but she perfectly evoked Florence and Tuscany for me, a landscape I am always happy to return to. The descriptions of place and cuisine seem to be Cosford’s strengths; I found myself repeatedly drooling over the passages related to the meals she consumed.

"We eat home-grown egg tomatoes drizzled with green olive oil and fresh basil, thick slices of moist white mozzarella, paper-thin cuts of cured beef dressed with oil, finely chopped rocket leaves and shavings of Parmesan cheese, mushrooms marinated in lemon juice and garlic, strips of red and green capsicum bathed in oil, garlic, and parsley, slices of spicy pancetta. There is crusty bread to mop up the juices, and wine is flowing freely."

Mouth-watering food aside, though, I was glad to have received this book gratis from NetGalley, as there wasn’t much to it. I often wanted to throttle Cosford and had little patience for her peripatetic and self-indulgent life. 2.5 stars

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

"There were only two real people in the world, Chris and this woman whose personality was sounding through her squalor like a beautiful voice singing in a darkened room."

I don’t know how to do justice to this perfect little gem of a book. An intriguing story, sparely but fully drawn characters, and language that is rich and languid and heartbreakingly beautiful – it is all here in a book that despite the plot is less about war and more about duty and the sublimation of one’s true character.

Chris Baldry is the titular soldier who returns from the front of World War I suffering from shell shock and amnesia which has erased his memory of the past 15 years. He does not recognize his current life, home, or wife; in fact, he is still infatuated with Margaret, his first love from 15 years ago. The story is narrated by Chris’ cousin, who provides the perfect balance between distance and proximity to the story. As it unfolds, the narrator’s views slowly evolve as she perceives the truth of Chris’ life.

"I felt, indeed, a cold intellectual pride in his refusal to remember his prosperous maturity and his determined dwelling in the time of his first love, for it showed him so much saner than the rest of us, who take life as it comes, loaded with the unessential and the irritating."

How the three women – the wife, cousin, and first love – react to Chris’ condition and the circumstances in which they find themselves forms the central tension of the story. The resolution is both expected and heart-wrenching.

Beyond the plot, however, West imbues the simplest gesture and act with import and grace. Describing a woman sitting beside the sleeping figure of a man, she writes:

"It was the most significant, as it was the loveliest, attitude in the world. It means that the woman has gathered the soul of the man into her soul and is keeping it warm in love and peace so that his body can rest quiet for a little time. That is a great thing for a woman to do… What we desire is greatness such as this, which had given sleep to the beloved."

I had downloaded this onto my Kindle, and at the next opportunity, purchased a copy to add to my permanent library. 5 stars

>106 katiekrug:: Oh yes, that's a fabulous book!
Your review piqued my curiosity and after looking at your library I wondered, have you discovered Virago Modern Classics? Virago Press is a British publisher focused on woman authors, and they have been publishing Virago Modern Classics since 1978. I enjoy hunting for them in used bookshops and occasionally cave in and buy a new edition.

In comparing your library to mine I noticed that many of the books we share were published as VMCs. There's a wonderful Virago Modern Classics group on LT filled with avid readers and collectors. You would be right at home there!

Laura - Thanks very much. I am familiar with the VMCs and have a few. Those dark green spines always catch my eye in used bookstores and cause me to take a look! I will check out the group.

2011 Quarter 2 Summary
Books Read: 30
Pages Read: 6306
Audio Hours: 45:33

Favorites:
In the Woods by Tana French
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
Without by Donald Hall
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The March by E.L. Doctorow
Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West

2011 Totals
Books Read: 55
Pages Read: 14,111
Audio Hours: 45:33

Comments: I was a little less focused this quarter, though I completed more books than in the first (due, no doubt, to my beginning to delve into audio books). I had a lot of misses this quarter, including several books I abandoned. I would like to challenge myself more in the next quarter and read more of my translated and literary fiction. I would also like to do some more reading related to World War I which was the background to two of my favorites of the last few months.

back from my vacation and just scanning the threads...no way of catching up after being gone a week....so, and happy 4th!

Some wonderful reviews. You've made me want to read All Quiet on the Western Front.

The Outlaw Sea sounds like one that I'd enjoy, too.

Hey Kara - Glad to have you back!

Terri - Hope you enjoy them when you get to them!

All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie

This is the second in the Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series, and a fine example of a genre I like to call the “throwaway mystery”. It’s perfectly acceptable, a decent story, and competently written, but nothing really knocks my socks off. There was some further development in the two main characters from the first book, and the mystery plot itself was sufficient to hold my attention, but I know that within a month or so, I won’t really remember much about it. That being said, I will continue with the series – especially since I seemed to have acquired the next 11 books at a Borders closing sale... 3 stars



Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

This Newberry Medal winner is just as charming as I remembered, though for different reasons. As a child, I liked the idea of the pioneer life and a happy family coming together. This time around, I was taken by MacLachlan’s ability to capture perfectly a child’s experience of loss, loneliness and fear. It’s such a sweet story of a motherless family welcoming a mail-order bride to their farm on the prairie, but told with such beautiful imagery and language that there is enough to hold an adult’s attention. 4.5 stars

The movie of Sarah, Plain and Tall was a rainy-day staple at my elementary school. I should find a copy and re-read it--it is interesting to see how reactions to a book change over time.

