Friday Five Foolery

Five Great Things to Stop and Admire If You're Ever in Mississippi:

1. Off-Square Books- Square Books is a nice little independent store situated in Oxford, Mississippi's town square. I probably never would have made it there, had my son not gotten a couple of scholarships from Ole Miss and ended up in Oxford. Square books is lovely, but Off-Square is wonderful, mainly because of the adorable and exceptionally friendly store cat (the off-price books are really fun to peruse, as well, although Square Books has a much better selection, as well as a coffee bar and cute mugs with great quotes by writers). I have a postcard of the cat, but I can't find a photo, online. Darn. There is another store on the square that had not one but two cats in its window when we were in town, one time. I don't know the name of it, but if you walk around the square you're bound to figure out where the store cats reside. They tend to lie around in the windows. I confess, I'm a cat lover.

2. The Cyprus Swamp - This photo came from the online journal of a biker who stopped by the swamp while biking in Mississippi. I haven't been there in several years, but it's absolutely mind-boggling, with eye-popping reflections that would make any photographer pant with joy. I need to go back; we can all use that kind of nature infusion, now and then (preferably during a season that's short on mosquitoes).



3. Biloxi Lighthouse - Okay, again a disclaimer: I haven't seen the lighthouse lit up like the photo at left (but it was the prettiest photo I happened across, so I snagged it from the website to which I've linked). When we moved to Mississippi, way the heck back in another century, we had one cute little blonde 2-year-old boy; and, one of my absolute, all-time favorite photos of my husband and eldest son is of the two of them holding hands, walking out onto the Biloxi pier just next to the lighthouse. We were pleasantly surprised to find that Biloxi had a lighthouse and I think all of us sighed with relief when we found out that it survived Hurricane Katrina. The buildings in the background of that photo were more than likely flattened, but I can't say for sure.


4. The Mighty (and Muddy) Mississippi - We don't go there as often as we should, but the best view of the river, in Vicksburg, is from the Welcome Center, these days. There used to be a wonderful restaurant by the name of Top O' The River situated on that same bluff overlooking the river, just down the road. Unfortunately, as I've heard it, the owners had some major medical bills and sold out to one of the casinos. Where there once was a fabulous restaurant that served incredible catfish and cole slaw, which was known for both its outstanding service (something you don't get much of, these days) and its incredible river view, there is now a gas station. However, the river is still there, bless its muddy old heart. You can walk up some stairs and across a little foot bridge to a hill with a cannon on top for the best view.

5. The Old Courthouse Museum - Also in Vicksburg and another place I don't go often enough, the Old Courthouse was built by slave labor in 1858 and has a small but excellent museum. Even better, according to the cat lover in me (who is rather pushy), they keep a cat house on the porch. My friend and neighbor works there; she's not too thrilled about the cats, but she loves her job and the museum itself. I go there, now and then, to get a few dozen bookmarks to give to friends.

There are lots of other wonderful places to visit in Mississippi, but it's Friday and I'm sticking with five.

Still reading:

My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin

Books that walked in my door this week:

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
One Foot in Eden by Ron Rash
A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby

Have a Super Weekend!

Watcha Reading?

There's really not much going on around the old homestead, so I'll jump in and ask What everyone is reading? I'm only reading one book, right now, and hope to get back to balancing several at once, soon. I guess reading a single book is a Brain Break Thing, at least for me. Anyway, I'm reading My Brilliant Career by Miles Franklin, a story about Sybylla Melyvn, a a free-spirited young writer who refuses to conform to society's expectations of how a 'proper woman' should live her life in Australia. The copy I've got is pictured at left and includes another book: My Career Goes Bung. Judging from the introductory material (which was somewhat illuminating but a little confusing, at times), the second story was an attempt to redo the first book in a more romantic fashion, as My Brilliant Career has a rather unromantic ending. I already knew that, having seen the movie - which is different, of course, but absolutely took my breath away.

Note that a very young and handsome Sam Neill starred in the movie. Until I checked a copy of My Brilliant Career out from my library's audio/visual department on a whim, I'd never heard of the book or movie and was unaware that it launched Judy Davis's career and threw Sam Neill into the limelight. I'm certain we would have discovered Sam and Judy, eventually, though. Judy Davis was absolutely awesome as Sybylla.

And, the book is everything I dreamed it would be and more, another one of those that has so many beautiful sentences and paragraphs that it's already becoming crammed with post-it notes.

I'm off to pay the bills and scrub the bathrooms. Happy Thursday!

Bookfool's First 100

The reason I'm able to post a third time in one day? Kiddo had a daytime swim meet and we haven't had to tackle the afternoon/evening routine, just yet. Should be interesting as it's nearly 9:00 PM and he is not yet home. 9 weeks tests begin tomorrow. Favorites are highlighted in purple because it's one of my favorite colors; top 10 in bold. Books worth skipping are in orange because it's my least favorite color.

First 100 Books I've read in 2006:

