Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

A breath of steam trickles out, filled with the sobs of a grown woman breaking into girl-sized pieces.

Laurie Halse Anderson has for years been a favorite YA author amongst both adults and teens alike, and with excellent reason. Her characters are those who teens--especially girls--can understand, girls who are survivors of others' crimes or their own malicious webs, girls who develop their strength through the pages, through their own words.

Wintergirls is narrated by Lia, an anorexic girl whose former best friend died as the result of her bulimia. They were a team, Lia and Cassie, who motivated each other's unhealthy obsession with thinness, who had a pact to be the skinniest girls in school, even when they seemed close to realizing how dangerous/stupid it was:

I totally supported her. I looked up the names of docs and clinics. I e-mailed her recovery Web sites.

And I sabotaged her every step.

We danced with witches and kissed monsters. We turned us into wintergirls, and when she tried to leave, I pulled her back into the snow because I was afraid to be alone.

I love the care Anderson takes with her character's voice. The unconventional ways she clarifies Lia's obsession: "I eat ten raisins (16) and five almonds (35) and a green-bellied pear (121)(=172)." Or: "I can't see her see me now strong/empty/strong." And her obsessions doesn't stop at counting calories, because now she's being haunted by Cassie, who called Lia before she died. 33 times.

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.
20.21.22.23.24.25.26.27.28.29.30.31.32.33.

Of course the main conflict in the book is internal, Lia vs. herself, but there's plenty of other drama in her life, too--her father and mother, long separated, don't get along. She doesn't get along with her mother (although she mostly gets along with her stepmother and loves her stepsister). And then there's Cassie's ghost to contend with (because even if she's just a figment of Lia's demented, starved head or not, she serves as a character in the book all the same).

If I were still teaching, I would have multiple copies of this on my classroom shelves, and I'd expect at least one copy to go missing every year for the first few years.

I'm very excited that my library finally got this on their shelves. (It was in the new arrivals section when I walked by. I think I happy-danced it all the way to the checkout counter.)

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

Never before had I known the sudden quiver of understanding that travels from word to brain to heart, the way a new language can move, coil, swim into life under the eyes, the almost savage leap of comprehension, the instantaneous, joyful release of meaning, the way the words shed their printed bodies in a flash of heat and light.

The Historian strives to marry the myth of the vampire Dracula with the life of historical figure Vlad the Impaler. The actions kicks off when the narrator, a teenage girl in the 1970's, finds a strange old book in her father's library--a book with blank pages and a woodcut dragon in the center. Everything that has been mysterious and incomplete in her life stems from this book--including the loss of her mother.

In geekish glee I found myself wading through this narrative of research, eager and amazed at the lengths academics--three generations of them in this story--will go to in order to seek complete answers to their questions. Where did this book come from? Who printed it? Where is the real tomb of Dracula? And is he actually in it?

Kostova does a wonderful job blurring the lines of real research with imaginary research. Highly recommended.

Read To Me: The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

My husband has finished reading another book to me, and this time, he'd like to offer the review.

_______

Readers expect a lot from a writer like Carlos Ruiz Zafón and The Angel’s Game will disappoint those who were first introduced to this wonderful story tellers magic in The Shadow of the Wind.

The Angel’s Game begins drawing readers into a Barcelona of the early part of the last century and somewhere around the middle, maybe just past halfway point, the threads of the tapestry taking shape become unraveled. Then, as if an attempted restoration takes place, only portions of the remaining work make sense--and not collectively. The characters remain the same but the story each is living in becomes disassociated with the original narrative and some characters drop away completely with unsatisfactory conclusion to their parts. Mostly there is an overuse of morte et motre extremis to prevent re-occurrence of characters.

I read the book to my wife over successive nights, and it wasn’t long before we were both hoping for the end. The tedious story should have ended but instead there is a flurry of minor characters suddenly becoming important.

I wonder if there is something lost in the translation by Lucia Graves. Certainly there would be much gained if a second edit were done to correct the grammatical phrasing that would put the subject, verb and other sentence parts in an order that would not fetter readability. Maybe if all the strands of incomplete characters, incoherent story lines and incompetent grammar are restored to their possible original luster, it will work.

I really wanted to like The Angel’s Game because I had enjoyed The Shadow of the Wind. My disappointment is extreme, yet I would be willing to give Carlos Ruiz Zafón another chance with whatever he produces next.

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Real love was dangrous, it got you from the inside and held on tight, and if you didn't let go fast enough you might be willing to do anything for its sake.

Goodness, in their opinion, was not a virtue but merely spinlessness and fear disguised as humility.

I like Practical Magic. A lot. I'm enchanted by lines like, "Ben is so mixed up that he's begun to do magic tricks involuntarily. He reached for his credit card at the gas station and pulled out the queen of hearts." But I cannot unwind the book from the movie. Even knowing from my first reading (in January) that very little from the movie happens in the book, I still picture Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock and Aidan Quinn. And Goran Visnjic (even though we never even see Jimmy alive in the book--just his apparition in the garden).

One of my book group said she loved this book--until about halfway through. Then she was just ready to be done with it. (She hadn't seen the movie, so she had no expectations of the plot.) Halfway through was when I called it quits for the night (I'd begun it as my last book of the read-a-thon), and the second half seemed much slower the next day. I didn't mind the slowness of it, because Hoffman really developed the characters and they were good, interesting characters, but I still wanted more of the aunts.

I wish I'd read the book before I saw the movie (except that I really like the movie, and I don't think I would have liked the movie at all if I'd read the book first).

The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave

My husband is a huge fan of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, so I surprised him by requesting a copy of The Death of Bunny Munro for him to review.

______________

Chick Lit this is not.

In the future, women describing the psyche of men will have a new cliché:’ “He's so Bunny Monro.”

Tragically, I myself fall into this category and believe that if left unchecked by spiritual grounding, some situational ethics and acceptable standards of morality, it would take little time for me to find myself thinking along Bunny Monro’s Cligulaian lines.

The Death of Bunny Monro is not a book designed for those who have a hard time looking at the side of themselves they would rather their mother did not know existed.

Bunny Monro is a door-to-door salesman for a product line marketed to women. His career path leads him to the doors of women of all walks of life and often Bunny uses the samples in his product case to massage his way further into the lives of customers and others he comes in contact with. Bunny is almost always bordering on a mindset kind people would simply call depraved.

That his wife kills herself is but one of the first insights readers get into realizing that the depravity of Bunny Monro is going to be paid for--first by those around him and as the title implies, ultimately Bunny Monro.

The introduction of Bunny’s young son, also Bunny Monro, and his sickly and equally perverse father, also Bunny Monro, had me wondering who would be the one who would die. Would it be the young boy, torn from his fathers callous but loving arms. Would it be the aged, sickly oafish prick of a father who would at last expire in a pool of excrement and spittle, while sitting in a chair whose compartments and between seat cushion spaces are filled with stratified food? Bunny Junior is weighted with the childhood responsibility of being the sane voice of reason in a world ruled by adults whose only claim to adultship is that they do not have to dress when someone else tells them to.

Many readers will relate to all aspects of the many manifestations presented and be pleased with the final outcome, as it appears to be just and true.