I remember that movie version - with Glenn Close? Good stuff.

I've finished The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and started on The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill and The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig on audio. I've started my new job and work is crazy, so reviews and such are on the back burner :)

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Good luck with your new job! I find new jobs are ALWAYS crazy. ;)

Hope you like the Susan Hill - I love that series.

I hope you still have time for reading and posting here with your crazy new job. I think The Bluest Eye would have to be my favorite Morrison book and one that I reread from time to time.

#106: I loved The Return of the Soldier, Katie. I am glad to see that you thought so highly of the book too.

#113: I still need to get around to reading Sarah, Plain and Tall. Maybe this will be the month!

#117 - Hi, Joanne! I am enjoying The Pure in Heart. I guess I have forgiven the author for the ending of the first book... :-)

#118 - Donna - I will make time for reading and LT! They are my outlets for de-stressing. I was very taken with The Bluest Eye and can see myself re-reading it in the future; I think the only other Morrison I have read is Beloved which I remember liking when I read it sophomore year in high school... I have Song of Solomon and Paradise on the TBR shelves.

#119 - Hello, Stasia! RotS will definitely be on my list of top reads for this year. SPaT will take you maybe an hour or so to read, and it is so sweet. Hope you get to it sooner rather than later!

The Bluest Eye I really liked too! Song of Solomon I loved :)

My next read I think will be A Mercy :) after Mama Day

happy weekend!

Oh, I have A Mercy, too! Forgot about it... too many books on those darn shelves :)

I started A Mercy right before I went on vaca...thinking I would take it...but Donna was right, it wasn't a vaca read...

looks like one that I will have to submerse myself in, and pay attention to :)

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

"Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another – physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion. In equating physical beauty with virtue, she stripped her mind, bound it, and collected self-contempt by the heap." (page 122)

The Bluest Eye is a searing and brutal story of African American lives in the first half of the 20th century. Incorporating several points of view and different stories, the emotional center of the story is Pecola Breedlove, a young black girl who dreams of having blue eyes, believing they will make her beautiful. Morrison explores themes of prejudice, beauty and self-worth in prose that slices and burns, but which is yet somehow still beautiful. My favorite passage (it's long but worth reading):

"The birdlike gestures are worn away to a mere picking and plucking her way between the tire rims and the sunflowers, between Coke bottles and milkweed, among all the waste and beauty of the world – which is what she herself was. All of our waste which we dumped on her and which she absorbed. And all of our beauty, which was hers first and which she gave to us. All of us – all who knew her – felt so wholesome after we cleaned ourselves on her. We were so beautiful when we stood astride her ugliness. Her simplicity decorated us, her guilt sanctified us, her pain made us glow with health, her awkwardness made us think we had a sense of humor. Her inarticulateness made us believe we were eloquent. Her poverty made us generous. Even her waking dreams we used – to silence our own nightmares. And she let us, and thereby deserved our contempt. We honed our egos on her, padded our characters with her frailty, and yawned in the fantasy of our strength." (page 205)

Pecola’s story is riddled with the ugliness of life and the tragedy of betrayal; through her, Morrison is telling us something about the desire for perfection and the striving for the superlative. There is so much going on in this slim novel that I cannot do it justice. Read it. 5 stars

I have several Toni Morrison works on the TBR list and your review justified their placement there. I will definitely get to them one of these days.

I have not read any of Morrison's books yet. I tried The Bluest Eye several years ago but just think the time was not right for me at that time. I will have to give it another go.

A thumb from me for one of my favorite books. Reading your review makes me want to read this one yet again, Katie. I want to put in a plug for A Mercy which reminded me of Morrison's earlier work before she joined the More-Words-Are-Better Club.

#125 - Micky, I have only read a couple but like what I've gotten to.

#126 - Stasia, I definitely think that one needs to be in the right frame of mind for The Bluest Eye. Not sure what that frame of mind is, but...

#127 - I think A Mercy will probably be my next Morrison, Donna. Thanks for the rec!

Katie:
You've read some great books this year; it's been fun reading your comments. I want to add the Rebecca West book to my list. It sounds wonderful.

My favorite Morrison is Beloved, but I have to admit that I read it twice before I even began to get it. Still, it was worth it. I've taught The Bluest Eye and it has always been a great experience.

#129 - Thanks, Beth. The West is well worth reading - I hope you like it! I've just moseyed over to your thread to check out what you've been up to.