1. Idyll Banter - Chris Bohjalian
2. Getting Through the Tough Stuff - Charles Swindoll
3. The Egypt Game - Zilpha Keatly Snyder
4. Night Train to Rigel - Timothy Zahn
5. The Nymphos of Rocky Flats - Mario Acevedo
6. Dying to Call You - Elaine Viets
7. Maybe Baby - Ed. by Lori Leibovich
8. Hoot - Carl Hiassen
9. Talk to the Hand - Lynne Truss
10. Disappearing Nightly - Laura Resnick
11. Our Lives Are the Rivers - Jaime Manrique
12. Manhunt - Janet Evanovich
13. Running in the Family - Michael Ondaatje
14. The Dating Game - Shirley Jump
15. Vanishing Act - Thomas Perry
16. Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson
17. Abraham - Bruce Feiler
18. Brave Dames & Wimpettes - Susan Isaacs
19. The Cat Who Went to Paris - Peter Gethers
20. No Angel - Penny Vincenzi (this was a whopper at 836 pages)
21. Dearly Depotted - Kate Collins
22. We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson
23. Driving Me Crazy - Peggy Webb
24. Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye - Victoria Laurie
25. The Gates of the Forest - Elie Wiesel
26. Killing Helen - Sarah Challis
27. The Shunning - Beverly Lewis
28. The Madonnas of Leningrad - Debra Dean
29. My Father's House - Corrie ten Boom
30. Head Over Heels - Jill Mansell
31. Under the Bonnet - Cathy Woodman
32. Out of the Dust - Karen Hesse
33. Summer Lightning - P. G. Wodehouse
34. Queen of the Big Time - Adriana Trigiani
35. Tread Softly - Kate Pennington
36. The Incredible Shrinking Man and other stories - Richard Matheson
37. Lost Lake - Phillip Margolin
38. A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket
39. Travels with Charley - John Steinbeck
40. Mixed Signals - Liz Curtis Higgs
41. Details of a Sunset and other stories - Vladimir Nabokov
42. Nursery Crimes - Ayelet Waldman
43. Olive's Ocean - Kevin Henkes
44. Eating Heaven - Jennie Shortridge
45. The Carriage House - Carla Neggers
46. With or Without You - Carole Matthews
47. Size 12 is Not Fat - Meg Cabot
48. Better Read than Dead - Victoria Laurie
49. A Quiet Knowing - Gigi Graham
50. Kill Two Birds and Get Stoned - Kinky Friedman
51. The Single Life - Liz Wood
52. Hope Lives Here - Janet Chester Bly
53. The Polysyllabic Spree - Nick Hornby
54. The Man Who Fell in Love With His Wife - Paul Burke
55. Alaska Bear Tales - Larry Kaniut
56. Cordelia Underwood or the Marvelous Beginnings of the Moosepath League - Van Reid
57. What to Do if a Bird Flies in the House - Nix and Hurchalla
58. The Tenth Circle - Jodi Picoult
59. Cry Havoc - Clive Egleton
60. The Runner - Peter May
61. Bed Rest - Sarah Bilston
62. Jump at the Sun - Kim McLarin
63. Luscious Lemon - Heather Swain
64. Father Joe - Tony Hendra
65. The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie (yes, that Hugh Laurie)
66. Silent Waters - Jan Coffey
67. London Transports - Maeve Binchy
68. Shopportunity! - Kate Newlin
69. Brief Encounters with Che Guevera - Ben Fountain
70. Two Old Women - Velma Wallis
71. Remember Me - Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
72. Urban Shaman - C. E. Murphy
73. Consider the Lily - Elizabeth Buchan
74. The School Run - Sophie King
75. Tuesdays with Morrie - Mitch Albom
76. Suite Francaise - Irene Nemirovsky
77. Looking for Alaska - Peter Jenkins
78. The Cruelest Miles - Gay and Laney Salisbury
79. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak - still my #1 of 2006
80. The Sunday Tertulia - Lori Marie Carlson
81. Savannah Blues - Mary Kay Andrews
82. Turtle Moon - Alice Hoffman
83. Promise Me - Harlan Coben
84. Down Came the Rain - Brooke Shields
85. The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs - Alexander McCall Smith
86. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation - Lauren Willig
87. How I Lost 5 Pounds in 6 Years - Tom Arnold
88. Letters from Yellowstone - Diane Smith
89. The Essential Lewis and Clark - Landon Y. Jones
90. The Cardinal Rule - Cate Dermody
91. Pay it Forward - Catherine Ryan Hyde
92. Rainbow's End - John M. Floyd
93. Girlfriend in a Coma - Douglas Coupland
94. My Cousin Rachel - Daphne du Maurier
95. Haunted - Heather Graham
96. 36 Views of Mt. Fuji - Cathy N. Davidson
97. Coraline - Neil Gaiman
98. An Obsession with Butterflies - Sharman Apt Russell
99. Something Upstairs - Avi
100. Lying with Strangers - James Grippando

Well, whatcha think?

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo

I see a bunch of you nodding before you've even read a word. Oh, yes, you loved this book. And, naturally, so did I. But, just on the off chance that there are a few remaining book addicts who haven't read the book . . . a review shall follow. And, I want you to know I stripped the bed, washed the sheets and blanket (a superfluous thing, anyway, what with it being in the 90's outside), vacuumed the floor, took out the trash, watered the plants (whereupon I was divebombed by mosquitoes; I'm itching like crazy, here) and fed the cats. See who that mother of mine says is not domestic. Ha!

Okay, so a review of sorts. The Tale of Despereaux is the tale of a tiny mouse with oversized ears and a heart of gold, a lovely princess, a kingdom-wide soup ban, one nasty rat, a sad and downtrodden peasant girl who has been clonked on the ears a few too many times, and a dark, smelly dungeon. Despereaux is the name of the tiny, sickly mouse. He's an unusual mouse who sees beauty in words, light, and music. When he speaks to the humans in the castle, the other mice decide he has gone too far and he is cast down into the smelly, rat-infested dungeon. I can't say anymore because that would be telling.

The story is so beautifully written that it's absolutely captivating, just by its cadence alone. But, DiCamillo has taken this story so far beyond simple storytelling that I feel inadequate to describe its wonders. There are numerous little tidbits about life, betrayal and heartbreak, love and hope. The Tale of Despereaux is just a lovely, lovely story and very deserving of its Newbery Medal. My youngest has read Because of Winn-Dixie, by the same author, and enjoyed it (but was unwilling to see the movie because he said it has a sad ending). So, naturally, I'll foist this one on him. Isn't he lucky to have me for a mama?

5/5 - Couldn't put it down. This one goes on the good shelves.

Now You See It by Richard Matheson

I had one of those nasty wishy-washy nights after I set aside Lying with Strangers on Sunday--you know, the kind during which you pick up 6 books that you think are likely possibilities for your next read, squish yourself comfortably into the reading chair, on the couch, or the bed; but each book you lift from the pile suddenly loses its appeal. Nope, not quite right. Nope, not an appealing beginning. Nope, nope, nope. I flipped through one pile, fetched another half dozen, flipped through the rest. I was really getting frustrated when I noticed Now You See It plunked on a pile of clothing (figures - there are a lot of little piles, around here). Hmm. Oh, yes. This one was perfect; I knew it from the first paragraph:

Daresay you've never, in your life, read a story written by a vegetable. Well, here's your chance. Not that it's a story. It happened; I was there. Your narrator and humble servant, Mr. Vegetable.

The "vegetable", as he refers to himself, is a man by the name of Emil Delacorte, formerly known as The Great Delacorte, a magician of "worldwide distinction and renown" in the old tradition, prior to elaborate magic stunts on television, much like Houdini. After a stroke that left him cognizant but unable to speak or move (like a squash, a head of lettuce, etc. - the vegetable similes are where humor sneaks in), his son Maximillian took over the family business. Now, some 14 years later, Max is not well. He has taken to dropping things on-stage and stumbling; he's also gradually losing his sight and hearing. Convinced he's been poisoned, Max sets up an elaborate plot to rid those he blames.

As his vegetable father watches, Max lures family and associates into The Magic Room at his estate. The entire book takes place inside this room, but what exactly is happening and who is it happening to? Now You See It has so many plot twists--with bodies showing up and disappearing, anger mixed with sweet talk, people changing outfits, and even a talking head--that just as the reader begins to think it's making sense, something else changes.

