The Splendor Before the Dark by Margaret George - DNF Report

The Splendor Before the Dark by Margaret George is the second in the Nero series (I have not asked the publicist if the series will continue beyond two books) that began with The Confessions of Young Nero. I received a copy of The Splendor Before the Dark for review from Berkley Books and was hoping that I wouldn't find it problematic that I haven't read the first book. Unfortunately, I did have a little trouble with feeling like I needed a bit more backstory. I stopped just under 20% of the way into the book.

The Splendor Before the Dark begins with Nero awakening in his seaside home. Soon, his relaxing time is interrupted by an urgent message: Rome is on fire. Nero hastily dresses and heads to Rome, leaving his wife behind, in safety. When he arrives, Nero finds that the fire has been raging for days and shows no signs of being brought under control. The exciting and fast-paced descriptions of the Great Fire of Rome go on for nearly 50 pages and I found that I absolutely flew through them. It was only after the fire had been put out, Nero was working to house, feed, and clothe his citizens and drawing up a plan to rebuild that I began to realize that I needed to have read that first book because it was then that a diverse range of characters began to enter the picture. The author does a pretty good job of filling you in; I just felt like I needed more. I think the fact that I was exhausted from travel also entered into my decision to abandon the book. I wasn't getting anywhere at all. I'd often read a few pages and find that I was rereading paragraphs over and over, set it aside for a bit, and then come back to find myself struggling again.

I've wanted to read a Margaret George book for a long time and I'm glad I dipped my toes into the water, so to speak. While I was finding Nero a little too reasoned and calm for my taste, having read about his insanity all my life, I thought George's writing was excellent. I'll probably read up a little on Nero to see if I've misjudged him before returning to this series. I had no other real issues with it; I just needed to go back to the first book to get to know the characters and time period better. In fact, I learned a good bit. I had no idea, for example, that Ancient Rome had firefighters and found myself spending some time reading up on Roman firefighting.

I have The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George on my historical fiction shelves and I'll probably read that before acquiring or checking out the first Nero book from my library because it's a stand-alone. Without having finished The Splendor Before the Dark, I don't feel like I can recommend and I certainly wouldn't advise against reading it.  But, I can tell you that what I read was clearly well researched and absolutely engrossing. I just felt like I needed to back up and read the first novel before moving on. I was besotted enough with George's writing to feel like I should put The Memoirs of Cleopatra on next year's list of challenge books. The Splendor Before the Dark is a nice, thick book -- the kind that's great for reading on a cold winter's day in front of a fire. I just recommend reading The Confessions of Nero, first.


©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Two DNFs, why I stopped reading them, and whether or not I'll give them a second chance

I haven't done a DNF post in quite a while and my friend Sandie just reminded me that I need to get back to one of these books, soon. The other is a recent DNF. Seems like a good time to talk about a couple unfinished books and why I set them aside.

The Half-Drowned King by Linnea Hartsuyker is an unusual DNF in that I was enjoying it immensely when I stopped reading. It's a Viking saga, something I've never read before, and I was absolutely captivated by the story, amazed at the depth of characterization, impressed by what was, I thought, well-researched and unusually convincing writing.

So, why did I set it aside? Time and place. I started reading the book while I was on vacation in Hawaii and I was honestly so distracted by the palm trees, the ocean waves, and the constant packing (we moved quite a bit from one hotel to another on two separate islands) that I was reading in bits and snatches. As wonderful as The Half-Drowned King is, I needed some lighter reading and switched to reading a middle grade book. At home, I was just worn out and decided I'd come back to the story later, when I could give it more attention.

I will definitely return to The Half-Drowned King and hope that will happen soon - probably when I've finished Don Quixote, since The Half-Drowned King requires a bit more concentration than I can probably give it while balancing 4 books. In spite of only having made it 92 pages into the ARC, I can already tell you I highly recommend The Half-Drowned King and look forward to finishing it as soon as I can.

Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down by Anne Valente is a book that has an unfortunate relevance at this moment because it's about the aftermath of a school shooting. I'd read 70 pages when we left for Oklahoma, on Friday, and I opted to leave it at home because I was pretty sure I was going to abandon it but I wanted to let it rest for a few days.

I came home to a reply on Goodreads. I'd asked a reviewer whose thoughts seemed to mirror my own something to the effect of, "Do you regret finishing the book or are you glad you read it in spite of not feeling like you connected with the characters?" He replied that he didn't think it was worth finishing because it was so depressing.

So, what's the problem I had with Our Hearts Will Burn Us Down? Distance from the characters. I wanted to step into the shoes of a person experiencing a school shooting, feel the terror with that person and the grief afterwards. Instead, the author chose to write about a circle of friends using "we" as the subject, part of the time, and then diving into a particular character for certain scenes. I think that was a mistake. While I was getting to know each of the 4 characters' lives slowly, by page 70 I was frustrated about how difficult it was to connect to them. I also thought there was a bit too much focus on what they intended to write about the victims in their yearbook. The 4 friends all were yearbook staff. I was on my yearbook staff and we had some shocking losses during my sophomore year. It wasn't all that difficult -- at least, not enough to make a focal point.

There are also some arsons in the book and only one of the arsons had taken place when I gave up. Will I return to this book? I don't think so. That inability to feel like I really knew and cared for the characters and had a strong sense of what they were feeling just ruined it for me. But, boy is it a book for our time.

©2018 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

DNF - Child Witch Kinshasa by Mike Ormsby

I haven't done a DNF post in quite a while but I think Child Witch Kinshasa is worth mentioning and I got farther into it than I do most books that I set aside. The book is just under 500 pages long and I stopped at p. 130.

Child Witch Kinshasa is about two people, a British man by the name of Frank Kean and an African boy named Dudu. Frank has arrived in the Democratic Republic of Congo to train journalists but during his first night he hears chanting, drumming and screams that sound like a child in pain.

Dudu's father was killed when he stepped on a land mine during a recent war. His uncle Moses has become the head of the family but the bar Moses owns is failing and he's convinced that there is sorcery keeping him from succeeding. The local tradition is to blame adversity on children, accusing them of witchcraft and paying a minister to perform unspeakably cruel exorcisms to frighten away the demons by which they're allegedly possessed. The "ministers" who perform these rituals are, in fact, only after power and money.

You can figure out where this is headed. Dudu and his younger brother are accused of witchcraft and Dudu must escape. Frank finds out about the exorcisms and discovers that they're not even considered newsworthy by the locals, so he makes it his mission to bring attention to the children's plight. Eventually, he meets Dudu but I didn't make it to that point.

Where I stopped:

This may be a bit of a spoiler so I'm going to turn the text white and you can highlight it if you dare.

Dudu has already been accused of witchcraft and has managed to escape but someone has stolen his money and he's been abandoned by the people who promised to help. 

Why I decided not to read on:

First, let me just say that I would not have made it so far if this book wasn't solidly written. There were a few times I thought, "This sentence could stand some tightening," and I've mentally crossed out a few words, but Child Witch Kinshasa is a compelling story and it's based on a current practice. Children are still being accused of witchcraft and tortured. When the author pitched his book to me, I was not interested for pretty much the same reason I can't bear to read on, but he was persistent because it's important to him.