>127 Donna828:: before she joined the More-Words-Are-Better Club
That's funny Donna. I read my first Morrisons several years ago, and I liked them because I felt I should. I don't think I really "got" them. Nevertheless, when A Mercy came out, I had to read it. And I liked it, really & truly I did, but wasn't sure why I enjoyed it more than others. I think you nailed it there.

Nice review of The Bluest Eye, Katie! I've added it to my wish list.

Thanks, Darryl!

After dinner last night, the hubby and I headed over to one of our favorite used bookstores. I did not have a copy of my WL handy, so I spent a pleasant hour just browsing and stumbled across a few books I knew were on the WL but also some surprises. The haul:

The Frozen Thames by Helen Humphreys (a cute little square hardcover)
Mary Anne by Daphne DuMaurier (an old 1970s Penguin edition with a hideous cover)
The King's General by Daphne DuMaurier (I think I read this when I was 13 or so but I don't remember much about it)
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (the copy I read a few weeks ago was from the library and I wanted to have a copy of my own)
The Book of Ebenezer Le Page by G.B. Edwards (a NYRB edition of an intriguing-sounding story about an old man on Guernsey reflecting on his life)
Rhapsody by Dorothy Edwards (an old Virago edition of short stories by an obscure British author who committed suicide at 31)
Miss Ravenel's Conversion from Secession to Loyalty by John W. De Forest (published in 1867; the story of a Southern woman who is changed by the Civil War; according to the back cover, it's the first novel to depict the Civil War with realism)
The Farm by Lough Gur by Mary Carbery (a nonfiction account of rural life in Ireland in the late 19th and early 20th centuries)
Night and Day by Virginia Woolf (first heard about on Ilana's (smiler69) thread)
The Great War and Modern Memory by Paul Fussell (I am on a WWI kick; I read parts of this in high school and college - it's very, very good)
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (the copy I read earlier this month was from the library, and I wanted to have a copy of my own)

So, yay! more books :) I am currently watching the USA v. Brazil womens World Cup quarterfinal, creating collections on my Kindle, and doing laundry.

My current read - The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill - had a slow start but really picked up for me last night, so I hope to make more progress on that today, as well as doing some prep work for the week ahead in the office.

Great haul, Katie!

Thanks, Stasia. I was quite proud of myself :)

Trying to catch up but have to say I love your recent book haul, some titles in there I would love.

Trying to catch up on all the threads and it seems like a lot of people are doing that so it must be summer! :)
I really really need to get a copy of The Bluest Eye. I heard such great things about it and your review is just the cherry on top!

nice review of The Bluest Eye :) I liked that one also

and what a great haul you got!!

Hi Leonie, Valerie and Kara - Thanks for stopping by. I am still thinking about The Bluest Eye - very powerful stuff. Other than that, I'm working a lot so don't have much "booky" news. Should finish my current read by tomorrow - now to find some time to review it :)

The Pure in Heart by Susan Hill

If you like neat, clean, tied-up-with-a-bow resolutions to your crime novels, then this one is not for you. The Pure in Heart is the second in the series featuring Simon Serrailler, and like the first (The Various Haunts of Men), it’s a well-written and thought-provoking read. I found it a bit slow and ponderous for the first 50 pages or so, but after that, I was pulled into the story – actually stories, as there are several parallel plot lines. What Hill does so well, and differently from a lot of crime writers, is explore the effect of tragedy on those left behind. That is where her concern lies, not in the actual whodunit.
Her character development is organic and never forced, and she beautifully renders a sense of place. I found her writing to be exquisite in places:

There had been a place she had kept secure, a place in which there had been a small bright patch of warmth and hope into which she had been able to retreat. No one else knew that it was there but she had relied on it because in there was the truth, that David was alive and well and would come home. Alan had sent a blade slicing through the wall and all the light and brightness and hope had leaked out and turned black, a pool of darkening blood on a floor. The place was empty now, the air foul and contaminating. He had killed the last resource she had. Now there was no hope or comfort.” (page 218)

While there were no easy resolutions to any of the multiple storylines, I finished the book with a feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment. 4.25 stars

#141: Nice review, Katie! I still need to get The Various Haunts of Men read.

I don't usually read mysteries or crime books, in fact, I don't think I've read any in many many years, but that is a wonderful review. Thanks Katie! :)

Stasia - TVHoM was very good, though infuriating at one point. But good enough to continue the series, and this second entry was even better.

Valerie - What I like about the two of htis series I've read so far is that they aren't so much mysteries as really good novels where a crime (or crimes) is used to provide the jumping off point for the story. If that makes any sense :)

I think you've induced me to move The Bluest Eye up on my list, Katie. I've been meaning to read it forever, and even own a copy.

And nice book haul. I am very interested in that Paul Fussell book.