For me, this was the right book at the right time. It was a fast-paced read that didn't require a great deal of brain power and I enjoyed the descriptions, the stunningly twisty plot, and the magic. My husband used to perform as an amateur magician, so maybe I got a bigger kick out of it than most; the reviews I read were none too positive. I was surprised, though, as I really did enjoy this one and had a bit of trouble putting it down.

This was my second Matheson book. I thoroughly enjoyed the first, which I read earlier this year: The Incredible Shrinking Man and Other Stories and I will definitely seek out more of his novels.

4.5/5

I'm almost finished with the book I began to read after closing Now You See It, so another review should be forthcoming. You can tell the best-laid housekeeping plans of this woman managed to gang aft agley, once again. I've gotta quit that, but reading trumps housework any day and, darn it, this blogging business is crucial!! After the next review, hopefully I'll get around to listing those first 100 books I read, as requested by Colleen. Or, I might have to take a break to fold and clean. Ewww, I'd so rather read.

Bookfool Whose Mother Is Correct (but Lord help her if she says so within range of The Husband - that comment about Bookfool being not very domestic really peeves him)

Sunday Stuff

Celebrating Book #100!

I finished my 100th book of the year, today, so it's party time! Here's the champagne ------>
Go ahead, have a slurp. I promise it won't make you trip and break your nose on the pavement. What more could you ask for?

#100 was Lying With Strangers by James Grippando, a gripping suspense novel full of tense moments, marital conflict, infidelity, and kidnapping, with a dead body here and there. I'd give it a 4.5/5 with addendum: it's no literary masterpiece. It's always difficult rating books that are a great deal of fun but which have no beautiful sentences worth sharing, so I have to throw in that mild disclaimer that one shouldn't expect anything brilliant - just an exciting ride. In fact, some parts of it were pretty predictable and other portions were just flat silly, but that didn't bother me, either, as I needed something Brain Light and Lying With Strangers did keep me entertained without any real exertion of brain power. I don't feel like reviewing it, for some reason.

Thanks to Queen Barbara of Pennsylvania (so named because she is a reading queen) for sending me this book!!

What's up next . . .

Bookwise, no idea. I keep picking books up and putting them down. I'm supposed to read Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult as a group read but am currently not in the mood to read a Picoult novel. However, nothing else seems to be really calling to me. I might attempt one of my fatties. We shall see. Even though Lying With Strangers required little brain power, I still found myself occasionally rereading entire paragraphs, so I think indecision and fatigue may be interconnected, here. Thus, this Bookfool is off to bed. I may post a bit less this week as I have hidden from housework for a few too many days and the clutter is attacking me. Wish me luck. As my mother likes to say, I'm "not very domestic".

Friday Five Foolery - Five Fatties

Thanks to Les, I've been thinking about the "fat books" on my shelves and why I haven't gotten around to reading them. I'm intimidated by longer books, partly because I'm a fairly slow reader, but each book has its own unique excuse - or most do. "Fat", by my definition, is over about 400 pages.

Five Fat Books I've Been Meaning to Read:

1. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - Really, there's just no valid excuse for not reading Gone With the Wind if you live in the Deep South. I have, in fact, picked the book up and started to read it on no less than three separate occasions. The first time, I was young and busy with high school activities; it didn't grab me and I chose not to fight to get through the book. The second time, I had a toddler running around at my feet and couldn't concentrate. The third attempt was during my bookstore-employee days and frequent interruptions thwarted my efforts. I'm hoping 2007 will be the year I finish Gone With the Wind.

2. God Is An Englishman by R. F. Delderfield - This is a fairly new addition to my TBRs, so I don't feel particularly guilty about the fact that I haven't picked it up and begun to read . . . yet. In fact, I've had the second book in this series for quite some time but decided that since it's historical fiction, order is crucial. My copy of God is An Englishman happens to be located in a prominent location, quite near the bed at nearly eye level when I'm reading. And, it's been hollering at me practically since the day it walked in my door. So, if any of my fat books have a crying chance of getting read, this one is probably at the top of the list.

3. The Memoirs of Cleopatra by Margaret George - 964 pages. What was I thinking? I have no idea, but possibly the words "inexpensive remaindered book" figure into the equation. I know I bought my copy at the outlet store that (sob) just went out of business (we're down to one bookstore, full price and very small - no used bookstores at all). Very seldom does a quick flip of a big book manage to get past my "This is too challenging for me," defense mechanism, so there must have been something intriguing about The Memoirs of Cleopatra or it never would have made the trip to the cash register.

4. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears - Recommended by my childhood friend, Diana, who has never disappointed me with any of her recommendations, I purchased this one and promptly plunked it on a shelf under my computer table. Then, I left it there for something on the order of 5 years. When I moved my computer to a different room and another surface, the book and the shelf both were shifted. I'm confident that God knows where An Instance of the Fingerpost ended up, but as to me . . . I'm completely clueless. I could have put it anywhere. There are books in every room of our house except for the bathrooms, literally.


5. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Seriously, I haven't read Great Expectations. Hard to believe, isn't it? My copy is also nowhere near as attractive as the one shown at left, as I purchased a hardback that was missing its jacket, thinking (naturally) that looks didn't matter given the lovely employee discount coupled with the remaindered price. So, yeah, I bought it at the outlet store where I was once employed. That particular store closed about five years ago. We seem to have a bit of difficulty hanging onto our bookstores in this town. I'm also hoping to get to this one, soon. Possibly, 2007 will be a "fat book" challenge year.

Many thanks to Les for the idea of listing some chunksters I desire to read!

Something Upstairs by Avi

Kenny’s spent his entire life in California. So, when his parents announce that they’re moving to Providence, Rhode Island, he’s horrified. School is weeks away when they arrive at the historical, three-story home in which they’ll live. The good news is that his parents have remodeled the attic and Kenny has a tremendous amount of living space all to himself. The bad news is that he doesn’t know anyone at all and the ghost of a slave is living in one of the tiny rooms adjoining his attic space.

When the ghost asks Kenny to determine who killed him, Kenny finds himself not only looking into the past, but trapped in the year 1800. Will he find the murderer? Can he free himself or will he end up haunting the past the way the slave haunted him in his own time?

I found that I wanted to know the answer to the mystery, and yet I was also stricken by the simplistic writing and the fact that the slave sounded more like Kenny in his mode of speech than like someone from another time. Barnes & Noble sets the age range for Something Upstairs at 12 and up; but, it seemed geared more for a 3rd-grader to me. However, that is neither here nor there. The book may not be challenging but it has an interesting storyline. The history of Providence was the most enjoyable and informative aspect of the book, moreso than the suspense storyline, in my opinion. But Something Upstairs was a fast-moving and enthralling story, not wonderful and not awful so I’ve given it an average rating.

