Fiona Friday: Two-fers

Two Fionas for the price of one! But, one of them has a slight tail disorder. After I posted the photo above, I decided I might as well add the second Fiona and Twin photo, so here you go, complete with clean laundry:

A Wednesday Wahoo! and a little tribute

This fellow is a Colorado hummingbird. Colorado is seriously overflowing with an unfair quantity of wahoos. Except, it's also a great place to get a nosebleed, so we'll forgive them for hogging the pretties.

Today was a day that I planned to pay tribute to my father but in the fashion of the studied airhead, I managed to set up a book tour and didn't bother to dig for a photo so the hummingbird and a slightly late tribute will have to suffice. Most of the photos are in my sister's house, anyway. It would have been a stretch. But, I have to make note of today, the 20th anniversary of my father's death. I had a super cool dad. My biggest fear, after his unexpected death, was that I'd forget him -- his face, his laugh, his effervescence. He was the most deliberately joyful person I've ever met.

I haven't forgotten a thing. And, I haven't stopped missing him. He and his father were avid amateur photographers and I know he would have loved that hummingbird photo. He would have loved my youngest son, whom he never met. Truly, he just loved everyone. When he died, my friends told me they adored him because he was so welcoming and they loved the way he banged in and out of the house, whistling.

I was cooling down after a run around the high school track in my hometown, just after my father died when a total stranger struck up a conversation with me. They're really friendly in my hometown. The man told me about a time he was late for lunch at Wendy's and his wife was stuck waiting because he had the money and she had none. My father observed her distress and offered to buy her lunch. She declined, but apparently Dad's spontaneous generosity deeply touched that man. That's the kind of guy my father was.

My dad was also an avid reader. He loved history and thrillers. We shared a love of Dave Barry. For some reason I'll never understand, my mother thought I was going to imitate my greedy uncle (who had stripped my grandmother's house of many of her valuables in the middle of the night, after her death) so she told me, "Don't take anything!" after the funeral. I stole my dad's copy of The Hunt for Red October because my soul was so wounded at his death that I had to take something home -- just some small token of the dad I loved. Everyone in the house has read it but me. Maybe it's just too precious; I don't know. I figured it was one low-value item my mother wouldn't miss and she didn't, although she recognized it when she came for a visit and saw it on my shelf. I told her it was his and she just nodded. By then, she was over the sharp pain of new widowhood.

He would have been 82 if he'd lived. My parents struggled to conceive, so my father was an "older" parent by Sixties standards. By today's standards, he'd probably have been considered reasonably young. He always looked 10 years younger than he was, so nobody knew the difference. We had a lot of doddering old relatives when I was young and I mistakenly assumed that my father would live to a ripe, old age. I was looking forward to watching him turn old and gray.

My dad loved to travel. He was a Navy corpsman during the final weeks of WWII in the Pacific and then was called up, again, during the Korean War. My parents met when he narrated a slide show of his war photos at church in Lincoln, Nebraska and she went up to ask him a few questions, after he finished. They were kind of goofy lovebirds till he died; they took long walks together and held hands. He would sneak up behind her in the kitchen and wrap his arms around her, which always made my mother jump. He left a horrible empty space in her life.

Estes Park, Colorado was his favorite place on the planet, so a Colorado hummingbird seems apropos for this tribute.

I miss you, Dad. You were my hero. You still are.

Love,
Nan

Boyfriends, Burritos and an Ocean of Trouble by Nancy Rue (review)

Boyfriends, Burritos and an Ocean of Trouble
By Nancy Rue
Copyright 2010
Zondervan - Young Adult/Christian
219 pages

Bryn O'Connor's life has just become complicated. Injured in an automobile accident, an examination in the emergency room has revealed old injuries - fading bruises, a healed broken bone. When the doctors assume her father is responsible for her old wounds, Bryn has no choice but to speak up and tell the truth. Her 18-year-old boyfriend has been abusing her. Bryn blames herself. She's 15 and doesn't know manipulation when she experiences it. As she leaves the emergency room, she's drawn to a leather book with the letters "RL" on the cover and takes it with her. The book, as she reads it, seems to be speaking directly to her, answering the questions she doesn't even speak aloud.

At home, Bryn just wants to hide and is horrified when her athletic and somewhat pushy grandmother arrives to help with her recovery. She seems to have no choice but to press charges against her brutal ex, but then she begins receiving threats. As Bryn's grandmother shows her patient side and begins teaching her about surfing to help her heal and become a stronger person, Bryn also regularly reads RL, finding surprising answers and direction in simple storytelling.

Boyfriends, Burritoes and an Ocean of Trouble is a rather strange book. It focuses on emotions, the future court case, and relationships, some troubled and some tender. Bryn is very young and doesn't understand that the abuse she experienced was not her fault. Even older women often go through years or decades of abuse without summoning their inner resources, so I understood her trouble accepting that she wasn't to blame, that she'd been manipulated. But, it took her an awfully long time to come to that conclusion and in the meantime, the book was somewhat predictable in places.

RL stands for "Real Life" and Boyfriends, Burritos is actually the second in the "Real Life" series. I think it might have helped if I'd read the first book and understood the purpose of this strange modern-writing Bible that speaks to people. Essentially, she goes to the book with questions and it tells her stories that she uses to come up with answers. They're pretty obvious, if you've read the Bible at all. But, it took Bryn quite a while to figure out what exactly RL was. In between readings, she's threatened by a large group of people, both via text and computer, and is too stupid to tell anyone about the threats. That, I found really irritating.

Bottom Line:

An unusual book about summoning one's inner resources, Christian with a paranormal flair in nature, but not in an overly-preachy way. I liked it but didn't love it. The characters, except for one who disappears when caught in the middle, are pretty plainly delineated as people who were either on Bryn's side or against her and those who were on her side were very likable. I particularly loved the two surfers (one of whom becomes her new boyfriend) that she gets to know as her grandmother teachers her to surf, as well as her grandmother. There was a little too much focus on the court case and it took Bryn way, way too long to figure out that she needed to turn over evidence of threats, so she fell heavily toward the "stupid heroine" bracket, but in general I liked the book and don't regret reading it.

The All-American Jump and Jive Jig by Hueston and Haley

The All-American Jump & Jive Jig
by M.P.Hueston
Illustrated by Amanda Haley
Copyright 2010
Sterling Kids

Up in Maine is where we will discover our first bop.
Sam and Shane will show us how to do the Rockland Sock-Hop.
Take your shoes off, don't be shy. Put on your favorite socks.
Hop up and down and all around, watch out for toys and blocks.

Summary: "All across the country, children are jumping and jiving to their own unique dances, be it the Rockland Sock Hop from Maine, the Lubbock Line Dance from Texas, or the Hilo Hula from Hawaii."

The All-American Jump & Jive Jig is a rhyming book about children celebrating a country-wide happy dance. I finally got an opportunity to read this book -- one of many I've received from Sterling Kids in the past year -- to a child!!! Excitement! I read The All-American Jump & Jive Jig to my 6-year-old niece, Lauren. What I loved best about the book is the fact that there are maps of the U.S. inside the covers (the states are not labeled and the illustration is not wholly accurate, but it still serves the purpose), so you can use the book as an informal geography lesson. Lauren was most curious about where her home state, Colorado, fell on the map. I pointed that out, as well as various states where the dance rhymes took place and, of course, the state in which I live: Mississippi.

Lauren said the book was "a little silly" but I think she meant it in a good way. Even better, the boyfriend of one of my older nieces saw the book sitting on a table and sat down to read it.

How cute is that? "Apparently," he said, when asked what he was reading, "there's a dance party going on all across the country." I hope he doesn't mind that I've shared this photo.

Bottom line:

A fun, rhyming book with lively watercolor illustrations that show happy children dancing in various locations across the United States. Fun for kids and grown-ups. Fortunately, my niece didn't ask me to get up and dance. But, with my own children, I probably would have put the rhymes to music and danced around the room. We were funny that way.

The All-American Jump and Jive Jig is excellent for holiday reading (like the 4th of July -- oops, just missed that one), but I'd read it any old time. It's not holiday-specific.

Other books dropped off:

After reading The All-American Jump and Jive Jig to Lauren, I left it with her. I also gave the little ones my copy of That Cat Can't Stay (so I'll have to buy another one, but obviously a 4-year-old and 6-year-old need it more than I do) and The Secret Lives of Princesses, which pretty much every female took turns perusing. The consensus was that The Secret Lives of Princesses is beautiful (but quirky) and really a book that you grow into and can read for years. Youngest niece Lucia was happy to flip through it and look at the illustrations. Lauren and I read bits and pieces. The older nieces and my mother-in-law also seemed to find it fascinating.

What else is new?

Not much. Fiona has graduated from biting cardboard boxes to chewing up chunks of those boxes and swallowing them. Eeks. She's getting a chance to experience the squirt bottle, poor baby. I just can't see chewing cardboard as a good thing. I have a few photos of her being naughty, which I may share in an upcoming Fiona Friday post.

I am just about to finish Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover by Ally Carter. I love the Gallagher Girls spy series. It's fun, light and adventurous.

Are you reading anything wonderful?

A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

A Dog's Purpose: A Novel for Humans

by W. Bruce Cameron

Copyright 2010

Forge/A Tom Doherty Associates Book - fiction

319 pages

A few days after Hannah left, the snow came down and the wind blew so hard that we stayed in side all day, sitting in front of the heater. (At least, that is what I did.) That night I slept under the covers on Ethan's bed, and stayed there even when I got so hot I panted, just because it was so wonderful to be pressed up against him like when I was a puppy.

The next morning the snow finally stopped and Ethan and I went outside and dug for hours in the driveway. Running in that deep, heavy snow was tough going, and I would leap ahead for only a few feet before needing to stop and rest.

The moon came out right after dinner, so bright that I could see really well, and the air was thick with the fragrance of fireplace smoke. Ethan was tired and went to bed early, but I went out the dog door and stood in the yard, my nose to the faint breeze, galvanized by the exotic light and crisp night air.

A Dog's Purpose begins with a feral puppy describing his life as he grows and learns to forage for food, sniffs the marvelous smells of the world and plays with his siblings. Then he is captured and ends up in The Yard, a place where a large number of dogs are cared for. Order of dominance and who to play with are the most important things in his life. He becomes Toby, named by the woman who owns The Yard. During his time as Toby, I was unsure whether or not I was going to enjoy A Dog's Purpose because there was little interaction with humans and the concern that there wasn't going to be much story to the story. But, that changed quickly.

Toby the feral dog is merely the first incarnation of a single dog, whom we follow through a number of lifetimes -- the same doggy soul in several different bodies. With each reincarnation, the dog begins his life in a different way -- feral, a puppy mill captive, a german shepherd chosen to be a police dog and then as a purebred sold at a bargain price. The dog remembers his past lives and builds upon them. In the end he realizes his most important purpose in all of his lives was to love and stay beside his owner. And, one particular owner holds his heart.

The further I got into A Dog's Purpose, the more I loved it and found it difficult to put down. It's deeply emotional in a way I could never have anticipated and makes a powerful statement about the proper care of dogs and how much love and joy a dog that is properly cared for brings to his or her owner's life. I had to put the book down several times to reach for tissues. Whenever there's a death, it is handled tenderly and with compassion. The story improved after the early parts of Toby's life, as the dog overheard conversations (which made the human side of the story just as gripping), saved lives, experienced the emotions of the people around him and accepted multiple deaths with dignity.

I took half a point off at Goodreads and gave A Dog's Purpose a 4 1/2 out of 5 for dissing the cats, but otherwise I would have given this book a perfect score. I do wish the author had portrayed the dog(s) as more accepting of cats; it's not unusual for dogs and cats to live together in harmony. That's my only complaint, though. The book is well-written and stunningly believable. The human stories are not always complete because A Dog's Purpose is told through the dog's eyes, but they're well enough developed that you get a good understanding of what's happening in the lives of the humans around the dog. It's in those stories of the humans that you see the good and evil inflicted upon innocent canines.

Bottom line:

A well-written, nicely paced book packed with emotion and surprisingly difficult to put down; I read most of it in a single day. Highly recommended for pet lovers, everywhere. Be sure to keep the tissues handy. The book is both heartwarming and, at times, slightly horrifying as it deals with realistic issues like euthanasia, abandonment and cruelty in addition to the joy of dog ownership when the dog is well cared for. I thought the author did an excellent job of explaining why neutering is necessary and safer for pets than the alternative.

Many thanks to the author for sending the advanced reading copy and to my delightful friend, Cindi, for asking.

Just for the joy of it:

Here's a photo I took of a beautiful husky spotted in Winter Park, Colorado, when we drove into town for a chocolate festival:

Independence Day was kind of blah, around here. I think our trip to Colorado just finally caught up with me and smacked me down. I slept most of the day and then we shot off a few fireworks in the driveway and most of the photos I took sucked. Here's my favorite, a penguin-shaped explosive that rotated as it went off:

Happy belated Independence Day to the Americans!

Very tasty Bookfool (the mosquitoes really enjoyed our time outdoors)

Fiona Friday - Fi vs. The Blinds

First, Little Fi freaked out and yowled for hours because she had to let us know how she felt about being abandoned for an entire, senseless, evil week in Boarding Hell. Then, Miss Fi settled down. Then, she had to explore. "Fiona, no!" said the humans. The camera fell aside when it appeared that she was doing a trapeze act on the narrow top of a lowered window. She ignored us, then backed out and . . .

The innocent look. Of course she wasn't doing anything dangerous. Silly humans.

A Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware

A Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware
Copyright 2010
Sourcebooks Landmark
Orig. Publ'd 1997
529 pages

Blythe Barton Stowe has heard tales of her Cornish ancestry all her life. When her divorce is finalized on the same day her ex-husband, Christopher Stowe, announces that his new lover -- Blythe's sister, Ellie -- is pregnant, her lawyer's suggestion that she leave the country to avoid the paparazzi makes total sense.

Whisked off to a remote cottage on the Cornish coast, Blythe finds comfort in the tiny Painters Cottage on a crumbling estate and finds herself falling for Lucas Teague, the landed gentleman who is trying to save the Barton Hall estate despite pressure from the Inland Revenue.

When Blythe touches a carefully scripted family tree and utters a name, she finds herself transported in time, able to view scenes from the tragic history of Barton Hall. Is she relieving the centuries-old tragedy? Or, is it possible for Blythe to find new love and purpose in the home of her ancestral past? Each time Blythe is transported in time, she finds out new details of her family's shocking history and each day brings her closer to true love. But, handsome Lucas Teague, a widower, is distant and cold with his own child and there is nothing Blythe wants more than a family. Can they reconcile their differences and deal with their own difficult pasts in order to make things work, or is Blythe destined to relive the tragedy her ancestral namesake suffered?

A Cottage by the Sea is a book I've found myself struggling to describe, hence the lengthy description, above. It's a little paranormal, a little historical, but mostly a contemporary romance. Blythe grew up on a ranch and has been told about her Cornish ancestry all her life, but she's not actually certain that it's factual. Maybe her beloved grandmother made the whole story up. Regardless, it's important for her to get away from the public eye because her ex-husband is a famous film director and the paparazzi is going nuts over their love triangle story.

Blythe is not only wrestling with her husband and sister's betrayal and her own frustration at no longer having the chance to have a baby, but also is still dealing with the grief from the loss of the grandmother who reared her. I don't want to go into anything that will spoil the storyline, so let's just say she makes herself right at home in Cornwall and quickly finds a purpose in helping Lucas Teague save his estate.

The most interesting parts of this book, to me, were the references to Daphne Du Maurier's books and the location. I believe the paranormal aspect is patterned after the time travel in Du Maurier's The House on the Strand. Du Maurier lived 1/2 mile from where the real cottage fictionalized in the novel exists and the rest of the setting was based on actual buildings and a National Trust path. The author did an excellent job of describing time and place, both in the present and the past.

I disliked the details of the business Blythe and Lucas created in order to save the estate because they bored me just a bit -- always a funny thing to find myself bored by business details, given the fact that I have a business degree. Maybe I went into the wrong field. At any rate, I liked the book but I didn't love it. I liked being transported in time, expected and enjoyed the romance and found the conflict a bit overwrought. Toward the end of the book, I thought it became a bit repetitious and predictable but the conclusion was satisfying. Still, the whole "Is Blythe reliving the tragedy of her ancestors?" bit was practically mined to death. I think fully 100 pages could have been chopped from this chunkster without harming the storyline one bit.

Bottom line:

An enjoyable escapist romantic read that is a bit too long and repetitious but nowhere near the point of abandonment. Ciji Ware is an excellent writer. I can't say this book compares to the first of her works that I read, the historical Island of the Swans. At times, I even visualized myself happily scratching out certain sentences with a red pen. But, it was a good vacation read and I definitely recommend it, particularly to those who like an unusual blend of romance with paranormal and historical facets. Slight family warning: Some sex scenes run from PG-13 to R. I don't believe anything would warp a youngster for life, though.

The mail has arrived!

And, holy moly . . . the book pile was a doozy. This is what happens when you go away for a week, I guess. I received:

Vanishing and other stories by Deborah Willis - short story collection from HarperCollins
The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June by Robin Benway -YA from Razorbill received via Shelf Awareness
The Case of the Crooked Carnival by Torrey & Johansen Newman - surprise from Sterling Kids
The Outer Banks House by Diann Ducharme and
The King's Mistress by Emma Campion - from Random House, both via Shelf Awareness
The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise by Julia Stuart - from Doubleday via Shelf Awareness
A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron - from the author (just started reading this one)
In a Heartbeat by Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy - for FirstWild tour
Someone Like Me by John W. Quinn - unsolicited, from History Publishing Company -- love this publisher and will definitely read it
Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan - from Simon & Schuster, and
31 Hours by Masha Hamilton - surprise from Unbridled Books

I have, in fact, already read 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton. You know how some books that you gush about when you close them disappear from your mind right away and others that you don't particularly love or maybe even like end up rolling around in your head and really stick with you? Well, 31 Hours is one that I initially wasn't thrilled with, at the time I closed it, but it has totally stuck with me and the more I think about that ending I disliked, the more perfect it has become in my mind. So, if you look up my review, bear that in mind . . . it's better now than it was when I closed it. I assume I was sent a promotional copy because it's coming out in paperback, but that's just a guess.

Speaking of looking up reviews . . . my search feature appears to be totally malfunctioning, so that I have to guess when I read a book or look it up in my "books read" lists in the sidebar and then page back to find reviews and create links to them. I wonder what's up with that? Maybe my first experience as an empty nester should involve taking a class so that I can learn how to create my own self-hosted website. There are times Blogger doesn't seem worth the angst and a messed-up search feature is a very, very bad thing, in my opinion.

Just snapped a pic of Fiona, so I should have a Fiona Friday image up by this evening. Happy, happy Friday!

The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy (new HarperPerennial edition)

The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy

Copyright 2007 - short stories

New edition printed 2010 by HarperPerennial (includes a bonus story)

174 pages + 20 pages of extra material

"It's just a Peter Pan rose," Edgar said.

The man laughed, and his eye slipped from its moorings. "And I suppose that the wind is just air? And not laughter's laughter?"

--from "Where They Hide is a Mystery"

There are some lies that, under the right circumstances, are the only truth.

--from "Snow Falls and then Disappears"

It's no secret that I'm a die-hard fan of Simon Van Booy. So, naturally, I had to acquire a copy of the new HarperPerennial edition of The Secret Lives of People in Love, which contains a bonus story not printed in the Turtle Point Press edition: "The Mute Ventriloquist."

Drake remembers his mother kneeling to explain that the man upon whose lap he perched could not speak, whispering to her son that the ventriloquist probably had something wrong with his own voice.

But Drake found nothing so strange about someone unable to find words for life. Children spend the mornings of their lives in a sea of imagination before being hauled out onto rocks by jealous adults who've forgotten how to swim.

--from "The Mute Ventriloquist"

I've read and reread this book since it was released by the smaller press and it only improves with repetitive reading. Simon's writing is so carefully, brilliantly crafted that each reading is a new experience. Different portions speak to the reader and his or her place in life and love, while at the same time beautiful phrases and sentences that seemed to jump out on the first reading reassert the author's subtle genius and stunning empathy.

And, now the strange bit . . .

The first time I read "The Mute Ventriloquist," I must have been in the wrong mood for Simon's writing because it just didn't seem to fit and I didn't get the point. That's why it's taken me such a long time to write a review. I knew I must be missing something, whether from fatigue or mood or just the wrong moment. So, I set the book aside and waited for about 6 weeks, maybe longer. When I finally picked up the book to reread the new story . . . well, let's just say I was baffled that I could have possibly felt that "The Mute Ventriloquist" was anything but classic Simon. It is a sweet, understated story of love and loss, tenderness and pain. Like all of Simon Van Booy's stories, it quite simply took my breath away.

Bottom line:

Exquisite writing that owns a permanent home on the good shelves. If you haven't read Simon Van Booy's writing, you definitely should.

In other news:

I didn't have access to a computer, most of last week, because we were here:

We rented a cabin in Fraser, Colorado to celebrate the 50th anniversary of my delightful in-laws. At our peak, we had 18 people in the house. I need a house like that. We had no problem fitting everyone, although at least two people had to sleep on couches (very comfy couches) on our busiest night. It was cool and heavenly dry and the weather was perfect nearly every day. We had a wonderful time.

Fiona was boarded at the vet's and totally freaked when she arrived home, but she finally settled down after about 3 hours of madly zipping around the house and wailing. That was very odd. Fiona is not a talker, but she let us know she was deeply offended. Fortunately, she is back to her normal self, now. I'll have to either snap a quick pic, tomorrow, or dig in the files in order to find a photo for Fiona Friday.

My sidebar is heinously out of date, so I'll work on that and a review of A Cottage by the Sea by Ciji Ware, this weekend. How was your reading week?

Fiona Friday

Everything Austen II Challenge - I'm Joining! What's Wrong with Me???

I'm joing the Everything Austen II Challenge!!

Yes, I swore I would not ever, ever, EVER join two challenges at the same time, again, in my life. I did. Not like on a stack of tomatoes or anything (that would be serious). But, I just happen to have just finished reading Emma and I just happen to plan to watch the A & E movie version of Emma soon. And, I just happen to have already started a Jane biography -- but at the rate I'm reading, undoubtedly won't finish it until well after the starting date of the challenge.

I've also been eyeing my copy of Scones & Sensibility for months. It's like . . . fate. The Austen waves have built up, leading to a massive earthquake and a tidal wave that tossed my soul into Hampshire (a shire which we once accidentally drove into, incidentally -- there was this sign that said, "Jane Austen Country" that my husband, his co-worker and I took as a subtle hint that we'd gone too far . . . it was dark and England's totally confusing at night, you see, and we were actually supposed to be in Surrey, not Hampshire).

So, I'm in. The Everything Austen II Challenge (<---click there to read Stephanie's post and sign up) officially begins on July 1, 2010 and runs through January 1, 2011. I'm cheating just a little by adding my current biography to my list because I'm reading so slowly that I don't think the few pages I've already read make me look too awfully guilty, but in the end I hope to read or view more than the 6 required, anyway.

Here's what I intend to read and view, at this point:

1. Jane's Fame by Claire Harman - a biography

2. Emma on DVD - the A & E version with Kate Beckinsale

3. Scones & Sensibility by Lindsay Eland (YA)

4. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen - a book I've wanted to read for quite some time

5. Mr. Darcy Broke My Heart by Beth Pattillo (pretty sure I own a copy of this - must search)

6. ?? Maybe the A & E biography of Jane Austen - another that I'm pretty sure I own; I think it's included in my extra Pride & Prejudice set from A & E (I own 2 copies because the second set had a book and extra features and it was so pretty and on sale, and, and --).

As I perused the list at Stephanie's blog, I realized I'm already more of a Jane Fan than I imagined. I've read 4 of Austen's novels and 3 novellas (bound together as Lesley Castle), watched the Colin Firth Pride & Prejudice a squillion times and Sense & Sensibility almost as many. I've seen that stupid movie, Becoming Jane (sorry, that one just did not do it for me) and both read and watched Bridget Jones's Diary. I've read all of Marsha Altman's Pride & Prejudice sequels, Just Jane by Nancy Moser, and Mr. Darcy, Vampyre. I could probably go on. I think I will try to hush, though.

You should join this challenge. Really, you should. We'll have such a grand time. There should be a ball at the end, don't you think? We shall all wear gloves and pin our hair up in twisty little curls with sparkly things shimmering in our coiffures. We'll don beaded slippers and dance! The men will look terribly uncomfortable but shockingly handsome in those high collars and tails.

Oh, oh, oh. I must stop before I swoon!!!

My heart is in England, now.

Bookfool, Jane Fan and Utter Weakling

Updates on what I've read/viewed:

1 & 2. Emma - the book and the A & E movie

3. Emma & the Vampires by Jane Austen & Wayne Josephson

4. Mr. Darcy's Obsession by Abigail Reynolds

5. Persuasion - the 1995 BBC movie on DVD

6. Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo

7. Jane Austen Biography on DVD

8. The Making of Pride & Prejudice (Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle version)

9. Persuasion - the Rupert Penry-Jones movie version on DVD

Books I Haven't Read

Isn't it funny to see a "no books allowed" symbol on this blog? I had fun seeking that out.

I loved Iliana's "Nope, I haven't read that" post, which she wrote after reading Stefanie's post about books it seems like everyone else has read. So, I decided to snitch the idea and write one of my own posts about books it seems like everyone has read that I haven't.

Books I haven't read . . . and why:

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson - I avoided this book, early on, because I thought it was a mystery and I just don't enjoy mysteries, anymore, although I'll occasionally read one that sounds interesting. I've continued to avoid it because I've seen the word "brutal" used as a description of treatment of the heroine. I'm not sure whether I'll read it or not, but at this point I'm in no hurry.

2. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - I don't know what it is about the description of this book that puts me off, but I've toyed with reading it simply because a few friends liked it and in the end I always end up thinking . . . Nah, still not interested.

3. The Road by Cormac McCarthy - I love post-apocalyptic books, but I've heard so many people say The Road was "the most depressing book" they've ever read that I've removed it from my wish list. Then, I waffled -- added it back to my list and then took it back off. In the end, it was a comment that one person couldn't get "those awful images" out of her head that convinced me both book and movie are worth avoiding.

4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett - Last year's runaway summer hit did pique my interest but I haven't read it. I also haven't yet read Mudbound by Hillary Jordan. I have acquired copies of both via Paperback Swap and I do plan to read them.

5. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold - No interest, whatsoever. I don't plan to ever read it.

6. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - Oh, man. It's so wrong that I haven't managed to read Gone with the Wind. I love the movie; I live in the Deep South. I really want to read this book. I've made three failed attempts, but the first time I was in college and just too busy to concentrate, the next time I tried to read while I had small children running around, and the third time I attempted to read it while I was working in a bookstore. I have a feeling that when I do eventually read it I will need to avoid other books and simply allow myself to be immersed in the reading, like I did with The Passage.

7. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown -I actually own a copy of the illustrated version (a library sale find -- it cost a quarter). I thought it might be interesting to look at the photos, but I just can't stir up any interest in reading the story. I have, however, read Angels & Demons. It didn't thrill me. I'm not tempted to read another of his novels.

8. Anything at all by Margaret Atwood, although I have several books on my shelves: The Handmaid's Tale, Oryx & Crake, The Blind Assassin and Alias Grace. Someday, I'll read Margaret Atwood.

9. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - One of those books I missed out on because I took journalism rather than English (partly to avoid more high school grammar -- I got so sick of grammar). I've attempted it once and didn't get far. I have, however, read Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise and was impressed, so I plan to give The Great Gatsby another go.

10. Most everything Oprah has ever recommended - I've read a total of 3 Oprah recommendations: The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve, Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts and A Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I read them because they were recommended to me by people I trust, not because of Oprah.

I'd love to see this meme-like post passed around a bit. Please tell me if you decide to post about what you haven't read, as well!

Fiona Friday and a review of Bird Girl by Velma Wallis

Fiona says . . . "Somebody did a crap job painting this ceiling."

And, the review:

Bird Girl and the Man who Followed the Sun by Velma Wallis is a combination of two Gwich'in Alaskan folk tales with a little bit of artistic license thrown in to combine the two.

One tale is about a young girl, nicknamed "Bird Girl", who loves to hunt instead of cooking and sewing as the women are expected to do. Her preference is allowed by her parents, but it makes her a bit of an outcast. The other tale is about a boy named Daagoo, who has a bad case of wanderlust. Daagoo's curious about the land he's heard about in tales told by the elders, a land where the sun shines year-round. He owns the leather map passed down by those who traveled to this land and hopes to go there himself, one day.

Both Bird Girl and Daagoo are from the Gwich'in tribe, but they live in separate bands of the same tribe. Sometime during their adolescence, Daagoo and Bird Girl cross paths, but years pass before they meet up, again, and they both experience a tremendous amount of horror and pain before that occurs.

Daagoo often neglects the hunting he's expected to do, in order to explore, and eventually (when he reaches manhood), he is told he must do his part or the band will cast him out. He agrees, thinking eventually he will leave, when the time is right. But, during the annual caribou hunt, tragedy strikes and Daagoo is forced to take over as leader of his tribe.

Meanwhile, Bird Girl runs away from home when she's told she must marry and do womanly things. After only a short time, she's kidnapped by an enemy tribe then raped, beaten and abused for years. She is unable to escape till a brutal game played deliberately to humiliate and horrify her leads to a shocking act that rids her of her captors, forever.

Daagoo also experiences a number of horrors. He eventually goes on his trip south; but, even after finding the land he has long wished to see, another tragedy occurs and he returns home to his people.

Bottom line:

There is a lot of gore and horror in this little book. That's not particularly unusual for folk tales, I suppose, but I was a little relieved to finish the book because it was a bit too much for me. Two Old Women (the first folk tale retold by Wallis) is much more palatable, in spite of a similar theme: Everyone must do his or her part to keep the tribe safe and well-fed or face the consequences (in Two Old Women, even aging is a hazard).

What I liked best:

The Tlingit people, whom I've read a bit about and find fascinating, allow Daagoo to stay with them for a time when he travels south, and then again when he returns to his people. They're peaceful and happy people. I particularly loved the part in which Daagoo is allowed to trade a song for something he needs -- I think for food, although I can't remember! I was so fascinated by the idea that a song could be considered something acceptable to barter away that I guess the item he got in exchange wasn't important to me. Wallis said that is actually a part of the original story.

Although it wasn't my favorite folk story and the violence was a bit too much for me, I still did enjoy Bird Girl and the Man who Followed the Sun and recommend it to anyone who both likes folk tales and has a strong stomach.

A Place for Delta by Melissa Walker

A Place for Delta by Melissa Walker
Illustrated by Richard Walker
Copyright 2010
Whale Tale Press - Middle Reader
266 pages

"Whoever shot the bear, also shot at my dad. The bullet that killed the bear probably came from the same gun. They want to find out who did the shooting, but they don't want anyone in town to know about it. It could be anybody."

"Anybody?" Joseph asked.

"I mean anybody who has a motive. It could be someone hired by one of the oil companies. It could be someone who killed the female to capture her cub," Ada said.

"I don't understand. Why would an oil company want a polar bear dead?" Joseph asked.

"I'm not sure, but I heard Chipic say something about denning sites being in areas where they think there's oil and want to drill. A dead bear can't go back to her den."

I finished A Place for Delta nearly two weeks ago, but it seems apropos to include a quote about a generic Evil Oil Company when we're all so frustrated about the horrifying pollution of our beloved Gulf of Mexico. The author gives us one more good reason not to allow drilling in a fragile wildlife refuge in this quote -- the protection of bears whose lives are already endangered by shrinking habitat.

A Place for Delta takes place in Alaska and Georgia. Joseph Morse is eleven years old, the grandchild of a naturalist who researched salamanders and nephew of a wildlife biologist. His Aunt Kate is working in Alaska and he lives in Georgia, near his grandmother Lisi. As the book opens, Kate has just invited Joseph to join her in Alaska. At the beginning of the summer, an orphaned polar bear was rescued by one of the local scientists and Kate has been charged with its care. It's an exhausting, round-the-clock job and her boss understands that she needs help. Joseph quickly accepts her offer, knowing it's an opportunity for adventure he may never be offered, again.

As Joseph helps care for the bear, which Kate has named "Delta", he also gets to know a local girl named Ada. Ada and Joseph love a good mystery and they're curious about the things they're overhearing at their favorite restaurant and through the scientists and Ada's uncle, who works with Kate. Throughout the summer, they listen in on conversations and take notes in order to try to help solve the mystery of who killed Delta's mother and what the unfriendly men from outside are trying to hide.

I found A Place for Delta a little hard to get into, at first. It begins with Joseph's acceptance of the invitation to Alaska and then backtracks to explain his family's background as naturalists, along with the origin of Aunt Kate's and Joseph's parents' love of bears. The switch to the past kind of felt superfluous to me, at first, but then as I got into the story I realized that background was necessary. I still can't say I think it was handled in the best way, but the older scenes helped round out the story.

The author mentions in her notes (at the end of the book) that she specifically geared the story to 11-year-olds and had several 11-year-old beta readers give her advice on what was and was not of interest to them. I thought that was really fascinating. As I was reading, I realized that I had a little difficulty getting into the book because of the simplicity of the writing, but at the same time it occurred to me that I would have loved it as an elementary-school student. It's adventurous and has interesting characters. The only thing I really disliked was the fact that the author felt it necessary to describe almost every meal and snack eaten by the main characters. Each of those descriptions read like "lessons in healthy eating" and they really got on my nerves.

Bottom line:

A Place for Delta is written simplistically and with quite a few deus ex machina bits (you can practically see the deliberate plotting to make things work together just so) and that makes it an awkward read for an adult. But, it's intended audience is middle readers, specifically around 11 years old, and for them I think the book is perfect. As a child, I know I would have loved some of the plot twists that seemed as if they were just a bit too convenient -- like the discovery of a hidden treasure when the combined group of scientists and Joseph's relatives needed money to create a foundation. That's fun stuff for a kid. I definitely recommend this book to those who are looking for an adventurous book for middle readers. It would make a great summer read for youngsters. It's clean - no bad language, no violence.

What I loved most about A Place for Delta:

The author is obviously passionate about her love of wildlife and the need to protect endangered animals. I loved the way she crafted the novel to clearly describe the importance of animals and the reasons polar bears are currently threatened (climate change, drilling in their habitat).

My thanks to Lisa, the fabulous Online Publicist and the author for the review copy! By the way, I absolutely love the cover illustration. The illustrations inside the book are somewhat less exciting but also lovely.

Recently walked in:

The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester - from J. T. Oldfield (Thank you!)
You'll be Sor-ree!: A Guadalcanal Marine Remembers the Pacific War by Sid Phillips - from Valor Studios, via Shelf Awareness

Semper Cool: One Marine's Fond Memories of Vietnam by Barry Fixler - from Exalt Press for the Vietnam War Reading Challenge

The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet by Reif Larsen - purchased at Sam's Wholesale club (this one's been on my wishlist for a while and SuziQ's wonderful review made me even more anxious to own a copy).

A Fiona Friday post will appear later tonight. Happy Friday!

Oh, no! Bad, bad blogger!

Wow, have I been a bad blogger! I'll try to amend that, but in the meantime a little update . . .

Reading Goes Splat

After I finished reading The Passage by Justin Cronin, I could not concentrate for about 3 days. Nothing appealed to me! I think that's partly because I was so immersed in Cronin's fascinating future world that I couldn't stand to look at another book and then needed time to exit the future, partly because I've been very tired and just didn't feel like reading (or writing -- and a days-long migraine wrapped that up with a tidy bow). Unfortunately, that included reading other blogs, so I went into "fly on the wall mode" and only commented 2 or 3 times, last week, and then this week I haven't even done that much. Either way, it's been a lousy couple of reading and writing weeks. But . . .

Things Improve

Emma by Jane Austen finally broke my reading slump. It took me a long time to finish (I've only read 3 books in the entire month of June!!!) but I finished it and I have found a new favorite heroine. Emma Woodhouse is a total delight. I can't believe it took me so long to get around to reading Emma. Since I am all astonishment at Jane's storytelling skills, I've moved on to reading Jane's Fame by Claire Harman. I began reading Jane's Fame once before -- about a month ago, I suppose -- but it was one of those times that I was balancing too many books at once and it fell by the wayside. So far, I'm finding it fascinating and well-written. Right after setting down an Austen is definitely an excellent time to delve into a Jane biography.

I've also begun to read Bird Girl and the Man who Followed the Sun by Velma Wallis, an Alaskan folk tale. This will be my third book by Velma Wallis, an author I discovered when we traveled to the Great White North and I sought out anything and everything to read about Alaska (both before and after that delightful vacation). Two Old Women was a ridiculously fortuitous find. You can find out how I acquired it and read my reviews, here, if you're interested:

Raising Ourselves: A Gwich'in Coming of Age Story from the Yukon River (mini review - page down to find it)

Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival

It's so nice to be reading, again!!!

And, then there was that bloggiversary thing . . .

Totally dropped the ball on the annual celebration. My official beginning as a blogger (not including the first two attempts, both at sites that made uploading photos nearly impossible) was June 6, 2006. So, I just zipped right past the milestone of having completed 4 full years as a blogger. I knew it was coming and planned to get a cupcake and 4 candles to photograph, but then I missed the day. After about a week, I got around to buying myself a single cupcake . . . and it somehow managed to end up upside-down in the bag, so I just ditched the idea of taking a picture and have been hacking away at my cupcake. It's a big one -- white with white frosting and multi-colored sprinkles, along with some bizarre little plastic fish that are now swimming in the trash can. You would have loved it.

Speaking of bloggiversaries . . .

Has anyone else noticed the diversity of spelling when it comes to that word? Bloggiversary, blogiversary, blogoversary -- I don't even know how many ways I've seen it spelled. Here's why I spell it the way I do:

--The rule of double consonants after a short vowel - Like the word "blogger", it makes sense to me to double the "g" because of the short "o" in the word blog. Seriously, I actually sat around thinking through the whole spelling concept.

--The word "anniversary" contains a doubled consonant, an "i" (although, to be fair, that probably has to do with the Latin root word) and "versary". I'm really just imitating.

--I'm a fruitcake. Well, some of us just think spelling is really, really important.

I hope to get at least one review written, tomorrow, although I'm going to be away from the computer most of the day. In the meantime, Fiona and I wish you a lovely day. Have you read anything wonderful, lately?

Fiona says, "Wherever I pose, there are books." Wahoo for both! Happy Wednesday!

Bookfool, trying to get her reading/writing groove back on

Fiona Friday - Intrepid Explorer Edition

The Secret Lives of Princess by Philippe Lechermeier and Rebecca Dautremer

The Secret Lives of Princesses

by Philippe Lechermeier,

illus. by Rebecca Dautremer

Copyright 2010 by Sterling Kids

Originally published in France, 2004

92 pages, incl. glossary and index

Princesses!!! What could be more fun for little girls than a book that is essentially an encyclopedia of princesses? I knew I wanted to review this book the moment I first saw that gorgeous cover, above. Couldn't you just stare at that cover illustration, forever?

I was not disappointed. When I received a spiral-bound galley of the The Secret Lives of Princesses, I did nothing but ogle the illustrations, which are just as stunning as expected. I opted to save the reading till closer to the release date and then . . . read it in plenty of time and zipped right past the release date without reviewing. But, that's okay because it's still available! Of course it is; the release date was not that long ago -- June 1.

The Secret Lives of Princesses is a very eccentric book. Oh, those French; they are so funny. The author skips right past the usual princesses, making oblique references to well-known characters who were bruised by peas and slept for 100 years and creating dozens of wildly original new characters. One of my favorites is Princess Somnia, partly because I love the beautiful pink portrait of a snoozing princess and partly because I covet her "three-masted four poster" bed. It looks like a ship. Yes, I would definitely love to sleep in a three-masted four poster. No doubt about it.

Readers will fall in love with Princess Paige, a princess who reads "everything she can find: novels, poetry, philosophy and tall tales," and may recognize Princess Babbling Brooke, who chatters incessantly. In the illustration of Babbling Brooke, words are flying from the end of her bullhorn. I think we've all met her (or a close relation) a time or two, whilst trying to read. The illustrations are breathtaking; I just can't admire them enough.

In addition to illustrations and descriptions of each princess, there are other royal things to pore over: a page of "Coats of Arms and Flags", a two-page labeled tower spread with a brief description of how to become a queen, a map of where the princesses live, a "Practical Guide: Everything you need to know about princesses"; and my personal favorite, a page of "Palaces and Residences". Had I owned this book as a child, I would have tried to duplicate my favorite palaces in some manner, probably using cardboard, paint, foil, brads and construction paper. And, lots of glue.

The Secret Lives of Princesses made me wish I had a little girl. It's just wonderful. My sister-in-law has two little girls, so I'm sure I'll end up dragging this whopping fine book with me, when next we flee to Colorado. The real question is whether or not I'll ever see it, again. Well, one can only hope.

Bottom line:

A stunningly illustrated, eccentric, delightful book of princesses that is big enough to plop on a coffee table. And, by golly, I'd do that if I owned a coffee table. Sadly, I don't. It'll stay in a prominent place until I get to see my nieces, though. Highly recommended.

Grateful, nose-scraping-the-dirt, huggy-gushy thanks to Sterling Kids for my gorgeous, drool-worthy review copy!!

Winging It by Jenny Gardiner

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who's Determined to Kill Me by Jenny Gardiner

Copyright 2010

Gallery Books - Memoir/Pets

240 pages

There is one thing you should know before you read this review. It's totally biased. Winging It pissed me off so thoroughly that I don't know how to present a totally fair review and you should read other reviews like this one or this one (although, to be completely forthcoming, both of those were actually written by the author's friends, so they're not totally unbiased, either) if you want to get a really balanced viewpoint of this book -- or just go to Amazon, where it's averaged a shocking 4 stars. Obviously, I'm bucking the trend, here.

Billed as a memoir that centers around the African Gray parrot owned by Gardiner and her family, Winging It is less about the parrot than the author and her experiences as both pet owner and parent, but let's talk about the parrot, first. Graycie came into the Gardiner household as a gift. The author's brother-in-law, Scott, was living in Zaire and, back in those days (the 80s, I think), regulations on importing animals were pretty much nonexistent. The timing was awful. Although the Gardiners wanted to own a parrot someday, they were just starting a family and didn't have the time to properly care for a high-maintenance pet. They shoved her cage into the basement and pretty much ignored her, apart from feeding, cleaning and trying to get her to climb up an arm or talk.

My bird-owning friends tell me that trying to coerce a pet into doing what you want is "behavior modification" and they will mutter and curse if you get them going. I was more concerned that the pet deserved a home where she could receive proper attention, myself.

Eventually, the parrot moved to a more prominent place in the house and the author apparently spent hours and hours cleaning her poop and tending to Graycie's many injuries - many, many injuries. I'm not a bird owner and never have been, so I can't say whether or not Graycie's frequent injuries could have been prevented, but I can say I wondered. I definitely grew weary of the repeated comments that the author didn't have time for the parrot:

So what progress we had made began to deteriorate as a result of unplanned-for neglect.

I almost ditched the book when I got to the part where the author's cat went into heat. I've spoken to the author and she explained to me that neutering wasn't done as early in those days as it is now. I knew that. Back in the 70s, my family owned a cat who spent much of her time outdoors and she became pregnant before she reached the age considered acceptable for spaying. We kept one of the kittens and then got mama cat, Queenie, spayed.

The spaying issue wasn't the problem, though. My concern was not simply that the cat wasn't neutered but that the poor kitty was not only adopted by someone who claimed to not have money for an adoption fee (so, how did she plan to pay for the kitty's care?) but also was later locked into a bathroom with a male cat so that she could get it on and cease wailing. Just so we're clear, here, cats are not people. Biological imperative in the animal kingdom and human desire are not equivalent, as far as I know, and cats don't necessarily have fun mating.

Back to the cat . . . the idea, said the author (my adaptation of her words), "We can have cute little kittens and then give them away!" And, that endless caterwauling would end. It didn't work. After locking the poor kitty into a bathroom with a friend's male cat (a stranger to the female kitty) and ignoring the fighting noises for some time, the cats were released without having mated. Form your own opinion; I call that cruelty.

As to the parrot . . . she was just kind of there, pooping in the background.

Was there anything good about this book? Well, as I said, you'll have to read other reviews if you want to hear something positive, but I can tell you that I read quite a few and there were plenty of people who thought the book was entertaining. The consensus when I first read reviews at Amazon seemed to be that the book was not about the parrot and that it was, in fact, more sad than funny if you looked at it purely from the viewpoint of parrot ownership. But, plenty of people thought the stories about the Gardiner family were enjoyable reading.

I'll be honest; I didn't find the family stories entertaining, either. It seemed to me that the central theme of the book was, "First we bought a little house. Then we bought a bigger house. Then we bought this really cool, whopping big house! And, there were disasters and animal behavior issues and sick kids that we dragged on planes so that we could expose as many people as possible to our illness and then . . . we bought two houses!!!"

Dude, this book was so not for me. But, please read other reviews if you're considering it. I feel bad about trashing it and have to say . . . my thanks to the author and Gallery Books for the opportunity to read the book. Sorry I couldn't think of anything really nice to say. At least I didn't throw it at the wall before I passed it on. That's good, right?

Just walked in:

Dewey's Nine Lives by Vicky Myron with Bret Witter - I liked reading about Dewey (but not the autobiographical portions about the Ms. Myron) and am really looking forward to reading about how he inspired others.

And, the latest:

I picked up Jane Austen's Emma, this afternoon, and the spell has been broken! I am finally reading, again. 2 or 3 days . . . I'm not sure how many I went without reading a word but it was definitely my version of hell on earth.

Most fun I've had all day:

Taking a picture of the FedEx truck through my peephole. I'm thinking about doing a series . . . "Peeping at Delivery Trucks". Okay, laughing here. The typo that originally came out of my fingers: "Peeing at Delivery Trucks".

One more review forthcoming, primarily so I can bury this one. I like honesty, but sometimes it can be really, really painful and I don't enjoy inflicting pain.

The Making of a Duchess by Shana Galen - or "Really, you should ignore that cover and grab this one for the adventure"

The Making of a Duchess by Shana Galen
Copyright 2010
Sourcebooks Casablanca - Historical Romance
368 pages

Wait just a minute there, partner. The cover is turning you off, right? You hate those so-called "bodice rippers," don't you? So, which do you hate worse, snap judgments based on irrational assumptions and ignorance or a cover that honestly doesn't fit the content of a book? Because I have to say, that cover is pretty, but it doesn't describe the content ---->

He awoke to fire. Peasants shouted and chased him with pitchforks and swords. That terrifying night will stay with Julien Harcourt, duc de Valere for the rest of his life. Unable to save his brothers from the rioting peasants, he escaped to England. But, Julien still doesn't believe his brothers are dead. When he receives a message from a former servant telling him his brother Armand is still alive, Julien is willing to do anything to find his way back to France to save his brother. He will keep searching until he finds the truth.

Sarah Smith is a governess. She's happy in her latest position, teaching and caring for Sir Northrup's young children, Anne and Edmund. Then Sir Northrup calls her into his office and tells her she has a new assignment. She is to spy on the on the duc de Valere, who is thought to be a traitor. There are no agents available and she is expected within three days. Sarah will pose as a houseguest, the daughter of French aristocrats who escaped to Italy during the early days of the Revolution.

Sarah is flabbergasted and tries to turn down her boss, but Sir Northrup threatens to turn her out into the street if she doesn't do the job. She's an orphan, trained to be a governess in the Academy at which she was left as a child. Turned into the street, she would have nowhere to go, nobody to protect her. Sarah has no choice but to pose as a spy. But, neither the duc or the governess know what is in store for them when intrigue meets attraction.

She narrowed her eyes at him, obviously annoyed. "A gentleman would not have mentioned that incident again," she said, tone frosty.

He shrugged, not feeling the least compunction to act the gentleman when she was the one who had invaded his library. He took another drink from his glass and studied her. "You don't have any accent," he said, finally.

"What?" She frowned at him, probably thinking he was foxed.

"Your English." He sat forward now. "You have no French accent, not even a trace." He was always keenly aware of his own accent, knew no matter how perfect his English it would always mark him as a foreigner.

She put a hand to her throat. "Well, I was so young when I left France that--"

"For Italy."

"Yes. My parents live in Italy."

"And yet you have no Italian accent."

She opened her mouth then closed it again.

"Say again?"

"We speak English."

"Your parents are French. You live in Italy, but you speak English."

She shrugged, a dainty gesture that caused one ribbon of hair to fall over her shoulder and caress his desk. He stared at it.

"We're eccentric." She looked him full in the face, daring him to question her.

He raised his glass in a mock salute. "That must explain why you're wandering about in my home in the middle of the night, creeping into my library."

Seriously, just ignore the cover. The Making of a Duchess is the kind of book that led me to once write an essay about my former prejudice against the romance genre, in general, and how and why I'd learned my lesson. There are many, many forms of romantic writing and a stunning number of subgenres. The Making of a Duchess contains all the elements of a typical romance (the meeting, unexpected attraction, dark moment and happily-ever-after) but there is a great deal more action and fun than gushy love and . . . sigh . . . cupping of breasts and all that crap. I do detest the same old wording from one book to another in romance, but this author was, I thought, surprisingly inventive -- even during those worthless sex scenes (which don't occur till later in the book), although there's a bit of the standard wording.

Note that Sarah, posing as Serafina in the above passage, appears to have been caught sniffing about in Julien's library nearly at the beginning of her time as a spy. That is actually one of the things I adored about the book. Rather than carry a poor bumbling character through repetitive conversations and motions, stretching out believability till you're certain you can hear it snapping in two, the author allows her characters to screw up, get caught and find a new way of going about the job until things work out. Wonderful!! Well done, Shana Galen!

For those who think sex doesn't forward a plot, there is less than average in this particular novel, although I'm sure it's enough to satisfy those who crave romance. Even better, the couple remains chaste until married. I don't think that's a spoiler because even when they do marry, there's some question whether or not it's merely temporary. At that point, it becomes PG-13 to R for short stretches, most of which are bookended by action.

Bottom line:

I loved this book. It's witty, romantic and adventurous without veering into "trite" territory. Sarah is likable and just a little goofy but she quickly discovers her hidden strength. Julien is a man who is fixated on duty but full of heart. The author's particular flair is in knowing her timing, not only in dialogue but in plot. Beautifully paced, full of action, charming dialogue and pure fun. Many thanks to Danielle at Sourcebooks for the review copy!

In other news:

I finished The Passage by Justin Cronin on Monday -- or maybe Tuesday -- and I've since been toying with when to post. Yesterday was impossible; I was sidelined by a migraine and that gave me a bit more time to ponder the fact that I've been "behind" on book reviews for quite some time. The Passage is getting a tremendous amount of press and the other books have been waiting around in the hallway, muttering about the fact that I keep putting them off. So . . . I'll review The Passage after I've reviewed the other ARCs I've received. I originally planned to review it on its release day, but then it occurred to me that there's no hurry. People will still be twiddling their thumbs, saying, "To buy or not to buy?" in a week, right? Are you a twiddler? If so, feel free to ask my opinion before I actually take the time to write about it.

Next up, then, will be two books about Secret Lives: The Secret Lives of People in Love and The Secret Lives of Princesses. Then, I'll try to say something, anything positive about Winging It and move on to A Place for Delta, which won't require scrounging for kudos. Since I've barely read a word, this week, that should get me all caught up on review books and then I can move on to those I read for other reasons (like the fact that they've been sitting on a shelf for eons or just screamed, "Read me! Read me!").

Recent arrivals:

Liar by Justine Larbalestier - from PBS

I'm Fine with God . . . It's Christians I Can't Stand by Bickel & Jantz - from PBS

Mr. Darcy's Obsession by Abigail Reynolds - from Sourcebooks

The Stress Effect by Henry L. Thompson - from Jossey-Bass

Detectives Don't Wear Seat Belts by Cici McNair - from the author

In the Shadow of Lions by Ginger Garrett - from a friend

Off to do something exciting. Yes, laundry. It thrills me, I promise. Happy reading!

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass

A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass
Copyright 2003
Little, Brown & Co. - YA
221 pages
Includes reading group guide

School starts in a few days, and I'm trying to squeeze every last drop out of summer. Literally. I'm squeezing lemons for the lemonade stand Zack and I set up on our street corner.
"Why don't you just use lemonade mix like everyone else?" Beth asks as she passes through the kitchen and into the pantry. She returns with a few sandwich bags and a Magic Marker.
"This is a quality establishment," Zack replies, carefully stirring in the sugar with a long spoon.
"What are the bags for?" I ask as Beth lays them flat on the counter. Zack stops stirring to listen.
"If you must know, I'm sorting herbs for a big project I'm working on."
Zack and I raise our eyebrows at each other.
"If you turn me into a frog, I'm telling Mom and Dad," Zack says, holding the spoon in front of him like a sword.
Beth grunts and turns her back to us. We continue making the lemonade and leave her to her sorcery.
When we are alone again, I ask Zack, "Does the yellow of this lemon remind you of anything?"
"Huh? Like what?"
"Oh, I don't know. Like the letter a or the number four?"
He stops midstir. "What are you talking about?
"Never mind."

Everyone thinks I named my cat Mango because of his orange eyes, but that's not the case. I named him Mango because the sounds of his purrs and his wheezes and his meows are all various shades of yellow-orange . . .

Mia has kept a secret since the time she wrote a math problem on the board in school and was heckled for explaining that she chose different chalk colors to match the color of each number. Everyone thought she was crazy, even her parents. But, soon she'll know better. She has synesthesia, a condition that causes her to see sounds, numbers and letters in color.

When Mia meets a little boy who also sees things in color, she's shocked. But, then she investigates and finds that she's not alone. As she gets to know other synesthetes via her home computer, she finds ways to enhance her ability, to the point that she's losing touch with reality.

Then, disaster strikes and Mia finds that she has to lose something crucial to realize what she already has.

A Mango-Shaped Space is a quirky and fun book with a very serious side. I'd heard of synesthesia, but I've not ever read much about it. A friend of mine was apparently a synesthete, although I'm not sure she knew that any more than Mia does at the opening of the book. My friend told me she saw numbers and letters as colors and that she saw auras around people, but I think she thought of it as some sort of psychic ability.

In A Mango-Shaped Space, Mia is totally clueless until she meets a little boy in a grocery store and they have a very brief conversation.

He giggles and comes out from behind his mom a little more. "Mia is a pretty name."
"Thanks," I say, flashing him a Winchell smile. My family may not be blessed with height, but we have good teeth and try to show them when we can.
"It's purple with orange stripes," he announces, his voice more assured now. "I like it a lot."
Still smiling, I shake my head and say, "No, silly, it's candy-apple red with a hint of light green." And then what he said hits me. My smile slowly disappears, and my heart starts to pound.

Her encounter with the boy is so brief that Mia doesn't even know if he lives in town. But, now that Mia knows she's not alone in her ability, she investigates -- and tries to hunt down the little boy. She gets the same sort of reaction as she got the first time; everyone thinks she's got a mental problem, at first. Then, Mia is referred to someone who can really help her, a neurologist who understands her condition and even leads a support group. I'm including a lot of quotes because I adored the characters in this book. Mia comes from a really odd but close little family and that gives the book a warm and unique touch. Zack is particularly fun.

"I think it's pretty neat," he says, following me inside.
"You do?"
"Sure," he says, grinning. "Now I know you're the strangest one in the family after all. And you had some stiff competition."

Mia starts connecting with other synesthetes online and finds that there are ways to enhance her ability. She becomes so bent on doing so that it's almost like a drug to her. Then, a shock makes her lose her her ability completely. At that point, she must decide whether she even wants to see color in every number, letter and sound. Is it really necessary to her? It's caused her all sorts of problems, especially in school. But, Mia finds herself feeling very alone and empty.

Bottom line:

I thought A Mango-Shaped Space was just wonderful. Synesthesia is apparently considered a disability and it definitely causes Mia to have difficulty in certain subject areas. But, the author doesn't look at it quite that way. She humanizes Mia's dysfunction and shows how something that seems freaky and is a bit disabling can also have some very dramatic benefits. On the back cover of the book is a note that A Mango-Shaped Space is the "Winner of the ALA Schneider Family Book Award, honoring artistic expression of the disability experience." Cool. I think it's very deserving. It's also always refreshing to read a YA book that is clean. It's been a few weeks since I read the book, but I recall a single kiss and no swearing.

I'm going to try to make this a big whip-out-a-bunch-of-reviews day, in between errands. Okay, forget that. I ended up with more errands than expected, so we'll just stick with this one review for today. Happy Tuesday!