Hi Katie- I need to get back to Toni Morrison. I've been neglecting her for a few years now. I do have the audio of A Mercy, which I plan on getting to.
Also like to read Susan Hill. How do we ever keep up?

I have never been able to get totally through anything by Toni Morrison, although I really want to. I got the farthest in Beloved, but could not finish it. I was just confused, although her writing was beautiful.

Your enthusiastic review is leading me to consider The Bluest Eyes.

I favor mysteries with depth and that address more issues than who did it....so Susan Hill sounds like something I would like. Thanks for the great reviews.

#144: Good to know that the second book is better than the first - assuming that I eventually get the first one read, that is.

Anne, I think you would like The Bluest Eye. It's a pretty straightforward story told in an intricate but not overly complex way. Re: the Fussell book - that is one I will probably dip in and out of but the overall subject is fascinating to me.

Mark, I don't know about you, but I don't keep up! I don't even try anymore :) It's a wonderful problem to have.

Michelle, Thanks for stopping by. I haven't read a lot of Morrison, but between The Bluest Eye and Beloved, the former is definitely easier to follow, though no less brutal in the telling. And I definitely think you should look up Susan Hill - she sounds right up your alley! There were some references to what happened in the first book in the second, but I don't think they have to be read sequentially to be enjoyed.

Stasia, I hope you are finding ways to keep cool in this heat. It is brutal out! I didn't even want to go outside to get the mail today :) As I said to Michelle above, I don't think you have to read the Hill books in order (just FYI in case you stumble across one). Of course, you may be like me and have a "thing" about reading series in order...

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I had placed an order with Amazon last week (the hubby gave me a gift certificate someone gave him), and the package arrived today. I didn't realize when placing the order how all the titles were kind of odd:

What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew by Daniel Pool - I figure it will be a neat reference to have around.

My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me edited by Kate Bernheimer - a collection of traditional fairy tales retold by contemporary writers like Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Cunningham, and Francine Prose.

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente - how could I resist that title? It's a childrens/YA fantasy novel that looks quite good. Not my usual genre, but it sounds intriguing enough.

I am currently reading Partitions by Amit Majmudar, which was recommended by Darryl (kidzdoc) and a few others. So far it is very good, but I think I am going to need something kind of light after this recent string of darker reads...

I do have a "thing" about reading series in order, Katie! It seems to be quite common in these parts.

My way of keeping cool in the heat - I do not go out in it :)

Wonderful review of The Return of the Soldier, Katie. I listened to it in the winter and also loved it and gave it 5 stars ... so beautiful! The Bluest Eye also sounds interesting; I have found Oprah's book recommendations very hit and miss.

Hi Nancy - I will confess, I read The Bluest Eye despite the Oprah tag. I usually don't much like her choices (with a few exceptions).

Love your recent purchases, especially the titles. Can't wait to read your reviews of those ones.

Thanks, Leonie! Good to "see" you :)

Partitions by Amit Majmudar

"If there is one thing dangerously abundant right now, it is certainty. Certainty makes possible in men the most extreme good and the most extreme evil. A land like the Punjab, five rivers and three faiths, could do with a little less certainty." (page 159)

This is a fascinating book about a subject I don’t know very much about – the partition of India in 1947 and the creation of Pakistan. Majmudar tells three stories which parallel the story of Partition and its attendant displacement, fear, violence and loss. There are the twin Hindu boys who are separated from their mother while fleeing what has become the Muslim state of Pakistan; a young Sikh girl who escapes the death planned for her by her own family to prevent her being shamed by the marauding gangs; and an old Muslim doctor who sees his clinic destroyed by Hindu gangs and starts the trek to Pakistan on foot to start anew. As these tales unwind, we are also provided some back-story which provided insight into different kinds of partition within these lives and their families, faiths and communities.

"How little we know each other, though for centuries our homes had shared walls. How little we will learn, now that all we share is a border." (page 97)

This is a harrowing read, with a lot of implicit and explicit violence. It’s also suspenseful, as the reader senses that these three narratives are going to converge, and hopeful in its resolution. It does suffer, in parts, from over-writing (especially in the beginning), but it still grabbed me right away. Overall, a strong debut novel; I hope to see more in the future from Majmudar. 4.25 stars

Great review of Partitions Katie. I'm definitely going to look for this one.

It reminded me of reading Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children. Have you ever read that? The subject matter is the same but the style is magical realism and at times I didn't totally get what was going on but all in all I loved the book.

#155 Sounds fascinating! Great review, Katie.

#155: I know I already have that one in the BlackHole so I am already aware my local library does not have the book. *sigh* Nice review once again, Katie!

>155 katiekrug:: that one sounds interesting!
>156 phebj:: I agree with your take on Midnight's Children, Pat!