3/5

And, that does it for the RIP Challenge, for this bookloving chick. I enjoyed reading creepy books, but I'm ready to move on and simply insert a creepy book into my reading schedule, now and then. Variety spices my life and I tend to dip into a lot of different flavors (or genres, as it were), so I found it a little difficult continuing with the atmospheric, suspenseful, creepy thing after the third book. However, I enjoyed the challenge and am glad I joined in. Thanks to Carl for coming up with the challenge.

Wahoo! Wednesday has fallen by the wayside, this week, due to fatigue, and I may go to bi-monthly Wahoos. We'll see. I considered knocking out 4 wahoos at once: birds, bees, flowers, trees . . . but that's pushing things a bit. I'd rather it was a bit more natural and meaningful, although I know there are many, many women who would be happy to see a new photo of Hugh Laurie every week.

Off to bed I go.

Sleepyheaded Bookfool

An Obsession With Butterflies by Sharman Apt Russell

"Butterflies add another dimension to the garden," Miriam Rothschild wrote, "for they are like dream flowers - childhood dreams - which have broken loose from their stalks and escaped into the sunshine. Air and angels. This is the way I look upon their presence, not as a professional entomologist."

There comes a moment in your life when you must look at what you love and think: Yes, I was right.
People who love butterflies have it easy.

A bag of goo crawls on a leaf, obsessed with eating. It hangs upside down. It becomes something else. A butterfly is born, a bit of heaven, a jazzy design.
It is a gesture of beauty almost too casual.

After World War II, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross visited the barracks of a Polish concentration camp and saw hundreds of butterflies carved into the walls by Jewish inmates. "Once dead, they would be out of this hellish place," she wrote. "Not tortured anymore. Not separated from their families. Not sent to gas chambers. None of this gruesome life mattered anymore. Soon they would leave their bodies the way a butterfly leaves its cocoon . . . It is the emblem of escape from the greatest sorrow the world has ever known."

More than any other group of animals, butteflies look as if they were designed in art school.

Sharman Apt Russell's An Obsession With Butterflies is neither an identification guide nor a scientific tome, but one writer's look into the life cycles of butterflies, the world of lepidopterists, the butterflies they love, and her own obsession with these beautiful insects. Russell's writing is poetic and fluid, eminently quotable and sometimes even humorous. Butterflies and those who love them have an interesting history. The varieties of butterflies are many, their adaptation ability surprising, the differences in their mating rituals and territorial zones immense. At some stages, or instars, the larvae of butterflies can be pretty revolting.

I absolutely loved this book. Even though the author occasionally had me cringing at certain graphic descriptions - for example, at the thought of predatory wasps who lay eggs that hatch inside a caterpillar and eat it from the inside out, ugh - there were innumerable surprises and the book was quite illuminating. Russell's writing is light and fun. Read, for example, this passage about a butterfly searching for the right place to lay its eggs:

Patiently, you fly above the grasses, herbs, and shrubs, looking for the leaf shape you like best and smelling for the odor of your host plant with your antenna, with the top of your head, with parts of your wings. Over and over, you land on a broad oval leaf. You tap the leaf with your foot.

You are proud of your feet, too, which have taste organs that can zero in on sugar as quickly as a third grader.

I smiled a lot while reading this book. Occasionally, I'd stop to look up an image of one of the butterflies described. I marked so many passages with post-it notes that this diminutive book became a fat with scraps of yellow sticking out, willy-nilly. You won't learn to identify butterflies by reading An Obsession With Butterflies, but you will learn something about their life stages and the history of those who study them, as well as the sad fact that their host environments are fragile and many species are dying out.

An engrossing read, especially for those who are fascinated by butterflies.

4.5/5

A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott

DNF Book: A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott

There've been plenty of books that I probably should have abandoned, this year, but didn't because I kept hoping they would improve. But, finally, I've found one that I disliked enough that I simply could not continue.

A Long Fatal Love Chase tells the story of Rosamund Vivian, a young woman who lives with her callous grandfather and acts as his caretaker. Her life is dull, lonely, and frustrating. Then, one stormy night a stranger appears in her remote island home. His name is Philip Tempest.

The storm provided a nice, haunting atmosphere as per the RIP Challenge requirements. But, I immediately found myself annoyed by Rosamund's whining, Tempest's bizarre behavior (he struck me as sociopathic, at the outset) and even Tempest's ridiculous name. A guy named Tempest shows up during a storm? A little forced, I thought. In fact, I really was not fond of the dialogue at all. Rosamund, apart from being a whiner, was impetuous and stupid. When Tempest took her for a ride on his ship, hints of his dangerous past were dropped like water balloons on a concrete pavement. Subtle? I'm afraid not. And, yet, I kept attempting to read the book. I read a chapter, set it down, read a chapter the next night, set it down, read a chapter, and then became so frustrated at the obvious plot that I flipped ahead to the end.

I believe I've mentioned that I only check the ending if I'm pretty certain that I'm going to hate it. So, there you have it. I was convinced this book was not for me, flipped ahead, read the end and discovered . . . what ho! . . . I was right. So, I've ditched it. However, I must add that I've read some glowing reviews of this book, so don't let me put you off. A Long Fatal Love Chase simply was not my cup of tea.

3 Books That Walked Into My House, Recently:











Things I'm Currently Reading:

Lying With Strangers by James Grippando - Couldn't find an image, but it's another one of those books that just waltzed right in, thanks to friend Barbara.
An Obsession With Butterflies by Sharman Apt Russell - Almost finished with this one!
The Messies Manual by Sandra Felton - Haven't opened this one, lately, although I desperately need to.
Wegener's Jigsaw by Clare Dudman - Still enjoying it, but reading slowly.

Have any books walked into your house, lately? Tell me about them!!

Curious Bookfool

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

My first Neil Gaiman book, fourth creepy book for the RIP challenge, and a book that served as a mental break because this has been a migraine week and the doctor still has not called in a refill of Maxalt (I'm just going to have to show up on his doorstep, trip, and knock him over, I guess - migraines whack up my balance completely), Coraline was a nice diversion and a suitably spooky read.

Actually, I can't think of much to say about Coraline, but I think the reason is two-fold:

1. This migraine is killing me; I can't think straight.
2. It was pretty short; the book is, after all, aimed at youngsters.

