Bookfoolery

Sunday, March 20, 2011

The Mountains Bow Down by Sibella Giorello

The Mountains Bow Down by Sibella Giorello

Thomas Nelson - Mystery

4th in the Raleigh Harmon series

373 pages

Sibella Giorello's website

I've only read two of the books in the Raleigh Harmon mystery series (apparently, the first book had a different publisher) but I think it's worth mentioning, up front, that the books stand alone well. In the third book, The Clouds Roll Away, Raleigh solved a murder and made a personal decision that she's now questioning, hoping time and distance will help her find an answer.

The Mountains Bow Down takes Raleigh away from her home. The entire book is set on or near the ship on which she takes a cruise to Alaska with her mother, her aunt and another woman. Raleigh, a forensic geologist working for the FBI, is serving as a consultant to a movie crew filming an action flick on board, although she has plans to explore Alaska's geology and get some much-needed mental rest.

But, when a woman goes missing and is found dead of an apparent suicide, Raleigh's vacation becomes a working trip. The suicide is suspicious and Raleigh has a limited amount of time to prove the woman was murdered before the cruise ends and a killer walks away. After asking for help from the FBI, her handsome rival from Seattle, Special Agent Jack Stephanson, shows up to assist. Jack treated her like a jerk when she was working in Seattle, but now he's oddly kind and surprises Raleigh by treating her with a fair amount of respect -- which, naturally, only adds confusion to her complicated personal life.

Will Raleigh change her mind about that decision she made back home? Can she protect her mother from information she's sure will send her mom beyond the edge of sanity? Will Raleigh be able to solve the murder before it's too late?

Well . . . it's a mystery and mysteries get solved so I think I can safely say you know the answer to the last question, but the journey to the answer is really quite a ride. Not being a big mystery fan, I was pretty surprised how gripping I found The Clouds Roll Away and how much I liked the stolid (but privately emotional) heroine and I can tell you Raleigh is consistent and I liked her just as much in The Mountains Bow Down.

What I loved about The Mountains Bow Down:

I really like Raleigh Harmon. She's a fascinating character. When I read The Clouds Roll Away, I thought she sounded like the kind of woman you hear about in Alaska -- the kind who can hike a mountain, camp for weeks without whining, build a cabin, heft food into the trees, shoot a moose, defend herself from a bear and then go home and make a meal for an entire village. Alaskan women are tough!! So, it really didn't surprise me to find out the author is a native Alaskan and I was actually hoping the author would eventually set a book in Alaska. While there's not a lot of Alaska in the book because it mostly takes place on the cruise ship, there was enough talk about the beauty of Alaska and the towns the ship visited to satisfy me.

The mystery itself was suitably complex (Giorello kept me guessing right up to the end) without becoming overwhelming and the other characters were well described. I was so fond of Jack and the man in Seattle who was Raleigh's former boss that now I'm absolutely dying to go back to the beginning to read the first two books in the series. I love, love, love the fact that Raleigh is a big eater. There are so many female characters who worry about food and their weight in fiction that it's nice to read about one who can put away a big meal, for a change. In general, The Mountains Bow Down is an engrossing read with excellent characterization, taut plotting and intelligent writing.

What I disliked about The Mountains Bow Down:

Oh, hmm. I can't think of anything. There are some icky characters but some of the movie people were meant to be overblown, arrogant, unlikable caricatures -- or, maybe I should use the word archetypes -- but I didn't find that they pushed believability beyond reason. There are some graphic descriptions of filth, a bit of gory body description and sexual deviance. The language is clean and there are occasional thoughts about Christianity on Raleigh's part, but I would say it's not for the faint of heart and in some ways deserves an R rating. It's been long enough since I finished reading the book that a few things have slipped away and I'm not certain how graphic the talk about the nastiest characters was, but it did turn my stomach a bit.

Recommended for mystery and thriller fans. Definitely not for the squeamish.

Cover thoughts: While I love the look of the cover, if you look very close it appears that the view of the skyline from the ship is . . . well, more like Hawaii than Alaska. But, the rest of the image is okay. I have a feeling there was a bit of cut-and-paste involved in the making of that cover, but it fits the story if you don't look too closely.

In other news:

I had a busy-busy week but I'm way too tired to write about it. Maybe later. The coming months are going to be unusually hectic for me, so I'm considering making only weekly or bi-weekly updates (apart from the 2 remaining tours I have scheduled). That would mean weekly mini-reviews and probably the usual Fiona Friday posts. The alternative is to do only monthly updates; I definitely will not have time for frequent posting but I don't want to give up the blog completely. Thoughts are welcome.

Fiona missed you:

But, she had an excellent time watching birds. So did Isabel.

Did anyone get to see the Supermoon? We lucked out and got to see it from the moment it rose over the horizon to well after it lost that gorgeous orange glow. But, we had to hop into the car and rush to the high school parking lot to take pictures because trees were blocking the view. I had loads of fun snapping pictures and have really enjoyed looking at the gorgeous photos other folks took.

I managed to finish Cutting for Stone in time for my F2F book group's meeting. I'll tell you about that, later. Gotta get some shut-eye. Nightie-night!

©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.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Taking a break

Quick, how many cats does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Answer: Just one and her name is Isabel. She's very talented.

Izzy, Fi and I have about 10 very busy days coming up. I'll be cleaning and enjoying family; the fur girls will help in a way that only felines can.

<---"Here, Mom, let me help you fold that towel."

"Housework? Where's the nearest cat-sized escape hatch?" ----->

At some point, either next week or the week after, I'll be touring The Mountains Bow Down by Sibella Giorello. But, I don't have a date for that tour, yet, and The Mountains Bow Down is the only book left in my sidebar that I haven't reviewed! Like, freak me out, dude.