Katie- Good review of Partitions. Like Pat, I was also reminded of Midnight's Children, which I had mixed feelings about.

Thanks, Nancy and Stasia!

Pat, Laura, and Mark - It also reminded me of Midnight's Children, which I read in college for a political science class on nationalism. I remember finding the book fascinating but don't recall much detail about it. I still have a copy of it and would like to re-read it. There is always such a difference in experience and reaction between reading a book for pleasure and reading it for a class!

ETA to fix typos.

Just checking in, as I won't be posting much for the next couple of days. I have a bachelorette party this weekend. When I got married, mine consisted of a group of us going out for some hibachi, drinking too many fruity drinks, and singing karaoke. This one involves a resort, water park, dinner, drinks, dancing, and brunch the next day. Huh? I'm exhausted just thinking about it...

As for books, my Kindle tells me I am about 20% done with Emma which I am re-reading for the Austenathon, and probably 2/3 through the audio of The Masque of the Black Tulip. I don't expect to finish either one any time soon as life is rather hectic but we shall see.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, and that if you are living under the "Heat Dome" in the US, you find some way to stay cool! Texas summers are hot, but not usually this bad :(

Have a great time at your bachelorette party, Katie. At least you'll be able to cool off at the water park.

Hi Katie, just catching up here but you've been doing some great reading. The Return of the Soldier is a favorite of mine. And what a great haul from the used bookstore. The Great War and Modern Memory is on my WL as is The Frozen Thames. Have fun at the extreme bachelorette party.

Have a great time this weekend, Katie. Cooling down at the water park sounds like a grand idea!

have fun katie!

Holy hangover, Batman, I am too old for such goings on!

ahahaha, katie's got a killer hangover! check the bathroom for random tiger spottings and the closet for babies! --had a good time?

#167 ah, yes ... experiences from younger days which I don't miss! Glad you enjoyed, Katie.

Hi everybody - Yes, I survived. And the 4-hour nap I took this afternoon has me almost feeling human again :-)

>168 GCPLreader: LOL

Hi Katie, Just checking in and saying hi!

Hi Joanne! I appreciate your stopping - I am slowly making my way through my current reads and haven't had anything good to post. This poor thread has been languishing...

I really liked your review of Partitions Katie. It's on my wish list from when Darryl read it and sounds really good.

Great review of Partitions, Katie--I think I will have to add that to my wishlist. Like others, your review made me think of Midnight's Children, and also of Khamila Shamsie's Burnt Shadows, part of which takes place during the time of Partition.

It's funny, isn't it, when most of what you know about a historical event comes from fiction? (Speaking for myself).

Hi Katie, I am still trying to get caught up with everyone! I loved your review of The Return of the Soldier -- it went straight to the WL! Hope you're having a great summer.

>173 cushlareads: - Hi Cushla! Darryl always reads the most interesting things, and I'm glad I was able to find Partitions at my library. It's now on my WL for purchase.

>174 AnneDC: - Hello Anne! I will have to look up Burnt Shadows, as I'm not familiar with it. I was a history minor in college and much of my interest was first piqued through reading. I went through a spell of reading awful, bodice-ripping historical romances when I was 13 or so, and one night when Jeopardy was on in the house, I correctly answered a question about some random piece of British royal history and my father was dumbfounded. I told him he shouldn't be so disapproving of my reading material, since I learned a lot of history from it :)

>175 AMQS: - And another Anne :) Hi! Get thee a copy of The Return of the Soldier. I think you'll love it. I was looking enviously at the photos you, Joanne and Donna posted of your meet-up - envious because (1) I want to go to an LT meet-up and (2) because I love Colorado. Maybe next year... Texas isn't so far. For our first Valentine's Day, my now-hubby and I drove to Estes Park for a long weekend. Unfortunately, he ended up drinking too much wine (especially given the cold medicine he was taking), and that, combined with the altitude, knocked him flat for about a day and a half - just in time to start the drive back!

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I seem to be very chatty today, probably because it's the only break I've had from work. The new job is great but is keeping me super busy. I just found out today I'll be doing more travel than I first anticipated - New Orleans and Columbus, OH in August for sure, 75% likely going to Jakarta in September (that's a looong flight), and then Denver in late October/early November. It's all good, as I don't mind traveling, it was just kind of a surprise. The best thing about traveling is, of course, the extra time it allows for reading :)

Oh, I hope you do come to Colorado next year (not to mention this fall!) That is a lot of travel! And yes, a lot of reading time -- enjoy!

Long flight to Jakarta = time to read War and Peace

Oh look! I finally finished a book!

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The Masque of the Black Tulip by Lauren Willig

This is the second of the Pink Carnation books, a series that is well-known to anyone who might be interested in them, so I won’t go into much detail. They are silly, fluffy books that don’t work on every level but are good fun. I liked this one better than the first, mostly because I found the two primary characters more enjoyable to spend time with. The plot is ridiculous, of course, but that’s what I like best. Willig is unabashed in her ridiculousness but delivers some genuinely funny moments.