I will say I found Coraline entertaining and that I particularly liked the fact that in the midst of a creepy, parallel world that she found behind a locked door, Coraline kept her wits about her. I loved the character. And, the dialogue was, I thought, always nicely off-the-wall in a witty but straight-forward way. Coraline spoke her mind but she was never a rotten child, even when she did something wrong that got her into a bind. Instead, she showed courage and intelligence. Although I didn't think Coraline was a mind-blowingly wonderful read, I enjoyed it and it's piqued my interest in Gaiman. I'm hoping to get my greedy little bookloving hands on a copy of Neverwhere, soon. Wish me luck. And, a cure for these darned migraines.

3.5/5

A Book Meme That Died And Has Returned

I spent a ridiculously long time uploading photos for my first book meme and then everything locked up and went bazonkers. I lost the whole post. Bummer.

So, I'm going to try to do the meme for which lovely Lotus tagged me, sans images or links, and hope for the best. Here goes:

1. One book that changed your life?

This may sound like a strange title, but Little Visits With God--a children's devotional--probably had the greatest impact on my life and most likely helped turned me into an avid reader. The nightly reading of its brief devotionals was, in fact, pretty much the only time my mother sat still and spent some quality time with me and was a ritual that kept going for many years. I got so darned tired of the words, "Not now; I'm busy," that it's no wonder I came to love storytime so much.


2. One book you have read more than once?

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I love that book.


3. One book you would want on a desert island?

The SAS Survival Handbook. Because I'm bad enough at surviving in a kitchen. It's hard to imagine foraging on an island. I'd need help. Serious help.


4. One book that made you cry?

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, which is still my top read of 2006. An incredibly moving Holocaust tale, it had me reaching for the tissues numerous times.


5. One book that made you laugh?

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About. I read parts of it whilst sitting in a waiting room at the doctor's office and had to suppress the laughter, but my shoulders were shaking so hard and all those snuffling noises I was trying to hold back just sounded ridiculous. Hopefully, nobody thought I was having a seizure.


6. One book you wish had been written?

Oh, geez, I don't know. One on how to really fix my life?


7. One book you wish hadn't been written?

Caribbean Cruising. I don't want to say why, since the words I'd have to use might cause me to get some bad hits, but . . . well, it's about a girl who is determined to lose her v**g**i*y before she heads off to college. Ridiculous the way s** is pushed on youngsters, these days, and I find it reprehensible that an adult would encourage such behavior via a young adult novel. Had the protagonist come to her senses, I would have been okay with the book; instead, she spent her time drinking heavily and searching for a stranger to sl**p with and ended up losing her v**g**i*y with the predictable guy-friend. I swapped the book, but when I did so I warned the mother who requested it of its subject matter and denouement, in case she wanted to use it as an example of what not to do. She was actually quite grateful.


8. One book you are currently reading?

Wegener's Jigsaw by Clare Dudman - so far, I'm impressed.


9. One book you've been meaning to read?

The Other Boleyn Girl. I've yet to read anything by Phillippa Gregory, but I think one of her books is coming up as a group read, soon.


I've seen this meme in so many blogs that I'm not sure there's anyone left who hasn't done it. So, I'll take the lazy way out and nominate anyone who reads this and hasn't been tagged.

Happy Friday!

36 Views of Mt. Fuji by Cathy N. Davidson

Like most foreigners, I'm pretty good at adapting to new situations (or I wouldn't enjoy traveling in the first place) but I'm also a bit of a misfit (or I would never have wanted to leave home).

36 Views of Mt. Fuji is subtitled "On Finding Myself in Japan". This refers to the concept of finding herself, as in learning about her own needs, as opposed to suddenly waking up and discovering that she was in Japan, one stormy day. Although, she did travel to Japan on four separate occasions, Davidson was always in Japan by choice, first as a teacher and then, later, visiting friends.

The book shares its title with a series of block prints by Katsushika Hokusai and is so named because the block prints, like her book, don't reveal the whole picture. Japan is a multifaceted culture with a complex set of traditions and unspoken rules, difficult to describe in a single book. Instead, Davidson weighed her own experiences within the culture--her travels, revelations, and even the embarrassing moments--against the culture's traditions and rules. This gives the reader a glimpse into Japanese life, while making it plain that a glimpse is all that can be had. Above all, Davidson describes how her time in Japan made a lasting impact on her choice to finally settle down in a house designed to reflect the aspects she loved most about life in Japan but which also fit her husband's and her lifestyle in North Carolina.

I particularly enjoyed Davidson's embarrassing moments because they were so unique. While traveling by bus on a rainy day, for example, she was surprised to look around and see shocked expressions on the faces of the other bus riders until she realized that all the other passengers were carefully lining up the folds of their umbrellas while she had hastily shoved hers into its cover. When it finally dawned on her what grievous faux pas she had committed, Davidson removed her umbrella from its cover and refolded it with precision; for this, she was rewarded with smiles and nods of approval. Fascinating.

Through stories like the umbrella incident, I realized that this author had uncovered my own problem with life in the South: my unwillingness to change myself into a Southerner for the sake of fitting in. There are some startling similarities; an auburn-haired Caucasian American could never be completely absorbed into a society of black-haired Asians any more than a Midwesterner without the safety net of the extended Southern family and with a personal objection to hunting and unfenced dogs can be fully absorbed into the lifestyle in Mississippi. In a way, 36 Views of Mt. Fuji simply underscored my own realization that I need to find a suitable comfort zone if I have no choice but to remain for another 20 or more years as a stranger in a strange land.

The contrast of her Japanese friends' hidden emotions versus an outpouring of compassion during times of grief was also both touching and revealing. When Davidson and her husband, Ted, ended up faking their way through a family funeral ritual after being mistaken as relatives, I thought the response of their friend was particularly poignant:

Ichiro shook Ted's hand again, in both of his. "My friends," he joked seriously, his eyes glistening, "anyone willing to embarrass themselves for a friend is a friend forever."

There were times that I found Davidson's reflections on her distressing childhood somewhat annoying, but they're part of the point. She was in Japan for good reason, to escape her past and to reveal the needs and desires on which she should focus in order to set herself on a comfortable path in the future. Most travel memoirs similarly apply lessons learned while traveling to the author's life, but Davidson was probably unusual in that she immersed herself so fully in the Japanese lifestyle that she was torn between her desire to become Japanese (which could never really occur, given her distinctive appearance) and her need for something more than Japan could ever offer her as a permanent foreigner.

In general, the book was captivating. I'd really love to get my hands on a copy of Hokusai's illustrations, and am eager to read more. Bruce Feiler's Learning to Bow will be moved up a few notches on my avalanche-prone TBR piles, thanks to this enlightening read.

4/5

Wahoo! Wednesday

I know you've all been dying to get your weekly wahoo fix, right? Of course you have.

My 5 Reasons to Say "Wahoo!" Today:

1. My Little Fishy - William placed 6th overall in the 100-meter Freestyle event (and got his name in the paper) on Saturday.