Women are presented in a variety of modes, sometimes even kindly, yet as a reviewer it is important to remind future readers that the worldview detailed by Bunny Monro is the exclusive domain of Bunny Monro, and the sins of the fathers are visited upon the sons or maybe "the person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself." (Ezekiel 18:20)

Read-A-Thon: The One I Stopped Reading

During the Read-A-Thon, there was one book in my stack I started to read and then chose to stop reading: Sima's Undergarments for Women by Ilana Stanger Ross. I don't know if I would have liked this book had I pushed through, but I got to page 20 and thought, "You know, I don't want to read this."

The story seems to revolve around a middle-aged woman's flirtation/affair with a younger woman from another cultural background. I didn't feel like there was anything particularly new or interesting that was going to come from the story, and the narrator's voice grated on my nerves a little (though I can't remember why it had that effect on me, and I've already returned the book to the library).

At another time, in another place, I might've chosen to finish this book. But, as my friend Jo says, "It's just not a ride I want to take right now."

Reviews coming soon!

I haven't forgotten or dismissed that I have yet to post reviews for the read-a-thon books--as well as a few others from before the read-a-thon. I just really want to finish The Historian before I do the reviews. Within a couple of days, reviews should begin to be posted. Thanks for your patience!

Read-a-thon: The Last Bit

That's it, folks. I'm off to bed. I'm halfway through Practical Magic, which I'll finish in the morning.

Good night and thanks to all the cheerleaders and people who dropped by. And three cheers for everyone else who participated.

Read-a-Thon Mini-Challenge: GIve Me Five

The challenge: Post a list of five favorite children's books. They don't have to be THE five end-all-be-all of your favorites, because then you'll just agonize over which ones to pick, and we want this to be easy. Just list five off the top of your head that you enjoyed as a child, or that your children enjoy. If you'd like, include a one sentence description of the book, but no need to post full reviews.

1. The Big, Orange Splot
2. Harold & the Purple Crayon
3. Where the Wild Things Are
4. Caps for Sale
5. The Velveteen Rabbit

Readathon: On to Practical Magic

Practical Magic will be my last book of the night; it'll be a nice way to wrap up, I think, because it's my second reading of it. (My copy still hasn't turned up, by the way; I had to borrow this copy from someone in the reading group.

Monster Blood Tattoo was tremendous fun--many thanks to my friend Jo for recommending it.

Read-a-Thon Mini Challenge

Jill at Fizzy Thoughts has challenged:

Post a song that reminds you of the read-a-thon, or that you love to read to, or that makes you think of a particular book. You can either embed a video of the song, or post the lyrics.

I typically listen to classical music when I'm settling in for a good, long reading session. Anything else interrupts my focus--'cause I have to sing along if there are lyrics. And lately I'm finding that even classical music can interrupt my reading when I stop to admire the way the composer figured out how to make me feel a certain way with just a few notes.

So I am going to post a song that, every time I hear it, reminds me of Christopher Pike's Scavenger Hunt. I can't say I was crazy about the book, but it's been 15+ years since I read it--I've only read it once--and this song never fails to make me think of all the creepy craziness in that book. I don't even remember what the craziness was exactly. I think it had to do with monsters/dinosaurs. But it doesn't matter, really, because REM's "Losing My Religion" totally makes me think of that book every time I hear it.

Read-a-Thon update

Still working on Monster-Blood Tattoo. I think once this is done, I'll move onto Practical Magic and that may very well be my last book for the read-a-thon. If I'm still up to reading after that, I'll probably go back to The Historian, which I was halfway through when we went to bed last night.

I haven't had too many interruptions. I got up & made some microwave kettle corn. I put a huge sweet potato in the oven for supper. Every now & then my husband provides commentary to whatever he's looking at online. Apparently they closed his elementary school and if he were going to school now, he'd be a dragon. I don't know what he was before. And there's a couple from PEI in the new season of Canada's Worst Driver (which starts Monday night) that apparently caused a stir in their local newspaper--judging by the comments, PEI residents want to know who the tattooed freaks are and some of them seem to believe that PEI will be represented by this pair. I don't think the rest of Canada thinks of the pairs on the show as representative of an area; I certainly don't. (Although some of the drivers do make me want to avoid the towns they're from.)

Thanks to everyone who's stopped to say hi today! I really appreciate your comments!

Read-a-Thon: Nap time

I'm well into Monster-Blood Tattoo, but I think it's time to doze a bit & let my MacBook take a break from playing iTunes for me.

Read-a-Thon: First book completed

I finished Wintergirls. Laurie Halse Anderson's writing is, as always, fantastic. And it slows me down, because I want to take in every word in the order each one is written. My interruptions included chills that inspired me to make hot chocolate, my kitten Wavey crawling onto my chest and demanding cuddles, and a growly stomach which I fed with some PB-chocolate oatmeal and OJ. It's taken me a lot longer to get through this first book than I expected. I have to force myself not to be impatient. I don't know why I don't read as quickly now as I used to, but I can deal with it.

Maybe I just didn't used to pay such close attention. Also, Anderson's books also cause the scholarly part of my brain to break away and examine her use of literary effects.

But boy does that pile of books I borrowed from the library look a lot taller now...

Read-a-Thon Begins!

So there was no way I was getting up at 5 AM to start reading with the people on the East Coast (for whom it's a more convenient 3 hours later). A weird dream about a litter of 2-week-old kittens tearing my 6-month-old cat to pieces (my dream only showed me the "after" part of that attack) chased me out of bed around 8:30 and now I'm showered and ready to commence reading Wintergirls, as per Jen's (Devourer of Books) suggestion.

I figure I'll try to stay off the computer as much as I can today--I'll check e-mail and post updates every couple hours. I won't be twittering, 'cause that's just far too time-consuming. And I should wrap up in the wee hours of the morning--I won't make it to the 24 hour mark, but I'll go as long as I can (I figure about 16-18 hours).

I think the biggest struggle might be keeping my husband from the TV all day--he has a problem with one ear and so the TV tends to get pretty loud and horribly distracting. But for now, he's still in bed and I'm turning on my iTunes classical playlist!

Blackbringer by Laini Taylor

"Such were the humble beginnings of the end of the world: the absence of dreams."

Magpie Windwitch is a fairy with extraordinary gifts and a mission: Retrap the genies the humans keep releasing. You see, the genies are really demons, who were sealed into those bottles years ago by the Djinn's chosen champions. Except that the era of the Djinn (those who made the world) and their champions is long past.

So with the demons being released, not only do little 'Pie and her crow comrades face the challenge of fighting the demons (especially the nastiest one she's encountered yet, a demon that seems to uncreate the people/faeries/other demons it encounters), but 'Pie must also find and convince the King of the Djinn that this is a fight worth waking up for. His inclination is to let it all fall apart.

And as if that weren't enough, the false queen Vesper has taken reign of Dreamdark, and she knows Magpie recognizes her as a fake. Under other circumstances, you'd think not much could be more dangerous than a fake queen clinging to her claim at any cost.

Taylor imagines for her readers a world, which though literally unraveling, is full of magic, destiny, and courage. Magpie is a brave and determined heroine with more than a few friends to help her along with way. And Taylor's writing style is endearing and humorous. Of one of the imps, Taylor describes, "It was the least ratlike part of him, his nose, flesh while the reset was fur, and quite spectacularly large, with each nostril spacious enough to fit his big toes into--which he frequently did."