A good light, summer read but nothing more than that. 3 stars

Katie, I really liked Burnt Shadows too. That's a lot of travel coming up!

Hi Katie! Passing through and saying HI as I try to catch up on everyone's thread. :)

Hi Katie- Just swinging by to say hi! Have a great weekend!

Hi Cushla, Valerie and Mark! Good to see you all and I hope you enjoy the weekend!

I also loved Burnt Shadows.

I've added Burnt Shadows to the WL based on all these recommendations :)

Emma by Jane Austen

This was a re-read for me; I first read it one summer in the late 1990s, I think, when my best friend from college and I tried to start a long-distance book club (epic FAIL). This is also my fourth work by Austen this year as I participate in the Austenathon, and it is my least favorite to date.

What I Liked:
- Austen’s characteristic sly humor
- Sweet Mr. Woodhouse
- The perfect picture of life in a small English village
- Mr. Knightley, especially imagined as Jeremy Northam in the 1996 film version with yucky Gwyneth Paltrow

What I Didn’t Like:
- Not enough of Austen’s characteristic sly humor
- Insufferable Emma Woodhouse
- Nearly every single character in the entire novel

I tried, I really did, to like Emma. And I began to by the end when she suddenly matured and saw the error of her meddling, self-centered ways. By that point, though, I had suffered through about 400 pages of gritting my teeth and snarling in disgust, so it was a little bit of too little, too late.

All that being said, Jane Austen is so great – and remains one of my favorite authors – because I can still love her novels even when I seem to hate most parts of them. 4 stars

Nice review, Katie!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who despised the character of Emma in the novel! What's ironic, however, is that I really enjoy movie adaptations of this novel, especially the most recent Masterpiece Theater version. It's rare that I actually like the film more than the book. Great review!

#186 Great review of Emma, Katie, and well said! Indeed, her meddling, self-centered ways grow old very quickly.

I had Emma planned for my July reading but alas vacations knocked everything sideways. Thank you for your lovely review Katie. :)

#187 - Thanks, Stasia! Hope you are keeping cool...

#188 - Oh, phew, Amanda! I'm not alone :) I will have to look up the recent Masterpiece Theater production - I was not aware of it.

#189 - Hi, Nancy! She just struck me as so awful, I couldn't enjoy her "rehabilitation."

#190 - Hey there, Valerie. I don't think you missed too much with this one....

So I'm guessing the 4 stars is based on the merit of the author and not so much the book. :)

#192 - Pretty much :)

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Bright’s Passage by Josh Ritter

”There were no cherubs, no judges, no dying saints. There were no angels or mustard gas, no smoke or beautiful young girls; the dome was simply, blessedly, empty. He felt that he might like to drift in that sky forever, breathe that clean, cold air, and leave the earth below to consume itself.” (page 123)

Musician Josh Ritter has produced a novel that, were it a song, would be one of those heartbreakingly bleak Appalachian folk ballads, sung in a plaintive twang and telling a tale of loss and grief and violence and maybe, just maybe, redemption. Bright’s Passage is an elegiac reflection on lost innocence and lost faith, told through the story of Henry Bright, a veteran of the Great War who returns home to West Virginia accompanied by an angel. Henry’s history is told backwards, while the plot advances forward, and in this way, we learn about his hardscrabble existence in the mountains, his experience in the war, and the cause of the journey he is now on with his new born son, his angel in the guise of a horse, and a goat. And yes, somehow it all works. After a slow start, the intertwining narratives picked up, and I became enthralled in Henry’s story. 4 stars

That's a beautiful review Katie. Big thumbs from me and I will be adding this one to my list. :)

>193 katiekrug:. I'm glad I ran across this--I had no idea that Ritter had written a novel! I'm definitely going to be checking this one out. It will be interesting to experience an artist's work in a different medium.

#194 - Thanks, Valerie! Hope you like it!

#195 - Amanda, I was not familiar with his music so I went to YouTube to listen to some, and it's right up my alley. I have a thing for acoustic singer/songwriters...

I think there is something really attractive about a guy who can play a musical instrument. :D

Beautifully written description and review Katie, you've got me hooked.

Thanks, Leonie -- enjoy!

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

Home from work today with a strained neck, so I picked up this childhood favorite that I had not read in years and years. The story of comraderie and friendship on a farm is just as charming as I remembered. I hope it is still being shared with children today. 4 stars

Hi Katie! How I love Charlotte's Web! I listened to Emma last year on audio, and it is actually my favorite Austen :)

Katie- Excellent review of Bright’s Passage. You gotta Thumb. I've been a big fan of Josh Ritter's music, for quite some time. I'll have to get to this book.