Having said that, I must admit that the book was giving me that, "I don't feel like reading tonight," sensation that you get when you really don't want to continue but are having trouble admitting it to yourself. Child Witch Kinshasa is, in other words, just a bit too nerve-racking for this reader.

Why I'd still recommend it:

I think the story is an important one because it's something that -- much like human trafficking -- exists and is known but not necessarily widely. And, because it's culturally embedded, the practice is not likely to stop without some sort of outside intervention. So, the more people know about child exorcism in the Congo, the more likely something will be done to stop it. Also, it really is a pretty good read. It seems odd to say that the reading was going pretty quickly and yet I stopped. I don't very often abandon a book because it unsettles me. I'm okay with being unsettled. But, if I start to feel like I'd rather not read at all than continue, it's time to move on.

Child Witch Kinshasa is a self-published novel by Mike Ormsby (CreateSpace). I know it's available at Amazon but beyond that I'm uncertain. I received my copy directly from the author. There is a sequel: Child Witch London. I was kind of hoping I'd tolerate the book so I could read its sequel, since I love a London setting.


©2015 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

I'm Nobody by Alex Marestaing

I'm Nobody: The Lost Pages by Alex Marestaing
Copyright 2013 
Mymilou Press - YA 
Source: Litfuse Publicity for tour

I have to make a quick comment, up front, that I'm not sure I actually am posting on the correct day because I've got the tour date for I'm Nobody in my calendar on one date and a note to myself in my inbox with a different date. So, I picked the one that worked best for me. Apologies if that's incorrect.

Brief synopsis:

Caleb Reed has suffered from crippling anxiety since the death of his sister. To help him recover, his parents pulled him out of public school thinking homeschooling would help him calm down. Instead, 7 years on, his issues have grown worse. Now, he won't even leave the house.  His parents think he's crazy but they have no idea how to help him. When Caleb notices a light coming from the old, abandoned house across the road, he is terrified. But, then a former classmate shows up at his house and mysterious notes begin to show up outside his door. 

At first, Caleb thinks the notes are from his former classmate but they're signed by a different name. Is it Iris, the young girl who has taken an interest in Caleb and wants to film a documentary of his life, or is his sister trying to contact him from beyond the grave?

My thoughts:

Unfortunately, I'm Nobody was a DNF for me. I made it to page 70 out of 215 pages.  It's important to note that I've had a bad run recently, with a couple books (not yet reviewed) that I'm convinced I should not have bothered to finish. So, I'm a little more prone to give up on a book, at this point.  Having said that, there were two reasons I stopped reading. The first was that the book never really grabbed me and sucked me in. I thought Iris had a good heart and I cared about what was going to happen to Caleb, but I kept setting the book aside -- sometimes in mid-sentence -- and walking away from it.  I also found the sentence structure incredibly awkward and frustrating. I've got that uncomfortable condition known as "editor brain" and the entire time I was reading I'm Nobody, I kept halting to restructure sentences in my head. 

I do think at another time, I might have finished the reading of I'm Nobody. While the writing style would still have annoyed me any other time I picked it up, I do think the characters were interesting and if I had the just a touch more patience, who knows? I might have enjoyed it.  At this moment, it was not for me.

Neither recommended or not recommended - There were things I liked about I'm Nobody, but clumsy sentences and impatience kept me from finishing the book. I would not, however, warn anyone but those who can't bear awkward sentences away from the reading. I like the idea. The book just didn't capture me.

©2014 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Some Recent DNFs and Why I Didn't Finish Reading Them

I've been a fickle reader, lately, so I'd advise anyone who is planning on reading the following titles I didn't finish not to avoid them merely because this reader happened to set them aside. Having said that, I'll tell you why I didn't finish each of these books and how far I managed to read.

Ghost Light by Joseph O'Connor is a fictionalized account of actress Molly Allgood's affair with playwright John Synge in Ireland, 1907. It is the 1950s and Molly is now an elderly, impoverished alcoholic reflecting on her lost love. The story jumps back and forth between the two time periods.

Ghost Light has a confusing, jumpy beginning but I was very impressed with the writing. After getting to know the characters and setting a little bit, the reading became smoother if a tiny bit tedious and I was enjoying the book. But, then I made a fatal mistake. I looked up John Synge's bio and found him so repulsive that I didn't want to return to the book. I'm still shocked that reading about the actual person turned me off so completely, given the fact that I was definitely enjoying Ghost Light. I don't even know what made him such a turn-off. I managed to read 62 pages.

Will I give Ghost Light a second chance? I haven't decided. If I do, it'll require a little bit of a cooling-off period. I can't say I was in love with the characters anyway, but what a strange reason to set a book aside! I won my copy of Ghost Light in a Picador drawing that I entered via Facebook.

Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream tells the story of a woman who has decided to end her life. She has flushed all of her mood-altering medications down the toilet, fired her assistant, canceled a showing of her artwork and given herself 30 days to wrap up a few important details like finding a new home for her cat.

Ashley Ream's writing is very witty and I thought, "Oh, I'm going to love this book!" when I started reading. But, then I kept picking it up and finding myself drifting off. I think, in this case, it was just a matter of bad timing. I'm in the mood for something meatier. After reading a page or two for about 7 nights in a row, I decided I'd better set Losing Clementine aside for later. I read 48 pages in all.

Will I give Losing Clementine a second chance? Absolutely. I'm still hoping to read it later this month. Losing Clementine was just released on the 6th of March and my copy is an ARC that I received from William Morrow. Clementine is a little bit irritating (she has told her ex-husband she's dying of cancer, which is a pretty nasty thing to do) but I still desire to know what's going to happen to her and I'm convinced that not finishing is just a timing issue.

After I set aside Losing Clementine, I picked up A Light on the Veranda and began reading it. A Light on the Veranda by Ciji Ware is the story of Daphne Duvallon, a professional musician who returns from New York to the Deep South to attend her brother's wedding. Daphne is from New Orleans but the wedding is to take place at Monmouth Plantation in Natchez, Mississippi. The book says her arrival in Natchez "unlocks waiting forces of a past tragedy" as "her legendary namesake draws her back a hundred years to reveal secrets that can no longer be repressed from a time when the oldest settlement on the Mississippi was in its heyday and vast fortunes were made and lost."

I've read stories with similar storylines and loved them, but I should have known better. A Light on the Veranda is the second book I've set aside because it was written by an author who is obviously not from the Deep South. Note to authors not from the South: If you're uncertain about the dialect, go for subtlety. The sheer quantity of endearments like "sugar", "angel" and "sweetie pie" was unbearable, as were the additions of words like ol' this or that. Example:

"Just dashed out to the Piggly Wiggly, since all I had 'round here were those ol' red beans and rice and half a chicken sandwich. Not exactly fancy fare to serve the bride and groom on the mornin' of their weddin', do you think?"