The only parts of Blackbringer that threatened the enchantment of the story and characters were the occasional pro-green assertions about how much humans mess up the Djinn-created world. (I'm extremely sensitive to environmentalist hype, and there was a fair sprinkling of it in this book. In that sense, it's not unlike Ferngully. Do you remember that movie?)

I really wish my library were getting the Dreamdark trilogy. I borrowed this one through an interlibrary loan, but because the second in this trilogy was so recently released, I have to wait a year to request it from another library.

Revised Read-a-Thon List

So you know how I mentioned that I'd be going to the library? Well, I bumped into my friend Jo (a librarian) near the YA section, and I told her what I was up to this Saturday--and within minutes, I was carrying this stack around the library:


For the record, my book stack for Dewey's Read-a-Thon now contains these books:

• Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
• Monster Blood Tattoo by D.M. Cornish
• An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden
• Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson*
• The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor
• Sima's Undergarments for Women* by Ilana Stanger-Ross
• The Amulet of Samarkand (Book One of The Bartimaeus Trilogy) by Jonathan Stroud
• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (audiobook)
  
• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (I still have to find this one)
  
• Hamlet & Ophelia by John Marsden
• Wake by Lisa McMann
• The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent

*This one was in the new books rack, which I browse every time just before I leave the library.

My Read-a-Thon Reading List

Okay, this is still pretty tentative, but in the stack right now:

• The Heretic's Daughter
• Practical Magic (because I have to have that re-read by Sunday night--and I still haven't found which box it's in)
• The Undomestic Goddess (which I'm actually halfway through, but need to have that read for book group next month)
• Hamlet & Ophelia
• Louis Riel: A Comic Strip Biography
• Wake

And I know I won't get to them all, 'cause I just don't read as fast as I used to (and I won't even try to stay up all 24-hours), but I'm looking forward to seeing how many I can get through! And I'll have a couple more to the side, in case none of those strike me as particularly appealing when it's time to start something new (and I have to make a trip to the library this week, so I'm sure there'll be some library books to consider, too).

The Best American Erotica 2006, edited by Susie Bright

I remember the first erotic stories I read--it was a collection someone Bookcrossed to me and the book was waterproof because it was meant to be read in the bathtub. I thought that was the neatest feature of the whole book.

But I've become fascinated by erotica ever since. (Trivia: Did you know Margaret Mitchell had a substantial erotica collection?) And you know, it's hard to find good erotica. I read some of it online; most of that is horrible, far more pornographic than literary. Usually the best are gems that come from a scene in a book, something unexpectedly delicious and tantalizing.

But The Best American Erotica 2006 didn't do much for me. With Susie Bright's reputation, I'm sorry to say that I found this collection dull. There was an amusing story called "Stalin's Mustache" that I'll probably remember for years, but the rest of them--pretty forgettable.

Maybe 2006 just wasn't a good year for erotica.


Book Source: Personal library

Okay, I'll do it! Dewey's 24-hour Reading Marathon

So after letting all our plans filter onto our Google Calendar, I miraculously have nothing planned for October 24, so I'm going to try to buckle down (hope the weather's not fantastic that weekend) and read as much as I can. This is the day before I host my book group, so I'm sure I'll be rereading Practical Magic. And I'll probably have a pile of YA/teen books to read and next month's book club book.

I have GOT to unpack my books. (It's only been three months since we moved.)

The Wishmaker by Ali Seth

It's possible that this book would get better, but at page 70, the story is just a kind of meandering stream of characters with a hint of plot, and talking myself into continuing down this stream is taking too much effort.

I'm not saying I'm calling it quits for good on this one--I can see that Sethi has a knack for characters and setting--but it's definitely not to my liking at this point in time. (I've been chiseling away at those 70 pages for months.)

Recipe suggestions to go with Practical Magic?

I'm hosting book club (for the first time) this month, and the book I chose is Practical Magic. Now, because it's going to be the week of Halloween, I'd love to have fun Halloween-/Practical Magic-appropriate snacks.

I know many of you have read Practical Magic (and many of you love it), so I was wondering if you have any snack suggestions. What do you think?

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

I decided to read Graceling when Angie at Angieville told me that she decided to read her ARC of the Graceling companion book Fire before her ARC of the Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. Now, you know I couldn't wait to read Catching Fire, so if anyone decided to read Fire before Catching Fire, well--how could I not check out the book behind that decision?

Graceling is a wonderful teen fantasy about a young woman named Katsa with a fighting Grace (Graces are comparable to mutations in X-Men) which allows her to move quickly and aim almost flawlessly--and which her king/uncle uses to his advantage. For a while, anyhow.

When Katsa encounters another Graceling, a prince, who can fight nearly as well as she, her life is turned upside down and she finds herself doing things she never dreamed she'd be able or have to do--starting with defying her uncle outright.

I don't think I would have chosen to read Fire before Catching Fire, if the decision had been mine, but Fire is a companion book and can supposedly stand on its own without reading Graceling first (and I am not a patient person when it comes to books with cliffhangers). But now I must get my hands on a copy of Fire; I want to go back to Katsa's world.

Book source: library

Recipe Exchange: Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

Amy of My Friend Amy has had another scathingly brilliant idea to do a fall recipe exchange. You can click on the icon to go her post with all the participating bloggers in the Mr. Linky list.

I would love to share with you a recipe I found in a magazine years ago: Pumpkin Ravioli (cheese ravioli with a pumpkin sauce). However, I can't. It's been so long since I've made it that I know I couldn't tell you how to do it off the top of my head. (I haven't made it for two reasons: I haven't been able to locate the recipe AND frozen ravioli is impossible to find here--although they have frozen pierogies by the boatload. And fresh ravioli is twice is expensive for half the product.)

So instead, I'm going to share with you what I made for my Thanksgiving guests last night that had everyone going, "Mmmmm!" with every bite. Seriously, this is my new favorite way to make sweet potatoes.

I made my dish based on the recipe posted over at ZestyCook.com, but because the potatoes were gigantic and we were feeding seven or eight people with varying appetite levels, I changed it up a bit. You can do a good portion of this earlier in the day if you're serving an evening meal.

Twice-Baked Sweet Potatoes

6 lb. sweet potatoes
1/2 c. cream cheese (can use light)
3-4 t. vanilla
1/4 c. butter
3 T. brown sugar
1/4 c. toasted almond slices/slivers

1. Heat oven to 375.
2. Line a pan with foil (for easy cleanup) and bake sweet potatoes until tender. (Usually about an hour--my gigantic potatoes actually took 2.5.)
3. When potatoes have cooled enough to handle, peel them. Discard the skins.*
4. In mixing bowl, mash (or whip, if you're using a stand mixer) sweet potatoes. Add cream cheese, vanilla and butter.
5. Butter a casserole dish (I used an 8" x 12" dish, approx.) and pour in potatoes. At this point you can cover/refrigerate** it until about 45 minutes before serving.
6. Just before baking the second time, sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake 30-40 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and serve.

* The original recipe calls for restuffing the skins in a traditional twice-baked potato fashion.
**It really depends on how long you're waiting before baking it again. And how much room you have in the fridge.

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I have always been a sucker for the bad boys in teen books. And Patch, the bad boy in Hush, Hush is fabulously bad. I didn't want to put this book down. He made my inner sixteen-year-old very happy.

