Tutu Watches the Leaves Fall - 75 in 2010 #4

Well before Richard gets on my case, I'm starting a new thread. I'll be 'reserving a few posts here to keep things in order, but look forward to finishing out my second 75 for the year.

Previous threads are

1st Qtr 2010
2nd Qtr 2010
3rd Qtr 2010

As usual, I'll be keeping a master list on Message #2 below (assuming nobody beats me to it!) of books read starting with #128 which I finished today.

First to post!!! (hope I'm not messing up your order...)

Starred...

Watching the leaves fall, huh? I wish they fell here in Texas!

Books read/reviewed of the fourth quarter are listed here - latest one always at the top.

173. The Bucolic Plague by Josh-Kilmer Purcell
172. Squirrel seeks Chipmunk by David Sedaris
171. The Food Substitutions Bible by David Joachim
170. The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Catherine Schine
169. John Paul Jones: Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy by Evan Thomas
168. A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris
167. Sea Change: A Novel by Jeremy Page
166. Fatal Remedies by Donna Leon
165. Winters Child by Margaret Maron.
164. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin
163. A Noble Radiance by Donna Leon
162. My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
161. The Day the Falls Stood still by Cathy Marie Buchanan
160. Farmer's Daughter by Jim Harrison
159. What a difference a Dog Makes by Dana Jennings
158. American on Purpose by Craig Ferguson
157. Running the Books by Avi Steinberg
156. An Irish Country Girl by Patric Taylor
155. The Long Way Home: An American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War by David Laskin
154. Semper Cool by Barry Fixler
153. Rituals of the Season by Margaret Maron
152. Can't wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg
151. The Cookbook Collector by Allegra Goodman
150. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
149. The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister
148. Rounding the Mark by Andrea Camilleri
147. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
146. The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates by Wes Moore
145. The Captain's Log by Hans Mateboer
144. The Color of Water by James McBride
143. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
142. The Eagle Catcher by Margaret Coel
141. Still Alice by Lisa Genova
140. Eighteen Acres by Nicholle Wallace
139. Packing for Mars: by Mary Roach
138. Vestments by John Reimringer
137. Ape House by Sara Gruen
136. The Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago
135. Preserving the Harvest by Carol Costenbader
134. The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise by Julia Stuart
133. Fixer-Upper by Mary Kay Andrews
132. Confirmation by Ralph Reed
131. Fitzgerald Ruse by Mark de Castrique
130. The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman
129. Blood Lure by Nevada Barr
128. Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich.
127. Stuff: compulsive hoarding and the meaning of things by Randy Frost.

I see the tickers are ready for Fall!

Oh yeah, and reviews are up in the book page, but I'll post here over the weekend. It's late here now and I'm off to bed. Of course I knew Stasia that you'd find me before I even posted that this thread was up. It's nice to be noticed.

#6: Well, if you believe Richard's theory it is because I have something like eleventy hundred eyes :) I must point out though that Suz noticed you first!

hurray for falling leaves and new threads!

#8: That is cute, Lynda! Send him down Texas way to cheer for Fall, would you? Maybe then we would actually have one.

I'd like to Stasia but as soon as I send him packing, this guy is going to show up

#10: I would even take that guy!

Right, I've found your thread and it does not have 200 unread messages! This time I am keeping up. Really.

Thanks for all the encouragement...I love the autumn leaves especially this year. They seem to have 'popped out' almost overnight....or maybe I just wasn't looking.

And Lynda is so right....we only have a few weeks between the leaves leaving (pardon the pun) and the snow showing up. That's ok with me. I moved to Maine because I'm one of those nuts who loves snow. Living in the DC area for years, I couldn't enjoy the snow because when it came, it was such a royal pain in the peetooty for everyone..particularly people like my offspring who are at a stage in their lives where they are expected to go to WORK to put food in the mouths of their families. Driving in DC (and its environs) is stressful even in the nicest weather, and during any kind of precipitation event, it's downright death-defying.

So moving here, where people shrug and say "Oh, it's snowin' --guess I'd best leave a few minutes early" and they get on with their lives...it's wonderful. So the leaves are to me what robins in the spring are to many other people.

I'm mentally (and physically) squirreling away books to read while I hunker down. And Stasia...if you want to get away from that god-awful heat, come on up. The guest room has lots of blankets, a nice reading lamp, a comfy reading chair, it's own bathroom, and it even has heat.

#13: Thanks for the invite, Tina. Do not be surprised if I show up on your doorstep one of these days :)

Found you and starred you again!

Hello! Nice new thread!

#132 Confirmation My Early Review Book from last month.



Author: Ralph Reed
Publisher/Format: Fidelis (2010), Paperback, 408 pages
Characters: way too many to list
Subject: Politics framed around a Supreme Court nomination hearing
Setting: Washington D.C.
Genre: Fiction
Source: LibraryThing.com Early Reviewers program

Meh.  This has all the makings of a TV script.  For anyone who has ever lived "inside the Beltway" in the Washington DC area, it is more of the same-oh, same-oh.

Written by a so-called Washington insider, with book blurbs by such auspicious beings as Karl Rove, and a dedication to Oliver North (among others) I did not want to read it at all (my political leanings are on the other side of the fence.)  However since I got it for the Early Review program, I read the whole thing.  It's not a bad book, but if there was the equivalent of political chick-lit, this is it!  The characters are caricatures and there are far too many of them.  I had to get a paper and construct a scorecard to keep track of who was who.  There were 27 major players introduced in the first 35 pages.

The plot is dully predictable, and for cripes sake, the editor can't even recognize that THERE IS NO LETTER "J" in the Italian alphabet!  The author has one of the main characters traveling through Italy sprinkling "Bon Journo"  all over the place.  HELLO---it's "Buongiorno" or at least if he's speaking french, it's "Bonjour".  This is the kind of sloppy publishing that makes me less than positively disposed to recommend a book to others.

Basically it's the story of an unpopular president (he was elected by the House of Representatives after capturing only 37%? of the vote), who must fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court.  The Senate of course is going to take its constitutional responsibilities very seriously and make sure that they are really the ones doing the appointing.  There are the usual scandals, lobbyists, back door doings, lives ruined, check-ins to rehab, etc etc etc.  When you get to the end, you're just glad to have it over with.  Sorta sounds like real life in DC right?

If you are a political junkie, don't mind cardboard characters and a plot that trudges along like a deadlocked senate, you might like this one. If you're looking for a thriller, there are lots better ones out there.

Abandoned Book: Lost Art of Gratitude

I have a love/hate relationship with AMcSmith. I absolute cannot get enough of Precious Ramatswe in the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency and I'm thoroughly enjoying the nightly podcasts from telegraph.uk of his Cordoroy Mansion series (see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/corduroymansionsbyalexandermcca/) but try as I might, I just CANNOT get into the Isabel Dalhousie books, or the Portuguese Irregular Verbs either.

I have been trying both in print and audio to get through this whining, mewling, examine the world until it's atomized dissertation about nothing and just cannot waste anymore time on it. I'm classically educated, have enough credits to have at least a minor in philosophy, so it's not that I don't understand what's she saying, or thinking or musing upon. It just doesn't matter.

As far as I'm concerned, I will never need to take any sleep assist drug as long as good old Isabel is around. When even Doneda Peters' narration doesn't do it, I know it's time to move on.

#133 The Fixer-Upper



Author: Mary Kay Andrews
Publisher/Format:Harper Paperbacks (2010), 448 pages; also audio -14:15
Narrator: Isabel Keating
Characters: Dempsey Killebrew, Tee Berryhill, Alex Hotter
Subject: fixing up a life and a house
Setting: Washington DC, Guthrie GA
Genre: Chick-lit, romance
Source: public library

I'm not a big fan of bodice ripping romances, or the genre known as "chick-lit", but a good friend whose taste a truly trust kept insisting I had to read something by Mary Kay Andrews.  I had just picked this up at the library when I saw it available as an audio download, so I grabbed both.  I have enjoyed quite a few 'southern' stories this year, and this one is just as funny, fun and heartwarming as any of them.

Dempsey Joy Killebrew, Georgetown Law Grad, lobbyist for big firm in DC gets fired after she is implicated by her boss in a scandal involving procuring prostitutes for a Congressman (among other things.) Now at this point in the story, I was ready to say that Dempsey wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, but for pete's sake--she graduated from Georgetown Law!!  Anyway, she has no money, no job prospects, and therefore allows herself to be stashed away in Guthrie Ga to rehab an old house her father has just inherited from his great uncle.  The house comes complete with the requisite dog (no southern story can do without a dog!) and a 79 year old curmudgeonly cousin Ella Kate who is squatting in the ruins and refuses to move.

Now we won't say too much about  Dempsey's absolutely miraculous makeover of the house --even Ty Bennington's crew couldn't have done that much work and fixed things up that beautifully on her pitiful budget in such a short time.  But wait...there's more.  Dempsey has to convince the FBI she's innocent and hire's the lawfirm of Berryhill and Berryhill to help her out of the mess.  There's a romance.  There's political and legal intrigue.  There are courtly southern gentleman.  There's a California moonbeam, spaced-out mother, and enough friendly, gossipy, nosey, and randy southern citizens of this small town to keep the reader turning pages and laughing out loud. And there's the star of the show: Ella Kate.

In the end, Dempsey shows us what she's really made of, develops some self-confidence, pulls her brains out of storage, and becomes a heroine we can cheer for.

It won't win a Nobel Prize, but it's a surprisingly good solid little romance for days when you want some chocolate with the marshmallow fluff.  I loved it.

#133 Glad you hit upon a good read after those two duds.

Thanks Lynda...isn't interesting how books that you think are going to be good aren't, and others turn out to be gems. I'm reading two REALLY good ones right now - The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise and a brand newbie - the October Indie pick and a great debut novel called Vestments They are both so good I don't want to do anything else and wish I could be two people. I have TZT on audio, so I've been doing that one while I drive and swim and fall asleep. Just started Vestments this AM--wowzer.

#21 Ooooo, can't wait to compare notes on TZT!

#18 - I'm with you on this. Love Precious Ramotswe, can't get into his other series at all. Oh well.

I'm the reverse on McCall Smith -- can't get into Ms. Precious, but tend to really like the Isabel Dalhousie books (though I've fallen behind) and still enjoy the 44 Scotland Street series. I couldn't stand the Corduroy Mansions book (the first), it was just teeth-achingly precious and contrived and deeply annoying.

The Ralph Reed book is one that I would have discarded pronto, with the first Bon Journo. Puhleez. Richard North Patterson has the same kind of books, from the opposite side of the aisle.

I like having four seasons. I just wouldn't mind living somewhere where spring and fall were the longest ones, rather than the shortest. NYC does pretty well on fall, but spring passes in too much of a hurry, and the hot mugginess of summer takes over. Still, it's better than in DC!!

Ah ha! That's reassuring. I gave up on Corduroy Mansions for just those reasons. Maybe I should give the man a second chance. I haven't had a chance to try the Precious Ramotswe books, and had never heard of the Isabel Dalhousie books (of course, I obviously haven't been paying too much attention to his books recently since I'd written him off).

>13 tututhefirst:: Autumn is a wonderful time of the year as is spring. Summer and winter serve as reasons to appreciate spring and fall imo!

Tina, it looks like we'll be doing a duet on The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise...I'll be the eyes and you can be the ears. ;-)

Donna - TZT is touching, very funny, and VERY british. I'm really enjoying it. It's the perfect book for easing from summah into fall and wintah. Our leaves are almost at peak, and now we have some fall rain rain rain followed by fog fog fog. I absolutely love foggy nites--perfect for curling up with a good book, especially because where we live with only a satellite connection for internet and TV, it means we are liable to be 'off the net' and gosh shucks, we can only> read a book!

#17: Skipping that one.

#18: And that one.

#19: I might consider that one when I am in a chick-lit kind of mood. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Tina.

#28 ditto.

#134 The Tower, the Zoo and the Tortoise





Author: Julia Stuart
Publisher/Format:New York : Doubleday, 2010.
Characters: Balthazar and Hebe Jones; Mrs.Cook the tortoise
Subject: life in the Tower of London; dealing with grief
Setting: London
Genre: fiction/ humor
Source: Review copy from publisher

The quirky, humorous, sad, poignant, flippant, story presents a host of characters dealing with life's emotions: love, grief, rejection, fear, anger, nostalgia, longing, and self-esteem. It is a precocious story telling how ordinary people go about their lives in unusual circumstances and manage to stay human. There is a decidedly British slant told with the typical dry British sense of humor.

Balthazar Jones, Beefeater extraordinaire, lives in the Tower of London with his wife Hebe who works for the London Underground Lost Property Office.  Together they are struggling to come to grips with the death of their only son Milo over three years ago.  The marriage is crumbling around them.  Beefeater Jones is suddenly handed the job of keeper of Her Majesty's menagerie when the Zoo decides to move animals the queen has received as gifts and house them in the Tower.  Since Balthazar owns the oldest living tortoise in captivity (Mrs. Cook is 130 years old), he seems the perfect person to put in charge. In the meantime, Hebe is busy trying to locate the owners of a left-behind box of cremains, a plastic blow-up doll, a viking helmet, a large safe that has been there for over 4 years and which no one has managed to open, and a vast assortment of other paraphernalia that make the scenes in this office read almost like a Monty Python show.

There's the Tower Chaplain, Septimus Drew, who desperately wants to be a published writer, but who has received more rejection slips than the Tower has Ravens and who devises a rather deviant way to gain publication; add in the barmaid who has a secret (no spoilers here)  the ghost of Sir Walter Raleigh,  the Raven Master, and the Yeoman Gaoler and you have the makings of hours of belly laughs.  The battle for supremacy amongst the animals, along with Balthazar and Hebe's intense personal troubles all come to a reasonable resolution at the end.

I loved this book and only wish the editing had been a bit tighter.  There were several times when I found descriptive phrases repeated, and extra details inserted, serving to make me grit my teeth and say "didn't he already say that?"  Hopefully, the final edit will clean up those nits.

All in all, it's a definitely good, funny, feel-good read with a hefty dollop of Tower history to add to its overall  appeal.  I also listened to parts of  the audio version which was artfully read by Jonathan Cowley.  Whichever format is your choice, I suspect you will be delighted.

I got two copies of this from Random House Doubleday to giveaway on my blog. Deadline to enter is Oct 14.

#30 That one sounds too good to pass up. Especially if I can get it on audio for a car trip - it sounds like one hubby would like, too.

#30: Well, the good news is that I am now one of your blog followers, Tina. The bad news is that I am so blog illiterate, I could not figure out how to enter the giveaway for the book! lol

Sigh, I may have to succumb to the Tower book, despite the fact that the author's first book looked too whimsical to appeal to me at all. I seem to recall that the royal menagerie used to be at the Tower all the time -- certainly there were lions there in the 15th/16th centuries. Probably rather mangy beasts. Anyway, shall hop on over to the blog...

Thumbs up for your review Tina. You are accurate regarding repetition of info and I've noticed that in one or two other ER's as well. Perhaps moving lines around without deleting original placement? Anyway, glad you liked the book.

I didn't see giveaway instructions at all. Just left a comment.

#32 , #35 Cheli and Stasia...well...not sure why the "click here to enter" link didn't work on the blog (there's a picture of the cover...just click on it.) but here's the link to the actual giveaway post: http://tutus2cents.blogspot.com/2010/09/giveaway-tower-zoo-and-tortoise.html
Just follow the directions for entering. and thanks for stopping by.

#33 - Suzanne - you are right about there being a menagerie at the tower back in the days of Liz 1st. That was one of the things I so enjoyed about reading TZT - the short bursts of British history were entertaining and educational.

#135 Preserving the Harvest



Author: Carol Costenbader
Publisher/Format: Storey Publishing, LLC (2002),  Rev., Paperback, 352 pages
Subject: Various methods of preserving foods
Genre: how-to, Cookbook
Source: my own

This one has it all.  Great recipes (there's a terrific one for Apple Beet puree that Mr. Tutu and I have been scarfing up for the past week), wonderful conversion charts, a glossary of terms, and chapters on every different way of preserving food you can dream up.  There are hints on how to choose produce if you don't grow your own.  How much to buy, how to keep it through the winter, and wonderfully innovative ways to share it with others for gifts.

I for instance had the best crop of basil I've ever managed to grow.  But I've never had much luck before in drying it.  Costenbader gives us several different methods and I think I'm going to try more than one to see which gives me the best results.  The book even shows how to used dried foods, and how to reconstitute dried fruits and vegetables.  Preparing a family "root cellar" never seemed like a possiblity until I read her suggestion to use the stairwell  (inside the bulkhead doors) to our basement!

Canning and freezing chapters offer very clear, well-illustrated directions for a variety of crops.  Pickling recipes run the gamut from the traditional bread and butter to some decidedly new-age chutneys.  There are excellent discussions about what equipment to buy, how to adjust recipes that didn't come out right, and checklists to use emphasizing the latest guidance on healthy practices.

If you do any "putting up" this is definitely the book for you.  It is one that will be passed down for several generations.

Long time lurker, first time poster Tina. I'm not passing up a chance for a book that has had so many great reviews here on LT (including yours). I'm off to enter your contest.

#136 The Elephant's Journey



Author: Jose Saramago
Publisher/Format: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2010), Hardcover, 224 pages
Characters: Solomon the elephant, Subrho the mahout
Subject: Solomon's trek from Lisbon to Vienna
Genre: historical fiction
Source: public library

After finishing Blindness a few weeks ago, I wanted to read something else by Saramago that was perhaps a bit lighter. This is his last work, and I think his masterpiece. He learned of the true story behind this book while guest lecturing in Austria where he saw a series of illustrations depicting the tale.

In 1551 King Joao III decided to give archduke Maximillian of Austria a wedding present.  He sent his Indian elephant named Solomon as the gift.  Entrusting the safekeeping of this gentle giant to his handler, a mahout named Subrho, they set out with an entourage of soldiers, porters, and supply wagons (the elephant required 2-4 tons of forage a day!) to move from Lisbon overland to meet the archduke in Spain, and then via ship to Genoa, and overland through northern Italy, through the alps--including the dangerous Isarco and Benner passes in the winter, up the Inn River and finally to their triumphant entry into Vienna.  Ok...that's the geography of the journey.

The real beauty of the story rests however in the personal relationships that develop along the way.  Solomon shows himself to be a charming, intelligent and gentle beast.  He is able to woo those who fear his girth, and protect his friend Subrho (renamed Fritz by the archduke who found his name too hard to pronounce) from the vagaries and intrigues of the military, the royals, and the church.  Each of these groups wanted to use the elephant and the journey to their own gain.  The simple peasant handler and the elephant showed grace under pressure and hardship, winning over all who met them.

Saramago's third person narrator is delightful.  He is able to insert 20th century asides with great humor, and poke fun at politicians, uneducated soldiers, clergy, and the monarchy without ever stepping out of character and without becoming political or critical himself.  It is written in Saramago's normal style:  long, long, long paragraphs, little or no punctuation or capitalization or quotation marks.  It takes only a few pages however, to acclimate to the pace, and the lack of visual stops actually holds the reader's attention and increases the pace of reading.  It is a short, well-paced, lustrous tale of love, friendship, forgiveness and intrigue.  A masterpiece.

#38...welcome bonnie . I do a lot of lurking myself, but it's good to hear from all of you every once in a while.

Wowser.....just realized that while I listed reads #127 thru #132 above, I never spoke about them down here. Bad tina, Bad so here's a synopis of each. Full reviews are on each book page.

#127 Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Stuff by Randy Frost.
This is an extremely easy to read book about a very complex subject. The authors are definitely the experts in their field, and by presenting us with actual case studies to support their theories and findings we are able to understand the many manifestations of this problem. I got this book to help me understand a hoarder who is a close acquaintance. Although I feel no closer to helping solve the problem, I at least have a full range of resources identified to help in my decision about what to do (or not do.)

In addition to the case studies, we are given a vast bibliography of other information and a list of questions to ask to help sort out the problem. It's good basic study of the pathology of hoarding and the psychology of why it happens. Well researched, it does not talk down to reader, but avoids excessive scientific speak. A great introduction to a very complex problem.

#128 Rules of Betrayal by Christopher Reich

An Early Review Book. Another fast paced, high intensity thriller involving Dr. Jonathan Ransome, plastic surgeon turned spy, married to Emma. We still can't figure out who Emma is really working for, but the ending leaves us knowing there will be another book for sure. Lots of plot twists, lots of people who aren't who they seem to be, but so well written that you are on the edge of your chair for the whole ride.

In this adventure, Jonathan is recruited to help locate a missing nuclear device the Air Force managed to lose in a 1980 plane crash over the high peaks in Pakistan. Naturally the bad guys have located this beauty and are ready to sell it to the highest bidder for use in a terrorist attack. There is little that can be said without spoiling the read except that Christopher Reich has mastered the spy thriller genre.

#129 Blood Lure by Nevada Barr

Another Anna Pigeon mystery. In this story, Anna is learning about a program the park rangers are helping with to track and tag grizzly bears in Glacier National Park. The descriptive prose in these is so powerful that even if you have never visited a particular park, you never have any trouble picturing the scenery, feeling yourself up on a ledge, or walking down the side of a mountain. While out checking on the bear monitors, the rangers are called upon to investigate a murder. At one point Anna thinks "she doesn't know whether she has too much information and too many suspects, or not enough of either." This one had a good plot, and interesting suspects. I'm looking forward to getting to know Anna even more in this series.

130. The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman

My husband is a huge Tony Hillerman fan. Many of you have been encouraging me to dive in also. Joe Leaphorn seems to have achieved almost cult status among the faithful. So I decided I'd better see what all the excitement was about. I'd tried reading some of these last year,and didn't get very far, but then when I noticed this one - the very first one!- was available in audio read by George Guidall, well................(George Guidall could read the yellow pages and I'd think it was fascinating).

This was a really good mystery story. It takes place on a Navajo reservation. Joe Leaphorn is a Navajo cop who is able to use his knowledge of ancient traditions and culture to allow reticent and private people to tell their stories and gather the information he needs to solve the mystery. The real hero of this one (I'm guessing Joe's character will flesh out as the series goes along--after all the series is named after him) is a sort of has-been college professor/anthropologist named Bergen McKee. Even tho I had figured out 'whodunnit' with about 20% of the book left, it didn't spoil my enjoyment of this adventure. Not only was the plot a good one, and the characters well drawn and interesting, the descriptions of Navajo life, poetry, and scenery were an added bonus. I will definitely be reading another in this series.

and the final catch up :
#131. Fitzgerald Ruse by Mark de Castrique

This is a review copy I'm ashamed to say I've had for quite a few months. It was too good to have let it sit that long. Set in North Carolina, it tells the adventures of Sam Blackman, recently retired Army Chief Warrant Officer who lost a leg in Iraq in an incident involving Blackwater Company mercenaries. He and his partner (in detecting and in life) Nakayla Robertson are opening their own detective agency. Their first case involves a old lady in nursing home who wants to right a wrong she supposedly did to F. Scott Fitzgerald 70 years ago! The plot is a bit convoluted, with several sidebars seeming to be entwined (or are they?) but the characters are charming, interesting and cunning. Again, I was able to spot 'whodunnit' before the author revealed it, but that didn't detract from the story. This is a couple I'd like to see more of, although I'm not sure I could take a steady diet of these two.

#36: I finally figured out how to make a comment, so I am in the giveaway now. What can I say? I am slow.

#37: I am buying that one for my sister for Christmas!

Couldn't you have volunteered for the Banner Committee on Spelling, Tina my dove?

I already had The Elephant's Journey wishlisted, but I think I have to move it much higher up the list!

#43 - The only movement I'd have been in on that one would have BEEN the committee on spelling......................Since I wouldn't have been withing 100 miles of this "mov(e)ment" I plead not guilty to the sentiment and the spelling.

>45 tututhefirst: Oh good lawsy me, I **NEVER** would imagine you as a Tea Party nutball! NEVER! Just figured that, since you're so civic-minded and all, doing so much for the liberry, and for free!, you'd have started a Punctuation Police State.

May I please have the honor to be the first to encourage you so to do?

Richard - I saw a piece on CBS Sunday morning earlier today about those two darling young men who got about the world with markers, erasers and white-out correcting the world's apostrophic etal, errors. I don't have the mental energy to correct the world. I think that's the role of parents, and teachers.

I once had a graduate professor - an aged priest who taught collection development/censorship at Catholic University- who would assign the most interesting topics upon which we were to wax eloquent for about 300-400 words each class. I was in a class full of TEACHERS who were trying to get their library degrees, but who became absolutely enraged when he gave them a D for a grade because of poor grammar and spelling. (Remember too, this was in the days before we had spellcheck etc). He maintained, (and I happened to agree with him since I was getting As) that we could say the Pope was married to a witch and going to hell in a handbasket, and he would give you an A as long as your writing was grammatically and syntactically correct. He tried, alas without much luck, to inculcate people with the incredible idea, that if you didn't speak, spell and write clearly, no one was going to be able to understand or agree with you.

Oops....time to get off the soapbox! Thanks for thinking of me in this role- It would one I'd be proud of, but choose not to police the world.

edited to correct SPELLING !!!! HORRORS

No, no, my sister... don't do it! Don't let Richard lead down a destructive path!

ETA - glad to see that you made the correct decision without my help.

Tina, adding Preserving the Harvest to the wishlist.

#137 Ape House by Sara Gruen



Author: Sara Gruen
Publisher/Format: Spiegel & Grau (2010), advanced review copy 306 pages
Audio:  Books on Tape, 11 hours, 14 minutes
Narrator: Paul Boehmer
Characters: Isabel Duncan, John Thigpen; the Bonobos: Sam, Bonzi, Lola, Mbongo, Jelani, and Makena
Subject: Linguistic and cultural studies of great apes
Genre: fiction
Source: print: review copy from Publisher; audio - public library
Challenge: ARCs completed

I have mixed feelings about this book.  On the one hand, it is the heartwarming story of six endearing Bonobo Apes, who are being nurtured and observed at the Great Ape Language Lab.  These apes are highly intelligent, able to communicate with humans using ASL (American Sign Language) and special computer programs.  They are engaging, charming, and pull the reader right into the story as they cavort, order cheeseburgers, watch movies, and engage in frequent sexual antics.  There are two human stories running at the same time, and it is here that I felt less interest.  Isabel Duncan, the linguist who is working with them is not an appealing character.  She comes across as whimpy and naive.  When the Bonobos are stolen during a raid following an explosion at the lab, Isabel is critically wounded and spends a large chunk of the book mending. She just doesn't come across as the major player she should have been.

In the meantime, John Thigpen, a journalist who meets the Bonobos just hours before the explosion, has his own demons to chase.  His wife's career isn't going well, his mother-in-law is a royal pain in the sit-upon, and he is suddenly unemployed.  In his pursuit of HIS story (he still considers the story of the apes to be HIS) he has to deal with Russian exotic dancers, meth-lab heavies, idiot editors, and a series of close calls that reminded me of an episode of The Rockford Files.

The reader is subjected to a rather contrived tail of employment woes on the part of John and his wife all the while wondering what on earth happened to the Bonobos.  Isabel plays shrinking violet and allows herself to be maneuvered by a group of young computer hackers who all want to rescue the missing Apes. Thank goodness the youngsters are honorably motivated. The three stories eventually come together with a suitable ending for everyone, but I really had to wonder for a while if it would.  All in all, it's still an excellent read if only because one falls in love in the opening pages with these beautiful creatures and wants life to be good again for them in the end.

I both read and listened to this one, and in a rare departure for me, I vastly preferred the print edition.  This particular narrator did nothing for me.

My initial reaction to that banner wasn't the spelling, but the logic. I wanted to holler -- "yes, I've had enough -- of the tea party silliness!"

It sounds as if I'd find Ape House equally underwhelming.

Too bad about Ape House. I enjoyed LWfE so very much that I would have picked up this one as well, but it's not grabbing me.

#50: I may give that one a try at some point, but not right now.

I really should go back and edit #137---it's a good read, and I don't want to discourage people from reading it. I think I had totally different expectations, and the story line--which I wasn't expecting----surprised me. So I kept waiting for all these different elements to come together. I really didn't mean to put the squelch on. You really must read it, if for nothing else than those endearing Great Apes. I wanted to bring them all home with me.

#54: I already had it in the BlackHole, Tina, so you are not discouraging me from reading it anyway. I just have too much on my plate at the moment.

Catching up on your thread, Tina, and noticing lots of animal books that look great. I'm too lazy to link to your comments upthread so I'll just say that I'm in the middle of The Tower, The Zoo, and the Tortoise and am enjoying it very much. I love the tidbits of British history and find more depth to the characters than I was expecting.

I'm very interested in reading The Elephant's Journey after reading my first Saramago, Blindness, a few months ago. Too bad I discovered this author after his death.

And finally, Ape House is on my radar. It doesn't surprise me that the ape story is more compelling than the human plot line. I always prefer the print version, although I'm working on improving my listening skills.

I also already had Ape House on the wishlist, on the basis of the strength of Elephants. Although it took several sightings of it before I finally decided to give it a go. Actually, you make it sound more appealing than the other reviews I read. But I appreciate the heads-up that, in this book, it is the animals' story that will be the good part. I won't hesitate over it when it pops up on the "read it this month?" horizon.

Hi Tina! Or should I say, "Grammar Generalissima and Punctuation Pythoness Tutu I?"

Wishlisting Ape House because, well, who can resist bonobos?

RD- I'm honored. but I do refuse to ride up on the back of convertibles!

We'll get you a Popemobile. Much safer, though not as stylish. Say...are you one of the Tome Home crew?

Well ladies and gentlemen, here's a 5 Star don't miss it pick from Tutu....

#138 Vestments



Author: John Reimringer
Publisher/Format: Milkweed Editions (2010), Hardcover, 304 pages
Subject: conscience, celibacy, priestly vows
Setting: Minneapolis/St Paul
Genre: Literary Fiction
Source: Review copy from the publisher

John Reimringer has written a stunning debut novel set in the twin cities of Minneapolis/St Paul.  Fr. James Dressler is 30 years old, a catholic priest who has come home to live with his mother for a summer while he decides what to do with his life.  He is struggling with the idea of celibacy, both in the abstract and the physical, and has been banished to the boonies by his bishop because of a momentary lapse with a young woman in the parish.  His only alternative seems to be a job teaching history at a local Benedictine college. In the meantime, he is earning money fixing up old houses with his father, while he watches his grand-father slowly die, and prepares to officiate at his younger brother's wedding.  Meeting his old girlfriend, who is separated from her husband, he once again wrestles with desire and the need for human contact.

There are wonderful backfills of how and why he decided to become a priest, of the lusty, bar-sprawling, blue collar, dysfunctional family he grew up with, of young first love and lover's regrets.  The characters are lushly drawn as are the stories of his childhood and his relationships with various members of his family.  The descriptions of the cities become almost a character of their own.  The influence of the landscape, the factories, the rivers, the entire immigrant culture are woven into a tightly knit fabric of reminiscence.  Multi-layered and multi-faceted, Reimringer's novel gives us a young man struggling to grow up and away from his father, struggling with young love and the decisions required when things don't go well, struggling to get away from the ugliness of a family who only communicate with their fists. The young Jim Dressler is attracted to the calm, quiet and ordered way of life the priesthood seems to offer.

Best of all, Reimringer gives us a portrait of priesthood and the Catholic Church of his childhood (both Dressler's and Reimringer's). It is a church balanced on the tipping point of the post-Vatican II era, where priests are trying to come to grips with change vs. tradition, with a more educated laity, and the reality of life as they grow older and lonelier. In an interview with Eric Forbes of the Good Books Guide blog, Reimringer says

"... I grew up devoutly Catholic, but as I got older I drifted to the left and the Church drifted to the right, and so I was writing in exile from the Catholic Church, which I deeply loved as a child, and whose rituals and people I still deeply love.  The Catholic Mass is one of the most beautiful rituals on the planet, and the average Catholic, parishioner or priest, is ill-served by the Church's leadership these days.  The novel is an elegy for what the Church could be and still occasionally is."

He gives us real people who are priests.   Real men who struggle with all the weaknesses, flaws and failings of themselves and their parishioners.  Real men who play poker, drink scotch, kiss babies, endure soggy sodden food prepared by sullen, disgruntled housekeepers, who go out in all kinds of weather at all hours of the night to offer solace to dying people, and work for hours to deliver decent homilies on Sundays.  He gives us a gut-wrenching picture of the loneliness of life in a rectory and the soaring joy of service to others.  Each priest in the book is an eloquent example of the diversity of the men who have answered the call to this way of life, and the sentiments, motivations, failures and victories of each.

Dressler's struggles and the anguish he faces as he decides where his loyalties lie will not be welcomed by very conservative Catholics, but readers will find a powerful portrait of love, repentence, redemption, and difficult choices made.  It is a book that can be appreciated by readers of all religions.

Vestments is an Indie Next selection for October 2010.  It's available now.  Do read it.

Milkweed Editions is one of the largest independent, nonprofit literary publishers in the US. Their missions is "To identify, nurture and publish transformative literature, and build an engaged community around it." 
They don't publish many books, but they did manage to publish Montana 1948 and now this one, so I'm ready to read just about anything they do put out.

5 star pick?! Into the BlackHole it goes!

Okay, put it on my pile!

I've put it on my schedule for 2011 since it sounds like a great book.

OK, it's on the wishlist - great review!

Many thanks to Richard, Mark, Bonnie and a host of others for recommending this one...it's a hoot and a dang good read too.

#139 Packing for Mars:The Curious Science of Life in the Void



Author: Mary Roach
Format: Brilliance Audio 10 hr, 27 min; 334 page equivalent
Narrator: Sandra Burr
Subject: difficulties encountered in manned space flight
Genre: non-fiction, investigative narrative
Source: public library download program
Challenge: lifetime read the Dewey Decimal categories (571.092)

Handled by another author, this could have been a dull, gross, and gruesome book full of facts, footnotes, and WAY more information than we might want to have about the various facets of getting human astronauts prepared to go into space.

Roach gives us hilarious examples of almost every problem NASA and other scientists ever had to deal with, along with very detailed scientific explanations in language readers can get their arms around. It's not dumbed-down, but with her deft handling, and bawdy sense of humor, she manages to explain very technical facts in easy to visualize jargon, all the while maintaining the scientist's objectivity.  Somehow what could have become Too Much Information about the dressing, moving, eating, sleeping, and excreting issues of humans in a zero gravity environment become instead a fascinating study of everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) any planner ever needed to consider to ensure the safety of men in space and the success of NASA missions.

I have to be honest and mention that there are sections of this best skipped by those who are exceptionally squeamish or prudish, but most of these are so intriguing that the grossness factor fades as we learn of some of the indignities to which these space heroes were (and are) subjected.

Having lived in Japan for several years, and spent hours helping my children with their origami projects, I was enthralled with the story of Japanese astronaut candidates who are put into an isolation unit for several days, and handed envelopes full of tiny squares of papers.  They are instructed to make 1000 origami cranes and string them on a chain (in the order finished).  Afterwards, psychologists examine the chains to see if these space flyer wannabes exhibit the same patience and attention to detail at the end of this ordeal as at the beginning.  After all, if they're going to have to spend 500 days in a small enclosed space with several others, patience and the ability to follow orders under stress are going to be important.  Somehow, I just can't picture Gus Grissom or John Glenn making 1000 paper cranes.

Mary Roach not only researched her material, she lived and experienced as much of it as she could.  Taking parabolic flights to experience zero gravity (if only for seconds at a time), tasting the food (including dare I say drinking reprossessed urine), trying on different clothing items, sitting for long periods in strange positions, being slammed with many G's, etc.  Her ability to "report" first hand, combined with her delightful and somewhat outlandish sense of humor, makes this a first rate piece of non-fiction.  If you've ever dreamed of floating in space, or hero-worshipped an astronaut, or wondered why on earth NASA needs so much money, this is the book for you. 

I listened to the audio, which was very well done, because the wait for the print book was TOOOO long, but this one is going onto the ebook list as soon as Santa brings me an e-reader for Christmas.  It's a keeper.

#65: I am glad you enjoyed that one, Tina. I had fun with it too!

Definitely adding Vestments to the wishlist: it sounds excellent. Thanks for that recommendation Tina.

I still haven't read any Mary Roach, and I feel rather ashamed for it. I'm definitely missing out. Great review!

#140 Eighteen Acres




Author: Nicolle Wallace
Publisher/Format: Atria (2010), Hardcover, 336 pages
Characters: Charlotte, Melanie, Dale
Subject: Women in the White House
Setting: Washington DC
Genre: Fiction
Source: Review copy from publisher
Challenge: ARCs completed

 Last week I read a politico-thriller written by a Washington insider. As you saw in my review I found it not very exciting. So when I read the blurb for this one I thought "Chick-Lit...I'm just SO NOT ready for more Washington DC robo-politicians."   I was not overly inclined to want to read this one, even tho it is being published this week, and I could for once get a review posted on time. I'm so glad I made the effort.

This is the well-constructed story of three women: Charlotte- the President of the United States, her chief of staff, Melanie, and a big network White House reporter Dale.  It just so happens that Dale is secretly having an affair with the first husband, who conveniently is living in Connecticut where the first children are in boarding school. None of this is spoiler -it's put right out there in the first 20 or so pages.  It could easily have gone right into the trash can at this point as just another political soap-opera.  It's NOT.

Wallace does an excellent job of fleshing out these characters: their motivations, their emotions, and their aspirations.  The plot is also tightly drawn, centering around Charlotte--is she going to win re-election for a 2nd term when her popularity is plummeting?  Does she know about her husband's infidelity?  Does anyone besides the Secret Service know? What will happen if the affair becomes public knowledge?  And what is the nature of her relationship with her Secretary of Defense Roger Taylor?  They're always together, and Mrs. Taylor is beginning to resent his absences.

As the players jockey for power and presence, and the polls continue to reflect poor numbers, the war in Afghanistan rages on, and Charlotte and Roger make several trips to visit the troops. Dale lands a highly coveted trip with the presidential entourage, and Melanie is trying to decide if she wants to continue her life in the fast lane after 16 years in DC.

Past this I really don't want to go because it's a great read and I don't want to spoil it.  There are excellent plot twists and surprises, well-written dialogue and realistic DC scenes.  This is definitely not Chick-lit.  It's a well-written novel written by someone who obviously knows her way around the eighteen acres on which the Executive Branch sits in the middle of Washington D.C.

In spite of my political leanings, I really enjoyed this book. It was just a tad slow off the dime but after about 35-50 pages it took off and I couldn't put it down.

#69: I am glad you enjoyed that one Tina, but it does not sound like my cuppa, so I am giving it a pass. Congratulations on the string of good reads you have put together!

Tina, I'm SO glad you reviewed this and really liked it because I read about it yesterday in my politico.com daily email-thingy, and it sounded like it might either be great or really bad. I will definitely buy this now! Thanks.

Nice review. As a teenager I read all the Allen Drury novels set in the government - Advise and Consent, Preserve and Protect and I think one or two others. I loved them despite having a different political outlook. They were, though, very male-orientated (as I recall it, anyway), so it would be refreshing to read a political thrller/government based story with women as central characters. It's going on the list.

Add this one to my pile.

Sigh.... I'll never catch up if she keeps reading good books.

#73: Do you really want to catch up?

Wow in one fell swoop I get to add two books that both sound really fabulous. Wasn't Nicole Wallace on John McCain's campaign? Maybe it's not the same one. Anyway, I'm adding both books.

John Reimringer could be my brother. His childhood sounds like mine. Why don't I get any fabulous ER books like this? I'm so terrible at picking them. Thanks Tina.

>75 brenzi:....yes Nicolle Wallace was on the John McCain campaign, and I found myself giggling a bit because there is a Sarah-esque character in the story. Nuff said, won't spoil it.

Vestments sounds marvelous! I may look for it!
I've been considering the Roach book for a while. (I read Spook a while back and loved it.)
Don't think the last one is my cup of tea, but glad you enjoyed it.

Wow, Tina, you're really on a roll! Adding three more to the wishlist!

>61 tututhefirst:: a 5 Star don't miss it pick from Tutu is definitely going on the bulging wish list! Vestments looks like the kind of book I want to own, especially since my library doesn't have it. I like the high quality of the Milkweed Books so I'm heading over to their website to see what else can tempt me.

I'm definitely on a roll....the reading funk is over and I have several really good ones going at once. This one is another winner.........

#141 Still Alice



Author: Lisa Genova
Publisher/Format:  audio 7hr, 45min; 320 page equivalent
Narrator: the author
Subject: Early Onset Alzeihmer's Disease
Setting: Cambridge Mass
Genre: fictional memoir
Source: public library

Lisa Genova has given us a thought-provoking, breath-taking novel written as the memoir of a 50 year old college professor who witnesses herself  going through periods of forgetfulness and is then diagnosed with Early Onset Familial Alzheimer's disease.(EOFAD).  As we meet her, Alice Howland is a world renowned professor of linguistic psychology at Harvard.  She begins forgetting appointments, finds herself lost in Harvard square (where she has walked everyday for over 20 years), and begins the process of  watching her mind (and therefore herself) disappear.  She devises 5 questions to ask herself every day so she can see whether she is "still Alice" and has her Blackberry set to remind her of these questions every day.

It is fascinating and gut-wrenching to watch as she deteriorates, and as she helps her family - husband, 2 daughters and a son- cope with her leaving them and with their own possibilities of carrying a genetic marker common to those with EOFAD.  Genova has done her homework and gives us a well researched indication of how the disease is diagnosed, treated, and what clinical trials are in progress.  Alice and her husband (a cancer researcher) are quite energetic in finding out everything they can about the disease and its mind-robbing progression, in looking for any possibility of a cure or at least a slowing of the ongoing loss of memory.

In this beautiful portrait, the science is never allowed to intrude on the human story: the story of a new grandmother struggling to figure out who is this beautiful young mother who is holding the beautiful baby in pink; the story of a wife struggling to help her husband and life-time lover deal with his own doubts and fears of losing her; the story of a mother struggling to accept another previously alienated daughter; the story of a son in medical school who knows first hand what is coming.  Throughout it all, we are able to experience Alice's fears, her loss of speech and thought processes, and the slow uncontrollable down-hill slide to a happy land where she knows she is 'still Alice' but doubts if others know that.

I thought it would be a depressing and discouraging story but it wasn't.  The hope for a future cure, the strides being made in the treatment, and Alice's own recognition of her condition bring the reader to an acceptance of the inevitability of life and its raw deals.  It's a book that should be read by all, not just for the information, but for the beauty of the writing.

I had the opportunity to listen to parts of this as an audio.  Normally I steer clear of books read by the author, but Ms. Genova was quite articulate and soothing. And.....even though it is fiction, and technically not a memoir, the point of view is one, and I'm feeling it is a great way to kick off my month of memoirs.

I just realized that I hadn't said anything here about a little reading project I've undertaken as a result of my membership in several different reading groups. I've basically abandoned my 101010 challenge - just plain lost interest in trying to pick things because they fit a category instead of picking what I wanted to read. Anyway, two of my reading groups chose memoirs to read, and I realized I had several memoirs I've been wanting to dive into, so I'm making the next 4-6 weeks a "month of memoirs". Here are some of those I have to choose from

The Color of Water - a book club choice
Persepolis - another book club choice
Galileo's Daughter - a book I put aside about 1/2 way through last year
Let's take the long way home - a new one I just bought
Having our Say - the Delaney sisters story
Waiting for Snow in Havana - confessions of a Cuban Boy
The Captain's Log - a book we bought on our cruise last year
Semper Cool - a Vietnam memoir -review copy - due for publication in November
The Things They Carried - another Vietnam read
The Majesty of the Law Sandra Day O'connor's memoirs
It is well with my Soul: the Extraordinary Life of a 106 year old woman

No way will I be able to do a Stasia and finish them all, but I have a nice pile to choose from and for now anyway, they are all singing "Pick Me, Pick Me!"

The Things They Carried was a great audiobook experience if you have the choice on some of them. Happy reading!

#80: I loved that one when I read it earlier this year. I am so glad you enjoyed it, Tina!

#81: No way will I be able to do a Stasia

Sure you can. Just plan on not sleeping a lot :) It works for me!

Abandoned book #15 Keeping the House by Ellen Baker

This one isn't totally abandoned. I'd like to come back and finish it someday but at 560 pages, (or 15+ hours of audio) I'm going to have to be more motivated than I am at the moment. I was reading this to decide if it was worth purchasing for our little library. One of our patrons came in gushing that the author was a local resident (??? can't verify that ) and we HAD to get this for her to read. I got it on ILL (the ONLY copy in the entire state was an audio one) and then the patron never came in to pick it up.

Because we do have a commitment to promote local authors, I thought I'd listen and see if it was something we wanted to put into our permanent collection.

The premise is an interesting one. The central character is actually a house. We see the house framing the lives of women in three different time periods, living through both world wars, and all trying to live up to the "House Keeping" dicta of various ladies publications: Ladies Home Journal, Good Housekeeping, etc.. The insights the author has are exceptional, but the story is probably a bit too complicated and about 100 pages (at least) too long. I got more than 1/2 way through and had to give up. It wasn't exactly boring, but I kept saying to the author.....get a move on , let's get going here, let's have something, ANYTHING, happen.

I really do want to go back and finish it, but now is not the time....

Tina...hyuk hyuk hyuk

You were right!

#84: Well, I hope if you ever do return to it that the book does something for you. I cannot blame you for abandoning it though.

I was tempted by Eighteen Acres, but when I got to the Amazon page and found an excerpt in which people are quoted as saying "xxxxx," he smirked" and in which the president is "tapping her perfect bone-colored high heel—a Manolo Blahnik, for sure—on the floor under her desk." On the other hand, I buckled under Still Alice, about which I have heard only good things.

I'm finding myself bogging down in my 1010 Challenge -- not out of lack of interest, but more because the books tend to be the heftiest ones (like Hermione Lee's bio of Edith Wharton!) and demand a lot of time/attention. I'm not going to abandon it, but I'm not sure I'll finish... I have 19 books left to go, and I think six or seven "overflow" books (an extra book per category). I've also got about a dozen or more sitting unread in my off-the-shelf challenge...

If getting 100 books were the only challenge in the 1010, I'd be way done. I actually set a goal of 150 for the year, and I'm right on track for that, but trying to fit things into categories without being stupid is the reason I've abandoned the idea. My mind is too elastic, and if I see something I want to read, and then pursue, I've decided I'm not going to put in on the list for next year, or try to re-name a category, etc. Too much energy wasted on categorizing instead of reading.

A great example is my current reading list---the memoirs. I got started serendipitously with a few memoirs, and now am quite happy reading through the pile. That doesn't mean I'm ONLY going to read memoirs until the pile is exhausted (my ADD will kick in soon and I'll be off on another tangent), but it does mean I'm going to enjoy where my brain takes me without worrying about whether those books meet some artificial constraint.

I know others like the structure of categories, and normally I'm a "list" person, but this one's not working for me, so I'm off to read.....

#142 The Eagle Catcher



Author: Margaret Coel
Format: audio - 6 hrs 51 min; 256  page equivalent
Characters: Fr. John O'Malley; Vicki Holden
Subject: murder
Setting: Wind River Indian Reservation
Series: Wind River
Genre: mystery- amateur detective
Source: public library audio download

Just proving that my mind can jump out of the memoir mode and grab something else because I saw it recommended someplace here on LT, and there it was on the library's audio download list. Since they actually had the first in the series, I thought I'd give it a try. There are actually 14 in this series featuring a Jesuit priest serving at a mission on an Arapaho reservation  - the fictional Wind River Reservation. 

They are quite reminiscent of Tony Hillerman's work. In this introductory volume, Fr. John is trying to help a young Indian man unjustly accused of murdering his uncle (a good friend of Fr. John's).  He is ably assisted in this endeavor by Vicki Holden, an Arapaho woman who has graduated from law school and returned home to help the tribe. Coel does a credible job of introducing the main characters while leaving plenty of room for growth in future episodes. I will be keeping my eyes open for more in this series.

#143 Persepolis



Author:  Marjane Satrapi
Publisher/Format: Pantheon (2004), Paperback, 160 pages; graphic format
Characters: Marjane and her partents
Subject: life in revolutionary Iran
Setting: Iran 1970s amd 1980s
Series: 1st of two volumes
Genre: Memoir; autobiography
Source: Public library

Using the graphic (or as some would call it "comic book" format) Marjane Satrapi is able to give us a very detailed depiction of her life in Iran during the Islamic revolution of the late 1970's.  She manages a brief history of the country, an explanation of the government(s) and provides us telling details of what life was like for an impressionable and well-educated young woman before and after "the veil."  The only child of well educated parents, who strongly believed in the future of Iran as a democracy (not a theocracy) she is exposed to an adult perpective at an earlier age than many of her classmates, but still manages to let us know that this is a young, frightened girl who is struggling to comprehend the many changes taking place in her country.

The graphic format works well to convey the sometimes brutal reality of her world and her writing presents the reader with a very personal and enlightening glimpse into an often under-understood piece of history.

This one was chosen by two of my four book clubs recently, and can provide some excellent discussion points if you're looking for something with which to start a good conversation.

Baa

#89: Adding that one to the BlackHole. I have never read anything by Margaret Coel.

#90: Dodging that Book Bullet as I have already read both Persepolis books.

the Little Librarian The perfect gift for the reading child in your life....of course one of my librarian friends remarked that it should come with scanners and bar codes!!!

#93: Smart librarian friends!

#144 The Color of Water



Author: James McBride
Publisher/Format: Riverhead Trade (2006), Paperback, 352 page
also audio: Phoenix Books, narrated by Andre Braugher and Lanie Kazan
Subject: tribute to a mother
Setting: The Bronx, Suffolk VA,
Genre: memoir
Source: public library

Another outstanding memoir. This is the November read for our book discussion group. I read the print, and listened to portions of it while in the pool. Andre Braugher and Lanie Kazan do a truly devoted job of reading this one.

James McBride tells us the story of growing up black, in Harlem, then in projects in the Bronx. Raised by his white mother (his black father died before he was born) and black step-father, he was one of 12 children. He describes a loving family life, where children were expected to be successful, respectful, and STAY IN SCHOOL. Children were due in the house by 5:00 in the evening, and slept 5 to a bed. Dinner might often be a jar of peanut butter or several spoons of sugar. He never met his mother's family and did not discover until he had completed his master's in Journalism at Columbia U, and decided to write a tribute to his mother, that she was jewish, that her family had disowned her, that her father was an orthodox Jewish rabbi who abused her, and just how hard her life had been.

The story is told both in the son's and the mother's voices. It is very well-written, and gives us an incredible insight into each mind. James' father was a preacher, and his mother converted to Christianity and insisted on church attendance and prayer from all her children. As he begins to realize that his mother is different from other mothers, he asks her "Is God Black?" "NO" she answers. "Well is he white?" Mom replies in the negative. Still the young boy persists. "Well what color is he?" "The color of water." I just loved that image, and fell in love with this family.

As he lovingly recounts his search for his mother's family, and helps her confront a past she has repressed, he comes to an acceptance of his Jewishness, his multi-cultural roots, and gives us a picture of an exceptional family. In the epilogue he gives us a breakdown of the incredible achievements of them all. Every one of the 12 graduated from college. There are two doctors, school teachers, musicians, journalists, nurses, artists, and the mother completes her degree in her late 60's.

It's a tribute any mother would be proud to have her son write.

#95: I loved that one too, Tina, and have meant to read other of McBride's books, but keep forgetting. Thanks for the reminder!

Tina, The Color of Water sounds like it would be a very good book for a discussion group. Tried to thumb it but it's not on your reviews yet. I'll continue to check.

Lynda....thanks for pointing out that I forgot to post that in the book. I was off to draw up a list of discussion questions for that one, and didn't follow through with my normal routine.

Listening to a book while swimming? That sounds very relaxing--what kind of listening device do you use, Tina?

Bonnie - I have a Creative Zen MP3, that goes in a water proof pouch strapped to my arm. It has waterproof earplugs coming out of the pouch. So I can workout in the pool, and still listen to my books. I get much more exercise this way because I keep going "to finish the chapter, or finish the disc, etc etc etc." Most of my audio books are ripped from CDs I borrow from the library, or downloaded from Overdrive - a program available from my library. Many public libraries now have this collection available, and I find even if I'm reading a book in print, if I also have it on my MP3, I don't have to say "Oh, I don't want to work out today, I want to read." I can do both.

I "ear-read" while I do cross stitch, while I cook, while I'm doing laundry, scrubbing bathrooms, and gardening. About the only thing I can do is listen while I vacuum - that's why I let Mr. Tutu do the vacuuming, or while I'm talking on the phone. LOL

Great reading list! I, too, loved The Color of Water and Packing for Mars.

#98

#145 The Captain's Log




subtitle: Around the world with Cruise Captain

Author: Hans Mateboer
Publisher/Format: Captains Publishing, Charlotte NC, trade pprbck 230 pgs  
Subject: Cruise ship sailing
Setting: various ports of call
Genre: memoir a la sea stories
Source: my shelves (purchased from the author)

This was an thoroughly enjoyable read. As many of you know, my spouse is a retired Navy ship captain, so I am used to hearing "sea stories." However, his tales are always centered around those haze-grey vessels with guns, and rockets, etc. Hans Mateboer was the Captain on the cruise ship we sailed last summer. He and hubbie managed to trade a few sea stories, and he signed our copy of his adventures.

The book is written as a series of discrete vignettes-- perfect short 'sea stories': the adventures of a young boy yearning to go to sea, his early travels and employment aboard cargo ships; meeting his wife on a cruise; trying to dock a ship in a foreign port when the locals were on strike; mistaking passengers for terrorists; playing practical jokes on other crew members; putting sick passengers ashore; fending off lonely women; dealing with stowaways; entertaining both big wigs and treasured friends.

I was really tickled while reading the final chapter "Memories from a Trunk" in which he relates how, when he and his wife finally settled into the house they had built, he spent a great deal of time reminiscing as he unpacked "treasures" he had collected over the years. I know many people are minimalists (YES RICHARD --I'm talking to you!) and abhor clutter, knick-knacks, etc., but Hans really spoke to me when he said:

Every little piece had its story....I saw that the little woodcarving was glued and I remembered it fell off my desk....during that terrible storm in the Bay of Biscay...

In a trunk that had come from my mother's house, I found all the letters I had sent her from around the world.....they opened up the dark spots in my memory as they told about the small things I had seen....nothing noteworthy had happened, but by going through them I was transferred back in time...Reading the letters again, I'm not so sure if my mother had even half understood what I was writing about...For me however, the(y) provided insight into forgotten years...

A different style of memoir, but one that was quite familiar in a cherished tradition.

#145: That one looks like a fun read! Glad you enjoyed it so much, Tina.

Hi, Tina! *waves*

I loved Still Alice; glad you did, too! And The Color of Water sounds interesting.

#146 The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates



Author: Wes Moore
Publisher/Format: Spiegel & Grau (2010), E-book, 256 pages
Characters: Wes Moore, Wes Moore
Subject: Growing up black male in America
Setting: Baltimore, Bronx, Valley Forge PA
Genre: Memoir
Source: e book download from public library

Last week our public library began offering patrons the opportunity to download e-books that can be read on the computer or transferred to various e-readers.  I wanted to test the technology, and read something in this format to see whether I'd really be happy if Santa brought an e-reader.  As I was browsing through over 1000 books available in this initial offering, I found this book set in Baltimore that seemed to fit perfectly into my current "Month of Memoirs" reading.

I grew up and went to school in Baltimore and the short length of this book made this a perfect trial.  Besides, it was a well-written and poignant story.  Wes Moore is the name of two different black men who were both born in Baltimore, who both lost their fathers at a very early age, and who were raised by hard-working single mothers.  They each had siblings, they both were encouraged to stay in school, they both had early run-ins with law enforcement, but one of them became a Rhodes scholar and intern to Condeleeza Rice, the other is spending the rest of his life in a maximum security prison without hope of parole for his part in a robbery gone bad in which a Baltimore policeman was killed.

The two did not know each other until the author read about the arrest of the other Wes Moore. As he heard about the background of the suspect/later convicted felon, he began to ponder the similarities in their lives and asked himself what made the difference in their lives.  His initial letter to Wes the prisoner led to many visits where the two men began to delve into their backgrounds and differences.  Wes the prisoner blames no one but himself.  Wes the journalist is able to see how the strong male role models in his life, and the chances he was afforded because of those men, gave him opportunities which he was fortunate enough to take advantage of.  Both men agree that a country that values youth, instead of fearing them, that helps them look at a future that has options will help youth overcome the helplessness so many feel today.

Wes the author was fortunate enough to have grandparents who mortgaged their house to pay  his tuition to a private military academy after he got into trouble in the public schools.  He hated it at first, but eventually flourished under the structure and discipline and mentoring of the military veterans who ran the school.  He quotes one of his role models at the school:

When it is time for your to leave this school, leave this job or leave this earth, you make sure that you have worked hard enough to make sure that it mattered that you were even here."
The author goes on to add "...the notion that life is transient, that it can come and go quickly...has been with me since I had seen my father die....the idea of life's impermanence underlined everything for kids my age--it drove some of us to a paralyzing apathy, stopped us from even thinking too far into the future."

Neither Wes has a definitive answer why each made the choices he did.  Wes the prisoner has embraced Islam, and is accepting of his fate.  He sees his four children occasionally, but finds those visits only amplify his sense of helplessness in being able to influence their lives.  Wes the author is enjoying a successful career as a journalist, served with the Army in Afghanistan, and as been fortunate enough to have adventures around the world.

The book has an extensive appendix listing programs that help youth at risk, and urges adults to become involved.  It is left for the reader to decide the reasons for the different paths of each,  and to decide how he or she can help.

A note on the e-book format:  I found this format not as onerous as I'd expected, although I think it will be much more comfortable on an e-reader than having to sit with a lap-top screen.  I found I could not read for longer than about 30 minutes at a stretch.  The software and download program were quite easy to use, and I like being able to grab a book on a moment's notice without having to go to the library or bookstore. I'm sure if I get an e-reader, I'll certainly be able to use it, although I'll never be able to give up print or audio books.

#147 At Home: A Short History of Private Life




Author:  Bill Bryson
Publisher/Format: Doubleday (2010), Hardcover, 512 pages  
Subject: Everything
Setting: the world
Genre: non-fiction- narrative history
Source: publisher review copy

Only Bill Bryson can set out to take us on a tour of an old English parsonage (vintage 1860ish) and end up giving us a two semester history course covering at least 4 centuries.

He takes each space in the house, begins by telling us how it was used, but then ventures off on a guided tour of everything remotely associated with that room.  Hallways become an excuse to talk about building materials and techniques (brick making, concrete pouring), bathrooms yield us an entire story of man's dealings with human waste and the diseases that result from poor handling of same; bedrooms become  the excuse for a story of man's attempts to live privately, kitchens give us lessons in cooking, utensils, fire and cooking methods as well as food preservation; sitting rooms give us the history of servants and their lives, etc.

At 512 page this qualifies as a clunkster, but a delightful one.  Fortunately, it does not have to be read straight through.  It is actually best read one chapter (and they're fairly lengthy ones) at a time, with another book in between.  Altogether, when finished, the reader is certainly a more educated person, and has thousands of pieces of trivia to drop at one's next kiddie playdate, cocktail party, or at the family Thanksgiving table when Uncle Fred starts slobbering in the cranberry sauce.

I love Bill Bryson and this is one of his best.

#106: I know I already have that one in the BlackHole. . .

#107: And that one too.

And one of these days I will actually read them.

#148 Rounding the Mark



Author: Andrea Camilleri
Format:audio download approx 6 hrs
Characters: Salvo Montalbano, Livia, Mimi Aguella
Subject: Crime, corruption, human trafficking
Setting: Vigata Sicily
Series: Inspector Montalbano
Genre: Crime fiction
Source: public library audio download

Up to now, I've enjoyed the Inspector Montalbano series, but they're beginning to irk me a bit. I really get upset with maverick law enforcers who go off on their own, don't follow the rules, but then have the audacity to get upset when others operate outside the law. Unlike my good friend Richard, I didn't find Salvo's actions in this one to be very praiseworthy. I was happy to see him developing a beginner's conscience, but his strutting, refusal to be a team player, his disdain for women, undo any positive vibes I got.

I stuck with this one when they mentioned that the poor dead smuck Montalbano fished from the sea may have actually been from Cosenza - my grandmother's home town, and I hoped that he and the hapless Livia might actually be able to conduct their love affair (?) in person rather than over long-distance phone lines ---what's with this anyway? But.........

And altho I love Sicilian food, squid ink is NOT one of my favorites.

I'll read one more to see if these keep heading in this direction, but if they do, that will be the last one. I much prefer Commissario Brunetti up in Venice.

Tina

Stopping by to say hello. I'm adding the Bill Bryson book to my list.

I imagine it is stunningly beautiful in Maine this time of year.

Linda...so good to hear from you. Maine was stunningly beautiful last week, but we are now approaching that short season I call "the uglies". We have two of these seasons....late autumn when the trees are not quite starkly bare yet--we just have lots of dead brown leaves clinging frantically to the trees, and shriveled meadows and ground growth curling up into itself before it dies back completely. It's like the world is just waiting for the first snow. We're dipping close to the freezing mark at night and probably won't have our first flakes for another 2-3 weeks, but we all love the first snow--usually just enough to cover the uglies and remind us again how beautiful life is.

The 2nd 'ugly' season is mid Mar-April when most of the active snow has finished, and we are left again with stark trees, and ugly ugly muddy melting snow that has been turned grey/brown/black by sand, salt and road exhaust. I usually try to head to the mid-Atlantic round that time because you all still have the most beautiful springs in the country.

OK.....back to reading books.....Great to have you back.

Tina, The Other West Moore has been on my radar for quite a while. I definitely want to read it! And At Home sounds fascinating! Maybe I should look into that one . . .

#110 Linda, so good to see you up and about! Take it easy, and best wishes to you!

Excellent reviews of both The Other Wes Moore and the Bill Bryson book. Unbelievable asit may sound, I've yet to read anything by him. I've got to remedy that.

Another Abandoned book: Galileo's Daughter by Dava Sobel

This was my second try at this one. I read it about 15 mos ago in print and got about 1/2 through--my bookmark was at page 233-- but I just couldn't go on. Back then I thougt it was tantamount to immoral not to finish a book (particularly when it was given to me as a gift from Mr. Tutu). Now I know better, and will abandon one that is not going anyplace and is just making me antsy to get through it.

This time, I saw it available on audio, read by one of my favorite narrators, George Guidall. I've often said that he could read the yellow pages and I'd listen. Well............the yellow pages are probably more interesting than this one. Trust me, it has little to do with the daughter, everything to do with Galileo fighting the politics of the time (read HOly Roman Catholic CHurch and the Medicis and Doges and other Italian/Venitian/Tuscan etc etc etc bigwigs) and the superstitions that were prevalent during the era.

These should have made an interesting story, but Sobel just doesn't seem to have the ability to string facts together in anything other than a doctoral dissertation. I also had this same problem reading her book Longitude. So it's going into the officially abandoned pile.

On to more interesting reading which right now is
School of Essential Ingredients, The Things They Carried and Let's Take the Long Way Home and The Cookbook Collector.

I felt the same way about Galileo's Daughter--I just couldn't finish it. You've got some great books coming up. I really enjoyed the School of Essential Ingredients, and The Things They Carried was a fabulous audiobook--my favorite so far, even though it was a very serious subject. Happy reading! Now that I have an iPod and iPad, I'm going to listen to more e-books.

I am thirding the not finishing of Galileo's Daughter. I have tried it a couple of times, but doubt I will go back to it. I did enjoy Longitude though and another one of her books, The Planets, but for some reason GD just does not do anything for me.

I'm a Bryson fan too. So, I'll be adding At Home to my wishlist.
I need to remember "the uglies". Cleveland has those two seasons as well. Dreary, gloomy, depressing, just doesn't do them justice. But "the uglies" really describes that time of year.

Well it's certainly nice to have one's low opinion of a book validated. I think sometimes that is as gratifying as having everyone agree with you that a book is good.

#149 The School of Essential Ingredients



Author: Erica Bauermeister
Publisher/Format:New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, c2009. 256 pages
Characters: Lillian, Abuelita, assorted students
Subject: food, cooking and life
Setting:Lillian's restaurant
Genre: fiction
Source: Member Giveaway program on LibraryThing

This is a lovely book, an easy read, and one that is sure to be enjoyed by all but the hardest hearted. There are already 70 reviews posted to LT, so I don't need to add to that corpus. Suffice it to say that it brings together an interesting range of people who are at various stages of life -- from a recent high school graduate who has very low self-esteem and a somewhat manipulative boyfriend to an elderly dear on the cusp of dementia, mixed with a couple recovering from an affair, a mother trying to find herself, a widower still grieving for his deceased wife, an immigrant trying to find the food of her childhood, and a young geek who received the enrollment in the class as a gift from his mother.

Lillian the instructor doesn't teach recipes, she helps her students get through life by introducing them to 'the essential ingredients' - both of food and life. It's a quiet, soothing, gentle but stunning book. It's been sitting on my shelf for over a year - I got it through Member Giveaway sometime late in 2009. I'm so glad I finally pulled it down to read.

#119: I enjoyed that one too, Tina. I am glad to see that you did as well.

Wishlisted that one, thanks!

Are you reading more books than you were? Thx for the tip on Preserving the Harvest. Sounds like something I'd like to have -- and use :)

Your thread is so enjoyable and insightful - it makes me want to dive into the books you like right this minute and to avoid the ones you don't like at any cost.

I've added the first Sam Blackman mystery and Vestments to the Wishlist from this go round. The new Bill Bryson and The Other Wes Moore are already on there.

Oh, wait, I guess I have a hard heart, because I just thought Bauermeister's book was OK--though to be fair, I was only half-listening to it as I was doing other things. I was thinking of another book that were recipes written down in memory of the author's family and friends. I'm going to have to go look for that title.

>114 tututhefirst:, 15, 16: Three Strikes and you're "OUT!" I'm glad I paid only $1.00 for Galileo's Daughter at a library book sale. Guess they all can't be home runs!

I'm sorry you didn't like Galileo's Daughter. I liked it so much I bought the companion book, Letters to Father. It did take awhile to read. It's certainly packed with historical and scientific facts. Possibly one of the most dense non-textbooks I've ever read. The end was sweet and sad.

testing images....please ignore

#127: At least it is a rather cute image to ignore rather than some of the ones seen lately on Stephen's (Ape's) thread!

I did enjoy Galileo's Daughter, or at least was interested enough in the issues being discussed to persevere. But then I'm particularly interested in this period, which was part of the Church's effort to crack down on dissent from within its ranks, in the context of the politics of the time. So it appeals to me as history, but also intellectual history -- how ideas are transmitted, suppressed or just lost.

I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts on The Cookbook Collector -- I ended up enjoying it quite a bit, despite the sometimes jumpy/scatty structure. I particularly enjoyed the characters of the bookshop owner and the sister who works for him. And the dot.com stuff rings true!

*smooch*

Was that a kiss I saw going to you from Richard?!?

Doesn't he know that you have a sweetie for a hubbie and that he has no chance? Don't let Bobbie know that there is a rival.

Not to worry Cheli.....hubbie is aware of Richard and does not perceive him as a rival.

>132 tututhefirst: Not sure why, but that stung a little...;-P

Richard, hope a big hug for my favorite curmudgeon, will make it all better....it certainly was not intended as a zing, a sting, or any other kind of boo-boo.

Just joking, Tina, really, the set-up was too perfect not to take advantage of! Really, honestly, truly.

#150 The Things They Carried What a way to honor our Veterans this week. Book #150 (that's 75 x 2 - WOOT!)



Author:  Tim O'Brien
Publisher/Format: Mariner Books (2009), Paperback, 256 pages
Subject: memories from the Vietnam War
Genre: short stories/memoir
Source: My own shelves
Challenge: Read from my shelves; War Through the Generations


This is a book I read for the Vietnam Reading Challenge sponsored by War Through the Generations.  The author, Tim O'Brien, is featured over there this week as he compares the Vietnam War to today's conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.  His thoughts are a good addition to what is featured here.

It seems strange to read a book written about death, mire, dismemberment, fear, and squalor and then call it beautiful.  But it is just that.  O'Brien is truly one of today's most gifted writers, giving us the ugliness of war in beautiful eloquent prose.  As he tells the stories of "A" company and his fellow soldiers humping their way through the killing fields of Vietnam, slogging through marshes, creeping blindly through jungles at night, and hiding in pits, we see them as individuals, we feel their fear, their bravado, their anguish and their emotions.  We also see the author's torment as he tries to tell the stories.  Does he give us bare truth?  What is truth?  Should he embellish?  He says:

The truths are contradictory. It can be argued, for instance, that war is grotesque.  But in truth, war is also beauty. For all its horror, you can't help but gape at the awful majesty of combat....It's not pretty exactly, it's astonishing. It fills the eye.  It commands you.  You hate it, yes, but your eyes do not.  Like a killer forest fire, like cancer under a microscope, any battle or bombing raid or artillery barrage has the aesthetic purity of absolute moral indifference--a powerful implacable beauty--and a true war story will tell the truth about this, though the truth is ugly. (pg. 77).

 Each story is a stand-alone, but together they form an aggregate of emotions that help us feel.  We may never have had to endure what they did, but we at least know what they felt as they went through the experience, because the very first story lets us understand that among the things they carried, the heaviest were the fear, the hope, the love, the nostalgia, the loneliness that each young man took with him as he went to war.

If you never read another book about war......any war.....you should read this one.  It is jaw-dropping in its beauty, and that is what is so special: that a subject so ugly can be described in such splendor.

#151 The Cookbook Collector



Author: Allegra Goodman
Publisher/Format: Dial Press (2010) Adobe E-pub
Subject: sisters, dot-com industry; book collecting
Setting: Berkley CA, and Boston MA
Genre: fiction
Source: library e-book download

Another e-book I thoroughly enjoyed, although I don't think I'd ever be able to read in this format exclusively.  I dislike being tied to a computer to read, and my eyes absolutely will not handle reading on a smart phone, so I sure hope that Santa gets the hint and there's a NOOK under the tree for Tutu.

This was a pleasant surprise - I didn't expect anything as deep as the story presented here.  At first, I was impatient.  The beginnings of the book were all about the relationship (such as it was) between two sisters who appear on the surface to be as different as apples and artichokes.  It was about the dot-com industry and greed, and people making enough money to finance a third world nation for several years.  I kept waiting for the cookbook part...and waiting...at page 61, we finally got to a collector, but it took until page 162 to get some of the meat of the cookbook collection.

I was also fascinated by the similarity to another book I'd read recently - The Color of Water, in which the mother was disinherited by Jewish parents.  In this one the mother died when the girls were quite young, and the father has remarried and has pre-school twins.  Each of the older sisters is dealing with a romance that the reader may perceive as inappropriate and there are several peripheral relationships and stories going on in addition to the gorgeous story of the ancient, large, and eclectic cookbook collection which one of the sisters, Jess is hired to catalog.  The story of the books, the notes, the inserts, and the recipes themselves is just so much fun.

The plot could be called the standard boy meets girl, boy likes girl, girl has other love interests, yada, yada, yada.  But the character development is much deeper than that and watching the love relationships of both the sisters is by far the best part of the book.  Imagine, a double romance with social studies, environmental issues, rare books, Jewish studies, women's relationships, high finance, and genealogy in addition to marvelous recipes.  It's a very satisfying book.

Congratulations on hitting 150, Tina! And on a great book to boot!

#152 Can't Wait to Get to Heaven



Author: Fannie Flagg
Format: audio - approx 11 hours
Narrator: Cassandra Campbell
Characters: Elner Shimfissle, Norma Warren, Macky Warren
Setting: Elmwood Springs MO
Genre: fiction
Source: public library audio download

Fannie Flagg is one of my favorite "feel good" authors.  Her characters are always so down-to-earth funny and often remind me of my relatives on my mother’s side of the family (the non-Italians).  Here we have the elderly auntie Elner, whose age is undetermined because her sister destroyed the family bible and no one knows exactly when she was born.  Suffice it to say, Elner is old.  She is also fond of making fig jam, and climbing ladders to pick the fresh figs, thus ignoring any advise from her niece Norma about behaving herself as proper ladies should. Norma isn't so much worried that Aunt Elner will hurt herself as she is about what the neighbors will think.

So of course Elner falls from the tree after being stung by wasps and goes to heaven where she meets one of her heroines--“Neighbor Dorothy” of the famous Midwest radio show of the mid 1900s.  Elner also meets God (aka Raymond), visits with Thomas Edison, and then, much to her regret, gets sent back to earth to tell people to enjoy life and stop worrying so much.

Needless to say, no one believes her, and the interactions and reactions of the townspeople when they find out that Elner isn’t dead after all are priceless. The scene where Elner sits up in the emergency room after five hours of 'flat line' is worth the price of the whole book!  This is a laugh-out-loud funny book with enough message to get it past the fluff stage.  A definite curl up for an afternoon and enjoy the hot chocolate book. Alternately, if you're into audio, this is another great one to keep you going while you're exercising.

#153 Rituals of the Season



Author: Margaret Marron
Format: audio - approx 9 hours
Narrator: C.J. Critt
Characters: Deborah Knott, Dwight Bryant
Subject: getting married, solving murder, proving innocence
Setting: Colleton County NC
Series: Deborah Knott Mysteries
Genre: lawyer as sleuth mystery
Source: public library

I love Margaret Maron’s character Judge Deborah Knott.  This adventure continues her romance with Maj Dwight Bryant – finally planning a wedding.  Of course, this being a Margaret Maron book, there is also a murder to solve – this time a good friend of Deborah’s, and a review of a murder case where the accused murderer keeps claiming she is innocent, and two young law students set out (with Deborah’s help of course) to prove her innocence.

I really enjoy this series and find they work especially well in the audio format.I get a lot of exercise in because I don’t want to stop in the middle of a chapter when I’m jogging away in the pool.I haven’t read all eleven of the series, but don’t feel like I’m missing too much by jumping ahead.

#139: I will have to give that one a try. I have only read one of Flagg's books, but I enjoyed it immensely. Thanks for the recommendation, Tina.

#150 - I may have to borrow that one in a few years when I finally get that far in history.

Hello and congratulations on reading 153 books!

Doing a reciprocal de-lurking, Tina! Looks like you've been on an animal kick lately.

Tina, what an outstanding book to read for your 150th! And congratulations on that achievement.

#154 Semper Cool

Today is the 235th Birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps.
I can't think of a better way to celebrate this incredible organization than to read about some of its most unforgettable achievements.  Last night I finished a very readable and unforgettable book by a Marine who served in Vietnam. This is actually memoir #5 in my Month of Memoirs.




SEMPER COOL

Author: Barry Fixler
Publisher/Format: Exalt Press (2010), advance galley, 320 pages
Subject: war in Vietnam and the U.S. Marines
Setting: Vietnam
Genre: Memoir
Source: signed copy from the author

Barry Fixler was a fun-loving Long Island teenager when he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps because his father had admired the Marines so much while he was on duty with the Army during WWII.

Today Fixler is a successful jeweler in Long Island who is the embodiment of the saying "Once a Marine, always a Marine."  His irreverant almost flip style of writing about war actually brings home the horrors he and his fellow Marines endured.  Having lived a rather sheltered and comfortable middle class life, he finds himself enduring the training of Parris Island, Camp Lejeune, and Camp Pendleton before being shipped off to ground combat duty in Vietnam.  He survived 13 months of ferocious and horrific fighting and hardship, including the famous 77 day siege of a hill in Khe Sahn, a battle which many consider one of the greatest battles ever fought by the Marines.

He gives us the raw, unvarnished, gory truth about young men at war. But he also gives us one of the most loving portraits of Marines I've ever read. It is not a book for the squeamish, but he does not dwell on the gore.  He focuses instead on the relationships and lifelong friendships the Corps builds. His engaging style, while earthy, shows why the sub-title is 'fond' memories of Vietnam. The experience is engraved in his mind and heart forever.

Fixler is donating 100% of the profits from the sales of this book (pub date : Dec 1st) to help Marines who are combat casualties of today's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The story of his life today, and his efforts on behalf of these wounded warriors is only a few short chapters at the end of the book, but they are as powerful as the earlier, easy to read, sometimes laugh out loud adventures of this young and brash teenager who returned home in one piece as a confident mature adult, and who has never forgotten the lessons of comradeship and devotion to duty that were inculcated in him by the Corps.

Fixler has shown us that war can be horrible, but honorable service to one's country can build fond memories.

I received this book as a participant in the War Through the Generations challenge.  Barry Fixler was kind enough to provide a copy for every participant in the challenge.  It's been an incredible year reading about the history, battles, and politics of that conflict, and anyone wanting to understand the role of Marines in Vietnam will enjoy this book.

#146: That one looks like a good one to read for my Vietnam War reading. Thanks for the recommendation, Tina.

Tina.

Many thanks for the incredible review! My ex husband is a Viet Nam veteran. Sadly, he returned from the experience forever changed -- forever bitter.

He suffers from post tramatic stress, but refused to get counseling.

Linda, I am always upset to hear about vets who are suffering, and the interesting thing about Fixler (which I didn't include in my review) is that he also denies the existence of PTSD. It almost looks to me (I got my psych degree from watching daytime TV-LOL) like a case of 'as long as I can swagger and do for other people, I won't have to let myself feel....or I can just choose not to feel." He had some very interesting reactions to combat, and having just read the O'Brien book, the different takes on how combat impacts the psyche were very evident.

I truly think we are in for another generation of men and women who are scarred from their time in service, and we as a nation need to face that and support in anyway we can. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if the bazillion gazillions of dollars spent on bombarding us with crap during the past election campaigns could have been spent of vet support, medical research, helping disaster victims, etc etc etc.

Veteran's day is (or should be) not just a day of rememberance, but a day of visioning how we can stop having to celebrate service in war, and celebrate instead service to make the world better.

Ok, off the soapbox.

#149: Wouldn't it have been wonderful if the bazillion gazillions of dollars spent on bombarding us with crap during the past election campaigns could have been spent of vet support, medical research, helping disaster victims, etc etc etc.

Amen, Tina!

The Things they Carried and Semper Cool both sound fascinating.

Given the significance of the Vietnam War in shaping my generation's world, I should really read more about it. It's time.

Terri...I think you hit the nail on the head. The Vietnam War did shape our generation, and we're only now beginning to be able to face the results of decisions made 30-50 years ago. While I served in the military during the Vietnam War, I was too young and too naive to understand all the issues that were swirling at the time. I went to a small female Catholic liberal arts college, and discussing the merits of US foreign policy was not high on the agenda for math majors. My husband, a Naval Academy graduate went off to patriotically follow orders. Neither of us ever thought about questioning what was going on while we were in the middle of it.

It wasn't really until we started losing friends and paying more attention that the war made any impact on us, and it wasn't until he attended the National War College 25 years later and studied that conflict in excruciating detail, that we both really got a grasp of what had been going on.

With the luxury of hindsight, I think it is the reason so many of us in this generation are so outspoken in our opposition to the fighting going on now. Reading, learning, studying the history is the only way we're ever going to raise a new generation to realize that war is not the answer.

I just finished reading David Laskin's The Long Way Home an American Journey from Ellis Island to the Great War. It cemented the thoughts I've been gathering this past year about the veteran's experience. When I get my brain wrapped around it, I'll post a review.

Ditto-ing Stasia's amens in #150.

Double ditto!

#152: I really enjoyed Laskin's The Children's Blizzard, so I am looking forward with anticipation to your review of The Long Way Home.

Author: David Laskin
Narrator: Erik Synnestvedt
Publisher/Format: Tantor Media audio- 13 hrs, 22 min; 416 page equivalent
Subject: Immigrants who served in World War I
Genre: narrative history
Source: public library

I saw Ellis Island in the title and picked up this book because my grandfather arrived at Ellis Island in 1910.  He was 25, single, and his papers said his last residence was Avellino Italy.  I thought it might shed some light on what he went through when he came to America.

So I expected that this was going to be the story of how immigrants who arrived in the late 1800s and early 1900s became assimilated into American society.  Laskin certainly does cover that subject, and covers it very well.  However, in addition to the specific stories of 12 different immigrants he follows from their birthplaces in various countries, their immigration and landing at Ellis Island, their first jobs in America, and then their participation in WWI, to their return to the US, their later lives and their deaths, he gives us a detailed overview of US immigration policy, and the role and influence of immigrants in US society.

As he expounds on the immigration issues, one can't help but draw comparisons to the debate raging in our country today.  In 1914, one in three people living in the US was an immigrant or child of an immigrant.  They did not learn English, they stayed in small enclaves of people who spoke their language, worshiped their same god, ate the same food.  It was not until the US entered the war, and these men joined the armed services (almost all of them willingly) to fight for the US against what was for some of them their native countries, that they became not "kikes, jews, wops, & polacks," but Yanks one and all. The bonding that took place on the battlefield transcended language, religion, and customs; the friendships formed lasted lifetimes.

By following the lives of these twelve men and their families (4 Italians, 1 Norwegian, 1 Irish, and the others Slavs and Jews from Russia and the Russian Pale) he gives us a picture of hardship, loyalty, and determination. We get a history lesson and a humanity lesson.  I think he sums it up toward the end:

The only great thing about the Great War was the scale.  So why did they fight?  The question was especially fraught for America's immigrant soldiers.  To fight for your own country is an inescapable part of the social contract.  In exchange for the  benefits of a secure civil society, we offer our bodies  and, if need be our lives, in time of war. But the foreign born were asked, indeed forced to serve without having executed the social contract in full.   In the streets of America, they were aliens, but in no man's land they were expected to fight as fervently as native born Americans.   And for the most part, they did.    It was that loyalty in action that changed everything.  They righted the imbalance of the social contract not by protesting, but paradoxically by submitting.  Their pride in serving won them, and their families, the status they could never have gained without the war. 

In a war remembered more for senseless slaughter than for courage, the service of the foreign born shines.  Nearly  a hundred years later, it's one of the few things about the great war that still does.

 I enjoyed this book and learned a lot.  I do think however, that I've about gotten to the end of my war reading for awhile....it's time for a change of pace.

Stasia...I have Laskin's other book The Children's Blizzard on my TBR list. Someday.................

#156: I am going to have to get that book too. It sounds interesting.

My grandfather was from Belgium. His family came over to the States between the world wars. I imagine, although I do not know for sure, that he must have passed through Ellis Island. One of my biggest regrets is that I did not find out about my grandfather's background until after he was dead. I would have loved to learn more about his immigrant experience.

Stasia....the Ellis Island web page is very easy to use to find out if there is a record of your grandfather. just fill in the blanks. It can give you some interesting info.

I've never been there and really want to visit someday. Maybe I'll have to plan a trip and drop in on Richard!!

#158: I hope you do drop in on Richard!

I will have to investigate the web page. Thanks for posting the link, Tina.

Well.....about that Ellis Island link.....I got lambasted for over an hour the other night after my mother read my review on my blog. She maintains ( and will swear a blood earth if asked) that the dates Ellis Island has for my grandfather are INCORRECT. She maintains he came 12 years earlier. Of course there are no witnesses to corroborate (nor anyone in that generation) and it matter not that much to me what the dates are, but mom is of the generation that requires exactitude.....

Mom will not of course accept that oral history is subject to interpretation, open to the inclusion of differing 'factoids', etc etc etc. And after 100 years, I just don't really care enough to undertake a detailed and time-consuming genealogic search.

Moral of the story....never trust the government, and never post anything you don't want vetted by 'the experts.'

Ellis Island visit? When? Much good stuff there, and a wonderful trip around Lady Liberty on the way. *pats foot*

Tina, I'm so much in agreement with you re Remembrance Day. I get a bit worried when I hear people celebrate the coming of age experience in combat. Yes, intense and traumatic experiences bind people together and give them a sense of purpose that can't be equalled in civilian life. But the context of that experience is death and disaster -- for every person who emerges saying that despite the havoc, those were great days of brotherhood, etc., there are those who are traumatized and (in wars like those of today -- including the ones we never hear of in Africa, for instance) millions of civilians dead or traumatized as well. I suppose I'm glad that there is a saving grace, but as long as young men see war as adventure and look back on it and tell their own kids about it as being the best, most formative years of their lives, we'll keep fighting and killing each other. Too bad some kind of Peace Corps experience doesn't have the required intensity and drama -- because it certainly could separate the boys from the men just as rapidly, it seems to me.

OK, off MY soapbox now. For anyone interested, one of the best books about the Vietnam War and the broader context, is Fire in the Lake by Frances Fitzgerald.

Have been reading reading reading.....rainy rainy days here are perfect for indulging. I'll try to get some review posted this week for books #156-158 (maybe even 159 if I finish it)

Running with Books
American on Purpose
An Irish country Girl

I'm hoping to finish What a difference a dog makes and Venetia Kelly's Traveling show by tomorrow, but must work in library all day today..

Hope all the invalids are recovering, all the kids are doing well in school, aunties are sleeping and no pink slips have been handed out.

#163: Looking forward to your reviews, Tina!

#157 Running the Books the adventures of an accidental Prison Librarian



Author: Avi Steinberg
Publisher/Format: Nan A. Talese (2010), Hardcover, 416 pages
Setting: prison library in Boston area
Genre: memoir
Source: Review copy from publisher
Full review is on the book page and on the blog.

I find it hard to describe this book. When I had finished it, I knew I had been allowed a glimpse of something profound. But when I started it, I spent the first 100 or so pages wandering through the peripatetic mind of the author as he lets us into his rather jumbled mind and wondering if he was EVER going to get to the point. A self-described refugee from Yeshiva and then Harvard- where he wrote a dissertation on something to do with the symbolism of carrots in Bugs Bunny stories, he finds himself in his early 20's barely eeking out a living writing obituaries for the Boston Globe.  When he sees an advertisement for a prison librarian job offering full-time employment AND BENEFITS, he applies. The job also includes duties to teach a creative writing course.

Here are some glimmers of what makes it so stunning:

For one of his CW classes:

as an introduction....we read Plato's Allegory of the Cave from The Republic. Socrates imagines the world as a cave and all its human inhabitants as chained prisoners who "see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave." These prisoners' view of reality is fundamentally skewed, and yet they cannot realize it. In class, we discussed this problem not as a general allegory but more literally, as a description of actual prison life.

Later, as he matures and begins to find himself in the job he says:

In prison kindness was literally outlawed. Written policies not only precluded staff from selling, but even from sharing any item, no matter how small with an inmate. This was part of what made the prison library - a lending library after all--such a radical concept.

One of the most telling stories about his growth was the episode where he literally snuck in a cupcake to present to one of his inmate 'staff' for his birthday- an offense for which he could have been fired, and could have resulted in the inmate's being denied privileges for a long period of time. This was the occasion when he began to realize that he probably couldn't stay in this job for a very long period, and when the reader becomes fully invested in the librarian and the inmates.

He sums it up really well when he says:

It was a prison library, the library for the bad guys. The beauty of this job, if there was beauty, was in giving people like....a shot to do something right and do it well. To remind them that they're more than criminals, if they choose to be. In practice, this turns out to be harder and more complicated than it sounds.

Even tho I almost didn't want to finish it, I'm glad I did. It will turn out to be one of the best books of the year for me.

Oh Tina, that one sounds fascinating! Great review!

Abandoned books:

Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show
The 19th Wife

This have both been sitting here for awhile and needed to be renewed (again) or returned to the library. I gave each of them 90-100 pages, but found them both fragmented, difficult to follow and rather boring..........

maybe later.

edited to correct bolding.

I was trying to remember the title of Running the Books earlier today -- now that you have prodded my memory, I've got a request in for a library copy, though it will probably take a while to get it. (Lots of holds ahead of me...)

#167: I enjoyed Venetia Kelly's Traveling Show so I hope you give that one another shot. I did not even make it 100 pages in The 19th Wife.

ETA: Thanks for posting your review of Running the Books. I hope the library gets that one in soon!

#158 American on Purpose




Author: Craig Ferguson
Format: audio - 7 1/2 hours, 288 pages equivalent
Subject: alcoholism, addiction, emigration, patriotism
Genre: memoir
Source: public library audio download
Challenge: Month of Memoirs

Alright, I'll admit it, I'm a sucker for a man in a kilt. The cover of this one grabbed my interest; several of you (you know who you are) recommended it highly, and the scottish accent was a big draw. The full review is on the book page or on Tutu's Two Cents

In short, this is a story worth reading.  The language can be a tad raw, but it is true to who the author is.  If you really want the full flavor, I'd recommend the audio format.  Listening to him read the story truly brings it alive. It is laugh out loud funny, inspiring, and memorable.

Thumbs-upped that one, Tina! And do I ever relate. *drool*

Hi Tina, de-lurking for a minute here to say you've been doing some really interesting reading. I'm going to add The Cookbook Collector and the Laskin book which both look very good. I have The Children's Blizzard on my shelf right now after Stasia's recommendation but it just joins the long list of books waiting patiently. **sigh**

#159 What a Difference a Dog Makes

This one almost makes me want to get a dog. Author Dana Jennings has given us a wonderful, warm, sweet and gentle ode to his dog Bijou de Minuit (literally Jewel of Midnight). As he recovers from cancer, he learns to listen to doggie wisdom, and shares it with his readers. It is the perfect gift for dog lovers for the up-coming holidays. Even those of us who do not have a dog in their lives at the present time will find the short chapters, and simple stories endearing.

This one was one I got to review...a quick read while you're waiting for the blood work, the oil change, or any less than an hour (it's 156 short pages) appointment.

I'm a sucker for a man in a kilt

I'm laughing because there was a man on TV yesterday who had been wearing a kilt for 7 years who said it was a chick magnet and I laughed at the time--I guess I was wrong! :-)

Edited to fix a spelling

Since both kilts and puppies are apparently top-flight chick magnets, what about a man in a kilt walking a labrador puppy?? :-) He's probably need armed bodyguards.
I once went to a NYC nightclub with a man in a kilt. It was the combo of his kilt and me in an evening dress smoking a cigar (hey, well over a decade ago!) that got us in...

Speaking of kilts...my ADD really kicked in yesterday. As I finished the Ferguson review, and was staring at a pile of 10 books I'd lined up to read before the end of the year,the library phoned to tell me that my reserved audio of The Wordy Shipmates was in. When I went to pick that up, my eye fell on the recently returned shelf where sat the 28 disc set of Outlander. Hmmm my brain said....Scots!....kilts! I'd remembered that it had been on the TBR pile since I first joined LT back in 2008, so I thought "here's one that will get me through many many swimming sessions" - it will probably take a week just to rip those 28 discs to my MP3.

However, I started listening --Davina Porter is one of my favorite narrators-- and I'm not sure this is for me. I'm not a fan of time travel-- have never been able to finish one in that genre. I read some of the reviews because other than kilts/Scotland I'd forgotten what it was about and they are making me think this is a classic 'arms akimbo, throbbing manhood, pink crests' kinda romance slobbered up in a travelogue with a splash of history to make the romance seem higher class. I'm so far a tad irritated with the story, and find myself really having to suspend belief a lot...probably the biggest reason I don't handle fantasy very well.

So you my friends now have a challenge....tell me in 100 words or less whether Tutu should continue on this quest. I certainly have lots of others to fill the time.

#175...Suzanne....a man in a kilt walking a lab puppy......drool......was it golden, black, or chocolate? Even the cigar wouldn't have bothered me. My dad smoked them (much to my mother's chagrin) and the smell brings back memories...

Well, I have to admit I rather liked Outlander, but for all the reasons you didn't, so I say scrap it.

>176 tututhefirst: No. Don't.

I have to admit that the Outlander series didn't do it for me--at least the first book, which was all I got through. If you aren't a romance fan--and tell me most romances aren't more fantasy than those books labeled fantasy--you probably aren't going to enjoy it. Too much work to suspend belief for me, in the historical setting and the mind sets. On the other hand, it is NOT necessarily a reason not to handle fantasy well, as I am a well-known fantasy aficiando! Try The Curse of Chalion and then tell me it's because you don't handle fantasy well.

Can't help you - I have it on my PC and scheduled for next year.

I love the Outlander series, Tina, but from your comments in 176, I would say to ditch it. I do not think you will enjoy the series.

Ok, that's it....into the abandoned books cemetery goes Outlander. Time to get on to reading some more great ones. Currently it's Pat Conroy's My Reading Life - absolutely exquisite===I'm wallowing in his prose, his thoughts, and the glories of the printed (no comments about format here) word.

#183: I am looking forward to My Reading Life at some point. I hope the local library gets a copy soon!

Edited to correct TS

#160 The Farmer's Daughter

Three short novellas in one volume. The first one, Farmer's Daughter was the best, but none was anything to write home about. Didn't raise enough emotion - positive or negative- to get me to write a real review. If you need something to fill a Montana category, try something else. If you have to read short stories and like the dried out, bare bones life of the Montana, Wyoming, or surrounding areas scenery and you're into horsies, this one might be up your alley.

For me, it's on its way back to the library. Ho Hum.

Jim Harrison drives me wild for that very reason! I read his collection The Woman Lit by Fireflies and was maddened at the blown opportunities. I'd prefer simply to dislike someone's writing than feel that--that--letdown, deflation, "oh gee, that was...what was that again?" feeling.

#161 The Day the Falls Stood Still



Author: Cathy Marie Buchanan
Format: Voice (2009), Hardcover, 320 pages; also in audio - 11.5 hours
Narrator: Karen White
Characters: Bess Heath, Isabel Heath, Tom Cole
Subject: Niagara Falls, hydroelectric power, dressmaking
Setting: Ontario Canada
Genre: historical fiction
Source:print- review copy from the publisher; audio - public library download

I'm almost ashamed at how long it has taken me to get to this well-written, exciting and educational book.  The author, who grew up in the town depicted in the book- the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, has done her research, and gives us a work of historical fiction in which she takes real characters, re-names them, and then gives us a beautiful love story woven into historical narrative about the early harnessing of the power of the Falls for hydroelectric power.

The main character Bess Heath, had a very privileged upbringing but finds herself deprived of many creature comforts when her father is fired from his job, the servants are let go, she is unable to continue to attend her private girls; boarding school, and her mother is forced to take in sewing to support them.

Set during World War I, with flashbacks to earlier headlines from the Falls (late 1800's) Buchanan  gives us fully fleshed out characters who endure the hardships of separation, suicide, unemployment, and class discrimination.  Married on her 18th birthday against the wishes of her parents, Bess watches as her husband Tom Cole goes off to fight the Great War.  He is gone for more than three years, and returns to meet the son who would follow his father as  "the river man", amid a post-war economy with few available jobs.  This could have become a trite 'love at first site' story but instead we get a powerful tale of young love, early environmental concerns, some interesting sidebars on dressmaking and historically based episodes of the life of the river men. 

In addition to a great story the book is illustrated with actual photographs of the period.  For a reader who has not been to the Falls, the pictures are a great addition to understanding the story.  A first-rate read.

#162 My Reading Life

Oh my.................5 GREAT BIG STARS................ review to follow when I get my breath back but here's a teaser

"I cheer when a writer stops me in my tracks, forces me to go back and read a sentence again and again, and I find myself thunderstruck, grateful the way readers always are when a writer takes the time to put them on the floor. That's what a good book does---it puts readers on their knees. It makes you want to believe in a world you just read about--the one that will make you feel different about the world you thought you lived in, the world that will never be the same." pg. 329-330.

Later....

#187: I have not gotten to that one yet either, Tina, and I own it.

#188: Already in the BlackHole, but would still love to see your review :)

#161 Put it on the pile please!

#188 Every once in awhile, a book comes along that deserves more than 5 stars. I thought My Reading Life was one of those 5+ star books.

Okay, added that one to the pile!

>188 tututhefirst:, 191 Already wishlisted, but now I think I have to get it for myself. Blast!

#162 My Reading Life



Author: Pat Conroy
Publisher/Format:Nan A. Talese (2010), Hardcover, 352 pages
Subject: Reading, books
Genre: memoir
Source: review copy from the publisher
Pat Conroy has always been one of my favorite authors - I've read everything he ever wrote, and am now determined to re-read all of them again. But nothing he has ever written comes close to being the literary masterpiece this one is IMHO. It's the memoir every bibliophile dreams and lusts after---wishing we could close our eyes and pretend that this was the literary legacy of our past.

When I read books, particularly those I've committed to review for the publisher (as I did with this one) I read with pencil in hand to jot down particularly memorable passages, to make note of special ideas, so I can formulate a somewhat coherent description of what I thought of the book, and not leave out anything important.

Had I used this technique with this book I would have simply had to copy the entire thing. The quote I used earlier (#188) says exactly how I feel. I am definitely giving a copy of this to every reader in my family (so no Cheli--you can't have mine, you'll get your own). If you are participating in any kind of secret Santa book exchange this month, you will NOT go wrong giving this one (and praying you get one under your tree).

Having made notes and finished this journal, my TBR pile has increased exponentially. There are enough good books referenced that one could make a whole new group on LT - The Conroy Reading Life list - and spend at least two years plumbing the depths of his favorite tomes.

I especially like the fact that he doesn't just concentrate on books however. He spends a great deal of time and effort introducing us to those people who gave him the gift of books and reading - his mother, his English teacher, a librarian, a bookstore owner, his students. The book is not just a memoir of his reading life - it's a tribute to all those people who molded that life.

If ever asked what writer I'd most like to share a cuppa with, this man is it! If I ever wanted to be able to give 10 stars to a book, this one is it.

Note: if you're reading this before midnite Nov 26th, you can enter a contest to win one of two copies simply by following the rules on Tutu's Two Cents

#163 A Noble Radiance



Author: Donna Leon
Format: audio -approx 7 hours 256 page equivalent
Narrator:Anna Fields
Characters: Guido Brunetti, his wife Paola, Count
Subject: corruption, social classes, police
Setting: Venice
Series: Commissario Brunetti
Genre: mystery - cold case police procedural
Source: public library audio download

Another wonderful episode in the Commissario Brunetti series. Not as much food, but more passion. Guido finds himself investigating a semi-cold case of kidnapping/murder when a body is discovered in a field, and identified as being the missing son of a Venetian noble. Leon has been gradually developing the ideological angst that Brunetti must endure when facing the social and class structure of the ancient city. This one is a bit shorter than previous ones in the series, but every bit as good.

She really has a touch, doesn't she? I like her stuff lots.

#194: I have got to get my hands on that one!

I have become a Donna Leon fan as well as the Commissario. So, I will be looking for this one too.

I have still not got around to trying the Commissario Brunetti books. Must try harder.

I have the first one in that series on my shelf (found at used bookstore this summer) just waiting for the "leadoff" (first in series) category in next year's 1010 challenge. The only probem is that someone posted a spoiler for it in another group, so, well, it kind of spoils it -- especially since it's a mystery. . .

#200 -Don't you just hate it when you stumble onto a spoiler? Believe it or not, I have not yet read the first in the series--although I too have it sitting on my shelf --and I too got it at a used book sale! When I see a popular series that gets a lot of buzz, I often go to #2, because many authors don't really hit their stride in #1. So I say read on, don't let the spoiler bother you, and do enjoy this series.

I forgot to mention above, that Mr. Tutu has fallen in love with Paolo, Brunetti's better half. Says she reminds him of moi!! I'm flattered indeed.

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving! I'm blessed by your participation in the group.

With such high praise for the Pat Conroy book, I must move it up the list.

What a compliment .. to be compared with Brunetti's Paola. I wish I had someone like her to cook for me. Their meals always make me hungry.

Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, tutu.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am being won over by all the praise about Conroy's book.

Have a great Thanksgiving, Tina!

Hi Tutu, I just joined this group a couple of days ago and just now read your glowing review of Pat Conroy's book in #194 and when I saw you were having a contest, rushed over to your blog to sign up. Coming back to your thread I see you've just read A Noble Radiance which is in my TRRS (to read real soon) pile as someone's asked for it on BookMooch. I just finished reading Friends in High Places and posted it on my thread. Be curious to know what you think of my review!

Edit: I'm such a goof! Just posted the same message 3 times when I tried to backtrack and fix typos... just getting back into the hang of things, sorry about that!

oh my goodness, just a few minutes spent on LT, in this thread, and I've added more books to my wish list today than I have all year. Thanks for all the thoughtful reviews!

Welcome Milda and Ilana.....I'm glad you're tempted to read books I'm posting here, because many many of the books I've read since 2008 have come from recommendations and write-ups by my LibraryThing friends. I've had an especially great year...so many wonderful books. This has been a break-through year for me in that I'm allowing myself to put a book aside if it doesn't grab me. I'm not saying I'll never come back to it, but find I don't want to waste time trying to get through something that is difficult when I have piles and piles of good ones waving their hands and yelling "pick me, pick me." I look forward to sharing more with you and to lurking on your threads too.

#164 Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter



Author: Tom Franklin
Publisher/Format:William Morrow (2010), Hardcover, 288 pages  
Characters: Larry Ott, Silas Jones (aka "32")
Subject:murder, lost opportunities, poverty
Setting: rural Mississippi
Genre: police procedural, Southern fiction
Source: Early Reviewers program, LibraryThing.com

Remember when we learned to spell "Mississippi" in grade school. EM eye crooked letter crooked letter,eye crooked letter, etc etc.?? This one gives us Mississippi in all its crookedness. I've read a lot of 'southern' fiction this year, so I have something to compare when I say up front that the strong sense of place I look for in this genre is definitely here. I've read more than a few mystery/detective fiction books this year, and my requirements for those include strong characters and a plot that keeps me turning the pages. Franklin has given us all of these in this 5 star book.

Set in the rural dirt-poor Mississippi of the 1970's as school desegregation was getting into full swing, and the Civil Rights movement was reaching fruition, Franklin evokes the racial tension and cultural baggage that made small town life in the south so problematic. He adds poverty, alcoholism, spouse abuse, and brain breaking hopelessness to characters who are striving to get through one day at a time. The descriptions of the setting and the life of both poor blacks and whites are as realistic as any I've read in months.

The two main characters grew up together, sharing some secrets (and keeping others private) that return to haunt them as adults. And here is where Franklin shines. He takes the individual stories of each, one black, one white, and carefully strings us along in reconstructing their pasts to arrive at a resolution that is shocking, stunning, poignant, and ultimately more hopeful than the story line would dare allow the reader to be. His mastery of dialogue is exceptional.


I won't do a spoiler on the story which centers around the two estranged friends: one who was suspected (but never arrested or convicted) in the disappearance of a high school girl twenty years ago, and is again under suspicion in connection with another recently missing girl, and the other who is now the town constable who must investigate the happenings. I will say that this is destined to be one of better books of 2010. It will not disappoint anyone looking for a strong contemporary police story written in exceptional prose. It has all three: good plot, good scenes, great characters.

I got this one from the Early Reviewers program, and it's definitely one of the best I've had from there.

#165 Winters Child



Author: Margaret Maron
Format:  audio - 9 hrs, 45 mins
Narrator: C. J. Critt
Characters: Deborah Knott, Dwight Bryant
Subject: kidnapping, theft, murder
Setting: rural Virginia and North Carolina
Series: Judge Deborah Knott series
Genre:  police procedural; mystery
Source: public library

I treated myself to this one today. I have been trying to read Sea Change and was having trouble getting through the rather icky beginning chapter (I really don't handle violence done to children well) so I decided since I wanted today to be a true 'veg out day' to listen to another wonderful Margaret Maron mystery while I worked a jigsaw puzzle. This one was a bit different since it focuses on Deborah Knott's new husband, his ex-wife and his 8 year old son. As usual, Maron gives us a great story, and (very slight spoiler here)...the kidnapping of an 8 year old really keeps the story going. If you are a fan of this series, this one won't disappoint. If you've never read the series, do yourself a favor and pick up any of them. I don't think they need to be read in order.

PS.... I KNOW the Title is really Winter's Child (with an apostrophe) but the bloody touchstone only works if I remove it. Go figure.

#212: I have seen nothing but good reviews of that one. I hope my local library gets a copy of it soon.

Those last two both sound good, Tina.

Adding the Conroy book to my wish list. It sounds wonderful.

I'm a Donna Leon fan too - I have A Noble Radiance but am going in order and have just started #6, The Death of Faith. I love the parts about Paola and the kids.

I've added The Long Way Home to my absurdly long wishlist - sounds really interesting.

Tina- An excellent review of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter. That's perfect, because I landed an ER copy too and plan on starting this right after the Jane Eyre Group Read. Hope all is well!

Hi Tina, do drop by my thread today...I've given a summary of our LT meetup brunch that should have you vibrating with envy and ready to promise to come to our spring garden party!

#166 Fatal Remedies



Author: Donna Leon
Format: audio - 15.7 hrs,  320 page equivalent
Narrator:Anna Fields
Characters: Guido Brunetti, his wife Paola,
Subject: women roles, spousal loyalty, 
Setting: Venice
Series: Commissario Brunetti
Genre: mystery-police procedural
Source: public library

I'm on a roll....I do SO love Paola Brunetti....she's my kinda woman. In this adventure her husband Commissario Guido Brunetti finds himself in a real pickle (to use one of my grandma's favorite expressions) -- his beloved, fiery tempered, and morally impregnable Paola has been arrested for throwing a rock through the window of a travel agency well-known for arranging 'sex tours' for Italian men to travel to far off countries where young girls are forced into prostitution. Paola wants it stopped, and Guido is about to lose his job when he doesn't stop her!

And this is just the beginning!!! This one is #8 in the series and I think it's the best one yet. I will make you read it just to get Paola's description of Guido's gun --I definitely wouldn't want to spoil the fun, but Mr. Tutu almost snorted his coffee across the table when I told him....he too loves Paola, so the audio baton has been passed. I was awake until the wee hours listening to this one...grab it.

I don' have that one in my collection yet and the storyline sounds right up my alley. Yay Paola! :-))
Guess I'll have to include it on my wishlist... which am doing pronto!

#167 Sea Change =.=.=.=.=.=. A STUNNER!



Author: Jeremy Page
Publisher/Format: Viking/Penguin, Hardcover, 288 pages
Characters: Guy, Judy, Freya, Marta, Ro
Subject: dealing with grief, solitude at sea
Setting: Somewhere in the North Sea
Genre: narrative fiction
Source: review copy from the publisher


Another stunning novel from the author of SALT, one that provokes a string of adjectives to describe the experience it brings to the reader: haunting, eerie, poignant, memorable, distressing.

As the story opens, Guy watches as his four year old daughter is killed and right there, I was seriously tempted to abandon further reading. I don't like to read about violence to children, but this one is written in such a dreamlike way that I was drawn in trying to figure out what was really happening.

After that 1st short chapter, we are suddenly catapulted to a scene that is five years later, and Guy is alone on a barge floating in tidal coastal waters near the North Sea.  He spends his time writing a diary of what he thought his life with his family would have been.  This surreal narration is interspersed with his introspection as his navigates the waters and spends his lonely hours filling time with music, reading, and the essentials of daily life.

He meets fellow marine nomads, an older woman and her barely adult daughter.  As he shares a few days with them, he begins to recover from his previous loss, and we get fleshed out details of what else happened to him at the beginning of the story.

This story is not a swash-buckling adventure story, nor is the narrative fast paced. It floats along at about the same pace as his daily life on the barge. Simply put, in spite of his dreams to the contrary, life goes on, inexorably drawing him to the sea. The story culminates in a splendid maritime storm scene that even non-sailors can appreciate, with a trance like and somewhat bizarre ending that will satisfy some readers and leave others scratching their heads.

It is a splendid piece of writing. Page's prose is exquisitely evocative and lyrical, producing images that allow readers who have never been to sea, or to the North Sea area of the world, to experience the sights, sounds, smells, swells and sensations of a "sea change."

#222: OK, I must get my hands on that one! Great review, Tina. Thanks!

>222 tututhefirst: Thumbs-upped that one...not sure I can wishlist it, though....

Wow! A thumb and a wishlist addition for me.

#168 A Bone to Pick



Author: Charlaine Harris
Format: audio book 6 hr, 15 min, 272 page equivalent
Characters:Aurora Teagarden
Subject: unsolved murder
Setting: Georgia
Series: Aurora Teagarden mysteries
Genre: cozy mystery
Source: public library
 

While I'm not a big fan of the Southern Vampire series featuringSookie Stackhouse,  I have enjoyed Harris' Harper Connelly series, and while looking for one of those to read, came across Aurora Teagarden, another of her cozy series I seem to have overlooked  in the past.  How could I have missed these?  A librarian who helps solve murders?

Well constructed with some interesting characters, this delightful tale has all the standard ingredients of an amateur sleuth cozy murder mystery: intelligent professional woman who suffers from above average curiosity, and below average willingness to let the professionals handle the sleuthing; a cast of characters with enough meat on their bones to offer several different prospects for a culprit; a handsome, mannerly, and eligible suitor;  an endearing pet (in this case a big orange cat named Madeline); a town eccentric in the person of an elderly spinster who leaves her house "and everything in it" to our heroine; a domineering mother--and a totally implausible mystery resulting from the "everything in it"  whose details will not be revealed here. Don't want to spoil the fun!

Perfect  for a snowy evening with a cup of chocolate while others are watching football games.  And fun enough to have me go checking out at least one more to see if the series is worth pursuing.

edited to add the number

#169 John Paul Jones:Sailor, Hero, Father of the American Navy



Author: Evan Thomas
Narrator: Dan Cashman
Format: audio = 13.5 hrs  400 page equivalent
Subject: John Paul Jones
Genre: Biography
Source: public library audio download

A well researched, surprisingly easy to read biography of the man credited with being the "Father of the American Navy".  Now acknowledged to be rather a legend in his own mind, Thomas carefully debunks some of the sayings and myths that have attached themselves to this colorful and talented sailor, while still showing the genius of his strategic thinking.

His attitudes, accomplishments, judgments and temper tantrums are spelled out to put  this flamboyant hero in the proper niche of history.  We are treated to his thoughts on everything from planting crops to sailing, from proper uniforms to correct food, and along the way get to glimpse the American Revolution from an often overlooked perspective.  It's interesting enough for those with a compelling fascination with the Navy and its beginnings. For others, it is well written enough to be worth at least a look see.

I read and listened to this on audio.  For this one I'd recommend the written word.  I found the narrator's Scottish accent (was used whenever he was quoting Jones) very off-putting. 

edited to 13 hrs vs 13 years!!!!

Hi Tina- Great review on Sea Change! I'm unfamiliar with the author and the book. BTW- I set up a Christmas Book Swap Thread over on the 75. Stop by!

#170 The Three Weissmanns of Westport



Author: Cathleen Schine
Publisher/Format: audio - 10 hrs;  304 page equivalent
Narrator:   Hilary Huber
Characters: Betty, Miranda and Annie Weissmann
Subject: mothers and daughters
Setting: New York City, Westport CT
Genre: women's lit; fiction
Source: public library audio download

A New York Time's notable book of 2010.

At first I thought this was going to be pure chick-lit, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of characters Schine gives us in this book about three women:  a mother - 75 year old Betty, and her two daughters- Miranda a failing literary agent, and Annie, a librarian.   Betty's husband-77 year old  Joseph (step-father to the two girls) decides to divorce his wife of  many many years, to marry his new found love - Felicity.  I am not a Jane Austen fan, but can see where many will find this an updated version of Sense and Sensibility retold from the perspective of an upper East Side Jewish woman who is now reduced to living off the hospitality of distant cousin Lou who takes her in, along with the girls, to reside in his guest cottage in Westport.

Schine's characterization is alternately hysterically funny and annoyingly cliched.  There were times when I laughed out loud, and other times when I wanted to shake every one of the characters (and there were a slew of them) and make them wake up and smell the proverbial coffee.

Joseph, who is thoroughly under the spell of Felicity, convinces himself that he is being generous by not allowing Betty to stay in her wonderful New York apartment ('the upkeep is too expensive for her' he is reminded by Miss Felicity).  While Joseph and Betty are trying not to talk to each other (Betty refers to him as her "late departed husband, may he rest in peace"), Miranda is going through the dissolution of her literary agency, and her plunge into personal and professional bankrupcy.  A serial monogamist by nature (she's always in love, but never with more than one man at a time), she finds true love in Westport in the person of a 4 year old toddler being cared for by his good looking actor wannabe father. We know almost immediately that this relationship is going nowhere, but Miranda doesn't seem to see it that way.

Annie, the timid but organized librarian, falls for an author who comes to do a reading at her library, and she too is destined to suffer heartbreak (or is she?) since the timid author's grown children will not allow him to have anything to do with her.  Did I say WILL NOT ALLOW HIM....he's a grown man!!!  As the only Weissmann bringing in any income, Annie is constantly trying to balance their precarious budget, by reining in her spend-thrift mother and sister so that they don't run out of money to pay basic bills.  Betty considers getting her hair colored, and buying new dresses basic spending, and thinks they'll just have to 'get some more money'.  And Miranda finds it absolutely necessary to continue to spend on extravagances also.

How these three are able, with a lot of outside nudgements, to live together in a tiny one-bathroom rustic cottage is an enjoyable tale. Just the scenes where Betty tries to cram a NewYork apartment's worth of furniture into it is worth the entire read. The book moves along quite well, and the reader arrives at the end thinking that the best ending has been achieved.

There are reviews and opinions all over the map on this one, and to me that's one of the signs of a good book-- that it can provoke such different reactions from a variety of readers. For me, it was a truly enjoyable fiction read.

Two great reviews, fellow Mainer! I loved a book about JPJ that I had as a kid; I'm sure this biography will be a much fuller picture. And the Three Weissmanns sounds like the perfect anecdote for when I need a fun read. Thanks for sharing!

Hi Tina, boy are you ever busy. Some great reviews here. I'll be adding Sea Change and The Three Weissmanns of Westport. Keep 'em coming.

Lisa...now that you mention it, I too remember a book about JPJ in my youth....I'm thinking it was one of the Landmark books John Paul Jones: Fighting Sailor....my mom belonged to some kind of book club and we got one each month....Betsy Ross, JPJ, Tom Jefferson, etc etc. They weren't great lit, but they were well written enough for young kids interested in reading and history.

I think you are right. Wow, that's a blast from the past. We didn't belong to the club, but I had several of them. JPJ, The Pony Express, Sam Houston: Tallest Texan... Thanks for the walk down memory book lane!

I shall have to add Three Weissmans of Westport...

And I have to admit that was me smoking the cigar (and typing erratically, something I appear to be doing more regularly, to my perturbation. Lots of words spelled correctly and used improperly. A weird form of Alzheimer's??)

So many books to wishlist here, Tina! Scrolling back up now to add them to the wishlist.

What a thoughtful compliment your husband bestowed upon you.

Keep chugging these great books out, lady.

Oh, my, I've been dodging book bullets lately, but you just added a ton to my Ever-Expanding List.

*waves and departs to search library online catalog*

Oh my, this is a dangerous thread. But I'll forgive you, Tina, because of your glowing review of My Reading Life. It is truly my favorite book about books! I loaned it to my daughter over Thanksgving, and I find myself missing it. It makes me happy just to look at it! I am so grabbing it back when we're in Kansas City this week end for the 3-yr-old's birthday party.

Oh yeah, lots of other good books mentioned here. I'm glad to have so many of them already wishlisted. I keep hearing good things about Donna Leon. One of these days...

Wow! Nobody's ever called me dangerous before...I think I like it! So glad everyone is enjoying the eclectic musings of a chronologically advantaged broad who has nothing better to do with her life but read and advise everyone else to do the same!

Woot Woot!

"Chronologically advantaged" LOLOL

I am so stealing that!

Well "chronologically advantaged" sure beats the hell out of fat old broad, or 'vertically challenged' or any of the other epithets for which I am eligible. Steal away....

"chronologically advantaged" sure beats the hell out of fat old broad, or 'vertically challenged' or any of the other epithets for which I am eligible.

Funny, they ALL sound a bit like ME!

*wanders off to find a place to assert being chronologically advantaged*

#171 The Food Substitutions Bible



Author: David Joachim
Publisher/Format:Robert Rose (2005), Paperback, 621 pages
Subject: Food definitions
Genre: Reference
Source: Public Library

This is a fantastic guide that would be a welcome addition to any well stocked cookbook collection. Even for those who do not have a lot of cookbooks, this one is quite useful. I've been thumbing through it now for the past two weeks since I got it from the library, and with all the holiday cooking, it has really come in handy. For instance, tonite I had a recipe that called for rinding almonds in a food processor to make almond flour. I really didn't want to get the food processor out just to do this, particularly when I had purchased a bag of almond flour last week. However, I was at a loss on how to convert cups of chopped almonds to cups of almond flour. Joachim's guide had it right there.

There are definitions of ingredients with lists of acceptable substitutions.; What do you do if you don't have any persimmons for your mother in law's favorite recipe? There are also exceptionally thorough tables of conversions, listing metrics, liquids, solids, temperatures, equipment, etc. Everything the challenged cook would need to know in a very well laid out, easy to use format.

I noted there is a new edition out on this one. If I can hold out until Christmas (i.e., the library will renew it), I'm going to put this at the top to purchase with any gift cards I get from book stores. Otherwise, I'm going to be Santa to myself.

What a fascinating book -- great idea! I hate trying to doing anything involving orange or lemon rinds, for instance. And I would certainly define myself as a "challenged cook". Not to mention both chronologically and vertically challenged.

#172 Squirrel seeks chipmunk



Author: David Sedaris
Format:Little, Brown and Company (2010),  Hardcover, 176 pages
Genre: short stories; humor
Source: A contest win from Mason Canyon,

What a delightful, ironic, satirical collection of short stories.  Each features a different animal,or pair of animals, anthropomorphised to react to specific human conditions - nothing spectacular, just every day life, every day prejudices, everyday fears and expectations.  Each story is only 4-5 pages and can be read in under 10 minutes.  It is the perfect book to give to someone who claims to be anon-reader.  It is a perfect book to put on the bedside table in the guest bedroom.  It is a perfect book to tuck into a purse to have something to read in a waiting room.  It is very adult, not really a kiddie book in spite of the animal themes and fun illustrations by Ian Falconer.

I couldn't help but see the squirrel and chipmunk as Romeo and Juliet, and the story of the cat in a prison AA meeting had me rolling on the floor.  The cow who was involved in a Secret Santa  group in the barnyard was particularly  appropriate for this time of year.

It's a perfect stocking stuffer, but be sure to get one for yourself first.

Both of these sound great. Thanks for bringing them to my attention!

#242: I need that one! Maybe when the book buying ban is over. . .

Food Substitutions Bible sounds like a perfect reference book for the kitchen - I'm going to try to locate it right away. I've been seeing Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk listed on the library's catalog and new releases and best sellers lists for several weeks now and I just had no interest. But your description makes it sound like an entirely different book than theirs did. I'm going to consider it for my 11-11 challenge next year as "something completely different", because it certainly would be for me!

Sandy....Squirrel seeks is a great little read. It would be perfect for anyone with a humor, short stories, animals, essays, or satire category. When I first got notified that I'd won it, I didn't even remember entering the blog contest, but thought 'what the heck'. I'm so glad I got it. It's only 156 pages and a very easy, but surprisingly thought-provoking book. It would be a great one for a high school class to use in social studies discussions.

If you've ever seen any of the "Ice Age" movies, this is the kind of satirical humor it has.

Stasia....don't think of this #242 as a book!!!!! It's an essential kitchen aid. That way it shouldn't count against the book buying ban. Call it an appliance! It's a needed as a spatula, a timer or a stove.

>244 tututhefirst: So far, I've only read Naked by Sedaris and maybe I wasn't in the right state of mind, but was disappointed. Didn't get much of a laugh out of it, as most people were saying they did. But Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk sounds right up my alley, since I love fictionalized animal stories when they're done right. Thanks for the review!

#249: I like your thinking Tina!

#249 -- the fine art of rationalization... Love it!

On this horrible day having just heard the news about Sandy McCreary's son, I was then reminded that life continues. This marvelous blog post by a fellow Maine librarian just tickled me to no end. Too bad that story was from 8 years ago.....I bet that old lady would have really enjoyed this group.

Here's the post: http://notyourordinarybookbanter.blogspot.com/2010/11/ramblings-from-bangor-publ...

edited to correct atrocious grammar

>253 tututhefirst: What a pistol that old codger was!

When I was first out slutting around with every man I could see first entering the dating pool, I faced a question from my mother's mother: "Dahlin, who's your sweetie just now?" I got a little panicky...I was 15, this was *barely* post-Stonewall, and my mother's mother was free with her fists when annoyed...and stalled and mumbled. She looked at me over her glasses (funny how well that works, isn't it?) and said, "Do you think you're the first homosexual I've ever known? Silly! Same holes been the same places since the Good Lord made us, and people been doin' the same things to 'em since then too. Now, what's his name?"

I about fainted.

Just passing through. Added The Food Substitutions Bible to the wish list book. Also I'm now inspired to pull out my Sedaris audiobook and listen to Santaland Diaries and Jesus Shaves.

#254, LOL! if only more mothers had that attitude, what a world of grief the world would be spared!!

#253: Love that post. Thanks, Tina!

Good game, Tina. That 98-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown was key for Navy.

I was all sent to write an angry note, grumbling about how not showing the playing of the alma maters afterwards is outrageous. Happy now though.

I like, not love, football and, to me, Army-Navy is always the game of the year.

Tina

I'm slowly catching up on threads. First, congratulations on reading so many books this year. You are amazing.

There are so many I want to add to my list -- I'll return later to do so. For now, hello to you and Happy Holidays.

Is is cold, cold, cold in Maine?

Linda...it's cold cold cold, but bearable in Maine. I'm able to handle it as long as I don't go out for long when it's windy. We are actually going to get a wicked rain storm tomorrow and monday which will wash away the nice cover of snow we have. As long as we have a chance for the rain to dry out before the temp plummets we'll be ok. It's the ice that is so awful for us because we have 1200 feet to go to the road - all uphill and "s" curvy.

Guess we'll just have to stay home and read. shucks.

^
^
^
One doesn't wish to appear pushy, dear Tutu, but...well...limits are exceeded...there are social duties...you know.

#260: Guess we'll just have to stay home and read. shucks.

I am trying real hard to feel sorry for you. It is not working. :)

#173 A Cheasapeake Shores Christmas

A short and sweet Christmas chick-lit/romance in the Nora Roberts style. The setting was one I could relate to, the Irish family was predictable but fun, and the story had me thinking of John Wayne and Maureen O'hara in one of their love/hate movies. Although the setting was the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays, I wouldn't really consider it a Christmas book. It was much more a boy and girl love each other, marry have 5 children, get divorced because both are stubborn as mules, and now want to get re-married but girl won't set date until ALL the now grown children approve.

Chip off old block son more stubborn than father is main stumbling block. Interesting but predictable family dynamics, and everyone lives happily ever after.

I read this one because I was testing the library ebook download. Worked well, and I didn't mind the format as much as I might have....probably because it was only 165 pages.

I wish my local library had downloadable audio and e-books. Maybe some time. . .

Staying home to read? Oh, the pain...

ROTFL!

Maybe someone who is in a library system with this service can trust you with their library card number, so that you can download them?

Don't worry all..... I will work with Stasia to make sure she has access to some downloadable books..... ( like she really needs more books to read LOL)

#173 The Bucolic Plague




How Two Manhattanites became Gentlemen Farmers

An Unconventional Memoir

Author: Josh Kilmer-Purcell
Format: Harper (2010), Edition: 1, Hardcover, 320 pages
Subject: goat farming in rural New York, middle year life changes
Setting: Upstate New York
Genre: memoir
Source: public library

Two gentlemen with great New York City jobs--one, Dr. Brent Ridge, works for Martha Stewart, the other--the author--is an advertising agency rep, when they decide on an impulse to buy an old mansion they discover while on their annual apple picking trip. They take on the task of re-doing the mansion, putting in a huge garden, and also take on 70 goats and a goat farmer to tend them.  The plethora of goat milk leads to a booming online business selling hand-made goat milk soap.  Ahh....the bucolic life is wonderful ....except...

They are the stereotypical gay yuppie couple trying to have it all--living at the mansion on the weekends while still working full time in the city, driving and training  back and forth, weeding, painting, pickling,  weeding, canning, entertaining, weeding, sweeping flies (you gotta read the book), slaughtering a home grown turkey for a REAL Thanksgiving, etc etc etc.  They are spending so much time trying to be perfect, that their relationship begins to suffer.  When Brent is 'pink-slipped' by Martha, and  Josh becomes disgusted with the advertising world and quits his job, they suddenly find themselves without a steady income, with a business that is severely impacted by the economic downturn that cost Brent his job, and with emotions they are not used to dealing with. They are in danger of losing everything---the mansion, the farm, themselves and their relationship.

Told with compassion, wit, and a unexpectedly deep understanding of human emotion and vulnerability, this is a well-written memoir of middle-aged reflection and contemplation.  On his thirty-ninth birthday, spent alone in his garden, Josh reflects that

Flowers don't blossom then disappear into thin air.  They fade.  Then the plant drops its leaves. Then the stem browns. And then the whole thing topples over.  I figured I was lucky to have been as colorful a bloom as I had been.... pg 225.

Their ability to see the beauty and positives in their lives, including the friendships they formed in the small town,  allows them to muddle through and arrive at the other side of their troubles with a recommitted relationship, a re-energized business, and  a future that bodes well.

I especially appreciated the respect that he shows for the rural life style and his neighbors. In the front of the book he states:

This is a memoir of a certain time in my life.  The names of the characters have been changed, and some are composites of various people, experiences, and conversations...If you think that unfair, you've obviously never lived in a small town and written a memoir about your neighbors.

I live in a small town, and my only regret is that we don't get Planet Green on our TV....the two now have their own show The Fabulous Beekman Boys.  At least Dr. Brent has his own blog about the farm and their enterprise so we can keep up with what happens next.  It's a delightful story told with candor, humor, love and respect.

Many thanks to Richard (?) for recommending this... at least I think it was Richard...

Fabulous thumb-worthy review. Added to my TBR list. I had heard an NPR blurb about the show, but like you don't get it, but thought it sounded interesting. Small town rural life sounds familiar!

Not sure I want to read the book, but loved the review!

I'm excited.....just found out we do get Planet Green and the Beekman Boys are on Wednesday nites. Of course, we're leaving on Wednesday to go to a funeral in Baltimore, then over to DC suburbs to visit my sister Cheli who is having hysterectomy tomorrow (all prayers accepted), then a quick stop into G-babe and daughter and son, and mom and etc etc etc. We are racing back to be here for Christmas because we are singing in choir for both 7pm and midnite Mass.....so .....I won't get to see the boys for another 2 weeks, but at least I now know where to find them.

Thanks for the thumb....

I already have The Bucolic Plague in the BlackHole, but it is still not available at the local library.

I appreciate your efforts to help me increase the size of the BlackHole, Tina.

Prayers going up for Cheli - and for you in your traveling.

>268 tututhefirst: *raises hand* I am the guilty BeekGeek. So glad you had fun, Tina!

OK, Beek Geek....since you 'fessed up, I'll do my duty and start another (groan/moan) new thread to end the year.