The accent in this area is pretty strong (Natchez is about 60 miles south of us) but it's not all missing g's, little ole everything and gushy endearments. In addition to the trouble with vernacular, the characters often went into too much detail in conversations, as if the author was determined to inject backstory into the novel to prove she'd done her homework. But, since she managed to call sweet tea "sweetened tea", I think I can safely say she didn't stick around in Natchez long enough to get a genuine feel for the place. I read 55 pages before giving up.

Will I give A Light on the Veranda a second chance? No. I've been in the South way too long to tolerate a poor attempt at Southern vernacular. There are some over-the-top eccentric characters in our area, so I thought some of the characterization was okay in spite of bordering on clownish, and I do believe that a lot of people (particularly romance readers, as there are hints of romance to come) will really enjoy this story. It's just not for me. I think most people around here would say, "Well, she tried, bless her," and send the book to some Yankee they met on vacation. I got my copy from Sourcebooks for review.

I've visited Monmouth Plantation, incidentally. It is beautiful and if you're ever in the mood to tour Southern mansions, Natchez is an excellent place to do so. Look up Natchez's Pilgrimage to find out when the homes are open for touring.

The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs is a book I waited at least a year to acquire via Paperback Swap. I tend to love "year of" this or that memoirs and The Year of Living Biblically is actually the second book of its kind that I've read -- or, in this case, started. The first was about a church group attempting to follow the laws of Leviticus (they failed miserably). The Year of Living Biblically is a similar attempt but with an author trying to do pretty much everything the Bible says he should do, although there's some emphasis on the Old Testament. Much of what he attempted has been abandoned by the contemporary church; often, the author explains the reasons rules have been dropped and whether or not that reasoning is valid. The author is Jewish by heritage but agnostic by choice, mostly because his family was not religious in any way.

Since he has never been a churchgoing man, the author did quite a bit of research and found a few mentors of varying faiths to help him understand the historical and cultural background. There's a biblical rule forbidding the donning of clothing made of mixed fibers, for example, for which the author hired a man who uses a microscope to determine the fibers used (this expert claimed that labels are not always accurate) and explain which fibers specifically were not to be mixed and why.

I was really enjoying The Year of Living Biblically. It's a bit of a learning experience to have someone with no Biblical background dig into the Bible from a totally neutral perspective and explain things through the weight of research rather than a religious viewpoint. The only reason I decided to take it out of my sidebar was the fact that I hadn't touched it in a week. If I let a book sit in my sidebar for too long, I tend to become intimidated and it becomes more and more difficult to return to the reading. Don't ask me why. I sure can't figure out why that happens. At any rate, I stopped at page 92.

Will I give The Year of Living Biblically a second chance? Yes. It may be a couple months before I return to the reading, but I want to finish it.

There have been some other titles I picked up and promptly rejected but I didn't even get far enough into those to be worth mentioning and I have a cold that is totally kicking my butt. I'm going to bed. Will be back tomorrow with a review of a children's book, assuming I can stagger to the computer.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

A DNF I feel really bad about - The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar

Image Source

I absolutely love Thrity Umrigar's writing and there is nothing negative that I can say about The World We Found. I just want to make that clear, up front. Her writing is really quite stunning. I read The Space Between Us in 2005, pre-blogging, and some of the images from that book are still seared into my brain. I don't think I'll ever forget the ending and I've desired to read more of her writing, ever since.

So, why did I set The World We Found aside? Because nearly 4 years after watching my mother take her last breath, I still cannot bear to read about a character dying of cancer. If anyone could get me past that mental block, I think it would be Thrity Umrigar. But, apparently not even her skill and the knowledge that the book is about old friends gathering together one last time (I do love a book about a gathering of close female friends) was enough to keep me going. It was this bit that stopped me:

Armaiti nodded absently, remembering the small, dark bedroom in which her mother had died. After staying up half the night holding her mother's hand she had finally dosed [sic] off for a few minutes. When she awoke her mother's hand was cold and she was dead. Armaiti had sat holding that hand, taking in the bald head, the sunken eyes, the bony forearms whose papery skin was covered with bluish-black marks. She had not cried. Not then. Instead . . .

[--p. 17, Advanced Reader's Edition of The World We Found; changes may have been made to the final edition]

I stopped right there, unable to breathe, to read another word. It's not my experience, not exactly. But, the description of Armaiti's mother's body . . . oh, man. Too, too close. I couldn't go on. I don't want to live with Armaiti as she says goodbye to her friends, her family, and life. I don't want to be reminded of my loss. Coincidentally, I also lost an aunt to brain cancer, Armaiti's killer disease.

You can tell how mature and lovely Umrigar's writing is, just from the excerpt, though, can't you? I flipped back to the cover flap to see if I'd overlooked the word "cancer" when I requested The World We Found from HarperCollins. Nope, they used the words "gravely ill". That assuages my guilt a bit. I've offered my copy of The World We Found to a blogging buddy who happens to have it listed as a book she intends to read and am waiting for a response to see if she already owns a copy. Regardless, I'll find the book a home it deserves, where it can be read fully and appreciated.

Update: I have found a new (blogging buddy!) home for my copy of The World We Found! Very happy about that. Many thanks to all for the support. Your comments mean the world to me.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Shadow of a Quarter Moon by Eileen Clymer Schwab - DNF

Shadow of a Quarter Moon by Eileen Clymer Schwab

Copyright 2011

New American Library (Penguin) - Historical Fiction

DNF

Set in 1839 in North Carolina, Shadow of a Quarter Moon tells the story of Jacy Lane, the daughter of a plantation owner who has lived a fairly easy life until her bitter mother chooses to marry her off to a man whose family is well-positioned. Garrison is lewd and coarse. When her father hears of the liberties Garrison has been taking, he ends the courtship. But, then he is tragically killed and Jacy's mother, Claudia, insists that Garrison is the only man with enough position and knowledge to keep their plantation running.

When Jacy finds out she is 1/4 black, her entire world changes. Suddenly, her mother is threatening to turn her out with the slaves if she doesn't do exactly as she's told. Jacy's world is shattered. But, then she finds out her biological mother and brother are still living on the property. Just as she's getting to know them, Claudia decides to sell Jacy's family, forcing Jacy to make a decision that will lead her on a dangerous journey toward freedom.

Why I did not finish Shadow of a Quarter Moon:

I usually go by the 50-page rule - if a book hasn't grabbed me by page 50, I will not continue. In this case, I got to page 70 before deciding to stop reading. Shadow of a Quarter Moon simply wasn't grabbing me. I found the conversations stilted, the characters flat (for the most part), Claudia and Garrison unbearable. If Jacy had shown a little more personality, early on, I might have continued. The storyline still sounds good to me, but I flipped ahead to see how long it was going to take for Jacy to get up the gumption to leave and it wasn't coming soon enough for me.

Another problem I had is related to the fact that I've lived in the South for over 25 years, now. I've gotten to the point that I can easily spot writing by a non-Southerner. The author lives in Pennsylvania and there's no mention that she's ever lived in the South, so apparently I was correct. If you haven't lived in the South, I have a feeling you'll enjoy this book a lot more than I did. I found myself wanting to scratch through bits of dialogue with a red pen because they just weren't right. But, I wouldn't have caught them 15 years ago, possibly even more recently.