Until the end. Then it all fell apart for me. And even though Fitzpatrick says that the last page has been changed from what we read in ARC's, any changes in that last page wouldn't be enough to make me over-the-moon with the whole book. I don't like saying that, because it has been a long, long time since I've been this enchanted with a bad boy. (Patch is a fallen angel, and throughout, you're not sure whether he's come into our heroine Nora's life as a good bad boy or a bad bad boy.)

Still, Patch was totally worth the reading. And I am a little curious about the sequel that's in the works, in spite of my feelings about the ending.

Banned Books Week

I know everyone's posting lists of banned/challenged books and finding horrible stories about schools banning books and bookish things like To Kill a Mockingbird quote tee shirts. But I think I'm going to take a moment to appreciate one of my favorite YA authors (and one of the more fascinating men I've had the pleasure of meeting): Chris Crutcher.

I don't think there's a book of Crutcher's that hasn't been challenged. And because I seldom come across his books on other book blogs, I'd like to draw some more attention to them.

I was introduced to Chris Crutcher's books through my adolescent lit class when I was in college. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, the book we read, remains one of my favorite YA books. It was certainly the best book the class read. I sought out other books of his afterwards--Whale Talk. Chinese Handcuffs. The Sledding Hill.



And then, joy of joys, I learned that he was going to be talking and reading at Claire's Day 2006. And he was going to be at a local library two night before that. (I, of course, attended both.)

Chris Crutcher & me, Claire's Day 2006

Plenty of adults have a ton of problems with Crutcher's books. They are turned off by the language and frankness of his characters, but his characters are amongst the most real teen protagonists I've encountered. Crutcher's ability to write these kinds of characters stem from his work as a therapist for teens, who inspire his books. Others find his characters to be disrespectful of adult authority, but the adults in his books who earn respect get it. Many find his portrayal of religion to be appalling. Others (and some of the same) are disturbed by the discussions in his books of race, abortion, masturbation, body image, sex, abuse, etc. You know the rigmarole of challenging books. Crutcher doesn't shy away from writing about anything.

Chris Crutcher's website is uniquely concerned with censorship. I love the page on which he answers challenges, be they book challenges in school districts across the US or messages from parents sent to his e-mail address. And in The Sledding Hill, one of his fictitious titles is being challenged by parents in the school system. (He even throws in a cameo appearance at the board meeting scene.)

If you haven't read one of his books, I'd suggest that this would be an especially good week to do so.

Crutcher signs my sister Katie's book at the Elmore Public Library, Elmore, Ohio.

Don't Call Me a Crook! by Bob Moore

My friend Josh agreed to take up the challenge of reading this one and writing a review.* Thanks, Josh!

______________________________

“It is a pity there are getting to be so many places that I can never go back to, but all the same, I do not think it is much fun a man being respectable all his life…”

So begins a book--a dark memoir that this reviewer was shocked to learn was deemed worthy to be republished (originally published in 1935). I am not alone in my opinion that this book has no redeeming qualities.

As a precautionary measure before plunging in to Bob Moore’s telling of his life as a wayward Scotsman; don’t say I didn’t warn you!

A self-proclaimed thief, liar, and gunrunner (one must add racist, drunk, and murderer to the list!), Don’t Call Me a Crook! is a 245 page slog through the murky waters of violence, corruption, and all else in bad taste.

The book is separated into fourteen chapters but his telling of the story feels disjointed and hardly goes together seamlessly from one part to the next. And as an added insult grammatical errors abound; that Dissident Books (the publisher) purposely left in to illustrate the sparse and saucy language of the time. It does not work in the book’s favour, rather creates a choppy, broken progression that detracts from the prose.

More than once I was ready to throw the book in to the trash. It is painful to read. The author is a despicable character.

Don’t Call Me a Crook! is a work of self-denial. Bob Moore is a crook!


*I couldn't finish it; I read to page 79.

The Walking People by Mary Beth Keane

This book deserves to be taken to a quiet, calm space so that readers can adequately focus on the story and the characters, regardless of the rest of their lives going on around them.

The Walking People is the story of three young Irish who immigrate to America in the 1960's. Michael, from a tinker family, decides he wants to try staying in one place. Johanna and Greta are sisters who have no discernible sustainable future in Ireland, and one of them dreams of the fancier, easier life America offers. And, of course, their lives in America turn out far different from the ideas they'd had.

Keane's writing is virtually flawless. Her scenes are seamless. Her characters and settings are rich, lush. It's kind of writing you want to describe with lists of adjectives.

This book made me miss having a clawfoot bathtub; it deserves that kind of "me time."*


I had one during my first year of teaching, and I'd take a leisurely bath every night, reading for about an hour and forgetting about grading and lesson plans. Plus, I thought it was important for my students to know that I thought reading was important enough to make time for; they knew how much I read because I loved talking books with them.

The Book of Eve by Constance Beresford-Howe (book group)

The Book of Eve is the tale of a 60(+)-year-old woman named Eva who decides, pretty much on a whim, to leave her life and start over on the $16 in her pocketbook and her tiny pension cheque. Her life had consisted of making a home for and taking care of an invalid husband she never really loved. She finds a room to rent and little ways to make herself more comfortable and happier, if shabbier.

I was surprised that Eva had stayed so long in a life that was relatively comfortable but which was also making her silently unhappy; then I realized this book was published in the early 1970's and that while divorce wasn't unheard of for younger couples, for a woman who had been married for forty years or so, abandoning her marriage would have been huge. And of course, there are times she considers going back to her husband. Her adult son tries to talk her into going back. She even almost does, but even when she finds her new situation completely depressing, she still thinks it's better than what she left.

And though Eva isn't a particularly social person in her new life, she does, after a while, make some friends--and finds herself with a new lover, the Hungarian who lives upstairs. I liked the Hungarian way more in the beginning of their relationship than I did toward the end of the book; I felt that if she stayed in the relationship, she was in danger of falling into a life similar to the one she had left. (Albeit with a man she at least felt passion for.) But I'm not going to tell you what happens with that.

Overall, the plot's pretty basic (which makes for a mostly quick read), which is to say the story's completely about Eva's character, and though she puts herself in a situation for which many people would judge her, readers never really feel that they're qualified or justified to condemn (or condone) her actions; we must just sit back and watch the outcomes of her decisions.

This is a surprisingly satisfying book. I'm not in love with it, but I enjoyed the crafting of the characters, even when I didn't like them. Not recommended for everyone, but if you enjoy a more literary sort of book (and/or creating feminist critical analysis while you read), go for it.

I read this book months ago, but when book club decided to postpone our meeting till September, I rescheduled the posting of my review. And when I checked the review, it had disappeared. Grr.

Catching Fire discussion--Literary League: Read 'til YA Drop

Hi, all. Just a reminder that the Literary League: Read 'til YA Drop online book group is discussing Catching Fire in its discussion boards on Facebook. So, if you're on Facebook and have read the book, come join in! If not, read the book and then join in!

(Don't join in if you haven't read it; participants are assumed to have read the book, so spoilers abound.)

BBAW 2009, Day 5: Room for Improvement

Today's challenge: Tell us, in 50 words or less, what you love best about your blog! And then in 50 words or less where you want your blog to be by the next BBAW!

Next year, I'd like to have a totally different layout. Definitely an original header. Maybe even my own domain, a whole new blog!--or maybe I'll just switch to Wordpress. And I will try harder to keep my reviews to 200 words or less. Okay, maybe 300 words or less.