2. Sunset - This is a sunset on the Mississippi River (see the tiny barge?). I love the colors of sunset.

3. Goofy-looking animals that make me smile.


4. Hugh in blue. He can't help but be a frequent Wahoo!5. Total weirdness . Ask me if I'm willing to admit which of the people in this photo happens to be one of my children. Go ahead, ask. Okay, you don't have to (and I reserve the right not to answer if you do).





Coming up soon:

A review of 36 Views of Mt. Fuji - Yes! I've finally finished!!

A massive phone bill - I've been online a bit too long, tonight (and we have dial-up, yuck).

My first official meme!! - I've been tagged by Lotus - yippee, such fun!

Happy Wednesday!!!

Monday Malarkey

Things that are on my mind, today:

1. The general suckiness of trying to go off Ambien. I need sleep. Lots of sleep.

2. What exactly Hugh meant when he said, "A woman in boots knows her own mind, and that's appealing." Did he mean a woman who is willing to throw on the ugly Wellies and slog in the garden is appealing? Or was he referring to the kind of woman who will endure the pain of 3" suede heels just to look good in that long, swingy skirt? Could it be that he means a woman in jeans and cowboy boots has a mind of her own or that a woman willing to don ugly snow boots to keep from breaking her neck is worth investigating?

These things concern me. Of course, I love boots when it's cold (that last week of January and the first week of February, of course) but there's such a narrow window of opportunity for boot-wearing in this region that I'm greatly disturbed. I wonder what exactly Hugh thinks of a woman in beaded flip-flops.

3. Why does the word "boots" bring up some really bad links when one does a Google search for images of them?

4. Am I spelling "malarkey" correctly? Does it really matter?

5. Did I do a lousy job of imparting the fact that I still actually enjoyed the book Haunted, in spite of its flaws? For the record: I did enjoy Haunted despite the low rating. The novel was actually quite entertaining and a quick, fun read (if a bit flawed, plot-wise). My review probably veered strongly toward the negative because I think the writing style would also annoy many of the bloggers who drop by regularly (and it was one I think I might have ditched in different circumstances - I found no quotes worth marking, other than one really bad one). But, I still thought it was interesting and unique. Allow me to go find a bigger shovel to dig myself a hole with.

6. What possible purpose could God have for sticking me in a hot climate where I'm allergic to everything? Am I missing something, here?

Things I'm still reading, as of this evening:

36 Views of Mt. Fuji (getting close to the end) by Cathy N. Davidson
An Obsession With Butterflies by Sharman Apt Russell
A Long Fatal Love Chase by Louisa May Alcott (not far into this one, yet)
The Messies Manual by Sandra Felton

Very tired and foolish Bookfool in need of a Vacation

Haunted by Heather Graham

Get a load of this sentence:

The wooden evidence box, filled with dirt and bones, had been left in one of the viewing rooms, where one of Matt's men would have picked it up from to drive it on in to Digger at the Museum.

Oh. My. Gosh. That has got to be one of the most bizarre, convoluted and just plain awful sentences I've ever seen in a published novel. I had to reread four times before finally untangling what Graham was trying to say in that pronoun-laden disaster of a sentence. However, I'm not here to pick on a poor, bestselling novelist (regardless of how enticing the idea may be).

In the novel Haunted, paranormal investigator Darcy Tremayne arrives at historic Melody House and moves into the haunted "Lee Room" to investigate a malevolent ghost that has attacked two women. Is there really a ghost haunting the Virginia estate that sheriff Matt Stone inherited from his grandfather? Or is a living human indulging in some serious pranks?

Well, shucks, I had to find out. While the writing was awkward, at best, and upon reflection I could tear the plot to pieces, I have to give the author credit for sucking me in. Suspense alone can keep an author selling; and, Graham did dangle the suspense carrot nicely in front of this donkey's face. I'm not certain I would have continued to read, however, if not for two little factors that tugged me toward the ending: I was reading along with friends and I wanted another check mark toward my R.I.P. Challenge tally.

After Daphne du Maurier's stylistic brilliance, a lot of pretty decent books would have likely paled by comparison, I must admit. Graham's writing is anything but brilliant, however, she must get at least a couple of points for entertainment value. Even though, technically, the book was kind of a clunker and I was relieved to reach the end.

2.5/5

Chalk another line on the challenge wall. I haven't started a fourth creepy book because we've been a little overwhelmed this weekend, thus far. But, I'm still hacking away at An Obsession With Butterflies and 36 Views of Mt. Fuji. I've also begun reading a book about organizing called The Messies Manual and dipped into an anthology by P. G. Wodehouse, Lord Emsworth and Others. Hopefully, someday I'll actually finish one of those books. But, for now, I think I'll get some sleep.

Happy Weekend!

Thursday Thirteen

I enjoyed the Thursday Thirteen from Lesley's Book Nook so much, last week, that I'm going to do a version of her Top Shelf books: books that have been autographed by the authors and what, if anything, the inscriptions say. I'm not sure I have thirteen, but we'll see. Mine are scattered rather than set aside on a particular shelf, so it took some time to gather them. I've bought some autographed books without attending signings and I can't find the romances - I have no idea where I set them aside - so there are only a couple from romance writers' conferences, although I used to attend them yearly.


1. Blind Sided: Homicide When it is Least Expected by
Gregory K. Moffatt, PhD. Greg has been a good friend of mine since I met him as his student in an online class. This was his first book. Inscription:

Nancy:
My friend - I've so enjoyed our friendship. I wish you well in all your many pursuits and I hope you enjoy my book.
Greg


2. A Violent Heart: Understanding Aggressive Individuals by Gregory K. Moffatt, PhD. Greg's second book. He's a psychologist, by the way. Inscription:

Nancy,
Hope you enjoy my new book. You inspire me and your friendship has always been a blessing.
Greg
P.S. You are "N.H." on p. XI

The "N.H." was the first time I've been in anybody's acknowledgments. Very cool experience and I was stunned. Incidentally, I wrote this in my replacement entry when I thought the gremlins got the first . . . weird posting day . . . but I have to add that I loaned this book to my doctor and he quipped, "I hate violence; it makes me want to hit someone." Hahaha.

3. Wounded Innocents and Fallen Angels: Child Abuse and Child Aggression by Gregory K. Moffatt, PhD. Okay, you've seen his bio and books, so here's his photo. Inscription:

Nancy:
As always, thank you for your friendship. God bless you and your family.
Greg
8-03


4. No More Bobs by Cynthia Borris

Cindi's another great writer friend and this is her first book. Inscription:

Nancy,
You are the best of friends
Cynthia

Cindi is an upbeat, delightful lady and a terrific writer; I'm anxious for her to finish her second novel.