One last problem: Occasionally the author inserted information that should have been mentioned with more subtlety in conversation. In other words, backstory worked its way into dialogue.

I still think this story has potential but I'm not the right reader. I'd recommend it to people who like reading about the Deep South before the Civil War, particularly those who are not picky about accuracy in dialogue. I can't say whether or not Jacy improves as a character, but I think the cover blurb (which I did not copy - the synopsis above is my own) indicates that she develops a little more strength of character as the story progresses.

My thanks to NAL for the review copy.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

My Jane Austen Summer by Cindy Jones (DNF)

My Jane Austen Summer: A Season in Mansfield Park

by Cindy Jones

Copyright 2011

HarperCollins - General Fiction

324 pages

Did Not Finish

Tiptoeing carefully over uneven stone to a dark wooden pew, I sat, breathing the musty air deeply through my nose, exhaling through my mouth, a visitor in a quiet tomb. A narrow shelf built into the pew before me held the diminutive Book of Common Prayer, the English version, smaller than those back home. The regular size hymnal hung over the shelf's edge, too big to fit. A needlepoint cushion hung from a hook below. Near the front of the church, stone effigies, perhaps the First Baron of Weston and his wife, slept in a bed of marble, their hands clasped in prayer these many years.

--from My Jane Austen Summer, p. 52 of Advanced Review Copy (some changes may have been made to the final print version)

Description: Lily Berry is in a bind. After the death of her mother, she buried her grief by escaping into the world of Jane Austen, reading all six of Austen's novels and imagining herself in Jane's world. Her boyfriend, who didn't understand her, has moved on and found someone else. Her sister has suggested she needs therapy. Her father has found a new woman, already. And, reading during working hours has led to the loss of her job. Suddenly, a sly suggestion by a bookseller seems her only hope. She'll travel to England to re-enact Austen's Mansfield Park at the annual Literary Live festival hosted by bookseller Vera and her husband, Nigel. But, Lily's imagination goes places the world is not ready to take her.

My review:

I feel kind of bad not finishing My Jane Austen Summer, but I believe I've given it a fair shake and it's simply not for me, at least at this moment. The writing is lovely, yet there's something that doesn't sit well with me and I absolutely cannot seem to put a finger on it. Maybe it's the tone? Lily is really a lost soul and her grief hits a little too close to home, at times; of that much I'm certain.

I started reading My Jane Austen Summer just after I finished reading Home to Woefield and that alone is unfair. I haven't reviewed Home to Woefield (it's two reviews away -- hang in there) but it was by far the most fun I've had all year. I knew it it was going to be very, very difficult finding a book that resonated after leaving Woefield. After the first 50 pages of My Jane Austen Summer, I knew it wasn't the book to follow up with. In fact, I thought I'd never make it through the book at all but I still had that lingering sense that I wasn't giving it a reasonable chance. So, after 50 pages I fished around and found another book that did grab me, spent a couple of sleepless nights reading obsessively, took a day off to finish my final Bible study lessons and then returned to My Jane Austen Summer.

Did I skim the first time? Or was it not that memorable? I'm not sure, but when I reopened the book some 5 days later, I could hardly remember a thing. So, I started all the way back at page 1. This time around, I found that there were moments of humor that I loved and the book is really written with intelligence. There is still something that I don't like about it but I sense it may just be the sad vibe, the fact that Lily is stinging from her losses and there are too many nasty people out to get her.

One thing I dislike in My Jane Austen Summer is the way people don't seem to communicate effectively. They don't answer each other's questions or they don't make sense and she has to keep chasing around trying to figure out what they mean. That was also true in the book I read over the weekend, Pictures of You by Caroline Leavitt, but for some reason Pictures of You worked for me in a way that My Jane Austen Summer refuses to do.

The bottom line:

I think it's just me, but I just don't know. If I'd finished this book, I might have eventually started to like it more. There are some lovely passages, bits of humor (brief but definitely fun moments) and the writing is at times erudite. But, at the same time, there were moments that I was confused -- when Lily reflected on some moment in the past and I couldn't tell where present segued to past or when a particularly nasty character bothered me so much that there wasn't enough positive happening to offset the unsettled, negative feeling that character gave me.

I stopped at page 125 the second time I attempted to read My Jane Austen Summer at the encouragement of my husband, who happened to come into the bedroom as I was preparing to dive back into it after an hours-long power outage. The fact that I'd not bothered to seek out a flashlight before the squall line hit -- casting both indoors and out into startling darkness -- forced me to read an e-book, instead. I must have made a fussy noise. "Do you want to read it?" he asked. I said, "Not really," and he replied, "Then don't."

Still, I think a lot of people will really enjoy My Jane Austen Summer and I would not say, "Avoid this book." I think it's a little bit bad timing, a little bit too close to home, a little bit of discomfort with the author's voice that kept me from loving it. Maybe if I hadn't lost a mother within the last few years it would have worked for me. Maybe not. There are hints that there may be romance at some point and the possibility that things are about to start working for Lily is beginning to peek out of the pages. I suggest flipping through the book or reading a sample, if you're interested. See if the writing pulls you in.

My thanks to TLC Tours and William Morrow for the ARC of this book and the chance to read it!

In other news: Boy, that was one heck of a storm. I know we're not the only folks who were forced to shelter in hallways, today. It's completely quiet outside, now, a marked contrast to the gusty, pouring, banging, roof-shifting noises of the afternoon. The cats were distressed. Kiddo, meanwhile, turned out the hallway light shortly before the power went out (if he was going to be stuck in a hallway, he figured he might as well nap), so I had to risk life and limb to grab my reader, Petunia, to find something to read.

I wouldn't have had much afternoon time to work on My Jane Austen Summer, anyway, since it didn't take all that long for the electricity to flicker off. I know because I left the microwave plugged in and it peeped several times (power off, power on, power off, power on) before finally descending into silence. Kiddo tested the lights to see if it was out for good. I might have uttered a little expression of frustration. By the time the power was finally restored, though, I didn't want to stop reading The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. Another point against poor Lily.

Totally useless anecdotal aside:

I'm really enjoying re-entering the real world, such as it is, after several years of deliberately being a hermit. During the last 3 minute song at Zumba on Thursday, my thighs screamed, "Enough!" and I laughed myself through the entire thing. If my legs start to protest (and they do -- I've been pretty sedentary for quite a while), I just adapt the moves so that I can continue to move and not get in the way of others. Just keep moving for the full hour; that's my goal.

But those last 3 minutes . . . ohmygosh. There was a step-hop-step, step back, step forward, step-hop-step, pivot, step-hop-step thing that I couldn't do because I could no longer hop or pivot, the poor leg muscles were so tapped out. And I could not figure out how to alter the steps and get the heck out of the way but still end up facing the right direction. I felt like a fish flopping on the shore in the midst of a delightfully orchestrated crab dance. I didn't care. I love being there, sweating, knowing I'm doing something good for myself and hanging out with people I like.

Reading-wise:

It feels like my reading has been slow, this year. But, I read 12 books in March (update forthcoming, about 4 posts hence -- have to write the reviews to link back to, first) and I'm pretty sure the page count was about 3,800, which is fantastic for me. So, maybe I'm just delusional. It's possible. I do think my determination not to finish books that I don't really like or love is working well for me. I liked absolutely everything I read in March and many of them were, in my opinion, outstanding.

New arrivals:

Just one: The Lightkeeper's Ball by Colleen Coble. What? You think I was sucked in by the Red Dress Effect? Moi? Gosh, yes. There is just something about those long, gorgeous red dresses that makes you yearn to snatch up a book and press it to your chest, isn't there? I can admit it when I've been lured by a red dress. Fingers crossed that I fall in love with the story.

Apparently, it's the third in a series but that often doesn't faze me (some series books stand alone well -- we'll see about this one). The Lightkeeper's Ball is about Olivia, a socialite whose family has lost its wealth. Now, there is pressure for her to marry well. Olivia travels to California to attempt to snatch up her deceased sister Eleanor's wealthy husband-to-be. But, it turns out Eleanor's death may have been no accident. Doesn't that sound intriguing?

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

A few DNFs - Christmas 1945, Mansfield Park and The Queen of Last Hopes

I've always been a fickle reader, prone to read only so far and then abandon books but then return to them for a 2nd or even a 3rd try. It's just how I read, really. If a book doesn't grab me, I'll often have trouble forcing myself through it -- and, yet, 6 months or a year down the line I might find that same book becomes a personal favorite. Great Expectations is one of my favorite examples. I didn't get very far on the first 2 attempts but on the 3rd attempt the reading went quickly and I absolutely loved it.

Since history has shown that I will be less likely to like or positively review a book if I shove myself through the reading, I've continued to abandon those that don't grab me, although I do fight guilt when I set aside Advanced Reader Copies. Here are a few that have recently fallen into the Did Not Finish category, why I didn't finish them and whether or not I plan to give them another go.

Christmas 1945: The Story of the Greatest Celebration in American History by Matthew Litt

I got Christmas 1945 from History Publishing Company, a small press I'm quite fond of, unsolicited. The portion I read was really enjoyable -- very illuminating. I set it aside around Christmas because I was feeling a little overwhelmed with the seasonal doings and then decided I didn't much feel like reading about Christmas after Christmas ended. No surprise there.

While I did think it was a little on the dry side, it's a book I will definitely return to -- probably when it gets hot and I want to think about the cool time of year. WWI, the Great Depression, WWII and the post-war years are all of particular interest to me, possibly because my parents and grandparents lived through them, but also because I've always been very impressed with the gumption of people who lived through those major events.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - The first ebook I attempted to read from the beginning (I read a bit of Peter Pan on my husband's iPad, last year), I thought Mansfield Park was okay but I've discovered something fascinating: I'm really not an ebook type of gal. I have a tendency to pick up the paper books and forget I'm reading an ebook. Hmm. This is something I've never seen mentioned by other bloggers.

At any rate, I was chugging along just fine but not finding Mansfield Park the most enjoyable Jane Austen I've read and it seemed to be awfully easy to set the book aside. So, I finally decided I'll come back to it another time. I was encouraged by a few friends who told me Mansfield Park is their least favorite work by Austen.

I also own a paperback copy of Mansfield Park, so it'll be interesting to see whether I end up reading the ebook or the paper copy when I return to it.

The Queen of Last Hopes by Susan Higginbotham is a perfect example of Bookfool's Moody Reading. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the book -- nothing at all I dislike about it. From the first page, Margaret of Anjou was a compelling narrator. When I began reading The Queen of Last Hopes, however, I knew it was going to be a struggle simply because I wasn't in the mood to read historical fiction.

Since the book is an Advanced Reader's Copy I received from Sourcebooks, I forged ahead and made it about 30 pages. Then, as often happens when I'm not really in the mood to read a particular book, I set it down and didn't pick it back up. After about 10 days of looking askance at the book, I picked it up again and reread the same 30 pages. Same thing, round 2. I just wasn't in the mood for a large-cast historical fiction -- and it might at least partially have to do with the fact that I've read a lot of medieval fiction in the past year. Again, I plan to return to the book and I hope to read it as soon as humanly possible. I like Higginbotham's writing style and The Queen of Last Hopes is a story I've been looking forward to reading. I'm really quite fascinated by my inability to force myself through a book if the timing is wrong.

There are two books in my sidebar that I'm struggling with and which will probably soon disappear. One is the gluten-free French cookbook by Chef Alain Braux: Living Gluten and Dairy-Free with French Gourmet Food. Like Mansfield Park, the "struggling" can be wholly blamed upon the fact that it's an ebook and I keep forgetting it's there. I plan to have that one printed and bound, as soon as possible, because I honestly am dying to read it -- I loved Alain Braux's first cookbook; we're still using it -- and we want to try the recipes but I just can't talk myself into bothering to look at it on the reader. This is very frustrating. I hope my reader doesn't become a toy that only gets used for checking email and reading during vacations. I don't even leave home very often!!!

The other book I'm having trouble with is The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel, PhD, an ARC from HarperCollins. I have no specific policy about what page number I'll read to before abandoning an advanced reader but I recently read a favorite blogger's policy and decided 50 pages, her stated minimum, is a good number to shoot for. I'm finding I tend to quit around page 30-50, anyway, if a book isn't clicking with me, but I think it's very reasonable to read at least 50 pages before abandoning a book and I'm attempting to do so with The Procrastination Equation.

Guess what page I stopped on? Go ahead, guess. Ahhh. 30 pages. Figures. If I stop reading The Procrastination Equation, it will not be a book I return to because at this point I'm finding that I have a strong desire to give the author's marvelously oversized balloon ego a good pop. His arrogance is seriously annoying. In addition to that, I'm finding the whole equation thing is not explained well at all. The idea with this kind of book should be to create a practical guide to enacting change in the reader's life, a simple way to put improvement into effect, right? I'm not seeing it. But, as I said, I'm going to give it another 20 pages to see if it becomes more readable after the initial explanation of the "equation" that's supposed to help me stop procrastinating.

Speaking of which . . . I'm actually doing pretty well at getting things done, lately, anyway. I just added up my "Books In" for the last 5 weeks and subtracted the number of "Books Out", then came up with a net figure. In 5 weeks' time, I've received quite a few books but my net has been 103 books out the door. Wahoo! I think 20 per week is a solid start. I've still got a long, long way to go but we're also getting rid of clothing we no longer wear and games we don't play, so we've opened up a good bit of space in our little home, already. It's been really helpful having Kiddo back in the house. His presence is motivating me to get the job done so he doesn't have to worry about clutter and can just focus on studying.

And, now I leave you with Izzy under the dresser, your daily dose of Kitty Cute.

©2011 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy by Leslie Vernick (DNF)

Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy by Leslie Vernick

Copyright 2009

Harvest House Publishers - NF/Self-help/Psychology

DNF

I think this is another case of bad timing. After losing a kitty, I'm not in the mood to be told to focus on Jesus and I'll get through the storm. The truth is that I think when I've had trouble happying up, usually it's the love of friends and reading about people who've either been through the same or worse experiences (and there's certainly a lot worse that could happen to a person than losing a cat) but came through them fine . . . that's what lifts me up and gets me back on an even keel.

Not that this book is about grief. That's part of the problem, I suppose. Roy Nakai's book about how he lived through tragedy was helpful to me because it had the right focus -- on how important it is to keep going.

Lord, I Just Want to Be Happy is about knowing yourself, realizing that things like losing 10 pounds, being the center of attention, finding the perfect job and having a spouse who does exactly what you think a spouse should do are not necessarily the things that will make you happy. Happiness comes from inside - making right choices, changing bad habits, not beating yourself up. That's what the book is about, although it's Christian and it's Jesus-focused.

I think I might like this book another time. At the moment, it's not for me.

Essie in Progress by Marjorie Presten (DNF)

Essie in Progress by Marjorie Presten
Copyright 2009
Kregel Publications - Fiction/Christian
320 pages
DNF

I hate DNF'ing a book when the author seems like a totally charming person and I'm absolutely certain that at some other time I would probably love a book but . . . bad timing, I guess. I thought this book had the feel of the kind of women's fiction that I normally enjoy (a little light with nicely three-dimensional characters) but it just wasn't grabbing me.

Since I made a promise to myself to set aside books that aren't grabbing me, nearly a year ago, I've been much happier with my reading and that's what made me decide to go ahead and close the book, for now. Essie in Progress is about a woman who finds herself overwhelmed juggling her job, motherhood, wifely duties and dealing with a father-in-law who still grieves the loss of his wife, 30 years after her death.

I highly recommend reading the sneak peek chapter in my previous post and visiting Tara's View on Books to read her brief review.

ARC-DNFs and a couple of *giveaways*

I'm feeling wholly unmotivated so I'm going to try to do a little catch-up on some recent DNFs, none of which there's anything wrong with.

The Tudor Rose by Margaret Campbell Barnes was one of those books that I looked at and thought, "Must read before the end of the month," which is a terrible reason to start reading a book, although I've been rather scheduled in the past year and it often works fine. At the time I opened it, I was decidedly not in the mood for historical fiction, but the work needed to be done and I gave it a shot. Once past about page 10, the pages actually flew, for a time. But, then I got tired of the manipulative queen and annoyed with my own ignorance about the Plantagenets and Tudors. It was a bit of a relief to set the book aside.

I've read quite a few reviews and the consensus seems to be that it's a good book and worth reading, but not Margaret Campbell Barnes' best. In my case, it was simply a mix of bad timing and my sad, sad case of History Stupidity. I've got a whopper of a fine British History book that Kiddo bought to help him through a project about Alfred the Great, so I believe I'll read my factual history before returning to the Tudors and/or Plantagenets. My thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for the ARC!

Since I fell so short on knowledge, I've decided to give this ARC away, if anyone's interested. Update: I just used Random.org to draw a number and the winner is #4, Sarah. I'll be in touch, soon.

The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell blew my mind. At first, I thought it was the craziest thing I'd ever seen -- a book composed entirely of questions. Then, I started to really like it because it can be quite humorous and thought-provoking:

Do you wonder, when you wonder things like who first got the gumption to eat an oyster, who first got the idea to weave--was not a moment like that really cutting edge, as opposed to all the foofoo nano-refinements of today, which amount to the playing of checkers with a microchip?

Kiddo and I had fun reading questions aloud to each other, now and then; the reading of The Interrogative Mood can easily be turned into a game, although there are some awkward/rude sexual questions so it's quite adult. We only ran into a couple, though, while son and I were reading to each other. I got more than halfway through the book. But, then the relentless questions and the lack of a storyline began to annoy me. I'll still finish this book; it's obviously unique and certainly entertaining -- but I'll do the reading in little bits and probably over quite a stretch of time. Thanks to Greg Mortimer of HarperCollins for the ARC!

The Pirate Hunter by Tom Morrisey is a rather strange DNF. I picked it up thinking, "Oh, boy! Pirates!" and read exactly one paragraph. That's it! I don't recall whether I was overtired and unable to focus or just in one of those fickle moods (sometimes I go from book to book to book and it takes a good dozen before I finally settle on something) or what . . . but the first paragraph didn't grab me and then I set it aside and completely forgot I needed to read the book. It's still on my stacks as it obviously didn't get a fair shake and I will eventually give The Pirate Hunter a second go.

This particular book was sent to me by Jim at Bethany House -- thank you, Jim! -- and since I didn't finish the last two books he sent me, I haven't requested any more. But, I'm at the point that I'm hardly requesting any books at all, (some, yes -- I confess, I'm weak), although I'm a huge fan of Bethany House.

Mama's Got a Fake I.D. : How to Reveal the Real You Behind all That Mom by Caryn Dahlstrand Rivadeniera is, I think, simply not a good match for me. I've decided to set it aside for two reasons:

1. I have not yet forged an identity beyond the homefront, even though next year I'm about to become an empty-nester. So, I found it a little discouraging reading about a mother who quickly found an outside job that made her feel like she was human, while she still had little ones. It's a bit late for the mother/find yourself combo, in my case. Next year, I plan to shake things up a bit, when the kiddo is at college. For now . . . he wants me home and I'm fine marking time for a few more months.

2. I've been reading too much nonfiction. I love nonfiction, but occasionally I go overboard and end up with 4 NF books and 1 fiction going. The end result is that I typically abandon a few or sometimes I realize I need to stop everything and start all over with a fresh batch of books. This appears to be one of those times.

So, the reasons I abandoned this one are absolutely terrible. So terrible, in fact, that I think I'll go ahead and offer it up to someone who can really use it. If you're interested and you're a blogger, let me know. For Caryn's sake, I want this to go to someone who can review it. I'll make this a quickie and send to the first person who asks. Update: This book has been claimed! Thanks to Caryn for the book and sorry it wasn't a good fit!! The author is really, really nice -- I so wanted to love this book.

Next up . . . seems likely I'll read or cave in. Of the 4 of us, the cat is the most energetic. Freaky. I have observed kind of a general apathy in the blog world, this week -- maybe a lingering, mutual post-readathon hangover? Hang in there. I'm sure you'll be all nice and rested, soon, especially if you live in Colorado and have nowhere to go.

One wahoo before I go:

Yeah! Go, God! Nobody does clouds better.

Happy Wahoo Wednesday!

Bookfool, nearing the end of her identity crisis (we hope)

The Fabric of a Woman by Pamela Hines - DNF

The Fabric of a Woman by Pamela Hines
Copyright 2009
Whitaker House
DNF - but don't take that as a negative

I picked up The Fabric of a Woman several times and never got past page 5. As usual, I think the case was bad timing. Subtitled "Allowing God to Mend and Restore Your Body, Mind and Spirit," it sounds like just the right book for me. I'm in need of some mending and restoration. But, at the moment, I just can't get myself to read it.

I should note that even the books that are grabbing me like crazy are not holding on the way they normally do, right now, which might just be fatigue from shifting my sleep schedule backwards, with school starting, and having to do the mom chauffeuring thing, again (for a while, anyway). I'm going to keep the book handy and when I do manage to read it, I'll write a real review.

In the meantime, page down past the sneak peek post at the following link to read a terrific review of this book:

Misadventures of the Dynamic Uno

Ransome's Honor by Kaye Dacus (DNF)

Ransome's Honor by Kaye Dacus

Copyright 2009

Harvest House Publishers - Historical Fiction/Romance

Author's Website

DNF

I feel bad about setting this book aside because the plot sounds so intriguing but I managed only a handful of pages. At that point, I realized that Ransome's Honor is the victim of bad timing. I've recently read two Georgette Heyer novels and I'm simply not in the mood for swishing skirts, delicate Regency manners, lords and ladies and romance. The storyline sounds so good, though! I know I'll want to read it, eventually.

From the cover:

When Julia Witherington doesn't receive the proposal for marriage she expects from William Ransome, she determines to never forgive him. They go their separate ways--she returns to her family's Caribbean plantation and he returns to the Royal Navy.

Now, twelve years later, Julia is about to receive a substantial inheritance, including her beloved plantation. When unscrupulous relatives try to gain the inheritance by forcing her into a marriage, she turns to the only eligible man to whom her father, Admiral Sir Edward Witherington, will not object--his most trusted captain and the man who broke her heat, William Ransome. Julia offers William her thirty-thousand-pound dowry to feign marriage for one year, but then something she could never have imagined happens: she starts to fall in love with him again.

Can two people overcome their hurt, reconcile their conflicting desires and find a way to be happy together? Duty and honor, faith and love are intertwined in this intriguing tale from the Regency era.

Doesn't that sound great? Ransome's Honor is the first book in a trilogy.

Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove - DNF

Talking to the Dead by Bonnie Grove
Copyright 2009
David C. Cook - Fiction/Christian
DNF

Bad timing. Bad, horrible timing. I thought I would enjoy this book because it's got a paranormal aspect and I probably will enjoy it, at another point in time. The protagonist of Talking to the Dead, Kate, has just lost her husband as the book opens. She's gone outside to get away from the crowd of people who are in her home. The funeral has just ended. I assume the people in her house are the relatives and friends who are closest to her. Her mother is guarding the door. Kate is grieving deeply; eventually, the ghost of her husband will start speaking to her.

I haven't lost a husband, but anyone who has lost someone close knows the kind of pain the fictional Kate is experiencing as the book opens. May and June are absolutely horrid because I've lost both of my parents and every year people who have lost parents have to deal with the advertising blitz for Mother's Day and Father's Day. This year marked my second Mother's Day without a mother; the 19th year since my Father's death. I usually do a good job of ignoring "death anniversaries" but I don't cope with the annual Mom/Dad holiday onslaught particularly well. Because Kate's grief is palpable and I am sensitive, I chose to close the book.

There is nothing wrong with the writing and I still am intrigued by the plot. I just didn't think I can handle walking through Kate's grief with her, at this moment. I recommend reading the sneak peek chapter in the post below, if you're interested.

A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman - DNF

A Passion Denied by Julie Lessman
Copyright 2009
Revell - Historical Fiction/Romantic/Christian
DNF

Holly wrote a wonderful review of A Passion Denied that I hope you'll read if you're interested in historical fiction.

I'm setting this one aside for a couple of reasons. I realized after reading Holly's review that it wasn't so much the premise, which I considered a bit weak, putting me off so much as the fact that I'm unfamiliar with the characters and maybe feeling a bit out of place, as this is the third in a series. Sometimes it works to pick up a book out of sequence and sometimes it doesn't. This one threw me and, after a bit of consideration, I think I simply need to start at the beginning of the series and work my way forward.

I like the author's writing style and highly encourage you to read Holly's review, as well as the sneak peek chapter, below.

The Diversity Culture by Matthew Raley - DNF

The Diversity Culture by Matthew Raley
Copyright 2009
Kregel Publications
DNF

I didn't finish this book, but there were things I found interesting within the 33 pages I managed to read before deciding it was not the book for me. The book is subtitled, "Creating Conversations of Faith with Buddhist Baristas, Agnostic Students, Aging Hippies, Political Activists, and Everyone in Between." At the point I quit reading, I was having trouble with some of the comparisons between today's non-believers and the Samaritans, which I think boiled down to just not knowing my Bible well enough. I liked this, though:

The Diversity Culture [author's definition]: The dominant American ethos of openness toward all beliefs and spiritual traditions.

This culture cries for a label. It needs to be distinguished from the consumer society, but a tag remains elusive. David Brooks calls it Bobo, "bourgeois bohemian." Bill O'Reilly calls it "secular progressive." Rush Limbaugh calls it "liberal wacko." I call it the diversity culture, after its top priority.

Basically, the author is a Christian minister who seeks to create open dialogue between believers in his own faith and everyone else, knowing that the young adults of today's (I'm assuming American) society are less stringent about religious beliefs and more willing to accept diversity of culture, ethnicity, and morality -- all of which make a preacher guy really uncomfortable.

How to overcome the problems of communicating with a set of people who often have radically different beliefs from church ministers is the point. I wasn't getting it, though, and I'm not sure the book applies to me; in fact, Rush Limbaugh would probably label me a liberal wacko so maybe I'm on the wrong side of the coin. I'd particularly recommend this for people who consider themselves evangelistic or who desire to learn how to communicate across those boundaries in order to share their beliefs without offending.

The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire - DNF post

The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire by C. M. Mayo
Copyright 2009
Unbridled Books - Historical fiction
Author's Website
448 pages - DNF

I wrestled with whether to give up on this book temporarily or keep trying. Giving up won simply because (as mentioned in last night's post) I'm in burn-out mode, having trouble concentrating. This happens to me, now and then, and the cure is to take a few days off, shift to easy, quick reads or ditch everything and start all over. Most important thing to note:

There's nothing wrong with the book. It's all me.

In fact, I liked what I read. I just kept zoning out because I'm so tired. I'm intrigued by the story, the tale of a half-American prince, and adore historical fiction. But, if I shove my way through the book, I'll probably get a lot less out of it; the book deserves a reader's full attention.

Here are a few links to reviews of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire:

Caribou's Mom
Savvy Verse and Wit
Devourer of Books
The Tome Traveller
Kylee's Book Blog
Curled Up With a Good Book

Books I Have Set Aside and Why - A DNF Post

Last year, I chose not to mention Did Not Finish books, with the thought that there was no point to bringing negative attention to books. But, when I decided to grant myself permission to give up on books that weren't grabbing me, earlier this year (I finished a lot of duds in 2008), I realized that we all have different reasons for not completing a read and that just because I personally can't get into a book doesn't mean there isn't someone out there who might be intrigued enough to pick up a book I wasn't interested in completing, based on a general description. So, I decided to go ahead and write about those I haven't completed. And, then I fell behind. This, then, is a DNF Catch-Up post.

I'm going to separate my DNFs into two categories:

Those that simply didn't work for me.
Those I intend to revisit at a later date.

Books that didn't work for me:

Webs of Power by Darlene Quinn - Set in the 1980s, the days of power suits and hostile takeovers, this book is about greedy people and screwed-up relationships. I read about 50 pages of the book and found that I didn't have any urge to pick it back up, after I set it down. I think that may be partly because I wasn't in the right mood for illicit affairs, men who can't be bothered with their wives, and reminders of the corporate greed that helped get us into this recession boat. I was working at an oil company during an attempted hostile takeover and I remember the weird, funereal atmosphere as we waited to find out what would happen. Nope, I'm pretty sure I don't want to revisit that. But, I think the book is nicely written if a bit of a soap opera and I have nothing negative to say about it.

A Firm Place to Stand: Finding Meaning in a Life With Bipolar Disorder by Marja Bergen is nonfiction, about the author's battle with bipolar disorder and how Christianity gave her a firm foundation upon which to stand. She's written a previous book about living with mental illness. I'm not bipolar, but I was interested in the book because I know several people who are, and hoped to gain a slightly better understanding of their disorder. Unfortunately, I found the book was a little too repetitive. It's really geared to reassure those who are suffering from the illness and since I'm not . . . well, it just didn't work for me. I was really on a fact-finding mission and this just wasn't the right book for me. I think it could be really useful for those struggling with bipolar disorder and trying to make sense of their lives.

Forever Lily by Beth Nonte Russell is a memoir of adoption in China. Beth did not set out to adopt a child. Instead, she accompanied a friend to China, thinking that she would have a grand adventure, but ended up taking care of the baby (and eventually adopting her) when her friend became overwhelmed by the challenges of new motherhood. I was really looking forward to reading this book because I love memoirs and it sounded like a great story.

Why didn't it work? The book contained not only the story of Beth's trip to China, but a dream sequence. Each night, she allegedly plunged back into the same continuing dream, taking up where it left off the night before. Honestly? I thought she made up the dream sequence. I had this overwhelming, "I so do not buy this!" feeling. Dreams don't work like movies that can be turned off and start right up where you left off, in my experience -- and I'm a very vivid dreamer. The dream sequence annoyed and upset me so much that I begin to doubt the rest of the story and decided to quit reading. It might be a good story if one can skip the dream portions, but I always feel obligated to read every word, so this one just didn't work for me.

DNF books I plan to revisit:

A Lever Long Enough by Amy Deardon really grabbed me, but I was trying to balance too many books at once and I didn't complete it in time for its book tour, so instead I wrote about how much my son enjoyed the book (he snatched it from me and read it in a single evening) and set it aside to return to at a later date. I'm going to defer to the website description of this one:

In the near future, the Israeli military has developed a prototypic time machine. When believers in Yeshua (Jesus) create a politically explosive situation that threatens the balance of peace between Israel and nearby countries, the Israelis must send a team of four elite soldiers back to film the theft of Jesus' body from the tomb and thus disprove Christianity. The team, consisting of a Special Forces soldier as leader, an ex-American astronaut as engineering specialist, an archaeologist, and a linguist, has exactly seventy-two hours to collect the video evidence. Drawn into a web of first century deception and death, the only way to escape is for the team to change the past. In the present, a traitor attempts to sabotage the mission and seize control of the military complex. The Special Forces leader operating in the past is the only one who can reveal him, but he is trapped two thousand years away. Even with a time machine, time is running out...

How cool is that? I love time travel and action, so I'm really looking forward to a time when I don't have a queue of ARCs and can return to this book. Also, my son insists that I must acquire future works by this first-time author. I love it when he does that.

Fear in North Carolina: The Civil War Journals and Letters of the Henry Family contains a lot more than just a bunch of diary entries. It's loaded with photos and documents. It does, however, contain the day-to-day observations of Cornelia Henry and, oh my goodness. Poor Cornelia suffered from migraines. I cannot even begin to imagine dealing with migraines, running a farm and business while the husband was off at war, and having to chase down numerous children while hosting friends and relatives who just dropped in (sometimes deathly ill) and expected to be fed and housed.

Really, this is an absolutely fascinating peek into one family's everyday life (aka "social history" - a term that was new to me when I picked up the book). The only reason I set it aside was the usual -- balancing too many books at once. I really need and desire to return to Cornelia's world to see her through the (American) Civil War. Apart from chronic headaches (both literally, as Cornelia suffered from migraines, and with the help), the Henrys also had to deal with a man who refused to move out of their hotel and then may have burned it in retaliation when they finally forced his hand, along with numerous troubles with the slaves and hired help. Mr. Henry was a gentle soul, according to Cornelia, and she often mused that their difficulty getting workers to actually do their jobs may have had something to do with his inability to be anything but kind.

The Triumph of Deborah by Eva Etzioni-Halevy is historical fiction, about the Biblical character Deborah. Not a lot is said about Deborah in the Bible and I've heard that this book doesn't, in fact, focus on Deborah -- and that it's pretty steamy, possibly even innacurate in what little it describes of her. But, I still want to read it. I've had two false starts with this book. The first time, I read two pages and kept drifting off. I decided it was just bad timing and that I'd give it another go, later.

The second time, the beginning of the book sounded terrific but I realized it was going to require focus. And, I'm really unfocused, in general. So, I decided to wait until I could read the book at a time when I could simply focus on one title (which, let's be honest, is not my typical modus operandi). I'm not sure when the right time will arrive, but I still want to read this book and it isn't unusual for me to make three attempts at reading the same book before it finally clicks and I'm able to give it my full attention. Most recently, Great Expectations is one of those books that I loved on the third attempt.

Two other books I simply didn't manage to read in time for their book tours and plan to return to are Katt's in the Cradle by Ginger Kolbaba & Christy Scannell (about a group of preachers' wives facing unique challenges individually and occasionally getting together to commiserate and have fun) and The Unquiet Bones by Melvin Starr (a medieval mystery).

Do you force yourself through every book or willingly abandon those that don't grab your interest? Do you ever return to books that just don't work for you, on the first attempt? I'm just curious.

Latest acquisitions:

For "Buy Indie Day", I visited Lorelei Books in downtown Vicksburg and bought The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (which has been on my wish list practically since the day it was released) and Dark Star by Alan Furst (highly recommended by the bookstore's owner, Laura, but she said it's complex and advised me to "take notes").

Yesterday, I returned to the store to fetch a copy of Earl's Art Shop: Building Art with Earl Simmons because I discovered the book is now out of print and wanted to grab a copy before it disappeared. "Mr. Earl" is an artist who lives in Bovina, Mississippi and had a huge, funky house that he built from found bits of sheet metal, wood, etc., then decorated with his art. Unfortunately, the original house burned to the ground about 2 or 3 years ago and Mr. Earl had to start all over, again. We've been to Bovina (about 5 miles outside Vicksburg) to see his new house, but we never bothered to see the original. I'm looking forward to reading about the house and admiring the photographs.

I've also recently acquired quite a few books from Paperback Swap and the Advanced Readers keep trickling in, so I may have to do a separate post about other acquisitions, soon. But, first, I think I need to list my April Reads in Review. I'll shoot for writing that post, this weekend.

Just finished:

No Touch Monkey! by Ayun Halliday. A totally crazy-fun book about a hippie backpacker chick's travel adventures to places I would much rather read about than visit. More on that, later. Happy Friday!