BBAW 2009, Day 4: I Just Couldn't Resist

Today, we're directed, "...let’s talk about that book you know, the one you discovered only because you read about it on a book blog and then you realized you couldn’t live without it! And then you read it and you loved it so hard! Tell us about it and about the blogger (or bloggers!) that introduced the book to you!"

I admit, I don't often remember who recommended a book to me when I've read about it on a blog. There are just so many bloggers to keep track of all the recommendations. But amongst the books I might not have heard of or come across or bothered reading were it not for other book bloggers' enthusiastic recommendations:

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins--too many book bloggers raved about this YA book and I forget whose review pushed me over the edge.


• Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart--Amy of My Friend Amy encouraged us all to go out & buy this one during its first week of release, and without that recommendation and push from Amy, it would probably still be on my wish list.


• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman


• The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

BBAW 2009, Day 3: A Reading Meme

Today we are answering some questions posted over on the BBAW site about our reading habits. I'll keep them short--which might be hard, if you look at the answers I gave Angie of Angieville in my interview yesterday. But I'll try to keep them short. Really.

Do you snack while you read? If so, favorite reading snack?

Sometimes. I like cookies best.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

I have written in margins. Mostly I stick to Post-Its and Post-It flags. (I don't like reading books that are written in, with few exceptions.)

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears?

Whatever scrap of paper is handy. Sometimes with the book of Post-It flags (but those don't stay put well).

Laying the book flat open?

Not usually.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Typically, I like to be able to flip the pages, but hubby & I like audiobooks for road trips.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Hardly ever. That's why, for nearly a decade, I thought "nonplussed" meant "not impressed."

What are you currently reading?

Hush, Hush. 4 Poets. A couple other books I haven't officially declared that I'm quitting for good.

What is the last book you bought?

Catching Fire

Do you have a favorite time of day and/or place to read?

It's easier to read when my husband's out of the house. He's really distracting.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Deerskin by Robin McKinley. Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien. Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes.

How do you organize your books? (By genre, title, author’s last name, etc.?)

Usually, I have a shelf of ARCs and review copies, then under that, two shelves of books I want to read next. Then a shelf of books I wanted to read at one time, but no longer feel a need to read immediately, if ever. Then there are shelves and shelves of books I've already read. And I have a shelf of signed books and books I've had a hand in (I'm even named in a couple of them). Of course right now, somehow, our books are all still in their boxes from our move in July.

BBAW 2009, Day 2: The Book Blogger Interview Swap

Today, I have the pleasure of sharing my interview with Angie of Angieville. How neither Angie nor I have come across each other's book blogs before our interview assignments baffles me--we have so much in common! Getting to know a little bit about Angie has been a joy, and I am, immediately after posting this interview, adding her blog to my favorite book blogs folder.

1. The picture on your blog makes you look like one of those people who might be thirteen or thirty. So: Just how old are you?

*laughs* I actually had to think for a second as I just turned 31 and it still feels a bit weird to say. My husband is a photographer and takes rather a lot of pictures of me and I look different in each one of them. The one on the blog is not a particularly recent one but I sort of liked how it looks like I’m trying to decide which book to read next.

2. What are your family’s reading habits?

Ooh, that’s a loaded question! We’re big readers in this house. We read aloud, silently, alone, or in pairs, trios, or quartets, and at all hours of the day and night. My husband is big into nonfiction, though he dabbles a fair bit in literary fiction. He listens to most of his books on his iPod and has a Kindle he’s quite fond of. He also humors me by allowing me to read my most favorite of favorite books to him aloud, usually in bed at night or on road trips. We’ve read everything from Harry Potter and Stephanie Plum to Ender’s Game and the Alanna books. We just finished The Queen of Attolia and I always look forward to our next read. My boy Will and I are just finishing up the Chronicles of Narnia together. They’ve been our bedtime reads and he always begs for, “Just one more chapter, Mom!” So far his favorite seems to be a tie between The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and The Magician’s Nephew. My baby girl Piper is a big fan of Dear Zoo and The Very Hungry Caterpillar. She loves turning the pages and is always very careful not to rip them. Apparently she absorbed some of my reverence for books while in the womb! As for me I read whenever I get a chance and I can’t seem to fall asleep at night, no matter how late it is, unless I’ve read a good chunk of something first.

3. How did you become a reader?

I come by it honestly. Both my parents are voracious readers. They have quite different tastes in books but the one series they have in common is the Nancy Drew books. So those are some of my first reading memories. The Hidden Staircase scared the crap out of me as a kid, though, so I had to cool it for a bit till I was ready. I remember reading and loving The Witch of Blackbird Pond and From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler with my mother. When I was ten my aunt sent me a set of the Chronicles of Narnia and the rest, as they say, is history.

4. You’re an editor for an educational publisher. What’s your job description (as you’ve experienced it--which we all know can be very different from how the employer writes it up)?

I spend most of my time researching and writing reports about countries and cultures from around the world. I work in the K-12 department so these reports are geared toward students of all ages. The fun part is I get to correspond with historical experts from all over making sure our information is accurate and current. And from time to time I get sent on trips in which I gather images and video and conduct interviews on life in that particular country. The other fun part is it’s a small office filled with cool people who love to read. It’s a good job and I’m grateful to have it.

5. When you graduated with your MA in literature, what was (and maybe still is) your dream career?

When I started my MA I think my dream career was being a writer. While I worked on my MA I had the opportunity to teach freshman composition and fell in love with teaching writing on the university level. So much so that I continued teaching after I graduated. I’ve missed teaching since I became and editor, though I employ many of the same skills. Now I believe my dream job would be a Young Adult lit editor or a YA librarian. Nothing gives me a high like putting great books into the hands of people who will love them. That’s certainly a big part of why I love blogging.

6. You haven’t posted your review of the ARC of Catching Fire you got at BEA. Have you read it yet?*

I was embarrassingly late in finishing and reviewing my ARC of Catching Fire, it’s true. I had it and Fire by Kristin Cashore in my hands and opted to read Fire first. Interestingly, I actually read Graceling and The Hunger Games back to back last year. Anyway, Fire blew me away so completely that I got thrown off track and didn’t get around to Catching Fire for awhile. Once I did, I was immediately re-immersed in Katniss’ world and the intensity and Utter Peril got to me so much so that I actually set it down and had to take a break. That doesn’t happen to me very often and I was a bit shocked by my response. But when I finally got the nerve to pick it up again I read it through to the end in one sitting. And it was absolutely and comprehensively awesome. Team Gale FTW!

7. When you started your book blog over three years ago, did you know there was such a huge community of book bloggers? How did you find it? (How many book blogs are in your RSS reader?)

I had no idea when I started. I thought it would be fun to keep an online log of my reading each month and perhaps make a few Best Of lists. I was pretty taken with designing the layout and playing around with images and links, etc. I updated it monthly and didn’t really spend a lot of time on it. It didn’t take me too long, though, to have my eyes opened for me. And once I ventured out into the book blogging world I was completely addicted. Bookshelves of Doom was one of the first blogs I stumbled across and I immediately loved the honest, hilarious way Leila went about reviewing books and promoting literacy, combined with the occasional bit of pop culture. Bookshelves of Doom was my gateway book blog. J

I’ve currently got 123 book blogs in my reader.

8. What are your favorite author encounters? What authors would you like to meet?

One of my most memorable author encounters was getting to meet Tamora Pierce and hear her read aloud. I’ve been a fan of hers ever since I was twelve years old and discovered a book called Alanna: the First Adventure on the shelves of my local library in San Antonio, TX. She’s a superb presenter and I sat there rapt, clutching my book in delight.

Though it doesn’t qualify as an “encounter,” one of my most prized possessions is a letter I received from Lloyd Alexander in answer to one I sent him thanking him for his wonderful books. It was the first letter I wrote to an author and his response (typed on an actual typewriter and signed in blue ink) hangs on my wall over my desk. It never fails to make me smile.

The list of authors I would love to meet is rapidly getting longer. I would love to sit down at a table with Ellen Emerson White and John Green because I think they’re two of the smartest writers out there and because they don’t underestimate their readers. I would love to meet Juliet Marillier and Sharon Shinn because they write beautiful fantasy novels that I read over and over again. And I would love to talk books while watching Veronica Mars with Diana Peterfreund because…it would be an awesome good time. With the Logan. And the books.

9. Are you a cat or dog person?

Dogs all the way.

10. On your blog, you tell a frustrating story about looking for a bookstore in Orlando. How have you tried to ensure that experience doesn’t repeat itself?

It was a scarring experience, Jena. I still have nightmares. First of all, I make it a rule never to make the same mistake and travel with only the first book in a series. I have to have the first three, at least, depending on the length of the trip. Once I set out on a trip to Italy to visit my parents with the first two Harry Potter books. We were in route to London when I finished the second one and I remember my first priority upon landing was rushing into the nearest bookshop to get my hands on Prisoner of Azkaban. Fortunately they had one. Now I just make sure to carry with me twice as many books as I think I could possibly need and that generally sees me back home. My back suffers but my soul is happy.

11. You want to talk up Ender’s Game to a handful of teen guys you get the feeling would love the book, but you only have 45 seconds or so before they disappear--get on a bus or spaceship or whatever. What do you tell them?

Crotch punch of death!

Thank you, Angie!

And thank you Amy, for pairing us up!


* These questions were asked in August, before the release of Catching Fire and the posting of Angie's review.

BBAW 2009, Day 1

So, I'm a little late getting started. My family was in town visiting last week and I neglected all my usual bloggy reading till this morning. The Book Blogger Appreciation Week site has asked: What book blogs mean something to you? Who are your most trusted sources for recommendations, your greatest help, the blogger you turn to for a laugh or to vent? Whose writing do you admire or who introduced you to a whole new genre you didn’t know about? We want to hear all about them... because we want to know them too! Please share about the blogs we haven’t had a chance to meet via BBAW and let the party begin!

I haven't looked too closely at the shortlists for the awards, but I'm especially fond of The Literate Housewife, Devourer or Books, Presenting Lenore, and The Book Lady's Blog for their reviews and their tangents. I've especially enjoyed The Book Lady's tales of bookselling, though I don't think she's posted any recently (nudge, nudge). And though I've only just recently learned about her blog, I'm really enjoying Angieville.

Catching Fire (The Hunger Games #2) by Suzanne Collins

I think I convinced three people in the store to read The Hunger Games when I went in to pick up my copy of Catching Fire, which had been sitting behind the counter with my name on it for a week, waiting for September 1. (I declared I would read Catching Fire twice before my family arrives for a week-long visit this weekend--because that's how much this story gets into your head.)

Like Amy at My Friend Amy, I'm not sure how to review this without spoilers, so I'm just going give my opinion, saying as little as possible about the plot.

Better than The Hunger Games? Maybe not--but it's every bit as good. My inner teen self thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I totally let her take over during this reading, just like I did with my first reading of The Hunger Games. (My adult self hasn't really read Catching Fire yet.)

I love Katniss's feistiness--at the end of one chapter, I laughed and laughed and declared her--out loud--"cheeky" for the stunt she'd just pulled, though "cheeky" was a really mild word for the occasion. You'll know which part when you get to it.

I wish Peeta had been a little more rounded out. Yes, we know he loves Katniss and that his life would be miserable for the remainder if she died or something, but I want to know about his home, his parents--how what he said about his father in The Hunger Games affected his parents' lives at home.

Likewise, I'd like to chime in on the whole Team Gale/Team Peeta thing, but I don't feel like I can form an opinion without knowing Gale better--which I really hope happens in the third book. I totally expected it in this one, and it doesn't happen. (That's not much of a spoiler, really. I promise.)

Also, I was surprised by a lot more of the plot twists in this book. Yes, a lot of it is still predictable, but there were things I really was not expecting. Argh. I want to talk about this with someone, but no one I know here is reading it. I guess I'll have to wait for The Literary League's online book club discussion.

So, how long do we have to wait for the third (and final?) installment?*


*It should be noted that I do feel that the third book may be treading some dangerous ground; I'm not sure whether I'm going to like the end of this trilogy--though my not liking it would not necessarily indicate a bad ending.

Unforgettable: The Stone Fey by Robin McKinley

I bought The Stone Fey because it was written by Robin McKinley. I'd never heard of it, I had no idea she had written this picture book, but I was very excited to take it home and read it.

The Stone Fey was soooo not what I was expecting. First, it's not a kid's book. (Well, it is labeled as ages 9+.) I think the story and the characters are too complicated for a lot of kids.

The story, as I remember, follows a young woman who meets a stone fey on the mountain, who keeps going back to the mountain to be with the fey. She very nearly gives up everything normal about her life because of her obsessive need to be with him.

I didn't like this book at first, mostly because I wasn't expecting anything like it. But this is the kind of book that settles into your soul and nests there, and every now and then, some aspect of your life will line up unexpectedly with something from this book, and you will feel a kind of enchantment.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week 2009--and Muse Book Reviews was nominated!

Even though I've been really lax about updating my blog and keeping up with all the blogs in my reader (last week I finally sat down and went through over 1200 posts), I'm really excited about the upcoming Book Blogger Appreciation Week.

And imagine how surprised I was to find an e-mail in my inbox last Thursday informing me that Muse Book Reviews has been nominated for the BBAW award for Most Eclectic Blog!

Many thanks to the person(s) who nominated me. And thanks to Amy of My Friend Amy and all the volunteers who are going to make this year's BBAW even more amazing than last year's!

I also see, going through all those posts, that I missed the BBAW meme posted a couple weeks ago. So, here's that:

1) What was the highlight (something that happened, a post, an activity, etc.) of BBAW for you last year?

Last year, I had no idea there were so many book blogs out there, so what I mostly remember was being completely enchanted by all the other blogs.

2) What is one new blog you discovered during BBAW last year?

Oh, gracious. After BBAW last year, I had over 300 book blogs in my reader. I don't remember which ones I found during BBAW, but if I put a list on the wall and threw a dart, I'd bet that the one my dart hit would be one of them.

3) What tips would you share to help others get the most out of their BBAW experience?

Don't make any other plans for BBAW. You're going to be glued to your computer all week.

Nothing But Ghosts by Beth Kephart

Beth Kephart's writing has an elegance I envy. Graceful, lyrical and defiantly simple, her command of language is evident in her blog as well as her books. Well, I'm assuming it's evident in her other books; I'm a little embarrassed to admit that though I've been meaning to read Kephart's books since I found her blog, it took My Friend Amy's drive to get me to the bookstore to order it.