Charlotte's Web is among my top favourite children's book. Glad you enjoyed the reread which reminds me I should read it again sometime. Maybe when my little guy is a older we will enjoy it together. :)

Hi Anne! I had such mixed feelings about Emma...

Thanks, Mark! I really think you'd like the book.

Happy to remind you, Valerie :)

Ah, Charlotte's Web. I love that book.

Laura, I was thinking about it more last night, and I am not 100% certain I ever actually read Charlotte's Web as a child. It was one of my sister's favorites, and I remember she was in a play of it that I saw when I was 6 or so, so I knew the story but I don't think I ever read it. Funny how memories can play tricks on us...

Katie, over lunch today I read a very interesting book review, which I just had to share:
The Story of Charlotte's Web

Thanks, Laura!

Adding Bright's Passage to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Katie!

My pleasure, Stasia!

Hot to trot to get home. House will be clean, I have a big box from BookCloseouts.com waiting for me, and the hubby and I are headed to a local pub for dinner for a special keg tapping and excellent fish and chips. Almost makes me not mind having to walk across the parking lot in the 110F heat :)

Currently reading The Cellist of Sarajevo which is much better than I expected. The library just notified me that I have Jamrach's Menagerie and Snowdrops waiting for me, and I need to find a new audio book.

It's amazing what little things make us happy, isn't it?

Katie- Hope you enjoyed your local pub dinner! The "special keg tapping" sounds enticing. What kind of beer?
I loved The Cellist of Sarajevo. I hope you do too!

Thanks, Mark! It was an altbier from a local brewery (Franconia in McKinney, TX) - I had a taste and it was okay. The hubby seemed to like it, though!

Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich

I listened to this on audio. It was okay. I think I've read one other Stephanie Plum book but I'm not sure which one. There were some funny moments but I don't think I'll pursue the series. 2.5 stars

Sounds like you had a lovely evening Katie! Getting a parcel from Bookcloseouts.com is just the extra cherry on top.

#211: Like Mark, I loved The Cellist of Sarajevo. I hope you enjoy it, Katie.

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway

This is a compulsively readable meditation on the meaning of life, death and identity in the shadow of war. It tells three parallel stories of people grappling with a reality whose very existence calls into question everything they thought they knew about themselves, their city, and their fellow citizens. The cellist of the title is less a character than a catalyst for the internal ruminations and moral struggles faced by the three primary figures. In the end, they each find meaning in the cellist’s commitment to honor the dead and see in him “a certainty that the world still held the capacity for goodness” (page 228). 4 stars

#217 Appreciate the review of The Cellist, Katie - one for the list!

This one is already on the list from so many positive reviews. Thanks for the review Katie! :)

catching up...well, trying to at least :)

much, much good reading done here I see :)

Hi Katie, I'm glad you enjoyed The Cellist of Sarajevo. I enjoyed that one as well. Hope you're having a great weekend!

I loved The Cellist of Sarajevo so I am always glad to see the book acquire a new fan! Nice review, Katie.

#218 - Hello Nancy. Hope you like it!

#219 - You're welcome, Valerie :)

#220 - I've missed you, Kara! Glad to see you peeking in :)

#221 - Thanks, Anne. Why is the weekend always too short? Bah!

#222 - Thanks very much, Stasia. I was talking up the book at dinner with some friends last night :)

A great review of 'Cellist' and now on my list. 'Compulsively readable' is a great description of a book.

Thanks, Leonie!

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I am currently reading Jamrach's Menagerie and enjoying it a lot. I'm only about 60 pages in, but the descriptions and characters are so vivid, it's easy to get wrapped up in. I am also listening to The Chopin Manuscript, a serial thriller in which each chapter was written by a different bestselling author. It's okay - passes my test of keeping me entertained on the drive to and from work.

I'm headed down to New Orleans for a couple of days on Wednesday for work. Normally, I would get lots of reading done being holed up in the hotel, but it is New Orleans, and I am going with a colleague who doesn't believe in sleeping when there are drinks to be had :)

#225 New Orleans sounds fabulous! Enjoy, hehe - and look after that colleague.

#225: I have seen very good reviews of Jamrach's Menagerie, Katie. I hope you continue to enjoy the book.

Safe travels!

Hi Katie. Lots of good reads this summer.

Katie- Have a great time in New Orleans! Behave yourself!!

#226 - But, Nancy, who will look after me? ;)

#227 - Thanks, Stasia!

#228 - Hello Beth! Good to see you! I have had a pretty good reading summer so far....

#229 - Mark, I make no promises!

not another Holy hangover, Batman? hehe ;)

I hope not, Kara! It's all fun and games until someone loses their job ;)

you speak truth my dear :)

have fun in moderation :)

Have a great time in New Orleans, Katie! I love that city but probably not so much in July. Stay cool.

Thanks, Kara and Pat!