Seems like a good time to take off, doesn't it? Maybe I can catch up on some reading, in between tossing out piles of whatever the heck is in those corners. Who puts all that junk in the corners of my house? I don't think I can blame the cats for the clutter (although they do have a massive kitty-toy collection).

First on the reading agenda: I must finish Cutting for Stone by next Wednesday. I have not yet managed to finish a chosen book in time for my face-to-face book group's reading discussion (well, except for those two in December . . . but the point is lost if you don't make it to the meeting), so I'm going to focus on that one. It should take me a few days, since Cutting for Stone is a chunkster. Otherwise, I'm just going to read what calls to me.

See you soon!!

Bookfool on a brief break

2010 Reading Year in Review

A wee bit late, yes . . .

Number of Books Read - 159

Total Pages Read - 39,795

Average Book Length - 250 pages

Longest Book Read in 2010 - The Passage by Justin Cronin - 766 pages

Shortest Book Read in 2010 - Little Critter's Where is My Frog? by Mercer Mayer (lift-the-flaps) OR Merry Sparkling Christmas by Spurr & Madden (board book) -- both too short to bother counting pages

Fiction Reads - 121

Favorite Fiction -

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

The Winter Sea - Susanna Kearsley

The Ship of Brides - Jojo Moyes

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower - C. S. Forester

Bellwether - Connie Willis

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

The Passage - Justin Cronin

Postcards from a Dead Girl - Kirk Farber

The Founding - Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

Veracity - Laura Bynum

The Doomsday Book - Connie Willis

Nonfiction Reads - 38

Favorite Nonfiction -

First Comes Love, Then Comes Malaria by Eve Brown-Waite

Flyaway - Suzie Gilbert

A Hundred Feet Over Hell - Jim Hooper

Field Notes from a Catastrophe - Elizabeth Kolbert

Why Our Decisions Don't Matter - ed. by Simon Van Booy

Under the Overpass - Mike Yankoski

Shakespeare Wrote for Money - Nick Hornby

They Were Just People - Tammeus and Cukierkorn

London's Strangest Tales - Tom Quinn

The Secret Holocaust Diaries - Nonna Bannister

Number of authors new to me - It would be easier counting the number of authors *not* new to me. Most were new. A few exceptions: C. S. Forester, Simon Van Booy, Michael Palmer, Marsha Altman, Jill Mansell, Jojo Moyes, Annemarie Selinko

Biggest smile-inducers:

Flyaway - Suzie Gilbert

That Cat Can't Stay - Krasnesky & Parkins

I'll Mature When I'm Dead - Dave Barry

Bellwether - Connie Willis

Moose Droppings & Other Crimes Against Nature - Tom Brennan

Ten on the Sled - Norman & Woodruff

London's Strangest Tales - Tom Quinn

Ship of Brides - Jojo Moyes

Let it Snow - Green, Johnson & Myracle

Tear-jerkers:

They Were Just People - Tammeus & Cukierkorn

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

Making Rounds with Oscar - David Dosa, M.D.

A Dog's Purpose - Bruce Cameron

Take Good Care of the Garden and the Dogs - Heather Lende

Nightmare-inducing (literally):

The Passage by Justin Cronin was the only book that gave me nightmares in 2010 and they were doozies -- all-night, frequent-waking, they're going to eat me nightmares.

Most awesome writing:

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien

The Reapers are The Angels - Alden Bell

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower - C. S. Forester

Anything by Connie Willis or Simon Van Booy is awesome, period.

Most surprising books:

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver (much better writing and more depth than anticipated)

The Things They Carried - Tim O'Brien (did not expect to be so thoroughly blown away)

A Dog's Purpose (surprisingly touching and meaningful)

The Reapers Are the Angels - Alden Bell (Zombies written in a literary manner? Shocker!)

Bellwether - Connie Willis (Funny, sharp, thought-provoking, astute writing)

Biggest wastes of time and/or books that totally pissed me off in some way (remember, these are only my personal opinion!!!!!):

F My Life - Valette, Pasaglia & Guedj

The Swan Thieves - Elizabeth Kostova

Stealing Heaven - Elizabeth Scott

The Last Surgeon - Michael Palmer (an author I usually like)

Winging It - Jenny Gardiner

The Amazing Book of Useless Info - Noel Botham

Rhymes with Witches - Lauren Myracle

Fireworks Over Toccoa - Jeffrey Stepakoff

Bird Girl and the Man Who Followed the Sun - Velma Wallis (another author I usually like)

Page-turning, gripping, can't-put-down books:

The Clouds Roll Away - Sibella Giorello

The Passage - Justin Cronin

A Hundred Feet Over Hell - Jim Hooper

Authors I read more than once:

Simon Van Booy (4)

Jill Mansell (2)

Ciji Ware (2)

Connie Willis (2)

Kelley Armstrong (3)

Lisa McMann (2)

Shana Galen (2)

Authors I wish would hurry up and write more:

Simon Van Booy - always, always

Patricia Wood - ditto

Alden Bell

Books read which were by authors I know personally:

All four books by Simon Van Booy, the only author from my 2010 reads that I have met in person.

Authors I wish I knew (or at least could spent a dinner or two interrogating):

Sibella Giorello

Alden Bell

John Green

Patricia Wood (someday we'll meet and talk over drinks with little umbrellas)

and I've been longing to hang out with Simon Van Booy a bit longer for years.

A few new categories for 2010 -

Favorite Children's Books:

That Cat Can't Stay - Krasnesky and Parkins

Little Chimp's Big Day - Schroeder and McCue

Ten Big Toes and a Prince's Nose - Gow and Costanza

Ten on the Sled - Norman and Woodruff

Calvin Can't Fly - Berne and Bendis

Favorite YA series:

The Summoning/The Awakening/The Reckoning - Kelley Armstrong

Favorite YA stand-alone titles:

A Mango-Shaped Space - Wendy Mass

Eyes Like Stars - Lisa Mantchev

Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver

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

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

It Happened One Bite by Lydia Dare

It Happened One Bite by Lydia Dare

Sourcebooks Casablanca - Romance/Paranormal

390 pages

Goodness, that's a steamy cover, isn't it? Guess what It Happened One Bite is about. Go ahead, guess.

Kiddo: "There's a vampire, right?"

Yes, but not just a vampyre (<---that's how the author team known as Lydia Dare spells it). There are witches, too. And, a werewolf. But, please, don't call him a werewolf. That's an insult; he's a Lycan. "Werewolf" is the equivalent of calling a vampyre a "blood-sucker". Who knew?

It Happened One Bite begins with a coven of witches casting a spell on James Maitland, Lord Kettering, basically putting him into a form of stasis. He appears to be a sweet, innocent vampyre just minding his own business, out for a smoke. But, the witches are really pissed off about something. At least, it seems that way.

Fast-forward 20 years and there's an entirely new generation of witches, the daughters of the women in the original coven. Blaire Lindsey is one of them, a "battle-born" witch. Her brother, Captain Aiden Lindsay, has inherited a castle that Blaire didn't know existed and of which he had only unconfirmed, vague memories. And, he's just dying to see his new digs. Blaire, Aiden and their little brother, Brannock, take off to check out the castle and find a very dusty castle in good condition -- and a little surprise. There's a vampyre in the cellar.

Blaire's return has broken the spell, but with the awakening of a very smelly James Maitland comes something even more sinister (Yippee -- danger! Conflict!) Plus, naturally, it's a romance and you can probably figure out who is going to fall in love with whom and why there might be some problems involved in the romance. Why did Blaire's mother and the other women of the previous coven lock Lord Kettering up for 20 years? Can Blaire really save her family from his dangerous enemies by letting Lord Kettering do that to her??? Yes, of course, it involves some erotic blood sucking and at least one graphic love scene; fortunately, there's not a great deal of sex.

What I loved about It Happened One Bite:

Fluff break! I like a little romance, now and then. Admittedly, It Happened One Bite is pretty silly and I don't get the whole concept that having one's blood sucked can be in some way erotic. I just don't. But, there was definitely something about this particular story that kept pulling on me. I liked Blaire and Lord Kettering. Blaire's brother Aiden was nice in a "big brother protector" way and young Brannock is just as cute as a bug's ear. I liked the setting and the storyline, although I did think there were some plot holes and the ending and beginning didn't quite mesh. In general, a plucky heroine and a romance that was at least unusual from my end (I've never read a witch/vampyre romance) made It Happened One Bite a pretty good read -- not great, not awful. Pretty good.

What I disliked about It Happened One Bite:

Vernacular. Argh!! Scottish vernacular!!! Major ugh!! I do not like having to mentally translate. Example found at random:

"Brannock Lindsay!" a woman cried. "I doona have time for such nonsense. Climb inta bed. We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"But, Blaire," the child complained, "I just want ta catch the kitty first."

"Aye. Ye always have somethin' ye have ta do first. But tonight I doona have the patience for it." Her voice dropped as she grumbled, but he heard her nonetheless. "Only ye, Brannock, could befriend a mangy, mottled bag of fur as soon as we arrived. "Ye're lucky it dinna scratch yer eyes out."

"It's no' a bad cat, Blaire."

--p. 27 of It Happened One Bite, Uncorrected Advance Copy. Some changes may have been made to the final print version.

Personal opinion and one I share with the author of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Muriel Spark: Accent can be detected just fine via the use of properly-spelled wording. The structure, cadence and the use of local slang will make dialect clear. It's not necessary to guide readers like the blind via misspelled words. That's my opinion and I stick to it . . . well, most of the time. Sometimes I change my mind. It's a woman's prerogative, you know.

The bottom line:

Don't go into It Happened One Bite expecting brilliant writing. Read it for escapist paranormal entertainment and offbeat romance. There are some astoundingly stupid moments. You won't believe how the battle between vampyres ends, for example. To be honest, I didn't care. I knew what I was getting into when I picked up the book and I liked it. I did hang my mouth open a bit, a couple of times, and there were moments that the tension was oddly broken when it should have remained taut and action-filled. Truly, it just didn't faze me. I was in the mood for a change of pace and It Happened One Bite was definitely something different. I'd particularly recommend this one to paranormal romance lovers.

Speaking of fun:

Wheeee! Ceiling fan pulls are a hoot! I didn't like the photos I took of Izzy chewing on the chain and the little crystal pulls, but I'll keep trying to get one I like. It's so fun watching her play up there. She's going to be irritated when we finish painting and move that cabinet away from the ceiling fan.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Christian the Lion by Bourke and Rendall

Christian the Lion

by Anthony (Ace) Bourke & John Rendall

Delacorte Books - Nonfiction/Ages 9-12

128 pages

I can't get enough of reading about Christian the Lion, the lion bought by authors Bourke and Rendall at Harrods in London and eventually released into the wild with the help of the actors who played Joy and George Adamson in Born Free, as well as Adamson, himself. You may have seen the YouTube video of Christian greeting Ace and John after they returned to Africa to see how he was doing. It brought tears to my eyes, of course. I'm a total sap, after all, but it is really an unusual and deeply touching video. Plus, he's just a big ol' kitty cat. That'll do it. Christian the Lion is the story of Christian, up to the time of the video.

I read a children's book about Christian, last year, and when I happened across this version for older children in the homeless shelter store, I grabbed it so fast you'd have thought I was trying to keep it away from someone. There was actually nobody else in the store at the time, but I was truly excited to see yet another book about Christian.

Born to zoo lions, Christian and his sister were the only two remaining cubs at Harrods when Ace and John, two Australians living in London, happened to see him in 1969. They thought a cage in a department store was a horrible place for a lion cub and decided almost immediately that they would buy him in order to give him a better life (his sister had already been sold). Christian the Lion begins with their discovery of Christian at Harrods and tells how they got to know the cub, brought him home to their flat over a furniture store and were granted permission to exercise him in a churchyard. As Christian grew, he eventually was no longer allowed to roam freely in the furniture store or play in the churchyard because he frightened people. By then, Ace and John had already begun to make plans to release Christian into the wild.

No matter how great the detail, the story of Christian is an uplifting true tale of human compassion, deep affection, and tender love. Christian the Lion satisfied my desire to know a bit more about Christian, but I'm still hankering to read the even more complete full-length version. There's a lovely section crammed with terrific photos, in the middle of the book.

I highly recommend Christian the Lion to animal lovers, people who love memoirs (kids and adults alike, although most adults probably would like to read a more in-depth version) and anybody else whose ears perked up when they saw the cover of the book. You should have seen my ears perk and my eyes widen, heard my pulse race.

Here's a more time-appropriate video of Christian's story (with music from that era). It goes a bit farther, showing how John and Ace spent time with Christian's pride. Lions are in extreme danger. I've been getting quite a few emails about lions from one of my favorite organizations, Defenders of Wildlife. Apparently, a very deadly poison is being used in their habitat -- and since there are only two places that lions still exist in the wild, their already rapidly declining population could easily be driven to extinction. Yikes! Did you know the Eastern Cougar was officially declared extinct, this week? ~sniffle~

Here's my little tiger, Fiona. If she read my blog, she'd undoubtedly have felt neglected, this week, so I figure it's her turn.

Books are like hamburgers (a philosophical post)

Photo credit

There have been several really interesting articles by authors that have me thinking, lately. Justine Larbalestier's "I Love Bad Reviews" is the only one I bothered to save for the purpose of linking, unfortunately. Here's the a link to the article by Janni Lee Simmer that began the conversation (which is mentioned in Larbalestier's post). Both are well worth your time.

What are they saying? Larbalestier is just one of many authors who are trying to make the point that authors need to be accepting of reviews, regardless of whether they're positive or negative. She goes so far as to say that a negative review -- even one in which a blogger or other reviewer truly stomps on the author and doesn't say a single positive word -- is a good thing, simply because it's better to have someone read your book and spout off about how awful it is than to sink into obscurity. Great point, I thought.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, last year or the year before, Shannon Hale wrote an article that asked bloggers to consider why they rate books and then send their words out into the universe to potentially wreak havoc and wreck lives. That wasn't her wording at all, but I will tell you I initially found her article upsetting because I had never thought of myself as a person who placed my reviews out there for the world to see. I have always blogged for myself. The whole reason I began blogging was to have a place to simply write my honest thoughts and purge about the books I read.

I had to give Shannon Hale's words a lot of thought. And, really, although I still don't think of blogging as a way of "presenting my thoughts to the world", I suppose the fact that most of my readers arrive via Google means . . . well, yes, I am. It was thanks to Hale's post that I ceased to rate books numerically. I'd never really liked giving books a rating, since I've found that the way I feel about a book can change a week or a month after I set it aside. In a way, she gave me permission to let go of numbers. It was difficult to let go of numerical ratings, at first, simply because I knew my readers liked seeing how I rated a book. I've worked diligently to try to rate in words rather than numbers, since then -- in other words, present my thoughts clearly enough that a reader can gauge how I feel as well as he or she would by glancing at numbers -- although I know it's not the same.

Getting to the point: How are books like hamburgers?

Here's my thought: Books are like hamburgers in the way we feel about them and the kind we choose. Some people like mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup. Some people like pickles and tomatoes only . . . or just cheese (that was me, a hundred million years ago, little miss "Plain, with cheese"). Some folks will not touch a hamburger because it's got meat in it or they want something just a little offbeat between the buns (bookwise: between the covers). One person's hamburger is another person's gag reflex. The same is true of books.

Sometimes, you get even get e-Coli from the contents. There is such a thing as a bad hamburger and there is such a thing as a totally awful book. I believe both are the exceptions. But, how we react to what's inside our hamburgers and our books is very individual. In both cases, it's a matter of taste, preference, sometimes even the way we happen to feel on a particular day.

The bottom line is that I have always believed and still feel strongly about the importance of honesty in reviewing. It's important to me to attempt to find something I like about each and every book and mention it, if at all humanly possible, simply because I've been published and I know what it feels like to be reviewed. But, I know it's not always possible. Some books just don't work for everyone. I love this particular line of conversation amongst authors. What do you think? Have you ever felt like you had to adjust your thoughts to avoid hurting feelings? Have you ever had an author attempt to debate your impressions of his or her book? Is complete honesty the best policy?

Addendum: Here's one blogger's response to the "pressure to be nice" at Literary Life. I don't personally feel pressured, but I am a bit of a nonconformist (nobody's going to tell me how to blog -- I'm here to do my own thing, period) and always try to be nice, anyway. If a book stirs my passions in some way, I'm going to say so . . . but as kindly as possible. At least, that's always my intent.

Monday, March 07, 2011

February Reads in Review - 2011

February was yummy. Lick, lick. It's true that I just said that because I wanted to use the photo above, but it was a decent month.

Incidentally, I hope this blog doesn't seem to be turning into the All Izzy, All the Time Channel. She's just so darn cute that I'm having a blast photographing Isabel. Fiona is still every bit as charming and lovely but Izzy is the one who is currently into everything and practically omnipresent (she's a little needy), so she's the kitty who tends to be handy for photography. I hope you'll pardon me for the onslaught of Izzy pics.

February Reads (with links to my reviews):

18. Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love - Andrew Shaffer

19. Tiger's Curse - Colleen Houck

20. How to Ditch Your Fairy - Justine Larbalestier

21. Night of the Twisters - Ivy Ruckman

22. The Procrastination Equation - Piers Steel, PhD

23. Curse of the Crocodile God - Stewart Ross

24. Gone - Lisa McMann

25. The Dark Divine - Bree Despain

26. 10 Lessons from a Former Fat Girl - Amy Parham

27. High Points and Lows - Austin Carty

28. A Billion Reasons Why - Kristin Billerbeck

29. My Love, My Enemy - Jan Cox Speas

30. Moonface by Angela Balcita

13 books, about 3,000 pages. It looks like I went super light on the reading, this month, with a little romance, a little non-fiction (nothing intense), a couple children's books and some very fun young adult reads. In fact, I'm kind of craving a little depth and thinking I may dive into a classic, soon. I've got The Phantom of the Opera sitting at my bedside and some historical fiction chunksters on the agenda.

Back to February: I really liked most everything I read, but How to Ditch Your Fairy, Moonface, The Procrastination Equation and My Love, My Enemy were my favorites. High Points and Lows was a really interesting perspective on faith that I couldn't always relate to, but I adored the author's down-to-earth thoughts, so it was an almost favorite, way up there in the enjoyment level. Gone was an excellent wrap-up to a series I've enjoyed. Overall, I'm happy with February.

How is your reading and blogging year going, so far?

The Mental Floss History of the United States by Eric Sass

The mental_floss History of the United States

By Eric Sass

with Will Pearson &

Mangesh Hattikudur

Harper - NF/History

414 pages

If you can't actually declare war and whup on your enemy, the next best thing is accumulating colossal military power and loudly declaring that if there were a war, you would totally whup them worse than they could whup you. The great thing about this strategy is you never have to find out if it's true or not.

--p. 297 of The mental_floss History of the United States, Advanced Reader Copy (some changes may have been made to the final print version)

It took me about 2 or 3 months to read The mental_floss History of the United States, not because it was boring (it's absolutely not) or dry (obviously, it can be very entertaining) but because I liked it so much that I decided to stretch out the reading. Plus, the book is divided into short, topical sections, which makes it a perfect book to keep in your purse, the bathroom, the car -- wherever you tend to end up reading in bits and snatches. I kept mine in one of those places until I decided I'd goofed long enough and HarperCollins would probably like me to just get the reading over with and review the book, for crying out loud. Although, to be honest, nobody nudged me or gave me a hard time. HarperCollins publicists are really patient souls.

What I loved about The mental_floss History of the United States:

Oh, baby, this is the way to make history fun. Tm_fHotUS is not just informative. It's deliciously playful. The author has a terrific sense of humor and clearly had a great time poking fun at historical figures, but there's a plain-spoken authority to the text. As Sass melted down key facts -- beginning with the first human habitation of North America during the last Ice Age -- he also clarified events about which we've typically been misinformed ("Lies Your Teacher Told You"), broke up the text with pertinent (often side-splitting) quotes . . . shoot, even the topic headings are lively.

For example:

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith (and Mrs. Smith, and Mrs. Smith)" describes the unusual beliefs that led to Joseph Smith, Jr. being chased out of a number of places he tried to settle as he founded the Church of the Latter-Day Saints. The larger sections are divided into time periods, such as "A Superpower is (Accidentally) Born: 1930-1955," subheadings like "Profiles in Scourges" describe various people who did really awful things, and "Made in the USA" sections naturally are about American inventions.

Did I tell you even the quotes are often hilarious?

We should declare war on North Vietnam. . . . We could pave the whole country and put parking strips on it, and still be home by Christmas.

~Ronald Reagan, 1965, as quoted in The mental_floss History of the United States, p. 282 of ARC

What I disliked about Tm_fHotUS:

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

The bottom line:

Whether you're history-stupid (like me) but love reading about history, anyway, or you like learning new things or you're pretty sure you missed an entire time period during your education in American History or you have a friend who has a birthday coming up, you need a copy of this book. Really. It's so fun you practically have to pinch yourself. Can history really be that entertaining? Apparently so. Highly recommended.

Oh, the utter coolness:

When we were in London, last August, we saw a performance of Les Miserables. I was in cheapskate mode and decided not to even buy a program, which I regretted. Last night, hubby was watching PBS and they were playing a 25th-anniversary performance that included an encore with original cast members. It was so awesome it literally gave me goosebumps all over, again, but it was doubly cool to see some of the cast members we fell in love with in August. I want to go back and see Les Miserables, again!!!

But it doesn't look like I'm going anywhere, anytime soon. Guess I'll have to just keep admiring and photographing kitty noses.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

The Butt Book by Bennett and Lester

The Butt Book by Artie Bennett

Illustrated by Mike Lester

Bloomsbury - Children's (Ages 4-8)

32 pages

Eyes and ears are much respected,

but the butt has been neglected.

We hope to change that here and now.

Would the butt please take a bow?

So begins The Butt Book, one of the funniest children's books I've read -- and there is nothing I love more than an excuse to laugh. The Butt Book is just plain silly. I read it to my cats and I read it to my husband. My husband snickered pretty much all the way through. Fiona took it very seriously:

The spread above is the second page spread. In case you can't see, it says:

Buttocks is the formal name--

and no two buttocks are the same.

Butts can come in every size.

Some will droop and others rise.

The Butt Book continues with a "celebration" of backsides, including words for bottoms used in other cultures, pictures of animal rear ends, and descriptions of the heinie's usefulness (don't worry -- nothing disgusting), including a nice padding to sit upon. The illustrations are as hilarious as the text and delightfully bright and cheery.

By far my favorite part of The Butt Book (shown here on the back cover, although it's also a page inside the book):

Why do we have butts? Perchance,

a place to place our underpants?

Any mother of little boys has probably seen this view a time or two. Both of my boys thought it was hilarious to pretend their underpants were hats. Believe it or not, that image brought back fond memories. I loved The Butt Book and so did everyone else I showed it to, although one of them yawned a lot. But, Izzy needed her nap desperately. Cats make excellent audiences, awake or not, if you're lacking in small children. Many thanks to the author for sending me a copy of The Butt Book, which will find its way into the hands of a little tyke of my acquaintance!

Friday, March 04, 2011

Fiona Friday - Regardless of the mess . . .

. . . we can make ourselves at home anywhere.

Moonface by Angela Balcita

Moonface: A True Romance

by Angela Balcita

HarperPerennial - NF/Memoir

222 pages

I seem to be having a bit of difficulty starting this review, so I'm going to go to the old standby method of review-block breaking: the self-interview! Only, I think it's about time Isabel interviewed me. I'm pretty sure she's never had a turn.

For those who are just dropping by, Isabel is my 9-month old kitten. Or, that's about how old we think she is. She's a rescue.

Isabel: Meow. Meowoo?

Bookfool: Good morning to you, too, and I'm fine. It's rather important to ask questions in Human English.

Izzy: Nonfurries are dull. What is Moonface about?

BF: Moonface is a memoir that tells about Angela Balcita's repeated kidney failures and how the man she fell in love with sacrificed a kidney for her. It's both a story of one woman's fight throughout a continuing health crisis and how love has helped her survive as well as a tremendously unforgettable true romance.

Izzy: Why did you decide to read Moonface?

BF: I have a friend who has had a kidney transplant due to polycystic kidney disease and she still faces constant challenges. I hoped this book would help me understand what she's gone through and what she endures, so that I can be a better friend to her.

Izzy: What did you like best about this book?

BF: I liked pretty much everything about it. I learned a lot, as I'd hoped. But, it's especially inspiring and touching the way a man who barely knew his girlfriend willingly sacrificed for the author. It's truly a love story. There were a number of people who were willing to give the author a kidney and that is also absolutely amazing. I also think the author is a great storyteller. Her writing has a nice flow.

Izzy: The boyfriend wasn't the first person to give her a kidney, correct?

BF: No, her kidney disease is a constant battle. By the time "Charlie" met Angela, she had already had one kidney replacement, thanks to her brother. The story is really focused on the romance between Charlie and Angela, though.

Izzy: In particular . . .

BF: The importance to Angela that her body not reject Charlie's kidney, because if his kidney was rejected, she feared he would reject her, as well.

Izzy: It smells good outside.

BF: That's because it's raining and the air is very fresh. Ask me what I liked about the writing style.

Izzy: Okay, what did you like about the writing style? And, please don't leave the room, again, because I feel obligated to follow.

BF: Sorry, I was hungry. I love the fact that Charlie and Angela both kept their sense of humor. The book can be really funny. It's emotional, but there's always a little bit of either Angela's or Charlie's sense of humor creeping through.

Izzy: What was the hardest part to read?

BF: There were many difficult moments, but I found it particularly difficult to read about Angela's downturn after . . . okay, there's a part I don't want to give away, but at some point she went through a kidney rejection and she kept hoping it would turn around but it was just one of those knock-over-a-domino health moments. Things just kept cascading out of control. And, it was also very hard to read about Charlie's agony.

Izzy: Apparently, donating a kidney Really Hurts.

BF: Yes, and that makes this story even more heartwarming, just to know that so many people were willing to go through that kind of misery in order to keep a friend/sister/girlfriend alive. It is truly a beautiful tale of how far a few individuals are willing to go -- beyond kindness to self-sacrifice.

Izzy: Recommended?

BF: Absolutely. I'd especially recommend the book to people who like memoirs and tales of true sacrifice and love. You will love the author and Charlie.

Izzy: Thank you for answering my questions. And, please . . . do not bring strangers into the house and try to let them pet me. Do. Not. Like.

BF: Sorry. She was harmless, though. You'd like that so-called "stranger" if you gave her half a chance.

Izzy: Hmmph. Buy Moonface. My human says it's great and I believe her. The end. I must go munch on dry food, explore underneath the drop-cloth and climb in places I don't belong. Maybe I'll check out the ceiling fan, again.

High Points and Lows by Austin Carty

High Points and Lows: Life, Faith and Figuring It All Out

By Austin Carty

Plume - Nonfiction

Essays/Religion/Memoir

200 pages

Austin Carty's website

I started confiding in people close to me, telling them that I was going to forego acting and move back up to North Carolina, where I could live cheaply and focus on writing. Invariably, every one of the people I confided in told me to grow up, to get back in school and focus on getting my degree.

Everyone, that is, except my dad.

I told my old man how everyone I knew was telling me I was foolish, that I was wasting my potential and that I needed to get a degree and get a real job. Very calmly, he said something I'll never forget:

"Austin, everyone wants to tell everyone else how to live their own life."

--p. 48 of High Points and Lows

I'm going to quote the cover blurb because I think it's a good one:

In these funny and moving essays, Austin Carty traces his own stumbling journey toward adulthood and true faith, drawing on lessons from pop culture and Christianity. Whether he is failing miserably at his first real job as a [barback] nightclub gofer, explaining how Saved by the Bell has ruined our youth, or struggling to come to terms with the death of a beloved friend, Carty demonstrates how finding the courage to be ourselves is the best way to forge a genuine connection with friends, family, and God.

My thoughts:

I loved this selection of essays about Carty's personal experiences and how each of them has touched him spiritually and led to new revelations that have gradually helped him become a confident Christian and a man who is paid to speak about his faith.

I don't watch Survivor and never have -- I'm not a fan of "reality" shows -- but I was fascinated by his memories of time spent on the show and how his candid comment that he'd just had an extremely spiritual experience (while on camera) made certain people sit at attention. Suddenly, he wasn't just another contestant on Survivor. He was now known for his Christianity.

There were several times I had to look up pop culture references because Austin Carty and I are not of the same generation and at times I couldn't relate. The book speaks mostly to people of his age (maybe late 20's?) or younger, but he has a lot of interesting things to say. I'm going to let him speak for himself and make the rest of this review a series of quotes. I liked this book a lot because he cuts right through religion and pretense, to the heart of Christianity -- Christ, himself.

It is true that we all have different sacrifices we need to make in order to pursue what we really love. And it's true that some of us have tougher roads than others. But the point is not about the difficulty of the journey; it is about the power of perseverance and the spiritual reward we receive through doing what we have to do in order to keep our dreams alive.

--p. 51

But here's what I am slowly beginning to understand about Christian spirituality: it's not a debate.

There is no argument--no words, no creed, no doctrine, no nothing--that is going to convince someone that the whole Jesus thing is real. Only the Spirit of God can do that. If God is not the instigator of the conversation, then trying to convince someone about faith is like throwing darts at a brick wall.

--85

I imagine a menacing red devil with pointy horns and a swirling, dark chocolate beard standing before his demon minions, pronouncing, "I have figured out how to get them, boys. It's called credit!"

Credit is a deadly seducer promising instant gratification while leaving us with an ever-growing mountain of debt that renders us incapable of enjoying what we've already purchased. Its hook is that it allows us a brief moment of vanity. Thanks to credit, we can buy flashy things we don't need, to impress people we don't care about.

I'm trying my best to be done with materialism, and I owe it to having finally figured out who Jesus is.

For years I understood the God of the Bible as being in the business of financially rewarding those who diligently seek him. One can't totally fault me for this logic: in the last decade there has been a huge push in pop-Christian circles to paint God as some sort of Morgan Stanley portfolio manager who answers people's prayers for cash and success. With the phenomenal success of books like The Prayer of Jabez, and with wealthy pastors from megachurches seemingly representing proof of God's favor, it has become very easy for twenty-first-century Christians to indulge the idea of God as Santa Claus.

--pp. 90-91

It is my experience that if you don't feel like you know Jesus, church is intimidating. It seems like everyone in the building is looking right through you, that they are all judging you and thinking you're full of crap. Feeling like an outsider at church is not really any different from feeling like an outsider among peers or in society. There's no real difference between feeling foolish in a fraternity for being a virgin and feeling foolish in a church for not being able to find Philemon in the Bible. Both situations make you feel left out and insecure. That's why understanding the difference between going to church and knowing Jesus is so important--if Jesus isn't the reason for being there, the church is just another social club, a boring one with strict rules.

--pp. 184-185

The bottom line:

I definitely recommend High Points and Lows. It's fascinating, thought-provoking, at times deeply moving. The essays are kind of a hodge-podge but they all circle around the same theme and I really enjoyed reading Carty's thoughts on Christianity. I'd love to hear him speak.

In other news:

Things are blooming like crazy, down here, so I've decided to return to posting pics of things that are blooming in my sidebar, when I've got anything new worth sharing. My sidebar is so crammed that you have to page down a bit. Sorry about that. I think it means I need to stop reading 6 or 7 books at a time.

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Book 1 in the Chemical Garden Trilogy

Simon and Schuster BFYR - Ages 14 and up

358 pages

Dystopian YA

Lauren DeStefano's website

Release Date: March 22, 2011

Warning: This review may contain some spoilers. If you plan to read Wither soon after its release and want to be left in suspense at the beginning, please skip down to "The bottom line" for my general opinion of the book. I'm jumping the gun a bit as I want to move forward and get this one out of my sidebar before I forget what it's about. My thanks to Simon & Schuster for the review copy.

Rhine and her brother have a limited amount of time and they know it. Only recently, the marvel of genetic engineering created a nearly perfect generation. The generation of genetically enhanced humans had only one flaw . . . a virus that kills males at twenty-five and females at twenty. Every young person is a ticking time bomb. To keep the population from dying out, girls are kidnapped and sold into polygamous marriages. Those who aren't chosen may suffer an even worse fate. Only the "first generation" - the people who were not genetically altered - live normal lives.

Rhine is 16 when she's grabbed and thrown into the back of a dark truck with a large number of other young women. When she's selected to be one of 3 wives for a wealthy young man, she resolves to escape from the beautiful mansion where she and her sister wives are held captive. But, first she has to figure out exactly where they've taken her and how to escape the property. She's no longer in her hometown in New York. Here, the air is warm, the chemically-enhanced gardens lush and maze-like.

As she gets to know her sister wives and the dying "first wife" she may replace, Rhine finds their reaction to captivity differs. Each desires to be the favored first wife for different reasons. But only Rhine is determined enough to uncover the secrets of the place they live.

When Rhine finds herself falling in love with a servant named Gabriel, she admits her plan and recruits him to help her. Gabriel's easily replaceable, though, and the head of the family is a dangerous man. If Gabriel's caught, she may never see him again; and, Rhine won't know what's become of him. People have a tendency to simply disappear. Will Rhine find a way to escape before it's too late and she becomes yet another of the terrifying killer's baby-making machines . . . or worse? Or, will she spend the rest of her years a captive, forced to reproduce and not only for the sake of creating a new generation?

What I loved about Wither:

There is so much to like about this book. The author has created a believable, terrifying dystopian world. The book begins with Rhine's capture, then most of the story takes place in the mansion to which she's taken, where she is forced to marry. It's as much about the relationships -- between the women, between the wives and their shared husband, between the wives and the young servant chosen for them as well as the other servants -- as it is about Rhine's desire to escape.

The interactions between these characters are sometimes tense, often stirring, and set on a background of mystery (like, What sinister things is the first-generation father of their mutual husband, Linden, up to?) and a few everyday disasters that throw the household into an uproar. There may be plenty of introspection but there's never a dull moment. From the moment I began reading, I knew I wouldn't be able to read anything else until I'd finished Wither. Wither is gripping, fascinating, shocking, heart-rending and it ends in a way that completes the story while leaving that, "Okay, what's going to happen next?" carrot dangling in front of your little bibliophilic nose. I really, really appreciate a series author who manages to end a book such that it's satisfying and complete at the same time making it plain where the story is headed in the next installment. There's no doubt you'll want to know what happens next. I can't wait for the second book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy.

What I disliked about Wither:

Wither is so realistic that it is often horrifying. I wouldn't say I disliked that, but it definitely is a book that can push you out of your comfort zone. There's plenty of graphic description of the dying Lady Rose's illness, talk about sex amongst the sister wives, and always the lurking fear that what happened to those not chosen could just as easily happen to Rhine (or anyone else in the house) if they break the rules or try to escape. It's genuinely tense. Even my dislikes, in other words, actually are a part of what makes the book an excellent read. If Wither was a movie, I'd give it a PG-13 rating.

The bottom line:

Highly recommended for lovers of dystopian fiction. Exceptionally believable world-building, knuckle-biting tension, excellent character development, dialogue and interaction, wonderful plotting and a story that is beautifully wrapped up, yet definitely makes the reader anxious to know what will happen next, make Wither a solid entry in the dystopian young adult fiction category. Also, it's one of my favorite books, so far this year. PG-13 for graphic descriptions of illness, childbirth and talk about sex. I doubt there's anything that would warp a youngster if they sneak it off your bedside table, though.

Cover thoughts:

The cover is not only stunning but also does, in fact, fit the book. Rhine is primped and fluffed and fussed over, dolled up to marry or to meet her husband in private or to attend a party, on several occasions. So, that layer-cake of a dress is fitting, as is her hairdo. I absolutely love the architectural look of the lettering, as well.

I think this post requires a kitty photo:

Isabel hoists the white paw of surrender -- surrender to a nice, long cat nap, that is.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Recent arrivals and all that jazz

I think this is about 2 weeks' worth of arrivals but I'm not certain because my in/out list has been a continuous one in February. Good news, though. Even though quite a few books came into my house, this month, a lot more walked out.

The stack above:

Someone at a Distance by Dorothy Whipple - from Care. Thanks, Care Bear!

Mrs. Tim of the Regiment by D. E. Stevenson - swap book

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West - swap book

When Tito Loved Clara by Jon Michaud - from Algonquin Books

Something for Nothing by David Anthony - from Algonquin Books

What You See in the Dark by Manual Muñoz - from Algonquin Books

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - from Philomel via Shelf Awareness (humorous typo: I typed "Between Shades of Graph," at first)

Fire Season by Philip Connors - from Ecco via SA

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark - from Atria via SA

Wartime Writings: 1943-1949 by Marguerite Duras - swap book

The tote bag hanging behind those books was sent to me by Algonquin Books and it is really nice! In fact, they've sent me some amazing little piles, lately. One that I didn't get around to photographing but which elicited quite a squeal was West of Here by Jonathan Evison. I don't think I've gotten any books at all that don't interest me, lately, from Algonquin. It may take me a while to read them, but I'm glad they arrived, unsolicited or not.

But, oh, how I wish I read faster. This is not a great photo, but here are most of the books I hauled home from the Borders dollar sale:

I'm just going to hope you can click on the image to enlarge it because I don't want to list all those. La-zy.

The final in/out report:

+ 43 books in (eeks)

- 101 books out (yay)

= 58 books out, net

Obviously, I still need to work harder at sending books out the door, but as long as the number

of books out beats the number of books in, I'm happy. That is not necessarily the case for Mr. Bookfool, who would like to see me get rid of half my books. Ouch, ouch!

Fiona is demanding my attention, so I guess I'd better dash. Isabel

has not been particularly energetic, lately, and I think poor Fi is going nuts looking for a playmate. Izzy's going on a car ride, if this continues. She has not, however, lost her curiosity.

Pardon the funky text if it's still whacked up. I don't know what I did wrong, but blogger is giving me fits of angst and I'm just going to leave the text as-is.