Bookfoolery

Monday, November 21, 2011

Remembering You by Tricia Goyer - review and giveaway/chat links

Remembering You by Tricia Goyer

Guideposts - Fiction/Christian

310 pages

I'm going back to an old format I used to use regularly, for this particular review. Who knows. I might just stick with it for a while.

What led you to pick up this book? Remembering You was advertised as a tour book and I was chosen to review it (by Litfuse Publicity Group -- not sure how they choose, but generally you don't get to sign up for two tours in a row). The WWII battle site setting and the author were the two things that caught my interest. I've been curious about Tricia Goyer's writing for a while. To be honest, they caught me at a weak moment. I'm still not accepting books for review. Allegedly.

Summarize the plot but don't give away the ending. When television producer Ava Ellington's grandfather Jack asks her to accompany him on a trip to Europe to the sites of the battles he fought during WWII, she agrees. She decides to turn it into a working trip, bringing her camera and her curiosity along with her. Grandpa Jack and Ava meet up with his long-time best friend from the service, Paul, and Paul's grandson Dennis. Dennis and Ava have a history but their time together ended badly. During their travels, Ava discovers that Grandpa Jack has a secret that she feels compelled to uncover at risk of infuriating all of her travelling companions. Will Grandpa Jack reveal his painful war secret or will Ava end up creating a lasting rift between them? Can Ava and Dennis forget the past and begin again?

What did you like most about the book? The setting(s) from Paris, France through Belgium and Germany to Austria and the WWII history upon which Grandpa Jack's story was based. I thought it was pretty plain that the author had done her research.

What did you dislike about the book? I thought the plotting was a bit transparent and found it difficult to buy into the storyline fully. Had it not been a tour book and a quick read (sadly, I will often finish a book that flows, whether or not I'm fully enjoying it), I might not have finished the book. While it is a Christian novel, I didn't find the Christianity aspect overwhelming or preachy, but it did feel a bit like it was thrown in rather than . . . I don't know, organic? It just seemed a little awkward to me, although not nearly as awkward as the romance and the cheesy conflict.

What did you think of the main character? Ava was pretty annoying. She gradually seemed to soften a bit but my main problem with her was that I just didn't believe in her as a character. I was never able to fully set aside the feeling that I was reading a novel and get swept into the story.

Thoughts about the plot? Not to beat a dead horse, but I just thought the conflict was too forced and some of the plot elements too convenient. However, Remembering You does have a nice grounding in reality as far as the war dimension goes. I know my father felt very strongly about the years he spent in the service and was deeply connected to his war buddies. They often travelled great distances to meet up with each other and it's not uncommon for people to hold reunions at the sites where their war experiences took place. So the setting felt realistic, if not the story itself. I could also certainly buy into the conflicting emotions of an old man returning to a site of terrible tragedy.

In general: A very light, Christian read with a solid basis in history. Generally disappointing but not enough to convince me I should avoid the author's other books. In fact, I just discovered I have another WWII novel by Tricia Goyer tucked away on a bookshelf I haven't drawn from in some time. I will definitely read it. She is a highly admired Christian author and while this book didn't work for me, the fluidity of her writing is excellent and her research strong. Remembering You also has the benefit of being a clean story - no swearing, violence or sexuality.

3.5/5 stars for cleanliness, appearance of historical accuracy (I didn't look up any details, but Goyer is known for her research and I found historical references believable) and above-average flow.

The following is slightly altered from the press info about a Kindle Touch giveaway that was sent to me. I had a little difficulty opening the attachments, so you may see this content in a different format, elsewhere.

Tricia Goyer is celebrating the release of her novel, Remembering You, with a Kindle Touch giveaway for you and the friend of your choice. Then on 11/29 she'll be wrapping up the release of Remembering You with a Book Chat Party. During the first half of the party Tricia will be chatting, sharing a sneak peek of her next book, and giving away a ton of great stuff. Then she'll head over to her website for a live chat. Readers will be able to chat with Tricia via video or text.

Don't miss your chance to win a Kindle touch for yourself and to remember a friend this holiday season with a Kindle touch for them, as well!

Read what other reviewers are saying here.

You can find additional sweepstakes info and enter, here.

I haven't got the foggiest idea how to add all the little icons that are posted elsewhere, so I'm going to direct you to another site to click through to Facebook and Twitter. Obviously, I need to brush up on some technical bloggy things. I used to know how to add HTML to images but I've forgotten how and, as I said, I had difficulty opening the attachments from the publicist. Serves me right for waiting till the last minute.

In other news:

I'm slumpy, again. I'm starting to worry about my brain. Did I not feed it well enough in its younger years? Does it need more coffee to combat its natural attention deficit? I've been trying to go with the flow (watching Season 1 of White Collar . . . at least I'm entertained), but when you're a book lover living in a house that looks like a library with bedding and a kitchen thrown in, it's really distressing when your desire to read abandons you. I'm enjoying everything I'm reading. I just don't feel like reading very often. Horrors.

I hope to enter recovery, soon. Maybe a little turkey will help.

©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.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Fiona Friday - Stretch-Paw Izzy

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Mini reviews - Don't Look Now, How to Be an American Housewife and The Education of a British-Protected Child

I've got such a backlog of books to review that I'm going to do a few minis to make it a bit easier to get caught up. All of the following are from my personal library.

Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier is a collection of 5 of du Maurier's creepy short stories, most of which I would guess are closer to novella length. My copy was printed in 1971, when Dame du Maurier was apparently still churning out bestsellers, the copyright date: 1966.

The title story, "Don't Look Now" is my favorite. It begins in a Venice cafe, where a grief-stricken couple, John and Laura, have traveled to try to lift Laura's spirits. While playing a silly game, imagining things about people nearby, they meet two older women. One of the women makes a dire prediction and accurately describes their deceased child, whom she claims to have seen happily sitting at the table with her parents. But, she is blind. After the old woman warns them something is going to happen and says John should leave Venice soon, their vacation takes a frightening turn. Is the blind lady truly psychic? What is the meaning of her warning to John?

"Don't Look Now" is one of those stories that is just predictable enough to make you want to say aloud, "No! Don't go down that alley!" But, it's still surprising enough to satisfy. The remaining 4 stories are a little less fulfilling. "The Breakthrough" tells the story of an engineer who gets tangled up in a frightening experiment. "A Border-Line Case" is the story of a woman who tries to fulfill her father's dying wish but ends up in a frightening situation that leads to a revelation she probably was best off not knowing. And, "The Way of the Cross" is about entanglements and intrigue on a group tour to Israel.

"Not After Midnight" was really the only other story that fully captured me -- enough so that after finishing the story I went on a search for someone to chat with about it. I'm not certain I understood the ending (I didn't find anyone to discuss it with, so if you have the book on hand and want to chat with me, I'll happily reread it). "Not After Midnight" is about an art teacher who becomes intrigued by the odd behavior of an American couple while on a painting holiday in Greece and finds himself falling into the same traps as a man whose curiosity led to his death, the year before.

While only 2 of the 5 stories really thrilled me, I still recommend Don't Look Now. Du Maurier's writing is always vivid and atmospheric; the collection is worth checking out, if only for the title story and would have made an excellent read for the RIP Challenge if I'd ever bothered to sign up. In the fall, I always feel compelled to read something spooky, signed up or not.

How to Be an American Housewife by Margaret Dilloway tells the story of Shoko, an ailing Japanese woman who married an American soldier just after WWII. Her damaged heart may not hold out much longer; and, she longs to return to her home country to reunite with her estranged brother before she dies. After her doctor forbids her to travel, she takes a dramatic turn for the worse. So, she asks her daughter to go to Japan in her place.

Divorced mother Sue agrees to travel in Shoko's stead and takes her daughter along on the journey. In Japan, Sue becomes privy to family secrets and helps to heal the wounds Shoko and her brother have carried with them for decades.

How to Be an American Housewife is told in two parts, the first part from Shoko's point of view and the latter from Sue's. The change of perspective was a little jarring, at first, because I'd grown to love Shoko and the author did an excellent job of giving the two women distinctive voices. Her skill at making the characters distinctive made the transition difficult, in other words. By the mid-point, I also found that I was predisposed to dislike Sue because Shoko doesn't understand her. It doesn't take long to see events described by Shoko from Sue's perspective and to like her, as well.

I loved this story for many reasons. First and foremost, the storyline drew me in and the pages flew. But, apart from that, I loved stepping into Shoko's shoes and seeing what it's like to move to a spouse's home country and leave your own behind. I also liked reading the WWII scenes and some of them were so genuine that I was not surprised to find out they really happened. Highly recommended!

The Education of a British-Protected Child by Chinua Achebe is a book that Amy of Amy Reads talked me into buying when we met up at my local Borders as it was in its dying days. It wasn't a hard sell. I'm always fascinated by Amy's choices but they're far removed from my own, so I was excited to have her point out a book she particularly enjoyed.

The Education of a British-Protected Child is a collection of essays that mainly focus on education, the Nigerian experience (war, politics, imperialism), slavery and other topics important to Achebe, Nigerians and blacks in general. Although it's one of the most post-it filled books I've read, this year, when I first sat down to write about the book I was so overwhelmed by all the passages worth quoting that I think I'm best off just saying that it's worth the time.

Achebe has a unique perspective in being a highly-educated African who has experienced imperialism from the side of the natives, excellent education in an impoverished nation, a wide variety of experiences in other countries (teaching, travel, even more schooling) and war on his own turf. I learned a great deal from this book and felt like my own beliefs were challenged a bit. At times, I disagreed with Achebe, sometimes I was enlightened and in general I was quite simply in awe of him. I may share some quotes in a future post.

My Face-to-Face book group meets to discuss Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter, tonight! I can't wait! Happy Wednesday to all!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Monday Malarkey - reading and otherwise

This post has been brought to you by a particularly beautiful autumn in Mississippi:

I'm going to do my best to hack away at that backlog of unwritten reviews, this week, but for now . . . an update on life and books, starting with books.

I finished 3 books, last week (links lead to Amazon, although I am not an associate):

Remembering You by Tricia Goyer - A Christian novel about a woman who travels to Europe with her grandfather, his best friend and his best friend's grandson to retrace the older fellows' path in WWII. This is a tour book and will be reviewed soon.

Flight to Heaven by Capt. Dale Black - An e-book, also Christian but non-fiction about a man who was the only survivor of a plane crash at the age of 19, in 1969. A pretty exciting read by a very impressive guy. I didn't mean to read Flight to Heaven, but I actually hit the wrong book image, started reading and, by the time I figured out I'd opened the wrong book (about a paragraph in) couldn't bear to switch back to the book I'd intended to read.

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin - A novel I likely would have avoided because of the "mystery" aspect if not for my book group, but thank goodness I didn't. My F2F book club meets this week to discuss the book. I can't wait! It is definitely deserving of the awards and praise it's received.

I've recently received two books in the mail:

Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire came unsolicited from HarperCollins. Since I haven't read Wicked or any of the other books in the series but my son's girlfriend has read them all, I handed it to her and asked if she'd be willing to write a guest review. She said, "Yes, but it might take me a while." She's a busy college student, so her response was expected. I'm hoping she'll find the time to read it over Thanksgiving break. She's going to loan me her copy of Wicked so that I can eventually review Out of Oz, as well.

Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast by Bill Richardson - from Paperback Swap. I have no earthly idea where I read about this book, but it has a badge saying it won "The Stephen Leacock Award for Humour," which seems like a very positive sign.

And, now the bad news, which isn't really all that bad:

Nano went splat. Actually, I'm not surprised that I simply let go of my Nano writing because I'm still a little off on my wake-sleep schedule and knew it would be a stretch to keep up the kind of dedication you need to write a novel in a single month after a big trip. I'm not even disappointed. Writing for a couple weeks has nicely reawakened my desire to write fiction, so I'm going to continue to do so -- just not the book I started writing on the 1st of November. It was fun but turned out to be a book about . . . nothing. It was so seriously lacking in plot that I decided it wasn't worth my time to continue.

I love NaNoWriMo and believe it is an excellent event, a positive activity to join in on, a great way to give people that little nudge they need to at least try (if writing is something they've only talked about), to start over (if you've written in the past and let your skills lapse) or to shove yourself through a novel (if you're already a success and just love the challenge). My wishes for success to those who are still participating.

In everyday life:

Still pretty out there, still taking lots of pictures. But, we had a gusty day and we're on the downhill side of our fall color. Some trees are close to being totally bare. We've enjoyed taking drives to enjoy the color while it lasted. Winter is pleasant in Mississippi and we're really enjoying the unusually brisk autumn air (well, we were -- it's supposed to get nearly to 80, today). It's not winter, yet, but this shot looks a bit wintery, doesn't it?

Friday, November 11, 2011

Fiona Friday - Space Ace Has Landed

This is the only photo I've managed to take of Fiona, since we returned from vacation. She must have been spaced out, since she almost never sticks around when the camera comes out. Izzy, on the other hand, has posed so many times that I will probably insert an Isabel photo or two into coming posts.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Yes, I know I am being a bad, bad blogger . . .

. . . but I have several excellent excuses.

NaNoing, for example. So far, life seems to be occasionally getting in the way of the novel writing (you know, sleeping -- my current Life Focus -- and working out, appointments and errands and bill-paying, etc.) but I've completed about 20% of my 50,000 required words and it's been ridiculously, stinking fun. My hero was dreadful in that, "Good grief, he has absolutely no flaws . . . I think I'm going to heave," way. So, I turned the first 8,000 words into a dream sequence and now I'm being just flat mean to my characters. It's such a hoot. Where else can you have that kind of fun without actually hurting anyone?

I've also been driving around town, snapping photos of fall color. We knew a storm was coming after Oklahoma's freaky weekend "Quakenado" (first the quake, then the tornado -- I didn't come up with that cute coined word, unfortunately) because Oklahoma's messes tend to land in our yard, so I rushed out to capture as much as possible. We are having an unusually beautiful fall, probably thanks to several unseasonably early and sharp cold snaps.

We did lose quite a bit of foliage in the storm, but not enough to end the beauty completely, so I'm still at it. Today, I took some pics in the Big City because I had to go there anyway, so I figured I might as well drag the camera along and look for more photo-opportunities.

And another thing! I've been playing with my cats. They are very demanding, but how could you possibly turn down a face like this one?

Impossible. Incidentally, Isabel's perched on top of our entertainment center in the photo above; and, shortly after I snapped that picture and several others, she rolled off. Poor Izzy is really bad with heights. I worry about that girl. Fortunately, I had a bin full of clothing to break her fall. It sometimes pays to be a lousy housekeeper.

I've been trying to sort through my million squillion photos of Japan, but to be honest I'm just intimidated. Between the two of us (Huzzybuns and I), I'm pretty sure we took about 2,500 photos. There's a lot of tossing-out to do -- neither of us is brilliant at photography, I'm afraid -- but plenty of decent photos will remain and there's much to tell. I've set up a travelogue blog, but at this point in time I'm keeping it private. I'll sprinkle photos into this blog, now and then. Never fear.

Yes, we rode the bullet train!!! Did you know it's actually easier to eat salad with chopsticks than with a fork, once you get the hang of eating with them? I learned a lot in Japan. Also, if you're going to order spaghetti at a Japanese Italian restaurant, for heavens sake don't order the kind with tomato sauce. White cream sauce is good.

I do everything I can to keep you informed. Gotta go. We'll talk books later, 'kay?

Monday, November 07, 2011

Well . . . that was what I call a break

I'll update my sidebar in a bit, but I just wanted to drop in to say, "Hello! I'm alive!" I'm still going to be on limited-blogging status for as long as it takes to get my house in order and all that fun stuff (that could be eons) but I'm at least back to reading.

While I was away, I hardly read a thing -- literally, did not finish a book for almost 3 weeks. It was distressing. But, on the other hand, I had good reason in that for a good portion of the time I've been gone I was losing my mind over packing all the proper things and then for much of the rest I was hanging out here:

Huzzybuns and I went to Japan! We got to hang out with the charming Nat of In Spring it is the Dawn (and her delightful husband, H., the one day he was available). And, then we came home and one of us basically slept for a week. Can I just say Nat is (besides an excellent guide and lovely lady) a person with great stamina?

We had such fun. We ate a lot of terrific food. This is one of my favorite dishes. Anyone care to hazard a guess? Eel soup! Seriously, I love eel.

Anyway, we had a blast and now it's back to cleaning, purging and National Novel Writing Month. Unfortunately, I started out NaNoWriMo with a bang and then . . . you know . . . basically slept for a week. So, I was ahead but now if I continue at my current rate, NaNo is telling me I'll finish my novel by Christmas. Haha. I love it. I plan to get back on the proverbial horse, today.

The one book I managed to finish whilst on break was Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister by Liz Kessler, a Kindle freebie that I chose because it was easy reading and I was dead on my feet. We had pretty full days in Japan. I didn't finish it till a couple days after we returned.

However, today I just finished my second book since my arrival home: Remembering You by Tricia Goyer. And, I'm back to reading Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin ("back," although I did manage to read a handful of pages while we were in Kyoto) and Emory's Gift by W. Bruce Cameron (which I'd barely begun before we left, so I restarted the book -- and am currently on page 71). I'm also reading The Wind is My Mother by Bear Heart and enjoying it immensely. TWiMM is a book by a "Native American shaman" from Oklahoma and, at one point, I had to set it aside briefly to let myself wallow in homesickness. But, I got over myself and actually used one of his healing techniques to make my husband's achy shoulder feel better when it was keeping him awake.

So . . . that's everything I'm currently reading. I'll get back to Drama by John Lithgow soon, as well. Drama is a very enjoyable read by a stunningly down-to-earth actor. I think you'll like it if you're a fan of memoirs by the famous (I am normally not, but I have another one on the stacks, here, and I have a poetry book by Lithgow that I've only partially read -- enough that I already knew he was a decent writer and pretty much lacking in the usual arrogance, by the point at which Drama was offered to me).

My bottom-line assessment of Japan: Totally freaking awesome.

Would I go again? I would not have left, if there'd been an option to stay.

The People: Love 'em. So polite. You pick up on the bowing thing pretty quickly, but I only learned how to say, "I'm sorry" or "Excuse me" (kind of a general-purpose word, I think: "sumimasen") so I would definitely purchase a phrase book before returning.

Did I miss reading? Oh, yes. It was horrible not feeling like reading, but I just had no interest in reading at all! Weird.

And, yet, I managed to get zen for a time . . .

I missed my kitties but they were well cared-for by my son's lovely girlfriend, so we returned to relative calm in spite of our lengthy absence.

Since I'm working on writing a hasty novel, I can't say how often I'll check in during the month of November, but I'll be back whenever I can squeeze in the time.

What did I miss in Blogland, while I was away? Anything marvelous? Any flaming controversy? I hope you had a great time, too! Read anything wonderful?

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Blogging Break

Cropped from this source

Lives by Lucas Hunt

Lives by Lucas Hunt

Vagabond Press - Poetry

93 pages

It takes a nation bent on home repair

and self improvement to destroy

abusive tyranny.

--from "The Close Followers" in Lives by Lucas Hunt, p. 41

Sometimes I wonder if this is the local insane asylum

for the squirrel kingdom,

Their version of a hospital for the psychotic.

Then I observed others in the neighborhood

And traveled to different towns, to the countryside

In hopes of spotting one stable squirrel, yet saw none.

To the contrary, my studies find these cute little animals

mentally abnormal,

To be clear--they revel in perilous situations.

--from "The Business of Squirrels" in Lives by Lucas Hunt, p. 52

I ordered a copy of Lives after Simon Van Booy recommended that his followers follow Lucas Hunt on either Twitter or Facebook -- I can't recall which. Hunt has a newer book out, Light on the Concrete, but I was unable to locate a copy (I'm pretty sure it hadn't been released, yet), so I just grabbed what I could find in order to get a taste of his writing. Simon told me he and Lucas have been friends for 17 years.

The description, copied from Paperback Swap:

Lives is a rich and lyrical collection of poems - both a passionate and occasionally ironical account of life in a modern world of infinite possibility. Here is the full spectrum of the varied colors of human experience from the pleasantly erotic to the disturbingly violent. The poet breaks from contemporary forms of expression to confront reality and the beyond, and to communicate powerful truths about eternal situations. Filled with vivid (and visceral) imagery of work, love, dreams, and death, these poems celebrate the phenomenal aspects of life while acknowledging the futility of our continual search for meaning. The need for ritual, reason, and intoxication all serve as (black) comic relief from the all too common experience of tragedy. Hear this invocation from one of the new poets of our age: Of origins beyond explanation, ruled by laws unknown, Come spirit of poetry, muse, sing us something new!

Actually, I didn't find the poetry in Lives at all lyrical. But, Lucas Hunt's poetry is definitely passionate, full of imagery, and unique. I think the book is very aptly titled. Lives crosses a broad spectrum; Hunt observes life, people, animals. I mentioned in a past post that I've watched a video of Hunt reading his poetry and he comes across as charming and funny. His writing might lead you to believe otherwise, at least in this book, as it can be a little dark. But, sometimes it is definitely ironic or humorous.

The bottom line:

Not a favorite book of poetry, but I still enjoyed reading Lives and came out of the reading with a few favorite poems and passages. I hope to eventually read his newer book, Light on the Concrete.

Demian by Hesse and The Book Borrower by Makkai

Because I feel like I have very little to say about either of these books, I've decided to lump them together in one post.

Demian by Hermann Hesse is a book I plucked off my shelves when someone on Twitter mentioned a German Lit discussion. Unfortunately, I didn't bother to "favorite" that comment and never saw another tweet about a discussion, but that doesn't matter. At the time, I was having trouble settling on a book to read. I wandered to my shelves to look for the book the twitterer mentioned, Homo Faber by Max Frisch, but wasn't able to locate it (I've since found my copy). Demian was on the shelves, though, and when I sat down to read a few pages, it grabbed me.

Demian is a very internal book. I had to look up notes about it because, to be honest, it's hard to describe. Wikipedia's entry on Demian describes it as a Bildunsroman, a novel focusing on the psychological and moral. Well, that's certainly on target. Max Demian is the name of a friend of the hero, Emil Sinclair, who begins with a story of being bullied and lying to impress a bully and feeling tremendous guilt when his immoral choice causes him to end up in an even worse situation. When Emil meets Demian and Demian somehow drives away the bully, Emil is grateful but also impressed by his maturity and insight. Eventually, he becomes obsessed with Demian's ideas about spirituality. After many years, he slowly settles on his own beliefs.

Here's the plot summary from Wikipedia:

Emil Sinclair is a young boy raised in a bourgeois home, amidst what is described as a Scheinwelt, a play on words that means "world of light" as well as "world of illusion". Emil's entire existence can be summarized as a struggle between two worlds: the show world of illusion (related to the Hindu concept of maya) and the real world, the world of spiritual truth. In the course of the novel, accompanied and prompted by his mysterious classmate 'Max Demian', he detaches from and revolts against the superficial ideals of the world of appearances and eventually awakens into a realization of self.