Hope your having a great time Katie!

Thanks, Valerie!

Last night in NOLA - it's been a quick trip but lots of fun. My colleague and I splurged on a limo from the airport (it was only $25 more than a cab) and then had the driver stop at Winn-Dixie (a supermarket) where my colleague hopped out and bought a bottle of wine for the (short) drive into the city. We are staying at the Hotel Monteleone on Royal Street in the French Quarter, which is absolutely lovely (and has some neat literary connections). Last night, we did a bit of a "pub crawl" - my favorite was the Pimm's Cup at Napoleon House - and then had dinner at Mr. B's Bistro where I had the most delicious swordfish followed by a molten chocolate cupcake and glass of milk for dessert. Today, we went to Cafe du Monde for coffee and beignets and then to the conference which was the whole point of this trip. We went out for lunch, and on the way back stumbled across a used bookstore - Crescent City Books - that I insisted on checking out. I left with 6 books which are now lining the bottom of my suitcase :) For dinner, we went to GW Fins just off Bourbon St. which was unbelievably good. Probably the best meal I've ever had in this city. Blue crab pot stickers, homemade biscuits (served hot out of the oven!), blackened redfish with a spicy remoulade and fried prawns, and fresh strawberry shortcake with orange blossom whipped cream. Mmmmmmm....

It's hot and sticky here, but I leave tomorrow to go back to Dallas where it's just hot. Tomorrow night is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner for my cousin's wedding, so I'll be rushing home from the airport to unpack, re-pack, drop the dog off at our friends', run in for a manicure and then drive the 25 or so miles to the wedding venue. Check into the hotel, meet up with the hubby, drive to the church, rehearse my reading, and then off to dinner. I am exhausted just thinking about it!!

I'm still enjoying Jamrach's Menagerie but I don't expect it to make the Booker short list. It's very good but lacking that "je ne c'est quoi" that usually distinguishes a Booker Prize winner.

Enough of this rambling post! I'm a bit tipsy from the wine we had at dinner, so do forgive me...

#237 Katie, NO sounds absolutely fabulous! Ahhh ... I've never been, so thanks for sharing your adventure with us : ).

Your dinner at GW Fins sounded fantastic. In fact your whole trip sounds great, I've always wanted to visit New Orleans ... maybe someday.

Wow! I hope you manage to get some rest in that busy schedule of yours, Katie!

Katie: Thanks for sharing. But what I want to know -- what books did you pick up?

Hello from Louis Armstrong International Airport. What a dump! At least the part I'm in...

Nancy and Judy - This is the first time I've really enjoyed NO. I'm always here for work so it's more of a chore than anything else, but this time, the co-worker I was traveling with was full of enthusiasm and didn't mind doing silly tourist things like going to Cafe du Monde. I am hoping the hubby and I can come down here for a long weekend when the weather gets cooler.

Stasia - Rest? Who needs rest? Oh, right, I do. I'm starting to feel kind of old :)

Beth - The books were... I can't remember and they are in the bottom of my suitcase. I know there were 4 Viragos and 2 NYRBs. Those two publishers, along with Europa, put out books that I will buy without even reading the synopsis. And all three are easy to spot on bookstore shelves thanks to their distinctive spines. I will report what they were when I'm unpacked and done with all the wedding stuff this weekend.

I am at the airport pretty early, but have a conference call in 20 minutes and didn't want to have to get off to navigate security or anything. I'm glad to have a good book and LT to keep me company!

hope you can get some rest this weekend between work/travel/wedding and everything else :)

#242: Rest? Who needs rest? Oh, right, I do. I'm starting to feel kind of old :)

Yeah, age catches up with the best of us unfortunately :)

De-lurking, Katie, to give another encouragement to read Burnt Shadows when you get the chance. And I really enjoyed The Cellist of Sarajevo too. As for Emma, the first time I read it I really hated it because like you I could not stand Emma, and I guess I assumed I was meant to like the main character. The second time I read it, a couple of years back, I found her just as insufferable, but I enjoyed the book so much more. I think the second time I was able to appreciate the depiction of a far-from-perfect heroine eventually realising her shortcomings, and I was able to view her throughout more through the wonderfully patient eyes of Mr Knightly.

>245 gennyt:: I started re-reading Austen's books this year with intent to read one each year forever and ever. This year I re-read P&P; next year I think it will be Emma for exactly the reasons you describe, Genny. I'm eager to see how I react to her, and the entire book, the second time around.

Hi Kara, Stasia, Genny and Laura! No individual responses from me, as I am EXHAUSTED. We had a great time at my cousin's wedding, I didn't mess up my reading, it was an open bar reception, and I only sat out about three songs. Phew! What a blast, but I'm paying for it today...

Still plugging away at Jamrach's Menagerie - I haven't had much reading time lately, unfortunately.

NEW THREAD is here!