5. Rainbow's End and other Stories by John M. Floyd

John's first book and it's about time somebody put together a collection of his work. Another friend, this time from a writing group in the Jackson metropolitan area, John is so prolific you could probably wall paper at least 20 houses with his published short stories. I reviewed this book, recently, so check the archives if you're interested. Inscription:

To Nancy -
My good friend and fellow Mississippi writer. Thanks for your support.
John M. Floyd

6. Time Rider by Rickey R. Mallory

Rickey, a friend from Magnolia State Romance Writers (which I really need to rejoin - I let my membership lapse; I miss everyone) is best known as the author of numerous Harlequin Intrigues. Time Rider, however, is a futuristic sci-fi with a touch of romance and it is my absolute favorite of her books. It's loaded with action scenes and Rickey's medical knowledge really shines through. Inscription:

Nancy,
Thanks! Good luck with your writing. I hope you like Time Rider.
Rickey R. Mallory

7. A Wind in the Door by Madeleine L'Engle

My first autographed book. I stood in line to get this one autographed, 9 months pregnant and big as a barn, after listening to Madeleine speak at the Woodland Hills Library (which, I believe, is no more) in Tulsa. She was amazing. Inscription:

For Nancy -
Be a Namer -
Madeleine L'Engle


8. Mr. Perfect by Linda Howard - I got to hear Linda speak at a romance writers' conference, at which she was the key note speaker. I also ran into her in the elevator and she is a genuinely warm, sweet Southern lady. Inscription:

To Nancy
Hope you enjoyed Sam.
Happy Reading. Linda Howard




9. All The Queen's Men by Linda Howard - Another one from the same conference. Here's an interview with Linda. Inscription:

To Nancy
All my very best.
Glad you liked the book! Linda Howard

Linda misunderstood me, actually. It was Mr. Perfect that I'd read and enjoyed. I've yet to read All The Queen's Men, although I plan to, of course.


10. Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr - I think all of my Nevada Barr books are autographed, but none have any kind of interesting inscription. This is one of my favorite titles. I'm pretty certain I met my author friend John Floyd (above) when I sat next to him the *first* time I heard Nevada speak.

At the time I had this one autographed, she had just finished speaking to a crowd of about 30 at Barnes and Noble in Jackson, MS. I'd asked her if she would speak for our small group of beginning writers (a group that a new event coordinator ditched, once hired) at the first event, mentioned above, and she said she'd be glad to. Of course, she ended up speaking to quite a few people because B & N did promote the speaking engagement pretty heavily. Inscription:

To Nancy-
Nevada Barr


11. The Rabbit Factory by Larry Brown - This one pains me so much because I purchased it from Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi (a must-see bookstore - the Square alone is worth the visit to Oxford, also home to Wm. Faulkner and John Grisham) and probably no more than a month later Larry was dead. I had so hoped to hear him speak, one day. I am a big fan of his nonfiction; I don't think anyone surpassed Larry Brown at describing life in MS from the point of view of a typical Mississippian and at sincerely making your heart just swell with love for Mississippi people. It was already autographed so the inscription is just this:

Larry Brown

May he rest in peace. Larry died way too young.



12. Small Town by Lawrence Block - I was on this Larry's mailing list for many years and missed him the first time he came through for a signing. I wrote him and told him I was disappointed to have missed seeing him and he kindly wrote back that he and his wife had a wonderful time in spite of lousy weather. When he came to Lemuria, again, I made a special effort to stand in line. Inscription:

To Nancy - Cheers! Lawrence Block 2-16-03

I must have fallen off his mailing list when my last email address went blooey on me.


13. Basher Five-Two by Captain Scott O'Grady - I read this book when the story was fresh and Capt. O'Grady was still traveling the country to tell his story and inspire youngsters. I absolutely gobbled it up; it was such an exciting, scary, edge-of-the-seat tale of his time behind enemy lines. When a friend of my eldest son went to Washington D.C. for a Boy Scout event at which O'Grady was scheduled to speak, Daniel told him how much I'd enjoyed his book. Daniel's friend said, "I'll see if I can get him to autograph a copy for her." And, he did. He wouldn't even let me pay. Inscription:

God Bless
Scott O'Grady

I did it! I came up with 13 books!!! Thanks for the great idea, Les!!

As it turns out, I have a lot more but I can't find any of my Mallory Kane books and
Suzanne Cox's book (another MSRW writer friend, Suzanne is such an angel that I must mention her) is undoubtedly with the Mallory Kane books because I have a warped sense of organization and have them shelved by category or author, rather than separating the inscribed books and granting them their own shelf, as Les has done.

Happy Thursday!!!

Wahoo! Wednesday

Yes, folks, it's Wahoo Wednesday, again!!! Exciting, yes? Even if it's a little late in the day . . .

Five Reasons to Say Wahoo!, Today:

1. Butterflies - even the kind that won't sit quietly and pose with their wings open. They're miracles. See An Obsession With Butterflies for further info about just how surprising (and kind of disgusting) butterflies are. I've learned that some butterfly species sit with their wings closed, as a general rule, and some with their wings open. This fellow, at left, is "nectaring". Cool. I chased him all over the garden and he was one swift-moving little devil.

2. Miss Lottie - You don't know her unless you live in or around Warren County, Mississippi, but Miss Lottie is the children's librarian here and she is a jewel, one of those rare gentle spirits whose existence make one feel a little happier and lighter. When my children were small, they were noisy and couldn't sit still. Not once did Miss Lottie ever give them a harsh look during story hour. Not once. She is a lovely, lovely human.

3. Music - Like books, we all have our own preferences, of course. Isn't that wonderful, in and of itself? I can only listen to music in brief spurts, now that I have a weird ear condition that occasionally makes me hyperaccusive (sensitive to noise), but I still take joy in the moments that I can pop in a CD and sing my heart out.

4. Hugh Laurie - Especially Hugh Laurie doing a flawless American accent during which his character segues into a typical moment of snarkiness requiring the injection of an Australian accent. The man is so talented, witty, humble, and sexy. And, it's even sexier that he doesn't seem to realize that he is all of those things. The photo is a page from this month's In Style magazine, plunked into a frame and plopped onto my futon. Lots of plunking, plopping and snapping going on, around here.

5. The 70's - both the memories from that decade and the outdoors when the temperature hits that range (which it did today in our area, albeit briefly).

Peace, Joy, Love, and Piles of Books to You

My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

I dried myself as best I could upon my shirt and walked up through the woods, back to the house. The moonlight made a ghostly path for me, and shadows, eerie and fantastic, lurked behind the trees. Where my path divided into two, one taking me to the cedar walk and the other to the new terrace above, I heard a rustle where the trees grew thickest, and suddenly to my nostrils came that rank vixen smell about me in the air, tainting the very leaves under my feet; yet I saw nothing, and all the daffodils, leaning from the banks on either side of me, stayed poised and still, without a breath to stir them.