This is the kind of book I probably really needed a teacher to guide me through, but I liked the prose; I was drawn in and really wanted to know what would become of Emil and his friend, whom he refers to as "Demian". I'm not all that familiar with existentialism and I admit that a good portion of the book eventually became a little frustrating. But, I don't regret reading it. Demian was definitely an unusual read for me and reading it broke me out of my slump. It also made me yearn to go back to school to take some literature classes. I'm glad I read Demian, but it was certainly not a favorite so much as a nice break from the common.

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai is one of my "Goodbye, Borders" purchases. I bought it primarily because of Jill, aka Softdrink's review at Fizzy Thoughts.

In The Borrower, Lucy Hull is a young librarian living in a small Missouri town who works in the children's section of her library and does weekly chapter-book readings. One of her favorite patrons is a 10-year-old boy named Ian Drake. Ian's parents are hyper-religious, the kind who don't allow their children to read Harry Potter . . . the banning kind, I suppose. Ian likes to read everything and Lucy is happy to check out books she knows his mother won't approve of and quietly smuggle them to Ian.

Lucy's not particularly happy at her job, but she's got a bad case of inertia. When Ian spends the night in the library and she finds him in the morning, Lucy tries to take him home. But, she doesn't have a phone number or address for Ian's parents and he's not the slightest bit interested in sharing that information. Instead, he tries to direct her to his grandmother's home. Even though Lucy suspects the grandmother is fictional, she goes along with him and ends up inadvertently driving him across the state line . . . kidnapping him without intent. And, then they just keep on driving and end up spending weeks away from home while his parents and the police are frantically searching for the missing boy.

The idea is far-fetched, but The Borrower starts out very fun because of the light-hearted tone and all the references to books. Unfortunately, the author seems to have had an agenda. Eventually, the book becomes a bit of a diatribe about tolerance and a rather scathing view of Christianity. The author confuses intolerance with Christians, in general. Of course, Ian Drake's parents are the extreme type -- book-banning, homophobic and willing to close their child off from the world, if necessary. But, being a liberal Christian who loves her gay and heterosexual friends equally, I was really put off by the preaching. In the end, I felt like The Borrower was a waste of perfectly good reading time and regretted the purchase, but not only because of the heavy-handed theme. I also grew weary of Lucy's voice. She's cheeky but eventually she becomes tiresome.

The one thing I continued to love about The Borrower was the literary references. And, Ian Drake is a very lovable, spirited character. Lucy's Russian heritage and her father's illicit activities are an important part of the book and pretty entertaining, as well. Unfortunately, there were two things that were supposed to be mysterious during her travels and I figured out both of them long before the end of the book, so they turned out not to be surprising. I don't personally recommend the book.

And, now, you must have a happy picture to offset one iffy and one negative review. Things are blooming like crazy, now that it's cool and lovely in Mississippi. Here's one of my favorite recent photos from our yard, a rosebud:

The onslaught will continue as long as I feel like reviewing, but as always . . . no need to comment on everything, if you're a regular reader!

The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister by Lodding & Beaky

The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister by Linda Ravin Lodding

Illustrated by Suzanne Beaky

Children's Fiction (Ages 4-8)

Flashlight Press

32 pages

The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister is the delightful story of a young girl whose working parents have booked her solid with daily after-school activities. She takes lessons in knitting, tuba, yodeling, sculpture, water ballet and karate. Her parents mean well, although they don't realize Ernestine yearns to just play like her next-door neighbor, Hugo. When her father leaves for work, he says, "Live life to the fullest, Ern!" Her mother says, "Make every moment count, E!" as she heads out to catch the bus.

One day, Ernestine gets a scathingly brilliant idea. She hides her calendar and her nanny's phone, then zips across the street to the park, where she and Nanny happily play. Meanwhile, Ernestine's yodeling instructor informs Mrs. Buckmeister that her daughter has not shown up for her lesson. Mr. & Mrs. Buckmeister go from one class to another, asking if anyone has seen Ernestine and becoming increasingly frazzled. They arrive home exhausted, with a fresh understanding of why Ernestine looks so pale. Then they hear laughter across the street and find their daughter in the park. Ernestine explains what she and her nanny have been up to and asks if she can drop a few of her extra-curricular classes.

"But how will you live life to the fullest without sculpting and swimming?" asked Mr. Buckmeister.

"Right," Mrs. Buckmeister agreed. "And how will you make every moment count without yoga and yodeling?"

"Like this," Ernestine said.

Here, you see an illustration of Ernestine with her arms spread wide, her eyes closed, breathing in the fresh air.

Everyone inhaled. Then they exhaled.

"My, the view is heavenly," said Mrs. Buckmeister.

Ernestine gets her way. Her mother takes up gardening. Her father builds a treehouse. Ernestine still practices karate and plays the tuba, but with her friend Hugo.

And sometimes she just plays.

The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister almost seems geared more to the parents who will read the book to their children than to a small child, at least thematically. It's a meaningful but nicely silly story with cheerful, goofy, colorful illustrations. The author was particularly clever at naming Ernestine's teachers. She takes sculpting from Mr. Lumpkin. Mrs. Goldfisher teaches water ballet. Mrs. Stichem is her knitting instructor. Karate is taught by Grand Master Hi Ya. Nanny O'Dear says "Oh, Dear," quite a bit as she finds Ernestine's calendar of activities complex enough to make the occasional error.

Illustration-wise, I particularly love the fact that the "cast" -- teachers, friends and classmates -- is ethnically mixed. And, Ernestine's two cats add a bit of adorable fun to the depictions of Ernestine's home interior.

The bottom line:

A bright and playfully illustrated, immensely clever story about how living life to the fullest can be accomplished without exhausting oneself by cramming in as many activities as possible. The only thing I did not like about The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister was the occasional sequence within an illustration, showing the characters progressing, say, down a hill. For some reason, I thought that might be a little confusing. I could be wrong. I'm going to ask one of my teacher friends what she thinks, and I'll try to remember to report back on that after my blogging break.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Fiona Friday - Troublesome children

With apologies to those who have already seen this one on Facebook and Twitter:

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Backwards glance - July, August & September Reads

Looking way the heck back, as in 3 months' worth of reads . . . with apologies. I've reviewed all but two of the books I read from July to September, but many of them were included in multiple-mini-review posts. So if you follow the link and find that I reviewed three or four books in the same post, that means there is not a full-length review, elsewhere. In one case, the same book was read twice and therefore both links lead to the same review.

Of the two I have not yet reviewed, one will be reviewed shortly and the other is unpublished (my friend Greg's book, Riding with No Hands).

July

79. The Summer of the Bear - Bella Pollen

80. Avebury Avenues - Esther Smith

81. The Ghost of Greenwich Village - Lorna Graham

82. Everything Beautiful Began After - Simon Van Booy

83. Gone - Michael Grant

84. Face to Face with God - Jim Maxim

85. One Second After - William R. Forstchen

86. Agonizing Love - Michael Barson

87. Amazing and Extraordinary Facts: Great Britain - Stephen Halliday

88. God Gave Us You - Bergren and Bryant

89. The Help - Kathryn Stockett

90. Divergent - Veronica Roth

91. When She Woke - Hilary Jordan

July was not bad for a summer month! Favorites were The Summer of the Bear, Everything Beautiful Began After, The Help and Divergent. I really enjoyed When She Woke, Amazing and Extraordinary Facts: Great Britain and Gone. Avebury Avenues was very informative (but tourist-book length and most interesting to those who have visited or plan to visit Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire, England). Agonizing Love was pretty fun but you can't think about it too hard if you're a feminist or it'll make your head hurt. One Second After was decent in a post-apocalyptic horrifying way, but the characters all sounded alike and that drove me nuts. God Gave Us You is directed at a very narrow crowd. The Ghost of Greenwich Village is probably the one book I regret reading.

August

92. Inside Out - Maria V. Snyder

93. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running - Haruki Murakami

94. Pillow Talk - Freya North

95. 13 Little Blue Envelopes - Maureen Johnson

96. The Last Little Blue Envelope - Maureen Johnson

97. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky - Heidi W. Durrow

98. Still More Stories from Grandma's Attic - Arleta Richardson

99. Treasures from Grandma's Attic - Arleta Richardson

100. Maman's Homesick Pie - Donia Bijan

101. Horoscopes for the Dead - Billy Collins

August was not bad for a month of few books. My two favorites would have to be Horoscopes for the Dead (poetry) and Inside Out (YA) but What I Talk About When I Talk About Running and Maman's Homesick Pie followed close on their favored heels. I always love the Grandma's Attic books and I liked The Girl Who Fell from the Sky. The two Blue Envelope books (both YA) were, I thought, disappointing in spite of the fact that I really like Maureen Johnson's unique turn of phrase. Pillow Talk was really very well written and not deserving of its fluffy pink cover, but the language in a couple portions offended me so greatly that it couldn't possibly end up a favorite. A little cleaned up and it would have been close to the top; the story is much deeper than I expected and Freya North is a very sharp writer.

September

102. Lord & Lady Spy - Shana Galen

103. Juniper Berry - M. P. Kozlowsky

104. The Busy Life of Ernestine Buckmeister

105. The Lost Wife - Alyson Richman

106. The Call - Yannick Murphy

107. The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine - Alina Bronsky

108. The Oracle of Stamboul - Michael David Lukas

109. Riding with No Hands - Gregory K. Moffatt, PhD

110. To the Moon and Back - Jill Mansell

111. The Taste of Salt - Martha Southgate

112. Learning to Bow - Bruce Feiler

113. Haiku Mind - Patricia Donegan

114. Everything Beautiful Began After - Simon Van Booy (reread)

August shocked the heck out of me. Seriously. I thought with all the travel (two weddings and a trip to Boston) I'd get next to nothing read, but instead it turned out to be a solid reading month. Favorites were Everything Beautiful Began After (which I loved even more on the second reading), Learning to Bow, To the Moon and Back, The Oracle of Stamboul, The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine, The Call and The Lost Wife. I'm disappointed with my ridiculously brief review of The Lost Wife. It deserved a better description. There were some minor problems but it was a very good book and I whipped through it, completely engrossed in the story. Haiku Mind (poetry/spirituality) was enjoyable but best taken in small doses and I enjoyed my friend's book, Riding with No Hands, but don't feel like I can say much about it, so . . . it goes in the generic very-good file. I'll review Ernestine Buckmeister, soon. Lord & Lady Spy had some great adventurous moments and I do think it would make a great series if the characters go on to do more spying and less arguing, but it wasn't my favorite book by Shana Galen.

My two disappointments were Juniper Berry and The Taste of Salt. Both started out good and then went downhill.

October has been pretty good, so far, with 6 books finished! I can't seem to keep up with reviewing the way I used to and it's going to get worse for the rest of the month. But, then November should be normal, I hope. How many times have you heard that? Well, I'll do my best to crank out reviews of the books I've read, so far, although they will probably be brief reviews, for the most part. In a few days, I think I'm going to have to go on a blogging break. The cooler weather is motivating us into a cleaning frenzy, here, and I am truly enjoying seeing little spaces open up in my cluttered house. So, I have to keep rolling with it, while the urge lasts. I've even put myself on holiday at Paperback Swap, so that I won't have to spend time wrapping parcels and running to the post office, although I'm going to have to make several runs to the library to get all my donations hauled to the perpetual sale corner. Those bags of books are heavy!

How is your reading month going, so far?

Friday, October 07, 2011

Fiona Friday - Isabel puts herself in storage

Thursday, October 06, 2011

How to Survive the Titanic by Frances Wilson

How to Survive the Titanic or The Sinking of J. Bruce Ismay

by Frances Wilson

Harper - Nonfiction/History

352 pages

How to Survive the Titanic is partly a biography of J. Bruce Ismay --the wealthy former owner of the White Star Line whose reputation was permanently ruined when he left the sinking Titanic -- and partly a fascinating comparison between Ismay's downfall and several works of literature that mimicked his story.

Anyone who has read much of anything about the Titanic will have heard of J. Bruce Ismay, but How to Survive the Titanic goes into greater depth than more general Titanic books. The author delves into Ismay's upbringing, schooling, personality, telegrams sent from the Carpathia, testimony in both the U.S. and U.K. inquiries into the disaster and Ismay's correspondence with a Titanic widow. The author also draws from numerous opinions by literary giants of the time as to Ismay's guilt or innocence and thoughts about whether or not those who stayed behind could be considered "heroic".

As for the language of heroism employed by the halfpenny press, 'There is nothing more heroic in being drowned very much against your will, off a holed, helpless big tank in which you bought your passage than in dying of colic caused by the imperfect salmon in the tin you bought from your grocer'. It would have been finer, Conrad suggests, 'if the band on the Titanic had been quietly saved, instead of being drowned while playing -- whatever tune they were playing, the poor devils'.

from pp. 187-188 of How to Survive the Titanic, Advance Reader Copy (some changes may have been made to the final print version)

I went into the reading of How to Survive the Titanic thinking Ismay deserved a fair shake and came out of it thinking he had a serious case of irresponsible entitlement. The fact that Ismay sent messages using the code name "Yamsi" (Ismay backwards) insisting that a ship should be held so that he and the surviving crew members could immediately return to England whilst he was ensconced in the doctor's cabin on the Carpathia seems damning enough. But then the author carefully brings those messages into question.

I liked the fact that Wilson made me go back to Square One -- Wait just a minute, there, did he really mean to dash away from responsibility? -- and then turns right around and deals out all the vast evidence that Ismay coldly stepped off the boat in full knowledge of how few would be saved from the sinking ship and without bothering to even inform any of the people who worked directly for or with him that the boat was definitely going under. He was not apparently tormented by the disaster and did not accept one iota of responsibility nor was he technically "ruined". Ismay's story is both fascinating and appalling.

Unfortunately, there really wasn't all that much to say about Ismay's post-Titanic life, beyond his testimony, his letters and the raw facts about his retirement and withdrawal to an estate in Ireland. So, the subtitle of the book is a tiny bit misleading. Yet, How to Survive the Titanic is a fascinating addition to the many works about the disaster.

I confess that I got a little tired of the lengthy description of Joseph Conrad's fictional Lord Jim and how closely the downfall of Jim paralleled that of Ismay, but I enjoyed the vast majority of How to Survive the Titanic and definitely recommend it, particularly to those who hold a fascination for the disaster.

The bottom line: An intriguing addition to the many books about the sinking of the Titanic, with focus on one infamous survivor and some interesting literary parallels to his downfall (some of which go on at surprising length). Recommended. There are a few annoying repetitive grammatical errors. Hopefully, changes will have been made to the final copy. I received an uncorrected proof from HarperCollins.

I think I'm going to go back to rating books numerically, at least occasionally. In this case, I'll say 4/5 -- very good; not a book I'd reread but definitely enthralling enough to recommend.

In other reading news:

This past week has not been particularly productive. I've floated from one book to another and put aside too many to even mention, although I'm enjoying The Education of a British-Protected Child by Chinua Achebe. But, yesterday I saw mention of a book that I know I used to own on Twitter in a tweet about German literature and roamed out to the shelf where I kept it for an embarrassing number of years. Apparently, I either moved the book (Homo Faber by Max Frisch) or decided I was never going to read it and donated it. But, I did happen across a different German author and whipped through Demian by Hermann Hesse, last night. While I can't say I really liked it all that much, at least it got me back to reading and I appreciate the sense of completion.

After I finished Demian, I moved on to The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai, which I'm enjoying immensely. Hopefully, that's a sign I've reached the end of my week-long fiction slump.

Recently walked in (in the past few weeks):

Never Been Bit by Lydia Dare - ARC from my friend Melissa

The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma - from Paperback Swap

A Darcy Christmas by Grange, Lathan and Eberhart - from Paperback Swap

Nothing: A Portrait of Insomnia by Blake Butler - from HarperCollins

The World We Found by Thrity Umrigar - from HarperCollins

A Man of Parts by David Lodge - from my friend Sandie

Cat news:

I discovered there's a kitty setting on my new camera! Unfortunately, I don't think it's an improvement over the regular automatic setting, which I overuse because the camera seems to do a better job of focusing than I do, now that I'm old enough to have trouble seeing the focusing screen.

Today, a neighborhood cat waltzed up to our window and sent poor Isabel into a frenzy. She wildly scratched at the woodwork, trying to dig her way outdoors to fight him off. That would be quite an unfair fight. Slim is a big, muscular boy and Isabel is tough but she's a featherweight. Fiona was never bothered by Slim before Isabel arrived in our household; the two would just blink at each other through the window when he dropped by our house. But Slim growls at Izzy, which Fi naturally finds a wee bit upsetting. At any rate, Slim's visit is an excellent reminder of why it's good to keep the cats indoors-only.

Sunday, October 02, 2011

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

Everything Beautiful Began After by Simon Van Booy

Harper Perennial - Fiction

402 pages

Rebecca, George and Henry are wounded souls. Each has come to Athens to live and work. Rebecca is an artist from the French countryside who is still pained by her mother's abandonment. Henry is an archeologist from Wales who remains deeply wounded by a death for which he blames himself. George is an American from Kentucky with a knack for languages and a troubled soul. George falls in love with Rebecca but Rebecca falls in love with Henry. Then, Henry and George meet and discover that they're both in love with the same woman after they become fast friends.

"Ah, a love triangle!" you say to yourself. But, then tragedy strikes and suddenly the book takes a wild turn. No longer a tale of two men in love with the same woman, the story becomes a mad tale of grief for one of the characters, a life-changing revelation for the other. When the two survivors take off in different directions, you follow one of the characters on an unsuccessful attempt to run away from grief, only to find that it's in facing up to the past that one creates a future.

We go back to move forward.

But going back is like returning to a house where everyone moved out long ago; for the only life that dwells within memory is the shallow breath of your misplaced desire.

--from p. 218 of Everything Beautiful Began After

My description of Everything Beautiful Began After is deliberately vague because I think half the joy of reading this book is in the surprises -- the plot twists and the alterations in characters as they deal with tragedy in remarkably different ways. Even the point-of-view changes during one section of the book, so that the reader is temporarily placed in the shoes of a character in the throes of grief so deep as to be pathological.

What I love about Everything Beautiful Began After:

I'm particularly fond of the relationship between Henry and George and the scenes that make it clear that neither man is more deserving of love, even if one is rejected by Rebecca -- that fate is a part of life and intertwined in the stories of the three characters. For example, there's a scene in which George and Rebecca are talking and a kitten is walking around behind the tire of a car in the street. As George and Rebecca part, she looks back and sees George bend over to pick up the kitten and move it away from danger. George is an alcoholic and a bit of a disaster but it's in those small moments that you gather hints of his potential for redemption. He's not totally lost from the world; he's still a caring human being. The way Henry sees this in George is also endearing.

"Why is it so dirty back here?" George said again.

"Ever hear of a Nigerian Hercules Baboon spider?" the professor exclaimed.

"Definitely not," George said.

Henry watched him in the mirror--not with coolness or relief, but with a compassion that extended beyond the moment, as though behind the bruised eyes and the quivering mouth he could sense the presence of a small boy the world had forgotten about.

-- p. 128

There are also a lot of quirky, smile-inducing moments: a comical phone call from Henry to his parents in Wales, a scene in which Henry and George fall asleep and wake up realizing they'd drifted off while enjoying each other's company, that they are like long-lost brothers. The description of the car and office owned by the professor at the archeological dig are also gems, as are the scenes in France when Henry rents a car and makes an error setting the GPS then is stuck with the a GPS speaking to him in a language he can't decipher.

Professor Peterson's office was the most dangerous place on campus. Books piled ten feet high leaned dangerously in various directions. On the tallest tower of books, a note had been hung halfway up:

Please walk VERY slowly or I may fall on you without any warning, whatsoever.

There were three oak desks with long banker's lamps that the professor liked to keep lit, even in his absence. On his main desk were hundreds of Post-it notes, each scribbled with some important detail or addendum to his thoughts. There were also hundreds of pins stuck in a giant map that had been written on with a fountain pen. The ashtrays were full of pipe ash and the room had that deep aroma of knowledge: old paper, dust, coffee, and tobacco.

-- p. 129

What I didn't love about Everything Beautiful Began After:

The prologue is dense with metaphor -- so heavy that it's a little exhausting to read. It takes a while for the fog of metaphor to clear. However, once you get past the first 20 pages or so, the book is much more readable and the further you read, the more compelling and gripping the story becomes. When you reach the end, you'll immediately want to reread the prologue and it will make sense.

I've read Everything Beautiful Began After twice, now, and I felt the same way, both times, although I loved the book even more on the second reading. The first time through, I neglected to mark any passages because I plowed through it so fast, dying to know what would be come of the character who was so paralyzed by grief. On the second reading, I was equally mesmerized but I took the time to mark a few favorite lines.

Here are a few more quotes I like:

The beauty of artifacts is in how they reassure us we're not the first to die.

-- p. 13

"This is the old marketplace," Henry said, "where Zeno came up with a few of his lines."

"I see," Rebecca said. She had no idea who Zeno was, but imagined a masked man with a sword in fishing waders. Then Henry stopped walking and recited something to a slumped dog under a bush.

"Every man has perfect freedom, provided he emancipates himself from mundane desires."

The dog sat up and began to pant.

-- p. 49

"I think he looks lonely," Rebecca said.

"But there are always people on the street below his balcony--"

"That doesn't mean anything," Rebecca interrupted. "Loneliness is like being the only person left alive in the universe, except that everyone else is still here."

-- p. 67

To love again, you must not discard what has happened to you, but take from it the strength you'll need to carry on.

-- p. 372

The bottom line: A beautifully written, surprising story of love and loss, grief and hope. Lovely imagery and setting, likable characters and a believable storyline make Everything Beautiful Began After an excellent read. As in all of Simon Van Booy's writing, there is a startling amount of wisdom and humor (the mice and their poisonous plops -- you have to read it to understand!) and always, always hope, even during the darkest moments. Even better on the second reading and well worth owning.

Other reviews:

Marg's review is wonderful

Wendy's review is equally awesome

On a personal note:

I've already mentioned that Carrie and I got to hang out together in Boston to hear Simon do a reading and answer questions about Everything Beautiful Began After. We also got together with Simon for coffee before his reading. I hadn't seen Simon since I "interviewed" him in 2007 (it was more like a chat than an interview). Someday, I'm going to lure him to Mississippi for a reading and signing, but that hasn't happened, yet!

Simon is one of the most delightful men I've ever met. Carrie and I had a blast chatting with him and enjoyed his reading. He is an exceptional speaker but talking with him one-on-one will make you a fan for life. He is truly a man I highly admire and am honored to call my friend. If you ever get the chance to go to one of his readings, signings or events, you really must. Tell him Bookfool sent you. :)