In Nothing But Ghosts, narrator Katie has lost her mom to cancer and is trying to cope by taking a summer job for the reclusive old lady down the street, whose life becomes a mystery for Katie to figure out. Why did Miss Martine disappear? And when? How is it possible that no one has seen her in all those years?

The characters are so delightful I couldn't get enough of any of them--I wish the book had been longer so that I could have spent more time with them. Actually, come to think of it, the characters were almost too perfect. Katie's father, an art restorer, has infinite trust and patience with his daughter; his only flaw seems to be that he loses track of time and gets lost in his work and stays up all hours. And who doesn't love the fashion plate librarian, who's another mystery in Katie's life?

Seriously, I want more. (In the best sense of wanting more.)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I asked my library to bring The Hunger Games in, so they put it on the purchase request list (which doesn't guarantee they'll get it in) and said if they got it, I'd be the first on the waiting list. But I couldn't wait. I bought this book last weekend because so many book bloggers were so excited about the sequel being released in September.

I read The Hunger Games immediately, in a matter of hours (split up by grown-up things I had to do). And then I reread the end.

I tried to move onto another book a couple days later, but I just couldn't. My head was still stuck in The Hunger Games. So I read it again. (My husband thought this was very odd bevahior.)

On the second reading, I noticed a few errors (copy editing) that I didn't notice the first time through. For those who don't know, I almost always spot these mistakes the first time through. That I didn't notice a single one should tell you how engrossed I was in this story.

This book is Survivor meets the Roman Colloseum, and it has the feel of The Long Walk by Richard Bachman (Stephen King) with a teenage love triangle. Seriously, how can you go wrong?

Now I'm one of the people eagerly awaiting Catching Fire, which you can pre-order at your favorite bookstore.

If you are also eagerly awaiting the sequel, you should bounce over to BookWorming in the 21st Century and enter her Catching Fire giveaway.

Did I mention this is the best book I've read this year?

Harry Potter Reading Challenge!

I have decided that it's time to do my first reading challenge.

Galleysmith is hosting a Harry Potter reading challenge. The goal: to read (or re-read) the whole Harry Potter series by the end of next July. This actually works out well for me, because I was going to re-read them all anyway. Well, I was going to start with Goblet of Fire, but I can do the whole series. Maybe my husband and I will make these our next read-to-mes. (He's only read the first one.)

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I put this book on my wishlist when it was first released, years ago, but I didn't seek it out when I went book shopping or to the library (although a couple times I saw it in the reserved stack behind the desk). When I saw that it was being made into a movie, though, I thought, "I really want to read that before I see the movie." And then I found it at a garage sale the weekend after I saw the movie commercial. Clearly, I was meant to read this book!

I liked My Sister's Keeper quite a bit. I've never read Picoult before, and though she's been recommended often enough, I just kept not getting around to her. I'm not running out to read more of her books immediately, but I will, I'm sure.

Picoult tells the story of a family experiencing the slow death of their daughter/sister from leukemia, and she tells it from everyone's angle--except Kate's, the dying girl's. Pleasant surprise: this multi-directional approach works really well. No one person gets more sympathy than another; Picoult (probably with the help of her editorial team) manages to walk a fine line and keep everything balanced. And I really liked all of the characters; they were just unfortunate people thrown into a no-win situation and trying to deal with it the best way they could figure out how to.

However, I was a little skeptical of the gratuitous sub-plot romance thrown in between the lawyer and the court-appointee watching out for Anna's welfare. Anna is the youngest in the family, the one who was conceived to be a genetic match so that they could use her umbilical stem cells to try to force Kate's cancer into remission.

Even though I made a point of reading the book before seeing the movie, once I was finished with the book, I had no intention of actually seeing the movie; the ending of the book didn't work for me at all. But I see on Picoult's site that the movie's ending is different from the book's, so maybe I'll see it after all.

Still here...

Hi, everyone. I'm still here, really! We've been taking the move slowly, because--well, because we can. We have till the end of July to be out of our apartment. So even though we've been sleeping in the house, and are 85% moved in (which is not the same as unpacked), there are still things in the apartment, and we still have cleaning to do. I'm completely confused about where to put things in the kitchen. It's a bigger kitchen than the apartment had, but I'm not used to having drawers instead of shelves and I'm not sure where to stash all my kitchen stuff. The good news is that most of it will be at hand no matter where I decide to put it, so it's not as big a deal as I'm making it.

And we have a kitten who doesn't understand boundaries yet. Or what skin is. Or why I shriek when she climbs my leg. (And she keeps coming back to do it again, even after I've removed and scolded her.) I really have to get a squirt bottle so I can nail her with a splash of water next time she takes a running leap at my bare shoulder.

And Blogger is being weird about letting me upload pictures, so even though I've got a few reviews on the go, I can't upload the cover pictures. I suspect this isn't Blogger so much as a Firefox add-on conflict. I'm working on resolving it. Be patient--reviews for Tattoo Machine and My Sister's Keeper are forthcoming!

Tattoo Machine by Jeff Johnson

When I got my tattoo, it was a last-minute thing. My friend had decided it was the night to get her tattoo, and she'd done a little bit of research but hadn't made an appointment, so we walked into what she was assured was one of the better tattoo parlors in the city. Lots of flash on the wall, and binders full of it. (Flash is the paper typically tacked up all over tattoo parlor walls, a display of what the tattoo artists can do or have done; it also serves as idea fodder.) We ended up waiting five hours because there was only one artist working (which we found odd for a Friday night) and he was coloring in a huge tattoo on a woman's back; we both thought that if we left, we might make excuses not to come back. And boy, were there a lot of interesting people wandering in and out of that place. The girl doing the piercing that night was plenty busy.

Jeff Johnson's book Tattoo Machine, a collection of memories and analysis of the tattoo business (past, present and future), was an interesting book to spend a few hours with. Johnson co-owns a successful tattoo shop in Portland, Oregon. His stories are sad and funny and infuriating--and one story about the guy who wanted a banner with a name and number in it creeped me out. It seems obvious through his style that Johnson spent some time learning the craft of writing stories. He probably worked especially hard on his voice; I wouldn't be at all surprised if the persona he presents in the book is the persona the people who visit his shop see.

He does take off on tangents every now and then, rants that I would've recommended removing. But mostly he tells stories, and he does it well.

Anyone who has even the slightest interest in what goes on behind the scenes in a tattoo shop should read this. As you can imagine, he runs into all sorts of people--and he spares no one.

Read to Me: The Shipping News by E. Annie Proulx

My husband and I met because we love books, reading and good writing. For a long time, we had a long-distance (4000+ miles) relationship, and we'd talk about the things we wanted to do when we were finally able to be together every day. Reading to each other was at the top of the list, and now that we've been married for over a year, we've decided to make reading to each other a nightly routine.

Our first book was The Shipping News, a book my beloved husband R. had told me I had to read, so I'd picked up a copy at Grounds for Thought (my favorite used bookstore/coffeeshop in Ohio) and it had been in my TBR pile ever since.

I know that the experience of reading it myself would have been quite different; I probably would've sorted out the characters much sooner. I would've had different voices for them in my head--and because R. spent some time working with a bunch of Newfies, he was able to give accents where appropriate.

I can't say I'm crazy about the end of the book; it seems too abrupt, too much like the author was meeting a deadline and thought, "Well, I'll just tack this scene on and that can be the end." But I loved everything leading up to it--the characters are wonderful and fun-- and the beginning of nearly every chapter starts with a knot from The Ashley Book of Knots. I do recommend reading The Shipping News*, if you haven't already.

And if you can get someone to read to you with the accents, I highly recommend letting it be read to you.



*I watched the movie once, but remember nothing about it. Husband swears it's nothing like the book.

Argh! A book I would have liked to finish: The O. Henry Prize Stories 2008

A couple weeks ago, hubby & I took a road trip to Nanaimo to see Ezra Levant speak. In preparation for the road trip (which would include ferry rides), I made a trip to the library to get some audiobooks and walked out with two short story collections and a teen book, too. Damosel I finished. The O. Henry Prize Stories 2008, I got halfway through--and I want to finish it. But I can't right now. Severance by Robert Oren Butler didn't even get opened (even though that book is on both hubby's & my Powell's wish lists).

But I've finally been granted permanent residency in Canada, we're buying a house (we looked at about 20 houses), and next month we'll be moving, and life has just been kinda crazy. You know how it gets. We're back to having little paths through the apartment to be able to get from room to room, and I want to start packing NOW.

At least I know the library has these, and as long as no one checks them out and then fails to return them, I know they'll be there. And now that I've had to return them (for some reason--maybe because they were on the "NEW" shelf--I couldn't renew them), I'll go back to reading the ARC's publishers have been kind enough to send.

Damosel by Stephanie Spinner

Damosel is a retelling of Arthurian legend for teens from the point of view of the Lady of the Lake and Twixt, a dwarf in Camelot.

I think I tend to think of myself as more of a fan of Arthurian legend than I really am. I liked The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley a lot, which I read at the recommendation of one of my English teachers. I've read I Am Morgan Le Fay by Nancy Springer, The Last Enchantment by Mary Stewart, "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and at least a little bit of Le Morte d'Arthur.

I liked, in this telling of the legend, that Damosel was really a distant observer to all the happenings. She learns most of her news from others--her cousin Nimue, Merlin, and a few other characters she connects with along the way--and prefers to stay away from mortal goings on when possible, which is true to classic portrayals of the Lady of the Lake.

I think I could have done without Twixt, but he did provide a certain kind of balance, a view of life in Camelot. He, too, is mostly an observer, so he doesn't do much; things just happen around him and sometimes draw him in. And without Twixt's complementing stories, Damosel's might have become deadly dull.

Damosel is definitely a book I would have had on my classroom shelf for those students interested in Arthurian tales, and those interested few (the girls especially) probably would have liked it. To an adult, the story will likely lack depth of character and a satsfying level of complexity. (Mostly, this book reminds me that I have yet to read The Once & Future King.)

Brain Injury Survivor's Guide by Larry & Beth Jameson

First, June is Brain Injury Awareness Month here in Canada. (In the US, it's March.) If anyone in your family rides a bike or skateboards or any of those other activities that can involve nasty spills, I'd like to encourage you to make sure that you & your kids wear helmets that are up-to-date and fit properly. (And don't be one of those parents who tells their kids to wear a helmet to ride a bike but doesn't wear one him-/herself.)

Now, about the book:

Beth Jameson suffered a brain injury nearly twenty years ago, caused by an anoxic stroke, and with her husband's love and support, she has created a new life for her brain-injured self, and together they have created Brain Injury Survivor's Guide as a manual for other brain-injury survivors and their families.

I'm not part of their audience, despite having married a man who suffered a brain injury nine years ago. This book is really for people who have recently suffered ABI (acquired brain injury) and their families. The Jamesons detail major parts of Beth's recovery and the strategies they implemented (including lists of schedules and how-to's for daily tasks like applying make-up) to help Beth be as functional as possible. They also include a list of resources in the last chapters.

They don't dwell on things like health care insurance battles, though they do mention them, and this is not a book filled with self-pitying tales. Beth fought for all the ground she's gained, and they're proud of it--and they want readers to know that doctors know surprisingly little about brain injury and what can be accomplished and/or relearned after a person suffers such an injury.

Despite some editorial flaws, this seems to me a book that should be handed out to family members of the brain-injured in hospitals, to start preparing them for what may lie ahead. Even though no two brain injuries are the same, and the methods employed by the Jamesons won't necessarily be useful for everyone in the target audience, it will still provide an initial layer of support and community that they will find helpful.

Larry and Beth maintain a useful website, About Brain Injury and Beth keeps Beth's Brain Injury Blog.

Random Complexity Writing Challenge (May)

I made it! Thanks to Laurie Halse Anderson's prompt, I found myself writing a page and a half about a robin egg in a garden. That was 1009 words. Not to mention my other writings of the month--by now, you know I don't keep track of all the word counts.

And because I've never shared, I'll share one paragraph of what I wrote based on that prompt:

L. doubted that even a soul looked as beautiful as that bright blue egg almost crushed by her knee. She took off her glove and picked it up. A piece was missing out of the other side; a little beak peeked through. L. held it egg carefully in her palm, exposing the hole to the sun, willing the beak to keep forcing its way through. With her nail, she picked another little piece off. And another. And another, till she had the dead baby bird half exposed. It could have been out here for days; she wouldn’t have noticed it. But no, the ants would have dismantled it by now, used it to feed their gigantic family.

I feel a little self-conscious about sharing any more; it's been ages since I've even contributed to 100 Words.

When Women Were Warriors: The Warrior's Path by Catherine M. Wilson

When Catherine Wilson queried me about writing a book review for the first book in her When Women Were Warriors trilogy, I naturally went to check out her site. And I almost said no because in my experience, self-published fiction tends to be the result of delusions of grandeur. But after I read the excerpt on her site, I decided to give it a try.

I'm glad I did. Wilson's book was intended to be the first part of an epic book, but when she decided to self-publish, she decided (considering advice from an editor and friends) to publish it as a trilogy instead. The Warrior's Path follows a young woman who's desire is to become a warrior, like her mother before her. In order to do this, she must find a warrior in the Lady's service who will apprentice her, but she's a small woman, a trait not treasured in the warrior mind. The Lady assigns her as a companion to a warrior who is a stranger to the realm and is tasked with learning more about her.

I like Wilson's style, despite a little repetitiveness. Story-telling plays a pretty major role in the story, and I'm certain that this probably remains the case throughout the rest of the trilogy, which appeals me. You know how much I like story-telling in books. I love that all the stories, instead of "Once upon a time," start, "In ancient days, when only women were warriors..."

The setting is well-developed, but the characters fell short of my expectations. I would have liked more conflict, internal and external; even at the end of book one, I don't have a deep sense of most of the characters. And the lack of men in the story (the few in the book are peripheral characters) threw a balance off; I'm curious as to whether this will be remedied in the next two installments.

If Wilson had published her story as one long book, I would certainly have kept reading; I'm not sure, though, whether I will go about the process of getting the next two books (as I already have 30 books to read before the summer's out--and that's just by the end of summer). Though I mostly enjoyed this first in the trilogy, I'm afraid many of her readers will feel the same: I really wish this had been one book.