While not the exact image of the copy I own, this image comes closest to my book's cover as it shows the large estate on the Cornwall coast which served as the setting for My Cousin Rachel.

In My Cousin Rachel, Philip Ashley tells the story of how his guardian and cousin, Ambrose, has come to raise him as a single man and then for three years wintered in Italy at the advice of his doctors when rheumatism sets in. In his 40's and never previously interested in the concept of marriage, Ambrose is captured by his charming cousin, Rachel, when he meets her in Florence. They are quickly married and Ambrose describes their new life glowlingly in his letters home to Philip. As time goes by, though, the letters develop an ominous tone. Ambrose has become very ill and is either paranoid or seeing his wife in a new light. In his final letters, he begs Philip to come rescue him from the Villa Sangaletti, where Rachel lived with her previous husband, who was killed in a duel. He says Rachel, "my torment", has finally done for him.

When Philip finally arrives in Florence, after an arduous journey, he finds that his beloved cousin Ambrose has died and Rachel is gone. Eventually, Rachel turns up in England and from then on the question always hangs in the air, "Is she a poisoner, an evil woman after Ambrose's money and estate or a woman who cared and tells the truth?"

The end stunned me. But, I have to admit it was slow going for a while. I really enjoy du Maurier's writing because it's stylistically beautiful, suspenseful, and suitably spooky. But, I tired of young Philip's stupidity. At 24, coming into his inheritance on his 25th birthday, Philip acted like a spoiled brat. To say much more would, once again, spoil the book for those who haven't read it. And, upon closing the book I had to admit that the ending was just perfect in a way, although it left me with one rather crucial unanswered question (for which I suppose I can decide my own answer). Even though I got annoyed about 2/3 of the way through and peeked at the ending (something I almost never do, unless I'm concerned that the ending will be hugely disappointing) and therefore knew what was to come, I didn't know why or how. So, it still surprised me.

Still not my favorite du Maurier, though. I've read Rebecca, Jamaica Inn, Frenchman's Creek, and The Scapegoat prior to digging into this title. Of those, Rebecca and Frenchman's Creek were my favorites, Jamaica Inn and My Cousin Rachel probably next, and I felt very let-down by The Scapegoat. But, still, I stayed up late reading. So, heck, I guess it was pretty good, eh?

4/5

Scratch two off my R.I.P. challenge list!

Still reading: 36 Views of Mt. Fuji
Started: An Obsession with Butterflies by Sharman Apt Russell
Up Next: Haunted by Heather Graham

Girlfriend in a Coma by Douglas Coupland

On New Year's Eve, 1992, the five of us were sitting in Linus's underheated igloo of a kitchen around a Formica table playing a lazy poker game, trying to make each other feel noble about the fact that our lives had the collective aura of a fumbled lateral pass.
Rain was pelting the windows; we were using candles, not electric light.

" . . . nobody even has hobbies, these days. Not that I can see. Husbands and wives both work. Kids are farmed out to schools and video games. Nobody seems to be able to endure simply being by themselves, either--but at the same time they're isolated. People work much more, only to go home and surf the Internet and send e-mail rather than calling or writing a note or visiting each other."

"It's like those cartoons of guys with long beards holding a sign on a street corner saying THE END IS NEAR; there's always a little part of you that wonders, what if?"

His mind races: Think about all those crazy people you see on the streets. Maybe they aren't crazy at all. Maybe they've seen what we've seen--maybe those people are us.


*Warning* - Possible Spoiler (I'm not sure, but don't say I didn't warn you, if you plan to read any time soon).

This is going to be an awfully difficult book to describe (it definitely "drips with atmosphere", as per Carl V.'s requirements), but I’ll try my best. Girlfriend in a Coma begins with narration by the ghost of a fellow named Jared, a high school football star who died rapidly of leukemia, leaving his friends shocked and bereft. He describes the moon-barren world of the future.

The story then switches to that of two of his friends, Richard and Karen. After skiing, they return to Vancouver to attend a party. Karen has been starving herself and taking Valium to slim down for a trip to Hawaii. With two Valiums in her system, she has a couple of weak drinks and then slips into a coma. Richard opens a note she has left him, in which she describes strange visions that she’s had of the future, leaving the impression that the world is going to be so horrible that she prefers to sleep rather than face the disaster that will end the world as she knows it.

It’s 1979 when Karen goes into the coma and she stays asleep with no hint of higher brain function for 17 years, her body wasting away. As Karen sleeps, her friends drift off into the adult world but without ever really growing up. Each is empty in his or her own way. When Karen awakens in 1997 and finds out how long she’s been in a coma, she’s shocked by the hollowness of the lives her friends lead, the fact that people no longer have hobbies but plug their selves and their children into electronics for entertainment. She wonders where the fun has gone and why she is the only one to see what the world lacks. Then, she predicts that the world will end . . . and it does.

To say much more would give away a bit too much of the plot, I’m afraid. But, the book is not just apocalyptic. Instead, it ends up being a kind of combination of It’s a Wonderful Life and Pay It Forward, in that Coupland takes a possibility, shows it to a handful of people, drops in a ghost to guide them, and then tells them how they can change the world in a positive way.

The oddest thing about this book, to me, was that I found it so much more plausible than Pay It Forward. A book with a ghost, a world where all but a few people die, several people have visions that come true, and a woman goes into a coma out of fear but comes out of it 17 years later . . . all that certainly does not seem plausible when you look at it purely from a plot perspective.

I’m guessing the differences are that Pay It Forward was just a little too simplistic and unsurprising for me - there is certainly no way you can call Girlfriend in a Coma bland - and that I have personally had visions which then showed up as headlines (see yesterday's Friday Freakiness post for more). That doesn’t make the book or the real-life visions any less freaky; but, it made the story more palatable to me for some reason.

Besides being a nicely creepy book (for R.I.P. read #1), zipping into my Top 5 Reads for 2006, and simply ending up an entertaining read, Girlfriend in a Coma gave me the impression that I'd been kicked in the forehead by a higher power. "So, you don't think a handful of people can change the world, BookFOOOOL?" Ummm, okay. I get it.

This was my first Douglas Coupland novel, incidentally. I stalled on Generation X, but am guessing it just wasn't the right moment for that title. I'm a very fickle reader, at the best of times. We shall see.

5/5 for Girlfriend in a Coma. Loved it.

Now reading:

36 Views of Mt. Fuji by Cathy N. Davidson
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier